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- Year Published: 1866
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: Russia
- Source: Dostoyevsky, F. (1866). Crime and Punishment. Moscow, Russia: The Russian Messenger.
- Flesch–Kincaid Level: 7.2
- Word Count: 7,803
Dostoyevsky, F. (1866). Part 3, Chapter 5. Crime and Punishment (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved May 18, 2013, from
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. "Part 3, Chapter 5." Crime and Punishment. Lit2Go Edition. 1866. Web. <>. May 18, 2013.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "Part 3, Chapter 5," Crime and Punishment, Lit2Go Edition, (1866), accessed May 18, 2013,.
Raskolnikov was already entering the room. He came in looking as though he had the utmost difficulty not to burst out laughing again. Behind him Razumihin strode in gawky and awkward, shamefaced and red as a peony, with an utterly crestfallen and ferocious expression. His face and whole figure really were ridiculous at that moment and amply justified Raskolnikov’s laughter. Raskolnikov, not waiting for an introduction, bowed to Porfiry Petrovitch, who stood in the middle of the room looking inquiringly at them. He held out his hand and shook hands, still apparently making desperate efforts to subdue his mirth and utter a few words to introduce himself. But he had no sooner succeeded in assuming a serious air and muttering something when he suddenly glanced again as though accidentally at Razumihin, and could no longer control himself: his stifled laughter broke out the more irresistibly the more he tried to restrain it. The extraordinary ferocity with which Razumihin received this “spontaneous” mirth gave the whole scene the appearance of most genuine fun and naturalness. Razumihin strengthened this impression as though on purpose.
“Fool! You fiend,” he roared, waving his arm which at once struck a little round table with an empty tea-glass on it. Everything was sent flying and crashing.
“But why break chairs, gentlemen? You know it’s a loss to the Crown,” Porfiry Petrovitch quoted gaily.
Raskolnikov was still laughing, with his hand in Porfiry Petrovitch’s, but anxious not to overdo it, awaited the right moment to put a natural end to it. Razumihin, completely put to confusion by upsetting the table and smashing the glass, gazed gloomily at the fragments, cursed and turned sharply to the window where he stood looking out with his back to the company with a fiercely scowling countenance, seeing nothing. Porfiry Petrovitch laughed and was ready to go on laughing, but obviously looked for explanations. Zametov had been sitting in the corner, but he rose at the visitors’ entrance and was standing in expectation with a smile on his lips, though he looked with surprise and even it seemed incredulity at the whole scene and at Raskolnikov with a certain embarrassment. Zametov’s unexpected presence struck Raskolnikov unpleasantly.
“I’ve got to think of that,” he thought. “Excuse me, please,” he began, affecting extreme embarrassment. “Raskolnikov.”
“Not at all, very pleasant to see you… and how pleasantly you’ve come in…. Why, won’t he even say good-morning?” Porfiry Petrovitch nodded at Razumihin.
“Upon my honour I don’t know why he is in such a rage with me. I only told him as we came along that he was like Romeo… and proved it. And that was all, I think!”
“Pig!” ejaculated Razumihin, without turning round.
“There must have been very grave grounds for it, if he is so furious at the word,” Porfiry laughed.
“Oh, you sharp lawyer!... Damn you all!” snapped Razumihin, and suddenly bursting out laughing himself, he went up to Porfiry with a more cheerful face as though nothing had happened. “That’ll do! We are all fools. To come to business. This is my friend Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov; in the first place he has heard of you and wants to make your acquaintance, and secondly, he has a little matter of business with you. Bah! Zametov, what brought you here? Have you met before? Have you known each other long?”
“What does this mean?” thought Raskolnikov uneasily.
Zametov seemed taken aback, but not very much so.
“Why, it was at your rooms we met yesterday,” he said easily.
“Then I have been spared the trouble. All last week he was begging me to introduce him to you. Porfiry and you have sniffed each other out without me. Where is your tobacco?”
Porfiry Petrovitch was wearing a dressing-gown, very clean linen, and trodden-down slippers. He was a man of about five and thirty, short, stout even to corpulence, and clean shaven. He wore his hair cut short and had a large round head, particularly prominent at the back. His soft, round, rather snub-nosed face was of a sickly yellowish colour, but had a vigorous and rather ironical expression. It would have been good-natured except for a look in the eyes, which shone with a watery, mawkish light under almost white, blinking eyelashes. The expression of those eyes was strangely out of keeping with his somewhat womanish figure, and gave it something far more serious than could be guessed at first sight.
As soon as Porfiry Petrovitch heard that his visitor had a little matter of business with him, he begged him to sit down on the sofa and sat down himself on the other end, waiting for him to explain his business, with that careful and over-serious attention which is at once oppressive and embarrassing, especially to a stranger, and especially if what you are discussing is in your opinion of far too little importance for such exceptional solemnity. But in brief and coherent phrases Raskolnikov explained his business clearly and exactly, and was so well satisfied with himself that he even succeeded in taking a good look at Porfiry. Porfiry Petrovitch did not once take his eyes off him. Razumihin, sitting opposite at the same table, listened warmly and impatiently, looking from one to the other every moment with rather excessive interest.
“Fool,” Raskolnikov swore to himself.
“You have to give information to the police,” Porfiry replied, with a most businesslike air, “that having learnt of this incident, that is of the murder, you beg to inform the lawyer in charge of the case that such and such things belong to you, and that you desire to redeem them… or… but they will write to you.”
“That’s just the point, that at the present moment,” Raskolnikov tried his utmost to feign embarrassment, “I am not quite in funds… and even this trifling sum is beyond me… I only wanted, you see, for the present to declare that the things are mine, and that when I have money….”
“That’s no matter,” answered Porfiry Petrovitch, receiving his explanation of his pecuniary position coldly, “but you can, if you prefer, write straight to me, to say, that having been informed of the matter, and claiming such and such as your property, you beg…”
“On an ordinary sheet of paper?” Raskolnikov interrupted eagerly, again interested in the financial side of the question.
“Oh, the most ordinary,” and suddenly Porfiry Petrovitch looked with obvious irony at him, screwing up his eyes and, as it were, winking at him. But perhaps it was Raskolnikov’s fancy, for it all lasted but a moment. There was certainly something of the sort, Raskolnikov could have sworn he winked at him, goodness knows why.
“He knows,” flashed through his mind like lightning.
“Forgive my troubling you about such trifles,” he went on, a little disconcerted, “the things are only worth five roubles, but I prize them particularly for the sake of those from whom they came to me, and I must confess that I was alarmed when I heard…”
“That’s why you were so much struck when I mentioned to Zossimov that Porfiry was inquiring for everyone who had pledges!” Razumihin put in with obvious intention.
This was really unbearable. Raskolnikov could not help glancing at him with a flash of vindictive anger in his black eyes, but immediately recollected himself.
“You seem to be jeering at me, brother?” he said to him, with a well-feigned irritability. “I dare say I do seem to you absurdly anxious about such trash; but you mustn’t think me selfish or grasping for that, and these two things may be anything but trash in my eyes. I told you just now that the silver watch, though it’s not worth a cent, is the only thing left us of my father’s. You may laugh at me, but my mother is here,” he turned suddenly to Porfiry, “and if she knew,” he turned again hurriedly to Razumihin, carefully making his voice tremble, “that the watch was lost, she would be in despair! You know what women are!”
“Not a bit of it! I didn’t mean that at all! Quite the contrary!” shouted Razumihin distressed.
“Was it right? Was it natural? Did I overdo it?” Raskolnikov asked himself in a tremor. “Why did I say that about women?”
“Oh, your mother is with you?” Porfiry Petrovitch inquired.
“When did she come?”
Porfiry paused as though reflecting.
“Your things would not in any case be lost,” he went on calmly and coldly. “I have been expecting you here for some time.”
And as though that was a matter of no importance, he carefully offered the ash-tray to Razumihin, who was ruthlessly scattering cigarette ash over the carpet. Raskolnikov shuddered, but Porfiry did not seem to be looking at him, and was still concerned with Razumihin’s cigarette.
“What? Expecting him? Why, did you know that he had pledges there?” cried Razumihin.
Porfiry Petrovitch addressed himself to Raskolnikov.
“Your things, the ring and the watch, were wrapped up together, and on the paper your name was legibly written in pencil, together with the date on which you left them with her…”
“How observant you are!” Raskolnikov smiled awkwardly, doing his very utmost to look him straight in the face, but he failed, and suddenly added:
“I say that because I suppose there were a great many pledges… that it must be difficult to remember them all…. But you remember them all so clearly, and… and…”
“Stupid! Feeble!” he thought. “Why did I add that?”
“But we know all who had pledges, and you are the only one who hasn’t come forward,” Porfiry answered with hardly perceptible irony.
“I haven’t been quite well.”
“I heard that too. I heard, indeed, that you were in great distress about something. You look pale still.”
“I am not pale at all…. No, I am quite well,” Raskolnikov snapped out rudely and angrily, completely changing his tone. His anger was mounting, he could not repress it. “And in my anger I shall betray myself,” flashed through his mind again. “Why are they torturing me?”
“Not quite well!” Razumihin caught him up. “What next! He was unconscious and delirious all yesterday. Would you believe, Porfiry, as soon as our backs were turned, he dressed, though he could hardly stand, and gave us the slip and went off on a spree somewhere till midnight, delirious all the time! Would you believe it! Extraordinary!”
“Really delirious? You don’t say so!” Porfiry shook his head in a womanish way.
“Nonsense! Don’t you believe it! But you don’t believe it anyway,” Raskolnikov let slip in his anger. But Porfiry Petrovitch did not seem to catch those strange words.
“But how could you have gone out if you hadn’t been delirious?” Razumihin got hot suddenly. “What did you go out for? What was the object of it? And why on the sly? Were you in your senses when you did it? Now that all danger is over I can speak plainly.”
“I was awfully sick of them yesterday.” Raskolnikov addressed Porfiry suddenly with a smile of insolent defiance, “I ran away from them to take lodgings where they wouldn’t find me, and took a lot of money with me. Mr. Zametov there saw it. I say, Mr. Zametov, was I sensible or delirious yesterday; settle our dispute.”
He could have strangled Zametov at that moment, so hateful were his expression and his silence to him.
“In my opinion you talked sensibly and even artfully, but you were extremely irritable,” Zametov pronounced dryly.
“And Nikodim Fomitch was telling me to-day,” put in Porfiry Petrovitch, “that he met you very late last night in the lodging of a man who had been run over.”
“And there,” said Razumihin, “weren’t you mad then? You gave your last penny to the widow for the funeral. If you wanted to help, give fifteen or twenty even, but keep three roubles for yourself at least, but he flung away all the twenty-five at once!”
“Maybe I found a treasure somewhere and you know nothing of it? So that’s why I was liberal yesterday…. Mr. Zametov knows I’ve found a treasure! Excuse us, please, for disturbing you for half an hour with such trivialities,” he said, turning to Porfiry Petrovitch, with trembling lips. “We are boring you, aren’t we?”
“Oh no, quite the contrary, quite the contrary! If only you knew how you interest me! It’s interesting to look on and listen… and I am really glad you have come forward at last.”
“But you might give us some tea! My throat’s dry,” cried Razumihin.
“Capital idea! Perhaps we will all keep you company. Wouldn’t you like… something more essential before tea?”
“Get along with you!”
Porfiry Petrovitch went out to order tea.
Raskolnikov’s thoughts were in a whirl. He was in terrible exasperation.
“The worst of it is they don’t disguise it; they don’t care to stand on ceremony! And how if you didn’t know me at all, did you come to talk to Nikodim Fomitch about me? So they don’t care to hide that they are tracking me like a pack of dogs. They simply spit in my face.” He was shaking with rage. “Come, strike me openly, don’t play with me like a cat with a mouse. It’s hardly civil, Porfiry Petrovitch, but perhaps I won’t allow it! I shall get up and throw the whole truth in your ugly faces, and you’ll see how I despise you.” He could hardly breathe. “And what if it’s only my fancy? What if I am mistaken, and through inexperience I get angry and don’t keep up my nasty part? Perhaps it’s all unintentional. All their phrases are the usual ones, but there is something about them…. It all might be said, but there is something. Why did he say bluntly, ‘With her’? Why did Zametov add that I spoke artfully? Why do they speak in that tone? Yes, the tone…. Razumihin is sitting here, why does he see nothing? That innocent blockhead never does see anything! Feverish again! Did Porfiry wink at me just now? Of course it’s nonsense! What could he wink for? Are they trying to upset my nerves or are they teasing me? Either it’s ill fancy or they know! Even Zametov is rude…. Is Zametov rude? Zametov has changed his mind. I foresaw he would change his mind! He is at home here, while it’s my first visit. Porfiry does not consider him a visitor; sits with his back to him. They’re as thick as thieves, no doubt, over me! Not a doubt they were talking about me before we came. Do they know about the flat? If only they’d make haste! When I said that I ran away to take a flat he let it pass…. I put that in cleverly about a flat, it may be of use afterwards…. Delirious, indeed… ha-ha-ha! He knows all about last night! He didn’t know of my mother’s arrival! The hag had written the date on in pencil! You are wrong, you won’t catch me! There are no facts… it’s all supposition! You produce facts! The flat even isn’t a fact but delirium. I know what to say to them…. Do they know about the flat? I won’t go without finding out. What did I come for? But my being angry now, maybe is a fact! Fool, how irritable I am! Perhaps that’s right; to play the invalid…. He is feeling me. He will try to catch me. Why did I come?”
All this flashed like lightning through his mind.
Porfiry Petrovitch returned quickly. He became suddenly more jovial.
“Your party yesterday, brother, has left my head rather…. And I am out of sorts altogether,” he began in quite a different tone, laughing to Razumihin.
“Was it interesting? I left you yesterday at the most interesting point. Who got the best of it?”
“Oh, no one, of course. They got on to everlasting questions, floated off into space.”
“Only fancy, Rodya, what we got on to yesterday. Whether there is such a thing as crime. I told you that we talked our heads off.”
“What is there strange? It’s an everyday social question,” Raskolnikov answered casually.
“The question wasn’t put quite like that,” observed Porfiry.
“Not quite, that’s true,” Razumihin agreed at once, getting warm and hurried as usual. “Listen, Rodion, and tell us your opinion, I want to hear it. I was fighting tooth and nail with them and wanted you to help me. I told them you were coming…. It began with the socialist doctrine. You know their doctrine; crime is a protest against the abnormality of the social organisation and nothing more, and nothing more; no other causes admitted!...”
“You are wrong there,” cried Porfiry Petrovitch; he was noticeably animated and kept laughing as he looked at Razumihin, which made him more excited than ever.
“Nothing is admitted,” Razumihin interrupted with heat.
“I am not wrong. I’ll show you their pamphlets. Everything with them is ‘the influence of environment,’ and nothing else. Their favourite phrase! From which it follows that, if society is normally organised, all crime will cease at once, since there will be nothing to protest against and all men will become righteous in one instant. Human nature is not taken into account, it is excluded, it’s not supposed to exist! They don’t recognise that humanity, developing by a historical living process, will become at last a normal society, but they believe that a social system that has come out of some mathematical brain is going to organise all humanity at once and make it just and sinless in an instant, quicker than any living process! That’s why they instinctively dislike history, ‘nothing but ugliness and stupidity in it,’ and they explain it all as stupidity! That’s why they so dislike the living process of life; they don’t want a living soul! The living soul demands life, the soul won’t obey the rules of mechanics, the soul is an object of suspicion, the soul is retrograde! But what they want though it smells of death and can be made of India-rubber, at least is not alive, has no will, is servile and won’t revolt! And it comes in the end to their reducing everything to the building of walls and the planning of rooms and passages in a phalanstery! The phalanstery is ready, indeed, but your human nature is not ready for the phalanstery—it wants life, it hasn’t completed its vital process, it’s too soon for the graveyard! You can’t skip over nature by logic. Logic presupposes three possibilities, but there are millions! Cut away a million, and reduce it all to the question of comfort! That’s the easiest solution of the problem! It’s seductively clear and you musn’t think about it. That’s the great thing, you mustn’t think! The whole secret of life in two pages of print!”
“Now he is off, beating the drum! Catch hold of him, do!” laughed Porfiry. “Can you imagine,” he turned to Raskolnikov, “six people holding forth like that last night, in one room, with punch as a preliminary! No, brother, you are wrong, environment accounts for a great deal in crime; I can assure you of that.”
“Oh, I know it does, but just tell me: a man of forty violates a child of ten; was it environment drove him to it?”
“Well, strictly speaking, it did,” Porfiry observed with noteworthy gravity; “a crime of that nature may be very well ascribed to the influence of environment.”
Razumihin was almost in a frenzy. “Oh, if you like,” he roared. “I’ll prove to you that your white eyelashes may very well be ascribed to the Church of Ivan the Great’s being two hundred and fifty feet high, and I will prove it clearly, exactly, progressively, and even with a Liberal tendency! I undertake to! Will you bet on it?”
“Done! Let’s hear, please, how he will prove it!”
“He is always humbugging, confound him,” cried Razumihin, jumping up and gesticulating. “What’s the use of talking to you? He does all that on purpose; you don’t know him, Rodion! He took their side yesterday, simply to make fools of them. And the things he said yesterday! And they were delighted! He can keep it up for a fortnight together. Last year he persuaded us that he was going into a monastery: he stuck to it for two months. Not long ago he took it into his head to declare he was going to get married, that he had everything ready for the wedding. He ordered new clothes indeed. We all began to congratulate him. There was no bride, nothing, all pure fantasy!”
“Ah, you are wrong! I got the clothes before. It was the new clothes in fact that made me think of taking you in.”
“Are you such a good dissembler?” Raskolnikov asked carelessly.
“You wouldn’t have supposed it, eh? Wait a bit, I shall take you in, too. Ha-ha-ha! No, I’ll tell you the truth. All these questions about crime, environment, children, recall to my mind an article of yours which interested me at the time. ‘On Crime’... or something of the sort, I forget the title, I read it with pleasure two months ago in the Periodical Review.”
“My article? In the Periodical Review?” Raskolnikov asked in astonishment. “I certainly did write an article upon a book six months ago when I left the university, but I sent it to the Weekly Review.”
“But it came out in the Periodical.”
“And the Weekly Review ceased to exist, so that’s why it wasn’t printed at the time.”
“That’s true; but when it ceased to exist, the Weekly Review was amalgamated with the Periodical, and so your article appeared two months ago in the latter. Didn’t you know?”
Raskolnikov had not known.
“Why, you might get some money out of them for the article! What a strange person you are! You lead such a solitary life that you know nothing of matters that concern you directly. It’s a fact, I assure you.”
“Bravo, Rodya! I knew nothing about it either!” cried Razumihin. “I’ll run to-day to the reading-room and ask for the number. Two months ago? What was the date? It doesn’t matter though, I will find it. Think of not telling us!”
“How did you find out that the article was mine? It’s only signed with an initial.”
“I only learnt it by chance, the other day. Through the editor; I know him…. I was very much interested.”
“I analysed, if I remember, the psychology of a criminal before and after the crime.”
“Yes, and you maintained that the perpetration of a crime is always accompanied by illness. Very, very original, but… it was not that part of your article that interested me so much, but an idea at the end of the article which I regret to say you merely suggested without working it out clearly. There is, if you recollect, a suggestion that there are certain persons who can… that is, not precisely are able to, but have a perfect right to commit breaches of morality and crimes, and that the law is not for them.”
Raskolnikov smiled at the exaggerated and intentional distortion of his idea.
“What? What do you mean? A right to crime? But not because of the influence of environment?” Razumihin inquired with some alarm even.
“No, not exactly because of it,” answered Porfiry. “In his article all men are divided into ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary.’ Ordinary men have to live in submission, have no right to transgress the law, because, don’t you see, they are ordinary. But extraordinary men have a right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way, just because they are extraordinary. That was your idea, if I am not mistaken?”
“What do you mean? That can’t be right?” Razumihin muttered in bewilderment.
Raskolnikov smiled again. He saw the point at once, and knew where they wanted to drive him. He decided to take up the challenge.
“That wasn’t quite my contention,” he began simply and modestly. “Yet I admit that you have stated it almost correctly; perhaps, if you like, perfectly so.” (It almost gave him pleasure to admit this.) “The only difference is that I don’t contend that extraordinary people are always bound to commit breaches of morals, as you call it. In fact, I doubt whether such an argument could be published. I simply hinted that an ‘extraordinary’ man has the right… that is not an official right, but an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep… certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential for the practical fulfilment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity). You say that my article isn’t definite; I am ready to make it as clear as I can. Perhaps I am right in thinking you want me to; very well. I maintain that if the discoveries of Kepler and Newton could not have been made known except by sacrificing the lives of one, a dozen, a hundred, or more men, Newton would have had the right, would indeed have been in duty bound… to eliminate the dozen or the hundred men for the sake of making his discoveries known to the whole of humanity. But it does not follow from that that Newton had a right to murder people right and left and to steal every day in the market. Then, I remember, I maintain in my article that all… well, legislators and leaders of men, such as Lycurgus, Solon, Mahomet, Napoleon, and so on, were all without exception criminals, from the very fact that, making a new law, they transgressed the ancient one, handed down from their ancestors and held sacred by the people, and they did not stop short at bloodshed either, if that bloodshed—often of innocent persons fighting bravely in defence of ancient law—were of use to their cause. It’s remarkable, in fact, that the majority, indeed, of these benefactors and leaders of humanity were guilty of terrible carnage. In short, I maintain that all great men or even men a little out of the common, that is to say capable of giving some new word, must from their very nature be criminals—more or less, of course. Otherwise it’s hard for them to get out of the common rut; and to remain in the common rut is what they can’t submit to, from their very nature again, and to my mind they ought not, indeed, to submit to it. You see that there is nothing particularly new in all that. The same thing has been printed and read a thousand times before. As for my division of people into ordinary and extraordinary, I acknowledge that it’s somewhat arbitrary, but I don’t insist upon exact numbers. I only believe in my leading idea that men are in general divided by a law of nature into two categories, inferior (ordinary), that is, so to say, material that serves only to reproduce its kind, and men who have the gift or the talent to utter a new word. There are, of course, innumerable sub-divisions, but the distinguishing features of both categories are fairly well marked. The first category, generally speaking, are men conservative in temperament and law-abiding; they live under control and love to be controlled. To my thinking it is their duty to be controlled, because that’s their vocation, and there is nothing humiliating in it for them. The second category all transgress the law; they are destroyers or disposed to destruction according to their capacities. The crimes of these men are of course relative and varied; for the most part they seek in very varied ways the destruction of the present for the sake of the better. But if such a one is forced for the sake of his idea to step over a corpse or wade through blood, he can, I maintain, find within himself, in his conscience, a sanction for wading through blood—that depends on the idea and its dimensions, note that. It’s only in that sense I speak of their right to crime in my article (you remember it began with the legal question). There’s no need for such anxiety, however; the masses will scarcely ever admit this right, they punish them or hang them (more or less), and in doing so fulfil quite justly their conservative vocation. But the same masses set these criminals on a pedestal in the next generation and worship them (more or less). The first category is always the man of the present, the second the man of the future. The first preserve the world and people it, the second move the world and lead it to its goal. Each class has an equal right to exist. In fact, all have equal rights with me—and _vive la guerre éternelle_—till the New Jerusalem, of course!”
“Then you believe in the New Jerusalem, do you?”
“I do,” Raskolnikov answered firmly; as he said these words and during the whole preceding tirade he kept his eyes on one spot on the carpet.
“And… and do you believe in God? Excuse my curiosity.”
“I do,” repeated Raskolnikov, raising his eyes to Porfiry.
“And… do you believe in Lazarus’ rising from the dead?”
“I… I do. Why do you ask all this?”
“You believe it literally?”
“You don’t say so…. I asked from curiosity. Excuse me. But let us go back to the question; they are not always executed. Some, on the contrary…”
“Triumph in their lifetime? Oh, yes, some attain their ends in this life, and then…”
“They begin executing other people?”
“If it’s necessary; indeed, for the most part they do. Your remark is very witty.”
“Thank you. But tell me this: how do you distinguish those extraordinary people from the ordinary ones? Are there signs at their birth? I feel there ought to be more exactitude, more external definition. Excuse the natural anxiety of a practical law-abiding citizen, but couldn’t they adopt a special uniform, for instance, couldn’t they wear something, be branded in some way? For you know if confusion arises and a member of one category imagines that he belongs to the other, begins to ‘eliminate obstacles’ as you so happily expressed it, then…”
“Oh, that very often happens! That remark is wittier than the other.”
“No reason to; but take note that the mistake can only arise in the first category, that is among the ordinary people (as I perhaps unfortunately called them). In spite of their predisposition to obedience very many of them, through a playfulness of nature, sometimes vouchsafed even to the cow, like to imagine themselves advanced people, ‘destroyers,’ and to push themselves into the ‘new movement,’ and this quite sincerely. Meanwhile the really new people are very often unobserved by them, or even despised as reactionaries of grovelling tendencies. But I don’t think there is any considerable danger here, and you really need not be uneasy for they never go very far. Of course, they might have a thrashing sometimes for letting their fancy run away with them and to teach them their place, but no more; in fact, even this isn’t necessary as they castigate themselves, for they are very conscientious: some perform this service for one another and others chastise themselves with their own hands…. They will impose various public acts of penitence upon themselves with a beautiful and edifying effect; in fact you’ve nothing to be uneasy about…. It’s a law of nature.”
“Well, you have certainly set my mind more at rest on that score; but there’s another thing worries me. Tell me, please, are there many people who have the right to kill others, these extraordinary people? I am ready to bow down to them, of course, but you must admit it’s alarming if there are a great many of them, eh?”
“Oh, you needn’t worry about that either,” Raskolnikov went on in the same tone. “People with new ideas, people with the faintest capacity for saying something new, are extremely few in number, extraordinarily so in fact. One thing only is clear, that the appearance of all these grades and sub-divisions of men must follow with unfailing regularity some law of nature. That law, of course, is unknown at present, but I am convinced that it exists, and one day may become known. The vast mass of mankind is mere material, and only exists in order by some great effort, by some mysterious process, by means of some crossing of races and stocks, to bring into the world at last perhaps one man out of a thousand with a spark of independence. One in ten thousand perhaps—I speak roughly, approximately—is born with some independence, and with still greater independence one in a hundred thousand. The man of genius is one of millions, and the great geniuses, the crown of humanity, appear on earth perhaps one in many thousand millions. In fact I have not peeped into the retort in which all this takes place. But there certainly is and must be a definite law, it cannot be a matter of chance.”
“Why, are you both joking?” Razumihin cried at last. “There you sit, making fun of one another. Are you serious, Rodya?”
Raskolnikov raised his pale and almost mournful face and made no reply. And the unconcealed, persistent, nervous, and discourteous sarcasm of Porfiry seemed strange to Razumihin beside that quiet and mournful face.
“Well, brother, if you are really serious… You are right, of course, in saying that it’s not new, that it’s like what we’ve read and heard a thousand times already; but what is really original in all this, and is exclusively your own, to my horror, is that you sanction bloodshed in the name of conscience, and, excuse my saying so, with such fanaticism…. That, I take it, is the point of your article. But that sanction of bloodshed by conscience is to my mind… more terrible than the official, legal sanction of bloodshed….”
“You are quite right, it is more terrible,” Porfiry agreed.
“Yes, you must have exaggerated! There is some mistake, I shall read it. You can’t think that! I shall read it.”
“All that is not in the article, there’s only a hint of it,” said Raskolnikov.
“Yes, yes.” Porfiry couldn’t sit still. “Your attitude to crime is pretty clear to me now, but… excuse me for my impertinence (I am really ashamed to be worrying you like this), you see, you’ve removed my anxiety as to the two grades getting mixed, but… there are various practical possibilities that make me uneasy! What if some man or youth imagines that he is a Lycurgus or Mahomet—a future one of course—and suppose he begins to remove all obstacles…. He has some great enterprise before him and needs money for it… and tries to get it… do you see?”
Zametov gave a sudden guffaw in his corner. Raskolnikov did not even raise his eyes to him.
“I must admit,” he went on calmly, “that such cases certainly must arise. The vain and foolish are particularly apt to fall into that snare; young people especially.”
“Yes, you see. Well then?”
“What then?” Raskolnikov smiled in reply; “that’s not my fault. So it is and so it always will be. He said just now (he nodded at Razumihin) that I sanction bloodshed. Society is too well protected by prisons, banishment, criminal investigators, penal servitude. There’s no need to be uneasy. You have but to catch the thief.”
“And what if we do catch him?”
“Then he gets what he deserves.”
“You are certainly logical. But what of his conscience?”
“Why do you care about that?”
“Simply from humanity.”
“If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be his punishment—as well as the prison.”
“But the real geniuses,” asked Razumihin frowning, “those who have the right to murder? Oughtn’t they to suffer at all even for the blood they’ve shed?”
“Why the word ought? It’s not a matter of permission or prohibition. He will suffer if he is sorry for his victim. Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth,” he added dreamily, not in the tone of the conversation.
He raised his eyes, looked earnestly at them all, smiled, and took his cap. He was too quiet by comparison with his manner at his entrance, and he felt this. Everyone got up.
“Well, you may abuse me, be angry with me if you like,” Porfiry Petrovitch began again, “but I can’t resist. Allow me one little question (I know I am troubling you). There is just one little notion I want to express, simply that I may not forget it.”
“Very good, tell me your little notion,” Raskolnikov stood waiting, pale and grave before him.
“Well, you see… I really don’t know how to express it properly…. It’s a playful, psychological idea…. When you were writing your article, surely you couldn’t have helped, he-he! fancying yourself… just a little, an ‘extraordinary’ man, uttering a new word in your sense…. That’s so, isn’t it?”
“Quite possibly,” Raskolnikov answered contemptuously.
Razumihin made a movement.
“And, if so, could you bring yourself in case of worldly difficulties and hardship or for some service to humanity—to overstep obstacles?... For instance, to rob and murder?”
And again he winked with his left eye, and laughed noiselessly just as before.
“If I did I certainly should not tell you,” Raskolnikov answered with defiant and haughty contempt.
“No, I was only interested on account of your article, from a literary point of view…”
“Foo! how obvious and insolent that is!” Raskolnikov thought with repulsion.
“Allow me to observe,” he answered dryly, “that I don’t consider myself a Mahomet or a Napoleon, nor any personage of that kind, and not being one of them I cannot tell you how I should act.”
“Oh, come, don’t we all think ourselves Napoleons now in Russia?” Porfiry Petrovitch said with alarming familiarity.
Something peculiar betrayed itself in the very intonation of his voice.
“Perhaps it was one of these future Napoleons who did for Alyona Ivanovna last week?” Zametov blurted out from the corner.
Raskolnikov did not speak, but looked firmly and intently at Porfiry. Razumihin was scowling gloomily. He seemed before this to be noticing something. He looked angrily around. There was a minute of gloomy silence. Raskolnikov turned to go.
“Are you going already?” Porfiry said amiably, holding out his hand with excessive politeness. “Very, very glad of your acquaintance. As for your request, have no uneasiness, write just as I told you, or, better still, come to me there yourself in a day or two… to-morrow, indeed. I shall be there at eleven o’clock for certain. We’ll arrange it all; we’ll have a talk. As one of the last to be there, you might perhaps be able to tell us something,” he added with a most good-natured expression.
“You want to cross-examine me officially in due form?” Raskolnikov asked sharply.
“Oh, why? That’s not necessary for the present. You misunderstand me. I lose no opportunity, you see, and… I’ve talked with all who had pledges…. I obtained evidence from some of them, and you are the last…. Yes, by the way,” he cried, seemingly suddenly delighted, “I just remember, what was I thinking of?” he turned to Razumihin, “you were talking my ears off about that Nikolay… of course, I know, I know very well,” he turned to Raskolnikov, “that the fellow is innocent, but what is one to do? We had to trouble Dmitri too…. This is the point, this is all: when you went up the stairs it was past seven, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” answered Raskolnikov, with an unpleasant sensation at the very moment he spoke that he need not have said it.
“Then when you went upstairs between seven and eight, didn’t you see in a flat that stood open on a second storey, do you remember? two workmen or at least one of them? They were painting there, didn’t you notice them? It’s very, very important for them.”
“Painters? No, I didn’t see them,” Raskolnikov answered slowly, as though ransacking his memory, while at the same instant he was racking every nerve, almost swooning with anxiety to conjecture as quickly as possible where the trap lay and not to overlook anything. “No, I didn’t see them, and I don’t think I noticed a flat like that open…. But on the fourth storey” (he had mastered the trap now and was triumphant) “I remember now that someone was moving out of the flat opposite Alyona Ivanovna’s…. I remember… I remember it clearly. Some porters were carrying out a sofa and they squeezed me against the wall. But painters… no, I don’t remember that there were any painters, and I don’t think that there was a flat open anywhere, no, there wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?” Razumihin shouted suddenly, as though he had reflected and realised. “Why, it was on the day of the murder the painters were at work, and he was there three days before? What are you asking?”
“Foo! I have muddled it!” Porfiry slapped himself on the forehead. “Deuce take it! This business is turning my brain!” he addressed Raskolnikov somewhat apologetically. “It would be such a great thing for us to find out whether anyone had seen them between seven and eight at the flat, so I fancied you could perhaps have told us something…. I quite muddled it.”
“Then you should be more careful,” Razumihin observed grimly.
The last words were uttered in the passage. Porfiry Petrovitch saw them to the door with excessive politeness.
They went out into the street gloomy and sullen, and for some steps they did not say a word. Raskolnikov drew a deep breath. | <urn:uuid:842792ff-9ed5-4959-9a6a-526b7eed61ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/182/crime-and-punishment/3410/part-3-chapter-5/ | 2013-05-18T06:34:48Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975755 | 10,724 |
Seanad Éireann - Volume 21 - 21 July, 1938
Extension of Vocational Organisation.
Debate resumed on the following motion:
That, in the opinion of the Seanad, a small commission should be appointed by the Government to examine and report on the possibility of extending vocational organisation by legislative or administrative action.—Senators MacDermot and Tierney.
The Taoiseach Eamon de Valera
The Taoiseach: I was very sorry I was not able to be here to listen to the speeches delivered by the proposer and seconder of the motion, and if other Senators wish to speak on the motion I should prefer to wait and hear what they have to say.
Mr. Douglas Mr. Douglas
Mr. Douglas: The difficulty is that we understood that the Taoiseach would have an opportunity now, so as not to take up his time, and those of us who intended to take part in the debate were reckoning on its taking place after the Bills on the Order Paper had been disposed of.
The Taoiseach Eamon de Valera
The Taoiseach: So far as I am concerned, it is simply a question of saying that I am in favour of the motion, because, whatever view may be taken of it, I cannot see that any harm can be done in having a commission set up to examine the question. It does not commit anyone in advance to any particular viewpoint or to any of the findings, because we have no idea what they may be. The resolution, as it stands here, is “That, in the opinion of the Seanad, a small commission should be appointed by the Government to examine and report on the possibility of extending vocational organisation by legislative or administrative action.” The only question is whether it should not be somewhat wider in its terms of reference than it is—whether there might not be some other methods of encouragement. I am sure, however, that whatever methods of encouragement might be adopted by the Government could be included in the two terms “legislative” or “administrative.” Personally, I have no objection, and no member of the Government, so far as I am aware, has any objection to such a commission being set up. It would be of great importance that this matter should be examined home to see how far the fundamental ideas are capable of being applied in our country and in what direction they might be best applied. If it is simply a question of our view, we have no reason at all to object to this motion being passed, and, if it is passed, we will implement it.
Mr. Hayes Mr. Hayes
Mr. Hayes: Could the Taoiseach give us any idea as to what type of commission he thinks would be suitable? I think that only one of the speakers on the motion made any suggestion on the matter. In the absence of any statement to the contrary, it seems to me that what is contemplated is that the Government should appoint a commission. I take it that is what the Taoiseach understands from it and I wonder what kind of a commission either the movers or the Taoiseach have in mind.
Sir John Keane Sir John Keane
Sir John Keane: My difficulty about the motion is that the mover, and probably to some degree the seconder, hung this on to the question of a better Seanad. I do not think that is implicit in the motion itself. It was suggested— I may be wrong—that it is due to the defects of our vocational organisation that the Seanad is not of the character some people would like to see it. I do not agree with that. I think, so far as vocational organisation is concerned, that there is no serious fault to be found in its approach to a Seanad. It is the method of election that has been at fault. The vocational organisations put on the panel quite a lot of what I personally considered satisfactory candidates, but in many cases they could not survive the process of election.
On the general question of vocational organisation, that is another matter and it opens up a very big question indeed which will require a lot of thought and, I suggest, a very big change in public opinion before it can take practical form. If I might suggest it, the best example we have of the full operation of vocational organisation is that in the Church of Ireland. There is no doubt that the peculiar conditions there lend themselves to cohesion. But, in that body, you have certain powers of legislation very much in the sense of a self-governing vocational body. I see great difficulties in extending that to the agricultural industry, but so far as the approach can be made, it is along those lines I think that you should try to work, to build up a vocational organisation of such a form that a large number of questions within the sphere of agriculture could be referred to what you might call an agricultural Parliament, no doubt with overriding powers and veto by the Dáil. The same with industry. Of course, as we all know, that is very remote. We can only work to that in a very slow and tentative manner, but that would be the ideal at which we should aim. So far as a commission could help in thinking out all that, it would be all to the good.
Mr. Douglas Mr. Douglas
Mr. Douglas: One reason I did not wish to speak until we had some indication of the view of the Government was that, if they were not prepared to accept the general idea of a commission, alternative suggestions might be made. I am glad that the Taoiseach indicated that, at any rate, the idea would be favourably considered. It seems to me that Senator Tierney was quite right when he said that the two questions, the question of extending vocational organisation in the country, and the question of a Seanad which might be elected more or less on vocational lines were two distinct questions. I would not like to see them mixed up in the reference to any commission. I read very carefully the two speeches made and was particularly impressed by the line taken by Senator Tierney. I, at any rate, did not get his ideas as clearly from listening to him as from reading carefully his speech, which I think is worthy of study whether you agree with it or not.
There are considerable practical difficulties, almost insurmountable difficulties, but if a suitable commission was prepared to give time to study the problem, apart from the question of a vocational Seanad, I think it might be of considerable value. At any rate, having regard to the general ideals which were accepted fairly well by all sides in this country some 15, 16, 17, 18 years ago, it seems to me that there is a duty upon us to consider the problems put forward in this resolution, and more particularly in the speeches on the resolution. I would hope that, so far as possible, persons like most of us here who have taken an active part in politics, if not excluded from the commission, would be very definitely in a minority, because I think it is a matter on which we would have to get entirely away from politics as we have known them in the last 15 years. We have a number of divisions which seem to be largely unnatural.
I should like to see those of us who may happen to be here after the next election appointing a committee of our own to consider amendments or improvements in the method of election, which was referred to by Senator Sir John Keane. I think that that would be a thing apart, and that it would not be necessary to wait in respect of it until you had a detailed report from a commission of this kind. That is one of the reasons why I should like to see the two things kept distinct. An expansion of vocationalism would have to be brought about by a policy carried over a considerable number of years. There would be a lot of difficulties to be surmounted, and I do not think you should necessarily wait until that is achieved before making an attempt to rectify the things which have not worked very well in connection with the election of the Seanad. I am glad that the Government is prepared to accept the principle of this resolution, and I think that the Seanad should approve of it without a division.
Mr. O'Callaghan Mr. O'Callaghan
Mr. O'Callaghan: The extension of vocational organisation is very desirable. It may, or may not, give us a better Seanad. It may, or may not, give us a better Dáil. If carried to its logical conclusion, it may deprive this House of the services of the proposer and seconder of this motion. That, of course, would be a step in the wrong direction. What I propose to say, I want to direct to two vocational organisations in connection with agriculture —the Dairy Shorthorn Breeders' Society and the Beetgrowers' Association. I shall first deal with a small portion of the work carried on by the Dairy Shorthorn Breeders' Society. Anybody going through the City of Dublin will see the tramcars and buses decorated with “drink more milk” slogans.
That was brought about by representations made to the Minister for Agriculture by the Dairy Shorthorn Breeders' Society. The drink-more-milk campaign will have a very great effect on the health of the nation. It will do away with patent medicines and doctors' bills. People will have more money to spend and they will be more cheerful. It may even bring about the setting up of a milk bar in Leinster House where, under the influence of milk cocktails, Party bitterness will entirely disappear and a new spirit will supplant the old. I am just relating this small section of the work of the Dairy Shorthorn Breeders' Society to illustrate the good that an association of that kind might do for the State and for the people.
There is, then, the Beet Growers' Association, which some people seem to overlook. It has a membership of 30,000 beet growers and speaks for some thousands of grain growers. Most of the beet growers in the West of Ireland are small farmers. The average acreage is about one and a half per grower. It is a little more in other areas. I tell you that to illustrate the fact that the labour used is family labour; not paid labour. In the other areas, the acreage is a little bit greater but not much. Seventy-five per cent of the beet grown in this country is grown by family help. The difficulty with the beet growers is the question of price and not the setting up to guilds or organisations of any kind. The Beet Growers' Association have had considerable difficulty in getting a price to which they would be agreeable. Some experts seem to have advised the Government that sufficient acreage would be got at the price which is being offered. That advice was wrong and it has done considerable harm to the industry. There is a shrinkage of 12,000 acres in this year's beet crop and, unless the crop is a very bountiful one this season, it will be very difficult to get beet for 1939.
I am glad that the Taoiseach is here because we have not had an opportunity of telling him what the position is. The powers that be say that the man who lends his money is entitled to his due reward. They say that the factory worker is entitled to get what he gets. They say that the cost of sugar must not be increased to the public and that the State cannot give any further help. They say that, after full provision is made for depreciation and reserves, the beet grower can get the rest. The position is an anxious one for the beet grower who is anxious to get the industry going. He finds himself at the wrong end of the stick. We have been discussing the formation of guilds and several ways and means of getting a price that will induce the farmer to grow beet. We have in the current issue of the Beet Growers' Journal an article from a very distinguished churchman on the formation of guilds in connection with the Beet Growers' Association. That journal was sent to 30,000 or 35,000 growers and was read by them and their families. In that way, we have done a lot to educate public opinion about the formation of vocational bodies. A motion will be discussed at the annual meeting in connection with this matter and any member of this House who cares to go and listen to it will be provided with a seat in the distinguished strangers' gallery. Three factors, in my view, govern the sugar industry. One is the man who lends his money—in other words, the capitalist. I do not call him a capitalist because plenty of small men lent small sums for the setting up of the industry. Then, there is the factory worker and, then, the beet grower. A vocational body composed of these three factors would seem to be a desirable way of controlling the industry but the difficulty the beet grower has is that he will be coming in as the underdog. He regards the other people as being well away and he does not regard himself as being on the same plane. The only difficulty we have in connection with the setting up of that guild to control the sugar industry is the question of price. I hold that the beet grower is the backbone of the industry and that he should not play second fiddle to any of the other component parts.
The setting up of a commission may not be the right means of developing vocational organisation. I know the way the Dairy Shorthorn Breeders' Society was set up. It was got going by half a dozen people who put their backs into the work. If we had sufficient civic spirit, and if we had a little more national pride, there might not be any need of a commission to deal with vocational organisation. Vocational organisation is very desirable, but whether or not the setting up of a commission is the proper means of approaching it, I leave the House to judge.
Mr. Quirke Mr. Quirke
Mr. Quirke: I find myself largely in agreement with Senator Sir John Keane, so far as this motion is concerned, in so far as he says that too much stress was laid on the system of electing the Seanad. This question of a system of election for this House was under discussion for several months. During that time, very little in the way of suggestion that was of any use came from any quarter. As always happens, the best hurlers are on the ditch. If anybody can suggest a better method than the method which has been in operation up to now, I am sure the Government will be quite pleased. The present system is far from perfect, but I believe that it is the best system that could be found under existing conditions. I am not against the setting up of a commission, for the reason that I believe that the discussion of this motion will create a better atmosphere so far as the development of vocational organisation is concerned. With all due respect to the proposer and seconder, I think that the motion is not properly worded. I do not believe that vocational organisation can be developed by legislative means. I believe that it will have to be a natural growth. The atmosphere at present is more favourable to this purpose than it has ever been for the simple reason that vocational organisation should be the natural outcome of the activities of a native Government. As a result of this commission and as a result of the activities of some of the Senators who have been sent here by vocational bodies, that atmosphere will spread and, even within the next year or two years, even if we did nothing further about the matter, we should have considerable development in that direction.
I think that there was very little of value in the speeches made by the proposer and seconder of the motion. They rambled from the subject. I believe that a commission can do very little of itself to achieve our purpose, but that the setting up of a commission, combined with the discussion we have had, will induce people to talk about the matter. They will find that useful work has been done by some of the Senators sent here by various bodies and they will realise that it is up to them to organise themselves into groups and send men here who will look after their interests. At the same time, some of the men sent here would be well advised to keep away from politics. Political speeches in this House by men sent here by vocational bodies will have a tendency to prevent development of opinion in the direction which we seek.
Mr. Condon Mr. Condon
Mr. Condon: I consider this a most fascinating subject, particularly as we can all talk with extraordinary wisdom about it, seeing that few people know very much concerning it. So far, the speeches have been good. There was, certainly, a shock for all of us in the proposing of the motion. We are used to shocks in this House after the major shock of the dissolution of the Dáil, which meant that we, as a body, were about to be dissolved before we were familiar with the upholstery of the place. After that, we can get over any shocks. The seconder of the motion ought to have got a shock when he heard all that was said by the proposer as to what he considered the gravamen of the resolution. It seemed to me as if Senator MacDermot wanted the mountain to go into labour to produce a mouse—a new mouse. He was much distressed about the character of this House. Evidently, sensitive people, with high vocational qualifications, could not bring themselves to do the ordinary, vulgar things that have to be done to become members of this House. They could not be expected to go out in public and canvass or do anything like that.
If I am a member of the electoral college, I can see, and so can Senator MacDermot, circulars on my table every morning from some of these vocational experts, these people who were so busy and so remote from the people, so removed from the ordinary vulgarities of life. Anyone who receives these circulars will note how these very remote people can speak of their own exceptional qualifications and hold forth on the benefit it would be to the nation to have them elected to this Seanad. If Senator MacDermot had read some of these circulars he might, perhaps, change his mind. I tell the Senator that these people are not at all so remote from the ordinary vulgarities of life as has been suggested. I know they are very valuable people, but there is no doubt that if there is any possibility of their getting here by any means then they will get here. But these are the men that the Senator had in mind when he was speaking of a vocational Seanad. That is really what it means, the mountain in labour and it produced a very trifling thing.
Senator MacDermot's speech was very discursive. I think in that speech he dealt with all subjects. Indeed he omitted very few things. He did not touch on bimetallism nor on the breeds of poultry but he dealt with nearly every other subject one could think of. He touched on the Pope, and I was afraid for a time that he was going to take serious action with regard to His Holiness. However, in the end he was very nice to the Pope, and I am sure His Holiness will be very glad when he hears about it. We have been told that the Pope's Encyclicals have been very widely read, but that they had been misunderstood. Anyone who had not read these circulars and was not acquainted with what was in them would begin to think that they were such mysterious things that the ordinary man could not possibly understand them. Now the fact is that the Pope's Encyclicals were entirely inspired by concern for the people. They were written in such a way that even the common people could understand them —they were so immensely clear. In these Encyclicals the Pope said really necessary things, and he said them in a plain way. I have read them and I am familiar with them. There is nothing in them that an ordinary person could not understand.
When the first Encyclical was published over 40 years ago it received as much attention that time as if it had been written by me. Then the world had not broken the skin of the Dead Sea fruit. The world had not known the Great War. The world had not understood how wretched the organisation of society was and what terrible possibilities for evil lay in society as it then existed. As I say at that time the world had not broken the skin of the Dead Sea fruit, and this great Encyclical was almost wholly ignored. It required a further Encyclical from the present Pope, Pius XI, to draw further attention to it. He suggested that the vocational organisation of society might be remedied. He drew attention to some of the dreadful things that were about us. If one turns from the fashion parades in Grafton Street or George's Street, examines the position in the slums and inquires into the life that obtains there, he will understand something about the Pope's Encyclicals. The conditions are bad in our slums but they are a thousand times worse and more infamous in countries that are very much richer than ours. In some of those very rich countries people are born into conditions that are certain to ensure that they will be maimed in mind, body and morals for the rest of their lives. Hundreds and thousands and even millions are born into such conditions as these all the time while we have been preaching Christianity.
Senator MacDermot's concern seemed to be with getting ideal electors. I do not know where these ideal electors are to be got except down in the Kildare Street Club. But when we get these ideal electors the Labour Party will not exist any longer. That appears to me the big thing that he sees in this motion. The Labour Party and the Farmers' Party will disappear. I think that in itself would be a disaster. No matter what vocational conditions obtain human nature will not change. There will always be greed and avarice in the world. Once we had the Guild system. The Guilds became vicious, so that greed and avarice and other abuses grew up in them, and they needed correction. It may be just the same with this vocational organism that we hope to see established in the future.
I think it is absolutely necessary that society should organise itself on absolutely different lines from the present. Most of the people to-day are simply living under serf conditions or in slave conditions. The people who are depending on casual labour are in a slave condition. Let us consider the position of these people, and if we do we will find their position is really worse than that which existed under the old slave conditions. I remember it was a shock to us all when we read long ago that John Mitchel had taken the part of the Confederates in the American Civil War. In that Civil War John Mitchel was on the side of the South. He wanted to maintain the slavery system. Now, Mitchel was an enlightened man and a great lover of freedom, but he gave his reasons for the stand he took up on the American Civil War. He said:—
“Here you have a mass of black labour which at present represents so much chattels to the men who own it. These new people in the North who discovered that slavery is such a dreadful thing want the slave owner to free his slaves in order that they are to be thrown into an already over-crowded labour market where the slave will have no value except that when he is worn out he will be replaced by another man.”
John Mitchel's reasoning on that occasion was borne out subsequently by John Ruskin. In that matter John Mitchel showed himself a man of extraordinary vision.
To-day you have in the world much worse conditions than the slave conditions of the American negroes. Now, in this State of ours we have a wholly undeveloped country. In anything that we have to decide to do in the future it would be well that we should remember that the normal development of Ireland had been obstructed for centuries. As G.K. Chesterton described it, the whole trouble was that we had no government here. It was not a case of having a bad Government or a good Government. What we suffered from was really the determination of another people to annihilate and wipe out our people. That was their policy for centuries and that policy had had its reactions. In a hundred years our population had been reduced by something like 50 per cent. We have counties like Meath that I represent with a population of half what it was 50 years ago. Now that country is wholly undeveloped.
Every month one can read in one of the most useful publications published here in Ireland a series of articles showing the difference between the use we make of our land and the use that Belgium is making of its land. Belgium has something like 7,000,000 acres of land. It has over 1,000,000 holdings. We have 17,000,000 acres of land, that is 10,000,000 acres more than Belgium, and we have 230,000 holdings. We have one-quarter of the number of holdings and 10,000,000 acres more land. What is really happening in the country is that extremely little use is being made of our natural wealth. But we need not turn in an emergency way to vocationalism or anything else to remedy that. We have, I know, big leeway to make up. As I say we have prime land practically undeveloped. We are producing only one-quarter of the wheat which we require for our people. Yet we have something like 100,000 people unemployed and the people from the rural parts are crowding into the towns. We were told yesterday that the country workers are crowding into the towns. There is for that a very good reason and that is that the people who hold the land have no intention of employing labour on it. Their whole purpose seems to be something on the principle that obtained in the consolidation of farms, 80 or 100 years ago when village after village was wiped out and the land laid out in such a way that cattle could be turned on to it and need not be seen more than three times in the course of a year. That is the use that is being made of our land.
The first thing I would ask the National Government to deal with is to see that the whole land of Ireland be put to the service of the people; that the people should be put back on it and should be given a chance of living a normal life in the country places. We have no normal life in the country places. Take the education of our young people. Most of the young people go to the elementary schools until they are 14 years of age. Just then when they are in a position to learn something, when they are just trained in the technique of learning they are taken away from the schools. From that until the very end of their careers there is not a soul to bother about them. That is true of 99 per cent. of them. There is a shameful wastage of the best of material. This sort of thing is, in a large measure, the cause of the wrongness of mind of so many of these people. These unfortunate people develop on entirely wrong and wretched lines. They have wretched sources for their development. There are so many injurious papers and then there is the wireless business that is utterly unhelpful to these people. They are abandoned at the age of 14 to become ignorant slaves and certainly not getting much of an opportunity to live virtuous lives. That is a problem on which this nation should concentrate.
We have heard a lot about vocational education or technical education, Senator Tierney was alarmed for fear we should take his resolution as meaning technical education. Technical education was one of the things that were introduced into this country many years ago. Ninety per cent. of the people associated with it were shams. Such things as lace-making and sprigging were taught and things that were utterly wasteful. That was really of no service to the country and it touched only a very slight fraction of our people. It did not touch at all the people who leave our elementary schools at the age when they should be taken up by a Government and made into useful citizens. These young people were really abandoned; there is no doubt about that. I am interested in this proposal in one respect. We are said to be in need of a different Seanad from the one we have got. Now the one we have is an admirable one but I am sure it will be changed in a few weeks' time.
What we really want are correctives to the present organisation of society under which a big number of our people are simply committed or condemned to lives of shame, misery and suffering. There is no doubt about that. That is the horror the Pope foresaw when he suggested that correctives be applied 40 years ago. If the world had listened to him then things might have been different. Instead he was treated with contempt. Then the full horror came along; the masses of the people revolted and we have these terrible scenes which we hear of nowadays, these terrible conditions that obtain in Spain and Russia, which were brought about by popular revolt but which the originators of the revolt never foresaw. They started out with the idea of securing freedom for the people who had been ground to the dust. These horrors may possibly be in store for us in Ireland if we ignore our trust and our duty.
I certainly think that this subject should be examined in the fullest possible way, examined in every possible detail, to see if it is at all possible to spare our country from the horrors which other countries have suffered. We must remember that the masses of the people were ignored as dirt. There was absolutely no concern for them. In recent years some little concern has been shown. We have got down to the matter of the minimum wage for agricultural labourers but still we have people quarrelling about it. We have got down to the question of looking after widows and orphans and there are people quarrelling about that, describing it as an unspeakable burden. We have shown a little bit of humanity in our government but we have heaps of protests. Well, we have an example of the unspeakable horrors which have been brought about in other countries by the fact that the sufferings of the people were ignored. The fact that this reorganisation of society has been recommended by His Holiness should give us a lead, for His Holiness has centuries of wisdom, a tradition of wisdom, behind him in these matters, and his lightest word is worthy of consideration. I do not want to enter into the various considerations so singularly ably put forward by Professor Tierney but I think it will be generally agreed that we should have an exhaustive enquiry into the possibilities of the reorganisation of society along some other than the present system, under which the masses of the people are simply being exploited to the advantage of a few.
Professor Johnston Professor Johnston
Professor Johnston: I agree with the proposer of this resolution that the question of promoting vocational organisation in this country is quite separate from the question of the best method of constituting this Seanad. At the same time, I cannot help feeling that if the existing vocational bodies were given the right to elect, as well as the right to nominate to this House, nothing would contribute more effectively to the growth of vocational organisation in the country. I remember as an example of that, in connection with the recent elections to the Seanad, I heard for the first time of the existence of a body known as the Limerick Cottiers' Association. It was brought into existence not because it was given the right to elect, but because it was given the right to nominate to this body. I think on that analogy that when a smaller right than the right to elect, the right to nominate, produced such an effective result, the right to elect would produce even more effective results in inducing professional and other bodies to attempt vocational organisation. I think that a vocational body, if it had the right to elect, would be likely to use that right in a somewhat less partisan manner than is inevitable when the right to elect is given to an electoral college in which the elements of Party organisation are necessarily present. Mind you, I am not deprecating in any way the existence of Party organisation because I think Party action is a necessary adjunct to the machinery of democratic government. When you have a democratically-elected machine functioning you are bound to have Party organisation and a Party spirit and it is so necessary to the working of democratic government that I would not regard it as an evil. But everything reacts in accordance with its nature. There is an Irish proverb which says: “What can you expect from a pig but a grunt?” What can you expect from a democratic popular assembly, given the right to form an important part of the electoral college, but that when they come to elect Senators, they are bound to be influenced by Party considerations, and that they are not likely to choose precisely the same people as the vocational body itself would choose?
I think most people outside of this House would agree that it is desirable that the element of Party spirit, which is necessarily strong in the other House, should be kept as far as possible out of this House. In a democratic assembly the various sections of the community there represented engage in a struggle in which the interests commanding a majority, generally speaking, get their own way. If it so be that the interests which triumph are also the interest of the nation as a whole, it is well, but it is quite conceivable that the interests which triumph in that democratic assembly may not be exactly coincident with the interests of the nation as a whole. It is, therefore, desirable that there should be a corrective to that spirit, and I think no better idea for correcting that partisan spirit has been arrived at than the idea of developing the vocational spirit which, as I say, is quite separate and distinct from the partisan spirit.
The object of vocational representation is not that the people represented should further their special interests or should attempt to get away with anything which is in their sectional interest and is not in the interests of the nation as a whole. The object is that they should contribute their specialised knowledge to the deliberations of the Seanad; that they should seek, as far as possible, to enlighten public opinion and the Oireachtas as a whole, as regards the lines along which national interests must be pursued as against interests which are clearly partisan. I have nothing but admiration for the personal relationships which exist between us in this part of the House and you on the other sides of the House, but, at the same time, I cannot help wishing that the Party spirit was rather less evident. Occasionally it breaks out, although we may strive to restrain it. If the Party spirit were rather less evident, and the vocational spirit rather more evident, then the general tone of this assembly would be improved. Sir, I do not want to appear to be reading a lecture, but I do want to urge that we should consider the question of attempting vocational organisation, and, at the same time, not lose sight of the possibility of improving the general lines along which this House is at present constituted.
Mr. Hughes Mr. Hughes
Mr. Hughes: I am not inclined to oppose the setting up of this commission, but I must say that I am not of opinion that there is any practical solution for this great problem of vocational organisation. Senator Douglas, to my mind, got very near to the kernel of the situation when he said that it was not possible to get away from political questions in public life. References have been made to trade unions and to their place in vocational organisation. Trade unionism was founded for a certain purpose, and it did achieve a large amount of good. It has, as some people are inclined to put it, taken the workers up off their knees, but is it not strange to find that, as it developed and as time went on, quite a small number of people could use the organisation, formed for the purpose for which it was, for purely political purposes? I am saying that because I believe that it is absolutely true. Other organisations formed for other purposes will undoubtedly be used in the same way under present circumstances in this country, because we cannot at this stage get away from political matters. Perhaps, in some years to come, in ten or 20 years' time, we shall have reached a stage when a practical solution can be found. As I say, I am not opposing the setting up of a commission, but I believe that such a commission would find itself up against difficulties and snags, and that it will have to realise the difficulty of developing vocational organisations here to any great purpose.
If, in this country, the people as a whole, had a similar attitude to national questions as the people in other countries, England, for example, if we had the whole people here giving unswerving loyalty to their own country, that loyalty which supersedes every other consideration, then I would say that it would be quite an easy matter to find a solution of this problem and to have vocational organisation in a real, practical way but I say that you have not the whole of our people giving that unswerving loyalty and devotion to their country which is necessary for that purpose. Senator Johnston mentioned that there was a possibility that vocational bodies might be less partisan. I should like to think that that were possible but I am afraid for the reason that I have stated that it is not possible. When we reach the stage where loyalty to the country will be the first consideration, then we will be nearer to the period when the people who are interested in this subject will realise their ambitions. I do not wish to oppose the motion. I should be glad to see this commission working although I have not very great hopes for success in that direction at the present time.
Mrs. MacWhinney Mrs. MacWhinney
Mrs. MacWhinney: This motion I feel is not happily worded. I think it would be more acceptable if it suggested that the Act as it now exists might be examined with the object of including amongst the nominating bodies vocational bodies which have not the right to nominate now. I am thinking of one or two vocational bodies that have been in existence for a very long time. For example, there is the nursing council which was established in 1919. It is a statutory body, and I think that it is, without exception, the best organised vocational body in Ireland to-day. Yet, for some reason it has not the right to nominate. It has a membership of 16,000. From the moment that a nurse starts her training to the day she leaves it, she is under the supervision of that vocational body. Her examinations, her registration and everything is looked after. We have a body like that with no right to nominate. Against that you have a veterinary vocational body with the right to nominate. It seems strange to me, at any rate, that the people who look after the animals of the country are regarded as being more important than the people who look after human beings.
You have other bodies, in which I am interested that have not the right to nominate. You have the Amalgamated Society of Social Services. This society of women is representative of quite a big number of social service bodies. They have not the right to nominate. Against that you have the Mount Street Club which has the right to nominate.
Listening to all the speeches that were made on this motion my only regret is that some of them were not broadcast so that we could have them discussed afterwards. If the speakers had written out their speeches and issued them in advance, I think I would have enjoyed them more than I did listening to them. If the commission which it is suggested should be appointed were given power to include in the scope of its inquiries the vocational bodies that should have the right to nominate, then I think we might get a Seanad more representative of the vocational bodies of the country than the one we have at the moment.
Cathaoirleach: Senator MacDermot to conclude.
Mr. MacDermot Mr. MacDermot
Mr. MacDermot: I should like first to express my gratification that the Taoiseach is prepared to accept this motion and to consider the appointment of a commission. Senator Hayes inquired what kind of a commission was contemplated. As far as I am concerned, I have already said that I would like to see the commission a small one, and to see it very largely composed of enthusiasts for the vocational idea. As the Taoiseach said, nothing that such a commission suggests commits us in any way, but the people who have gone most deeply into the subject are the people, I think, on whom the burden should be in the main laid to suggest a practical application of their ideas. I think there are several distinguished men in this country, several of them clerics, such as Father Coyne, the well-known Jesuit, who have written on the matter with great ability and thought on it very deeply. I would put such men on the commission. I would appoint with them a good lawyer and a good practical business man, and a man or woman familiar with labour conditions and perhaps someone else who is more of a general politician. Thus you would have four men who are not experts on this particular subject who would address their minds to it from a practical point of view, and with them you would have perhaps six or seven men who have thought on it very deeply, who are enthusiasts about it and wish to see their ideas applied. This is going to give them the opportunity of putting their ideas into practice.
Senator Condon has accused me of having rambled over too wide a field in the speech in which I introduced the motion. Looking back over it, I find that it is not a very long speech though it may have seemed so to the unhappy Senators listening to me. I occupied less than half an hour in speaking, and I personally cannot find one single irrelevant word in the speech. Of course, it may be considered that I devoted too large a proportion of it to the effect of this vocational idea on the Seanad. That is a matter on which we can afford to differ, but, as I have said, I cannot find anything irrelevant in it. I had to listen to Senator Condon discuss negro slavery in America, the blighting effect of British rule in this country, our present land system and the need for a drastic reform of it, and finally, the necessity for completely changing our educational system. Listening to him, I began to wonder what exactly is the standard of relevance that Senator Condon is in the habit of applying.
The same Senator took me to task for having suggested that Papal Encyclicals receive a good deal more praise in this country than they do serious consideration, and for having ventured the opinion that rather more might have been done than has been done to give them practical effect. I am unable to see how anybody can seriously contest a word advanced on that subject. There has been immense praise for the ideas in these encyclicals, and abuse of other countries—France, England and Europe in general—for not having taken sufficient notice of them. I ask what notice have we taken of them here in Ireland except to praise them, and even to-day I find Senators, a good many of them, lukewarm about the mere proposition to set up a commission to examine the possibility of giving them any practical effect. Surely that is the very least we ought to do if we mean a word of our praise of Papal Encyclicals or of our condemnation of the world as a whole for not paying sufficient notice to them. Perhaps some Senators take the view that there is nothing in these matters that can be done by Government action; that these vocational bodies must grow up spontaneously from the soil or not come into being at all. I can see no reason for taking that view. I certainly do not think that the Government can force them on the country like a straight jacket, but I do think that the Government can do something perhaps by legislation, perhaps by administrative action, or perhaps by encouragement and propaganda.
As I pointed out, in our original Constitution 16 years ago, we went to the trouble of putting in a provision saying that the Oireachtas may set up vocational councils representing branches of the social and economic life of the nation, and that possibly some powers of the Parliament might be delegated to such councils. Again, we went to the trouble in our present Constitution of repeating that almost verbatim. If there is any sense at all in putting such things into our Constitution surely it is time that we gave them some sort of sequel such as is now suggested by Senator Tierney and myself by setting up this commission to examine the subject. Surely there is nothing extravagent or visionary in such a proposal. It is not a proposal that should have been listened to with the scepticism, if not hostility, with which it apparently has been listened to by some Senators.
As regards the bearing of this Motion on the question of the Seanad, I quite agree that the composition of the Seanad is, in a sense, a separate subject, and that the composition of the Seanad, if it needs to be dealt with by legislation, could be dealt with without any such Commission as this being set up; and possibly it may be so dealt with even during the course of this Commission's sitting. I venture to draw attention once again to Article 19 of our new Constitution, that Article that many Senators seem to overlook. It says:—
Provision may be made by law for the direct election by any functional or vocational group or association or council of so many members of Seanad Eireann as may be fixed by such law in substitution for an equal number of the members to be elected from the corresponding panels of candidates constituted under Article 18 of this Constitution.
Now, that is in our Constitution, and what is the sense of suggesting that it is some sort of a plot emanating from the Kildare Street Club, as I think Senator Condon indicated, to propose that something should be done about that? Some of the Fianna Fáil Senator do not seem to be familiar at all with the policy of their own Party. They do not seem to realise that the Minority Report of the Second Chamber Commission, which recommended the adoption of this idea, was accepted in principle by the Fianna Fail Government. I have no desire to do more than to contribute what I can to the making of the Fianna Fail policy a reality, and to bring it more perfectly into effect in these matters than it has yet been brought into effect. Obviously, if a Commission is set up to consider the question of extending the Vocational Organisations, that will have a bearing on the Article in the Constitution which says that in the future such Vocational Organisations may be given the right or direct representation.
I said frankly enough that perhaps may principal interest in this motion was to lay a firm foundation for a vocational Seanad. I also agreed that it had wider aspects, and apparently I said more about those wider aspects than some Senators seem to like; but to those who are enthusiastic about those wider aspects, and who rather deprecate any talk of the bearing of this motion on the constitution of the Seanad, I would say that surely they ought to think it a great help for one to go even a little way on the right road with them and to show a desire to tread that road. There is room for difference of opinion as to how far it will turn out practicable here in democratic Ireland for Parliament to delegate powers of more or less legisative character to Vocational bodies. There is room for great difference of opinion about that, and I personally have an open mind about it. I do not know whether we can succeed in making this complete re-organisation of society that Senator Tierney, for instance, has in mind.
But, whatever view we take about that, whether we are optimistic or pessimistic about it, at any rate it ought to be regarded as helpful to go a little way along the road and it will not take any very extraordinary or enormous development of the vocational idea to provide a firm foundation for a vocational Seanad. If we get as far as that, then we can consider going still further and giving larger powers to vocational bodies. As Senator Johnson said, the mere fact of giving direct representation to such bodies would certainly have a tendency to encourage them to come into being and would also, I think, have a tendency to get rid of some of the undesirable duplication that exists in certain departments of our life, because, as I said the other day, while there are branches of the national life where no vocational bodies exist, there are some others where too many exist and where the difficulty would be to reconcile their conflicting claims to send representatives here to the Seanad.
I do not want to go into the question of how far the present system of electing the Seanad is satisfactory or not. I said a certain amount on it the other day but I would like to stress the point that I did not use the word “vulgarity” in connection with that as I think Senator Conway rather implied that I had. I did say that some men of the vocational type were not suited to electoral campaigns, and I do not think anybody can deny that that stands not only for electoral campaigns on public platforms but for electoral campaigns in the corridors of Leinster House. I do not think that the present Seanad Electoral Act is a good Act; I had not an opportunity of taking part in the discussions on it because I did not happen to be a member of the Legislature when it was under consideration; but I do not think it is a good Act and I think that there are dangers inherent in it which might become in the future very formidable.
I think that anyone who reflects for a little bit on what could take place will say that it opens the door to corruption. It would be quite possible for unscrupulous men to get themselves elected by bribery when it is only a question, say, of needing to purchase half-a-dozen votes to enter the House. I am, however, far from saying that such a thing would be conceivable at the present moment, but I do think that we ought not to rest content with a system that makes corruption easy and that is one of the objections to the present system. I will say no more about the Seanad.
I submit that the ideas which are referred to in this motion are of such fundamental and world-wide importance that we have been guilty of neglect of duty in not having done more about them. The excuse can be offered that we have been occupied with other matters very vital to this country, and that one has not got time to think of everything and do everything; but now that some of the burning topics have been put out of the way, and that, pacé Senator Hughes, we are, throughout the country united in our loyalty to the State, I feel that the time has come when we ought to turn our hands to seeing what can be done to carry out these ideas or put them, at any rate, to the test.
Question put and agreed to.
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Larry Kim, Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Larry Kim founded WordStream in 2007. He bootstrapped the company by providing internet consulting services while funding/managing a team of engineers and marketers to develop and sell software for search engine marketing automation. In August of 2008 he secured a 4M Series A investment from Sigma Partners.
Today he serves as company CTO and is a contributor to both the product team and marketing teams. Larry practices photography in his spare time.
Larry's background has been in software engineering, software product management, and Internet Marketing (particularly PPC, SEO and Social Media Marketing), for several widely-used software productivity tools over 10 years. Larry's prior roles include:
- Director of Marketing, DataDirect Technologies.
- Director of Marketing, Altova.
- Various Software Engineering & Search Engine Marketing Consulting Jobs
Additionally, Larry is the author of 4 Award-Winning Books on Software Development, and a blogger for the SEOmoz blog, the Wordstream Blog, Search Engine Journal, Marketing Profs, Search Engine Watch, Small Biz Trends, Search Engine Land, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Online Marketing Institute, and dozens of other business, technology, and internet marketing publications.
Larry received a B.Sc. Electrical Engineering (Honors) from the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Canada.
Larry is a frequent speaker at search marketing industry conferences including the following recent and upcoming events.
- May 15, 2013 - Interactivity Digital
- April 8, 2013 - PPC Hero Conference
- March 11, 2013 - SMX West 2013 Search Marketing Expo
- December 8, 2012 - Media Post Search Insider Summit
Search Marketing Thought Leadership
Larry writes frequently about Paid Search, Organic Search, Social Media Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Software Development topics. The following is a partial list of interviews and articles that Larry has worked on.
MemeBurn (May 22, 2013) - Undervalued Display Ads, mobile; How Tumblr Will Earn Yahoo Billions
Interactivity Digital (May 21, 2013) - 25 Quotables from #ID2013 Conference
The Wall St. Journal (May 21, 2013) - Tumblr’s $1.1 billion sale to Yahoo
Search Engine Land (May 20, 2013) - Try Your Luck at Winning the AdWords Jackpot
Unbounce (May 10, 2013) - 10 Quality Posts That Will Help Boost Your PPC Quality Score
Storecoach (May 10, 2013) - Coach’s SEO Highlight Reel
Jeff Jordan's Blog (May 9, 2013) - Godzilla vs. Mothra, The Sequel
Search Engine Land (May 8, 2013) - How To Use the New Keyword Planner
The Wall St. Journal (May 6, 2013) - The Search For Mesothelioma Clients Intensifies on Web
Small Business Trends (May 1, 2013) - The Top Secret Way to Save 50% on AdWords
Hodges & Company (April 27, 2013) - What You Should Know About Quality Score
Clarity Ventures (April 26. 2013) - Google AdWords Copywriting - Every Word is Important
Search Engine Journal (April 25, 2013) - The Importance of Quality Score in 2013
MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog (April 22, 2013) - The Poorly Run AdWords Account: An eBay Case Study
Portent (April 9, 2013) - Better Quality Score = Better Results?
TheDrum (April 4, 2013) - As six EU countries target Google over its data policy - should Google be nervous?
Marketing Magazine UK (March 26, 2013) - eBay Paid Search Fails to Hit the Mark
Social Media Today (March 26, 2013) - How Does Google Make Money From Mobile
SEOmoz (March 26, 2013) - 5 Mobile SEO Tips from the Google AdWords Team
eCommerce Times (March 25, 2013) - Marin Software Rocks Wall St.
MediaPost (March 25, 2013) - Combining Real-Life Events With Search Marketing Without Ruining Quality Scores
Rimm-Kaufman Group (March 22, 2013) - What eBay’s Test Results Teach Us
Quartz (March 20, 2013) - Are search ads a waste of money? Why eBay’s controversial study doesn’t matter that much
Koozai (March 20, 2013) - Over 100 Game Changing PPC Strategies From 12 Experts
Small Biz Trends (March 19, 2013) - 5 Lessons You Can Learn from eBay’s AdWords Disaster
Seer Interactive (March 18, 2013) - Looking for a Good Response to eBay’s Paid Search Opinions?
Search Engine Journal (March 16, 2013) - Grading Google’s Top 20 Mobile Products
Search Engine Journal (March 15, 2013) - How Not to Run a PPC Campaign, Inspired by eBay’s AdWords #Fail
ECommerce Bytes (March 15, 2013) - Google Defends Ad Program in Response to eBay Report
AdExchanger (March 15, 2013) - AdBlock Blocked; More Mozilla Cookies
Search Engine Roundtable (March 14, 2013) - Clearly eBay Needs New AdWords Specialists
Search Engine Land (March 14, 2013) - AdWords “Ineffective” Says eBay, Google “Meta-Pause Analysis” Contradicts Findings
Adotas (March 13, 2013) - Google Shopping Goes Mobile
Bloomberg (March 11, 2013) - Google Benefits as Priceline Outspends Expedia on Web Ads: Tech
The Big Picture (March 11, 2013) - Google's Mobile Business
Web Analytics World (March 11, 2013) - How does mobile make Google money?
Small Biz Trends (March 12, 2013) - Time For Small Businesses to Take Mobile Seriously
State of Search (March 12, 2013) - How Google Makes its Mobile Money
Marketing Profs (March 9, 2013) - Google's Top 20 Mobile Products (and How It Monetizes Them)
PPC Hero (March 8, 2013) - Infographic: How Google Makes Money From Mobile
ValueWalk (March 8, 2013) - How Google Inc. (GOOG) Monetizes Mobile
Business Insider (March 8, 2013) - iOS Dominates Android Among Airline Passengers
Search Marketing Standard (March 8, 2013) - Five For Friday
B&T (March 7, 2013) - Google Gets Serious About Mobile
Search Engine Land (March 7, 2013) - Google’s Mobile World, From Ads To Apps To Android
Inc. Magazine (March 6, 2013) - Google's 10 Best Mobile Apps
MemeBurn (March 6, 2013) - Check Out How Google Makes Money From Mobile
The Inquisitr (March 6, 2013) - Google Mobile And The Money Machine: How Search And Platform Development Earns Billions
MediaPost (March 6, 2013) - Mapping Google's Apps, How They Make Money
Kelsey Group (March 6, 2013) - Unpacking Google's Mobile Ad Options
Adotas (March 6, 2013) - How Google Makes Money from Mobile
VentureBeat (March 6, 2013) - The 20 Ways Google Makes Money from Mobile
IntoMobile (March 6, 2013) - Infographic: How Google Monetizes off of Mobile
TheDrum (March 6, 2013) - Google’s mobile profit streams charted
Everything PR (March 6, 2012) - How Google “Won’t” Be Killed Off by Mobile Search
Marketing Pilgrim (March 6, 2012) - Infographic Gives Google’s Mobile Push High Marks
Search Engine Land (March 4, 2013) - How Adwords Enhanced Campaigns Can Be Used To Promote Your Mobile App
WebProNews (March 1, 2012) - Google Launches New Mobile App Download Ad Format
MediaPost (Mar. 1, 2012) - Google's Motorola Hires Former Apple Exec Kawasaki
Search Engine Journal (Mar. 1, 2012) - Are Search Engine Marketers Warming Up to Enhanced Campaigns
Search Engine Land (Feb. 28, 2012) - The Real Reason Why Google Is Dropping The Tablet vs. Desktop Distinction
Small Biz Trends (Feb. 28, 2012) - 5 Surprising Mobile Search Statistics and Facts
Online Marketing Institute (Feb 26, 2012) - How to Use the New Google Offer Extensions in AdWords
Small Biz Trends (Feb, 25, 2012) - Are Google AdWords Offer Extensions Right for Small Businesses?
Web Pro News (Feb. 22, 2013) - The Latest In Google’s Plot Against Groupon
MediaPost (Feb. 22, 2013) - AdWords Enhances Campaigns: Teams Coupons, Search Ads
Search Engine Watch (Feb. 22, 2013) - 3 Essential Mobile Ad Extensions to Get More Clicks from Mobile Devices
Memeburn (Feb. 22, 2013) - Adwords Offer Extensions Google’s plan to kill Groupon
TheDrum (Feb. 22, 2013) - Google integrates Daily Deal offer into AdWords in bid to kill Groupon
Business Insider (Feb. 22, 2013) - Google Is Making Moves To Seriously Disrupt Groupon
Search Engine Land (Feb. 22, 2013): Google Quietly Rolls Out New Offer Extensions in AdWords
Dow Jones Newswire (Feb. 21, 2013) - Google Showing More Deal Offers Inside Search Ads
VentureBeat (Feb. 21, 2013) - Google’s Offer Extensions rolling out within a week, integrating deals with search
Portent (Feb. 20, 2013) - AdWords Enhanced Campaigns – PPC Hangout
Inc Magazine (Feb. 15, 2013) - Reality Check: 5 Entrepreneurial Myths Busted
PPC Hero (Feb. 14, 2012): Are Enhanced Campaigns Going to Ruin Your PPC Accounts?
Performance Marketing Insider (Feb. 13, 2013) - Google Finds a Fix for Mobile CPC Dilemma with Enhanced Campaigns
Forbes (Feb 12, 2013) - Google: How They Just Fixed Their Mobile CPC Problem
aimClear Blog (Feb 11, 2013) - 25 SRSLY Clutch Google AdWords Enhanced Campaign #PPC Blog Posts
Search Engine Land (Feb. 11, 2013) - Making The Case In Favor Of Enhanced Campaigns
Boston Globe (Feb. 11, 2013) - 5 steps to paid search marketing success
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BusinessInsider (Feb. 8, 2013) - Here's The Real Reason Google Changed Its Mobile Search Rules
VentureBeat (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google announces ‘biggest change to AdWords in 5 years:’ mobile is now baked in
ClickZ (Feb. 8, 2013) - PPC Pro - You're Being Replaced
Wired Magazine (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google Upgrade Is a Tidal Wave for Advertisers
PC World (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google rolling out AdWords management for multiple devices
Search Engine Watch (Feb. 8, 2013) - AdWords Enhanced Mobile Campaigns: 5 Things PPC Marketers Need to Know
InformationWeek (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google Updates AdWords For Mobile Era
WebProNews (Feb. 8, 2013) - What Google’s Enhanced Campaigns Mean For Small Businesses
TGDaily (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google courts mobile campaigns with AdWords changes
ComputerWorld (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google rolls out AdWords management for multiple devices
International Business Times (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google Devises New Mobile Click Ad Concept For Itself As Well As Yahoo
InsiderMonkey (Feb. 8, 2013) - A Google Inc (GOOG) Change that is Going Unnoticed
Ecommerce Times (Feb. 8, 2013) - Yahoo, Google Buddy Up for Display-Ad Deal
ITWorld (Feb. 8, 2013) - Google plans to upgrade all AdWords campaigns in mid-2013
Search Engine Journal (Feb. 7, 2013) - Google Announces Big Changes to Mobile Campaign Management
Forbes (Feb. 7, 2013) - In Big Shift, Google Aims To Boost Mobile Ad Campaigns - And Its Own Revenues
Small Biz Trends (Feb. 7, 2013) - New AdWords Enhanced Campaigns: 5 Things Small Businesses Need to Know
Business Insider (Feb. 7, 2013) - Google Just Blasted Away The Wall Between Desktop And Mobile Ads
Search Engine Land (Feb. 7, 2013) - The Big AdWords Update: Enhanced Campaigns Puts The Focus On Mobile
Marketing Profs (Feb. 7, 2013) - Mobile Search Advertising Just Got Way Easier: AdWords Enhanced Campaigns
Washington Post (Feb. 7, 2013) - Google’s changes to mobile advertising could fix company’s major problem
Wall St. Journal (Feb. 7, 2013) - Google Acts to Raise Mobile-Ad Prices
MediaPost (Feb. 7, 2013) - New Google Tool Combines Desktop, Mobile Ads
Adotas (Feb. 7, 2013) - Today’s Burning Question: Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns
GoMoNews (Feb. 7, 2013) - WordStream comments on Google’s new Enhanced Campaigns
Smart Company (Feb. 7, 2013) - Changes to Google AdWords "a big win" for small business
Screenwerk (Feb. 7, 2013) - Google Responds to Rise of Multiscreenwelt with AdWords Campaign Enhancements
Search Engine Land (Feb. 5, 2013) - Live @SMX West: Forget What You Know About Paid Search
Marketing Profs (Feb 1, 2013) - Four Seasonal Keyword Research Tips
Search Engine Journal (Feb 1, 2013) - Buffalo Chicken Dip Wins the Search Engine Super Bowl by a Landslide!
Business Software (Jan 28, 2013) - WordStream Helps You Breathe New Life into Your Search Marketing
MediaPost (Jan. 28, 2013) - BlackRock Sinks $80 Million Into Twitter
Bank of America Small Business (Jan 24, 2013) - E-commerce Best Practices: How to Maximize Online Sales
Business Insider (Jan 23, 2013) - 5 Ad Execs Tell Us What They Really Think Of Facebook's Graph Search
eCommerce Times (Jan. 23, 2013) - Google Posts Gangbuster Growth in Q4
TheDrum (Jan 23, 2013) - Despite first $50bn year, Google sees ad revenue growth slow during Q4
MemeBurn (Jan 23, 2013) - Google Q4 results completely crush analyst expectations
MediaPost (Jan. 18, 2013) - Online Landscape: Marketers Should Watch Google, Macro Trends
USA Today (Jan. 16, 2013) - Facebook's Graph Search is in search of ads
Fox Business (Jan 16, 2013) - Will Graph Search Actually Help Facebook?
The Guardian (Jan. 16, 2013) - Facebook Graph Search: how the industry rates it
The Drum (Jan 16, 2013) - Reaction to Facebook's Graph Search announcement - what does it mean for Facebook?
Marketing Charts (Jan 16, 2013) - 1% of US Google Advertisers Generate 80% of Clicks; Study Methodology Questioned
Adotas (Jan. 16, 2013) - Reaction to Facebook’s New Search Feature
CiteWorld (Jan. 15, 2013) - How Facebook's new search tool could also help businesses
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Boston Business Journal (Jan. 8, 2013) - Fast-growing WordStream aims to make SMBs shine on Google ads
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MediaPost (Dec. 28, 2012) - 2013 Predictions From Online Ad, Marketing Experts
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TopRank Blog (Dec. 12, 2012) - B2B Lead Gen & Social Media Marketing Wins with Sequenced Content
Daily Titan (Dec. 5, 2012) - Bieber Lost Top Spot to Psy
American Banker (Dec. 1, 2012) - Pouring Money Into Google Ads
Search Engine Journal (Nov. 30, 2012) - Top 10 SEO Blockbusters on Twitter this November
PPC Hero (Nov. 29, 2012) - The 8 Metrics That Matter For PPC
AdAge (Nov. 28, 2012) - 'Gangnam' Close to Billion Views; China Takes Down Artist Ai Weiwei's Version
Social Media Today (Nov. 28, 2012) - The Top 22 Viral Marketing Tactics You Need in 2013
Horse Talk (Nov. 26, 2012) - Psy’s horse dance video days away from 1 billion mark
Fast Company (Nov. 26, 2012) - Oppa! South Korean Rapper Psy's Gangnam Style Ousts Justin Bieber's Baby
PopCrush (Nov. 26, 2012) - Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ Video Breaks Justin Bieber’s YouTube Record
TechSpot (Nov 26, 2012) - Psy's 'Gangnam Style' video sets multiple records on YouTube
Zap2It (Nov. 25, 2012) - 'Gangnam Style': Psy breaks Justin Bieber's record for most watched YouTube video in history
CNET (Nov. 24, 2012) - 'Gangnam Style' slays Bieber, becomes most-watched vid
memeburn (Nov 24, 2012) - Gangnam Style overtakes Bieber, is most watched video in YouTube history
Business Insider (Nov. 24, 2012) - Should Advertisers Be Angry When Facebook Sells Their Fans To The Competition?
Search Engine Journal (Nov. 24, 2012) - Social Magic: How Psy’s Gangnam Style Beat Justin Bieber on YouTube
Forbes (Nov. 24, 2012) - PSY's Gangam Style Tops Bieber's Baby To Become Most Viewed YouTube Video Ever
Film Industry Network (Nov. 24, 2012) - World record: PSY Gangnam style is the biggest music video ever
memeburn (Nov. 15, 2012) - How Google Made Their Ad Money
MediaPost (Nov. 14, 2012) - A View of Clicks and Conversions
Top Rank Blog (Nov. 9, 2012) - Online Marketing News: The Google Economy, Google Moving Search Options
Inc. Magazine (Nov 7, 2012) - How Google's Page Redesign Could Affect Your Business
WebProNews (Nov 8, 2012) - Google Changes Up The Search Results Page
Internet Retailer (Nov. 7, 2012) - Google redesigns its search engine results pages
MediaPost (Nov 7, 2012) - Analyzing Google's Search Results Page Changes
Washington Post (Nov 6, 2012) - Can search results, online advertising, likes and follows predict an election?
Search Engine Watch (Nov 6, 2012) - Google, Bing & Yahoo Tracking the 2012 Presidential Election Results
Search Engine Land (Nov. 6, 2012) - Can Search Queries And Social Data Predict The Presidential Election Outcome?
The Guardian UK (Nov. 5, 2012) - Does Google really need news media content?
MediaPost (Nov 5, 2012) - Will Search, Online Sentiment Predict Obama's Reelection?
Marketing Profs (Nov. 2, 2012) - The Google AdWords Economy: CPCs, CTRs, Ad Impressions, Conversion Rates
State of Search (Nov. 2, 2012) - Where Does Google’s 100 Million $ Per Day Come From?
Hotel Marketing (Nov. 2, 2012) - Google AdWords in Travel: High CTR but Lower Conversions
Search Engine Land (Nov. 1, 2012) - Data: Only 5 Percent Of Search Advertisers Follow Mobile Best Practices|
Unbounce (Nov 1, 2012) - 24 Hours in the Google Economy – 2012 Stats
Hubspot (Nov. 1, 2012) - An Industry Breakdown of Google's $100 Million Per Day Advertising Revenue
SEOmoz (Nov 1, 2012) - 5 Killer SEO Insights from Analyzing a Billion Dollars in AdWords Spend
Travel News (Nov. 1, 2012) - Google AdWords gets stronger, but travel keywords struggle with conversion
CMSWire (Nov. 1, 2012) - Google's AdWords Bringing in $100 Million Per Day
ValueWalk (Nov. 1, 2012) - Silver Lining In Google’s “Disappointing” Q3 Earnings Numbers
Mashable (Oct. 31, 2012) - University of Phoenix, Ask.com Are Google’s Biggest Advertisers [STUDY]
Huffington Post (Oct. 31, 2012) - University Of Phoenix Is Google's Biggest Advertiser [Report]
Smart Company (Oct. 31, 2012) - Businesses Paying Less for Search Marketing
MediaPost (Oct 30, 2012) - How To Determine A 'Good' Google Conversion Rate
Business Insider (Oct. 30, 2012) - These Are Google's Biggest Advertisers, Ranked By Dollars Spent Daily
Daily Mail UK (Oct. 30, 2012) - Revealed: Google's biggest advertiser is the University of Phoenix
Beyond PR - Official PR Newswire Blog (Oct. 29, 2012) - Content Marketing Case Study: It Sure Looks Like PR to Me
Search Engine Watch (Oct. 26, 2012) - How Google Rakes In Over $100 Million in Search Advertising Daily [Infographic]
Bryan Eisenberg Blog (Oct. 26, 2012) - Google Adwords Conversion Rates by Industry
Wired Magazine (Oct 25, 2012) - How Google Still Makes Billions From Tiny Text Ads
VentureBeat (Oct 25, 2012) - How Google makes $100 million a day
VentureBeat (Oct. 25, 2012) - 30 billion times a day, Google runs an ad (13 million times, it works)
Search Engine Land (Oct. 25, 2012) - Google Bringing In More Than $100 Million Per Day Via AdWords
Web Pro News (Oct 25, 2012) - Google Ads Earning Over $100 Million Per Day
Web Analytics World (Oct. 26, 2012) - Reducing Adwords Costs
Biz Report (Oct. 26, 2012) - Google's disappointing Q3 Earnings Good News for Advertisers
Advertisement Journal (Oct. 26, 2012) - Google Runs Ads 30 Billion Times Per Day
SEOmoz (Oct 22, 2012) - How I Got a Link from the Wall St. Journal
Forbes (Oct. 15, 2012) - 100 Founders Share Their Top "Aha" Moments
AdWeek (Aug 6, 2012) - Beyond Words - Public Relations Embraces Visual Storytelling
Wow Internet Blog (Sept. 26. 2012) - Improving Your Keyword Analysis With WordStream
SEOmoz (Sept 26, 2012) - Using AdWords Data for SEO: Unlocking the Ultimate Keyword Research Treasure Trove (Arrrgh!!)
CIO (Sept. 11, 2012) - 15 LinkedIn Tips to Improve Your Job Search
100k Blueprint (Aug. 26, 2012) - The Death of SEO
Shopatron (Aug. 23, 2012) - What You Can Expect from Google’s New Shopping Changes
PPC Hero (Aug. 23, 2012) - Two Tips to Make the Most of Google’s Latest Results Page Change
Interactivity Marketing (Aug. 21, 2012) - Google Decreases 1st Page Organic Results
Social Marketing Forum (Aug. 18, 2012) - Display Advertising on Facebook versus Google: Who Wins?
MediaPost (Aug. 16, 2012) - SEOmoz Acquires Twitter Tool, Confirms Social-Search Alliance
Koozai Blog (Aug. 15, 2012) - PPC Click Rate Study – How Click Rate Deteriorates Depending on Ranking
The Small Business Authority (Aug. 14, 2012) - An Adwords Performance Grader for Small Business
Forbes (Aug. 14, 2012) - How to Improve Your Online Advertising Campaign
Online Marketing Institute (Aug 13, 2012) - The Future of Search: 10 Questions with Larry Kim of Wordstream
SEO Theory (Aug. 13, 2012) - How Realistic and Successful is Low Maintenance, Long-term SEO?
TechWyse Inernet Marketing Blog (Aug. 10, 2012) - Which Content Network is Better, Google or Bing?
American Express Open Forum (Aug. 6. 2012) - 5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Online Advertising
Rocky Mountain Search Academy (Aug. 6, 2012) - The War Between Organic and Paid Search
Business Insider (Aug. 6, 2012) - Facebook vs. Google Ad Platform Battle
SalesChase Blog (Aug. 5, 2012) - Why Pay-Per-Click Ads Make Marketing Sense for High Commercial Intent Keywords
SEOmoz (Aug. 3, 2012) - Does SEO Even Work for Small Businesses?
Ghost Blog Writers (Aug. 2, 2012) - Paid Clicks Top Free Clicks for Commercial Keywords
Kairay Media Adwars (Aug. 2, 2012) - Google vs. Facebook!
PPC Associates Blog (Aug. 1, 2012) - is Google Your Biggest Competitor?
Inc. Magazine (Aug 1, 2012) - Can God Call You to Start a Business?
iStudio (Aug. 1, 2012) - Is there a War on Free Clicks?
Bristol SEO - (July 31, 2012) - WordStream Interview; Larry Kim Shares Highlights
Unbounce (July 30, 2012) - Paid Google Ads Punch Organic Search in the Face
TrendHunter (July 27, 2012) - The 'War On Free Clicks' Reveals Hidden Secrets to Traffic
GetBusy Media (July 26, 2012) - Organic vs Paid Traffic Explored
KISSmetrics (July 26, 2012) - The Inexpensive Marketing Plan
ProBlogger (July 26, 2012) - Facebook Ads or Google AdWords: Which One’s for You?
Marketing Tech Blog (July 24, 2012) - Is Paid Search Overtaking Organic Search?
Marketing Profs (July 20, 2012) - Paid vs. Organic Search: Are PPC Ads Winning the Google Click Wars?
Small Business Trends (July 20, 2012) - Google Ads May Be More Valuable Than You Thought
TheDrum (July 19, 2012) - How pay-per-click ads are taking over Google results
ValueWalk (July 19, 2012) - Click Through Rates Could Be Deciding Factor In Google’s Q2 Report
Brafton (July 19, 2012) - Paid search and SEO thrive when paired together
Search Engine Land (July 17, 2012) - Study: Clicks On Google Ads Are Double Organic Clicks For Commercial Searches
VentureBeat (July 17, 2012) - Google and sponsored search results: is there a “war on free clicks?”
Search Engine Journal (July 17, 2012) - How Google Is Killing Organic Search
Business Insider (July 17, 2012) - How Up To 85% Of Google Search Results Are Actually Paid Ads
TheNextWeb (July 17, 2012) - Google ad clicks outnumber ‘normal’ search results by 2:1 for some commercial keywords
PPC Hero (July 21, 2012) - Are PPC Ads Beating Organic Listings for Clicks?
Boy Genious Report (July 17, 2012) - Google declares war on free clicks
Yahoo News (July 17, 2012) - Trend Shifting Toward PPC in the U.S.
Fox Business (July 2, 2012) - Should Your Small Business Advertise on Facebook?
Boston Product Management Association (June 21, 2012) - How to Get your Software Product to Market
Official Microsoft Bing Ads Blog (June 21, 2012) - Yahoo! Bing Network Help Online Farm-Equipment Directory Hit Target
Dowicher Designs Blog (June 21, 2012) - In an Advertising Battle Between Facebook and Google, Who Wins?
KooZai Blog (June 20, 2012) - Facebook vs Google Display Network
Motley Fool (June 20, 2012) - Google: A Growth Company Masquerading as a Value Stock
Content Marketing Institute (June 14, 2012) - How to Build a Content Marketing Tool Set
Search Engine Watch (June 13, 2012) - Paid & Subscription-Based Keyword Research Tools
Hausman Marketing Letter (June 11, 2012) - Google Adwords: How Adwords Creates Online Success|
The Entrepreneur Blog (June 10, 2012) - Get a Free AdWords Campaign Evaluation!
Site Trail (June 6, 2012) - Google Ads Are Clicked 10 Times More Often Than Those On Facebook
Aer Icon (June 5, 2012) - The 5 Core Principles of Revenue Performance Management
Distilled (June 5, 2012) - Get Better At The Internet: 17 Pro Tips For Every Industry
Motley Fool (June 3, 2012) - Facebook: To Buy or Not To Buy?
Software Magazine (June 1, 2012) - 5 Tips for Taking Your Software Product from Prototype to Production Quality
ClickZ (June 1, 2012) - Online Advertising in the Age of Agility
Top Rank Blog (June 1, 2012) - Online Marketing News: Facebook vs. Google Ads
Motley Fool (May 30, 2012) - Where's the Beef, Facebook?
SEOmoz (May 29, 2012) - Oops, I ruined the Facebook IPO!
Marketing Land (May 29, 2012) - Facebook Should Keep Ignoring (Some) Advertisers
Ecommerce Times (May 26, 2012) - Beyond the Blame Game: Can Facebook Be Fixed?
CMS Wire (May 24, 2012) - Facebook vs Google Display Network Online Ad Smackdown: Who Comes Out On Top?
Yahoo Finance News (May 23, 2012) - How does Facebook make money?
Revenue Performance (May 23, 2012) - Facebook Ads: Not Cheap, Not Effective
Reuters (May 22, 2012) - China diversified dot-coms avoid Facebook pitfalls
Adsolut Blog Italy (May 22, 2012) - Pubblicità su Google o Facebook?
ValueWalk (May 22, 2012) - Facebook vs. Google: The War of Ads
T3N Germany (May 22, 2012) - Facebook vs. Google: Duell der Ad-Giganten
NewsTex (May 21, 2012) - Facebook Advertising vs. Google Display Network
Website Magazine (May 21, 2012) - Report Puts Facebook, Google Ad Values on Display
Technology Spectator (May 21, 2012) - The Facebook-Google Ad War
Website Magazine (May 21, 2012) Report Puts Facebook, Google Ad Values on Display
Lonely Brand Blog (May 21, 2012) - Wall Street LOLs at Facebook IPO
Internet Marketing News Watch (May 21, 2012) - Report Puts Facebook, Google Ad Values on Display
Information Week (May 21, 2012) - 4 Ways Facebook Can Woo SMBs
MediaPost (May 21, 2012) - The Search Expert Who Bought And Sold Facebook Stock
Celt Digital (May 21, 2012) - After last week’s IPO, Facebook advertising – does it work?
c:rae-tive (May 21, 2012) - Are Facebook Ads Effective? One Would Second Guess
Trend Hunter (May 20, 2012) - The 'Facebook IPO: Can it Beat Google?'
CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (May 18, 2012) - Facebook closes just above $38 IPO price
CNN (May 18, 2012) - Google y Facebook pelean por anunciantes. El producto eres tú
Bulldog Reporter (May 18, 2012) - Does Facebook Advertising Actually Work? WordStream Shows Google Offers More
MSN (May 18, 2012) - Facebook goes public at $42
Vator News (May 18, 2012) - Facebook closes debut day just pennies above IPO price
Wall St. Cheat Sheet (May 18, 2012) - Facebook, What Happened?
Wall St. Cheat Sheet (May 18, 2012) - Why GM Opted Out of Facebook - Should You?
Billboard (May 18, 2012) - 5 Reasons Why Facebook Won't Spend its IPO Money on the Music Business
The Register (May 18, 2012) - WordStream: Facebook Ads are Very Boring and not Very Imaginative
Wealth Daily (May 18, 2012) - Facebook IPO Hype: Buy When the Sky is Falling
Information Week (May 18, 2012) - Facebook's History: From Dorm To IPO Darling
Financial Times (May 18, 2012) - Facebook IPO in numbers
Huffington Post (May 18, 2012) - Facebook goes public any minute
Motley Fool (May 18, 2012) - Psst! What if Facebook shares are actually cheap?
Metro Newspaper (May 18, 2012) - GM pulls facebook advertising (South Africa)
PC World (May 18, 2012) - General Motors dejará de pagar por publicidad en Facebook (Mexico)
Xinhua - Official News Agency of China (May 17, 2012) - Facebook身未動價已漲 股東賺瘋 -
ABC News (May 17, 2012) - Facebook prices its IPO at $38, could raise $16 billion
Jalopnik (May 17. 2012) - GM Will Remove $10 Million Worth Of Ads From Facebook
Branding & Marketing (May 17, 2012) - When Should You Advertise on Facebook Over Google?
Being Your Brand (May 17, 2012) - Who Has the Better Ad Network? Facebook Vs. Google
TechJournal (May 17, 2012) - Why did GM drop its Facebook advertising?
The Star Tribune (May 17, 2012) - Google Totally Blows Facebook Away
Examiner (May 17, 2012) - Was GM's Facebook ad failure GM's or Facebook's fault?
Huffington Post (May 17, 2012) - Facebook Ads: Can They Beat Google?
Reuters (May 17, 2012) - GM Pulled Ads From Facebook After Social Network's Failed Pitch: Report
State of Search (May 17, 2012) - Facebook IPO: Can It Beat Google?
WebProNews (May 17, 2012) - More Arguments That Facebook Ads Are Shoddy
The Takeaway (May 17, 2012) - Facebook vs. Google: The Ad Model Cage Match
More About Advertising (May 17, 2012) - Wordstream research reveals why GM pulled $10m adspend from Facebook
WebRazzi (May 17, 2012) - Borsa arefesindeki Facebook’un reklam performansı ne durumda? (Turkey)
StayWyse (May 17, 2012) - Facebook Advertising VS Google Advertising
Business Spectator (May 17, 2012) - GM ad withdrawal casts shadow over Facebook IPO
Vator News (May 17, 2012) - Analysts still find Facebook doesn't match up with Google's Ad Network, Spells Trouble
Washington Post (May 17, 2012) - Is Facebook really a good business?
TheDrum (May 16, 2012) - Facebook Research illustrates advertising underperformance
Computing.co.uk (May 16, 2012) - Facebook advertising failing to click with users, According to new Study
CIO Magazine (May 16, 2012) - Why Facebook Marketing Doesn't Work
Les Affaires (May 16, 2012) - GM porte un dur coup à Facebook (France)
ABC News (May 16, 2012) - Facebook's IPO, From an Adman's Perspective
French Web (May 16, 2012) - Publicité Online : Facebook vs Google, le Match! (France)
Lupa: (May 16, 2012) - GM přestal inzerovat na Facebooku (Czech Republic)
VentureBeat (May 16, 2012) - Are Facebook Ads Really that Bad?
Adverblog (May 16, 2012) - Google Beats Facebook Media
IDG News Service (May 16, 2012) - GM Will Stop Paying for Ads on Facebook - Because They Don't Work
Radio Taiwan International (May 16. 2012) - 臉書IPO在即 驚傳通用擬撤廣告
Performance Marketing Insider (May 16, 2012) - Facebook vs Google Ads
Financial Times Deutschland (May 16, 2012) - Facebook verliert großen Werbekunden
In Auto News (May 16, 2012 ) - GM ad Withdrawal puts Facebook in Dilemma
Forbes (May 16, 2012) - Facebook: Facing the Facts
Fox Business (May 16, 2012) - Time for Facebook to Grow Up
Minyanville (May 16, 2012) - Should Investors Be Concerned If More Advertisers Abandon Social Networks?
PC World (May 16, 2012) - GM Will Stop Paying for Ads on Facebook - Because They Don't Work
USA Today (May 16, 2012) - Facebook must change after IPO
The Week UK (May 16, 2012) - Facebook worth $105bn? Not if you Believe Advertisers
The Economist (May 16, 2012) - Facebook's Flotation The final Countdown
New Zealand Herald (May 16, 2012) - GM to pull ads from Facebook - Report
PC Advisor UK (May 16, 2012) - Do Facebook ads work? Apparently, not Really
PC Magazine (May 16, 2012) - After GM Loss, Can Facebook Compete in the Ad Game?
Search Engine Journal (May 16, 2012) - Why Did GM Drop Facebook Advertising?
Silicon Republic (May 16, 2012) - Facebook can’t beat Google at the Advertising Game
PC World (May 16, 2012) - Why Facebook Marketing Doesn't Work for GM
Washington Post (May 16, 2012) - Why Facebook ads are Different
Network World (May 16, 2012) - Facebook Ads Don't Work
ComputerWorld (May 16, 2012) - OOPS! GM drops Facebook ads: They don't work
ABC News (May 16, 2012) - Facebook's IPO Means What For You?
News24 (May 16, 2012) - GM pulls ads from Facebook
Web Analytics World (May 16, 2012) - Targeting Marketing
The Register UK (May 16, 2012) - Why GM slammed the brakes on its $10m Facebook ads
The Guardian UK (May 16, 2012) - Five reasons not to buy Facebook shares
Marketing Land (May 15, 2012) - Ahead Of IPO, GM Drops Facebook Ads; Forrester Warns Other Companies May Follow
Mashable (May 15, 2012) - Can Facebook Ads Ever Beat Google?
CNN (May 16, 2012) - Ad War: Google versus Facebook
Wall St. Journal (May 15, 2012) - Google Ads Seen as More Effective Than Facebook’s
The Atlantic (May 15, 2012) - People Click on About One of Every 2,000 Facebook Ads They See
Mashable (May 15, 2012) - Can Facebook Ads Ever Beat Google?
Tech Economy (May 15, 2012) - Facebook vs Google, sfida sull’advertising (Italy)
MediaPost (May 15, 2012) - Facebook Needs Open Ad-Targeting Formats To Succeed
Daily Finance (May 15, 2012) - Psst! What if Facebook Is Actually Cheap?
TheNextWeb (May 15, 2012) - GM to drop Facebook advertising, citing poor results
BizReport (May 15, 2012) - Forecast: Social Media Revenues to reach $9.8 billion but will ROI measure up?
Adotas (May 15, 2012) - Can Facebook Ads Beat Google?
Boston Herald (May 15, 2012) - Study: Google ads work better than Facebook Ads
Business Insider (May 15, 2012) - DATA: Google Totally Blows Away Facebook On Ad Performance
USA Today (May 15, 2012) - GM to stop buying ads on Facebook?
Wall Street Journal (May 15, 2012) - Google Ads Seen as More Effective Than Facebook’s
AFP Agent-France-Presse (May 15, 2012) - GM to pull ads from Facebook
International Business Times (May 15, 2012) - Analysts Urge Facebook To Satisfy Advertisers More Amidst IPO
ValueWalk (May 15, 2012) - Study: Google Inc (GOOG) Ads Crush Facebooks’
WebProNews (May 15, 2012) - Facebook or Google: Who Wins at Advertising?
The Atlantic (May 15, 2012) - People Click on About One of Every 2,000 Facebook Ads They See
Fast Company (May 15, 2012) - Social Ad Spending To Reach $10B Soon, But How Much For Facebook?
Whole Brain Marketing Blog (May 10, 2012) - Walker v. Barrett: Can Social Media Activity Predict The Winner
PPC Blog (May 4, 2012) - 5 AdWords Tips from PPC Masters
CMS Wire (Apr. 25, 2012) - Navigating WordStream's Internet Marketing 150
Fast Company (Apr. 19, 2012) - The Environmental Impact Of Your Googling
Shoe String Venture (Apr. 5, 2012) - WordStream: Automating AdWords Expertise for Small and Mid-sized Businesses
Search Engine Land (Mar. 16, 2012) - Using Wordstream’s AdWords Performance Grader For An Instant Audit
The Guardian UK (Mar. 16, 2012) - Total US newspaper industry's revenue less than Google's alone
Intuit Small Business Blog (Feb. 29, 2012) - Should Your Small Business Buy Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
Search Engine Watch (Jan. 30, 2012) - AdWords Performance Grader Tool Touts More Accurate PPC Data Reports
CNET (Jan 24, 2012) - Google's biggest AdWords customers might surprise you
Search Engine Watch (Jan. 23, 2012) - How Google Made $37.9 Billion in 2011
Wall St. Journal (Jan 23, 2012) - Google Leans on Rivals for Revenue
American Express Open Forum (Jan 18, 2012) - Why Small Businesses Should Care About SOPA | <urn:uuid:07f0d7eb-c5f6-4de5-b87d-ffedbc8204de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordstream.com/larry-kim | 2013-05-26T02:42:51Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.779449 | 8,990 |
Visible Minorities under the Canadian Employment Equity Act, 1987-1999
Harish C. Jain
MGD School of Business,
John J. Lawler
Institute of Labour and Industrial Relations,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
This study focuses on the effectiveness of the federal Employment Equity Act (EEA). We assess the EEA with regard to visible minority (VM) employees using quantitative data from employer reports published under the provisions of the EEA and the Canadian Census. Data in this study cover the period 1987 to 1999. We find that large companies, and larger employment groups within companies, have higher levels of employment equity attainment. There are also considerable variations in employment equity attainment across industrial sectors, across provinces and across occupations. Overall, there has been general improvement in employment equity (EE) attainment over time. However, visible minorities continue to be disadvantaged in management, sales and service and technical positions. Several policy implications are drawn from these findings.
Les minorités visibles sous la législation canadienne de l’équité en emploi, 1987-1999
Cette étude s’intéresse à l’efficacité de la législation sur l’équité en emploi. Nous évaluons cette loi visant les travailleurs de la minorité visible en faisant appel à des données quantitatives qu’on retrouve dans les rapports des employeurs publiés en application des dispositions de la législation et à celles tirées du recensement canadien. Ces données couvrent la période 1987-1999.
Notre étude porte sur la relation entre le degré d’atteinte de l’équité en emploi eu égard aux minorités visibles sous la législation et une gamme de facteurs contextuels. On y présente des conclusions importantes et nombreuses.
En premier lieu, tel que prévu, les plus grandes entreprises et les groupes occupationnels les plus importants présentent des niveaux plus élevés d’atteinte de l’équité en emploi. On peut attribuer ce fait à la taille en relation avec la visibilité des organisations et à la disponibilité de ressources plus abondantes pour rencontrer des objectifs d’équité.
En deuxième lieu, il y a beaucoup de variation entre les secteurs industriels en termes d’atteinte de l’équité; le secteur bancaire présentant des niveaux les plus élevés, ce que nous avions anticipé. Encore là, on peut attribuer cela à la visibilité des banques et au fait que le secteur bancaire ne présente pas les mêmes pressions concurrentielles qu’on observe dans les secteurs des communications et des transports. Alors les banques ont plutôt des ressources en surplus qu’elles peuvent allouer au support des efforts exigés par la loi et peut-être qu’elles sont, à cause de leur taille, plus sensibles à la surveillance des organismes de régulation.
En troisième lieu, on observe également une variation importante d’une province à une autre en termes de degré d’atteinte de l’équité, avec des niveaux, à notre grande surprise, remarquablement faibles dans les provinces où on retrouve les plus fortes concentrations de minorités visibles (par exemple, l’Ontario et la Colombie-Britannique). Il s’agit là d’un résultat que nous n’avions pas anticipé. Peut-être cela est-il dû au grand nombre d’immigrants résidant dans ces provinces au cours des dernières années, de sorte qu’on a pu constater la présence d’un nombre disproportionné de personnes ayant des aptitudes limitées au plan du langage et au plan de la création de liens avec la communauté plus large. Des groupes de minorités visibles dans les autres provinces ont pu s’intégrer à des communautés mieux établies et ainsi obtenir un accès plus grand aux entreprises en vertu d’une assimilation plus prononcée. De plus, le nombre de minorités visibles de ces provinces est tout à fait minime, de sorte que les entreprises n’ont eu qu’à faire des efforts limités pour atteindre des niveaux respectables d’équité.
En quatrième lieu, nos données indiquent une amélioration générale avec le temps au plan de l’atteinte des objectifs de la législation, qui serait concordante avec l’efficacité de cette même législation.
En cinquième lieu, il n’y a pas d’indication claire à l’effet que les minorités visibles sont surreprésentées dans le marché du travail secondaire. Enfin, nous avons constaté que le degré de réalisation des objectifs de la loi varie considérablement d’une occupation à une autre. Les minorités visibles sont particulièrement désavantagées dans les positions de gérance, de professionnels et de représentants commerciaux, tout comme dans les emplois manuels spécialisés.
Plusieurs implications tant d’ordre politique que pratique découlent de ces observations, ce qui inclut une intervention accrue de la part de la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne, une plus grande préoccupation à l’égard des iniquités occupationnelles et des disparités sectorielles, de la taille des entreprises et du groupe d’emploi :
Les employés appartenant à des minorités visibles dans les entreprises assujetties à la Loi sur l’équité en emploi sont toujours sous représentés de façon significative. Il existe un nombre relativement imposant de cas où la représentation des minorités visibles est extrêmement faible, voire même inexistante. C’est pourquoi il apparaît évident qu’une application intensifiée et sévère de la loi en faveur du groupe des minorités visibles est nécessaire de la part de la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne.
Il existe également des disparités flagrantes au plan des occasions d’emploi pour les employés appartenant à des minorités visibles au sein de nombreuses occupations. Plus précisément, il semble qu’une sorte de « plafond de verre » existe et se traduit pour les employés des minorités visibles en termes d’accès aux positions de gérance intermédiaire aussi bien qu’une sous représentation dans les occupations de service et de vente. Les emplois dans ces secteurs, particulièrement celui des services, sont en croissance et, par conséquent, ils deviennent importants pour le bien-être des minorités visibles (plus précisément, dans les occupations reliées à la vente et aux services).
Dans les secteurs des transports et des communications, les employés des minorités visibles demeurent remarquablement sous représentés. Il devient important pour les entreprises d’adopter des politiques proactives en matière de recrutement et de promotion, de fixer des objectifs significatifs et des agendas de réalisation en vue d’améliorer la représentation des minorités.
Les employés des minorités visibles apparaissent aussi sous représentés dans les plus petites entreprises. La Commission des droits de la personne doit accorder plus d’attention à la mise en oeuvre et au contrôle de l’équité en emploi dans ces entreprises. C’est d’autant plus critique lorsqu’on constate que ces petites et moyennes entreprises font appel à une proportion croissante et importante de la main-d’oeuvre.
Las minorías visibles conforme al Acta de equidad del empleo, 1987-1999
Este estudio se concentra sobre la eficacia del Acta de Equidad en el Empleo (AEE) de nivel federal. Nosotros evaluamos el AEE respecto a los empleados del grupo de minorías visibles (MV) utilizando los datos cuantitativos de los informes de empleados publicados según las disposiciones del AEE y el Censo Canadiense. Los datos de este estudio cubren el periodo 1987-1999. Nuestros resultados indican que las grandes compañías, y los grupos mas grandes de empleo al interior de las compañías, han alcanzado altos niveles de equidad. Hay también variaciones considerables en la realización de la equidad de empleo a través los sectores industriales, a través las provincias y a través las ocupaciones. En el conjunto, ha habido una mejora general en la realización de la equidad del empleo en este periodo. Sin embargo, las minorías visibles siguen siendo desfavorecidos en los puestos de gestion, de ventas y servicos y en las ocupaciones tecnicas. Varias implicaciones políticas son diseñadas a partir de estos resultados.
The Canadian federal Employment Equity Act (EEA), first passed in 1986 and then significantly amended in 1995, requires efforts by employers in covered sectors (i.e. communications, transportation, and banking) to reduce disparities in employment and workforce representation between designated groups (i.e., women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, and the disabled) and the general workforce, regardless of whether or not this is the consequence of deliberate discrimination. In this study, we focus on EEA effectiveness with regard to visible minority (VM) employees using quantitative data from employer reports published under the provisions of the EEA. Data in our study cover the period 1987 to 1999.
Visible minorities constitute a moving target in terms of representation. Unlike the disabled or aboriginal population, the VM population is growing and varies a great deal across provinces. Thus, matching a target now does not necessarily mean that the target will remain at the same level five years hence. Our work explores employment equity for VM employees over an extended period, to discern whether there is movement toward reasonable equity levels. This is the first study that examines the longitudinal effect (1987-1999) of the federal EE legislation on VMs. This is also the first time that VM data are being analyzed by each province and for detailed occupational categories.
There are a variety of reasons as to why attainment of employment equity may be elusive for visible minorities in Canada. VMs can encounter accreditation challenges that the other designated groups do not. Several studies (Cumming 1989; Jain 1982a, 1982b; Dodge 1972) indicate that overseas degrees are often not recognized by Canadian employers. Since most recent immigrants are VMs, they face a particular hardship in finding jobs consistent with their qualifications. This is because immigration is a federal responsibility and employment, education, and health come under provincial jurisdiction. Most professional organizations are licensed by provincial governments and are often alleged to keep recent immigrants, especially VMs, out of these professions. Some newspaper reports suggest that recent immigrants with doctorates and other professional degrees are often doing low-level jobs (Harding 2003; Jain 2003; Rajpal 2002).
Research by the Canadian Council on Social Development (2000) used both 1996 Census data and panel data on post-secondary graduates from the National Graduate Survey that studied the same individuals two and five years after graduation. Among its key findings:
VMs generally have higher education levels than non-VMs, yet VMs with university education are less likely to hold managerial/professional jobs than non-VMs with similar levels of education
Foreign-born VMs experience greater education-occupation discrepancies compared to other groups; less than half such individuals with a university education have high skill level jobs.
Most VMs with managerial jobs are self-employed.
Foreign-born VMs are over-represented in the lowest income quintile and under-represented in the highest income quintile.
Even Canadian-born VMs are still less likely than foreign-born and Canadian-born non-VMs to be in the top 20% of the income distribution (also see Zuriek (1983) on this point).
There is then a clear pattern of apparent disadvantage in the labour market for VM workers that is reflected both in patterns of employment and in earnings. These findings concern VMs generally, not just those covered under the EEA, so it offers little insight into the impact of the law specifically. However, it establishes that there are pervasive, continuing differences in employment conditions between VMs and non-VMs throughout the Canadian economy, and indicates a need to examine whether or not the EEA has had any impact within the sectors that it covers. One cannot conclude merely from such descriptive data that differences in labour market outcomes for VMs and non-VMs derive from racial discrimination by employers. There may be cultural and related social factors which cause VMs to pursue different career paths than non-VMs, thus resulting in the observed differences between the two groups. Other research, however, indicates that bias and discriminatory intent can be very much at work here.
An early study on the general topic of discrimination (Henry 1978) found that, in a sample of white individuals in Toronto, over 50% of those studied expressed attitudes that could be described to some degree as racist. The report of the Commission of Equality in Employment (Abella 1984) found that non-whites all across Canada complained of facing both overt and indirect discrimination. The report concluded that racial discrimination in employment is a real concern and strong legislative measures were necessary to reverse or inhibit the degree to which members of visible minority groups are unjustifiably excluded from the opportunity to compete as equals. Henry and Ginzberg (1985) used a sample of classified ads in the major newspapers in Toronto to assess employer responses to white versus VM applicants. The authors used direct in-person applications with matched pairs (based on similarity in work experience, skills, and physical characteristics) of black and white applicants. Offers to whites outweighed offers to blacks by a ratio of three to one. In another sample of jobs that were tested by phone inquiries, the percentages of times that white Canadian, white immigrant, West Indian black, and Indo-Pakistani callers were told jobs were open for them were, respectively, 85.2%, 65%, 51.9%, and 47.3%. Furthermore, when employers discriminated among callers by differentially screening them, white Canadians were never screened for their experience or qualifications, while applicants from the other three racial minority groups were frequently screened on these criteria (also see Holzer and Newmark 2000a, 2000b for audit studies; Heckman 1998).
More recent studies demonstrate continuing patterns of employment discrimination against racial minorities. Work on the status of racial minorities in the public services has shown a persistence of discriminatory practices against visible minorities (Samuel 1997; Perinbam 2000). Among other studies in the Canadian context that provide empirical evidence on the representation gap between whites and racial minorities, without directly relating this gap to racial discrimination, are Jain, Singh and Agcos (2000), and Ornstein (2000). Jain, Singh and Agcos (2000) found significant under-representation of racial minorities in selected police services across Canada and indicated that selection and promotion policies that disadvantage minorities may be responsible for this under-representation. Ornstein (2000) found a generally pervasive disparity between members of racial minorities and whites in the City of Toronto in pay, employment rates, and other socio-economic indicators. A longitudinal study by Jain and Al-Waqfi (2001) found widespread employment discrimination against VMs. Reitz and Verma (1999) found that VMs are also substantially underrepresented in unionized jobs. Other things equal, we might expect that jobs covered by collective bargaining agreements would provide generally better working conditions and wages than equivalent non-union jobs. That VMs have less opportunity to obtain these jobs suggests yet another reason as to why they are disadvantaged in the labour market.
In addition to research dealing with employment opportunities for VMs, there are also several studies that deal with earnings outcomes. In light of what is known about employment discrimination, it is not surprising that these studies generally show VM employees have lower wages and earnings than non-minorities, even after controlling the standard human capital variables (Howland and Sakellariou 1993; Baker and Benjamin 1997; Pendakur and Pendakur 1995; Gorrie 2002).
The overall evidence from previous studies thus indicates that racial discrimination is responsible for at least part of the disparity in achievements between various racial minorities and whites in the Canadian labour market. The more important and compelling issue now is not whether racial discrimination exists, but rather how can the situation be rectified. Employment equity laws and regulations, such as the EEA, are intended to provide an institutional tool to lessen the adverse impact of discrimination on designated groups. Given that the EEA has been on the books since 1986, sufficient data are now available to assess its effectiveness in enhancing employment opportunities for visible minorities.
Although provincial and some municipal governments have implemented employment equity programs (Antecol 1998), and at the federal level there is, in addition to the EEA, the federal Contract Compliance Program (Equity Program, July 15, 2001), the EEA is generally seen to be stronger and more comprehensive than these other government-mandated programs (Jain, Sloane and Horwitz 2003; Jain 2001, 1993; Gunderson, Hyatt and Slinn 2002; Taggar, Jain and Gunderson 1997). Gunderson, Meng and Smith (1996) found that the average wage premiums of designated group members was 7.2% higher in companies covered by the EEA relative to companies not covered by the EEA. Earlier studies indicated that women have been the main beneficiaries of the EEA (Blackley and Harvey 1988; Sloane and Jain 1990). Jain and Hacket (1992) also confirmed that the EEA has had a significant effect on increasing the representation of women in organizations covered by the EEA relative to organizations not covered by the law. Several studies have concluded that effects of the EEA differ for white women and women that are also visible minorities, aboriginals or have a disability (Leck and Saunders 1992) and that the wage gap had actually increased for the female members of these designated groups (Leck, Onge and Lalancette 1995).
Our objective is to assess the effectiveness of the EEA in improving quantitative measures of employment equity outcomes. To do this, we use data drawn from a sample of annual reports filed by companies covered under the EEA for the period 1987-1999. Our unit of analysis consists of provincial-wide occupational groups from each of these companies in each year for which data were reported. For example, one observation might consist of data on professionals employed by Air Canada in British Columbia in 1997, while another might be based on administrative and senior clerical personnel employed by the Royal Bank of Canada in Ontario in 1998 or skilled, sales and service personnel employed in Nova Scotia in 1999 by Bell Canada. For simplicity we will refer to a particular unit of observation as an employment group.
Our dependent variable represents the degree to which VM workers within a particular employment group have secured parity in relation to the relevant external labour market. Internal employment equity is defined as the ratio of VM employment in a given employment group to total employment within the same employment group. VM labour market representation is based on census data for the province and is defined as the ratio of VM employment in the corresponding occupational category and province relative to total employment for that occupational category and province. We had census data for two years (1991 and 1996). In order to establish the provincial measure of VM labour force representation for each occupational group in each of the years between 1987 and 1999, we utilized extrapolation and interpolation as described below.
The composite employment equity measure is defined as the difference of the internal equity measure and labour market representation; this is termed VM employment equity (Equation (1)). The value of this measure can be interpreted as the percentage adjustment that would have to be made in the employment group’s relative headcount in order to achieve equity in comparison to the relevant external labour market for the year in question. A value of zero indicates that the firm has achieved, at least in a technical sense, employment equity for VM employees for that particular group. Positive values indicate the firm exceeds objectives defined by the Census data for the employment group in question and negative values indicate VM employees are underrepresented in the firm for the occupation and province in question.
(1) VM_EEc,p,i,t = (VMc,p,i,t /Nc,i,p,t) – (VMc,p,t /Nc,p,t)
VM_EEc,p,i,t = measure of VM employment equity in occupational category c in province p for company i at time t;
VM = number of VM employees in category defined by subscripts;
N = number of all employees in category defined by subscripts.
As mentioned, values for VMc,p,t and Nc,p,t had to be estimated for census off-years. We used the following formula to interpolate values for the period 1991-1996 for year t (Nc,p,t is used in these equations, though the same procedures were used for VMc,p,t):
(2) Nc,p,t = Nc,p,91 + (t-1991) × (Nc,p,96 – Nc,p,91)/5
Nc,p,91 = 1991 Census report of employment occupational category c in province p;
Nc,p,96 = 1996 Census report of employment occupational category c in province p;
We extrapolated the employment values for 1997 to 1999 as:
(3) Nc,p,t = Nc,p,91 + (t – 1996) × (Nc,p,96 – Nc,p,91)/5
The values for the years prior to 1991 were likewise extrapolated:
(4) Nc,p,t = Nc,p,91 - (1991 - t) x (Nc,p,96 - Nc,p,91)/5
One major limitation in this work is that we only have data on organizations covered by the EEA and thus are required to have active employment equity programs in place. Similar research conducted in the U.S. on affirmative action (i.e., employment equity) programs (Leonard 1983, 1984; Holzer and Newmark 2000b) benefited from the fact that not all companies studied were required to have affirmative action (i.e., employment equity) programs in place, so it was possible to contrast companies with affirmative action programs to those without such programs within the same economic sectors. Therefore, in this study we are not able to observe directly the impact of the presence of a legally mandated program on the achievement of employment equity objectives. However, we can observe the impact of several context variables on employment equity outcomes to discern, within the set of covered firms, those conditions under which the EEA has been more versus less effective.
Our explanatory variables include time, occupational categories, geographical location (i.e., province), employment type (full-time, part-time, or temporary), organizational size, employment group size, and industrial sector. Time is measured by the difference of the year of the observation from the year of EEA implementation (1986). EEA reports are filed annually, so there are separate observations for a given employment group for each year in which the firm has had to provide data relevant to the group. The temporal measure is very important as it assesses changes in employment equity over time. An upward trend in employment equity suggests that the EEA may have the desired consequences. It certainly is a necessary condition to establish the effectiveness of the law, but since we are not able to make direct comparisons to similar companies without employment equity provisions, we cannot rule out such changes as to be rooted in broader social change in Canada. However, if the trend is negative, or only weakly positive, then we could conclude that the EEA is having no substantive effect on employment equity. In other words, progress over time with regard to employment equity is a necessary condition to establish EEA effectiveness, though is not sufficient alone to warrant such a conclusion.
The total size of the employer within Canada and the size of the employment group are also included in our analysis as explanatory variables. Prior research on the effectiveness of affirmative action in the U.S. (Leonard 1983, 1984) has shown associations between organizational size and various indicators of affirmative action effectiveness. Overall organizational size might be expected to impact employment equity in a couple of ways. Large companies are more visible to both the public and government regulators. Thus they may be inclined to pursue more aggressive employment equity efforts to avoid adverse publicity and excessive attention from the government. Also, larger organizations typically have more slack resources and thus may be better able to absorb the costs of making employment adjustments. We would anticipate that firm size is positively related to employment equity attainment. We also see the size of the employment group as highly relevant. Larger units will attract more attention and changes in larger units will also have a larger effect on overall firm employment equity. Larger units will normally have more turnover, allowing the firm to make employment adjustments more easily by responding to attrition. Finally, there may be social constraints imposed on change by close-knit groups in smaller units. We would anticipate that employment group size is positively related to employment equity attainment.
Available evidence, as discussed above, suggests something of a “glass ceiling” for VMs in certain occupations. In particular, VMs seem to have quite limited opportunities in managerial occupations. However, in contrast, relatively educated VMs do seem to have considerable access to professional positions. Thus, we would anticipate relatively low employment equity attainment for managerial occupations, but relatively high attainment in professional occupations (Perinbam 2000; National Capital Alliance 1997; Samuel 1997).
The EEA covers three industrial sectors: banking, transportation, and communications. We would anticipate substantial differences in EE attainment across these industries. Banks are generally highly visible organizations as there is a limited number nationally. Moreover, these organizations are typically quite profitable, so have the necessary resources to implement effective EE programs. In contrast, the transportation sector consists of generally less visible organizations and there are far larger numbers of companies in this sector. Thus, the chances of being a target for governmental action are more limited. This sector is also highly competitive and profit margins are more limited than in the banking sector. The same would apply in the case of the communications industry. Thus, we anticipate that banking will have higher levels of employment equity attainment than either communications or transportation. However, we have no strong prior expectations regarding differences between communications and transportation.
Although there would not seem to be previous research on this issue, we include measures of the type of employment, differentiating among full-time, part-time, and temporary employment. Part-time and temporary jobs are generally viewed as part of the secondary labour market (especially temporary jobs). Discrimination would be expected to shunt VM’s into secondary jobs. In addition, recent immigrants might have much greater luck with secondary labour market jobs. If so, we would expect to see higher levels of VMs, even significant over-representation of this group, inpart-time or temporary jobs.
A final variable in our analysis is the province in which the employment group is situated. There is reason to believe that the province will impact employment equity attainment based on the variations across provinces in terms of culture, social relationships, and concentrations of visible minorities. For example, both British Columbia and Ontario have relatively large VM populations and we might assume that translates into social pressure supportive of EE. Thus employment equity attainment might be expected to be relatively high in those provinces. Despite lower concentrations of VMs, Saskatchewan has a liberal political tradition that might be anticipated to promote higher employment equity attainment. In contrast, conservative provinces, such as Alberta, and those with quite low VM concentrations, such as Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, would be anticipated to have lower social pressure supporting equality, thus generating lower levels of employment equity attainment. But the converse could also hold. Provinces with very high VM concentrations (especially Ontario and British Columbia) might have much greater difficulty in employment equity attainment because of the size of the task and there might be more substantial resistance from non-VM employees to EE initiatives as these workers could feel more threatened.
Our sample consists of the 116 companies that filed EEA reports in each year from 1987 either through 1999, or the last year the company was an independent entity (for companies that went out of business, were acquired, or otherwise changed organizational identity). The unit of observation is the employment group (defined above), not the company as a whole. So, although there are 116 companies in this sample, each company consists of a large number of employment groups. Thus the actual sample size depends on the number of employment groups in each company and on the number of years the company is represented in the sample.
The dependent variable (VM employment equity) has been defined above. All of the predictor variables (also discussed above) were obtained from the HRDC database. The predictor variables include:
A set of dummy variables representing the major occupational categories contained in the dataset. As the occupational categories have changed somewhat over the period 1987-1999, we have had to reconcile these changes to assure comparability (see below).
A set of dummy variables representing all provinces. Only provincial data are analyzed here, as the number of cases and units sizes for territorial data are quite small.
A set of dummy variables used to indicate the year of the EEA report. This variable allows us to assess variations in VM employment equity.
Organizational size. This is measured both by the total size of the company’s Canadian operations and by the size of the specific employment group. As both measures have quite skewed distributions, we use the logarithm of the total number of Canadian employees in the company in the year of observation (overall company size) and the logarithm of the total number of employees in the employment group (e.g., sales workers in British Columbia) for the year in question (group size).
Dummy variables indicating industrial sector. The EEA applies to three industrial sectors: communications, banking, and transportation. Dummy variables are included to discern sectoral variations in EEA goal attainment.
Dummy variables indicating employment type. We also investigated differences between full-time employees and those who are either employed on a temporary or part-time basis. Dummy variables differentiate among these three categories of employment.
The regression analysis used sets of dummy variables to parameterize the categorical independent variables, including occupation, industrial sector, province, year of observation, and company. A deviational scoring method was used in all cases. As is normally the case with dummy variables in regression analysis, there is one less dummy variable than the number of categories for a given variable. As an example, in the case of provincial categories, there are nine dummy variables corresponding to the ten provinces. The tenth province (in this case Prince Edward Island) serves as a reference group. Prince Edward Island was chosen as it is small, thus allowing the deviations of the larger and more significant provinces to be discerned from the parameter estimates more readily, as explained below. The dummy variables are coded in the following manner. Each of the nine non-reference group provinces has a corresponding dummy variable. This is coded as a one if the observation occurred in that province and zero if it occurred in any of the other eight non-reference group provinces. If the observation occurred in the reference group province (i.e., Prince Edward Island), then all of the provincial dummy variables are coded as negative one. Deviational scoring with dummy variables is somewhat different from the standard approach, in which dummy variables represent the difference in a given category relative to a reference category (i.e., Ontario vs. Prince Edward Island). However, in this study, where there are multiple categories for most of the independent variables, the deviational approach greatly simplifies the presentation and interpretation of the results. If we had used standard dummy variable coding, then we would have needed to do multiple pairwise comparisons among the various provinces (or relevant categories for the other categorical independent variables), as the significance levels and differences for each category dummy would only be relative to the reference (omitted) category. In contrast, the deviational approach provides comparisons of the average value of the dependent variable within each province to the overall average of the dependent variable, holding constant the other independent variables. So the coefficient for the Ontario dummy variable represents the deviation of Ontario cases relative to the overall average after adjusting for occupation, industry, unit size, etc. The deviation from this average for Prince Edward Island, the reference group province, is equivalent to minus the sum of the coefficients for all of the other provincial dummy variables and can thus also be calculated. The same approach is used to code the other categorical variables. Reference groups for occupation, year, industrial sector and employment type are, respectively, semi-skilled manual workers 1987, transportation, and full-time employment.
For the period 1987 through 1996, employers were required to use the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system in reporting employment. This system was changed in 1997 to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. Unfortunately, the occupational categories are not the same in these two systems, although it is possible to compare the two systems and find occupational categories that are roughly equivalent. This is important, as otherwise we would not be able to examine employment equity outcomes across the entire time period for which data were available. We would have had the problem of comparing “apples and oranges” in considering the results for the earlier time period and the latter time period. However, occupational categories are very important in this study and cannot be ignored. So we had to develop an alternative set of occupational categories that would be roughly equivalent across the entire 1987-1999 time period.
Fortunately, supplementary information supplied by Canadian governmental agencies allowed us to develop a set of composite occupational categories that, while not completely eliminating the problem of inconsistency in occupational categories over time, did at least provide reasonably comparable categories for the 1987-99 period. There were some instances in which broad occupational titles were identical in the NOC and SOC systems. However, that did not always mean the classifications were identical, as there were situations in which there had to be some shifting of the components of these categories. For example, the “skilled crafts and trades workers” category has the same meaning in the NOC and SOC systems, so no adjustment was needed in this case. “Semi-skilled manual workers” was a category likewise common to the NOC and SOC systems and comparable in meaning in both cases. On the other hand, although the categories “professionals” and “semi-professionals and technicians” are both NOC and SOC categories, there are variations in meaning (e.g., some SOC “semi-professional” occupations were shifted to the “professional” category in the NOC). Thus, it is only possible to compare the sums of professional and semi-professional employment across the two systems. In yet other cases, titles and category meanings are quite dissimilar between the NOC and SOC (e.g., “clerical workers” vs. “clerical personnel” and “administrative and senior clerical personnel”).
To resolve this problem, we created composite occupational codes to cover the entire period of this study. For cases in which NOC and SOC categories were identical in meaning, we maintain those groupings. In other instances, it was necessary to combine certain SOC categories related NOC categories into a new, more general category which would be equivalent in sum across this period. Some categories lacked ready means of comparison, even in aggregate, between the NOC and SOC systems. Consequently, those categories had to be dropped completely from the analysis. Table 1 shows the relationship of the seven composite occupational categories we were able to generate by matching SOC and NOC categories. For example, we created a category of “supervisor” that, for the period in which NOC system was in effect (after 1996), is defined as the sum of the number of individuals in the NOC categories of “Supervisors: crafts and trades” and “Supervisors”. For the SOC period (1996 and earlier), it is set equivalent to the number of individuals in the single SOC category of “Foremen/women”). The other composite categories are similarly defined in Table 1. Finally, some categories could not be matched between the NOC and SOC systems and, as noted, are excluded from our analysis.
Before examining the results of regression analysis, it is useful to consider the overall VM employment equity measure for our sample. Table 2 reports the averages for VM employment equity for the 1987-1999 period, broken down by provincial and occupational categories. The first column under each occupation contains the internal equity measure (proportion of VMs in EEA covered employment groups (italicized)) and the second contains the VM employment equity measure that is used as the dependent variable in this study (difference between internal and external equity (underlined)). Group averages are also presented.
Relationship of Composite Occupational Categories Used in 1987-1999 Data Analysis to NOC and SOC Categories
When considered in total, average internal equity was 2.9 (lower right-hand corner of Table 2). However, over time, this has been substantially less than VM representation in the labour market, as the composite VM employment equity measure on average was –2.2%, indicating that relative VM employment within EEA-covered employment groups was more than two percentage points below VM representation in the broader labour market. Some provinces have relatively average internal equity levels, with Ontario and British Columbia far higher than any other province. Of course, this reflects the much larger VM concentrations in these provinces, fueled in particular by large numbers of Asian immigrants. However, in both instances, VM employment equity is strongly negative (–5.3% in British Columbia and –4.7% in Ontario), indicating that VMs are substantially underrepresented in EEA-covered companies in these provinces. Some other provinces had relatively high VM equity levels (e.g., New Brunswick, Newfoundland), yet have very small numbers of VM workers overall. So, ironically, provinces with the highest concentration of VM employees and the greatest also have had the greatest level of workplace inequity. These averages are , of course for the entire period of the study. In fact, if we only look at the most recent year in our sample (1999), VM equity has improved in both Ontario and British Columbia, but is still rather high (–4% in Ontario and -5.3% in British Columbia). Occupation data also suggest differences in employment equity across groups. Positions such as managers and professional and semiprofessionals, clearly highly desirable jobs, have relatively low employment equity levels, though the lowest average levels were for sales and service workers and also semi-skilled manual workers. VMs achieved highest levels of employment equity generally in first-line supervisory positions and clerical positions.
VM employment equity for the period 1987-1999 was regressed against (a) occupational categories, (b) year of observation, (c) province, (d) industrial sector, (e) employment type, (f) overall company size and (g) unit size. We did preliminary analysis to check outliers and found a small but meaningful number of cases several standard deviations above the mean. We restricted the sample to ±3 standard deviations of the mean (and found this substantially improved model fit). Given the positive values of the outliers, these would have been cases where VMs had done exceptionally well. However, their inclusion would have greatly distorted the results. Residual plots indicated normality. Finally, residual plots also suggested the possibility of heteroskedastic residuals. Assuming residual variance to be related to unit size, we considered different weighted least squares estimates based on unit size as the weighting factor. This analysis suggested weighting did not significantly improve fit, so here we report ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates.
All of the independent variables, except for company and unit sizes, were parameterized as sets of dummy variables using deviational coding (as described in above). Thus, we have a fixed effects model controlling for all of the dimensions across which the sample varies (i.e., time, location, company, and occupation). Descriptive statistics for the independent variables used in this analysis are presented in Table 3. The sample used here consisted of a total of 28571 observations. Overall, the model explains about 18% of the variance in VM employment equity (i.e., adjusted R2), with an F-ratio that is significant at the .001 level; regression results appear in Table 4.
Average Internal Equity and VM Employment Equity by Occupational Category and Province, 1987-1999 a (N = 28572)
a Values for internal employment equity are displayed in italics; values for VM employment equity are underlined.
Descriptive Statistics for Independent Variables Used in Regression Analysis of the VM Employment Equity Measure, 1987-1999
Results of Regression Analysis of the VM Employment Equity Measure, 1987-1999 (N = 28572)
Adjusted R-Square = .18 F33,28538 191.65 (p < .001)
(r) indicates reference group; the coefficient for this category has been imputed, as discussed in the text. In most instances, the standard error is not readily computable and is not reported.
The appropriate approach to assessing the impact of the different sets of categorical variables is a partial F-ratio. That is, we estimate a constrained model, where all of the parameters for a given set of categorical dummy variables are set to zero, while all other parameters are free to vary. We use the difference in R2 between the constrained and the full model (i.e., unconstrained model) to compute an F-ratio that can be used to test the significance of this set of variables.
There are statistically significant variations in VM employment equity across provinces (F9, 28538 = 139.34, p < .001). The parameters represent the average deviation in VM employment equity from the Canadian-wide average after controlling for all of the other explanatory variables. The most negative value is in the case of British Columbia. We could interpret this as indicating that, other things equal, the VM employment equity measure for British Columbia was nearly three percentage points lower than we would have expected it to be, given the other characteristics of these employment units. Another way of thinking about this is that covered employment units in British Columbia would have, on average, had to have made around a three percent adjustment in total employment in order to achieve employment equity equivalent to similar types of units in other parts of Canada. So it is the case here that the more negative this number, the more out of alignment a province is with the overall expected level of VM employment equity.
In terms of the statistically significant effects for individual provinces, employment units in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba, as well as British Columbia, had generally under-performed relative to expectation. In contrast, employment units in the Maritimes (especially Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick) did generally better than would be expected. We need to recall, however, that these numbers are all relative to local labour market standards. This does not mean that, for example, employment units in Ontario have lower levels of VM employment than units in Newfoundland; rather, they are lower relative to the local labour market standard than firms in Newfoundland. Some of these results are contrary to expectation; possible explanations are discussed below.
Since this analysis is for the 1987-1999 period in its entirety, we have had to use the more limited set of occupational categories described above that are a composite of NOC and SOC categories. These results suggest considerable variation across the composite occupational categories regarding then achievement of VM employment equity (F6, 28571 = 350.88, p < .001). VM employees did best in supervisor, clerical, and craft and trades positions, where VM employment equity exceeded its expected level after controlling for the other explanatory variables. However, these are generally lower wage positions compared to certain occupational categories where VM workers are substantially under represented (manual workers, sales workers, professionals, and managers).
The coefficient in the regression equation associated with overall company size (i.e., log of Canadian-wide employment) is positive and statistically significant at the .001 level. Thus, larger organizations do a better job of providing equity in employment for VMs than do smaller firms. Given the manner in which the size variable is measured, the statistical estimate indicates that a ten-fold increase in total employment in a firm resulted in roughly a 0.23 percent increase in the VM employment equity measure. Perhaps larger organizations have more in the way of spare resources to focus on achievement of employment equity or perhaps they are more visible than smaller firms, thus more sensitive to the need to comply to EEA requirements. The size of the employment unit had strong and positive impact (significant at .01 level). Where there are larger concentrations of employees of a particular occupational category, VM employment equity is higher. A ten-fold increase in unit size resulted in about a 1.6 percentage point shift in VM employment equity.
The EEA covers three industrial sectors: communications, transportation, and finance. Our analysis indicates a significant impact of industrial sector on VM employment equity levels (F2, 28571 = 185.02, p < .001), with equity levels much higher in the finance sector than either the communications or transportation sectors. In the finance sector, this measure is 1.6 percentage points above the average after controlling for the other explanatory variables. In contrast, the transportation and communications sectors are each below average, with transportation having by far the lowest VM employment equity level.
The overall effect of employment type was statistically significant (F2, 28571 = 5.9, p < .01). However, the VM equity measure was not significantly different from the mean in the case of temporary workers, though was significantly less for part-time employees. These findings suggest that it is not the case, as we speculated it could be, that VMs were over-represented in the secondary labour market (as would have been the case had the coefficients for temporary or part-time workers been strongly positive).
The time indicators (year of observation) had, in net, a statistically significant impact on VM employment equity after controlling for the other explanatory variables (F12, 28571 = 4.82, p < .001). There is a generally upward sloping relationship (i.e., the coefficients for the year dummy variables range form strongly negative in the 1980s and early 1990s, to strongly positive in the late 1990s), suggesting continual improvement in VM employment equity from the implementation of the EEA through 1999.
Our study analyzed the relationship between employment equity attainment for visible minorities under the provisions of the EEA and a variety of contextual factors. There are several major findings. First, as anticipated, larger companies, and also larger employment groups within companies, had higher levels of employment equity attainment. This could have resulted from size being related both to organizational visibility and the availability of greater resources to address EE objectives. Second, there was considerable variation across industrial sectors in terms of EE attainment, with the banking sector having the highest levels, which we also expected to be the case. This may be related to the visibility of banks and the fact the banking sector does not have the strong competitive pressures experienced in the communications and transportation sectors. Thus banks are more apt to have slack resources available to support EE efforts and perhaps are more sensitive, due to size, to the attention of regulators. Third, there was considerable variation across provinces in terms of EE attainment, with the levels of attainment surprisingly low in the two provinces with the highest concentrations of VMs (i.e., Ontario and British Columbia), a finding that was not expected. Perhaps this is because of large numbers of immigrants situating in these provinces in recent years, there may also be a disproportionate number of individuals whose foreign credentials and experience are not recognized by employers in Canada. These individuals may have limited language skills and connections to the broader community. VM groups in other provinces may have been part of better established communities and thus had greater entrée to companies by virtue of greater assimilation. Moreover, the numbers of VMs in some of these provinces was quite small, so companies perhaps needed to engage limited efforts to achieve reasonable EE levels. Fourth, our data indicated a general improvement in EE attainment over time, which would be consistent with EEA effectiveness. Fifth, there was no evidence to suggest that VMs were over-represented in secondary labour market settings. Finally, we observed that EE attainment varied substantially across occupations. VMs are particularly disadvantaged in management, professional, and sales positions, as well as skilled manual jobs.
Clearly this study looks at only selected issues by focusing on contextual data provided in the EEA annual reports. To be sure, these are important dimensions that are presumed to be related to an organization’s propensity to meet employment equity goals. However, future research might focus on more specific organizational characteristics, such as measures of organizational performance, the broader social context, and whether or not the firm is Canadian-owned or foreign. More detailed work of this sort will, however, likely come at the expense of such a large and varied a sample we had for this study.
We believe that these findings have important practical implications, especially with regard to EEA enforcement:
Increased Enforcement: It is clear from our analysis that VM employees in the companies covered by the EEA continue to be substantially under-represented. VM staffing levels as a proportion of total employment in the cases we studied are only about three-quarters of what would be necessary to achieve parity with VM representation in the Census. It is also true that there are a relatively large number of cases in which VM representation is extremely low or non-existent. It is therefore clear that increased and vigorous enforcement of the EEA for the VM group is necessary by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
More Focus on Occupational Inequities: There are significant disparities in employment opportunities for VM employees across several occupations. In particular, there seems to be a kind of “glass ceiling” operating for VM employees in terms of access to middle and senior management positions. Therefore, companies need to create a climate of acceptance and tolerance for VM employees at these levels by sensitizing top management to the need to eliminate these job barriers. This is also true for sales and service employees, where VM employees are also substantially under-represented. This is relevant as jobs in these occupations may be an important avenue for advancement to higher-level jobs. Economic transition means that jobs in these areas, particularly the service sector, are growing and thus important to the welfare of visible minorities.
More Focus on Sectoral Differences: In the communication and transportation sectors, VM employees remain substantially under-represented. It is important that organizations undertake pro-active recruitment and promotion policies and establish significant goals and timetables to improve VM representation.
More Focus on Company and Employment Group Size: VM employees tend to be under-represented in smaller firms. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) needs to pay more attention to monitoring and enforcing employment equity in these types of firms. This is especially critical as smaller and medium enterprises employ a significant and growing proportion of the labour force. Regardless of firm size, visible minorities are even more significantly under-represented in smaller employment units (i.e., a given occupation for a particular company in a particular province). Thus the CHRC cannot afford to minimize monitoring and enforcement in the smaller and perhaps less divisible units of even larger companies. In aggregate, VM under-representation in these units has a substantial adverse impact on achievement of parity with VM representation in the Census.
This study was partially supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). We also wish to acknowledge the assistance of Heritage Canada and Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC).
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|Auteurs :||Harish C. Jain et John J. Lawler|
|Titre :||Visible Minorities under the Canadian Employment Equity Act, 1987-1999|
|Revue :||, Volume 59, numéro 3, été 2004, p. 585-611|
Tous droits réservés © Département des relations industrielles de l'Université Laval, 2004 | <urn:uuid:0c0110e7-e91b-4dcb-a02e-dd0842b28e88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.erudit.org/revue/RI/2004/v59/n3/010926ar.html | 2013-05-19T02:38:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.862525 | 13,615 |
1 Wednesday, 15 December 2004
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 2.53 p.m.
5 JUDGE ORIE: Madam Registrar, would you please call the case.
6 THE REGISTRAR: Case number IT-00-39-T, the Prosecutor versus
7 Momcilo Krajisnik.
8 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Madam Registrar.
9 We are here this afternoon to hear any submissions from the
10 parties in respect of a possible application of Rule 15 bis (D).
11 Last Friday, on the 10th of December, the two remaining Judges,
12 that is, the two Judges remaining after the withdrawal of Judge El Mahdi
13 from this case takes effect, the two remaining Judges invited the accused
14 to inform the Chamber of whether or not he would consent to the
15 continuation of this case to be heard with a substitute Judge in order to
16 include this information in the report to the President. I have sent my
17 report to the President. Meanwhile, I take it that it has been filed this
18 morning, so that it's accessible to the parties.
19 When informing the Chamber about the not giving consent, yesterday
20 in the afternoon the Defence has asked for a hearing on which submissions
21 could be made. The Defence -- as a matter of fact, both parties are
22 entitled to make whatever submissions they'd like to make in anticipation
23 of any decision to be taken by the remaining Judges.
24 I'm aware that the Defence asked for a hearing tomorrow morning.
25 The two Judges, the two remaining Judges would have agreed to that, but
1 there was no courtroom available and the Judges were not willing to
2 further postpone a hearing. Therefore, we have scheduled it this
4 When I emphasised that both parties can make their submission, it
5 is also in view of the Rule 15(D), where it says that if the two remaining
6 Judges would determine that it would be in the interest of justice, it
7 would serve the interests of justice to continue that both parties have a
8 right to appeal, and I'm telling the parties not anything new if I tell
9 them that for appeal proceedings, of course, it might be of some
10 importance to be able to rely on what you said prior to the decision being
11 taken by the two remaining Judges.
12 Is there any preference as to which party would like to make its
13 submissions first? Perhaps the Defence is the most interested party at
14 this moment, so therefore, Mr. Stewart, please proceed.
15 MR. STEWART: Well, Your Honour, I have absolutely no objection
16 whatever to going first. Your Honour, the -- what I'm going to do is --
17 we know, I apprehend the procedural background. I'm not going to run
18 through all that. Your Honour, the -- Mr. Krajisnik's position has now
19 been made clear. Your Honour, we did receive an e-mail from the Trial
20 Chamber saying that this decision was found surprising but understandable.
21 Of course, Your Honour, it's our submission it's understandable. We're
22 slightly surprised it's surprising, but it doesn't matter because by the
23 time we get to the end of these submissions we hope that Mr. Krajisnik's
24 position will be (a), understandable; and (b), not any longer surprising.
25 Your Honour, what I should also make clear about Mr. Krajisnik's
1 position is that he is not contending, through us, that, in the particular
2 circumstances there should be neither a new trial nor a continuation of
3 the old trial. That could be the position in the future if a similar
4 situation arose. But the future is the future, and at that point, one
5 could reach a situation where neither course was appropriate. But on this
6 occasion, Your Honour, we're not arguing that it's in the overall
7 interests of justice to have neither a new trial nor a continuance.
8 Nevertheless, Mr. Krajisnik's position is very clear. He has not -- the
9 way it's put in the Rules he has -- he does not consent to a continuation
10 of these proceedings, i.e., this trial, because he wishes to have the
11 alternative, a rehearing in terms of a new trial.
12 So, of course, they're mutually inconsistent; hence, since it is
13 his wish and our submission that there should be a new trial, of course
14 his consent necessarily had to be withheld under 15(C). Otherwise it is
15 not a consistent position.
16 So, Your Honour, the way that we phrase the question, and it's a
17 legitimate paraphrase of 15 bis (D), is in those circumstances, and that
18 being Mr. Krajisnik's position, which of a new trial or a continuation
19 better serves the interests of justice. Because 15 bis (D) is talking
20 specifically about the decision for the two of Your Honours whether a
21 continuation would serve the interests of justice. But since the only
22 rival contention, but it is the rival contention, the alternative, is a
23 new trial, effectively, it is which of them better serves the interests of
25 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Mr. Stewart, I think that's understood. If you
1 look at the French version of Rule 15 bis (D), you'll see that it
2 says "better serves."
3 MR. STEWART: That's even better, then, Your Honour.
4 JUDGE ORIE: Yes.
5 MR. STEWART: I hadn't -- I do occasionally look at the French,
6 Your Honour, when I see ambiguity and uncertainty in the English, but I
7 must confess a preference for English as my first port of cause. Yes,
8 Your Honour, I understand that means -- "meilleur," I suppose, is a --
9 JUDGE ORIE: It says "sert mieux."
10 MR. STEWART: I understand the grammar. Thank you, Your Honour.
11 Thank you so much for that. Well, in that case, there's clearly no issue
12 whatever. The English, as I've understood it and submitted it to mean
13 accords with the French.
14 The -- Your Honour, the technical position - again, to go very
15 quickly over this - is that our submission is and we believe that this is
16 also firmly understood by the jurisprudence, there's no presumption either
17 way that Your Honours simply decide which is the better course and do not
18 start with any legal presumption.
19 The structure of Article 15 -- of Rule 15 bis, after all, is that
20 there is no continuation at this point without consent, and then a special
21 provision to allow one effectively what we call compulsory continuation if
22 our submissions in this particular case are rejected.
23 So although there's not a presumption, it does require, of course,
24 a positive decision by Your Honours.
25 The basic foundation is, we submit, that unless there is some
1 sufficient reason to the contrary that a defendant, and especially a
2 defendant in Mr. Krajisnik's position, on such serious charges, and it
3 goes without saying, the charges are the most serious, because it's
4 genocide and then a whole series of other very serious crimes. So they
5 are the most serious. Mr. Krajisnik is a 60-year-old man. That's quite
6 recent. But he is now a 60-year-old man facing, without any concession at
7 all being made, but if he were convicted on all charges, he faces a clear
8 risk of life imprisonment. I say no more than that. But clearly, that
9 must be realistically a risk.
10 The starting point is that he should have the assurance, if at all
11 possible, when his trial starts, that all three Judges should hear, and
12 where appropriate, read all the evidence throughout and on equal terms.
13 That may sound like a rather fine distinction from a presumption, but
14 it's, we submit, a clearly correct statement of principle, that as far as
15 possible, and we operate in the real world, Mr. Krajisnik should have had,
16 ideally, and should have now, if at all possible, a trial with all Judges
17 present all the time.
18 And the importance of the presence of all Judges all the time is
19 recognised, endorsed, and inferred very clearly from other provisions in
20 Rule 15 bis which are not directly the issue here, but 15 bis (A), dealing
21 with short-term absence from the trial, and then 15 bis (F), which
22 authorises a Chamber to conduct routine matters, but only routine matters,
23 in the absence of one member of the Chamber.
24 So that's consistent with and endorses that essential principle.
25 There is also an important principle expressly enshrined in the
1 Rules, but it would be clear anyway, equality of Judges. The presiding
2 Judge, Your Honour Judge Orie in this particular instance, the Presiding
3 Judge naturally chairs, in effect, and directs the proceedings to a very
4 considerable, practical extent, but of course all three Judges are equal
5 in deciding Mr. Krajisnik's case. He is entitled to their equal say, and
6 if it comes to it, to their equal vote. And he could, in principle, one
7 among many permutations, he could as any defendant be acquitted by a 2:1
8 majority by the Trial Chamber. So it is absolutely vital that, so far as
9 possible - of course, we can only do the possible, not the impossible -
10 but so far as possible, no Judge should be in any sense less well equipped
11 than any other Judge. For example, by being put in a position of
12 deferring or feeling that there might be any circumstances in which he or
13 she might defer to a greater grasp or knowledge of the case. And there is
14 that practical element. All Judges of this Tribunal are, of course,
15 independent mind and disposition or they wouldn't be here, but that's a
16 very -- that's, all the same, a natural element and concern if one does
17 have any imbalance.
18 Of course, Your Honour, we note 15 bis inevitably involves a
19 compromise of this point in the particular circumstances with which it
20 deals. We're not operating in some remote, unreal world. So of course it
21 does. But that nevertheless, in our submission, leads to the accompanying
22 principle that such compromise should be kept to the absolute minimum.
23 And I come to that shortly in balancing. Because it is a balancing. It's
24 one of those balancing exercises, however near the borderline it comes,
25 between new trial and continuation.
1 The basic foundation, as I think I labelled it, of Mr. Krajisnik's
2 essential entitlement to have all Judges hear all the evidence throughout
3 and so on, as I summarised it, follows and is consistent with elementary
4 features of trial procedure that -- and trial procedure in many tribunals
5 but specifically before this Tribunal, that there should be an oral
6 hearing, with witnesses. 92 bis and 89(F) being restrictive exceptions
7 applied in accordance with the Rules and the jurisprudence in certain
8 defined if not in detail always specifically defined circumstances, and
9 particularly 92 bis having importance exceptions where it has no
10 application and can have no application at all, particularly in relation
11 to acts and conduct of the accused.
12 So oral hearing with witnesses. Opportunity for all Judges to see
13 and hear all witnesses live or all important -- all witnesses are
14 important, but or they wouldn't be in the case, about all important
15 witnesses by which I just mean as a shorthand, there are of course, among
16 the 92 bis witnesses, there are witnesses that neither party nor the Trial
17 Chamber consider it necessary to hear and see live. And there's not
18 always an issue about 92 bis witnesses, after all.
19 The -- and we note, I mentioned 15 bis (A), the short-term dealing
20 with matters. That's limited to five days absence of a Judge and is not
21 automatic anyway, of course. It's applied according -- only when the
22 circumstances justify. And so we have oral hearing, opportunity for all
23 Judges, and that's reinforced by several provisions of 15 bis. All Judges
24 to be there throughout. And with physical attendance of witnesses,
25 subject to -- oral witnesses, but subject to specific application for
1 videolink evidence and a specific order under Rule 71 bis. So videolink
2 is an exception. It's sensibly applied and it has been occasionally used
3 already in this case, but it's clearly not the basic procedure. The basic
4 procedure is that witnesses turn up and give their evidence in full view
5 of all the Judges and the accused, cross-examined in the same room as --
6 examined and cross-examined in the same room as counsel.
7 So that's the basic background.
8 The current state of this trial is, of course, relevant. It
9 cannot be -- it can hardly be irrelevant. In a nutshell there, we attempt
10 to summarise in a time to put together this information. Your Honour, if
11 an apology is needed for some of these figures perhaps not being a hundred
12 per cent accurate, although we believe most of them are, the degree of
13 inaccuracy we submit is not material. If we're out by one or two
14 somewhere in the count, we might be quickly corrected, but even if not
15 corrected, we don't -- we suggest it won't affect the substance.
16 We have heard, or Your Honours have heard so far 41 viva voce
17 witnesses in the sense that they were not under 92 bis at all. So they
18 were not partially 92 bis or whatever. They were simply viva voce
19 witnesses giving their evidence in chief and being cross-examined
20 viva voce. 41. One is and was an expert witness, Mr. Treanor. The rest
21 are and have been factual witnesses, witnesses of fact, of which -- and
22 here we're not a hundred per cent about this next figure, Your Honour, but
23 on our count, 17 of those, or very close to 17, involved some element of
24 89(F), to shorten the actual oral evidence in chief.
25 So that's -- but that's the category of viva voce witnesses.
1 Second category: We've had five witnesses whose evidence in
2 chief, or whose evidence has been admitted under Rule 92 bis but with
3 cross-examination, and they have attended and been cross-examined. That's
4 the second category.
5 The third category is we have had just over 40, but very close to
6 40, but our count is just over 40 Rule 92 bis witnesses admitted, or their
7 evidence admitted, without cross-examination.
8 Then -- so those are the three categories of witnesses in a sense
9 who have either already been heard or in the case of those Rule 92 bis
10 witnesses admitted without cross-examination, their evidence is in a sense
11 on the file. It's equivalent to their having been heard.
12 There then as a fourth but slightly different category, there are
13 several by which we believe it's only about three or four Rule 92 bis
14 witnesses who have already been admitted but with cross-examination -- but
15 with cross-examination, but that's still to come. So they haven't come
17 The -- so those are the witnesses. The total hearing is in fact
18 exactly, because it might otherwise sound like a round figure but in fact
19 we have had exactly a hundred days of hearing, according to our records on
20 the Defence side. So they've been spread and for reasons that Your
21 Honours are familiar with and we all know the timetable and the
22 circumstances in which the trial started, they've been spread over 11
23 months, but we have had a hundred days of hearing.
24 The -- so next question is then a new trial, which is what we're
25 contending for. What would it involve? And within the Rules and the
1 established procedures, there is a considerable degree of flexibility,
2 especially with sensible agreement of the parties. And straight away,
3 Your Honour, I should make it clear that the Defence submission and the
4 Defence request will not involve the trial simply starting again as if
5 nothing had happened, and apart from all the pre-trial briefs and the
6 indictment, for Heaven's sake, those things have happened, but not
7 starting again as if nothing had happened and no witnesses had ever given
8 evidence and no 92 bis rulings had ever been made, apart from those made
9 perhaps before the trial began. We're not suggesting that. It's not our
10 submission and not our proposal that it would be sensible to have a total
11 rerun of the trial in every respect. But it is, and we maintain that, it
12 is our position that there should be a new trial as opposed to a
14 So -- and I will, of course, need to explain and develop that a
15 little so Your Honours understand exactly what it is we're proposing and
16 how practical it is.
17 Your Honour, the Defence position would be this with a new trial:
18 We would not seek to reopen, or put it another way, to resist a renewed
19 application, if that's the way it were technically done, the question of
20 the 92 bis witnesses. So that all the 92 bis witnesses where Your Honours
21 have already ruled that their evidence should be admitted, we would accept
22 that. If it were necessary to go through a technical step of renewing the
23 application, we don't believe it is, because even if it's a new trial, it
24 talks in 15 bis about continuation of proceedings. But this is still the
25 case of the Prosecutor against Krajisnik.
1 The -- so we would accept the 92 bis rulings. We would also
2 accept and not seek to have recalled any of those 92 bis witnesses where
3 the evidence in chief was admitted at the Prosecution's request and we
4 were -- that was five of them - and we were able to cross-examine. We
5 would be content and would agree to the transcripts of their evidence
6 being treated as their evidence. So from that practical point of view,
7 that would be very much the equivalent of the position in relation to
8 those witnesses if the situation were the existing trial to continue.
9 The key points -- I hope I haven't omitted anything from these
10 categories, and our acceptance of 92 bis rulings would also apply to that
11 small category where they've been admitted with cross-examination still to
12 come. But then cross-examination is still to come, whatever happens in
13 relation to those witnesses. But we would not seek to reopen the
14 admission of their evidence under 92 bis. Your Honour knows there are
15 some tiny little bits of tidying up in relation to one or two witnesses
16 where there's a redaction issue but those are so minor that they really
17 have no bearing on the issue today.
18 The key to all this, and the nub of the practicalities of a new
19 trial as opposed to continuation of present trial, lies with a relatively
20 short list of important witnesses. I've already said all witnesses are
21 important, but some animals are more equal than others and some witnesses
22 are more important than others. And perhaps I could give Your Honour, and
23 I'll be careful here with these names, but perhaps I could give Your
24 Honour -- it's a dozen names, and I wonder if I may simply read them off
25 carefully, because, well, they will be familiar names to Your Honour, but
1 may I do that.
2 They are, and I -- no disrespect to the gentlemen concerned.
3 [Defence counsel confer]
4 MR. STEWART: Excuse me, Your Honour. My team were concerned that
5 I was going to read name of protected witnesses, but they -- on this
6 occasion, although they have justification for that concern, on this
7 occasion their concern was not necessary.
8 Your Honour, the witnesses concerned are Deronjic, Treanor,
9 Kirudja, Okun, a protected witness, another protected witness, Kljuic --
10 I'll come back to KRAJ numbers in a minute, Your Honour. Another
11 protected witness, Radic, Bjelobrk, Mandic, and Karabeg. And the
12 protected witnesses in question, Your Honour, are 625, 623, and 583. And
13 whether Your Honour probably carries those numbers in your head, but Your
14 Honour will be familiar with which three gentlemen we're talking about.
15 Your Honour, Mr. Deronjic, and may I indicate, Your Honour, what
16 we would propose on the Defence side in relation to those witnesses,
17 because this is really the heart of the matter. Mr. Deronjic gave
18 evidence for just under five days. And without elaborating the point,
19 Your Honour, the Defence would wish there to be a new trial and for
20 Mr. Deronjic to come and give his evidence in full as a witness before all
21 three Judges at the new trial.
22 Mr. Treanor gave evidence for ten days. We would not suggest that
23 it's practical or sensible for Mr. Treanor to need to come back and give
24 another ten days of evidence in addition to his voluminous report. What
25 we do suggest is that for a maximum of two days, Mr. Treanor should
1 return. There is, in the light of our rather better knowledge of the
2 case, since those relatively early days when Mr. Treanor was
3 cross-examined, there is further ground the Defence would wish to cover,
4 and it would be of value to the new Judge to see and hear Mr. Treanor for
5 that period. It would -- the difference in terms of assessing Mr.
6 Treanor, getting a feel for his evidence, the difference between two days
7 and ten days is hardly critical, but to have him back at all is
8 advantageous, we suggest.
9 So far as Mr. Kirudja is concerned, he gave evidence for just
10 under three days. Your Honour, with Mr. Kirudja - and this applies to a
11 number of witnesses - we would not suggest that his evidence is jettisoned
12 in any way. We would suggest that the evidence that he's given so far,
13 whether it is technically done, we suggest, under 92 bis. But the -- his
14 evidence should be treated as evidence in the new trial, but nevertheless,
15 he should come back, unless, Your Honour, the Defence on -- we haven't had
16 a long time to consider all these detailed matters. If we did consider it
17 was simply not necessary, then, Your Honour, we would conscientiously say
18 so, but at the moment we consider that that would be reasonable and we
19 would be likely to ask for that for -- but we consider for one day
21 Mr. Okun gave evidence for three and a half days. We would treat
22 him in the same category as Mr. Kirudja but suggest that a maximum of two
23 days would be needed for him.
24 Protected witness 625, like Mr. Deronjic, the Defence would wish
25 to come back and give evidence in full.
1 Protected witness 623 gave evidence for four days. The Defence
2 would like him to come back for a maximum of one day, cross-examination.
3 Your Honour, we should say, we don't -- when we say come back for
4 cross-examination, we're not excluding the possibility that the
5 Prosecution might say: We'd like some supplemental examination-in-chief.
6 And we're not saying in advance that if they were to make that request -
7 we don't know whether they would - we're not taking a position in advance
8 of resisting and objecting to that. We're saying the Defence's position.
9 So far as Mr. Kljuic is concerned, Your Honour, he's coming back
10 anyway. We would be content, as he is coming back anyway, we would be
11 content to have his evidence so far simply taken as his evidence, and he
12 is going to come back and the new Judge, whichever way, we accept this,
13 some of these are common features, whether it's the continuation of the
14 present trial or a new trial, Mr. Kljuic will come back. But what we're
15 suggesting is there should be no distinction; he should come back in the
16 same way either way, that continuation or new trial, his evidence should
17 be treated as his evidence, but he is coming back for further
18 cross-examination, and he has already supplied some material which was
19 under discussion when he gave his evidence before.
20 So far as Witness 583 is concerned, he gave evidence for three
21 days. The Defence there, Your Honour, would simply wish to reserve the
22 position in the way that it's, I believe expressly in his case, but
23 implicitly, it's reserved for any witness anyway to make an application to
24 have him come back for further cross-examination. But we have no active
25 application under way at the moment. We have not taken any decision,
1 although to be frank, we haven't had a lot of time to review his evidence
2 in detail anyway. But we simply reserve it.
3 So far as Mr. Radic is concerned, he gave evidence for just under
4 three days. The Defence would wish him to come back. As in every case,
5 this does enable the new Judge to see this witness, to get a feel of this
6 witness, to come back for one day. We're talking about a maximum of one
8 Mr. Bjelobrk, well, I can't say he's coming back, because I do
9 appreciate that Your Honours are reserving the position in relation to
10 Mr. Bjelobrk, but, Your Honour, the Defence's position remains that there
11 is -- we haven't resolved all matters between us and the Prosecution, but
12 the Defence position remains that there will be reason to bring
13 Mr. Bjelobrk back. On that footing, Your Honour, we would be content to
14 treat him in the same way as Mr. Kljuic, for example; take his evidence as
15 his evidence so far and have him come back. The Judge would get to see
17 So far as Mr. Mandic is concerned, while technically reserving our
18 position in relation to Mr. Mandic, as with all witnesses, we can't ever
19 rule out and wouldn't wish to positively rule out any application ever to
20 bring him back, whatever happened. We have no present intention of making
21 such an application now in relation to Mr. Mandic. We do not expect to
22 make an application. That's the highest I'll put it. We do not expect to
23 make an application to bring Mr. Mandic back. But there remains a great
24 deal of material in relation to Mr. Mandic, and I don't want to go all
25 over that painfully recent ground, Your Honour, but it's not impossible
1 that we would make such an application. We do reserve our position.
2 And then Mr. Karabec [phoen]. I think I mentioned him. I
3 certainly meant to. Mr. Karabec -- Karabeg, I'm sorry, gave evidence for
4 two days, spread over three, but it was a total of two days in fact.
5 There's a question. I'm not terribly familiar with the details of this,
6 Your Honour, but he has produced some diaries, or he is to produce some
7 diaries and there is a question of his being further cross-examined for
8 probably no more than a couple of hours.
9 So, Your Honour, those are -- those are the key witnesses for
10 today's purposes. The -- yes. Those are the key witnesses for today's
11 purposes. In many cases, of course, there was a slightly variable
12 approach. In some cases, we have reserved the position formally; it's
13 implicitly reserved anyway. In some cases we have, in a sense, more
14 firmly and expressly reserved the position with a strong indication that
15 we are likely to make an application to bring -- for the witness to be
16 brought back, and in one or two cases, Your Honour, it's already known
17 that we positively do wish for the witness to come back.
18 But the effect is, if our proposals -- they could be discussed in
19 -- they merit some discussion between the parties to refine, but in
20 principle, that's the Defence's approach, which is on the table there, and
21 it is not, so far as we've indicated, for example, in relation to 92 bis
22 witnesses, we're not withdrawing that. That is a firm position of the
24 The -- so far as the -- with Mr. Deronjic and another witness
25 being brought back in full and then the position in relation to those
1 other witnesses, as I've just summarised it, we estimate there's about an
2 extra 15 days of hearing on a rerun or a new trial, as opposed to
3 continuation of the present trial, where, in particular, two of those -- I
4 think it was two of those witnesses, but there are certainly two, in
5 particular, two would come back and give their evidence all over again,
6 truly as if it were a -- well, not as if it were, but truly on the basis
7 that it is a new trial. And that is the important distinction. It may
8 not seem very much, Your Honour, but when one strips away, not as
9 irrelevant but as in a different category, when one strips away what one
10 might call background witnesses, crime-base witnesses, all important, no
11 doubt, as elements of the case, but when one strips that away, on the
12 witnesses we've heard so far, it does come down to a smallish batch of, if
13 you like, critical witnesses. We'll argue in due course about how
14 critical some of them are. But it does come down to that. But there is
15 nevertheless a real distinction between new trial and continuation.
16 If we continue the present trial, of course the new Judge will
17 have the enormous task of reading in so that he or she is sufficiently
18 familiar to be on an even level with the other two Judges to contribute
19 equally and evenly. Of course, there will be no intellectual distinction
20 in principle among the Judges, but that Judge needs, as a human being, to
21 get up to speed with the other two Judges. That, Your Honour, of course,
22 we accept, is not greatly different from the task of a new Judge on a new
23 trial. There isn't a huge distinction there, particularly if, although
24 it's not technically -- it doesn't follow technically under the Rules, but
25 we rather expect and apprehend that Your Honours Judge Orie and Judge
1 Canivell are intended to continue to be the other two Judges. We -- it's
2 not -- doesn't follow as night follows day from the Rules, but we're
3 approaching it on that footing, Your Honour.
4 Your Honour Judge Orie indicated last Friday his view that it --
5 that the new Judge would require rather longer if there were a
6 continuation of the present trial than if there were a new trial. I
7 should say straight away, Your Honour, that although I could adopt this
8 for the purpose of the present argument, the Defence, with respect,
9 doesn't fully endorse that view. We would submit that there's unlikely to
10 be any serious distinction in terms of the work truly needed and the
11 timetable. But perhaps that's a bridge to be crossed a little bit at some
12 relatively near future point.
13 But if Your Honour is, and I don't mean any disrespect in saying
14 this, but if Your Honour is correct on that observation, then that 15-day
15 difference that we've estimated between a new trial and a continued trial,
16 a lot of that is eliminated anyway in terms of proceeding with the case,
17 because in fact Your Honour's indication was that you expected
18 continuation of a present trial to -- or to resume some two or three weeks
19 later than starting a new trial, which pretty much balances out that 15
20 days. So in terms of starting on that footing, which I have made it
21 clear, Your Honour, we don't fully accept, with respect, but on that
22 footing, there wouldn't be a really significant difference.
23 The -- certainly -- well, we've indicated which recall of some
24 witnesses would be desirable anyway, on the footing that the present trial
25 were to continue. We would still submit - but that would be a submission
1 perhaps in more detail for another day - we would still submit that
2 Mr. Treanor should come back for a couple of days, that Mr. Bjelobrk
3 should come back anyway, and we might very well make submissions in
4 relation to Deronjic and Witness 625, submissions that they should at
5 least come back for further cross-examination, which would be a different
6 thing from what we ask, and that is, after all, the prima facie procedure
7 in the context of a new trial, that they should come back and give their
8 evidence again.
9 Your Honour, we submit there's no useful, applicable precedent
10 here from the jurisprudence of this Tribunal or the sister Tribunal in
11 Arusha which casts -- which really tells us any more than an intelligent
12 reading of 15 bis. The options are clear under that Rule. In particular,
13 and Your Honour, it's pretty difficult to make submissions in this area
14 without mentioning the case against Mr. Milosevic, which does tend to be
15 in people's minds around here sometimes. In the Milosevic case, of
16 course, we know that in most unhappy circumstances, one of our Judges from
17 England and Wales left the case, which we all deeply regretted. But the
18 Milosevic case is and was -- there was a substitution then and we know
19 that one of the Scottish Judges has joined that Bench. But it is a very
20 special case. There was no view expressed by the accused consistently
21 with his overall attitude towards the Tribunal and the proceedings, he
22 wasn't likely, after all, to be drawn into expressing a view under a
23 provision of the rules, and he didn't. There was no submission by any
24 party or the amici there should be a new trial. The amici curiae said
25 that there should not be a new trial because of the known ill health of
1 Mr. Milosevic. But that's as far as they took it. And of course it had
2 by that time been a very long trial. There was no consideration expressed
3 by the Trial Chamber or the remaining Judges, for the purposes of 15(D),
4 of any argument for a new trial. So the issue simply is not argued and
5 appearing in any judgement.
6 They were further along in the trial. Your Honour, that's an
7 argument -- that's a point that might cut both ways, but rather than get
8 into a digression down that byway, we simply observe it's very different.
9 The situation is very different. Mr. Milosevic had been brought to
10 The Hague on the 29th of June, 2001. His trial had started on the 12th of
11 February, 2002. The Prosecution case had ended on the 27th of February,
12 2004. Shortly thereafter, Judge May announced his retirement and the Rule
13 15 bis hearing in the manner that I've summarised, took place on the 25th
14 of March, 2004. There was, according to our information and
15 calculations - well, it's information rather than calculation, Your
16 Honour - something between 290 and 300 -- there had been 290 to 300
17 hearing days in the Milosevic case at that point, and the Prosecution case
18 had spread over some -- well, it doesn't really matter about weeks. It
19 had been that number of days.
20 All we're saying, Your Honour, it's a very different case.
21 The -- Your Honour, among, and I'm getting fairly near to the
22 conclusion of my submissions, which we're grateful to have had the
23 opportunity of making. There is always a question of inconvenience to
24 witnesses. That's a factor. We don't submit it's irrelevant under the
25 heading of "interest of justice." There are lots and lots of factors
1 which are somewhere on the scale of relevance, and we don't suggest that's
2 not among them. However, and in principle, every witness who needs to be
3 brought back to The Hague is a factor to be given tautologously such
4 weight as it merits. But it's not a utilitarian analysis. You don't
5 aggregate together the relative lower interests of all the witnesses and
6 then balance them against Mr. Krajisnik's interests. One bears in mind,
7 we submit, that Mr. Krajisnik's interest as the man on trial are far
8 greater than any witness. And in any case, first of all, it follows from
9 what we've already said: Few witnesses would be adversely affected, even
10 in terms of inconvenience, by adoption of our submission for a new trial
11 as opposed to a continuation. This is a very small number of witnesses.
12 Within that category, there are -- we can identify at least one,
13 and Your Honour may be able to identify, in the category of witnesses who
14 are in custody anyway, in which case one might say - and I'm not being
15 flippant - that the inconvenience of coming to court to give evidence for
16 a witness who is already in custody might be regarded as rather slight.
17 The -- there are others who are expressed a positive wish to be
18 helpful in reaching the truth and don't have any apparent difficulties
19 beyond what I'll call the normal inconvenience. I'm not saying it's not a
20 nuisance to some people, though it's a pleasure to others to come to
21 The Hague for a few days, but it's not a major, major consideration for
22 witnesses who are inherently not reluctant and have expressed a wish to
23 help in this search for the truth.
24 And then as a back-up in some cases, videolink under 71 bis is
25 always available if the convenience is significant and can be
1 significantly mitigated in the case of appropriate witnesses by
3 So, Your Honour, all that is simply meant to say that
4 inconvenience of witnesses in principle is part of the exercise but is
5 really of no overall significant weight in making the balance that Your
6 Honours are making today.
7 The -- it does not appear also, Your Honour, we observe, there's
8 no indication that we have in this trial any insuperable witness
9 availability problems. I'm not talking about the witnesses that nobody
10 can persuade to come in the first place or nobody can contact in the first
11 place. That's a problem that lies behind all these procedures. But so
12 far as the witnesses who are identified are concerned, we have not seen
13 any significant problems, insuperable problems of witness availability.
14 And in any case, more to the point, a new trial in the terms that we've
15 suggested as opposed to a continuation doesn't create any obvious extra
16 difficulties in that context.
17 Your Honour, the question of timing, we've already submitted that
18 in fact there isn't in the overall context of this matter, there isn't an
19 enormous -- in fact, there's not really at all a significant likely
20 difference in the timing and the ultimate conclusion of this case anyway
21 as a result of adopting the Defence submission in this case. But so far
22 as there had been or so far as, in Your Honour's judgement, now looking at
23 the position overall, there is some difference, it's not, first of all, it
24 isn't on any footing a massive difference.
25 From Krajisnik's point of view - and we've had this point before,
1 really - he's in detention, of course, and in principle, from his point of
2 view, the sooner this trial is concluded, the better. But Mr. Krajisnik,
3 this being his position that he wishes a new trial with any consequential
4 timing implications accepted by him, is consciously and deliberately
5 accepting those consequences of his preserved course. So although the
6 Trial Chamber is, we trust, at all times astute to protect Mr. Krajisnik's
7 interests, the Trial Chamber does not need to go and should not go so far
8 as to impose concerns on Mr. Krajisnik in areas where he's willing to
9 accept the position himself.
10 So far as the wider public interest on time is concerned, again,
11 it follows, Your Honour, from our submissions that we say this is not a
12 significant factor. There is, on any footing, a limited effect on the end
13 date of this trial. And it may even be that the better focus which the
14 parties are now able to bring to bear on the matter will even more, in the
15 light of experience of this case, will even more shorten any possible
17 The -- any such difference in overall timetable between new trial
18 and continuation in any case needs to be very carefully balanced and not
19 given undue weight against the specific interests of an accused who has
20 already been in detention for four and a half years - a fraction more -
21 and faces an inevitable total time of around six years from arrest to
22 trial judgement. So the sort of timing implications that we're talking
23 about cannot be a significant factor weighing against the interests, and
24 indeed the preferences, of Mr. Krajisnik. He doesn't decide the issue,
25 but his preferences are, we suggest, important.
1 The -- I'm going to mention in a couple of sentences, Your Honour,
2 the completion strategy issue, where we were grateful to receive Your
3 Honour's confirmation, express confirmation in a short exchange a few
4 weeks ago, that it is only -- the completion strategy is only part of the
5 general framework, that the whole Tribunal is required to wind up its work
6 by a certain date, and we were grateful for Your Honour's express
7 confirmation that such matters were only part of the general framework and
8 did not drive judicial decisions in this case. And we appreciated that
9 confirmation. And putting it another way, the completion strategy and
10 related matters can, in principle, only be devised to accommodate the
11 appropriate the judicial decisions in the interests of justice, such as
12 the decision that Your Honours are faced with and not the other way
13 around. That would be, in a good old English phrase, the tail wagging the
15 The resources, again, Your Honour, we don't, as we didn't with
16 witnesses, we don't argue that resources are always irrelevant and that we
17 operate in some ideal world where everything can be done with no limit of
18 expenditure. Of course, if we operated in an ideal world, none of us
19 would be here anyway. The -- but we don't argue that, Your Honour, and of
20 course time often, not always, but time often costs money, though that's
21 not an unqualified phrase which should be taken out of context. But the
22 approach, we suggest, with respect, is, while not totally disregarding
23 resources, is of course to keep them in perspective. If one asks first of
24 all what would be more likely to achieve a just result in this case in as
25 fair a way as can be realistically be managed, then one looks to see
1 whether there are disproportionate resource implications which drive
2 towards a different conclusion. But it must in any case only be a
3 conclusion which doesn't in any way seriously imbalance and seriously
4 weaken the justice of the procedure.
5 Your Honour, the difficult, and I'm on my last couple of
6 observations here -- the difficult issue that we have faced throughout, of
7 time for preparation on the Defence side, that remains an issue which may
8 need to be taken up, well, will need, frankly, Your Honour, to be taken up
9 as and when at the appropriate time with the Trial Chamber, as and when
10 and in the context of whichever procedure is adopted; continuation of the
11 present trial or the new trial. But it is, we suggest, at least a
12 consideration that the Defence began this case under acknowledged enormous
13 pressure and that, as Your Honours know, we had not been able to complete
14 pre-trial preparation when the trial began on the 3rd of February, 2004,
15 and that was recognised.
16 We have examined important witnesses with, in our submission,
17 inadequate grasp. We've done our best not to make that too obvious,
18 perhaps, but with inadequate grasp of the some of the matters, and that is
19 a reason in favour -- it's one reason, but it is a reason, an additional
20 factor in favour of a new trial and bringing back the very limited number
21 of witnesses where we submit it is particularly important that there
22 should be some recognition and, if you like, compensation adjustment in
23 respect of that point.
24 And, Your Honour, I simply would say this, Your Honour; that if
25 some similar procedure existed for counsel to the procedure under which
1 the new Judge, if there is a continuation, has to certify that he has
2 familiarised himself with the record, if Defence counsel were required to,
3 in their professional judgement, sign some such certificate before
4 proceeding with a trial to defend Mr. Krajisnik, I doubt that I would sign
5 the certificate today, and I certainly would not have signed it over many,
6 many, many, many months of this trial, and I would certainly have to think
7 extremely hard if I were asked to sign it over the next few weeks.
8 The -- and I understand Ms. Loukas would have no more enthusiasm
9 for signing a corresponding certificate.
10 The -- my concluding submission, and it's part of the context, and
11 I hope Your Honours won't take it in any hostile spirit. The situation we
12 are faced with is remarkable, in effect, if one steps back a bit from it.
13 The fact that the procedures devised by the United Nations, the Security
14 Council, and this Tribunal have been devised in such a way that a Judge
15 starts a trial which is known to be going to continue beyond his term of
16 office, and then when he's not re-elected, which is, after all, a known
17 and serious risk because electorates of any sort are notoriously
18 unpredictable, or certainly should be, that no way can be found and has
19 been found to resolve the matter so that he could stay with the case, is,
20 Your Honour, we must submit, deeply unsatisfactory. If the consequences
21 of any course adopted in the interests of justice in this case might be
22 viewed, and we understand, in the light of observations made that this
23 would not be treated as relevant by Your Honours, but we simply say that
24 if the consequences are unsatisfactory when viewed by any planners or
25 budgeters in New York or The Hague or anywhere else, then that is simply
1 part of the cost of doing proper justice in the conditions created by the
2 United Nations, by the Security Council, and this institution under the
3 auspices of the United Nations. Because we are all of us, and Your
4 Honours included, faced with a very difficult and unsatisfactory situation
5 as a result. We respect Judge El Mahdi's retirement given the situation
6 that he faced in anticipation of where the matter would be next November.
7 But unsatisfactory it is. The Defence submission is that in a way the
8 lesser of two evils, because it would have been much better, Mr. Krajisnik
9 has certainly made clear his preference that we could have finished with
10 the Judges that we've started with. It's our submission that the more
11 satisfactory course, the better course in the interests of justice, is a
12 new trial, to which the Defence is prepared to attach and accept the
13 particular flexible adjustments and conditions that we have indicated.
14 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Mr. Stewart.
15 Mr. Harmon.
16 MR. HARMON: Good afternoon, Your Honours, counsel. My
17 submissions will be considerably briefer than Mr. Stewart's.
18 First of all, a plain reading of the Rule implies inherent in this
19 Rule is the fact that a substitute Judge can indeed familiarise himself or
20 herself with the trial record in this case and can put himself in a
21 position where the accused can be assured that a third substitute Judge
22 would have the ability to hear all of the evidence and read all of the
23 evidence that has been presented thus far in the hundred days of trial
24 that we have had.
25 There is a precedent -- in fact, there are two precedents that I'm
1 aware of where a substitute Judge has been inserted into a case. The
2 first, I won't belabour the point, of course, the Milosevic case.
3 Mr. Stewart has described that. The second case was the Blaskic case,
4 where Judge Fouad Riad became medically incapacitated and could not hear
5 the evidence well into the Prosecution's case and there was a substitute
6 judge, Judge Almiro Rodrigues, who familiarised himself with considerable
7 amounts of evidence in the case and sat with great distinction in hearing
8 that case, and all parties in that case were satisfied that Judge
9 Rodrigues had provided each of the parties with a full understanding of
10 the evidence and a full opportunity to listen to and deliberate on all of
11 the evidence that had been heard to date.
12 Now, to further expand on sub-part D, the Prosecution's position,
13 in very clear and unequivocal terms, is that it is in the interests of
14 justice to appoint a substitute Judge. A substitute Judge, Your Honours,
15 can put himself in the position, first of all, of knowing what the case
16 is, knowing what all of the issues are, by availing himself or herself to
17 the written record, all of the exhibits, and the video record of each of
18 the witnesses who have testified in this case. So if the Judge would like
19 to hear, for example, and see the demeanour of a witness, one of the
20 witnesses taken, for example, Mr. Kirudja, one of the witnesses who has
21 been cited by the Defence, then that video is available for the substitute
22 Judge to listen to, to observe. Furthermore, if the substitute Judge
23 wishes to have a question posed to one of those witnesses, the substitute
24 Judge is in a position to make a request to have the witness reappear.
25 At the end of the day, Your Honour, the Prosecution has enormous
1 faith in the integrity of a substitute Judge, who would certify that he or
2 she has familiarised himself or herself with the record, and having seen
3 two cases proceed, one to completion, I'm quite confident that all of the
4 interests of justice could be met by having a substitute Judge appointed
5 in this case.
6 Now, let me touch upon some other issues that have been raised by
7 Mr. Stewart. Mr. Stewart has presented to Your Honours a package that
8 seems to suggest that starting anew would cause fewer problems. While I
9 have great respect for Mr. Stewart and faith in his representations in
10 this case, certainly we have gone through in the process to date
11 significant written litigation dealing with a host of issues that could be
12 raised anew should we start over that process, which entails written
13 motions, responses, replies, and considerable effort by the Trial Chamber
14 to arrive at written decisions would commence anew, and there's no
15 assurance whatsoever that that would not happen. Frankly, I think those
16 issues should remain litigated and remain in the status that they are in
17 at the moment.
18 I think, furthermore, Your Honour, that when we discuss the
19 convenience or inconvenience of witnesses, while Mr. Stewart concedes that
20 that is a relevant factor, as I go through the list of witnesses that
21 Mr. Stewart wants to recall by virtue of the unfortunate circumstances of
22 Judge El Mahdi's withdrawal, what Mr. Stewart is essentially asking for is
23 a second opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses, when he has had an
24 opportunity, and a full opportunity, to cross-examine these witnesses.
25 I think Your Honours should consider, in the interests of justice,
1 whether it is convenient or inconvenient to call people back who have been
2 some subpoenaed, some witnesses diplomats, others who arrived with --
3 whose attendance was difficult to secure, at best. There is no assurance
4 that these witnesses would come back or could come back. I can point Your
5 Honours to a witness who is not identified on this list, and I'm not
6 asserting that that's one of the witnesses, obviously, that Mr. Stewart
7 had in mind, but we can remember the case of Mr. Biscevic, whose
8 cross-examination was bifurcated, and Mr. Biscevic, because of ill health,
9 could not re-attend the trial. We did, obviously, surmount that
10 difficulty with a videolink, at considerable expense to this Tribunal.
11 But there's no assurance that some of these witnesses could ever
12 reappear, and that is a risk that I think the Court must and should take
13 into consideration in this case when it assesses whether or not a
14 substitute Judge, listening to the trial record and analysing the trial
15 record, has available and at his disposal the ability to assess that
16 witness's evidence.
17 I have mentioned the precedent, the standards which I think fully
18 exist for a fair trial to continue. I'll touch briefly on the costs.
19 This is a case where tremendous consideration has been given to
20 Mr. Krajisnik for the considerable pre-trial period, and this Court and
21 the parties have bent over backwards to accommodate him. I believe in
22 this case, Your Honour, the interests of justice require - require - that
23 a substitute Judge be appointed and that we proceed with a proper
24 certification from that Judge that he is in a position to sit fully on
25 this case.
1 I should point out one other precedent, Your Honour. It's been
2 pointed out to me recently, just a minute, that there is another precedent
3 in this case. I'm informed that in the middle of the Stakic case, a Judge
4 was taken ill and was replaced as well. So there are three precedents,
5 all of which, I do believe, have been situations where the accused in each
6 of those cases has -- is continuing to or has received a full and fair
7 hearing in the face of an unfortunate circumstance where a Judge has been
9 Those are our submissions, Your Honour. Thank you very much.
10 MR. STEWART: Your Honours, I wonder if I might briefly, after the
11 Prosecution heard what we had to say before submitting, I'll be very
13 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Please do so.
14 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, first of all, in relation to the
15 precedents, the Stakic case mentioned, the case of Mr. Stakic, where he
16 consented. Your Honour, what we said, and we don't wish to elaborate, we
17 said there are not many useful precedents, that these cases are all
18 different. Of course we started by saying we accept this procedure is
19 available under this Rule. It says so in black and white. And we're
20 agreed about that. But we adhere to our submission that all other limited
21 number of cases are sufficiently different from this case that it's Your
22 Honour's independent judgement which is the key here, and those other
23 cases don't really tell Your Honours any more than we find in 15 bis,
24 which was our submission about half an hour ago.
25 The second point is that Mr. Harmon refers to written litigation
1 on a host of issues. We do suggest if that is to be a point, then a
2 little more specificity might have been required. We -- it's -- if that's
3 to be a point, then some indication as to exactly what that is and where
4 the difficulty lies would be appropriate.
5 Third point, very brief bullet points, in effect, Your Honour:
6 Mr. Harmon says we're asking for a second opportunity to
7 cross-examination. That's true, but it's not only that. In relation to
8 two of those witnesses, in particular Mr. Deronjic and Witness 625, it's
9 not just that we're seeking an opportunity to cross-examine. It's quite
10 specifically that we would wish the new Judge to hear their evidence in
11 full and have those witnesses, in the particular circumstances in which
12 they have found themselves, come and give all their evidence before this
13 Judge, and they are not insignificant witnesses.
14 And Your Honour, the jurisprudence of this Tribunal and the sister
15 Tribunal in Rwanda does consistently attach significance to Judges hearing
16 the witnesses when they give evidence, hearing them give evidence orally
17 when they give evidence, and not looking back over a record. It is a
18 second-best to familiarise oneself with a record, however much it is
19 accepted, as of course it's accepted as a principle enshrined in the
20 Rules, that a Judge before this Tribunal will be capable of meeting the
21 requirement under the Rules of familiarising himself with the record. But
22 it's inherent in that whole procedure that it is a second-best.
23 The example of Mr. Biscevic is just an example of how, where a
24 witness -- and Your Honour knows that the Defence didn't express its
25 enthusiasm about Mr. Biscevic's position anyway, but the Trial Chamber did
1 decide to deal with his evidence in a bifurcated way, which is less
2 satisfactory for the Defence than for the Prosecution. The Prosecution
3 wanted it dealt with in a bifurcated way, as it turns out, and we didn't.
4 But it was easily resolved, effect. It was. He did give his evidence by
5 videolink. It wasn't a problem. Despite the Defence not wishing that to
6 be the result, it was easily resolved.
7 Your Honour, those are our brief bullet-point observations, in
8 effect. Thank you for that opportunity.
9 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Thank you. Any need to respond, Mr. Harmon?
10 MR. HARMON: No.
11 [Trial Chamber confers]
12 JUDGE ORIE: Before -- I do understand that Mr. Krajisnik would
13 like to address the Chamber. Before giving him an opportunity to do so, I
14 don't know whether -- Judge Canivell has drawn my attention to it. We
15 have a few questions for the parties. Perhaps I'll put those questions
17 Mr. Stewart, you've drawn our attention to the consequences in
18 terms of time of either to continue or to restart the trial. When I gave
19 a rough estimate of what, in practical terms, it would mean either to
20 restart or to continue to hear the case, I had in mind that a new start
21 would be a real trial de novo, that is, to hear the case on from the
22 beginning, and that is what made me express my estimate. My question to
23 you is: Are you aware that that might be quite different if a
24 considerable part of the evidence - well, let's say the evidence - both 92
25 bis, but also the viva voce witnesses which you consider not to be the key
1 witnesses, that my estimate might have been quite different?
2 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, I can accept that readily, because, as
3 I made clear, I was only, in effect -- and I'm happy to accept Your
4 Honour's qualification and explanation of Your Honour's own remarks.
5 Because in adopting that, I made it clear that in effect I was only
6 adopting it from the point of view of what Your Honour expressed. Because
7 I will simply say, Your Honour, that the Defence submits that in practical
8 terms there should be and won't be any real distinction in the time needed
9 and the starting date whichever of these procedures is adopted. Because
10 if, as we apprehend, if it is to be Your Honour Judge Orie and His Honour
11 Judge Canivell to continue, then the only right and effective way to
12 proceed with this trial, whether it was a new trial with the two of Your
13 Honours and a new Judge - because he or she would be a new Judge anyway -
14 would be for that Judge to familiarise himself or herself with the case in
15 a way that would be broadly equivalent. It wouldn't be the technical
16 certification procedure if there were a new trial, but if the new Judge
17 were to be an equal-standing member of the Court with Your Honours, who
18 have lived with this case for such a long time, broadly equivalent amount
19 of time and preparation would be needed anyway. So our submission, Your
20 Honour, would be that in effect there isn't any real distinction as far as
21 starting date and time needed by the Judges concerned. But the corollary
22 of that is that I do accept Your Honour's observation just made.
23 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Then I've got a question to Mr. Harmon. When
24 referring to the case-law of this Tribunal, you mentioned three
25 precedents. There was a distinction between your presentation and the
1 presentation of Mr. Stewart as far as he included the ICTR case-law and
2 whether you would consider this the case-law of this institution or of a
3 sister institution or case-law created by the Appeals Chamber, which is
4 common to both institutions. Because we have the Butare case. No. Let
5 me just -- the president in the case of Karemera, where the Appeals
6 Chamber did not accept a decision of the two remaining Judges to continue
7 the case. Did you -- I don't know whether you wanted to make any
8 reference to that or that you would consider that not to be a useful
9 precedent or ...
10 MR. HARMON: Your Honour, I would have to read that case. I have
11 not read that case, so I'm not in a position to comment on it.
12 JUDGE ORIE: Then for the --
13 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, we did bring -- it's always -- it's
14 always a question whether to load the Court with too much stuff. We did
15 bring with us one particular -- or two cases. Perhaps -- should we give
16 Your Honours the references to them? One was Karemera. Was that the case
17 Your Honour --
18 JUDGE ORIE: And the other one is the Butare. The case is called
19 Butare although it's not the name of one of the accused.
20 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, actually, the case we had in mind,
21 maybe it's a different one, is Rutaganda, which was in the Appeals
22 Chamber. And actually, that was not -- it was a case -- it was slightly
23 different. That was a case in which the Appeals Chamber made observations
24 about the importance of Judges seeing and hearing the witnesses giving
25 evidence when they give evidence. But Your Honours, we --
1 JUDGE ORIE: It's fine if you have any -- what I have at least
2 with me at this moment is at least a decision of the Appeals Chamber of
3 the 24th of September, 2003, which is a case which is usually called the
4 Butare case, I think, which the name of -- it's case number -- well, there
5 are many accused, but the first one mentioned is Pauline Nyiramasuhuko
6 with a declaration of Judge Shahabuddeen attached to it and a dissenting
7 opinion attached by Judge Hunt.
8 MR. STEWART: Well, Your Honour, we haven't got to that. We've
9 actually been mildly hampered by the ICTR website having closed itself
10 down over the last few days for refurbishment. My apologies. We simply
11 -- I'm not familiar with that case.
12 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Mr. Harmon -- well, yes, my question -- your
13 answer was that you hadn't seen this case-law. I have one other question
14 for you, Mr. Harmon. You more or less expressed as a possibility that the
15 new Judge, if he would be appointed, if the case would be continued, could
16 request to hear or rehear a witness. Does it make any difference for you
17 if you consider that he of course could be overruled in such a request by
18 the two other Judges? I mean, do you have any specific views on the
19 position of a third Judge in that respect?
20 MR. HARMON: I assume that the Judges work quite collaboratively,
21 and if there was an important issue, obviously deference would be and
22 should be given to the new Judge. If he has an important point that
23 relates to a significant part of the witness's evidence, it would seem to
24 me that that Judge should be entitled to have that question answered
25 personally by the witness.
1 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Then, Mr. Stewart, of course you emphasised the
2 importance of getting an impression of the demeanour of the witness and
3 apart from just reading his testimony. You didn't express yourself, which
4 has been an issue in some of these cases that we just mentioned, that a
5 new Judge, as mentioned by Mr. Harmon, could observe the demeanour of the
6 witness through means of video recordings of the hearing.
7 MR. STEWART: Yes, Your Honour. We accept that point, and if in
8 relation to any witness of any significance, the new Judge will spend that
9 time, and it's what might be called in the jargon real time; you've got to
10 sit in front of the video for the time it takes. If the Judge would do
11 that for the equivalent of those days, that would go -- it would be
12 unrealistic to submit anything else - that would go at least a
13 considerable part of the way to meet the point. We understand that
14 something around 90 to 95 per cent of the evidence does appear on the
15 video, though not all of it, for some reason, not a hundred per cent of
16 the witness's evidence is directly recorded. He's on camera always
17 somewhere, but it can be somewhere from an angle in the court. But in
18 excess of 90 per cent is available. It's not the same, Your Honour.
19 After all, it's not the same for evidence to be given by videolink. It
20 often is, but in principle, the starting point for the Court is it is not
21 the same. A live trial with live witnesses is the starting point. A
22 specific application has to be made, for example, in relation to videolink
23 evidence and specifically granted and justified. So it's not the same,
24 Your Honour.
25 JUDGE ORIE: From what I understand, there's not one videotape of
1 these proceedings, but there are several ones, one of them being the
3 MR. STEWART: That's our understanding, Your Honour. What I told
4 Your Honour was the answer of -- I made specific inquiries because I did
5 particularly wish to know exactly how it worked. That's my best
6 information, Your Honour, but Your Honour has huge experience of this
8 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Then finally, I would just like to make a short
9 statement. Mr. Stewart, you have addressed two issues, the one issue
10 being the completion strategy issue, and immediately after that, you
11 addressed the matter of resources, which of course there is some link.
12 Just to -- perhaps to make clear to you that in the present situation, no
13 one has ever sought to advise me or has suggested to me how to resolve the
14 present issue, let alone that I was ever addressed in the context of the
15 completion strategy. Of course, I have not discussed with many people the
16 present situation, even for -- I would say for most of my fellow Judges it
17 came as a complete surprise last Friday. But of course the matter has
18 been discussed in the staff, which is quite normal. But I would not have
19 given anyone ever an opportunity either to advise or to suggest any
20 solutions, because the first thing I would tell that in the video is that
21 a decision will be taken once all arguments have been heard, once every
22 aspect of the case would have been on our -- would have been thought over
23 carefully. And therefore, it could be continuation or a trial de novo
24 that was completely an open question, as far as I was concerned. I hope
25 that this accommodates you. It addresses the issue of the completion
1 strategy. Of course, as you observed yourself, resources is not exactly
2 the same, although they are perhaps not totally unrelated.
3 Let me just confer with the registrar.
4 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]
5 [Trial Chamber confers]
6 JUDGE ORIE: We noticed that perhaps not every one of us has seen
7 exactly the same material. I would like to give an opportunity for
8 another 40 minutes to the parties to exchange whatever material they have
9 and for the Chamber also to read any decision that we had not read yet.
10 And therefore, I would like to invite Mr. Stewart again to give the
11 details of that one case that he mentioned. And then to give an
12 opportunity to the parties to make any further observations after this 40
13 minutes. So we'll then restart at 5.00 and then have a short subsequent
15 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, if I were to hand up -- it's not the
16 entire case, which is quite long, but if I were to hand up the extract,
17 then it also gives Your Honours the reference on the front.
18 JUDGE ORIE: Yes.
19 MR. STEWART: May I do that.
20 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. I take it that the Prosecution would get a
22 MR. STEWART: Of course. I have enough copies for everybody, Your
24 JUDGE ORIE: Okay. And do you have a -- it's turned out that
25 Mr. Stewart was not familiar with the appeals case of -- I don't know
1 which one, but ...
2 MR. STEWART: Not familiar; I think I've never even heard of it,
3 Your Honour.
4 JUDGE ORIE: That's your interpretation, Mr. Stewart.
5 MR. STEWART: That's my position, Your Honour, so ...
6 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Stewart, at least for the Appeals Chamber, I
7 think the Karemera case and the what is usually called the Butare case, as
8 I just mentioned, might be of some interest to spend time on during the
9 next --
10 MR. STEWART: I'm obliged, Your Honour. It was paragraph 21
11 particularly in the extract we've just handed up to Your Honour.
12 Paragraph 21 is the particular paragraph we wished to draw your attention
13 to. And in Karemera, paragraph 60 was on the similar point about
14 witnesses, demeanour of witnesses.
15 JUDGE ORIE: Yes.
16 MR. STEWART: But thank you, Your Honour, for that other
18 JUDGE ORIE: We'll adjourn until 5.00, and I expect then the
19 parties to be brief in any further submissions, so that we could conclude
20 not later than perhaps 20 minutes past 5.00. We adjourn until 5.00.
21 --- Recess taken at 4.22 p.m.
22 --- On resuming at 5.02 p.m.
23 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Stewart, I noted that the Rutaganda case is not a
24 specific 15 bis case but gives in general terms in paragraph 21 some
25 observations on the --
1 MR. STEWART: Yes. That's entirely correct, Your Honour. Yes,
2 that was the point of that case, yes.
3 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Stewart, would you like to make any additional
5 MR. STEWART: Your Honour, thank you. I'll just make brief
6 observations on that case. We're very grateful. We received a lot of
7 practical help from the Prosecution, and everybody, I think, in getting a
8 copy of that quickly, and within our own team. In the end, I was flooded
9 with copies.
10 The -- Your Honour, the -- it seems to be in about paragraphs 22
11 onwards and 24 onwards. Your Honours have a copy of that judgement, I
12 understand. So we -- this particular -- a lot of it is to do with issues
13 which don't arise on this particular hearing. And at page -- paragraph
14 25, it begins: "There is a preference for live testimony to be heard by
15 each and every Judge, but that does not represent an unbending
16 requirement." Well, we don't go that far, Your Honour. "The Rules and
17 cases show that exceptions can be made." And then just on this particular
18 exception that the Appeals Chamber mention, "The exceptions may relate
19 even to evidence involving an assessment of demeanour, various ways being
20 available to assist a new Judge to overcome any disadvantages."
21 And then it said: "The appellants have not attacked the procedure
22 prescribed by Rule 15(A) or 15(B). Under these provisions, a witness
23 could be heard by two Judges." It actually means 15 bis (A) and 15 bis
24 (B) there. That's the only way one can make sense of that. "Under these
25 provisions a witness could be heard by two Judges, that the procedure is
1 in effect available only over a short period of time is not relevant to
2 the principle involved."
3 The observation we make there is that, yes, it's correct, and we
4 recognise that, technically speaking, within 15 bis (A), if a Judge is
5 absent for a short time within the strict wording of the Rule, a witness
6 may be heard over that five-day period, and at its extreme, it could be an
7 absolutely critical witness. But, Your Honour, a point we mentioned
8 earlier is that 15 bis (A) is itself a discretionary matter, and it allows
9 it, and one would expect in the ordinary course, that a witness who was
10 critical and whose demeanour was critical would lead a Trial Chamber to
11 say, in respect of 15 bis (A), that it wasn't a suitable case to deal with
12 it in the absence of a Judge in the short term. So --
13 JUDGE ORIE: I made a note for myself, Mr. Stewart, saying that
14 your interpretation of Article 15 bis mainly focuses on the aspect of
15 confirming the importance of the three Judges rather than the aspect of
16 the exceptions contained therein.
17 MR. STEWART: That's absolutely right, Your Honour, and my
18 submission in relation to paragraph 25 -- this is, after all, what the
19 Appeals Chamber were saying in this particular case, so in a sense it's
20 part of their -- well, it is part of their reasoning here. But when one
21 focuses specifically on what they're saying here, we suggest that this --
22 the existence of that technically possible procedure under 15 bis (A)
23 doesn't really support the conclusion that there's -- or doesn't represent
24 any weakening of the basic preference for live testimony to be heard by
25 each and every Judge, and that's consistent with what very helpfully Your
1 Honour has entirely accurately quoted back to me as our submissions
3 The -- then at paragraph 30 -- we don't have any particular issue
4 with the next few paragraphs, which seem to be consistent with submissions
5 that we've made in relation to -- not on detailed reading, Your Honour,
6 but they appear to be consistent with the submissions we've made.
7 Paragraph 30, then, "The position being taken by the appellants is
8 that the ability to evaluate credibility on a point of demeanour is
9 essential to there being a fair trial, as mandated by the supreme
10 instrument, namely, the Statute." And this was a twist in this case. "In
11 the absence of video-recordings, it will not be possible for the
12 substitute Judge to make such an evaluation." And then subject to the
13 following, that submission is correct. But then the matter becomes
14 confused by the fact that there weren't video-recordings, but the point
15 had not been taken in the court below, and as we read paragraph 31, it was
16 therefore in effect not considered on appeal because it hadn't been taken.
17 So the absence of video-recordings to some extent dropped out of the
18 picture. But the Tribunal not entirely perhaps, but the point that we
19 would like to make an observation on, is then it does have a bearing on
20 what was discussed here this afternoon. Last few lines of paragraph 33:
21 "Failure to review video-recordings which because they are non-existent
22 do not form part of the record of the proceedings..." Well, impossible to
23 quarrel with that bit of logic: "... does not mean that the Judge has not
24 familiarised himself with the record of the proceedings as the record
25 stands. Therefore, does not disqualify him from joining the Bench. He
1 may decide to join the Bench with any questions of demeanour being left to
2 be resolved in the manner following." So, so far, no quarrel with that,
3 Your Honour. The recomposed Trial Chamber may recall witnesses so as to
4 enable the substitute Judge to assess their demeanour on particular
5 points. And then entirely correctly it's pointed out that any testimony,
6 including recalled testimony, the new Judge hears as a member of the
7 recomposed Trial Chamber and recall power lies within the competence of
8 the whole Trial Chamber. So it's not for the two Judges to authorise it
9 in effect in advance. It's, technically speaking, done by a majority, but
10 it's for the whole Trial Chamber.
11 But the -- they go on then in paragraph 35, last few lines: "The
12 recomposed Trial Chamber may on a motion by a party or proprio motu recall
13 a witness on a particular issue which in the view of the Trial Chamber
14 involves a matter of credibility which the substitute Judge may need to
15 assess in the light of the witness's demeanour."
16 Your Honour, our submission is that paragraph 34 is, in effect,
17 what we have been saying, that -- but with this qualification, perhaps:
18 That the Defence would ask for a new trial, among other things, because,
19 although if the new Judge says: "Well, I really would like to see this
20 witness," first of all, it would then be a discussion. This would be
21 entirely proper. There would then be a discussion among the three Judges,
22 and the two Judges who had been there all along would one expect naturally
23 to say: Well, we've seen this witness, and this, that, and the other and
24 so on and discuss it. The -- what we suggest is that in those cases,
25 although the Judges are the Judges and make their decisions as to what
1 witnesses they need to hear, that more significance should be attached to
2 a party, and in this case it's the Defence, but it could be the
3 Prosecution, who is saying: We regard this witness as an important
4 witness on which we, in this case the Defence, would wish all the Judges
5 to hear and see this witness.
6 The initiative, of course, can come from the Bench, and the
7 decision on recall of any witness is for the Bench. The difference, Your
8 Honour - and I face this squarely - the difference when we have a new
9 trial is that in effect the starting point is that a witness gets called,
10 and we have indicated a very large number of areas where we would accept,
11 whether it's a concession or what, but we would accept a modification of
12 that position and not ask for witnesses to be recalled. But in relation
13 to that very small number of witnesses, we would then be saying: No, it
14 shouldn't be left to the discretion of the Trial Chamber then as to
15 whether the new Judge wishes to hear the witness, to assess his demeanour,
16 or whether the Trial Chamber thinks he should be recalled. The prima
17 facie position, the starting point should apply in relation to those
18 witnesses and they should give evidence. And that is a feature of the new
20 The -- when -- paragraph 36 of this judgement, a slightly
21 different point: "The Appeals Chamber has considered whether a rehearing
22 as opposed to a continuation could be facilitated by recourse to Rule 92
23 bis (D), which provides for the admission of transcripts of evidence. It
24 notes, however, that the procedure does not apply in relation to the acts
25 and conducts of the accused and may not, therefore, be adequate. The
1 concern of the appellants with matters of demeanour strongly suggest that
2 some or all of the 23 witnesses who testified have done so in relation to
3 the acts and conduct of the accused."
4 Well, Your Honour, that's again entirely correct as a matter of
5 technical procedure, and we mentioned it in our submissions.
6 Nevertheless, we have also indicated that in -- because it is, after all,
7 it was open to the Defence then to waive that particular objection, and if
8 the Trial Chamber then considers it proper, and there would be no reason
9 in this case, if the Defence waived its objection, as we indicated that we
10 would do in relation to a number of witnesses, as in relation to that
11 restriction in 92 bis, that gets over that particular problem in relation
12 to those witnesses. In other words, a more extensive use could be made of
13 92 bis and transcripts of evidence of the proceedings which have taken
14 place so far. And I'd be going over the same ground again: We've
15 indicated to Your Honours quite specifically in relation to lists of
16 witnesses how we submit that that should work.
17 So the particular difficulty or obstacle, if you like, that is
18 mentioned in paragraph 36 of this judgement doesn't apply in terms, given
19 the more flexible approach to a new trial that we have indicated.
20 So, Your Honour, it -- this -- there's nothing in this decision
21 which contradicts any of the principles or any of the submissions put
22 forward by the Defence earlier. We accept the position, but subject to
23 our submissions, that live testimony by each and every Judge cannot be and
24 plainly is not under the Rules an unbending requirement, but it doesn't
25 mean, and that's entirely consistent with the whole tone of this Appeals
1 Chamber judgement that we're looking at now, it doesn't mean that it
2 doesn't remain very important.
3 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Mr. Stewart.
4 Mr. Harmon, any further submissions?
5 MR. HARMON: Yes, Your Honour. I don't intend to resubmit my
6 previous -- all of my previous submissions. In reviewing this case, Your
7 Honour, this case seems to be entirely consistent with the proposition
8 that is inherent in 15 bis (D); that is, the two issues that we confront
9 in this hearing are, one, whether it's in the interests of justice for a
10 third Judge to be substituted in at this point in time in this case. And
11 the second issue is whether a Judge is capable of familiarising himself or
12 herself with the record that we have in this case. And if, upon
13 certification, he can make that assertion, then he should be substituted
15 This case, the Butare case, had elements that do not exist in this
16 case. My reading of this case, there were no videotapes, and so the issue
17 of demeanour was more difficult and problematic from the point of view of
18 assessing demeanour. However, that was not dispositive of the Court
19 finding that the procedure used and the substitution was proper. What was
20 important in this decision is found in paragraph 33, that the failure to
21 review in this particular case video evidence wasn't fatal, that a judge
22 can familiarise himself with the trial record and can therefore assert and
23 certify that he's in a position to join the particular Trial Chamber.
24 Paragraph 34 supports our previous submission that the recomposed
25 Trial Chamber may recall witnesses. We had a discussion about that,
1 during my submissions we continued to make that submission to the Court.
2 Where, in paragraph 34, it says: "Where video-recordings are available,
3 an absent Judge who reviews such recording does so as a member of the
5 So in our particular case, this case, Your Honour, there are
6 video-recordings available. There is the record of the proceedings
7 itself. It's our submission to this Court that the interests of justice
8 do require that the case have a substitute Judge, that there are materials
9 that are available sufficient to enable that Judge to review them properly
10 and make the proper certification, and we would urge this Court to permit
11 a substitute Judge to sit in judgement of Mr. Krajisnik for the remaining
12 portion of the Prosecution's case and for the Defence case.
13 Thank you.
14 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Mr. Harmon.
15 Last Friday I said, Mr. Krajisnik, that if you read the wording of
16 Rule 15 bis, and if you compare that with many other Rules where often it
17 is said the Defence is entitled to, and there it specifically says
18 something about the accused, that I wanted to be sure that of course your
19 view and your non-consent, as we know now, has been brought to the
20 attention of the Chamber. If, however, there would be anything you'd like
21 to add at this moment, and I invite you not to start any debate with
22 counsel, because you had better have any debate outside of this courtroom,
23 and I also understood that you have had ample opportunity to discuss the
24 matter with counsel, but I would not refrain you from addressing the
25 Chamber if you'd like to do that at this moment. Where I said "the
1 Chamber," I should say the two remaining Judges.
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honours. Good
3 afternoon to all. First of all, I wish to thank the Trial Chamber,
4 although there are only two Honourable Judges here, for allowing me to
5 address them.
6 If we use the terminology from economics, I would say that this is
7 a temporary calculation or a sum-up of the trial heretofore. I wish to
8 say only a brief -- a couple of words that would be useful for the
9 continuation or for the future of our trial.
10 You have heard out my counsel Stewart, and of course it is only
11 natural for me to consult with my counsel. I wish to say that I endorse
12 his submissions and I would just briefly like to explain something that
13 might clarify my decision to deny my consent.
14 Your Honours, I have spent a long time in prison here, and it
15 would be only normal for me to wish to end this proceedings as soon as
16 possible, because any further delay is contrary to my interests. But, as
17 Mr. Stewart has said here, I would of course wish to leave the prison
18 tomorrow. However, the proceedings have to take their course. The reason
19 why I opted for a rehearing is only one, but I wish to add to what
20 Mr. Stewart has said.
21 I have followed the proceedings from my perspective, and a great
22 many things have not been clarified here. Although many helpful witnesses
23 have been called here, in a rehearing, these witnesses would shed more
24 light to the events that had taken place in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the
25 war. For this reason, I believe it would be helpful for a retrial to take
1 place, because it could prove to be helpful for all sides; the Defence,
2 the OTP, and the Trial Chamber alike, because it would help expedite the
4 Because the start of the trial was rushed, the Defence was unable
5 to prepare sufficiently, and there have been quite a few flaws committed
6 on our part. The Defence would require a longer period of time, which
7 could be beneficial for it, and this could be done in a new trial, where
8 the two of you Honourable Judges would be present, along with a third
9 Judge, and before such trial would start, the Defence would have enough --
10 ample time to prepare itself.
11 I would turn to another issue that touches upon the fairness of
12 trial. I wish to go back to what Prosecutor Mr. Harmon said. At this
13 stage, the Prosecution would have to use the opportunity to amend the
14 indictment and withdraw a number of allegations that were deemed
15 corroborated before the proceedings reached this stage.
16 Another matter that I would like to mention here, Your Honours, is
17 the following: In the forthcoming period I wish to take an active part in
18 these proceedings, which I have not taken so far. I will abide by your
19 wish not to repeat some of the submissions stated here by my counsel, but
20 I do wish to reiterate my request to put certain questions to witnesses
21 during their testimony here and I would like you to allow me to address
22 this issue at a later stage.
23 JUDGE ORIE: Yes, Mr. Krajisnik. Because that's a matter which is
24 not to be addressed at this moment, because it's beyond the issue. You're
25 talking now about the modalities of the future conduct of the case,
1 whether that would be after restart or whether it would be after we would
2 have decided to continue that case. And that's something that should be
3 dealt with at that moment and not at this stage. Therefore, your active
4 part is not something to be discussed at this moment. I do understand
5 that --
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] If I may be allowed, Your Honour, to
7 say only a few words.
8 JUDGE ORIE: Not on the issue of your active involvement in the
9 case, because that's not a matter to be discussed at this moment. The
10 issue at this moment at stake is the -- whether it's in the interests of
11 justice, whether it would be served or would be better served by
12 continuing rather than to hear the case all over again. That's the limit
13 of what we can discuss at this moment.
14 But at least I do understand that you fully support the position
15 taken on your behalf by Mr. Stewart. Is there any other matter you'd like
16 to bring to our attention?
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I will only address you with a few
18 more words. I did not wish to discuss here the different reasons why I
19 would like to take an active part in the proceedings. Rather, I wanted to
20 say that in a rehearing, I would have more opportunity to do so. However,
21 by way of conclusion, I would like to say the following:
22 In a new trial, I would have a better chance to prove a number of
23 events and facts that we were unable to prove so far. I am aware of the
24 fact that the final decision lies with the Trial Chamber and the Tribunal,
25 but I am convinced that whatever your decision will be, we will have a
1 fair trial. However, I appeal to you to have the understanding to
2 consider the reasons put forth by us behind our request for a retrial.
3 Furthermore, I would also appeal to you to set aside some time for
4 us to deal with some of the issues that have remained outstanding to this
5 day, like, for instance, the issue of a laptop and so on and so forth.
6 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. That's certainly something that will get proper
7 attention once a decision has been taken, once a final decision has been
8 reached as to whether the case -- the hearing of the case will be
9 continued or that we would rehear the case de novo, as it is said in
10 Latin. If there are no further submissions --
11 MR. STEWART: I'd only like to say this, that despite
12 Mr. Krajisnik saying that a rehearing would present a better opportunity
13 and take an active part, I nevertheless maintain that submission on his
14 behalf that that's the preferable course.
15 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. I do understand your position, Mr. Stewart.
16 We will adjourn, as again it's said in Latin, sine die, and the
17 two remaining Judges will consider whether or not it's appropriate to give
18 a decision as they could take under Rule 15 bis (D).
19 We stand adjourned.
20 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned sine die
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By now, almost everyone who’s reading this has probably either seen Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and loved or hated it, or feels they don’t need to see it to reach a conclusion. It’s not the sort of film to inspire a mild response. Django Unchained is a blood-soaked and bullet-fueled Spaghetti Western love story that takes on the subject of American slavery by making room for black characters in popular genre films that have predominantly been the territory of whites. Making copious use of the N-word, striking a delicate balance between the use of racial stereotypes and their dismantling, and exploding with blood, humor, violence, and pulp, Tarantino’s latest provocation, a worthy successor to the alternate history of Inglorious Basterds, leaves audiences unsure what to make of it, even as they cheer for its black hero.
Shouldn’t they despise the film for being so irreverent about the subject of slavery, which Hollywood has usually treated with sanctimonious reverence? Or does the film’s cinematic violence (both literally and generically) explode racism and bring the horror of slavery into a new, more visceral cinematic experience of the brutality of America’s role in the slave trade? I’ve seen the movie three times since it was released in December, and I have to confess that I have definitely reached the latter conclusion. I have yet to become bored with the movie. Nor have I been convinced that it’s racist or reactionary as some critics have stated. Ultimately, I see Django Unchained as a triumph against cautious liberal cinema, the safe packaging of slavery into distancing tidy narratives, and the limits typically imposed on black roles in popular Hollywood cinema. Django Unchained gives the audience a black hero who rises not only out of the abomination of slavery but out of the constraints of cinema itself.
Tarantino’s film has no pretense of being a reverent piece of historical cinema or a classic slave emancipation tale. In fact, Tarantino’s tale of slave revenge and romantic love in America’s Antebellum South intentionally disrupts history, much like its predecessor Inglorious Basterds, and blows-up the Big House of cinematic reverence to allow a mass audience to confront slavery and the role of blacks in film, thereby shining much-needed light on a very dark side of American history.
With the gun-slinging Django riding through the landscape and taking down bad white guys (and they are BAD!) to save his love and avenge his abusers, the movie does on many levels play like a mash-up of the Blaxploitation film and Spaghetti Western. Certainly, the movie contains elements of both genres, but it is also so much more. The film could be called a “Spaghetti Southern” (as Tarantino refers to it in the January 2013 issue of American Cinematographer). It takes elements of the Spaghetti Western (which features an outsider in an alien, hostile environment) and relocates them to the American South. What could be more alien in the Antebellum South than a gun-toting free cowboy black man? And what could be more hostile to this improbable icon of liberty than the white men of the South? As in a classic Western narrative, a very clear line is drawn between the “good” (the avenging slave and the man who freed him) and “evil” (the plantation owners and slave overseers) forces at play in the film, and, despite what some of Django Unchained’s critics have said, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever about who we want to come out on top.
The black hero is Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave who is freed by a German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz in a performance as great as the one he delivers as the slick “Jew Hunter” in Inglorious Basterds). Once freed, Django learns the trade of bounty hunting as a student to Schultz and demonstrates his sharp-shooting abilities as he plucks off any number of bad white guys with clean precision, a skill set he will eventually employ to rescue his true love Broomhilda. Following a classic fairytale structure, Django and Schultz travel to the evil kingdom (a Southern Plantation known as Candie-Land) to rescue the damsel in distress (Django’s slave wife). Leonardo DiCaprio plays the evil king/plantation owner Calvin Candie who gets his rocks off pitting slaves against each other in a blood sport known as Mandigo fighting, in which black men literally fight to the death for the entertainment of whites. And Samuel L. Jackson tears up the screen with his over-the-top performance as Stephen – the Uncle Tom “House Nigger” who is glued to Calvin Candie’s side and proves to be one of the most diabolical characters ever put on screen.
Just summarizing the main actors in the film illustrates the big can of worms contained in Django Uncained. Besides the role of an Uncle Tom, the shocking display of Mandingo fighting and Tarantino’s use of pulp genres like the Western and the Romantic Fairytale to tell a tale of the most brutal institution in American history, we have to take into consideration the use of the N-word which flies as hard and fast as bullets in this movie. I’ve already used the word in referring to Stephen as the House Nigger, and that is only one of multitudes of times the word is fired during the three hours of the movie. Some critics (most notably Spike Lee) have taken issue with Tarantino’s use of the word. How can a white man use the word “nigger” in a film?
Well, if we want to talk about the historical record, a tale of slavery in the South and the racist and violent history of the American economy would be hard to tell without including the N-word, unless the screenplay were as whitewashed as the pristine monuments to white supremacy that Southern plantations were. But whitewashed is exactly what has largely been done to the subject of slavery in film, and it’s about time that someone pulls the white sheet off the face of the subject. Shockingly, because it’s played for laughs, Django Unchained even features a sequence in which members of a proto-Klu Klux Klan are forced to do just that — pull the white bags off their heads. Revealing the ugly and brutal truth of racism means disrupting reverent expectations of the subject by mixing it up with pulp cinema, and that means deploying the N-word in rapid fire as frequently as it was used in the time. To paraphrase renowned slavery scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. from an interview he conducted with Tarantino, to tell a tale of slavery and racism in America and not use the N-word would be to lie. So if we’re going to tell the truth about slavery and racism, the N-word must be spoken. Just to be absolutely clear, then, if I use the word in this essay, it is both because I am quoting the film and the historical treatment of blacks it refuses to whitewash.
Now that I’ve addressed the N-Word, let’s take a minute to think about what exactly Django Unchained is. The film opens in a dark Texas forest with a chain-gang of slaves. The black faces of the men merge with the dark forest, their white eyes glowing in the night. Two menacing white men on horses are leading the slaves to the market to be sold. This scene sets the stage for a traditional emancipation narrative. When Dr. Schultz arrives and frees Django, the camera closes in on Django’s bloody and brutalized ankle. Django’s entire foot and ankle fill the screen as Schultz removes the shackle and “unchains” Django. Django then shucks off his tattered blanket, bares his whip-scarred back and raises his arms in a gesture of freedom and vengeance (e.g. Black Power).
Certainly Django’s scarred and muscle-bound body could be seen as both a fetish object and a stereotype in this scene. This represents the traditional role of black men in film (when they’re not playing subservient emasculated “House Niggers” like Samuel Jackson’s Stephen). If Tarantino shows us this startling and unpleasant image, however, it is in order to set in motion a narrative that will undo racial stereotypes and cinematic expectations. He first creates the stereotypical scenario (the emancipated slave narrative), and then he dumps the black character into untraditional roles (the cowboy, the Western buddy, the chivalrous romantic hero).
Part of the reason Django Unchained succeeds in emancipating itself from the constraints of cautious liberal cinema and its safe historical distancing of the subject of slavery is by emancipating its main character from the trappings of traditional black roles in film. It undoes racial stereotypes by first exposing them and then either dismantling them by creating untraditional roles (Django) or blowing them up entirely (Stephen). Once Django shucks off that blanket and lifts his arms, he also shucks off the traditional emancipation story and everything that is expected from a “safe” film about slavery. Crucially, Django’s role isn’t so much to free the slaves as it is to free the image of the slave from the shackles of both the racism of classic Hollywood narratives and the political correctness of the post-Civil Rights Era.
Once Django Unchained leaves behind the traditional slave emancipation story, the story takes us through a variety of cinematic genres drenched with plenty of blood and humor as Django’s character develops and ultimately triumphs. Django Unchained uses popular pulp genres to take on the deadly serious subject of slavery and the bloody history of the American South. While some have criticized the film for turning the somber subject of slavery into pulp entertainment, the very fact that Django Unchained traffics in “low” stereotypes is what makes it effective. As we follow Django on his mission to save his wife through Tarantino’s network of pulp genres, not only do we grow to identify with Django, but we are able to share in his victory. Sure, guns are fired, walls are splattered with blood, jokes are made, and visceral violence plays before us, but through pulp, violence, and traditional popular narrative devices, Tarantino erases the cautious distance between the audience and his movie’s slave hero. We are able to feel, see and experience slavery without the desensitizing insulation of identity politics. This collapses the distance between the superficial safety of our times and the brutal reality of our history, making the horrors of the past more viscerally real than when they are neatly packaged in cautious historically accurate cinema.
To simply read Django Unchained as a slave revenge/blaxploitation/Western mash-up would short-change all the genre bending the film does to 1) effectively blow the fuck out of black roles in film and 2) make the audience identify with and cheer for the film’s black hero. When Django mounts one of his former captor’s horses and rides into a small Texas town with his emancipator Schultz, the film shifts gears, moving into the territory of the Spaghetti Western. We’ve seen this town before, its old wooden buildings and dirt-filled streets situated in the barren landscape between nowhere and nowhere else. White people walk out of buildings and stand on sidewalks shocked and outraged at the sight of Django riding on a horse alongside Schultz. One of the townspeople whispers, “Look! It’s a nigger on a horse!” When Schultz questions what their problem is, Django blatantly says, “They just ain’t used to seeing a nigger on a horse.”
The doubling of this line, first from the white woman and then from the black man is funny and the audience laughs, but it’s also damn true. Not only are the people in the town not used to seeing “a nigger on a horse,” but neither is the Hollywood audience. The Western is a white man’s genre, but Django rides his horse right through the genre when he rides into the town. This is partly how the film destabilizes white packaging of race in movies and in American history. When Schultz and Django force the town to accept the “nigger on the horse” because he is there as part of “legal business,” the audience also is being asked to accept him. And the audience does. All three times I saw the movie, everyone in the audience – black, white, old, young – cheered for this “nigger on a horse.”
It turns out that Schultz doesn’t just unshackle Django out of the goodness of his heart. Schultz purchases Django (and ultimately his freedom) because it is within his economic interest. Schultz is a bounty hunter, and he needs Django to identify three dirty, rotten overseers – the Brittle Brothers – for whom there is a large bounty on their heads. Django knows the Brittle brothers from his former plantation, because they are the men responsible for whipping him and his beloved wife Broomhilda. Schultz tells Django that he abhors the institution of slavery, but that even he will use it for his economic advantage. Since he “owns” Django, he insists that Django work for him to identify the men who have a large price tag on their heads. When Django asks what a bounty hunter does, Schultz explains that he’s “in the business of selling corpses.”
Coupling bounty hunting with slavery is brilliant. The pairing of these two businesses that trade in human lives underscores the business of violence in this country and the bloody legacy of the American economic landscape. Slavery was an atrocity, an abomination, a dehumanizing and brutal institution that was perceived as acceptable because it was good for “business.” It fueled one of the most successful economic enterprises in American history – cotton. Interestingly, Tarantino also shows how the race card can be thrown out the window, when it is within the economic interest of whites. Everything comes down to business. When Schultz realizes that Django is a perfect shot and that he would make an excellent business partner in the bounty hunting business, race becomes transparent between the two characters.
On the one hand, Schultz plays the role of teacher and liberator to Django, but on the other he treats Django with the equanimity that he would any other business partner. Schultz uses Django’s racial rage and taste for vengeance to his economic advantage. When Django learns what bounty hunting is and agrees to be Schultz’s partner, he says quite simply: “Killing white people for money? What’s not to like?” With Django’s help, the two hunt down the Brittle brothers, kill them, collect their bounty and formally enter a business partnership as well as a friendship.
It must be noted that “business” is at the bottom of much of the action in this movie, and with it the idea that race can become transparent when the money is good. Later in the film, even virulently racist plantation owners are forced to reluctantly accept Django – “the nigger on a horse” – because he is legitimized through the economic transactions in which Schultz includes him – slave trading, bounty hunting, etc. In a scene toward the end of the movie, Django is being transported to a mine where he is supposed to spend the rest of his life breaking down big rocks into little rocks. When Django offers his captors a way to earn $10,000 while he only requires $500 of it for himself, the men immediately free Django because it appears to be within their economic interest to so.
Underneath all this business, however, is the business of slavery, the abhorrent institution that was the backbone of the Antebellum Southern economy. While it may be in the economic interest of plantation owners to treat Django with respect, it is also in their economic interest to make sure that this treatment remains the exception to the rule of the color line. The veneer of civilized behavior that encompasses Django in his roles as bounty hunter and prospective Mandingo trader stands in blatant contrast to the brutal way in which the slaves all around him are dealt with (being fed to dogs or forced to fight to the death). Django’s safety depends on performing the role of exception without ever seeming to be upset by the treatment of his fellow blacks.
In one scene, as Django and Schultz are traveling to Candie’s plantation — which is known, in an example of the “black” humor that spatters the picture, as “Candie-Land” — under the guise of wanting to invest in the Mandingo trade, Schultz pulls Django aside and cautions him that he is playing his role of Slave Trader a little too exuberantly. Django reminds Schultz that their relationship is based on the bloody and violent business of bounty hunting in which Schultz had Django shoot a man and kill him in front of his son; that, in Schultz’s own words, they are in the “business of getting dirty.” This formulation provides Django his punch line, as well as an implicit response to those who accuse the film of being too violent: “So I’m getting dirty.”
Indeed, we are reminded time and again that American business is dirty and bloody. When Django shoots one of the Brittle brothers, his blood bursts across the screen spraying the fields of white cotton with red, literally showing the bloody business of the cotton industry and the slave trade that fueled it. In one of the most violent scenes in the movie, Candie sets his dogs on a slave and has him ripped apart in front of Django, Schultz, and the audience. Prior to killing the slave for refusing to participate in another Mandingo match (a fight to the death between black men in which white men gamble on the outcome, not unlike a cockfight), Candie berates the slave for being a bad business investment. He says, “I paid $500 for you, and I expect five fights for my $500. You only gave me three fights.” So Candie savagely disposes of his bad investment, while at the same time putting his economic investment in Schultz and Django to the test by observing how they react to the brutal slaying of the slave. When Candie notes that Schultz looks a little “green around the gills,” Django answers, “I’m just a little more used to America than he is.” In this sense Django literally embodies the violence of America.
Though Schultz and Django’s relationship starts first as slave and slave holder and then as business partners in the bloody business of bounty hunting, the racial divide between the characters soon evaporates, and the film shifts into a buddy movie. With Jim Croce singing “I Got A Name” in the background, the film moves to the mountains of Wyoming where Django and Schultz bond as buddies via the kind of montage familiar to fans of the Mountain Western. Images of the two of them riding their horses across the expansive Rocky Mountains, target-shooting on a snowman, and taking down their bounties as fountains of blood spurt in glorious red across the snowy background showcase a relationship as cinematically romanticized as Django and Hildy’s.
This segment of the film (the buddy film/mountain narrative) undoes traditional white narratives as much as the Spaghetti Western component, playing off another subgenre popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the mountain survival adventure. The friendship between Schultz and Django is really sealed after Django shoots his first bounty, and Schultz exclaims, “The kid’s a natural!” This clearly references Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the archetypal Western Buddy Romance of that era. But instead of giving us two rugged white male sex symbols, Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy) and Robert Redford (The Kid), Tarantino provides us with two figures who are clearly outsiders in this landscape, a foreigner and a black man. This deviation from tradition radically destabilizes the romantic view of the West held by so many American conservatives and liberals alike, in which both the otherness of excessively refined men the East Coast and the Old World and that of the “savage” Natives (and black men) are held at bay by heroic white men.
The Wyoming sequence also references another Robert Redford film, Jeremiah Johnson, in which a veteran of the Mexican-American war flees to the Rocky Mountains, adopts a family, finds his wife and son slain by Native Americans, seeks vengeance and then ultimately finds reconciliation. It’s the reverse tale of Django Unchained, in which Django is the “colored” person seeking vengeance against the white man. In Jeremiah Johnson, the white man seeks vengeance against “the colored” only to have to accept that the white man really is the “violating other.” Referencing these Robert Redford films through a black slave narrative ruptures the white romantic view of the West (of which Redford is the ultimate icon ) and also underscores the persistent violence of America (both movies are bloody, violent and tragic). Violence is nothing new in America, and keeping it safely tucked away in romanticized narratives of the West or historical reverence masks the fact that the entire country’s economic backbone is based on violence (see blood-splattered cotton for details).
During their trip through the snowy mountains, Schultz tells Django the classic German fairytale of Siegfried and Broomhilda (after whom Django’s slave wife was named) – a young woman who is captured by the evil king and saved by her beloved – and the movie shifts gears again. Now Schultz and Django are on a different mission in which the fairytale meets the horror story of America’s bloody past. They travel into the Dark Kingdom of the Deep South as they head to Mississippi to free Broomhilda from her evil captor Calvin Candie. Setting a Western in the South and mixing in classic fairytale elements, the movie further undoes the roles of blacks in cinema by referencing gothic romance films, melodrama, and a chivalrous love story, none of which have ever been the sources of traditional black feature films. Further, the film uses elements of these genres to explode traditional romantic ideals of the American South and expose the brutality and blood that made its opulence possible.
The American South was created and fed on lies and exploitation. It prided itself on a false romantic identity from instituting ludicrous codes of chivalry to considering itself a Feudal society in which plantation owners were akin to landholding kings entitled to trade and exploit slaves for their economic gain. When Schultz and Django are situated in the South (in an earlier scene at Big Daddy’s plantation and later on the Candie-Land plantation), the cinematography fluctuates between sweeping romantic visions of the South and intensely close-up and unsettling violence.
One of the biggest jokes in the film is the outfit that Django chooses to wear when he and Schultz hit their first plantation as business partners. When Schultz tells Django he can pick his “costume” to play his role of “valet,” Django dons a blue satin costume that mimics the attire of in the 18th-century Thomas Gainsborough painting “Blue Boy”. The outfit seems ridiculously funny, but Django wears it like a dare and a weapon, understanding on some level that the outfit is violating all kinds of racial codes (in the movies and in the South). It emblemizes the way in which this black character is disrupting traditional white narratives and dismantling the romantic view of the South. In a way, it’s also the perfect metaphor for Tarantino’s filmmaking strategy in Django Unchained, so wrong in breaking with every social convention that it’s deliciously right. Because the outfit is also blatantly anachronistic — the Gainsborough painting appears to depict someone playing “dress up” in a 17th-century outfit — it alerts us to the fact that Tarantino’s movie — though it doesn’t deviate from the historical record as obviously as Inglorious Basterds, with its climax in which Jewish American soldiers assassinate Hitler — is not striving for the sort of accuracy fetishized in reverential historical films like Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.
In the first scene set in the Deep South, when Schultz and Django travel to Big Daddy’s Tennessee plantation in search of the Brittle Brothers, the landscape is shown through the hazy diffused glow of a romantic painting. Django rides onto the plantation in his ludicrous blue satin outfit, seemingly the butt of everyone’s joke. He’s still that “nigger on a horse” but is now inside a different painting in which he doesn’t belong. For precisely that reason, though, Django is a force who simply cannot be ignored. Earlier in the film, Django experienced a brutal flashback of Hildy being whipped by the Brittle brothers. Django is on the scene to take vengeance, and the seriousness of the crimes committed against him and the woman he loves and his drive for vengeance clearly overrides the “joke” of his out of place character. As he walks across the plantation to find the Brittle brothers (where they are preparing to whip a slave girl for breaking eggs), we see more of the plantation through this pastoral lens, with the luscious green of the plantation interspersed with slave girls on swings. But Django is having none of it.
When he finds the Brittle brothers tying the girl to a tree, all romance of the South is ripped away as Django’s rage is unleashed. He shoots one brother right through a page of the Bible pinned to his chest (the white man’s religious justification for brutalizing a black woman and a short effective shot at the connection between religion, racism and violence in America). Django then picks up the whip and with unfettered ferocity whips the living shit out of the other brother. Shot from a low camera angle, the audience looks up at Django asa his whip comes down on the white overseer, and we occupy the place of the white man being whipped and are therefore the recipients of Django’s rage. However, rather than feeling victimized by Django’s violent attack on the white man, the audience feels exuberant and elated, despite the savagery of the beating. We are made to “feel” the extent of Django’s rage and the injustices committed against him and all slaves by being on the receiving end of the whip. During all three screenings of the film, the audience around me was both horrified and invigorated by this scene. Everyone cheered for Django, while at the same time gasping at the magnitude of his rage. It is a brilliant scene that allows the audience to occupy simultaneously the place of the black and white man. This brings me back to my point about how Django Unchained undoes Hollywood’s tendency to produce reverent and therefore safe movies about slavery. Nothing about this scene is reverent or safe. But there’s also nothing in it that paints Django as a victim. By exploding the conventions of the cautious cinema which tends to portray oppressed people as victims, the scene unequivocally establishes Django as the hero of the film.
Later, when Django and Schultz travel to Mississipi, this same fluctuating technique is used to make the audience experience 1) the brutality of slavery; 2) the explosion of the romantic Southern ideal; and 3) the victory of Django over his oppressors. When Calvin Candie enters the picture, the movie employs lusciously orchestrated scenes shot like sprawling melodramas. (Significantly, Tarantino has stated that his main cinematic reference for the interior shots in Mississippi was that master of the lusciously rich melodrama Max Ophuls.) But then the action cuts through all of that opulence with bloodshed and tragedy.
First there is the Mandingo fight at the Cleopatra Club, where Candie and the original Django (in a cameo by Franco Nero from the 1966 Sergio Corbucci film) watch two slaves fight to the brutal death. The camera alternates between pulling back and panning the rich opulence of the club’s interior, and closing in on the absolutely brutal flesh-on-flesh fighting between the two slaves. Blood, gore, violence and brutality meet manners and the sham of civility as Candie eggs on the fighters to kill each other. One man rips the other’s eyes out and then takes a hammer and “finishes him off” by bashing in his skull. The scene is unsettling in its violent content alone, but it is particularly effective because its ugliness (the dehumanizing violence of the slave trade) is found within an outwardly elegant setting.
When the group finally makes it to Candie-Land, further romantic myths come crashing down even as the romance of Django triumphs. First, we see the romantic image of Hildy shattered by the reality of her literal body being abused by the institution of slavery. Up to this point, (except for the flashback of her being whipped by the Brittle brothers) we have only seen Hildy through the romantic filter of Django’s flashbacks and hallucinations. She’s been a picture of the romantic ideal – smiling naked in a steaming lake in the mountains, wearing a yellow gown and waving to Django as he passes her on his horse, sitting beautifully dressed at a sun filtered table pronouncing her name (“Broomhilda, but they call me Hildy.”) But when we actually meet the “real” Hildy at Candie-Land, she is a runaway slave who has been thrown into a “hot box,” a kind of coffin where she has been sentenced to stay for ten days. Candie has her naked body pulled from the box, hosed down, and carted off in a wheelbarrow. By juxtaposing the romantic cinematic image of her — Django has just had more hallucinations of her in the yellow dress upon entering the plantation’s grounds — with the brutality of her “real” circumstances, the dehumanizing forces of slavery are brought devastatingly home. The image of her naked body stuffed into a wheelbarrow and carted across the sprawling lawn of the plantation is heartbreaking as we witness the intersection of the tidy grounds of the plantation colliding with the bloody and violent practices of the institution they stand for.
It is at the Candie plantation where Tarantino takes on another taboo subject within the institution of slavery: social stratification within the institution of slavery itself (“house niggers” versus “field niggers”) and between slaves and free men. Note that Schultz gives Django the surname of Freeman. The way in which blacks were pitted against each other within the brutal environment of slavery and the abominations that resulted are delivered most effectively through the “Uncle Tom” character of Stephen, played with diabolical relish by Samuel L. Jackson. The creation and destruction of Stephen’s role — he serves as a kind of foreman for Candie, keeping the other slaves in line — is critical to the liberation of Django and what he represents for blacks in movies and in cultural representation in general.
Jackson’s Stephen is a despicable traitor, glued to the side of his master Candie. He’ll sell-out anyone for his own benefit and security in “The Big House.” He holds onto a position of power even as a slave while he pulls strings and sets the film’s violent conclusion in motion. It is Stephen who advocates keeping Hildy in the “hot box”, who attempts to treat Django like a lower species (even though he shares the same black skin as Stephen), and who ultimately sells out “his own” to try to hold onto the position he has created for himself as an autonomous man of power. The house slaves fear Stephen as much as, if not more than, their real “master” Candie.
Stephen is a “race traitor” to cover his own ass, while Django plays the fictional role of “slave trader” to emancipate his love and himself. With Stephen and Django, Tarantino give us showdown where the baddest black man in the south goes against the biggest black sell-out. For Django to be the real hero and victor, he needs to kill that Uncle Tom and everything he stands for. When Tarantino asked Jackson if he minded playing Stephen, Jackson answered: “Do I have any problem playing the most despicable black motherfucker in the history of the world? No, I ain’t got no problem with that. No, man, I’m already in it. I’m working with my makeup guy now about the hair, the skin tone. I want this man to be fresh off the boat.”
Jackson takes the role and runs with it. He literally has his face painted darker so he can play the role in “black face”, thereby reminding is of the virulent racism evident in so many classic Hollywood films. Stephen’s role as it plays against Django and other characters within the film open up even more taboo subjects within American history and, more specifically, the history of cinema by showing that it’s not all black and white and that contention and class stratification existed for African-Americans during the era of slavery. This is a subject rarely addressed in popular cinema, where everything plays in diametric opposites, good and evil, nor is it addressed in reverent historical cinema where clear lines between victim and abuser are tidily maintained.
The extended dinner scene inside Candie’s Big House is brilliant. Merging Ophul’s melodramas with an ode to Fassbinder’s Whity, Hong Kong action movies and the Western, the scene builds with operatic tension. When Stephen exposes Schultz and Django as frauds, the shit and the blood hit the fan in a complex play between characters. Even though Schultz and Django eventually get what they came for (Hildy) for a very steep price ($14,000), that proves to be insufficient. Schultz needs to pay his own form of vengeance. In a way, Schultz is the cautious observant liberal, sympathetic but on some level clueless when he is first confronted with the ugly and brutal reality of slavery. When his remaining illusions are shattered and he has to accept his role in the violence he has witnessed, such as the execution of Candie’s reluctant Mandingo, Schultz shoots Candie through the heart. In a way, this is an act of suicide as well as vengeance because 1) Schultz can’t live with the truth he has had to face and 2) he understands that he has to die and sacrifice himself so that Django (his “buddy”) can truly liberate himself.
In the story, Schultz has no human connection other than to Django. He has no back story, no wife, or family. All of Schultz’s emotions are reflected through Django, so when he sacrifices himself for Django, he sacrifices himself for “love,” yet another twist in the melodramatic narrative. This realization is brought to the fore when Stephen runs in slow motion screaming in horror and grief at the murder of his master Candie, who, while hardly his buddy, serves as his equivalent love interest. So the two white men have died, and the two black men are left to fight for control.
And Django does fight. In an amazing sequence of flying bullets and bloodshed (the Hong Kong action sequence in the film), Django kills man after man in a shootout that leaves the white walls of the Big House literally dripping with blood, a painting in viscera and gore that literalizes the blood-soaked history of the United States. You’d think the movie would end here, but it doesn’t. In an unsettling turn, Django surrenders to save Hildy’s life. The movie abruptly cuts from Django as gun-fighting victor taking down bad white guys to a scene where we witness him hung naked upside down like a piece of cattle ready to be slaughtered. Django’s face is in a metal cage as he swings across the screen, his naked body, genitals included, exposed for us to see. This is by far the most unsettling scene in the film because we have cheered Django through his triumphs. We’ve followed Django on his quest and rooted for him with each shot of his gun only to see his humanity and his power stripped away from him.
We’ve watched Django transform into a hero, only to witness him hung-up like so much meat. When Candie’s henchman starts to take a molten hot knife to Django’s balls, the emasculation of the black man by the abhorrent institution of slavery becomes painfully literal and tragic. This scene is as effective as the scene with the whip when we are asked to feel Django’s rage, because by this point we fully identify with Django as the hero of the film. When his humanity is so brutally stripped away and the ugly truth of slavery stares us in the face, we wince and feel the horror of slavery more than we ever would in a safely whitewashed historical drama.
Thankfully, Django’s nuts are rescued when Stephen steps into the picture. Ironically, the Uncle Tom figure proves to be Django’s savior because he wants his enemy to suffer a painful captivity rather than risk him bleeding to death from being castrated. Stephen encourages Candie’s sister Laura to send the rebel off to a mine where he is destined to spend the rest of his days reduced to being a number chiseling away at rocks. When Django receives his sentence from the treacherous Stephen, we remember that this fate is pretty much the sentence of all slaves in the country. They were numbers who worked until they died or were killed. But this is not Django’s fate, because Tarantino has made a romantic love story with a black hero who must prevail. Unlike, traditional Westerns, Django is not out only for himself. He finds a way to make it back to Candie-Land to save his love and to avenge his race by blowing the fuck out of the plantation, Stephen’s Uncle Tom character, and everything they stand for in American history and cinema.
The three times I watched the movie, the entire audience – black, white, old and young – cheered for its black hero when he victoriously saves his girl and blows up the white world of slavery. Django is unequivocally the hero of this movie. Much fuss has been made about the screenplay and how Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio supposedly steal the film and have all the dialogue while Jamie Foxx just hulks around scowling. I’m sorry, but if Jamie Foxx wasn’t doing an effective job acting, then we would not be cheering for him as he blows up a Southern plantation and rides off into the sunset with the love of his life. Django/Jamie Foxx is the catalyst of the film despite how many lines of dialogue the white actors have. We have to remember that he is playing a black man in the white dominated South, so it is a world where white people do most of the talking.
Schultz may have more lines, but he is not the hero of this film. It is Django who the audience cheers for. Every time Django puts his hand on his gun, absorbs his surroundings, acts according to the circumstances into which he is thrust, or takes down a bad guy, Jamie Foxx is acting and we are rooting for him. Acting isn’t just talking. Foxx creates a character who we care about through body language, eye movement, and dialogue. At the end of the movie, we would not have the same response of victory and elation if Schultz were the one to free Hildy. It has to be our hero Django, and Jamie Foxx makes us care about him.
Others have criticized the movie for being a “mainstream Hollywood” production. But I have to ask: don’t we want a mass audience to revisit slavery with a black hero rather than keeping the subject safely tucked away in reverent historical narratives that holds slaves captive in the role of victims? Reverence distances us from the subject; it has the potential to dehumanize its subjects and turn people into victims which then become a cause. By placing his story in the guise of a western romance and using pulp as the medium to deliver the story, Tarantino turns the victim into the victor. Put the history of slavery into a Western Romance story, load it up with guns and revenge, bring the camera in for close-ups on the violence and atrocities of slavery, give us a black hero who takes out a shitload of white oppressors and a movie can reach audiences across the racial divide. We can experience an abominable time in American history in a new light, one that exposes where we came from, acknowledging the blood-soaked history of a country that was built on the “business” of slaughter and human trade, but still leaves us with hope for the future.
Some have also argued that Django Unchained is irreverent cinema that disrespects the seriousness of slavery. After all, the film does explode with gunfire, blood, brutal violence and uproarious humor, all communicated through the sort of genre mash-up for which Tarantino is famous. But it is because Django Unchained disrupts reverent historical cinema that it is able to bring a new awareness of the brutality of slavery to the millions of people who are going to see it, black and white. In Django Unchained we’re laughing; we’re horrified; we’re disoriented; and we’re soaked with a lot of blood. But the whole while, the audience’s allegiance never fades. We want Django to win.
Yes, in Tarantino’s film, there are slaves in shackles, being whipped, wearing cruel devices, strung up by their ankles, chained and marching through mud, but as black slavery scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. notes, things were “Ten thousand times worse in real slavery.” If the film barters in stereotypes to fit this terrible legacy into a story that mass audiences will want to see, it is in order to deconstruct them in the way Americans know best: by blowing the living shit out of them.
Since Reconstruction, we have had plenty of somber stories of slavery where the subject is held at safe historical distance. Slavery was the brutal, ugly, inhuman, cruel, sadistic exploitation of black human beings for the economic benefit of American whites. There is not one thing about it that is pretty, tidy or easily packaged. Traditionally, this abomination of American history has been treated with reverence and neatly packaged in acceptable narratives. It has been approached with caution because it is such an abominable part or our history and is the source of many taboos. We have only been able to look at it through the safe lens of historical narratives or politically correct identity politics.
But walking the cautious line of politically correct films does not affect change. It only tells us the same story on a different day. Sure, Tarantino turns what has been perceived as the acceptable cinematic packaging of slavery on its head. Yes, he has created a film for mass audiences, one which is as entertaining as it is repulsive, but in the process he has raised more consciousness about the reality of American history than cautious liberal cinema ever could. In the end, Django Unchained is effective precisely because it is not safe. It places slavery within the broader context of culture, cinema and history, dismantling traditional roles of blacks and the cautious representations of slavery they sustain. Django Unchained packs a punch that is hard to take, yet impossible to resist, and in doing so delivers truly transgressive and effective cinema for the masses.
Kim Nicolini is an artist, poet and cultural critic living in Tucson, Arizona. Her writing has appeared in Bad Subjects, Punk Planet, Souciant, La Furia Umana, and The Berkeley Poetry Review. She recently published her first book, Mapping the Inside Out, in conjunction with a solo gallery show by the same name. She can be reached at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:ab5df917-3179-46b2-bcb1-d092cef6d884> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/01/11/blowing-the-pulp-out-of-dixie/print | 2013-05-22T07:34:09Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959848 | 9,342 |
|1 ||A disgrace.|
|Posted on Saturday May 11, 2013, 17:03 by Sir N.Paul Hills|
|Er... a curious absence of Malle, Pasolini, Straub-Huillet, Carne, Rohmer, Rivette, Fassbinder, Hou, Kiarostami, Tarr...
the list goes on. I could place forth an infinite continuam of fine film makers more worthy of incluson than those listed in this gut-churningly mainstreamed abomination of a list. Just one Godard? Please. I suppose you really can't expect much more from the inexperienced young studs most likely hired as writers, no professional cinema critic could seriously consider "Oldboy" as the 18th greatest foreign film of all time, and worse; CITY OF GOD as 8th.
Abhorrent Read More|
|Posted on Tuesday April 23, 2013, 10:09 by Rozrox|
|I would love to take on the task of viewing each of the 100 Best Films of World Cinema. Is there a foreign film DVD retail outlet in cyberspace, the cloud or Amazon? I'd be a consumer. Thanks for an excellent compilation.
Southern Peach Read More|
|3 ||What about Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter...Spring?|
|Posted on Thursday April 11, 2013, 10:48 by ellergy|
|What about Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter...Spring?
Perhaps I overlooked it, but this Korean film should have been on the list! Read More|
|4 ||Obsession with Asian cinema !|
|Posted on Friday March 8, 2013, 01:34 by poznan56|
|Is it about 100 best non-English films ever made or about best non-English films made between 1980 and 2010 ?
Where is Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevsky (Eisenstein)? Read More|
|5 ||Great film !!!|
|Posted on Friday March 8, 2013, 01:21 by poznan56|
|Should be in first 20 ! Read More|
|6 ||Wrong !|
|Posted on Friday March 8, 2013, 01:04 by poznan56|
|It's not German occupation of Poland ! It's German occupation of Czechoslovakia ! Read More|
|7 ||Strange !|
|Posted on Friday March 8, 2013, 00:53 by poznan56|
|How about Loves of a Blonde ??? Who were design this list evidently loves Asian cinema and horrors ! Read More|
|Posted on Monday March 4, 2013, 12:49 by SurrealistClark|
|I feel disgusted looking at this list. You vastly overlooked three directors and some of their films.
Jacques Tati: The man is a genius on so many fronts. Probably the greatest comic director of all time. His composition was untouchable by anyone, and had great influence.
Luis Bunuel: My favourite director ever. Revolutionized what many believed in, created films in a vast array of genres. Un Chien Andalou is probably the most known short film of all time, and one of the greatest DEBUTS of all time.
Guddard: Le Mepris. Nuff said.
|Posted on Friday March 1, 2013, 07:17 by compie87|
|I haven't seen a lot of these, but of the ones I've seen I agree that they're all great films.
I thought it was interesting that Pan's Labyrinth was so high given that one of the lower-ranked movies (one that I haven't seen) said that Pan's Labyrinth drew a lot of it's ideas of escaping fascism with fantasy. I thought PL was great, but given that there is some other movie out there that it drew great influence from, I'm surprised it's regarded as such a high classic.
What about Jodorowsky though???
Holy Mountain. El Topo. Even Santa Sangre. I haven't seen anyone who makes movies like his.
Also great movies that didn't make the cut: Machuca, Tambien la lluvia (which plays on a similar political/fiction juxtapositon), and Castaway to the Moon (better than the American Castaway in my opinion) Read More|
|Posted on Friday March 1, 2013, 03:07 by jhsz|
|What abour the golem, the cabinet of doctor caligari, los olvidados, the life of others and trainspoitting (obviously they don't speak english) Read More|
|11 ||amelie is a terrible film|
|Posted on Wednesday February 13, 2013, 19:03 by lechacal|
|amelie is a shit film i saw it in grade 10 fr class and was disgusted by its stupidity and perversion, goes to show that french media has no taste in film and neither does empire, la haine should have been at # 2 instead of stupid amelie, fuck you empire and fuck fr ppl for having no taste in good film Read More|
|12 ||Unbelievable List|
|Posted on Tuesday February 12, 2013, 22:19 by ght805|
|Whilst admitting that I am not familiar with many of the films on the list, I am baffled by the absence of "Les Enfants du Paradis" - probably one of the 5 best films ever made and, arguably, the greatest. In addition, how can "Rififi" be on the list when the far more accomplished "Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" is not. Max Ophuls' brilliant "Madame de ....", described by Andrew Sarris as the most perfect film ever made is absent, as is the wonderful "Casque d'Or". Read More|
|Posted on Tuesday January 29, 2013, 20:51 by phewd|
|The Passion of Joan of Arc?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari? Read More|
|14 ||Forgotten something?|
|Posted on Sunday December 9, 2012, 17:25 by marcus_widberg|
|What happened to ¨män som hatar kvinnor¨? Everybody agreed that noomi rapace was perfect as lisbeth salander. Shouldn't it be on here? Read More|
|Posted on Monday November 26, 2012, 10:17 by mihai|
|Lawrence of arabia, Night of the Generals, How to steal a million...
Peter O'Toole should be on the list, i think. Read More|
|16 || RE:|
|Posted on Friday November 9, 2012, 13:52 by SeanNessman|
| Stupid. Please read the title please. The films listed are not supposed to be in English. Read More|
|17 ||What about Flåklypa Grand Prix?!|
|Posted on Monday November 5, 2012, 13:32 by hegilla|
|Even though I might be a bit partial in this matter, being Norwegian and all, but Flåklypa Grand Prix should be on this list. You haven't seen it you say, well then you have something to look forward to!! If you like animation this is a real gem of a movie that deserves to be recognized. Read More|
|18 ||The Children of Heaven|
|Posted on Sunday October 14, 2012, 08:15 by mrmohitmishra|
|The movies like The Children of Heaven and LIfe is beautiful or the Secret in their eyes were not enlisted. Votes to each entry must have been disclosed Read More|
|19 || Oldboy deserves a spot in the top 10!!!|
|Posted on Monday October 8, 2012, 09:55 by TheLazyFilmBuff|
| I think Oldboy is one of the greatest films ever made! It's a shame not to even see it in the top 10 of this greatest world cinema list. Please more people be aware of this and then give it a higher voting. As this film is a hidden gem, I'm sure once the remake is made it will get a lot of recognition however I don't think nothing will be able to come close to the perfection of Oldboy!
Here is a review:
Edit - site rules don't allow advertising personal blogs/sites/youtube accounts in posts to direct users off=site. If you wish you may add a link to your sig though Read More|
|20 ||Some films that surely should have made this list!|
|Posted on Monday October 8, 2012, 09:51 by TheLazyFilmBuff|
|When I think of World cinema a lot of great films come in to my head however I was very surprised films like 'The Lives of Others', 'Swades', 'Departures', 'Confessions', 'Sanjuro', 'Intouchables' and Yojimbo is not on this list. Please is there way of users voting so we can get these films on there? I'm sure other users will not be disappointed with the films that I've mentioned. Read More|
|21 ||Movie # 26|
|Posted on Saturday September 29, 2012, 20:35 by chelath2000|
|As a young girl, movie #26 on your list, Belle et la Bete was my favorite movie. I was probably about six the first time I watched it. My father had it on VHS, and as soon as it'd finish I'd go get my father to rewind it so I could watch it again. I absolutely adore this movie. Read More|
|22 ||Not Much of a List|
|Posted on Wednesday July 11, 2012, 20:03 by bloomy333|
|Cant say I agree with the over-all representation here.
These are major figures. This is a list of the most popular films in world cinema, not the best.
Even in the case of Godard, his best films are not picked (Contempt, Pierrot le fou, My life to live).
What a shame. Read More|
|23 ||...just a few missing|
|Posted on Saturday April 21, 2012, 06:06 by taenial.romero|
|wheres Train of Life? Love´s a Bitch? Simpathy for Lady Vengeance? ...and what the hell is doing Amelie in the 2nd place? Read More|
|24 ||My Number 1....|
|Posted on Sunday March 25, 2012, 18:33 by Miss_Sushi|
|...would be Cinema Paradiso, just beautiful and it made me sob. Missing was Malena, City of the Lost Children, Brotherhood of the Wolf and La Reine Margot. Read More|
|25 ||MISSING TITLES:|
|Posted on Monday March 12, 2012, 13:22 by Johannez|
|-Abre los Ojos
-Lucia y el sexo
-C'est arrive pres de chez vous
-Monty Python & The holy Grail
+ Life of Brian (its in brittish language..;)
-Eagle vs Shark (australian language..)
..and lots and lots of really great documentaries!
|Posted on Monday March 5, 2012, 00:30 by rm310|
|The Lives of Others.... Amores Perros? Read More|
|Posted on Saturday March 3, 2012, 14:12 by AnindyaB|
|Am in agreement with Hashir Kareem's list to include Guru Dutt & other contemporary names e.g. Shyam Benegal.
For its incredible film structure, Bunuel's 'Phantom of Liberty' is a personal favourite! Read More|
|Posted on Saturday March 3, 2012, 14:06 by AnindyaB|
|Why should i see a list that fails Charles Chaplin ? And Billy Wilder? And Alfred Hitchcock? And Alain Rainey? And David Lean? And Antonioni? And Fernando Solanas? And Ilmaz Guney? Honestly, here there seems to be a disturbing bias towards violent Asian films; against Iranian films; and yes, against, believe me, British films (Lean/ Lindsay Anderson/ John Boorman/ Ridley Scott/ Danny Boyle etc)! This critic must acquaint himself/ herself with films made before 80s... in terms of craftsmanship and pathbreaking ideas they were unparalleled! Notable absentees are (in my opinion): Citizen Kane (did i miss it in the list... BTW, pressing d button 100 times means sore fingers, could you do something about it?), Dr Zhivago, Life is Beautiful, The Journey (Solanas), Last Year at Marienbad (or Hiroshima mon Amour), North by NorthWest (or Vertigo)...
Speaking of Indian films, the choices are apalling. Including the Ray trilogy is expectedly OK, but in the same breath as Devdas (that too, thRead More|
|29 ||A bit too heavy on Asian horror...|
|Posted on Saturday February 18, 2012, 18:31 by FrannyBlue|
|What about The Lives of Others or Troubled Water? Read More|
|Posted on Sunday January 1, 2012, 20:39 by Arek.Zacharski|
|The list missing "The Saragossa Manuscript" and "Stalker", both should be at very top of this list., "Promised Land" by Wajda could make it into first 50 as well. Also Tarkovsky movies (Solaris, Andrei Rublev) should be placed higher. Read More|
|31 ||Good list|
|Posted on Thursday December 15, 2011, 18:31 by MrPinkBatman|
|That's a great list, I'm only surprised that Leningrad Cowboys was the only finnish movie on the list. The Unknown Soldier could've had been here. After seeing this list I'm going to buy Infernal Affairs, The Seventh Seal, Downfall and maybe Let The Right One In and Battle Royale. Read More|
|Posted on Monday December 5, 2011, 10:00 by rachelparker|
|no La vita è bella or Banlieue 13? Read More|
|33 ||Unforgivable omissions|
|Posted on Saturday November 19, 2011, 07:06 by benwoulds|
|1. Grand Illusion - wow, arguably #1, just ask Orson Welles
2. The Passion of Joan of Arc
3. La Strada
6. Fanny and Alexander
7. Le Million
9. Elevator to the Gallows
10. Viridiana Read More|
|34 ||Great list but no Iranian films???|
|Posted on Monday November 14, 2011, 20:24 by MaryGet89|
|After going through this list I got a little bit puzzled because I haven't seen Iranian films in it. What about the films by acclaimed Iranian filmmakers like Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf, Mehrjui. To my mind this list does not represent the films from Islamic coutries at all - what about their perspective? It's terrific that you put "Persepolis" here but it's not quite Iranian production, is it? Read More|
|35 ||An Interesting List but missing quite a few|
|Posted on Monday October 24, 2011, 11:30 by MrRenegadePhoenix|
|Pan's Labyrinth, City of God, The Seventh Seal, Battleship Potemkin, Seven Samurai, Spirited Away - definately worthy of top 10 placement but where my two favourite films: Grave of the Fireflies & The Lives of Others? They are such great films and deserved placement in the top 50 without a doubt. Read More|
|36 ||Could ve been better|
|Posted on Friday September 16, 2011, 09:39 by hashirkareem|
|its impossible to make a top 100 list to satisfy all.. a real greatest movie list should have no number limit .. having said that,i think this list is quite strange !
Amelie is without doubt a very good film..but the 2nd best film of all time ?? you've got to be kidding !! that too when 81/2 is somewhere in the 60s !! Godard, Fellini etc should be much higher on any list !
There is hardly any representation of Iranian Cinema which has produced some of the best of world cinema in the last 3 or 4 decades !
At least one Emir Kusturica movie should've been on the list..there are many that it could've replaced.
The Indian choices have veered towards blockbusters rather than good cinema.. Including Devdas is like having "the Titanic" on the list of greatest movies .. its a blockbuster, no doubt, but is completely out of place on this list.. same goes for Lagaan or Mother India (though both are good films they are, by no means, ground breaking cinema) .. Films by Ghatak (coRead More|
|37 ||It Could be More International|
|Posted on Thursday June 30, 2011, 19:43 by bernpire|
|I don't disagree with the selection of films, but I do disagree with the lack of films from countries with an important film industry, such as Argentina, South Africa or Egypt. Well, Nigeria's Nollywood is indeed important, but I haven't seen yet a Nollywood film which I would argue for. I do think that Argentina's Carlos Sorin, has directed more than one film which should be here. Read More|
|38 || Pathetic|
|Posted on Tuesday June 28, 2011, 23:43 by Elishebaall|
| This list is outrageous.No Bresson films, no Bunuel films(except Un chien andalou), directors such as Godard and Tarkovskij are extremely low-ranked, while Amelie is considered to be a number 2.
At number 37, on "Rome Open City", you wrote "Magnagni as a pregnant Communist sympathizer and Fabrizzi as a noble priest", managing to spell incorrectly the names of both actors, Magnani and Fabrizi.
As part of the non-english speaking world I thank you for taking the non-english film world in such attentive consideration.
|Posted on Wednesday June 1, 2011, 00:31 by Rati23|
|Where the F..K is The Lives of Others, Princess Mononoke, Grave of Fireflies? Read More|
|Posted on Wednesday May 18, 2011, 06:52 by Ferociousaurus|
|I also feel like La Vita e Bella is a pretty big snub. Other than that, good list. Read More|
|41 || Great Hungarian films|
|Posted on Friday April 15, 2011, 12:43 by Bipbip|
| gri csillagok (1968, Stars of Eger) - historical war drama. ---- on IMDB fekete varos (1971 TV-series, The Black Town): ---- on IMDBonfoglalas (1996, The Conquest): ------ on IMDB]
|42 ||Bad selection|
|Posted on Sunday April 10, 2011, 18:33 by Von Goom|
|Irreversible, La femme Nikita, Khadak, Taste of Cherry, La Vita e Bella are out
Any of those titles is better than one or two dozen of your selection Read More|
|43 || RE: What?!|
|Posted on Monday November 22, 2010, 16:09 by sharkboy|
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insuffici Read More|
|44 || RE: Great list, but..|
|Posted on Tuesday July 6, 2010, 07:56 by bizarro|
| My only real gripe with the list is how low Ikiru is. Read More|
|45 || RE: Pffft amend the list already|
|Posted on Sunday June 27, 2010, 21:26 by LastSamurai|
| After reading some posts i've watched a few of the films that weren't on the Top 100 list. Just finiished watchin Irreversible and WOW , great film. Gritty, real, and dark. Nicely acted and the "memento style" chronological way the film plays worked very well. Starts off a little slow but really gets going after 15 mins or so. If you've not seen this id personally recommend it. Defo a top 20 for me now.
|46 || RE: RE:|
|Posted on Sunday June 27, 2010, 12:03 by eldiabolik|
| I didn't see any Robert Bresson on that list, which in turn makes any such list worthless. A joke in fact. Read More|
|47 || RE:|
|Posted on Saturday June 26, 2010, 22:15 by fernetcontonica|
| I also think is worthy but being foreign myself and most films to my eyes too I find it rather odd myself and a list of myself would not be like this at all but that's a cultural perception issue. There's a set of films that hoarde the attention and some truly awesome stuff is not even left off on purpose because they don't even get any presence. Sometimes films that arrived here quickly take even a couple of years to hit the UK. It's not Empire's fault at all but I'd like to see them venturing deeper into the films the world offers.
|48 || RE: What is the "world" anyway?|
|Posted on Friday June 25, 2010, 16:32 by rawlinson|
| L: Julmis
I'm sure I'm not the first person to comment on the vaguely patronising tone of this whole thing, effectively setting a separate kids table for films made in other languages.
Or maybe it's a magazine trying to expand the viewing of their core fanbase by recommending 100 non-English language films? The list might not be perfect, these kind of lists never are, but it's a worthy aim. Talking about it as a kid's table is just seeing what you want to see instead of what's actually there.
films are then selected from those known in this country, leaving in the wilderness hundreds of possibly great or greater films which have not had the luck or funding to come to the attention of the English-speaking world. p;
And maybe the more that publications like Empire encourage an interest in foreign language films the more likely it is that a fanbase will grow and people will find themselves searching out more obscure films. Read More|
|49 || RE: What is the "world" anyway?|
|Posted on Friday June 25, 2010, 16:20 by elab49|
| World Cinema would be a standard recognised category in this country used by all sites and DVD outlets. It is clearly from really one point of view - but it is a British magazine, so World being defined as non-English language isn't patronising. It just 'is'. Read More|
|50 || RE: RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 21, 2010, 23:55 by TimBurtonVoodooGirl|
| I think Pan's Labyrinth should of been higher, it's one of the best films ever made!!
And I agree with Popcorn Required, where is Amores Perros?? And also films like Life Is Beautiful, Talk To Her, Volver. You said that Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown wasn't as scrubbed up as Volver, so why didn't you include volver in your list?? >.> Apart from that, some pretty good films, not sure how much I agree with the rankings though :-/ Un Chien Andalou should of been a bit higher I think, though. 80 years and it still manages to shock and disturb it's audiences, that is impressive. Read More|
|51 || RE: RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 21, 2010, 16:13 by spamandham|
| Oh and this list inspired me to finally get round to watching Let the right one in.
So well done.
|52 || RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 21, 2010, 16:11 by spamandham|
| The 'what not to say' on the Polanski entry made me lol Read More|
|53 || RE: This list sucks|
|Posted on Sunday June 20, 2010, 22:43 by Miles Messervy 007|
oh you make me laugh
|54 || RE: nice list, but...|
|Posted on Sunday June 20, 2010, 19:13 by Ultimo Lee|
| L: nunojordao
ame 852th........which is way too high
|55 || RE: RE:|
|Posted on Sunday June 20, 2010, 02:07 by Perros|
| Absolutely terrible list. Good movies, terrible rankings. Also, no way in hell should Spirited Away be that high in the list. I've seen this movie twice and it's not as good as you all make it out to be. Read More|
|56 || RE:|
|Posted on Saturday June 19, 2010, 23:45 by hiptobesquare_x|
| It isn't an appalling list but when you consider the fact that it is composed of every film not from the UK or the USA then 100 is a ridiculously small number to narrow it down to. I think it's as good a place as any to start for someone who wants to get in to World Cinema (eurgh how naff that sounds...). You get the picture. Read More|
|57 || RE: This list sucks|
|Posted on Saturday June 19, 2010, 23:01 by swordsandsandals|
oh Empire, you make me laugh
hy? Because they don't have exactly the same film taste as you? Read More|
|58 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Saturday June 19, 2010, 17:09 by Miles Messervy 007|
| L: elab49
It'd certainly be interesting definition wise if posters like Dantes and Fernetcontonica took part ote]Eh-khm.
The list is an odd mix, but I had suitably low expectations and a horrible film at number 2 is sort of redeemed by some of the more interesting choices. Read More|
|59 || RE: Top 100|
|Posted on Saturday June 19, 2010, 01:38 by LastSamurai|
| Hmmm... Ichi the Killer? Plus im enjoying hearing everyones opinions on other films they think should be on the list. The several that a few people have mentioned that weren't i'm gonna try and watch. Perhaps if people could write a little about each film that was missed off people can just look em up and draw there own conclusions. Then we could perhaps do our own Top 100 with a more "educated" audience.
|60 || RE:|
|Posted on Thursday June 17, 2010, 14:46 by Qwerty Norris|
| A good list there Empire, admittedly there's a lot I haven't seen but looking at what's on it I'm intrigued to see a number of stuff there.
Still, I'm pretty disappointed you couldn't find a spot for the likes of Fitzcarraldo, the Lives of Others, the Diving Bell & the Butterfly, Au Revoir Les Enfants & the Return- and yet find room for the likes of Infernal Affairs to be so high on the list.
Each to their own though I guess.....
|61 || RE: The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema|
|Posted on Tuesday June 15, 2010, 19:28 by demoncleaner|
| Just to point out a wee bijou error-ette (for my own near-sexual gratification than for editorial concern) but the Rashomon remake that credits Kurosawa as co-writer is ragebsp; lawsp;
*lights cigarette* Read More|
|62 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Tuesday June 15, 2010, 00:18 by benskelly|
| L: rawlinson
Films not in the English Language then?
With the obvious rule that Na'vi doesn't count as a language.
Or Klingon. Read More|
|63 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Tuesday June 15, 2010, 00:17 by rawlinson|
| L: swordsandsandals
Films not in the English Language then?
With the obvious rule that Na'vi doesn't count as a language. Read More|
|64 || RE: Mesrine!!!??|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 22:03 by Piles|
| L: Bobby TwoTimes
Possibly one of the greatest gangster movies ever made, certainly Vincent Cassel's masterpiece and the best French films since Irreversible (another one missing!).
Not a great list Empire, it must be said.
here's not a single Rohmer film in this list and you are complaining about Mesrine?
|65 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:59 by Piles|
| Also, Amelie at number two? Highest Godard at number 75? And that's 'Breathless'? Your list is rubbish. Read More|
|66 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:58 by benskelly|
So true, Piles.
You gotta' admit though - sure gets us clicking like monkeys with a cocaine button. Read More|
|67 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:55 by Piles|
| Dear Empire,
Please in future can you make it so I don't have to press next a hundred times before I can be outraged by one of your lists. I would much rather be outraged in the space of a simple scroll down a texted list.
|68 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:53 by swordsandsandals|
| Films not in the English Language then? Read More|
|69 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:35 by elab49|
| It'd certainly be interesting definition wise if posters like Dantes and Fernetcontonica took part Read More|
|70 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 21:24 by swordsandsandals|
| Top 100 World Cinema films - that could be an interesting one for us lot at Lists, Elab. Read More|
|71 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 20:07 by elab49|
| 'course posters could list their personal top 100 World Cinema films, and also confirm they've seen each and every one of the Empire 100.
Just for context. Read More|
|72 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 19:39 by rawlinson|
| L: swordsandsandals
How many more people are just going to list films they like but aren't in? They couldn't include every film, and chances are they don't like the one you keep harping on about as much as you do. Simple as that.
Have you never read one of these threads before? Read More|
|73 || RE: Another interesting addition to the list...|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 18:29 by swordsandsandals|
| How many more people are just going to list films they like but aren't in? They couldn't include every film, and chances are they don't like the one you keep harping on about as much as you do. Simple as that.
On another note, where was Once? I get it was in English, but it should be in every list ever. Read More|
|74 || RE: Very Bad Empire.|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 17:54 by SYMONDS|
| That what I said, using some what dubious grammer. Read More|
|75 || RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 13:28 by Kendra71|
| Please tell me I'm not the only person who saw and loved Avalon ? Wondered about the awesome Belleville Triplets, but couldn't think whether it was foreign language or in fact silent except for the song. Happy to see Pan's Labyrinth so high. I wish I could speak spanish so I could watch the film instead of the subtitles, but its still fantastic. Battle Royle should have been higher as its a riot. Interesting list all in all. Reminded me to put Metropolis on my Amazon wish list. Read More|
|76 || RE: Very Bad Empire.|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 12:25 by dankeane|
| Eh... Das Boot was made in 1981. What are you talking about? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/ Read More|
|77 || RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 07:46 by benskelly|
| L: KillerKane
Maybe for Most Disturbing Use Of A Fire Extinguisher, otherwise...nope. Read More|
|78 || RE: Oldboy is good enough to be that high in the list.|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 07:37 by benskelly|
| Wow, a lot of posters on here have terrible taste...
BATTLE ROYALE is utter crap. It is one of the stupidest films I've ever seen.
SUSPIRIA is the second biggest piece of crap.
CROUCHING TIGER has it's moments, but is incredibly overrated.
FLYING DAGGERS, on the other hand, is a giddy fucking masterpiece and visual feast - so for those of you saying "what???"...you're wrong. Just FYI.
Now could we stop mentioning THE LIVES OF OTHERS over and over again? It was a very good film, maybe great, and should have been in the lower half of the list.
I criticized the list, but jokingly. It's a fine list. There's no pleasing everyone. And I love all these people who want to fill the Top Ten only with films from the last five years. Gimme' a break. Watch an old movie once in a while, you snotnosed brats. Otherwise you really have no idea what you're talking about. AndRead More|
|79 || RE:|
|Posted on Monday June 14, 2010, 01:28 by Ultimo Lee|
| Why when there's a list is there so many first time posters?
Not bad managed to have seen 53 of them, my top 10 in no particular order would be
City of God
Jean de Florette / Manon des Sources
|80 || RE:|
|Posted on Sunday June 13, 2010, 18:12 by Deviation|
| Yes there are some strange omissions but still a great 100 List nontheless. Read More|
|81 || RE: Missing in favor of violence?|
|Posted on Saturday June 12, 2010, 23:18 by swordsandsandals|
| I'm going to focus on the positives.
The Seven Samurai, Ikiru, My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Aguirre, City of God, Pan's Labyrinth and others are all masterpieces. I'm only in the Top 50 at the moment as well. Read More|
|82 || RE: Missing in favor of violence?|
|Posted on Saturday June 12, 2010, 20:29 by benskelly|
| Okay, I have my gripes as well...
First of all, not including PELLE THE CONQUERER is a sin of the highest order. Secondly, HOUSE OF THE FLYING DAGGERS should be much higher up, and I'd dump CROUCHING TIGER...
Then you need to open up your eyes to Jacques Becker's French crime masterpieces: LE TROU (THE HOLE), TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI, and CASQUE D'OR.
And the Japanese samurai classic HARA KIRI.
And where's BETTY BLUE? Or, for that matter, LA FEMME NIKITA??
|83 || RE: RE:|
|Posted on Saturday June 12, 2010, 16:07 by evildave69|
| Reader's Poll eh? Do you not remember 'The 50 Worst Films Ever' list. If anything it proves that readers as a collective, whether Empire or not, no a truck load of fuck-all. Read More|
|84 || RE:|
|Posted on Saturday June 12, 2010, 15:42 by JapStrangler|
| L: mcclane3011
Just the 1 bruce lee movie? Hardboiled needs to be much higher! and what about the killer...where the hell was that??!! Also what about jackie Chan's project A. At the risk of pissing a lot of people off seven samurai is much over rated and needs to be much lower. Korean war epic brotherhood should be on the list.Perhaps next time this kind of list is done it should be a list compiled by readers.
ally, why can't we have a reader's poll?
|85 || RE:|
|Posted on Saturday June 12, 2010, 10:09 by itzibitzius|
| They mixed up the descriptions of Touki Bouki and Xala... Get it sorted Empire! Read More|
|86 || RE: Did I miss BETTY BLUE in there? wtf|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 21:58 by Megalo-who?|
and how about STALKER hmmm.
ther than Andrei Rublev and Solaris, Empire never mentions Tarkovsky. But yes, Mirror, Stalker, Notalgia and The Sacrifice should all be on there. Oh yeah and The Lives Of Others, a glaring omission considering the populist nature of the list and the fact that it towers above. Read More|
|87 || Devdas and Lagaan, seriously?|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 20:16 by SultanAmeer|
| I won't argue about great movies like Rashomon and Nosferatu are lower in the list than less-great movie like Let The Right One In, City of God and Pan's Labyrinth because this won't change the mind of the person(s) who compiled that list but what about two not so great Bollywood movies in the list. Devdas and Lagaan both upper in the list than Mother India, seriously? Even most Bollywood critics won't agree with that. What about real great Bollywood movies like Pyaasa, Devdas (1955), Do Bigha Zamin, these movies are way better than Devdas and Lagaan and they are not even in that list. They should've research more before compiling that list.
What's the issue with this quote "Shahrukh Khan isn't the Tom Cruise of Bollywood. Tom Cruise is the Shahrukh Khan of Hollywood!" They certainly didn't watch Shahrukh Khan's other performances or they just don't like Tom Cruise.
Doesn't Das Boot released in 1981? Read More|
|88 || RE:|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 19:31 by The Waco Kid|
| what about Man bites dog ( i thought it was bloody funny)
or two films i think beat jean de florette/manon des source they being
la gloire de mon pere
le chateau de ma mere
|89 || RE:|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 18:42 by Boyden|
| What is the reasoning to leaving out The Lives of others, Irreversible, Funny Games and Alexander Nevsky? Read More|
|90 || RE: Honestly, how could you miss|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 16:12 by livila|
Au revoir, les enfants?????
ve that film too. Read More|
|91 || RE: Great list|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 16:08 by livila|
| L: edwardon
Great list, but I'd also like to have seen included Letters from Iwo Jima, The Lives of Others, La Mala Educacion, Eat Drink Man Woman, The Orphanage and e Margotote]
Yes, definately La Reine Margot. I think with a proper dvd release rather than the cut US version, this film would be remembered again. Full version is available in Germany but not France.
Other than that, great list. Personally I'd have After the Wedding, Volver and Twin Sisters in there. Read More|
|92 || RE: COME AND SEE'S A BIG PILE OF SHIT!|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 16:04 by Mrs.Doyle|
| Ki-duk Kim's 2003 , Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring"eoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom) anyone?? Amazing Korean film that had us enthralled when shown on TV a few years back./align]Also nd Jim]Cinema Paradiso Top Ten! Read More|
|93 || RE: Missing?|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 14:24 by tftrman|
| Some of the suggestions people are making just wouldn't get near a top 100 list -
City Of Lost Children - It's good but uneven in tone and the ending is badly written.
Sympathy For Mr Vengeance - Not even the best of Chan-wook's vengeance trilogy
Irreversible - That's a tough one, it's a really powerful film but there's no re-watch appeal for me so wouldn't make the list either.
|94 || RE: Missing?|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 13:58 by Helen OHara|
| Just to address a few of the points raised, we make no apologies whatsoever for the films on the list or their placement. This list was derived from a MUCH longer long list which included most of those y'all have suggested (except A Very Long Engagement - it ain't all that) and we narrowed it down to something that felt fair and representative to us.
On a couple of the smaller mistakes, we're fixing those now. The classification of Persepolis and Un Chien Andalou as non-French was partly because of the directors and partly (if I'm honest) trying not to make it such a home run for the darn Frenchies, who have a nasty habit of making consistently brilliant films.
|95 || RE: I'll be the first to bitch...|
|Posted on Friday June 11, 2010, 11:14 by Funkyrae|
THE ORPHANAGE? IRREVERSIBLE? actually, 'The greatest films not in the English language'? o where were PASSION OF THE CHRIST and APOCALYPTO?at about Snake-Eyes' Favourite - LE PACTE DES LOUPS?!
opefully in the bin where they belong! Read More| | <urn:uuid:b9f41035-a870-417e-8877-1a5341dfa03b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=100 | 2013-05-19T18:53:00Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939377 | 9,287 |
Well; now that the bailout appears to have flamed out we see the stock market dropping faster than Larry Craig's boxers in airport men's room (what? hey, it's just an analogy!).
In conversations over the weekend ( I was travelling to visit some friends) I was told by a number of people that the credit crunch was the fault of the consumer. There's no doubt in my mind that a lot of folks, who really did know better than to believe that the loan and real estate markets were sound, borrowed much more money than they could hope to repay if anything interrupted their income stream or devalued their equity stake in their property. There were also, of course, many thousands of businesses, both large and small, that went on spending sprees for new equipment, expansion and acquisitons and are now scrambling in a tightening market to service the debt they generated.
However, the major culprits in this situation are the current administration, the financial behemoths that control retail lending and the superbly trained, groomed and accoutred thieves who ran them.
I've been through a bankruptcy. It destroyed my credit for 8 years. As a result of proving that I wasn't very good at controlling my spending I was penalized by being refused any credit at less than confiscatory rates (at least I used to think 24% interest was confiscatory--now that seems like a bargain compared to some of the rates I see). I learned a lesson. I don't owe anyone any money at the moment and I hope to keep it that way. I also don't have any money to speak of, when I finish what I'm doing at the house I will be flat broke, most likely. I know that I can't spend money I don't have and expect someone to bail ME out--with no strings attached. I don't think consumers who borrowed money to purchase McMansions (knowing they couldn't really afford them) should be afforded the same degree of relief as people who were lied to and convinced by the bunco artist lenders that their ARM's were "no problem" and they would just be able to re-fi them at any time.
Once the "customers" have had their 'taste' of ashes and sackcloth I think it would be both just and proper that we deal with their enablers.
I have heard that some bigshot execs have lost their jobs, that they share our pain. Horseshit. The majority of the corporate thugs who were the architects of this house of cards have made piles of money, much of which has been "re purposed" into various stock portfolios, real estate and other assets. I would suggest (fat lot of good it will do) that we set aside some funds and set up a an investigative body to comb through the financial records of the failed institutions and their officers. Where those investigations reveal mis or malfeasance, appropriate penalties--including prison sentences and restitution--should be levied.
Mr. Paulson said, last week, that we needed to offer the people that allowed or caused this current fiasco, some incentives to get them to sign on. I think a couple of hundred U.S. Marshalls and T-men with warrants, green eyeshades and calculators would work wonders.
I actually put this on someone else's comments, but it strikes me that people keep conflating "experience" with training (including the Obama campaign).
The comment that was made, essentially, sais that Palin's lack of foreign policy experience is no more troubling than was Bill Clinton's when he ran for the presidency or Obama's is now. I beg to differ.
Assuming this information on Obama:
Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked for a year at the Business International Corporation and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.
After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.
Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988. At the end of his first year, he was selected, based on his grades and a writing competition, as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. In February 1990, in his second year, he was elected president of the Law Review,(wikipedia)"
and Bill Clinton;
"With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., receiving a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree in 1968. He spent the summer of 1967, the summer before his senior year, working as an intern for Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. While in college he became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. ...
Upon graduation he won a Rhodes Scholarship to University College, Oxford where he studied Government. ...
After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School and obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1973.(wikipedia)"
to be factual,
I would say that either Obama's or Clinton's resume is little better than Sarah Palin's. Sarah Palin has a degree in sports journalism. NO FOREIGN POLICY EDUCATION OR EXPERIENCE.
It is silly for anyone to think that any candidate for the presidency has a great deal of foreign policy "experience" as even the U.S. congress really only recommends what path the president and secretary of state should follow in that regard. But if a concentration in sports metaphors isn't trumped by a law degree and a B.S. in foreign policy--well, shucks.
Also, it needs to be remembered that JohnnyPOW McCain's campaign touted Sarah Palin's experience in this area. Now they REALLY don't want her to talk about it, outside of totally scripted and managed "interviews". Poor Sarah, the pitbull may wear lipstick but she also wears a muzzle.
Obviously there is no "truth in advertising" law that applies to political campaigns--mores the pity.
Well, we had a deal, but it appears that the GOPimps in the house are now saying that the guy they sent up to the hill had his fingers crossed...
"But a House leadership aide said that there had been no bipartisan negotiations with House Republicans. The aide said Rep. Spencer Bachus, who had been meeting with Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd, head of the Senate Banking Committee, had no authority to speak for them.
In a statement before the meeting, Bachus said that he had made it clear in the meeting that "I was not authorized by my colleagues to make any agreement on behalf of House Republicans."
So, now it would appear that we don't have a deal. Our economy is tanking (has been for quite some time, actually) and the reptilicans are going to use this crisis as another chance to fuck the rest of us and at the same time make political points with the morons that support McCain/Palin or Bushco V1.1, if you will.
They say that the Chinese have an ideogram for "crisis" that combines "danger" with "opportunity". I think the GOP has one that combines "cynicism" with "talking points".
Here's a great MPalincCain ad.
I watched a fair amount of Olbermann's show from last evening on a podcast and about eight minutes of Letterman, all having to do, oddly enough with the McPalincain presidential campaign.
I'm not sure what's stranger; the surreal aspect of both Palin and McCain's obvious disconnect with what they say when they know they're on camera and what they've said in the past or say now, when they think they're off the record--or the fact that most of the media is STILL blissfully pumping out whatever passes for the truth from CampaignMcStain.
Don't take my word for it, google Olbermann, google Letterman (Jay Leno's got to be seething that McCain didn't "diss" him). Check out Mudflats blog.
I don't think we're seeing that the emperor's naked, I think we're seeing that his spleen is enlarged, he's got fibroid entanglements in his brain and he's suffering from Madrunningmate's disease.
That's okay, Reverend Muthee, the witchdoctordoctor will save the senator and his team from that evil sorcerer O Bam A.
And a bright "good morning" to all!
I have been puzzling over the claim by Bushco apparatchik Henry Paulson that not making a quick, uninformed decision about the $750,000,000,000 welfare program for the downtrodden CEO's of Wall Street.
See, I don't got me no degree in economics or finance or nuttin, so I can't begin to see how badly we're really being fucked if this thing goes through. What I can do is google and I'm half decent with numbers, so....
$1M in "Benjamins" = the following:
Total area: 103.389471 square meters
Total weight: According to the U.S. Treasury, "In $100 bills, the weight
of $1million is about 22 pounds." [that's 10 kg.]
Total height: Stacked singly, 48.82 inches high.
Total length: Laid end to end, 5083.333... feet long.
So, here are the figures for Bushco's Golden Airborne Division bailout.
Total area: 77,542,103.25 square meters or 29.939173442746206 square miles
(for purposes of comparison, Manhattan's total land area is
22.96 sq mi.)
Total weight: 7,500 metric tons or, 8267.334... Tons-short
Total height: Stacked singly, 577.888... miles high.
Total length: Laid end to end, 722,064.346... miles long
More fun facts: If we go for this Ponzi scheme, and take out a
"home impoverishment loan" we can look at the following
Loan amount: $ 750,000,000,000.00
Loan term : 30 Years
Interest rate: 5.750% (We ARE well qualified buyers)
Monthly Payment: $ 4,376,796,423.33 a month
Totals--Principal: $ 750,000,000,000.00
Interest: $ 825,646,712,398.80
Grand Total: $ 1,575,646,712,398.80 (you can forget
about the .80; just round it down.)
Dividing this figure by 150,000,000 taxpayers (an arbitrary number; I just plucked it out of the air, unlike Mr. Paulson) I come up with a per capita number of, let's see $ 10,504.31 or about $29.18 per month. Why, it's just like a "Christmas Club savings account. The CEO's get to open their gifts for the next 30 years, we get the bill! And this will secure my future? how?
The good news for me is that there's little or no chance I'll be paying for the whole term of the note--I'm 58.
I don't know about you folks, but I don't want to get asked over for dinner and then get stuck with paying for the house.
I went out this evening to get a few beers and some chicken wings. When I was getting ready to leave the bar I ran into a guy I know and another guy that I met once before. We talked for a few minutes and the fellow I knew told the other guy that I was renovating my house and he mentioned the sidewalk. At this point the other said that I should have had the city do my sidewalk. I told him the city wasn't about to take care of my sidewalk. He then informed me that you just have to "know the right people". It went downhill from there. I told him that people who are connected get things done, at the expense of the rest of us, he didn't like hearing it. People like him never like hearing that they are, in fact, gaming the system--just like all those welfare cheats they always talk about.
I know the other guy is a staunch republican and try to avoid discussing politics with him. But the whole thing got going with both of them reciting the GOP's talking points about Obama. One of them went so far as to to say that it's not okay for the MSM to call Obama a black guy, but it's okay to make fun of Sarah Palin and ask if she's done her laundry today (something I've not heard on ANY news outlet). When I asked him if he felt like Obama was the "black guy", he tried to act as if it wasn't what he said.
I was quite pissed and had to leave. It's not that I can't accept people having convictions about their candidates. It's that I can't abide people who are being willfully blind to the truth.
One of they guys said that Bush had given everybody $600 and, now, Obama was "bribing" people to vote for him by promising them $1K. The other guy said Obama has done nothing, gotten no bills passed, during his 4 years in the U.S. Senate. Neither of them had any opinion, apparently, on Sarah Palin's absolute lack of knowledge or meaningful experience in dealing with issues affecting significant populations. Nor did they have anything to say about Bushco's $700B bailout plan for WS, which they either think is a good idea or they have no thoughts about at all.
When I encounter that sort of mindset, willful blindness is as charitable a description as I can muster for that sort of attitude. Selfishness, cowardice and cynicism are, I think, a good deal closer to the mark.
I almost forgot to mention that they will both be voting for McCain.
Deregulation is good, according to the folks who have to deal with all of those burdensome regulations.
If it wasn't for the courage of the deregulators we would have horrific pollution, unsafe food and an economy in a shambles. Thank GOD we have some brave men--one of whom is an EX-POW, my friends--who will not let themselves be steamrolled by the nattering nabobs of regulativity. The market will, left alone, correct itself. If this isn't obvious to those of my readers who have watched the developments in the financial markets this week, then they must be socialistically blind. The market got into trouble because of FDR's failed social programs and if they hadn't pulled themselves up, by Mr. Paulson's bootstraps, their shareholders would be left holding the bag. As it is, they used their own gumption and resources to have their lobbyists go talk to the same lawmakers who let them get where they are today to extend a little credit. It's not their fault that the credible boobs they've loaned money too can't manage THEIR financial affairs.
I think it's worth noting here that the Chinese who were often praised, and rightfully so, for doing such a bangup job of choreographing 8,000 dancers in the opening ceremony of "Leni II--Triumph Of The Will, Beijing" were not afraid to devote the resources necessary to achieve that feat. Hopefully, now that the olympics are over they will be able to send a few of the dancers back to their "day jobs" as builders and baby formula inspectors (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/world/asia/16milk.html?ref=worldbusiness).
Regulation is the last refuge of the scaredypants. If you insist on regulation then the terrorists have won.
I was going to write something about the wonderfully crisp early autumn air, but...
I was chatting with a couple of folks last night and they were taken a bit aback by my characterization of John McCain as a lying piece of shit who would sell his soul if ever had one.
They are not and were not going to vote for him in any case, but they thought I was a bit harsh in my assessment of McCain's charachter. They were, also, largely ingnorant of his various acts of self-aggrandizement and malfeasance over his nearly 30 years in public life--never mind his personal lapses of ethics and morals. But, they were shocked, shocked I tell you, at the level of my vituperativeness. One of them actually said that I was not going to be able to convince people on the merits of my candidates qualifications if I was so obvious about my dislike for McCain and his campaign consort, Sarah Palin. Ummm, okay, I don't care.
The GOP has made fear the centerpiece of their campaigns for at least the last 50 years. Fear of the commies, fear of racial mixing, fear of tax and spend liberals, fear of Islam, fear of a liberal education, fear of government regulation and, now, the fear of eternal damnation.
The GOP has cynically and deliberately made this presidential election a referendum on the will of GOD. Sarah Palin was chosen, as is becoming increasingly apparent, solely for her attractiveness to a group of voters, the "social conservatives" (who, in actuality, are sociopathic reactionaries) of the GOP's "Base". Her lack of expertise in most areas of governance and her all too obvious certitude that GOD has her back would be hilarious, if it were just a spoof by Tina Fey. But, it's not. Once again the GOP has cranked up the machineries of hate and has ginned up the cross and robe constituency that will vote for whichever candidate they are told to by their ministers and the rightwing smearosphere.
So, the GOP has their politics of fear. Well, I got my politics too, the politics of outrage. I am outraged that the same cabal of bastards who have done their utmost to further enrich the wealthiest, remove the safeguards put in place to protect the rest of us from those same people's depradations and plunge us into a war that is as apparently unwinnable as it is interminable dare to ask for another chance to right the ship of state--a ship that they themselves ran aground.
I don't know what informs the Obama campaigns rhetoric in the face of a blizzard of lies and bullshit from the right. I do know what informs mine. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to make nice, anymore.
Steve Earle's 2005 Album, "The Revolution Starts Now" has the following chorus in his song, "Fuck the FCC"
"So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA"
I'm livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA"
Profane? yup; nasty, ditto. Add the GOP, the AFA and every other lying group of fear mongering bastards that are the "special needs" children of Lee Atwater, may he rot in his troubled sleep.
Let's not allow the "Liars for GOD" to interpret our silence as fear.
I got something in my head that's slipping gears at the moment, I'll get to it, after bit.
I'm putting another poem on here. The way to make me stop is to beg for them until I run out (there's only a couple of hundred left). Then I will have to go into seclusion (which means a bar with cheap draft and a bunch of other garrulous old geezers like myself) to write some more.
This one's for my pop (note: The price of gas is, obviously, from those dark days when that criminal Clinton's treacherous perfidy was still hobbling the profitability of the energy sector).
"Want to go for a ride?" he'd ask.
My father liked company on his drives to the store or the post office.
I really think any of his kids would do.
But he especially seemed to enjoy the rides we took together,
It was like sanctuary on four wheels.
The place we did not fight.
The place where we could, briefly, almost, be equal.
My dad drove a lot, it was a part of his job, the part he loved.
He grew up in a little town; Del Rapids, South Dakota.
Limitless skies, countless pheasants, good black earth.
He traded it for city living,
but you cannot take the farm out of the boy.
He spent 10, maybe 15 years, criss-crossing Nebraska and parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
Selling was the excuse to get behind the wheel and point the car at the horizon.
He flew when he had to, drove when he could.
400, 500, 600 miles in a day-- 1,500 in a week.
A tankful of .19/ Gal gasoline, 2 packs of Philip Morris Regulars and a thermos of strong coffee.
He favored Olds Delta 88's; massive, powerful, sleek and comfy.
He loved to put his hand over the speedometer and with a voice full of mischief say, "let me know when you think we're going 75."
I would wait then, knowing I was wrong, I'd give the signal.
He'd take his hand off the speedometer and I would be watching the needle flicker at 100, 105, a bit more.
The car rode like it was on rails
His car was a refuge,
the one place where, even though it was always in motion, he felt grounded.
We had very little in common, so few areas in which we agreed.
Two things we shared were a 7-3/8 hat size and our love for the road.
I drive a compact truck, gave up smoking and drink de-caf:
I love to get in the car and point it at the horizon.
Gas is about $2.00/ Gal and there are very few places you can just put the hammer down.
But the car is a refuge, a movable sanctuary.
An altar to the idolatry of mobility, perhaps.
I pull on my 7-3/8 fitted baseball cap and shove an Orbison tape into the deck;
I look in the rearview mirror,
Dad smiles back.
FWIW, this took off into the ether, as soon as I finished typing the title. That's about how much I can listen to the experts without screaming and throwing shit at the radio.
Mr. Cokie Roberts is on the Diane Rheem Show this a.m., talking with three of those "experts" about the wholly unforeseen, unpredictable and unprecedented nosedive of Wall Street (which is sucking everyone else's economies into the maelstrom--see, we ARE still important!!).
All of those overeducated, underobservant assholes are paid millions to run the companies that are tanking left and right. They are paid that money because they, supposedly, know how to do so. It appears that a lot of them have no fucking idea what they're doing--aside from how to draw and spend those huge, undeserved "compensation packages".
I'd like to say its schadenfreude on my part to enjoy their suffering--except it appears that a lot of them aren't suffering. They're walking away with enormous wads of cash (although, in truth, $10-30M or so doesn't buy what it used to!) as a result of deals worked out with the boards. Of course the fact that a lot of the CEO's of various companies sit on each others' boards; that wouldn't in any way affect their judgement on such matters, would it? Nah.
Well, that's enough of that, for now.
I was listening to a John Gorka tape last night--I am a technoluddite and damned proud of it--! Anyway, I go the Salvation Army thrift store and buy tapes for .99 apiece, great music at the right price. So; I'm litening to the tape and the last song on it is "Brown Shirts". If you haven't heard it, or heard of it, you might want to check it out. It was written in 1992, but it could have been written tomorrow.
I know that the Dixie Chicks have been one of the most visible groups or artists to put their careers on the line by voicing their disapproval with and disgust of the "values" of the GOP. There are others, however; hundreds (thousands?) of musicians, comedians, actors and other public figures who use their popular appeal and celebrity to do the right thing and speak truth to power.
thus endeth the rant.
After listening to the news of the collapse of Lehman Bros., the assimilation of Merrill Lynch and the dire forecasts re: AIG, I listened to several "experts" whose hindsight is unbelievably postscient. They can all explain how clear it was that this would happen, but none offer explanations as to why they didn't sound the alarm before or while it happened.
I have heard, many times, in the past several days that the structural failures which led to the ruin of the U.S. and world economies in the the Great Depression were the impetus behind much legislation that erected firewalls between speculative investment and traditional banking institutions; and, that because of those firewalls it was much less likely that the sort of things that brought about the run on banks and subsequent. It appears, however, that the U.S. congress has, in the past several decades, undermined or simply removed those firewalls so that they are no longer effective or no longer exist.
It occurs to me (not) for the first time that the difference between investing on Wall Street and shooting craps in Vegas is that at least in Vegas they comp the drinks for the marks.
The new "conventional wisdom" is that the "housing bubble" and it's reliance on sub-prime mortgages are to blame for the demise of numerous financial institutions. The people who are saying this are, in many cases, the same folks who had been telling us, until fairly recently, that it was the housing market that would draw us out of the recession. It seems that the financial experts and the economists were not blowing hard enough on the dice before they threw them.
Much of the blame for the sub-prime mess, of course, can be laid at the feet of people who bought homes during a period of "irrational exuberance". I have heard that many people just wanted to have a home of their own. Count me in that number. I have a lovely little hovel which I bought for $25K because it was pretty much gutted and it sits on a small, crowded lot, in a city, in the upper end of NY; a city whose economy has been in the shitter since about 1975. Purchasing the house took about 1/2 of what was in my small 401K. Then I took a lump sum check for my retirement in order to finance the renovations. So, now I have about 30K in an IRA and this house (which needs about 1000 hours work and $15K in materials to make it livable) what I don't have, at the moment, is any debt--of course I don't have an income either.
Now, then; I'm going to be 59 in a few weeks and I'm probably never going to have anything like a good paying job again (I blame a lack of talent and ambition--I am so unfair to my life!). There are lots of people my age who have nice homes, decent amounts of savings, nice cars, kids in college and all of the other accoutrements of the middle class. They also have boatloads of debt. A large portion of their indebtedness stems from reliance on traditional financial instruments, mortgages in the main, to finance homes. However much of the indebtedness is the result of high interest borrowings on credit cards, to finance those things which they were told they needed to be seen as successful. They were convinced, by the lenders that debt was good, regardless that the cost of servicing the debt was usurious. Debt is good, especially if you're not the debtor--AND if, when your position as the debt collector becomes unprofitable, you can ask the government to spare you from the repercussions of the "free market" that you created!
Here's the thing that really bothers me about all of this: that dream of constant acquisition, each successive generation having more of everything than its predecessor, is rooted in Ponzinomics. There is a finite amount (and it's quite large, I won't deny that) of wealth that is available at any single point in time. When there is not enough to go around, debt is created--wealth anti-matter, so to speak--some of which is fine. But, when debt becomes the driving force of the economy, it becomes an 800 pound gorilla. Debt dictates how we spend and save. Too much debt means that, first--we can no longer save, and second--that we can't buy more stuff. If it's only for a week or two, no biggie. Otoh, if it's for a few quarters the party in power calls it a period of stagnation (the party out of power calls it what it is--a recession).
Ya know what? This is all just my opinion, cuz I never finished college, never mind the Wharton School or Chicago U. But I don't think the homeless (and those who are going to be joining them in the next few years) need degrees in economics to know that they're screwed.
Tommorow, class, we will look at how the necessity to be part of Mr. Bush's "ownership society" left us all holding one thing--the bag.
As the title suggests, the MSM looks down on bloggers (including, I suspect, most of their in-house bloggers) as non-professionals who lack the training, experience, discipline and integrity of the so-called, "legacy media". I must admit I don't have my stylebook handy; can someone tell me if they're full of "horse shit" or "horseshit"?
It's impossible to know what would have happened without blogs prodding the major news organization, embarassing them by scooping them time and again, but I'm guessing that a lot of the current, genuine reporting being done on the McCain Campaign would not be happening. Most of the news that I'm seeing in the mainstream media about Sarah Palin, for instance, is based on the public record of her time as mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska. I honestly believe that the MSM would have been perfectly happy to not investigate her if they hadn't been shamed into it by the "little people".
The same goes for the Cindy McCain drug use (and its coverup) story. This information is not new. I read about it back in the day, but it wasn't judged important by MSM, apparently, because it died, just like Cheney's hunting accident, W's Maine DWI & Laura Bush's "accident" which killed someone.
I guess I should give credit where it's due. The MSM has been relentless in exposing the dangerous ties between Barack Obama and various unsavory individuals; his former minister, a former black panther and a criminal (who actually went to jail, unlike say SCOOTER LIBBY, for committing crimes). Well, I guess they were just too busy or had allocated too many resources to chasing down every lead about Obama to do anything in the way of "investigative journalism" (aka, reading the old newspapers) to determine that it might be prudent to see if JohnnyPOW and company might not be the wholesome american patriots that they purport themselves to be.
Six fucking weeks, people, six fucking weeks.
Please pass this one around:
"Women Against Palin are asking to be notified of any rallies, peaceful protests etc that get planned so they can pass the info along. Here is their link:
The news that Lehman Brothers is probably not going to survive (and there's evidence that AIG and Merrill Lynch are not in great shape either) along with the rest of what's been going on in the financial communities would scare the bejesus out of me if I had any money in the markets. The fact that health care and health care insurance are both unaffordable for quite a large number of Americans does scare me (I'm uninsured at the moment). Mr. Bush's failed and unnecessary war on Iraq is sucking billions more out of this nation's economy, billions that might have been spent replacing faulty infrastructure and financing education and healthcare for ALL americans.
Now, with all that going on, one would think that the average person who has not been in a coma for the last eight years would realize that it's time to shitcan the CEO, the board and most of the upper management at USA.
But, it appears that that the current management team has a better idea. They want to replace the inept, ideologically blinded, fiscally profligate and religiously biased group with a "new and improved" version of the same thing.
All they need is your help.
A word of advice, "Just say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
As threatened, a poem.
This was originally written for Deer Leader, but I think it fits the McHuntress just as well.
With apologies to Joyce Kilmer, a sissy poet, who did actually serve his country (he was killed at the second battle of the Marne) during WWI.
Neo-contata (After George W. Bush)
I think that I will never see
a poem as pretty as a Christmas tree.
A rough thing from nature trimmed up fine.
Covered with tinsel, lights ashine.
Kinda puts me in mind of another type of Christmas tree,
A thing that keeps our nation free.
The one that goes on top of a well after it’s been capped;
Only kind of vein me and my friends ever tapped.
An oil derrick, big old, clankin’, belchin’ sumbitch of a rig
Hooverin’ up the oil, from the earth’s deep bowels, you dig?
A tree whose branches all are twined together as is manly,
not splayed out, supplicatin’ like, and gangly.
It’s proud erection strainin’ against the fabric of the earth
While it spurts life givin’ fluids for our capitalist rebirth.
I didn’t mean to make this piece short or curt,
But poetic thinkin’ makes my head hurt.
Excerped from "Towards Self-love, By A Twisted Path--New Work 2001--?"
Poor, poor, pitiful Sarah:
is running this story:
‘Alaska Women Reject Palin’ Rally is HUGE!
which I urge people to forward to the MSM.
It is fairly obvious that Sarah Palin's management style approximates that of the current Idiot-in-Chief's.
She rewards her supporters and highschool classmates (many of them co-religionists) with public sector jobs for which they appear to have few, if any, qualifications. She attacks those who disagree with her and her agenda. This woman is a danger to Alaska as its governor. She will be a danger to the American people if she achieves the vice-presidency. While she may not be as machiavellian as the DorkLordCheney, she is certainly as devious, spiteful and monomanical as his puppet.
I wonder; Has McStain tumbled yet, to the fact that he is the lesser of the two on the ticket, in the eyes of the reichwing KKKristianists? Talk about the Pitbull's tail wagging the dog.
Our friend Richard made a comment on yesterday's post, that said in part:
"...The Old Shitbag, appearing tonight at that "Service Forum" at Columbia Univ responded to a question about his brand of gutter politics by saying that campaigns are "rough" and that things would have been different had Obama agreed to his proposal for ten joint town-hall meetings "like Jack Kennedy and Barry Goldwater had agreed to do".
It's a lie.
Kennedy never made such an agreement with Goldwater"
Truth and honor, are not, it seems, in these people. This is why I have despised John McCain for as long as I've known of him. It appears that his "soulmate" Sarah Palin IS truly his soulmate in that regard.
Were he competent (his naval "career" is illustrative in that regard) McCain would have been made, given his status as a POW/War Hero (not to mention his "legacy" status, being the son/grandson of full Admirals)--the
War Hero label undeserved as it may be--an Admiral long before the end of his career. When pressed to release his naval service record, McCain's campaign made available approximately 5% of the record, what does he have to hide?
It is obvious to those who can read, and take the time to do so, that McCain's record on aligning himself with Bushco in a majority of his senate votes (as high as 90% of them) makes his claim of being a "maverick" an utter, and deliberate, falsehood.
His hiring of the very person who orchestrated the ads that destroyed his chances for a presidential bid in 2000 demonstrate how willing he is to trade his honor and dignity for a chance to be the C-in-C.
His marital infidelities and his divorce of a supportive first wife so that he might remarry a younger, prettier, richer woman show us the "real" John McCain, a self-centered opportunist.
McCain's ill-temper, which is well documented is covered, barely, with a thin veneer of false bon homie, the "lipstick on the pig", if you will.
Sarah Palin. Well, gosh, what can I say? Given her vast (lack of) experience Sarah has, nonetheless, become as accomplished as McCain in lying to the American people, even when her lies are clumsy and obvious.
McCain and Palin (or their surrogates) attack Obama and his campaign with distortions, mischaracterizations and outright lies while trumpeting their own (non-existent) christian morality. If the GOD I don't believe in is out there, I hope he is taking note of these two.
The difference between us (honest, decent, caring humans) and "them" (reichwing KKKristians) is that even though many of us are not christians--or, in fact, have no faith in a god of any sort--we are moral and reasonable folks.
This latest wrinkle in the GOP's pandering to the GODibanic fundamentalists is merely a logical extension of their continual drift to the extreme right. While it appears that Sarah Palin has little or no experience in any area that would be crucial to her governance in the (all too) likely event that she would inherit John McCain's job when he strokes out or dies of melanoma, it does not, in the minds of her rabid followers disqualify her from having that job.
To that end, the RNC and the McCain campaign have used their dollars to attack the Obama candidacy with innuendo and outright lies, while attempting to deflect legitimate criticism of both McCain and Palin. Sarah Palin's handlers are, in fact, only making her available to media personalities (calling them journalists would be an insult to those who are) who will treat her favorably.
I have read numerous posts and comments urging Senator Obama and his campaign to fight fire with fire. Would that they could. I think there is something about having character, a conscience and a gag reflex that, unfortunately preclude that sort of swinish behavior.
For that reason I am announcing, here, that I will be available for that duty. I have virtually no scruples re: doing or saying whatever it takes to wake people the fuck up. Send me you tired accusations, your poorly researched indictments and your wretched truthiness, yearning to be spewed. I will do what I can to disseminate it. Oh, send me some truth, too, it helps to confuse the issue.
Not "The Gods Must Be Crazy"; that was a delightful film about South Africa and some of its denizens.
No, this is about the KKKristan GOD and his jihadherents.
There is just something about a GOD whose followers are so convinced of their righteousness and everyone else's wrongteousness. The admonition to "Love one's brother as one's self" apparently means just that to them--it's the determination of just who is one's brother that seems to create problems for the KKKristians. Those benighted people of the Mid-east could be their brothers, if they would just eschew their insane, fantasy based religion that excuses their wanton killing and demonization of those who are not them. The same is true of Cath-O-Licks, Jews, Buddhists and all faiths that are not the FAITH of the KKKristians.
I have to admit that I was once a Cath-O-Lick and believed in the more dire aspects of God ( I never saw any real evidence for a God of mercy and compassion). But, now, thanks to the fundigelical taliban of AmeriKKKa, I'm an atheist. Where other arguments, mere words, could not convince me, their actions have. If their GOD, the being that they so passionately believe in, is responsible for their existence, then they must be his idea of our hell on earth. | <urn:uuid:da88dccd-faaa-4295-80ce-d0d9beab0b5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.polrant.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html | 2013-05-22T14:32:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978247 | 9,015 |
Santiago has run off, taking the lantern with him, leaving Nan in the darkness of the third floor hall, just outside the Sunset Room.
The heavy, ragged breathing and shuffling footsteps have gone quiet. All that remains is silence, and the placeless echo of Nan's vision of the TERRA COTTA COURTYARD.
Feel around for the wall so you can reorientate yourself in case you need to run.
FLAIL, FIND A WALL, FOLLOW IT, RUN LIKE HELL.
Preferably with the flailing oh god there are monsters everywhere run run what are you waiting for oh god damnit run goat run
This is going to be asked in a second anyway, so check your pockets/inventory
Oh my goodness yes.
Find a wall, TAKE A MOMENT TO ORIENT YOURSELF. No point running away from where we want to go. Move quickly to the elevator door and SLAM THAT CALL BUTTON AS HARD AS YOU CAN JESUS.
Try to find a wall, then follow it.
Try not to make too much noise, lest you alert the Beast.
Nan stands up and begins feeling along the wall. She rechecks her inventory, to find:
PHILLIPS HEAD SCREWDRIVER
And a CHECK for services rendered at the Fun Family Arcade.
It appears her CROSS PENDANT is still missing.
Im thinking you should ready the screwdriver, since its the closest thing you have to a weapon.
Continue walking along the wall.
EQUIP SCREWDRIVER in case of hostiles.
Nan continues along the wall, and finds something that feels like a button.
Don't push button yet. Feel AROUND the button. Is there a rectangular plate around it, like an elevator button? Metal? Plastic?
Check to see what kind of button it is. THEN recieve scary. :D
Nan presses the button.
The elevator doors open.
Kim screams, then sighs in relief, lowering her taser.
It's just Nan, after all.
Hug them both in relief.
Fist bump Anderson
Tell them about Anne
Tell them what happened after you fell asleep.
Wait, we might want to make sure it's actually them before we go clinging on to them. You never know in this place.
Head in elevator
Tell everyone Anna got mauled
Hugs all around! Then ask what the hell happened. Where they went, if they know Anna's dead, so on.
You know what, take that rug on the floor. You'll never know when you'll need something with which to beat a fire out with, throw over a barbed wire fence, or to distract a monster with.
Nan steps into the elevator and delivers the grim news about Anna's fate. Evidently Anderson and Kim were not aware, and Kim gasps in tragic realization.
Anderson seems angry. He says this is why they slept in shifts. Who was Anna staying up with?
Oh, no. It was Pablo. Have you guys seen him?
God damn it Pablo...
Ask them what went on with them since you last saw them. Did they wake up together or did they have to find each other? And grab that rug. It's yours by blood right.
Pablo. Pablo had the shift with Anna.
After they woke up Anna and Pablo for their shift, they took a short nap, then headed out to look for Santiago.
Kim groans. That means Pablo could be dead too.
Anderson says that's definitely one possibility.
So the two of them left the safehouse together and this is the first they've heard that things have gone wrong? How long has it been, for them?
Also take the rug.
Ask what the hell is going on. How did we suddenly wind up somewhere else? Is this whole place in some kind of space-time fractal?
I love talking about space-time shenanigans as much as anyone else, but unless we're professional physicists in that area, we should focus on surviving the weird space-time hotel of horror then understanding it.
Close the fucking doors and let's get to another floor.
suddenly I'm a lot less sure about pabalo...
Nan asks if anyone understands what's going on, and how she suddenly wound up somewhere else.
Kim asks where exactly it was she wound up.
The lights come back on with a quiet hum.
What's is place look like?
WE'RE ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE.
I don't think we should mention Santiago.
I still think we should take the rug.
Dangit Nan get off that rug. Take the ruuuug.
We had a weird nightmare. Pablo was in it. We woke up, then say the Pilgrim, then met Santiago. Now we're here. Ask what THEY did in the intervening time.
Hang on, why exactly did they go out to look for Santiago? Methinks it's time everyone had a bit of a sitdown to discuss exactly what's been going on since our little side trip.
Vaguely describe your dream. Both of them, why not.
Get the dickens back in the elevator and back to the saferoom already. Stop standing around yammering in places where the lights crap out randomly and the Things go.
Let's see if we can at least fine Anna's body again. I'm not actually sure if it's worse if we can or not.
I get the feeling that if we go looking for the dead, we won't like what we end up finding. Anyway, Anna didn't have anything important on her, so no reason to wander around without purpose.
Nan explains her dreams, which brought her to a strange place where she saw Pablo, then to the TERRA COTTA COURTYARD.
Kim's face seems to darken at the discussion of Pablo's behavior, but comforts Nan. It was just a dream, after all.
Anderson says nothing.
Nan explains her ordeal after waking up, how she was chased and led around. Kim asks what part of that constitutes a "space-time" oddity, if she just moved around.
Finally, Nan suggests they take the elevator back to the safe room. Anderson replies that the safe room is on the third floor. Where they already are.
He studies Nan quietly, then asks if she's sure she's all right.
We're alright, Anderson. Just more than a little unsettled. Ask where Henry is. Let's just get back to the safe room and take a deep breath, okay?
Don't let yourselves get lulled into a false sense of security just because the lights are on. Those things can go out at any time. Warn them about the Pilgrim.
Also, ask Anderson if in his time there was any trace of a former spanish monastery around the Hotel. Maybe it was only torn completely down right before construction on the hotel began.
Admit you have little knowledge of where you are or what's been going on. You've been asleep, after all. Did they FIND anything during their search for Santiago?
Be advised, I think Anderson doesn't trust us.
I think he thinks we're getting a tad hysterical. He's from around the early 20th century, he probably think all dames melt in the face of danger.
HNNNNNGH NANQUEST UPDATE YES...
Ask Anderson what happened to Henry and why they decided to leave poor Nan alone in the saferoom ;_;
yay nanquest, dont give up weaver =3
is there any indicative you really are on the 3rd floor? door number maybe?
well, we should head to saferoom anyway.
Apologize and say you weren't aware because you were too busy being blindly running away from the Pilgrim and other various monsters.
>Santiago has run off, taking the lantern with him, leaving Nan in the darkness of the third floor hall, just outside the Sunset Room.
...yeah, we didn't really move around due to the 'dreams' this time did we? Did you tell them about getting sent into the burning room?
Nan considers her situation. Perhaps she's a little confused. She was being chased by the Pilgrim, she must have just gotten turned around.
Anna was here, she's sure of it.
But now the hallway's empty.
Nan asks if there used to be a Spanish Mission here. Anderson says there was. When he was a boy, its ruins were here. Burnt to the ground some time ago. Cleared out years later, in preparation for the hotel.
We'd better not stand around here too long. Let's head back to the saferoom.
Ask why it got burnt down, on the way to the room.
nothin we dont already know, besides the burning down bit. Time to either head back to saferoom or check the floor for our friends.
Return to the safehouse.
Ask Kim if anything cool or notable has happened since 2009 for possible minor small talk.
Point out where Anna died. Lament that you didn't grab her hat for evidence.
Also: Survival requires understanding. Lets research the FUCK out of this place.
Become obsessively possessive about your possessions.
Write your name on all the tags.
The door to 311 is slightly aja-*shot*
When stating the area where Anna died note aloud the fact that there is no blood on the walls.
Nan asks why it was burnt down. Anderson says he doesn't know. It happened before he was born.
Nan returns to the SAFE ROOM.
If I had to guess, I'd say Pablo's been obsessing a bit.
What's with the lines on the wall? Those weren't there before, were they?
Move the bed, see what's behind it.
Okay, so now Pablo is a Prime Suspect.
We STILL need to find a way out of this dang hotel, though.
In the meanwhile, examine the wording.
Possible credence to Anna's idea?
Quick, check the tub! Hopefully Pablo isn't in there (maybe he saw what happened?)
Check for unwanted visitors.
Thank you, mysterious failure. Your words mean so much when people are dying and going missing.
Nan: Go to the mirror. See if your mirror self is there. If she is, then drag her out and beat her until answers come out.
Other than that, ask if anybody has ideas on what to do next.
If not, then go to the front door and try to open it but do NOT step through. We need to see what the others see when it's open. If you encounter yourself or one of the others, grab them and take them with you. If it's Anna, then kiss her and make her promise not to die on you again.
Just as an aside, ask Anderson when he was born. It might ne nice to just know how old we all are (of course, if you want to leave it ambiguous then by all means ignore the shit out this. I've already contributed to a Weaver-quest today, and in doing so, my life is a tiny bit more complete)
Ask when the note showed up. No hugging
Study the markings on the wall. Are those scratches clawmarks?
There doesn't appear to be any more to the note. The markings on the room haven't changed from the last time -- faint ashy trails leading up the walls.
Nan checks the bathroom, but it's empty. No one else is here.
LOOK BEHIND YOU
Check the mirror!
Failing any strange activity, Return to Kim and Anderson and ask what they have been doing and what is their next move.
Make sure bedroom door is closed and locked. I assume so, but it wasn't mentioned.
Okay, let's inventory our situation. We're missing Pablo, Anna's dead, Santiago's batshit crazy. Where's Henry again?
Henry's been missing ever since Nan woke up to Anna being mutilated by Pilgrim.
Should we go find him? It's not like there's anything better to do.
On one hand, I think that we can't afford to lose anyone else. On the other hand, our rescue missions haven't exactly gone swimmingly so far. But I'm not sure what else we can do at this point. And there's clearly a connection between Nan and Henry, since they've been sharing dreams and have similar (the same?) pendant.
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think we need to do a Pablo/Henry rescue mission. Mostly a Henry rescue mission, because based on the scrawled message and Nan's dream(?) of Pablo's whole "I'm sorry baby I won't kill you this time" episode, I've got a bad feeling about Pablo.
Check mirror, if nothing happens then organize a search party of some kind. Make sure that the search party consists of everyone too, the last thing we need is to split up and have more people to find later.
Oh crap... you're right. These rooms don't have phones, do they? We need to find a way to communicate with people in some manner.
... then again, didn't we first meet him on the 1st floor? Maybe when everyone got separated, he wandered back there. It'd at least be familiar.
check mirror, assuming we dont get warped to some parallel version of ourselves in the process; consult anderson on plan of action.
If we're going to stage a rescue, we're going to need a few things:
1) A plan. This not only includes where we're going to look for Henry (and maybe Pablo), but also what we will do if we're split up and proper procedure for sticking together when the lights die.
2) Weapons. Nan lost the Rebar sword already. Looks like Kim has a taser, Anderson has his gun, but Nan's defenseless currently. The broken glass from the mirror could possibly be cobbled into a makeshift spear if we take down the shower rod or break some wood off the bed, if we can find some tape or something to bind them together.
3) Contingency plan on what to do if Santiago shows up acting psycho. Frankly, I'm inclined to say that Santiago is going to be more of a liability than he's worth. I know Nan isn't the "kill in cold blood" type, but this burgeoning attempt at a friendship at him seems like a poor idea. He can't be trusted, and I sincerely doubt he can be redeemed. No more handing him our limbs without having a backup plan for self-defense.
I'd like us to readdress this point, too. Why were the two of them out looking for Santiago?
One more alternate option and then I'll stop spamming the thread: there's still the "4:66" mystery. My immediate instinct is that's a room number. I know the hotel only has three floors, but I think the number's there for a reason. Is there a way onto the roof?
>>300964 has a point. Try to remove the curtain-rod-thingie. It's probably hollow and light, but it's better than a screwdriver.
Them return to the room and move the bed to see where the ash trails stem from.
And don't look in the mirror, seriously. The last thing we need is another paranormal event that takes us on yet another flashback/dream.
Please try to leave comments only concerning our current situation. 4:66 theories go to the discussion thread.
It seems so far whenever we encounter a paranormal event, it is nan's insofar violent response to these events which trigger a flashback/dream/timetravel experience. So long as we dont do anything rash and Nan applies herself passively to such events, we should be fine.
Up the walls? Look at the ceiling.
To clarify, I wasn't just bringing up the whole "4:66" thing simply for theoretical purposes. I bring it up now, specifically, because we're currently at a "what general goal should we pursue" point. As an alternative to a rescue mission, we could attempt to find a 4th floor (hey, this place isn't exactly full of Euclidean geometry) or roof and try to figure out if that's where we're supposed to be going. So it wasn't meant to be a "let's bring up every haywire theory" mention of 4:66, but rather a "Hey, instead of a rescue mission, here's another idea" mention.
That said, I still think finding Henry is probably the better priority. My guess is we'll run into Pablo and be unhappy with what we find.
Check inside the toilet tank. Maybe someone hid something useful in there.
What's wrong with a screwdriver as a weapon? Hobos and crackheads and the like use them all the time.
Using the screwdriver would require getting uncomfortably close to things. It'd work as a backup, but I doubt we'd last long with it as our primary weapon of choice.
Where'd the totem go? Guess it disappeared when we did our sleep-traveling. Nan needs to start duct-taping her equipment to herself or something.
Take down the SHOWER CURTAIN and use it as a makeshift CLUB.
Seconding taking the SHOWER CURTAIN ROD. Even if it can't be used as a club, I'm sure it'll have some use.
If you can't remove it, ask Anderson to help.
One: take the curtain rod. You could use it as a weapon or combine it with a shard of mirror.
Two: take a shard of mirror. Be careful when holding it!
three: Take the rings on the curtain rod. Maybe you could wear them as bracelets.
four: Look behing you and wave at your reflection.
then we'd just be arming our evil mirror self with weapons
Tie some kind of cloth around one of your eyes. Then when it goes dark you can switch the cloth over to your other eye for INSTANT NIGHT-VISION.
Step 5: cannibalize all wooden furniture in the room then combine wood to form ARMOR OF ARMOIRE. This thing can stop a missle!
Seconding Termina's suggestion. I [his?] order.
Sorry to double post but I didn't mean to use red text like that. I'm kinda new to the posting thing, and didn't know it by default said suggestion at the top. Feel free to delete this if you wish but please don't ban me or anything.
I'm a girl.
And don't worry about the red text.
ask anderson for his watch, change the time to 6 minute past 5 (4:66), see if that does anything
He probably won't agree to that, and the whole 4:66 thing is probably just a "spooky Weaver effect".
Floor 4. Hall 6. Room 6.
Are we already on the top floor?
Nan looks at herself in the mirror.
Become overwhelmed with inexplicable urge to smash the rest of the mirror
There is someone behind you. GO FOR THE LEGS.
Okay, maybe get a drink from the faucet, calm your nerves?
Iiiiit's... probably just the broken mirror making things look all weird but uhhh, look behind you.
Return to the main room. Ask Kim and Anderson if they've found any leads on a way to escape yet.
Nan turns around, but no one is behind her.
TURN AROUND THERE IS SOMEONE BEHIND YOU AGAIN
Step away, turn around to face mirror.
Oh that was just the shattered mirror shards giving a weird reflection, everything is completely fine.
Let's get moving, and try looking in some other rooms maybe.
Turn back around, reach into the mirror, pull that damn mirror-clone out, and beat it until answers leak out.
Nan touches her head. There is a dull pain there.
MIRRORS DON'T WORK LIKE THAT!
Throw something at that mirror! Again!
Find the shards of the mirror and put them back in.
WAIT NO DON'T THROW ANYTHING AT IT.
GET OUTTA THERE!
Get away from the mirror.
It is not safe. The bathroom is not a safe place.
IT KEEPS HAPPENING
Reality is breaking down again. Get back to the others!
Nan decides to exit the SAFEHOUSE BATHROOM.
Nan re-enters the THIRD FLOOR SAFEHOUSE.
Check if the dull pain is still there when the mirror is out of sight.
Tell Kim and Anderson to avoid the bathroom, seeing as the mirror is a portal to Hell and can warp your very being.
Well, so much for the SAFE HOUSE.
In any case there's nobody here. And since the building appears to be well-lit again, you should go look elsewhere.
Announce to the group to never fuck with mirrors ever again.
Well... where can we go now? We could check out the rooms on the first floor that people used to be in. Or we could ask if either of them have any keys to any other rooms.
Nan warns the others to be careful around the mirrors. She still feels a dull pain in her forehead.
Anderson asks if they all plan on just sitting here until they die. Kim says they have enough food and water here to last them for a while, and the room seems safe so far, so it might be best to just wait for rescue.
Given that Anderson has been waiting her since the turn of the century I somehow doubt that's a plan likely to pay off.
That obviously isn't happening.
What we need to do is try to get to the roof. Perhaps from there we can find a way down, or maybe encounter more impossible reality-bending shit.
Tell Kim the room is not safe and that looking for a better safe room would be prudent.
Good thinking. Ask them about keys to get options. it might also be wise to check the front entrance once more, since weird items tend to pop up there. Could be useful.
Suggest that because of the supernatural nature of this hotel, rescue may be impossible. You ultimately will need to find a way to quell the evil that is holding you captive in order to escape.
I think rescue is ever going to COME.
I mean how do we know anyone else can even get IN? What if the Hotel is as good at keeping things out as it is at keeping them in?
And who's to say that if someone came, THEY wouldn't be trapped too?
No. We have to find a way out.
We WILL find a way out.
But first we have to figure out what in the fuck is going ON.
Rescue ain't comin' if nobody notices you're gone missing in a hotel that defies all laws of time and space.
Point out that rescue is something like 120 years late by the time Kim arrived, and even if anybody had a clue that anybody was trapped in this building they sure as heck wouldn't be equipped to get you out of here.
Suggest that everybody march down to the front desk and demand to see the manager.
Also, next time you see Pilgrim ask him what happened to him, and to this place.
Ask Anderson if he has an idea. Anything at all, we don't really have any direction beyond basically exploring the hotel. We could look for the others I suppose but then what?
Nan says rescue is not coming. Nothing here seems certain, but that's about as sure as she can be about anything.
Nan asks if anyone has keys. Most of the rooms appear locked or barred.
Kim says she has a key to something called the Anasazi Lounge. She found it in her room, when she first got here. Nan can have it -- Kim doesn't even know where the Lounge is.
It's exploring time! Grab some potentially useful objects and run off for adventure!
Welp, off to find the Anasazi Lounge I guess.
Should we drag the others along for this?
I think it would be best to have Anderson and Kim find a safe place.
Nan can take care of herself.
So yes, let's go find the Anasazi Lounge!
Check the assorted bottles.
Oh yay adventure.
Rip mirror-Nan out of the mirror and beat her until she starts bleeding answers.
I think we need to stop splitting up. It seems to lead to "bad things".
Also, wasn't there a lounge or some kind of dining room where we fought and the room was on fire before we met ourselves?
Make sure Mirror Nan isn't following you, then get the gang together and head to the Lounge, we might find another key or a survivor there.
Nan takes the ANASAZI LOUNGE KEY from Kim.
Kim says Nan can go, but she's staying here where she's been safe for the past several days. Besides, she still has no idea where the lounge is.
Anderson says he doesn't want to leave either of them alone, but clearly he'll have to choose who to stay with.
He should stick with Kim, since they need to make sure the safe room stays safe.
Also, go grab mirror-Nan and beat answers out of her. This is the most rational course of action.
Tell Kim that this place was only safe because it had people here. If a monster barges in here she'd be cornered.
If Kim's not going to budge, have Anderson stay here. Then it'll qualify for being slightly safe. But advise that no place is really safe, probably better to be on the move with just three people.
Leave Anderson with Kim, they both have weapons to defend themselves in case the Safe Room turns out to be...well, not so safe.
Also, check the mirror. We need to make sure our mirror self doesn't come out and kill them after we leave them.
Anderson, stay with Kim.
Nan, grab a light source and advance.
Make out with mirror Nan.
Leave the mirror be. It being cracked isn't safe for us. If we find a whole one, maybe we can mess with it.
Tell him he can stay here.
I still think we should advice them to find a new safe room. Maybe one which has a less dangerous bathroom mirror.
And then we end up all alone again. Yay!
Obtain new weapon.
Appeal to Kim's knowledge of horror movies.
Don't split up the team.
( CARLSON AND PETERS! )
Nan decides to head out on her own, as Kim seems set on staying here. Anderson offers her a LEAD PIPE as a weapon.
Scrounging through the drawers, she recovers a FLASHLIGHT.
Alright, that'll do nicely. Thank him, and let's move.
Take the pipe and flashlight.
Turn on the flashlight and head on out.
Then let's set off!
I guess the most logical place for a lounge to be is the first floor.
>>Éí 'Aaníígóó 'Áhoot'é
If no help is coming, they should all head out and try to find an exit together. Watch each others' backs, and above all leave no one behind. No one should be alone in this place.
Nan takes the items and steps out into the THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY.
Let's run this shit into the ground (floor).
might as well head to the ground floor reception desk, see if any new loot popped up or any notes from the 'management'
What's with that cross on the door?
Have we visited the second floor yet? Or the third? Well, whichever one we aren't on currently, and isn't the ground floor, we should go check out. Also perhaps... check if there's a basement button on the elevator.
Remember what Santy said? The hotel goes dark when they start to get angry. When you go against the hotel's wishes. It will do what it can to stop you.
... I guess we keep going until the lights go off.
And then, whatever we were doing then... we keep doing it.
Also, can you craft the screwdriver and lead pipe together to form the IMPROVISED WARHAMMER?
Nan heads for the Elevator.
Perhaps the ANASAZI LOUNGE is on the second floor.
Head to the elevator. Also, if she does go to the elevator, she should use her REPAIR SKILLS to know that most elevator door's close door buttons are actually placebos, and test it to see if it does anything. If it is indeed a placebo button,look for the stairs(if there are any/are assessable). It is too dangerous to take the elevator if she can't close it quickly in an emergency.
I disagree with the second floor, I say we check out the ground floor first.
Also, do we have any idea where stairs are? I'm not sure about trusting the elevator.
The lights at the end of the hall have gone out.
NAN. TURN AROUND. FLASHLIGHT OUT. WE HAVE PADRE SIGN.
Down the stairs.
Check to make sure this Padre is legit, THEN haul ass downstairs if he is.
Actually, yes, this is better. Run downstairs ASAP.
Oh, hi Padre. Stand there for a moment. Ask him what he wants. If he moves to attack then RUN down the stairs. Fuck the elevator, it'll take too long if we're being chased.
Check room 312
The probably-locked room that is closer to the darkness-shrouded figure? That... seems like a bad idea.
If the stairs aren't right there, scramble into the elevator hit the second floor button then the close door button. Then pray it not a placebo button.
Point the flashlight at the darkness. Look at the Padre and see what he is doing. Is he doing anything, Nan? If he makes a move for you, run for the stairs.
If it starts making a move, call out to Anderson and Kim to black the door as you run.
How the hell did I mess up that much? a is nowhere near o.
Nan shines her FLASHLIGHT.
The result is not entirely as expected.
Go touch it. ouo
No, do not touch the darkness creeping from its very being and RUN DOWN THE STAIRS NOW GO GO GO GO GO GOGOGOGO.
oh my gooooood, RUN.
Ohhshit nvm. oAo For a sec I thought someone propped a dummy up in the hall, but yeah HAUL ASS FROM THE TOO REAL PADRE.
We are not properly armed to fight padre, but if he just stands there then say hi. If not, RUN! RUN LIKE THE WIND!
Search the cabinet under the bathroom sink, the drawers in the main room, and underneath the bed. You never know where useful items might be hidden--there could even be all-powerful DUCT TAPE for combining items with the SHOWER CURTAIN ROD to increase their effective length.
If he's not moving then say hello.
Otherwise run like hell.
Read the Lead Pipe
I mean run. Run down the stairs do it now.
Say hello. AS LONG AS HE STAYS IN THE DARKNESS. Also, turn your flashlight off, you don't want to irritate him.
Turn it off.
Also repeating that we should call to Kim and Anderson to barricade the door, while we run..
Try to speak to him. If he advances towards us or seems as though he is going to hurt us, walk away slowly.
Nan hesitates, and attempts to greet the Padre.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE RUN YOU LITTLE GOAT AAAAAAAUGH
NOW can we RUN LIKE HELL?
Menacingly strike wall with lead pipe in the same fashion that it did
Okay yeah fuck this.
To the elevator!
Run away shouting whatever catholic prayers you can remember. That should get us a dramatic scene where somebody (Maybe Anna's animate corpse?) is like 'He can't help you here' or something.
Nan's modes of exit are quickly narrowed.
Something appears to be blocking the stairs.
Dual wield your pipe and screwdriver.
Time to throw down with the Padre.
We have no choice- run to the elevator.
Time to throw down indeed. Two hands on the bar if you want even a chance at parrying his attacks. Remember, hitting him is not as important as DON'T GET HIT.
Time to resort to the old standby...
Freak out at the gravity of the situation.
Then get to the elevator
The elevator is your only choice. Run.
Darkness covers the hall as the lights go out one by one.
Nan glances to the elevator, considering her options.
One light is left on.
Better get to that light.
Go towards the light, Nan! Go towards the light!!
You. Light. Now.
I think it's time to say hi to our buddy Santiago again! Go to that light. Lights are pretty cool.
Don't panic. The hotel responds to fear and panic. Treat Padre like a predator, keep your eyes on him and back slowly towards the light. Don't run.
B T dubs, wikip says that "the word Anasází is Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy"."
Thought that might be worth considering.
To the light! Go!
To the elevator. The hotel is trying to guide us to the light, so lets not listen.
I agree, don't panic. Running will only incite him to run. WALK backwards into the light.
Last time we did something the hotel didn't like (breaking the mirror/clock) everything just got fucked up
It's probably best to head for the light now, ask questions later
I'm pretty sure the light is coming from the elevator. Go to it, but calmly (though still quickly) and keep your eyes on Padre. Santiago may be on to something about not being afraid. Treat your enemy with respect but do not give him your fear.
I like the idea of repeating a Catholic prayer, as well, if you know one. Most people at least have "Our Father Who Art in Heaven" ingrained if nothing else. I'd suggest you do it in Spanish or the original Latin, but I'm guessing you don't know it.
SECOND FLOOR SECOND FLOOR SECODN FLOOR SCEONF DLOOR!
stand tall and stand firm. demand to know how to get out of here.
Nan backs away slowly.
The Padre begins to run.
Go on then and run.
FFFFFFFFFFFF go faster.
Rush to the elevator and hit the ground floor button, then ready your pipe. If he gets there in time to stop the elevator from leaving then your goal is going to be getting that poker away from him as otherwise your chances against him are dicey at best.
Sprint into the light!
On second thought, sprint to the elevator.
Welp, balls up boys
Hug the Padre! Appeal to his inner humanity! This is obviously the correct option, and will result in love and puppies for all.
Nan flees to the elevator.
Damn these elevator doors! CLOSE!
Nan slams the button for the GROUND FLOOR.
Wave hello at the Centre of Time and Space.
Wonderful. First the Padre, now we're trapped in a moving elevator with THIS FUCKER.
Try to communicate carefully, I suppose. By waving, yes.
Oh hai there anomaly/demon/cool something. Amigo o enemigo?
Poke the Spacial Anomaly with your Lead Pipe.
This hole, it was made for you. Dare you enter? Or will you continue to fear the unknown?
On the wall of the elevator is a figure vaguely resembling a person.
It is marked directly on the surface, and its texture is worn, aged, unevenly speckled.
Whether it's been painted or otherwise imprinted is not clear.
Touch it with your lead pipe.
Is the elevator moving?
If so, refrain from touching this thing.
Poke the hell out of it with your pipe.
Yes, test it with the lead pipe. If the lead pipe goes through... I advise you enter. The Lounge may have come to us.
Poke it with your pipe.
The elevator begins to move, descending slowly.
Nan pokes the strange mark with her LEAD PIPE, but it's just like poking the wall.
The elevator stalls for a second, then continues downward.
Ask it a name.
It would appear this... is the elevator -- or perhaps its attendant.
... let's leave it alone for now. smashing it would probably result in EMERGENCY STOP
How odd. The hotel corridors are probably completely dark by now. No sense in leaving the elevator like that.
So I guess we can kill time with this thing...
And also find out if it's going to kill us.
Does the shape resemble anyone Nan knows?
Say 'hi' to ANNA
Or what's left of her.
Touch it with your hand.
Dont touch it at all.
If it's not bothering you, then don't touch it. If it STARTS getting violent or something, well, that's what the pipe is for.
Whistle some showtunes awkwardly.
Best not to mess with it, just wait until we reach our destination and get ready in case the imprint decides to attack.
"... Anna? Is that you?"
Nan says hello, but there is no response of any kind.
She says Anna's name, but still, there is no response.
The elevator passes the SECOND FLOOR without incident, and chimes once.
So, all for leaving creepy wall painting alone and going to greet the bright and cheery world oh Hotel Hell?
Hit the ground floor button again.
Don't turn your back on it. Keep looking at it. The moment you give it a chance, it's going to grow arms and reach for you.
Use SCREWDRIVER to attempt to scrape off a sample of the... thing.
Failing that, examine it closely with the MAGNIFYING GLASS.
Don't fuck with it until we're at the ground floor, at least. Looking at it with the magnifying glass would be cool tho!
Nan waits until the elevator reaches the ground floor. It chimes once.
The doors open.
The lights appear to be on out in the hall.
The marking is dark, its texture aged and mottled.
On closer inspection, it almost seems to be a mottled burn mark.
Don't go in the hole. That hole could be made for you or another resident and we all know what happens at the end of The Enigma of Amigara Fault.
there aren't many things in this place that are GOOD for us, so i really think we should just leave this thing alone, cataloging it in the 'things we don't know enough about' file.
CAREFULLY leave the elevator, maybe just take a look around first before just stepping out into god knows what
Try to break off a hunk of it and put it in your pocket.
Touching anything in this place with malicious intent is gonna fuck something up most likely
We could TRY to put a finger to the marking thingy though...
Nah, you're just being paranoid.
Peel off some of the wall and add it to the inventory.
>Nan: Hump the burn mark. What could happen? You've been sexually repressed for possibly days.
TOUCH IT, you know you want to
Remember the last time we ran into silhouettes?
Yeah, they came off the wall and tried to eat us.
So no leave it alone.
Nan reaches forward and tries to chip off a piece of the dark mark on the wall.
Something doesn't feel quite right.
Again, exeunt elevator.
Okay Nan you've fiddled with the mark, now leave it alone before something worse happens
We're at the top of the elevator shaft?
Ask Anna what she's doing.
Anna! You're not dead! ... unless this is one of those weird, post-mortum soul things. Are you dead? Are you going to warn us about something?! It's going to be really vague, isn't it?
Something is happening. Don't interfere. Watch.
Shout out to her.
Below is a dirty, old elevator shaft. The elevator car sits at the bottom. But given the proportions, it doesn't feel like the same elevator.
Nan walks over and asks Anna what she's doing, but Anna is too busy with her work to respond.
A voice comes from below, distant and echoing. The source cannot be seen. The voice asks Anna if she's done yet.
Anna replies that she is almost done. She calls the voice "Mr. Bowerman".
...She's doing something to the elevator. STOP HER.
Anna drops her SCREWDRIVER, and it tumbles down the elevator shaft below. She curses quietly, reaching out for it in vain. After a moment she sighs, rummaging through her toolbox.
Unable to find whatever she was looking for, Anna mutters that should be fine anyway.
Give Anna your screwdriver.
Let's see where this goes.
Offer her your screwdriver.
Put your screwdriver where she can see it.
While you do this, try to warn her.
I have a feeling we're about to find out why Anna was brought to the hotel.
Give her your screwdriver, of course. Not much else to do.
I agree with this guy here. Obviously she can't directly see us so offering her ours won't do much, but maybe if we put the screwdriver down in front of her she'll notice it on her own
Grab her arm firmly.
Put the screwdriver in her hand.
Make sure she doesn't drop it while finishing her work.
Hug her when she is finished.
Nan offers Anna the SCREWDRIVER. But as it does not seem to catch her attention, she places it in Anna's TOOLBOX.
Anna rummages past it, then picks it up, commenting that it appears she did have a spare, after all.
She goes back to work.
Whisper "I miss you" in her ear.
Cause, you know, I kinda do.
As [most] everyone else said, put the screwdriver down right in front of her.
Anna finishes her work a minute later, muttering that's as tight as it's going to get.
She packs up her tools and goes to the ladder, descending carefully.
She calls out that she's coming back down now.
Affecting her environment seems to work. Nan's like a ghost right now, apparently.
Okay, is there some way you can scratch or smudge a message onto something in her line of sight?
Also take a closer look at that pipe there.
Dammit! Weaver ninja'd me!
Descend ladder after Anna.
Try to follow her, unless we're constricted to this little area
Pick your screwdriver back up before going after her. Cause you might need it.
Nan follows after Anna, heading towards the ladder.
Nan is suddenly
Nan is back in the HOTEL ELEVATOR.
Alrighty, exit elevator.
Well, fuck. Looks like we'll have to see the rest later.
Okay, peek out the elevator, then carefully step out.
See if you still have your screwdriver. Also shed a single tear while thinking fond thoughts of Anna, being glad you could do her one last favor and hoping she's in a better place now.
What Z said.
OK! Our mission is now COLLECTING STUFF so we can do that to everybody that dies.
Go check the cubbyholes for more things to steal vital tools and clues.
Make a note to ask people what horrible event has them feeling terrible.
Are we getting all Cryostatis up in here?
I think checking the cubbyholes and then seeing if we can get into room 114 is a good plan.
Exit elevator. Hopefully we can find someone to interact with that won't try to kill us. I for one am wondering what Santiago is up to right now.
...I wonder how many of the 'residents' here fixed something in the hotel? I wonder how many used a screwdriver? It may be that Nan is carrying something very important.
In b4 we save a cow's life to get through a frozen refrigerator
Do a hearty jig for having helped out Anna.
INFORMATION ACQUIRED: How to fix elevator.
Now let's look for that Lounge.
Which reminds me. We were called to fix the wiring. I still think we should do that. What was wrong the last time, was the door busted or something?
Anyway, since we're on the ground floor, the wiring should be nearby. But first to the cubbyholes.
Nan exits the elevator and steps onto the MAIN LANDING at the ground floor.
The lights are still on, for now.
Check out the janitor's closet, maybe we can get a similar thing to happen with Pablo like it did with Anna and the elevator.
open janitor's closet.
Somebody forced the Janitor's door open and damaged the frame in the process. You're going to want to check that out, but for now check the cubbyholes and the front door.
Try to open the janitor's closet door without standing directly in front of it.
Take a closer look at that painting before we check the Lobby. It's making me uncomfortable.
Bash in the janitor's door with your pipe.
ALL DOORS MUST PERISH.
Considering the door appears to have been broken open already,and despite the fact that I LOVE smashing things ,no good has come braking anything so far. So let's just open the door.
Also, I am almost positive that the Padre pryed the door open. The most effective way to do so would be with his fire poker. Now look at the mark on the wall. It is likely from curved part at the pointed end. If you don't follow yet, just bare with me and visuals him (it?) forcing the pointy end in between the door and frame with curved part closer to the frame. Now he prys the door open by pushing the curved end tword the wall. This would scrape at the wall with the curved part.
poke your pipe through the hole if you can. looks like something's peeking.
Examine the painting/picture on the wall, then unless its interesting, open the door to the closet.
Someone else has been in the janitors closet. Note the door-frame is broken around the lock.
Inspect the door to the Janitor's Closet and the picture.
Also FUCK YEAH NanQuest!
Careful if you ARE planning on storming the closet. We might end up finding a less than sane Pablo hiding in there, or worse, end up pissing off the hotel again.
Open CLOSET and disregard high chance of MONSTERS.
Nan examines the SEASIDE PAINTING.
It depicts some sort of very primitive looking building made of stone, or perhaps clay, standing on a cliff by the seaside. A strange tower, perhaps some kind of lighthouse, stands beside it with a great bonfire burning atop it.
The majority of the painting is dominated by a very bleak and very gray sea.
... I wonder if there's a roof access somewhere in the hotel?
Nan opens the janitor's closet door.
It appears to be more than just a closet.
It opens to a steep, narrow stairway. Somewhere at the other end of the darkness below is a faint, shimmering light.
Determine if darkness is normal
we'll come back to that. let's keep going where we were going before.
Check the cubbyholes first.
Get down there.
Down ye go.
Nan descends into the dim stairwell.
Nan has entered the JANITOR'S CLOSET.
Shine your flashlight at the ceiling, that's where the wire leads.
I'm in favor of checking out the cubbyholes before doing anything else - doubly so since this has the whole "YOU ARE DOING THE THING WE COMPLAIN ABOUT PEOPLE IN HORROR MOVIES DOING" thing going on - but since I seem to be in the minority:
Is there anything you could take?
Can you safely open the furnace to look inside?
Is all of that ash? Maybe cover your mouth with a hand or your overalls if you can stretch them up to avoid breathing it. Get your flashlight out and go inspect the furnace or whatever that is that is giving off light.
No. 2 rule in horror films: ALWAYS LOOK UP
Check out that stuff on the ground a bit more than halfway to the furnace.
Return to the ground floor and examine the cubbyholes.
Nan squints against the hazy darkness and shines her flashlight up into the thick smoke that lingers overhead. The weak beam of light barely fights back the choking black fog, but it's enough to see past the soot-caked water tanks and into the mess of criss-crossed pipes up above. Nan's eyes follow the electrical wire from the chandelier outside. It strings across the wall, high up, and comes down on the opposite wall, entering an electrical box near the furnace.
Check the furnace.
Inspect those cans on the ground in front of the second water tank.
Look inside the furnace.
Still do this.
No way. Check the electrical box. Light is god here, we need to see if there's something we can do to prevent the hotel from screwing with the electricity.
Investigate objects infront of the tank closest to the furnace.
After, look in the furnace. See if there's a way to open it.
I have a bad feeling about going near the FURNACE.
You know, cuz the hotel controls the things in here...
So check ELECTRICAL BOX.
Is there something behind that second tank? It looks like there might be movement there.
Oh god, you're right. Shine the flashlight behind the second tank, it looks like there's a growing shadow there.
Use FLASHLIGHT on SUSPICIOUS SHADOW.:V
Open the electrical box, chacking behind you ever so often, and practice caution when opening the box or anything that's closed
Nan inspects the laid out supplies.
Several tins of CANNED FOOD and some BOTTLED WATER are here. Looks like someone's stash.
Also present are a few CIGARETTES.
Quick! There's a shadow behind the tank!
Use your flashlight on it!
Pop a clean cigarette in your mouth.
You don't have to smoke it, just put it there to look more badass.
"Hello? Anyone there? Mind if I borrow some of your canned goods?"
Don't take the stash! Someone might need that to survive. Chivalry, yo.
I mean, unless you're hard up for sustenance. You're not, are you, Nan?
if Metal Gear Solid 3 has tought us anything, it's that cigarettes make small but moderately effective lights. take everything, light up, recieve light, deal with shadow.
Nan shines her flashlight behind the tanks, and a familiar voice calls out in return as Henry steps into the light.
"Oh thank god, it IS you!" he says with a sigh of relief.
Henry wipes his brow, covered in sweat. He has a few minor injuries.
He says he can't believe Nan's still all right. He says was worried it was that skeleton-faced thing coming back.
punch him in the dick for being one
Coming... back? Pilgrim lives here?!
Quick find where the wires go! We have to fix it and get the hell out of here!
Ask him how he ended up here. Suggest that an unlocked basement is probably not the safest place to hide. Take cigarettes and food supplies.
What'd Henry do the first time it came around?
1. Ask about pilgrim
2. Arm Henry
3. Activate repair powers
Do not hug Henry. Shit is too weird to trust anyone, especially people hiding in the shadows of the spooky basement.
Nan decides to hold off on Henry, even if she is relieved to see him. Now is not the time or place.
Nan recovers some food and water from the supply stash, and also takes some unopened packs of CIGARETTES.
Henry explains what's been going on:
He says when he woke up in the room, Pablo and Anna were already gone. He heard screams out in the hall, so he tried to wake Nan, but she was having some kind of nightmare. She tossed and turned, muttering something, and he couldn't wake her up, so he ran out to see for himself. Out in the hall, he found Anna, freshly killed, and tried to approach, when the skeleton-faced creature attacked him. He ran down the stairs to escape and came here, where the others had said there was food and water, to try and take hide here and wait out the danger. It was locked, so he smashed the door open with his CHAIR LEG CLUB and took shelter.
He hid when he heard someone coming in, thinking it might be that skull-faced thing, and now here we are.
Ask Henry what the heck he's doing down here, then ask how long ago the Pilgrim left.
Shit, nvm. Late. xux
How long ago was that?
Are there any secret places/rooms around here?
Oh good, so this isn't Pilgrim's home. Ask him how he managed to get to this floor via the stairs- they're blocked off. And there's a painting of a lighthouse where they used to be.
Also seriously let's find where the wires lead.
Inform Henry of your situation and the recent horrifying encounter with The Padre.
Nan asks how long ago this was. Henry says he's not sure, less than an hour probably?
Nan asks how Henry took the stairs, if there are no stairs on the first floor. Henry says of course there are.
Henry says he has no idea if there are any hidden passages or secrets around here.
Any way we can get this furnace going again?
we should repair some things, light up a smoke for +12 to all badassness rolls, eat/drink for +6 to sustenance, and then consult consult Henry for his wise guidance
Let's go back up and check the front desk, this place is creepy, dark, and likely unhygienic.
Take a look at the electrical box.
Shine your flashlight to trace the wire again.
Did we tell Henry about our encounter?
If so, then lets light a cig, grab a bite, and get to fixing the electricity
Lets get out hands deep in some electric wiring.
Seconded, but be quick about it. Hanging around so much smoke in such a small room can't be a good idea.
Are we going to check inside the furnace? Or are people against that?
Inform Henry that time and space do not work normally here, then tell him everything that's happened since you last saw him.
Ask HENRY about the ANASAZI LOUNGE.
Ask if HENRY has seen any OTHER PEOPLE since he left the SAFE ROOM.
Ask Henry to hold flashlight as you work on electrical box.
Mention to Henry that there is some TIME FUCKERY going on. It seems to act strangely when we separate. Because we've been gone WAY longer than an hour.
Anyway, check out the electrical box, and the furnace. Maybe there's a way we can keep the lights going or... something? We might as well look.
Ask Henry to watch your behind while you check out the electrical box.
Confer with Henry about CROSS NECKLACE
Use your woman powers and start cleaning that room. Jesus Christ, what kind of janitor calls a place that dirty his own? He ought to be ashamed of himself.
Maybe Nan and Henry should get the hell out of there. This place seems like it's just begging for bad shit to go down.
This might just be a graphical quirk on Weaver's end, but shine the flashlight on the rest of the ceiling. The black smoke hasn't shifted back since we turned off the flashlight.
It's never "just" a graphic's quirk.
I agree. Shine what light you can on that shit.
Nan should check for any potential entrances/exits aside from the doorway she came in through. Is that a vent on the right side, next to the furnace?
If there aren't any other ways out, we should be quick here (or at least keep an eye out for more hiding places). Last thing we need is to be cornered in a creepy basement.
Okay, it's time to search the place for hidden buttons. Take ten minutes to do this.
Have Henry hold the flashlight while we check out the electric stuff. Suggest that he scan the ceiling (if we don't need him keeping the light on the electrical box).
Ask Henry where the stairs he used are. It may also be a good idea to ask more about Henry himself. We know he's a businessman, but what did he do before coming here? Where was his designation before all this happen? Look in more about him. In fact, ask the others the same questions as well. I bet knowing the answers to these questions and knowing more about your allies can help us figure out more about this place.
I dun' goofed. I meant "destination".
Well then, let's keep an eye out for secret passages.
Ask him if he's seen Pablo or knows where the lounge is.
(is it that one we first met padre in that was on fire? Padre was on fire as well, and we ran into the elevator to escape him and met Anna. Does this explain the burn mark?:/
And OHGOD. Anna's MY name D:)
... Why DID we try to reason with him?? He was obviously PISSED AS HELL that we set him on fire.
If this is a religious thing, couldn't we use the events in a bible as a cheat sheet? There was a Spanish mission here, afterall, and so far the story reminds me of that one 'BURNING bush,(bonfire, oil lamps, the mission was burned down, Padre, beast in the courtyard...) the FATHER and son sacrifice a GOAT that god himself provides' story. I don't remember how it went though; just be wary of fire I guess.:/
Also, have Henry keep a lookout as you scour the room and examine the furnace.
Smoke that has not moved at all seems a bit strange, shine the light up to check it. Also ask Henry if he knows about the lounge, and if he still has his weapon.
Agreed. Check on the strangely immobile smoke. And be prepared to flee.
Might also be good to check out the fusebox and see if you can do anything to help with the lights. If they can be fixed and you have what is needed than do it, but if you don't than just note that it could be fixed and go to it later. Anything to help stop the hotel from screwing us when we least need it.
Does he know what's happened to anyone else, and if there's any way to rendevous with them?
Better idea- start telling Henry stuff about the future and things he should do once they get out of there.
Also ask if he has any idea who this Father figure Santiago mentioned is.
Shine that light over the whole ceiling. Something freaky's happening with that smoke.
Examine everything! That always works!
Also GTFO and drag Henry with you.
I assume this delay means that a long cutscene is coming up. Personally, I love those, so whatever.
Also, I don't think there's anything up with the smoke; it'd be a pain to redraw it every panel so it looks like the smoke is moving, and Weaver didn't want to waste time on that.
On the other hand, there may be something up with the smoke now, since everyone's been OMG WHAT'S WITH THE SMOKE. It's a cheap source of ideas, and the audience gets to feel clever...
It looks more like soot covering the walls than smoke, as if the furnace had flared up sometime in the past. Do look at the electric box though. If there's anything you know, it's that faulty wiring makes faulty lighting. With luck, faulty magic wiring makes faulty magic lighting, and can accordingly fixing the wiring will fix the lighting, spooky action or not.
Anna is dead. Kill yourself. It's over.
What would happen if weaver died? we'd never know... we'd just sit here waiting for them to update... forever. Commenting away year after year... sitting at our computers in desperate hope that weaver would return, never knowing what became of them because of the anonymousness of the internet.
Check the ceiling with the light =D wanna see if that causes more smoke to dissapear
(Not actually suggesting that weaver is dead but it's a creepy thought. Also Anonymousness is a word? I thought I just had bad grammar)
AINT NEVA GONNA UPDATE. Anonymousness is a word according to my spellchecker, it is just silly.
dude relax he's probably busy with other things/drawing ponies so just be patient and he'll get back to it whenever.
and this belongs in discussion if anything.
Weaver is taking a break for a while. After a bit, he'll start updating again. He has said as much.
Weaver likes ponies?
Have a romantic dinner by the light of the furnace.
Also, you make me sick, Weaver. Sick with
Weaver, Weaver fever, OOOOOH~,
Weaver, Weaver fever, NOOOOO~,
Weaver, Weaver fever, OOOOH~,
We thought you'd update on time, time~
(DEAR GOD I'll stop now.)
But seriously, are either of them hungry? Have a snack, if Padre doesn't bust in or anything. They have to be finding you somehow...
It just hit me ,assuming Kim's 'we're already dead thing', maybe what we witnessed in >>302702 was Anna just before she 'first' died.
Oh and get out of the with any supplies you can carry. Fashioning as makeshift bag would be nice too.
Yes, I agree. Ask Henry to be a gentleman and let us borrow his shirt to use as a knapsack.
Also, on the note that Weaver likes ponies, is Weaver a girl? All of the heroines (Ruby, Nan) are female afterall.
Keep it to the discussion thread you dolts.
Touch the burn marks like you did in the elevator
Shoop-da-woop the ceiling with your flashlight. You are making many discoveries. But watch out - the hotel may get ANGRY!!!
Lick the walls.
Is this dead?
Inspect the area with your flashflight (this includes all ceiling areas). What seems to be of interest around here? Check around for any secret passages.
Now, scour the area for any objects that may be of use later in our quest. Any BLUDGEONY CANESHOVELs around here?
Finally, ask Henry for any interesting finds in this place. Ask him if he has anything of use.
In other words, check Henry's inventory.
By taking his clothes off.
You know we could just carry on, on our own. Make an alternate path or what not. Then, when weaver gets back, chalk it all up to hallucinogens.
just realized she described tgchan
It seems very likely that this hotel is somehow sentient and out to get you. Therefore, get back at it by SMASHING AND BURNING EVERYTHING.
Shining the flashlight on the ceiling seems to be the only way to change anything or get information. Try that!
Ooh, I have another great idea. Later down the road if we see a mirror we should shine the flashlight on it and see if the light reflects or if the other side of the mirror gets the light.
Check furnace then go to lobby and check hat-rack.
There's already a chunk of the hotel busy being on fire. It doesn't seem too deterred by the whole thing.
>Somewhere at the other end of the darkness below is a faint, shimmering light.
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night...
>Exit the room with Henry. There's nothing more to see here.
>Nan Quest is on the front page
>Just some fuckers messing around
lol i trold
OH god someone's trapped in the furnace!
HOLY FUCK, YESSSSS!
Holy fuck, investigate!
Investigate the voice.
Welp, let's check it out. cautiously.
recognize the voice at all?
I wish to see a quest based on this.
Try to look for the source of the voice. Preferably from a safe distance.
go ahead. help the source of the voice which just so happens to come from a dark and markedly evil hole in the hotel full of horrorterrors from beyond. I'm sure nothing will go wrong.
Is it in that boiler thingy? Have Henry look first!
>"Help. Help me!"
Nan investigates the voice coming from the smoldering furnace.
>"Help me! Nan, get me out! I'm still alive! For the love of god, get me out!"
Kim is in the furnace.
Well, pull her out. Is it locked or something?
OH GOD, GET HER OUT
ENLIST HELP FROM THE FELLOW WITH YOU
MAYBE YOU CAN PULL OFF THE CRATE IF YOU WORK TOGETHER AND SHE PUSHES
oh, it's just her. that's kinda disappointing.
welp. help her, I guess.
I MEANT GRATE
Any way to wedge the bars open?
I'm pretty sure those grates are removable, but you might need a screwdriver.
Kim is badly burned.
Nan quickly kneels down, trying to pull off the rusty grate covering the immense furnace.
Nan turns to look at Henry. Henry stands frozen.
He swears he didn't put her in there.
Put your back and legs into it, Nan. It can't be that stuck!
Or... look for a latch or something.
Tell him it doesn't FUCKING matter how she got in there. All that matters now is GETTING HER OUT.
Ask her how in the hell did she even GET down there? She were three floors upstairs just moments ago with Anderson, refusing to leave the safety of the safe room!
That is, if she can speak.
Then call Henry dumb because you know he didn't put her down there. He couldn't have possibly done that. Stop being redundant Henry.
Ask Kim how long she's been in there and tell Henry to stop freaking out long enough to help you get her out.
This is a boiler room, is there something down here or in your pants you can use as a lever? Yell at him to help you pull and that you don't care that he didn't put her down here!
Nan demands Henry help her. He does not move.
Nan pulls the grate open.
Within the walls of the room, something loud and metallic rattles. There is a strange noise.
Nan asks Kim how she got in there.
She says HE put her in there. She begs for help.
Kim struggles. She screams that her leg is still stuck.
DEMAND THAT IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER HOW SHE GOT IN THERE, JUST THAT WE GET HER OUT AND HELP HER WITH THE WOUNDS. CAREFULLY INSPECT SAID LEG.
Grab her and pull! Ask her to wiggle her leg free!
Lean in and shine the flashlight around to see how her leg is stuck. Maybe you can help!
The entire room shudders as the furnace kicks on.
Something seems..."off" here. Keep in mind that not everything is as it seems in this quest.
...maybe we shouldn't help her?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KIM WHY
Get away from the furnace!
Make a mildly concerned face at Henry.
Back the fuck off. Do we have a fire extinguisher in our inventory?
Wait... Jump into the furnace!
Kim screams in agony.
She claws at the furnace fixture, trying to drag herself out of the fire.
>"DON'T LET ME DIE HERE! HELP ME! GET ME OUT! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!"
Grab her arm and drag her the fuck out already. What's wrong with you?
Grab her hands, pull her out! We can still save her.
Either something bizarre will happen, or it won't. If it doesn't, we'll at least have a slim (and, possibly, suicidal) chance to still save Kim (depends on exactly how hot the fire is, I guess).
Oh yeah that's right people take time to burn. Her hand isn't on fire, pull on that. If we're lucky either whatever had her foot stuck is burnt up or her foot is burnt up and she can get out more easily. She's probably lighter.
teehee, I see what you did there.
Nan and Kim grab each other by the wrist and pull.
They pull harder.
Well, keep pulling. If we get an arm we get an arm but we can't just leave her!
HENRY HELP NAN NOW
Order Henry to help you. Brace yourself against the frame of the furnace to pull with your whole body's strength.
Saving her at this point is probably just going to make her take longer to die of burn infections, and even if she doesn't she'll be some hideous ghoul for the rest of her life.
Uh. Really the best thing you can do is let go.
LEAVE HER! YANK THE WIRES OUT OF THE ELECTRICAL BOX!
Say, didn't Kim already have burn marks on her? Maybe this fire hurts, but won't kill people...
...kinda like hellfire. What was Kim's theory about the hotel again? That it was hell?
puke all over the place due to the revolting smell of burning flesh and hair.
>"What's going on? I heard screaming!"
FUCKING TIME SHENANGANS
"You're on fire." point to the furnace.
Well now you're going to look like a crazy person holding someone's hand as they burn in the furnace.
You crazy person.
But greet Kim with happiness and relief! A hug may be in order!
Tell her to pull the wires from the electrical box. Now, pretty please.
"KIM! HELP ME GET YOU OUT OF THE FURNACE!"
Tell Kim to help you pull this person out of the furnace.
Do we still have... otherkim's hand? Keep pulling and see if we can find out what is going on. Tell Kim that the hotel's being weird again and that she needs to help pull herself out of the fire.
IF EVERYBODY TINKLES INTO THE FURNACE SIMULTANEOUSLY MAYBE YOU'LL PUT THE FIRE OUT
Is the mostly-severed hand you're holding still stuck? Pull, woman.
Pull out whatever is left!
Pull it out!
The hand is still pulling.
"IT'S PULLING ME IN IT'S PULLING ME IN GUYS UH HELP HELP HELP HELP"
Let go. It's trying to pull you in.
Wait a minute. If Henry really didn't put Kim in there then what DID he put in there? Because he sounded like he had put SOMETHING in and was surprised to see Kim in there instead. This was a bad idea ask possibly real Kim to help pull YOU out instead.
you're stronger than some four-eyed nerdette who is being roasted alive. pull, dammit.
Quickly blurt out a synopsis of what's going on ("KIM YOU'RE IN THE FURNACE HELP") and then all three of you try to pull otherkim loose. If we can't get her out, consider going in after her (remember, things are topsy-turvy here). Afterwards we can discuss this bizarre event with Kim, with or without her doppleganger.
(I think it's a fair bet, though, that this means Henry or someone else will later toss Kim in the furnace. Unless we can use our foreknowledge to think of a way to free her beforehand, anyway.)
Nan continues to pull, but the counter-pull is stronger.
Something is wrong.
Ask the other two to help pull you out!
Jump into the fire! It's the only way!
"Pull me out pull me out PULL ME OUT"
Tell Henry that you believe him now and that he needs to help save you. Kim too.
consider asking for help. but do it only if you have to. you don't wanna seem weak to your compatriots.
Scream. Tell them to break the electrical box.
IT'S A TRICK!
Something's been trying to trick you into the fire! Either do this:
Or, better, see if someone can slice off those extra arms! We could try to see who they belonged too later on.
Hey...waitaminute...wasn't this quest originally intended to play on the fact that suggesters always try to save everyone?
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T SAVE KIM!
And LET GO.
Dive dive! The delicious flames beckon! Your friends are all in there!
OK you're just insulting the artist now.
Nan calls for help. Henry and Kim grab her by the shoulders and drag her away.
The grip on her arm is broken.
The furnace shuts off.
NOW tinkle in the furnace. y'know, to show your displeasure.
alternatively, ask Henry what the fuck he did.
alternatively alternatively, get the fuck out of there.
>Well no use staying in the place where you were almost murdered by ghost hands, Get outta there!
Thank them and ask Henry why he made such a specific denial of putting Kim in there.
First things first--try to get everyone to a safe place pronto. This place obviously isn't safe. Afterward the three of you can try to figure out what all this means.
Well, otherKim did blame him for putting her there. But then again, she did it after he denied it:
Noooooo all is lost.
> Look into furnace. That definitely wasn't just her; there were multiple arms.
The furnace dies, leaving nothing. Not even ashes.
The boiler room grows dark and cold.
Turn on your flashlight!
traverse the darkness and get out of here stalker.
Turn your flashlight on! Then everyone huddle together and try to leave without separating. Something's going on and we need to get to safety.
Turn flashlight on, and tell Kim what you saw in the furnace. She might have a theory.
Also, since it's been a while, can everyone check their inventories?
DON'T turn your flashlight on. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness.
Kim and Henry: DON'T LET GO OF NAN'S SHOULDERS
Stay in physical contact. Flashlight NOW.
Return to lobby posthaste
Is this just the hotel? That is Kim, yes?
Ask Now Kim if she saw anything happen with the furnace (or herself in it, for that matter).
Also, turn on your FLASHLIGHT. I have a feeling about this place....
Turn on flashlight. Prepare to see Pilgrim and Padre holding your hands instead of your buddies.
How about whip out that FLASHLIGHT and get the fuck out first. Then can we talk business!...
still grabbing the two, press against the nearest wall and, taking the month long resident's advice, stay in the darkness and make no sounds while trying to make out whats going on.
wtf just happened? D:
Oh yeah... I second your plan instead.
Changing my vote to
as well. Forgot about Santiago's advice.
exactly why I said 'traverse the darkness'.
Oh crap, forgot all about that stuff!
THIS. Carefully move about and let yourselves adjust to the darkness. And adjust in the direction of not here.
Nam check if you still have your screwdriver
GET YOUR FLASHLIGHT ON RIGHT NOW
I don't think we should get the flashlight, wait for your eyes to adjust while keeping in contact with Henry and Kim. I think Santiago my have been on to something.
Yeah, voting for darkness. We messed up with Santiago last time. He may be crazy, but he's got experience here.
Nan leaves the flashlight off.
After staring at the fire, it takes a moment for her vision to readjust to the dim boiler room.
Whisper. You need to move, to get back to a safe area- no lights, no noise. Careful, quiet.
I don't believe we've been to the good old LOBBY in a while, why not check there for anything out of place?
Nan leaves the boiler room with Kim and Henry.
Well I guess we're glad Nan's out of there.
>shadowy thing: drop down
Looks like Padre to me... We'd best get outta there and ask the others what the hell they just saw.
>>ready flashlight, watch back, grill henry on what actually happened
whisper to the others to keep quiet unless absolutely necessary and stay together. and cautiously keep an eye out for danger.
Remember the boiler room went dark, so that means there's likely a monster around that this place took favor in.
>Head to the hotel lobby, it seems like good a place as any to regroup.
Boiler room: collapse now that your support pillar has become a guy.
holy shit weaver, it's been 9 months, what the hell man, you had a baby or something!? still, good to have you back
all 3 of you keep contact with eachother and a wall at all times.
Calmly get the fuck out of there as fast and carefully as possible, while keep in contact with Kim and Henry.I'd say returning to the lobby is probably best too.
Nan, Henry, and Kim arrive at the first-floor landing.
Anderson is here, keeping watch. He is armed.
Nan asks Henry if he saw what she did. He replies that he thought he saw Kim in the furnace, but now it's clear that's impossible.
On the other hand, he says plenty of what they've seen already should be impossible.
Onwards to the lobby then- request the other two stick with us- strength in numbers and all, the big evil stalking monster NEVER attacks when the group is all together unless there is an opportunity to split them up!
What does Kim think about what happened? Also, if we haven't already, ask Henry about the cross pendant. While we're down here we might want to check out Henry and Pablo's old rooms, too.
The lobby sounds like as good a place to go next as any.
I think nan should come clean to Kim about this whole burned alive thing; remembering the time she saw her future self. Also The lobby seems like a good place to move now.
Ask Anderson and Kim what they've been doing.
Weird idea here, but maybe we should 'mark' eachother with something so we can tell the difference between the real us and the horrors the hotel is using to bait us. Probably pointless since the hotel might just copy the marks too but you never know.
Is the lobby the best choice? One (conceivable) entry/exit might not be wise when something could be following close behind. Would a shot from Anderson's revolver faze one of those creatures? Let alone the Padre or Pilgrim? For that matter, are we even sure that gun is loaded or is Anderson keeping it intimidation purposes?
Oh god so many questions, I love you Weaver
Where? On the face? I mean, that seems to be the most open space we have and it is most notable- unless like they are turned the other way and you approach them and they turn dramatically and they don't have a mark but SHARP POINTY TEETH AND GLOWY EYES.
A mark doesn't necessarily mean use markers or ink or anything, maybe tear up a sheet and make nifty little wristbands or something. Like I said though the hotel could probably just copy those too so they might be pointless.
I like the idea of using some kind of marking or identifier.
How about a passcode? Or perhaps an item they could produce? Nan's flashlight, Anderson's gun, Kim could take off her glasses?
What we should do is use a marking system where we add one each day. Example: if we were to use markers, we could do tallies and add a tally mark each day.
That way if we are dealing with future selves, they will have more marks when we see them. Although, if furnace Kim is the future of the current Kim next to us then that means that we won't have done that, because furnace Kim had no marks. Fuck, I don't know.
Haha, yeah destroy Kim's glasses, then there's no way she'll ever be FutureKim stuck in the furnace!
Nan tells Kim what she witnessed in the boiler room.
Kim is quiet for a moment, then asks what made Nan think it was her, and not the hotel itself.
She's right here. And it seems whatever was in that furnace wasn't trying to get out.
It was trying to pull her in.
Kim says it doesn't sound like an omen.
It sounds like a trap.
Ask Kim if she thinks that Ruby should not try to save 'her' in that kind of situation.
You really don't know why you thought it was her. You just wanted to help and stop people from dying. You'd be damned if someone died because of your inaction. You like being lazy and slow to the draw, but that's when it's work.
Should we have pass phrases for future traps? Could those work or could these illusions learn those from our heads?
You call "Microwave Pizza"
Tell Kim to remember it anyway... it could come in handy in the FUTURE.
Go to the lobby. It's where everything started, after all. It will be good to see how it's changed.
Point out that it sounded and looked just like her and that the hotel's obviously all about the whole "horribly killing everyone" thing, so it seemed perfectly plausible. You're glad she's okay, but you think it's important that we try to help eachother as much as possible.
Trying to save what, as far as you could tell, was her was the right thing to do.
Mention that it looked just like her, before the furnace started... Ask her if "For the love of god" means anything to her. It kept saying that.
YOU MEAN OPAL
*Whisper* to her that she should be careful around Henry in the future... the fact that he denied putting her in there was a little too pointed.
This might cause unrest in the group, but Henry's hesitation to help does lead one to suspect something.
Also, to test a theory of mine (don't we all have one?), ask Henry if he's ever had a girlfriend. I wonder if what Nan experienced when waking up next to him wasn't a glimpse into the past, like the time she met Pablo crying and he thought she was someone else.
Same poster. Also consider outright asking Henry about his specific denial.
>>385192 Pass phrase is a good idea. It'll also let us know that any instances of people we run into are at least from this point in time and onwards.
Hey, I've got some advice. Lighten up while you still can. Don't even try to understand, just find a place to make your stand.
And take it easy.
Do ask Henry directly about his suspiciously specific denial. It'd be a shame to stir up unrest in what really needs to be a unified group due to a misunderstanding.
some things are best not dwelled upon.
Sorry, got nothing...
Nan! Now is not the time to talk about how you saw yourself from the future earlier.
Because in that case, you lived what you saw later. And then Kim may think she'll eventually be in the boiler.
So don't mention that.
Threaten to beat Henry with a rusty spatula if he ever even thinks of throwing Kim in the boiler.
Ask if anybody's seen Pablo.
>Ask if anyone has thought of a plan of action on how to escape the hotel.
I guess we should check the second floor now and look for the Anazasi Lounge.
I don't think we would find anything useful in the Henry/Pablo old rooms,they are likely barred.
And let's use the stairs this time
quit confusing your precious gems, this is Opal, not Jade!
Seriously though, seconding idea of pass prase(s). Just keep in mind the person knowing it doesn't mean much, but if the person DOESN'T know it we MIGHT be onto something.
I still want to know why Henry insisted he didn't put Kim in the furnace, and don't really see any harm in asking him. Just treat it like an honest question and not an accusation - I don't think it's good to be too suspicious just because of an odd sentence, but if he knows/experienced something important it'd be nice to know it.
What if the "Kim" in the boiler wasn't referring to Henry, but to the Padre? After all...he WAS in the room with them.
If we go with Passcodes, don't let Henry hear it for now. He's too suspicious.
I'm not sure I agree.
If we go with passcodes, everyone in the group should know them. We can't be splitting up or ostracising someone now, not when our survival depends on us all working together.
I say if we do pass codes we should go with 'The Magic Words Are Squeamish Ossifrage' or just 'Squeamish Ossifrage'. Kudos if if you get the reference but that's not why I chose this. I reason that if if someone/something's eavesdropping, if/when they/it pull a stunt like that again(specificly feighning danger), they say the whole phrase, while if they're real (or really in danger) they're more likely to forget under duress parts of the phrase. Also they/it are almost certainly going to find out the pass sooner or later (or now if eavesdropping) so I reason that if someone when asked for it under duress get angry or says something like 'Seriously?! Now of all times?!' or 'Just help me already!' they're more likely real. Only someone actually under duress would act like that. Don't bring up the reasoning in conversation. That would defeat the purpose.
Interesting idea. I might get behind it, though I was kinda leaning towards something a few syllables long. That is, something short enough to be uttered in a single breath, in case we have to use it in emergencies. Your idea might be better, though, considering the hotel appears sentient and capable of actively mimicking us.
Oh! By the way! If we haven't already, we should ask Anderson what happened to the old Spanish Mission, in case he knows. As in, why was it reduced to ruins by his time?
Nan should tell Kim about meeting her future(and past) self
I am agree with this. Explain too kim that she needs to be very careful, but try not to get kim worked up either.
Well, honestly, I can't blame Henry. He was hidden alone in that room, mentioning that he was alone, when suddenly someone appears to be shoved into a furnace, with you being the only person there.
Ask Anderson and Kim how long ago (from their perspective) Nan left them in 313 to find the Lounge. Even IF time didn't do freaky shit in this hotel, Nan still couldn't be completely sure how long had passed during her "spirit vision" of helping Anna with the elevator.
Also, maybe its time to mention your interactions with Santiago with everyone? If you think that's a bad idea then nevermind.
How about a password that monsters would be really annoyed at saying? Like "The time is 4:33" or something.
How about 466 as a password? It seems to show up when weird shit goes down anyways.
Nan leads the group into the hotel lobby.
Nan asks Henry about his specific denial.
He shakes his head and says that there's already enough suspicion going around. He was the only other person in the room, so he thought it was natural Nan would suspect him.
Nan explains her encounter with 'herself' earlier as a point of comparison, but Kim doesn't seem worried. She says omens are one thing, but as long as they're alive they have free will. She seems intent on believing it was the hotel trying to get Nan, and that it only looked like her as a means to an end.
In light of whatever just happened, Nan suggests passcodes. But she's not far into explaining her idea when Anderson interrupts.
He asks Nan if she hasn't been paying attention all along.
This place knows who we are, where we are.
It's watching right now.
You want to talk trust, he's got a better plan.
Trust no one.
Aha! You need to go down to the boiler room and tease the monsters in there to turn on the boiler. This will activate the electrical wire coming out of the boiler room and light the chandeleir. And then... uh...
That's... actually a pretty good plan.
Right. Nothing seems new here (or is the opened mail slot different?) so... maybe we can check more of the doors on this floor. There was one that's all chained up, maybe we can work on getting that open again?
This place is trying to make us distrust each other. It sees us as a threat - and it definitely doesn't want us to co-operate with each other. We need to work together to get to the bottom of this so we can get out.
also check the mail slot.
Inspect the light-devouring cubbyhole.
Inspect dat mail slot.
Yes, lets extend our stay in this LIGHT-FILLED ROOM
Oh, and uh, check your inventory. It's been a while...
Examine the room. What is that on the counter? Bell? Registry? Telephone? What's in the cubby hole? Do any of those little doors open?
Also, tell Anderson that you're sorry but you're just trying to survive and keep as many of the people here alive as possible.
try the door. it's not like you'd be spending a lot of effort.
what is he suggesting? next time we see kim in trouble, not to help them?
fuck that. fuck that idea along with the hotel that necessitated it's conception.
Have Nan tell Anderson not to jump to conclusions, we're all friends here. Let's build bridges, not walls.
That's it! Brilliant! Build a bridge out of the hotel!
We should take the hotel and push it somewhere else!
Remember that the hotel becomes particularly aggressive either when Nan tries to leave, or breaks something. Breaking something seems to be an instant pass to dark hotel.
On another note, the painting in the hallway has disappeared and so have the flowers, and the stairs are back. So apparently the stairs can appear and disappear randomly. Could we get another perspective of the hallway(i.e. visible exits and turns, what is at the end of it, door or window),or even the entry hall for that matter, unless the unseen wall is completely featureless?
Tell Anderson that if you hadn't trusted An and gotten in the elevator you probably wouldn't be having this conversation to begin with.
ask if anyone has seen pablo.
If attempting to leave makes the hotel angry, perhaps it wants us to go further inside? For that matter, being grouped up and/or static seems to anger it too. Doesn't matter if we have friends present, it just pulls teleportation schenanigans to get us from them. All signs point to the hotel wanting us to explore, to find something here. And our continued 'freedom' hinges on not pissing off the silent hill hotel.
I guess this is the current thread? I just finished Ruby Quest a little while ago...
Suggestion: Try to find an original floor plan for this hotel. There had to have been one hanging around before everything went to hell and this turned into the Dolphin Hotel.
Nan retrieves the decorative totem from its slot in the mailbox of room 117.
It seems like lost items have a habit of finding their way here.
>Show the totem to everyone else, maybe they'll know what it is? Probably not, but its worth a shot.
Carefully inspect totem for writing, symbols, etc.
>Check inventory for something that you could possibly replace the totem with. Also, ask cohorts about this totem.
Seems like this could be a plausible idea. *shruuug*
Lost and found maybe?
Still, probably have to put that on some sort of ancient Hopi shrine or something... place like this was probably build on ancient Indian temple/burial grounds.
Speaking of lost things showing up, where did that green necklace of ours go off to?
Ask the others if anything has gone missing and showed up elsewhere.
Think Pablo has it, last time we had it was when we wrecked the clock I think.
Think we should ask them if they misplaced or lost something, then ask what everyone found in the slots. And what they found in general, some items others picked up might be connected to others (our necklace and henrys for example)
Room 117's mailbox, eh? If memory serves, that's the only specific mailbox that ever gets mentioned, and it's been brought up at least twice (all the other times we've found things in the mailboxes we were never told which mailboxes the items were in). Might be metagaming a bit here, but I suspect the author is trying to throw us a bone. Maybe room 117 is important? I think we ought to at least give it another quick examination and see if anything in it has changed (while watching out for the mirror, of course).
Same poster here. Just occurred to me that, to give us another reason to go there, Pablo might have returned to 117 after vanishing. It's where we originally found him, after all, and he seemed to feel safe there. Not to mention he was able to survive there for quite a while. It makes sense that returning there would be his backup-plan in case something went wrong.
Before we leave, check the room. What's on the desk?
Is this the same totem that was right beside the Safe Room? If 117 is a bust/trap then maybe we should see if the hall outside of the Safe Room has changed or if the totem was replaced with something else.
Definitely ask around about the totem. If no other better ideas, maybe rm 117 is worth a revisit.
Can you try and take the totem apart? Can it be disassembled at all?
Don't think the totem has any real value... save that it's lead us to find that the hotel brings things that are lost to the front desk
Let's check rooms 114 and 117 while we're down here.
Seconded. Let's finish examining the front desk room first though.
Check for Pablo in Room 117.
No. Breaking things makes bad things happen. We break a vase accidentally, lights go out. We break the clock intentionally, we get sent to mindfuckville.
Wait, we still have that magnifying glass from last time we were in the lobby!
EXAMINE TOTEM with MAGNIFYING GLASS.
it sure sounds like your typical run-off-the-mill Overlook Hotel Syndrome when you put it like that.
>Tell KIM to examine the TOTEM using her THIRD EYE.
Henry is wearing the cross necklace.
As for the totem, no one appears to recognize it.
Turning it over, Nan finds something scratched into the base.
Nan uses the magnifying glass.
Pablo! We must locate and question him on the totem.
The totem belongs to Pablo?
Is there anything inside it?
Let's bring it back to where we last saw the thing. The "safe" room.
Anderson tells Nan that he and Kim are heading back to the third floor safe room. They only came out because Nan had been gone for a while and they wanted to make sure she was all right.
If she wants to come back she's welcome to, but he's going to stay with Kim to make sure she gets back all right. If Nan wants to keep exploring, that's her business.
Henry offers to stay with Nan.
Nan decides on a long-overdue check of her inventory.
She is carrying:
Check from Fun Family Arcade
Key to Anasazi Lounge
All right, to 117
Just tell Anderson to keep a real good eye on her and warn Kim again, that if she does end up in the future-past in that furnace, to not get her foot caught. Then tell future-past Nan this totally happened before. Even if she did think it was just a trap.
Also for Anderson to not lose his humanity completely to cynicism.
Gotta be real careful. Can't be too much so in this place.
Keep ahold of that check. It might just be your ticket out of here. I don't know how this hotel treats external third party financial obligations.
Let's get to the "safe" room.
I don't suppose Henry knows where the Lounge is, does he?
Arm Henry with the LEAD PIPE and take him with you to check out 117, Pablo's room.
Don't forget to see if Henry knows anything about the CROSS PENDANT.
Look for the Anasazi Lounge
Ask henry if he knows where the lounge is, and if he doesn't then head down to 117 to look for something that might let you know more about the totem.
Let's just check out each room on this floor, then the next, etc... for as long as the lights stay on.
Henry gives Kim and Anderson most of the supplies he gathered from the boiler room, and they head back to the safe room.
Nan and Henry head to Room 117.
Nan asks Henry if he knows where the Anasazi Lounge is, and he says it might be on the second floor, since he hasn't seen any entrances like that on the first and third.
Henry asks Nan what it is she's looking for in Room 117.
Pablo. Traces of Pablo.
Tell him it's where she first met Pablo, so he might have gone there when he got separated from the group. Also, the hotel took her away from there when she broke the clock, and she's wondering if there's a reason for that.
Tell him we're trying to find Pablo and figure this whole business with him out.
Also, ask Henry if he'll hold your hand. You know. For safety.
on the way, accidentally drop your overalls.
Let's answer his question with our own, for I had a sudden thought: we're all from different time periods, right? So does the hotel look the same to everyone ... does it seem to "fit" when they were "outside"?
Because if so, then it means we see a different hotel.
Huh... I don't expect it does, but it's definitely worth asking.
It probably exists on it's own timeline. Santiago got here a month ago, but is from the 60s, Anderson was here a week, but is from the 20s. Time here and time in reality seem completely unrelated.
Explain to him that backtracking when you don't know what to do is a staple of adventure games.
(and we're to scared to go to the 2nd floor)
Is the door handle of room 114 moving?
>Tell him you don't know.
Could this be a warning to turn back, guys?
tell him you're looking for those beans. It's been a while since you've eaten.
We're looking for two things:
I see no advantage in withholding either reason from Henry.
You might also want to mention that we're searching for clues in 117 because of potential leads we've picked up, however weak they might be.
Mmm, how about Nan go back there for that one mouse? Seems to be extra friendly, maybe it's a particularly important mouse?
Walk in room. Find Pablo dead/sleeping.
Go in. Say hi to mirror Henry while you're at it.
We should be careful and cover the mirrors. Cover them, mind you, not destroy them! As earlier suggesters have noted, breaking things seems to tick off the hotel. Then again, covering mirrors might, too, if that foils the hotel's plans.
am i missing something? what is this arcade we're carrying?
It's the check we got as payment for fixing the arcade. Way back at the beginning before we entered the hotel.
Nan says she needs to find Pablo.
Even some trace of him.
Nan and Henry open the door to Room 117.
grab the thin under the vase if it's anything before going in.
Honestly, blood at this point is pretty meh
At least unless it grows eyes or something
Trace officially find. Grope for the light switch. Shine the flashlight on your hand while you do.
Welp, time to get licking.
You want to know if it's some trace of him, don't you?
Jesus christ, it's just like your dream.
Is that the bed? I think we should investigate the hole.
look at the roof, the lights are broken.
That is a very valid point. I don't suppose the maintenance closet has replacements either. Well, go in and drag whatever that is out into the hallway. Stay in the light from the hallway.
No sign of Pablo. But Nan's seen this before.
A tall, flat canvas streaked red.
The light switch doesn't work. The lights are broken.
Get in the hole you goat.
No hole. Bring it out into the hallway.
Take a gander at the back of the canvas. Check out that hole on the wall too.
Get Henry to check hole and bathroom for scaries while you check the backside of this canvas.
have henry hold your hand, next time we inevitably get teleported to some other version of the hotel, at least we'll have a friend.
What's behind the canvas?
enter hole. have Henry ready to pull you out if anything happens
Seconding checking out the hole. Use the flashlight.
THERE WAS A HOLE HERE. IT'S GONE NOW.
My suggestion goes to checking behind the canvas before exploring some strange dark hole
make a mental note to compliment Pablo on his visionary sense of interior decoration when you see him.
Fifty says there's a person behind that canvas.
I'm also going to have to encourage the checking out of the hole with Henry ready to pull you out in an emergency.
i'm pretty sure pablo is hiding somewhere within this room.
check the hole, the bathroom, and the canvas.
Nan, please examine the canvas thing from the OTHER side. You know, away from the mirror/ bathroom where things could easily jump out from.
Turn the canvas around, then have Henry check the bathroom while you examine it.
While Henry checks the bathroom, Nan pulls the large canvas out a little, checking behind it. But there's nothing but a blank wall and the wood-braced back of the canvas.
Henry says the bathroom is empty.
Did you just get bloodRED PAINT all over your hand?
What is the LARGE BLACK SPLOTCH?
Aw Nan, you got stuff all over your hand. Go wash it in the sink and ask Pablo to check the rathole.
Either 1. touch something else to the canvas to see if it gets stained, too or 2. peek in that hole with the aid of a flashlight.
If you actually go in the hole, make sure you and Henry go together and stick close. You can't risk getting separated. Being alone in this hotel is a recipe for disaster.
Guys... that means it's fresh... :( Pablo is a splatter artist.
>Nan: From a safe distance, turn your flashlight on into the giant hole. Peer into the hole to determine your future.
Guys, don't you remember what happened LAST time we tried to crawl into a space? SCISSORS
Wasn't there a theory the hotel doesn't like lightening parts up without questioning?
Not that we have much choice, but shining into the hole may lead to another black scene.
But hey, be optimistic! Pablo just found a bucket of red paint and likes to express his feelings like this... the hole got bigger because the helpful mouse grew... big... and Pablo is currently helping it to bring a really big can of beans here...
But you have to admit that nothing hurt us back there
The tacky, red substance on the canvas comes off on Nan's hand.
Yay, so now only pablo has to come through the hole with his 2m-mice-friend and give a bean-party!
>scene around not shown
Equip lead pipe and spin around to examine the room. Be ready to parry something and make a break for it.
In the painting dream, Pablo said something about making Nan live forever. Maybe he's just an artsy type, but maybe these painting actually have more going for them.
Try cutting the canvas, stay on alert for reality-changing shenanigans.
Pablo being an artist is an interesting theory. We should definitely ask him about that the next time we see him.
But don't cut the canvas. Remember, damaging hotel property tends to tick the hotel off.
Next step should be to examine the hole.
Nan shines the flashlight into the hole - from a safe distance.
It's a short tunnel, perhaps six feet deep, and narrows a bit near the end. It's unobstructed.
There appears to be a room on the far side. Nan can't make out much from here, save what could be wooden furniture. A bench, perhaps.
Fit through hole with GIRLISH FIGURE. Wait... No that sounds right.
henry: DO IT FAGGOT
Both of you--carefully--crawl through the hole and into the other room.
Make sure whoever's in back always keeps a hand on the person in front when you're crawling through the hole. You'll be vulnerable while crawling, but hopefully this'll at least make you harder to separate.
I wouldn't be surprised if it leads into the bar-room with the nan-nan-encounter and we are starting the fire because of padre...
although that would be the other end of the hotel.
Nan crouches down and crawls through the narrow tunnel.
Henry follows close behind, keeping one hand on Nan's ankle to maintain physical contact.
Nan has entered the CHAPEL.
nan: use THIRD EYE to examine GLOBE.
... what's on the podium?
Well, no monsters, but also no Pablo or beans...
Mind take a look through the windows of the doors?
Maybe from the distance first.
If it wasn't obvious before it is now: There's major religious theme in this quest. Specifically a Catholic theme. Gives me some ideas for experiments if we ever run into the big three again (hopefully not anytime soon, of course).
I imagine this is a remnant of the old Spanish mission. That looks like a Bible on the podium, or perhaps some other liturgical book. Examine it to confirm. Also take a look at the plate/band/whatever it is on the bottom of the cross.
Oh, and is that sphere above the cross a window or something else?
Examine cabinet on the left.
have nan look back down the hole to see if henry is still there. if so, report back to him.
I think that's a confessional.
Oh! Forgot about Henry! He should be right behind us. Let's enter the room and help him out of the hole.
Nan peeks through the tunnel behind her. Henry is still following, waiting for Nan to go through. Nan relays what she sees, which includes a podium, single pew, cross, and stained glass window.
Though there is clearly something wrong with the window.
Henry confirms, and suggests it's almost to be expected by now.
Rule one of Strange Religious Locations:
DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING BUT THE FLOOR
There's a book on that podium. Is it a pretty normal looking bible or is it something weird?
Wait, are we stuck? They did say that the tunnel tapered near the end...
>Enter chapel. Examine the book on the podium. If it's the Bible, what book are they reading? See if verse 4:66 is there. Blink twice if you understand.
...Is Nan religious?
Certainly not in her duties as an electrician. ZING!
Good question. Makes me wonder if any of the other characters are religious.
Maybe that has something to do with why they're here?
I think we should definitely keep that in mind. We can ask Henry now and the others later.
>Ride crucifix like mechanical bull.
Nan enters the Chapel to examine the book on the podium.
No time to Santiago. Lift that chest off of Henry's arm!
santiago! take me with you!
His arm's probably not broken if that's an empty armoir. Maybe just a bruised bone. But it hurt like a bitch.
It looks empty, with some struggling and if the arm doesn't hurt too much, Henry could wiggle it back into the hole himself.
Tell him that that was mean, and lift the thing off of Henry's hand.
Son of a...
I hope he didn't break Henry's arm! :<
So, do we go for diplomacy or violence? Santiago doesn't look willing to talk, but I'm not sure we could handle him in a straight-up fight...
lift thing. if san starts being a dick about it tell him to fuck off.
Same poster here.
On second thought, that armoir looked like it was aimed at Nan. We just happened to crawl out of the way in time.
Time to fight?
I say we offer a greeting and gauge his reaction from there.
One hand covertly on the lead pipe, but don't draw it out quite yet.
Listen to me, you little bitch
Obviously you didn't take the hint last time
So let me spell it out for you
You are ruining things here
The hotel can abide a guest or two, but if you attack it, as you have been doing, it will defend itself with violence
It will fight back
And it will win
And anyone can be caught in the crossfire
You can't fight this
You can't help anyone
Point the flashlight at his face. Should be pretty irritating at least, having bright lights aimed at your eyes sucks. Ask him why he looks so pissed.
What have we done to attack the hotel?
He's clearly already angry. Why do something just to piss him off more?
Politely ask about the injury on Santiago's forehead.
I think he made it pretty obvious why he's pissed. This place is his Paradise. If he thinks we're a threat to it, then he'll do whatever he can to stop us.
Then again, he might be worried that we'll get ourselves hurt. Depends on how you read his statements.
Does Santiago have a soft-spot for us? Or is he just defending his precious hotel?
Yeah, so far you seem to have just been trying to prevent everyone from getting killed. Ask him exactly what you're doing that's angering the hotel so you can stop.
Written before latest post. I suffer from chronic late post syndrome :(
Hmmm, don't see how to talk our way out of this, we were just checking on Pablo. Ask him what he means by attacking, playing somewhat stupid seems like the best idea. We are still pretty damn new after all.
Ach! I shouldn't be making another post, but I have to point out that Santiago's line:
"The hotel can abide a guest or two"
Seems to imply that we aren't supposed to be here or, at least, that we aren't here by the hotel's wishes. Conversly, it implies that some of the characters are supposed to be here. Did something else bring us here? Are we here for a purpose? Maybe we just got caught up in this accidentally?
At any rate, this shows that the hotel isn't the all-controlling entity we may have believed it to be.
Explain to him that you are not a guest. You are simply here to fix the wiring.
If you insist on bringing light to the darkness, realize you won't always like what you find
Some things are better left in the dark, Nan
Some things should never be brought to light
If you continue to work against the hotel, it will retaliate in kind
And you will put us all in the line of fire
If I have to kill you myself to stop this war, I will
Don't think I will hesitate
For even one second
Actually, I really like this idea. Perhaps Santiago wight have something to say about this.
>>Tell Mr. Saint James that you're here to fix the wiring. You were sent to help the hotel. ALso, what war?
>Tell Mr. Saint James that you're here to fix the wiring. You were sent to help the hotel. Also, what war?
then we will take the monsters out with us.
SANTY! YOU'RE ALIVE! I'M SO HAPPY
I MEAN YOU'RE KINDOF SCARY RIGHT NOW AND THIS HURTS A LITTLE BUT STILL
THIS IS AWESOME
Goddamnit we don't want to fight the hotel! We want to flee.
We're not trying to force you to do anything we're just kindof blundering around here trying not to die.
And the hotel keeps yelling at us and throwing visions and sometimes it's like it's trying to tell us something and other times it's just crazy crazy crazy all the time
But the last while or so since we woke up that's seemed pretty normal I guess I mean except for the furnace thing but the lights haven't gone out or anything
And we've just kindof been wandering around exploring even though we don't really know what the hell we're doing
Oh god Santy we have no idea what we're doing
So, we aren't to look around and we can't leave. What does that leave us to do Santiago, sit in a room and wait for something to kill me?
Say fine though your getting confused about what IS an Attack and what isn't
Can you be friends with the hotel? Tell him you will be proud to shake it's metaphorical hand and have a fucking tea party with it. Santiago is free to join.
You have to take the path that will get us out of this place alive though. Don't tell Nan it's impossible. Everything is possible. If this place can exist in the world, a certain set of actions can get us back in the world. We just need to figure out what before we all die. No one knows for sure about outcomes, at minimum, there is a very near zero chance of escape. But there's still a chance. You can understand having no hope when there's near zero chance but you have to take it, because, as lazy as you are, you don't give up on living. Because you have to survive. We have to survive as living creatures, that is what we do. We survive until we die, and we all fight to survive the longest and delay death. The word fight in that sentence is debatable and replaceable with other verbs as well.
Your going to die on a deathbed next to your grandchildren and no fucking padre or pilgrim or SANTIAGO is going to change that.
Ask what it is that we are doing to upset the hotel. You know, so we don't do it again.
Boop Santiago on the nose.
Waitaminute, war? There's a war going on?
Between light and darkness, perhaps? Or something related? Makes me wonder... I mean, we know who the agents of the dark-force-thing are (i.e. the big three and the "uninvited"), but who are the agents of the light-force? Or...is Nan its agent?
And if the light-force has a thing for Catholicism...is it the Catholic God? Is Nan a Paladin? :V
Clearly it is our divine mission to cleanse the hotel of evil and save the souls within! Deus Vult! :I
Serously, though, there appears to be a war between light and darkness, and Nan may well be the agent of the light-force. Maybe it's responsible for bringing her here?
He's saying the problem is light, I assume both literally and as in 'to bring to light'.
You say this place is freedom Santiago, then turn around and say we can't do things, that you or the hotel won't let us. So what is this place Santiago, the prison you said it isn't, or freedom? Because I think I am free here, and I am going to use it to leave regardless of if you or the hotel tries to stop me!
This (or a variation of it) must be said!
Nan says she has not intentionally attacked the hotel in any way she was aware of. But she has fought, and she will continue to fight for her survival.
If this place is truly freedom, she says, she should have the freedom not to go quietly into the darkness.
Santiago growls, then roars. He spins around, throwing Nan at the pulpit.
Damnit, much as I don't want to, we may have to fight Santiago. Ask him : "So is this a fight or what?"
pull pipe, attack.
Throw the Bible at Santiago, see if it burns his flesh or not.
BIBLE BEATING FUCK YEH
GRAB THE BOOK OFF THE PULPIT AND SMACK HIM IN THE EYE
WE WILL EITHER,
A) Enrage the hotel at our misuse of a sacred object and cast everything into darkness, forcing Santy to flee,
B) Something metaphorical about holy books and light blinding the darkness in Santy,
C) Hit Santy in the eye with a fucking book.
But I wanted to see what verse it was open to. Unless it's a black bible.
Pipeon, apply directly to the forehead. Pipeon, apply directly to the forehead.
Nan goes for her lead pipe, but he overpowers her. Grabs her wrist.
Santiago bares his teeth.
Bad little girl
If you won't do as your told then you'll have to be punished
Kick him in the nuts!
OH GOD! HE'S GONNA RAPE NAN!
headbutt him quick!
Headbutt him. Ya got horns for a reason.
Yell to him that he's not your father
You barely know him
He does not get to talk to you that way
Yeah STOMP 'EM IN NUTS, STOMP HIM IN THE NUTS BITCH
Call out for Henry and hope he's freed himself by now.
Also, I know our species isn't supposed to matter, but now would be the perfect time for a goat headbutt.
If all else fails, try breaking something to get the hotel involved.Then again, since it's sentient, it might just help Santiago.
make suggestive faces at santiago.
Don't goats have to charge from a distance to headbutt someone?
Oh also, read the book while you're up there Nan! Read the book!
'So, you don't believe in freedom, only in indulging yourself.'
Kick to the nads, hard to perform when your jewels get smashed.
Guys, have you noticed that Santiago has gotten a lot beefier since we last saw him? And the whole "YOU CAN'T HELP ANYONE, NAN" Has been stated by both him and the Pilgrim. There's something fishy there.
Anyway, attempt to kick him back or force yourself away, if his intentions are violently sexual a ick to the groin would be good.
HEADBUTT HIM IN THE GROIN
Not a charging headbutt, a close-combat headbutt. Head forward into soft fleshy bits of the nose or horns forwards towards his eyes.
ADRENALINE POWERS ACTIVATE, HEADBUTT TO THE HEAD. If this succeeds in getting you free, run through door. If not, keep resiting until you can run through door. If suddenly, a wild Padre appears to demonstrate Santiago's point about the hotel reacting, get chest off Henry's leg and crawl the fuck outta thar whilst it fights Santa.
Santiago bites Nan's arm.
Nan tries to headbutt Santiago, but he's too close for it to be very effective.
Nan reacts quickly, slamming her knee into Santiago's groin.
He barely reacts.
So, while this is all happening I bet you could use some good reading material. Like that book over there. You should read the book.
Call for Henry! NOW! Say a quick prayer if you have to! ANYTHING!
I like this idea, but I'm afraid saying that might piss him off even more and make him do something worse if he doesn't go into a rant.
Go with a close-contact headbutt and shake him off without hurting him so he won't hate Nan even more later, if possible. If you can incapacitate him, take the chance to get the furniture off Henry.
Drop to the floor! He'll lose his balance.
Oh, so he's just insane. That...that doesn't really make things better.
He's crying. Tell him something like "You don't want to do this"?
Santiago has no balls
that was a cunt punt or he's castrated himself before. Probably the latter seeing as he still matches a masculine build
That or Nan didn't get a good kick in.
Stomp on his feet, kick his knee, grab absolutely any sturdy object out of your pockets and hit him with it.
Ah, thats what I was thinking of. Provided Nan can pull off some CQC, we could use his lust against him. Feign acceptance, move in closer to him. Put a hand on his back and behind his head, and draw one leg behind his knee. Pull with the leg, drawing his leg forward, pivot, and slam his head in the wall.
This hotel is not arm safe. Poke him in his big eyes and try to get your other arm free from his mouth. If that works then try to duck down so you're below him so we can >>386483.
Quick, Nan! Knee to the groin! Santiago's hostile and unpredictable, so we may be forced to kill in self defence.
Also, it looks like he might be trying to infect you with darkness or something. I'm not sure how to resist, thought. We're vulnerable. All I can think of is prayer. Maybe call out to the Padre? This is a holy place, dammit! Surely enough of the Padre's former self remains that he'd be furious about Santiago's actions.
Well, those look like tears. That's a reaction.
SANTY WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU
I MEAN, I REALLY LIKE YOU AND ALL
BUT YOU'RE MAKING THIS REALLY DIFFICULT
Santy, I honestly do like you. And I don't want you to die.
I really honestly don't.
But if it comes to a choice between us dying or you. I will not fucking hesitate either.
Please stop, Santy. I don't want you to get hurt.
ALSO SHIT I DON'T KNOW PUNCH HIM IN THE EYE
KEEP KNEEING HIM IN THE GROIN
YELL FOR LORENZO
I DON'T KNOW
Nan stomps her heel down hard on top of Santiago's foot, and he howls in pain.
Rather than releasing her, his grip grows tighter. His ragged, unkempt fingernails dig into her skin.
Nan claws back, kicks him in the knee.
Santiago cries out.
Does anyone else see the darkness spreading?
If he doesn't react to a knee to the groin I don't think Nan can fight her way out of this one. She's not a trained combatant, so advanced techniques are out of the question and he's not responding to pain because he's a lunatic. Check the book for something.
Tell him that he doesn't want to do this. Who knows, he's crazy, maybe he'll listen to us. Plus, he's crying. Let's talk him down while we still can.
If you have a free arm Nan, get him in his Adam's apple. Even a headbutt will do just close his fucking throat in.
Also, I think Santiago is giving us a hint: "if you attack it, as you have been doing, it will defend itself with violence"
I could be wrong, but I don't think violence is the solution here -- it will only make things worse. That darkness IS spreading.
Yes, but it could just be thematic. Or its not. Still less imortant than RIPPING AND TEARING Santiago's guts and nearly being raped.
Jab one of his eyes. Fight dirty.
His mouth is open and her arm is free. Get the lead(pipe) out and ram it down his throat! If his mouth has closed by the time you get the pipe go for his knees or eyes!
This is probably a shitty idea, but if using more force doesn't end up working, try a hug. Sometimes crazies need that and they turn into a pool of tears and mush.
Get down below his arms so it's harder for him to grab you.
Santiago suddenly lets go of Nan.
Henry says that if he ever touches her again, he'll break his neck.
He's only really got a grip on your shirt. Drop out of it.
Yay! Henry to the rescue!
I think that's the shadow cast from the window.
Maybe hug him? I don't know.
Really throw all your weight into it while he's distracted with pain. Knock him to the ground and hug him with all your might.
Sortof a combination "stop attacking me you psycho" and a "please let me help you."
Knock it off Santy! We're heavier than you! I think!?
> ragged, unkempt fingernails
... how long have you even been here, Santy?
Nan slap him for nearly raping you and ask WHAT THE FUCK this was all about
You know, why fucking wait, man.
Now might be a good moment to fix our clothing. Then tell Henry we owe him 2 favors now.
SUDDENLY, A WILD HENRY APPEARS
Get some breathing room, Nan. Equip Pipe.
Alright, pull your clothes back on, and give Santiago a good slap across the face.
Then ask him what you were doing that he considers fighting the hotel. It'd be nice to know what we're doing right/wrong.
Time to get info. Got any questions?
Don't forget to ask about the mirrors! And the Pilgrim!
Tell him that all you want is to go home and keep your friends safe, you don't want to hurt the hotel.
Start off by forgiving him. Not his fault he is so unstable, being in the hotel for a month will do that to anyone. If he wants, we can try to get him out of here with us to meet some nice men in white coats with delicous Lithium candy for him. If not, we are leaving with or without his help, but we will be gone quicker with help and knowlege, something he has.
Well never mind I guess you don't have to read the book. Probably nothing important in it anyway.
Patience. We'll get to it in time. The quest is directed by the combined will of the suggesters and the author, and at present that collective will seems to think Santy is the more pressing matter. We'll get around to the book. | <urn:uuid:d29e20c2-44a6-4f6e-bcc1-9f88d73818ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/300694.html | 2013-06-19T12:26:03Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961027 | 27,774 |
A/N: AHHH!!! it's finally done! this monster of a chapter is FINALLY done! i am so so sorry that it took so long. i won't even list the excuses i could give. i'm tired of typing. 12,710 freaking words. i didn't think that was even possible. but now it is finished. thank goodness for that! i know that in my A/N of last chapter i promised that i wouldn't take 6 months again. i didn't break it! only 5 months this time!
thank you SO SO SO SO SO SO SO much to Addison aka Molly Raesly. she practically wrote a whole scene in this chapter because i was too flustered to do it (i'll let you know which scene in the last A/N as to not spoil it). she was a real trooper in keeping up with my insanity, even fooling me into super duper writing mode, with the help of the queue closing. i love her so much.
and thank YOU for coming back to read this next chapter of Jenyse Syl Baccari's life...
Chapter 7: “Trouble in paradise?”
I stared at the morning beast in the mirror, taking in its every feature. Its dark brown hair was way messier and tousled than mine from the constant tossing and turning that occurred during the night. Its eyebrows were drawn together. Its tired green eyes were puffy with huge bags beneath them. Its nose had a pinker tinge than mine. Its lips…
All of yesterday’s events – or what I could remember of them – flooded back to me. It wasn’t really much. I remembered going to Hogsmeade and having a great time with Travis. I remembered practically falling asleep on top of the Astronomy Tower. I remembered Travis dragging me back to the common room. I remembered…
Common room? Travis? Lips?
I leaned in closer towards the mirror to inspect the inside and outside of my mouth. My lips were a little chapped. My tongue was a little dry. My teeth needed cleaning. It wasn’t any different from any other morning. Mouths get dirty after a night’s sleep. That was a known fact. So why did mine feel like it just ate its way through a dump?
Grabbing my toothbrush and squeezing some toothpaste onto it, I was greeted with more snapshots of last night.
Lips? Someone else’s lips? Travis? Alec? Ian?
I stopped midway from putting down the toothpaste tube on the counter, to open it back up and squeeze even more of its contents onto my toothbrush. Shoving the cleaning utensil back into my mouth, I began to scrub like I’d never scrubbed before.
Last night. That couldn’t have happened. I wasn’t even completely sure of what exactly occurred. It was all quite fuzzy, thanks to the fact that I was barely conscious. All I remembered was feeling lips, pulling back, seeing Travis’s face centimeters away from mine and Ian behind him, and running up to my dorm and into my bed, where it only took a minute or two to cry myself to sleep.
That couldn’t be right. Why would Travis kiss me? Why would I kiss him back? Why would Ian be in Gryffindor Tower?
Biting down, I turned my toothbrush to such an angle so that it would reach my back teeth, and brushed, brushed, brushed.
No. What was I thinking? Ian couldn’t get into the Gryffindor Tower. He was a Ravenclaw. And both Travis and I were dead tired. He probably tripped and landed on my face.
After spitting out, I proceeded to furiously scrub at my tongue.
Maybe Travis was just giving me a goodnight kiss on the cheek, but accidentally got really, really close to my lips. People do that all the time. It’s just one of those awkward things in life.
I spat out again and moved onto brushing the back sides of my teeth.
And maybe I was so tired last night that I started hallucinating, thinking I was seeing Alec. I did miss him a lot. It was no secret that my mind was insane. It liked to trick me a lot. That’s right. It was just a mind trick. Well, I forgive you, mind. No harm done.
Except maybe to my tongue and gums, which were even bleeding a little from the force at which I was going back and forward on them with my toothbrush.
Finally feeling as though my mouth was at least a little bit cleaner, I rinsed my mouth out with water, four or five times, before I undressed and stepped into the shower. I realized a little too late that showering was pointless, since I had a Quidditch Match in a couple of hours. I didn’t mind the cleansing, though. My face and neck felt pretty dirty too.
Before heading down to breakfast, trying to expel all thoughts of yesterday, and particularly last night, I brushed my teeth and scrubbed my tongue once more. It sort of worked, since I avoided seeing Travis or Ian at all as I walked down the aisle next to the Gryffindor table. I spotted Sirius immediately and stared at the muffin he had in his hand, my whole walk towards him. Shaking off any remaining thoughts, I put a smile on and approached him. He was always good as a distraction.
“Hey! No! Jenyse!”
“Mmm…blueberry. My favorite,” I said as I sank my teeth into the blueberry muffin I had just snatched from Sirius. I plopped down next to him, by the rest of our Quidditch team, and made a taunting face of delight, which was ruined by laughter when I saw his appalled expression.
“First off,” Sirius started with irritation, “that was my muffin! Second, your favorite is cinnamon crunch, not blueberry. Third, blueberry is my favorite. Fourth, you know that I need to eat a blueberry muffin before every Quidditch match. And fifth? ...That was my muffin!”
Before I could respond, Adam, Sirius’s fellow Beater, cut in to say, “Sirius, calm down. There’s another one right here.” He pulled a muffin out of the basket of muffins on the table and held it up to Sirius’s face.
Without skipping a beat, Sirius greedily grabbed the spotted muffin from Adam. He was a centimeter away from biting into it when he froze. The rest of the team and I watched in confusion and awe as Sirius sniffed the muffin like the dog he sometimes was.
“Liar! This isn’t blueberry. This is definitely boysenberry,” he groaned disgustedly. “You and I?” Sirius motioned between Adam and himself. “We’re done.” He emphasized his point by throwing the offending muffin straight at Adam’s face. Unfortunately, we were all deprived of the extra amusement by James’s quick Chaser reflexes, which were heightened by his anticipation of the coming match.
I laughed loudly while Adam rolled his eyes and went back to his own food. “Sucks, love,” I said, mockingly pitying, as I took another bite of my blueberry muffin.
Sirius grabbed all of the baskets of muffins that he could reach and searched through them all. When his search failed, he turned back to me. “Please, Sylly. Just one bite. Do you want to lose today? Come on. I love you, you know that? I love you so much. And I will be your slave for the rest of my life,” he bribed. “I will do anything for you. Even if it means killing Remus so that he’ll stop stealing your chocolate.”
I laughed at Remus, who was sitting kind of on the outskirts of the team with Peter, then turned my focus back onto the desperate boy in front of me. I raised a brow in contemplation. “And you’ll come to my house for Easter break and cuddle with me every night, despite the chance Jarron comes in and finds us?”
Sirius visibly gulped, and I smirked at the sight of it. Using Jarron as a threat was my favorite. Just seeing the transition to dread on his face was enough to make me give in and give him the rest of the muffin.
The members of the team who didn’t know my brother and the intensity of his protectiveness over me appeared confused by my condition, yet amused by Sirius’s torn expression.
“Fine!” Sirius finally exclaimed. “Just give me the damn muffin!”
James, Remus, and Peter gave looks of pity to their beloved friend, knowing that he had just made a deal with a demon. They knew that an angry Jarron was the equivalent of a hellhound.
“Yes!” Someone to cuddle with all week! Not to mention the best cuddler of all time! “This is going to be the best break ever!” I declared, throwing my arms around him, the muffin moving along with my hand to his back. “Don’t you worry. I’ll protect you from Jarron. He’s got nothin’ on me.” I pulled back briefly to smile toothily at him and then held him close once more.
Just as I was about to finally release Sirius, I caught the eye of Travis sitting alone at the end of the Gryffindor table. The look he was giving me was strange. It was a mix of delight from – unfortunately – catching my attention, jealousy and disgust from my position with Sirius, confusion – probably from last night’s events –, and eagerness for our next conversation – which I didn’t need a wacked up crystal ball to predict would be excruciatingly awkward. His expression confirmed my most dreaded thoughts.
Alright, so maybe Travis did kiss me. That didn’t mean it actually meant something. He must have been really tired. I sure was. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Travis. But that didn’t mean I wanted his tongue down my throat. I suddenly felt the pressing urge to brush my teeth again.
But if the…kiss…really did happen, then Ian must’ve really been in Gryffindor Tower. Realizing that I had had – ACCIDENTAL – tonsil Beaters’ practice with Travis was bad enough. Of course Ian Hayes had to have witnessed it. What could be more devastating than the amnesiac, corporeal form of the guy that I loved catching me – ACCIDENTALLY – snog a guy that I had described to him as practically my brother?
Why did he have to kiss me? Everything would have been normal and I would be focusing on Quidditch, rather than my incest-ful one-sided lack-of-love life. Not that Travis actually loved me. We were tired. It was a mistake. Yes. A mistake.
I averted my glance quickly after assessing Travis’s expression and his excited wave, and let go of Sirius.
The muffin was caught by his mouth, rather than his phalanges.
I didn’t laugh along with my teammates. I needed to focus on Quidditch. Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch. Come on, Nees. Focus. We needed this win if we wanted to win the Quidditch Cup, in the end.
“Jenyse? Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
I glanced up at Sirius.
“You look constipated.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and resumed my chant of “Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch,” trying to focus, focus, focus on the coming match.
This proved to be impossible when my fellow Chaser Colleen asked, “Hey, Jenyse, why is Travis Decker staring at you like that?” Ever the observant one, dearest Colleen.
All at once, our whole section of the table, except me, turned to see Travis who I assumed either took the chance to glower at the Marauders or look away bashfully.
“Freak,” Sirius said.
I didn’t bother defending Travis. It was no use against the Marauders, and I didn’t want thoughts – even if they were the vaguest of vague – of last night reentering my brain. Now was not the time to ponder over Travis and last night’s events.
The group quickly fell into conversation about either how much they hated Travis – Sirius, Remus, and Peter – or how rude Sirius was for insulting my friend right in front of me – the rest of the team. James didn’t join any conversations, other than forcing those of us who got pre-Quidditch jitters to eat their food.
Right. Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch.
“Alright, alright,” said James, indirectly saving me, while trying to get the team’s attention, “let’s all focus on the match that starts in thirty minutes. Meaning you guys need to either scarf down the rest of your food or take it out to the locker room. Let’s go. Chop, chop. Pip, pip.” He clapped his hands impatiently to hurry us up.
Remus and Peter wished us good luck while stayed behind. As we all grunted and stood up from the Gryffindor table all laden with food that we weren’t permitted to eat – well, that we weren’t given the choice to eat –, the rest of the Gryffindors applauded us.
Walking between our table and the Ravenclaw table, I tried not to look in Travis’s direction and, though I tried to fight it, I searched the Ravenclaw table for a certain Ian Hayes instead. I was highly relieved when I didn’t see him. I let out a mysterious breath of air. I supposed our sixth-year Seeker Benjy heard, because he reached around me and gave me a comforting squeeze. If only what I was really worried about was our Quidditch match against Slytherin.
The seven of us walked out of the Great Hall, through the Entrance Hall, and out into the sunny grounds. The sunlight made the thin sheet of snow across the grounds shine. We followed the shoveled path down to the Quidditch Pitch, sharing light conversation, in attempt to put off the unwanted pre-Quidditch nerves and focus.
The chatting died down gradually, the closer we got to the locker room. James held the door open for all of us, giving us each high-fives as we passed through. I headed to the other side – the “girls’” side – of the line of lockers, along with Colleen, to change.
Opening my locker seemed to finally allow me to focus on the task at hand: Quidditch. I reached in and grabbed my uniform and pads, as Colleen started speaking to me.
“D’you think we can do this?”
I glanced at her to see her anxious face before pulling my jersey over my head. “Definitely. We’ve just got to…focus.” Focus, focus, focus.
“Yeah,” Colleen agreed, my confidence seeping into her. “What was it that James said? Just thirty points, right? That’s all we need to be ahead by to kick Slytherin out of the cup. That’s not so bad.” She shrugged and then continued to tie her boot.
I could tell that she was still feeling completely edgy, but was trying to psyche herself out of that mindset. “You alright there? Maybe you should’ve taken a bite of Sirius’s lucky blueberry muffin,” I joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
“Heh, yeah. Maybe…”
I stopped tying my own boot to look over at her.
Half-straddling the bench, with her arms around her propped up leg, Colleen was staring off into space with unease in her eyes. Her other leg was shaking with anticipation to get the match over with.
I sighed and walked over to her. “Hey. You’ll be fine,” I told her, to which she replied with a doubtful look. “You’re an awesome Chaser. You fly incredibly and your passing is no worse than James’s or mine. You’ll be fine.” I offered her a fist to bump, and she didn’t disappoint, even adding a small smile into the mix.
“Hey, you guys decent?” a voice from the end of the lockers asked us.
I checked to see that we were both dressed enough to let him enter before accusing, “Does it really matter to you, James?” making Colleen blush.
“Ha-ha. Very funny, Jenyse. I’m a taken man. And that’s Captain James to you,” James said, as he walked around the lockers, towards us. “Just wanted to go over strategies alone with the Chasers. How are you guys holding up?”
“We had a little anxiety problem, but I think that’s taken care of,” I answered, looking to Colleen for confirmation.
“Yup. It’s all good.”
“All the time,” I added, knocking my shoulder lightly into her.
James flashed a smile, assuring us that that was what he liked to hear, before getting down to business. The three of us went over a few of our Chaser plays and strategies, like we did before every game. Before every match, James liked to go over plays with each individual player or group of players, according to their position, making him a great captain.
Once our brains had been refreshed and we were all completely dressed and padded up, the two of us went back with James around the line of lockers, into the main area. The team sat along the benches, facing the chalkboard and James, awaiting a speech.
With a deep breath, James started. “Alright, team. This is it. If we nail this, it’ll be a breeze to the Cup. Thirty points. That’s all we need to put Slytherin out of the running. Three goals,” he stressed, directing his gaze at Colleen and me. “On the other hand, Slytherin needs a load of points to knock us out of the competition. It should sound simple, but that just gives them all the more reason to do whatever it takes for them to beat us.
“So, this is my warning to you: they will be aggressive – maybe more aggressive than we’ve ever seen them. That means stupid taunts, nasty body hits, wild Bludgers…. Anything to break us down. Just keep in mind that all that just makes them no better–”
Scandalized, everybody’s heads turned to the door, where the source of the sound that made James pause mid-speech came from. Nobody interrupted the captain.
My reaction to the sound was a little delayed, because I was so focused on James’s speech. The intensity of which he spoke was always so captivating. When I finally realized that he had stopped speaking, I confusedly turned my head, as a new voice started speaking.
“Hey, so, the sky’s looking alright. The sun’s a-shinin’, but there are some friendly looking clouds to block the shine, at some points during the match. It’s a little windy, but not too bad. Just hope you get the left hoops. The wind is blowing that way and will really help with goals. The ground is nice and tough; good for kickoff. It’s a bit nippy out, but you guys have trained in colder. I’d say it’s perfect weather for kicking Slytherin arse.”
Focus my ARSE.
My eyes followed him as he moved from the locker room door to the seat in the front right corner, next to the chalkboard. If James wanted me to be completely focused on the match ahead, he needed to get Ian Hayes out of there, right at that moment.
“What the hell is he doing in here?” I asked quietly to whoever could hear, while James thanked Ian for his report.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius look at me with a raised brow. “James asked him to check out the weather conditions and report back before the match. Why?”
“No reason,” I replied curtly, not taking my eyes off of Ian.
It took another second for Sirius’s assessing eyes to turn away from me. He was still suspicious about Ian and me. Lately, I was able to downplay the weirdness between us, but today, it would be incredibly difficult to throw Sirius off my scent.
“No problemo, Cap’n,” Ian replied to James’s thanks, leaning back in his chair. His eyes wandered away from James to look at the team. When they landed on me, his expression turned blank before it morphed into cold, causing me to look away.
I tried to fight the guilt rising in me, but it was hard when I could feel his gaze on me. Doing my best to ignore him and the guilt, I set my attention back on James.
“Alright, so, where was I?” James asked, momentarily distracted.
“Slytherin sucks and are too weak to play fair,” Benjy provided.
Everyone laughed at the sixth-year Seeker, but James, Ian, and me.
“Right,” James said, focused once again. “Which means that Sirius and Adam?” he looked at the two Beaters. “You guys need to be on a lookout for anything fishy going on. You two should be the only ones controlling those Bludgers. Don’t let those gits touch them.”
“Ay ay, Captain!”
The fourth-year Keeper looked up from his wringing hands in his lap.
“Let’s be generous and only give them – ehh – one goal, yeah?”
Seth smirked. “Alright,” he agreed, while giving James a fist bump.
“Colls and Jenyse. Pass, pass, steal, pass, dodge, pass, goal. Shouldn’t be hard for the two of you,” James said, giving us a wink. “Remember: three goals ahead.”
“You got it.”
James frowned briefly at my lackluster response.
I averted my gaze from him, surely guaranteeing myself a one-on-one with the captain.
“Uhh, yeah. And Benjy, my man,” James addressed, laying his hand on Benjy’s shoulder. “I have no doubt in my mind that you will catch the snitch. Just wait for my cue. Use those dives of yours to fool Dole and keep him away from the Snitch. Remember, remember, remember: thirty points ahead.”
“Yyyup. Wait, what’s the cue again?”
“Uhh….‘Go, Benjy, go?’” James suggested.
Benjy nodded. “Got it.”
“We believe in you, too, James!” Sirius called out, to which the rest of us voiced in agreement.
James smiled, and then returned to addressing the team as a whole again, as he finished off his speech. “Alright, team. This is it. Do or die. We must win this match. For Gryffindor, legacy, pride, respect, family honor, integrity, loyalty. To prove to Lily that I am someone.”
A few people chuckled at that.
“We won it last year like it was nothing. With the training we’ve had all year this year, today should be a piece of cake. Let’s make this a nine-year run for Gryffindor, yeah?”
“Yeah!” Sirius whooped loudly.
“Ian, here, will be in the Gryffindor stands. He’ll be on the lookout for anything we need. If he tells you to do something, you do it. He knows the game as well as we do. I trust him, and so should you.” He paused, looking at as all with great fondness and pride. “So…let’s do this.”
The team erupted in cheers and whoops. James having finished his speech, everyone went back to either talking amongst themselves or making themselves stay focused.
I could tell that Sirius wanted to talk to me, but was preoccupied by Adam, who was going over Beater tactics with him again.
“Hey, Hayes, do me a favor? Check if everyone’s in the pitch already? Thanks.”
I saw Ian’s legs pass the spot on the wall I was staring at before I heard the door open and close. Not long after, I saw another pair of legs walk in front of the same spot, but walking towards me, instead of the door. I followed the legs up to the owner’s face and saw that it was James. Sigh. Here goes.
James straddled the bench on my right and stared at me. It was a while until he spoke, but speak he did. “Jenyse.”
“Look at me.”
Taking a deep breath, I complied. He had that half-brotherly-concerned, half-captainly-stern look on his face that made me want to crumble up and hide. This was so not the time to have a heart-to-heart with James.
James’s hand reached over to settle comfortingly on my back. “Something’s up with you. I know you don’t want to talk about it – you have that look – and I respect that. I’m sorry that whatever you’re going through is happening during or happened right before a Quidditch match, but I need you to focus for me. Just let whatever’s on your mind go and think solely about Quidditch. Can you do that for me?” His hazel eyes bore into mine, the concern in them showing more and more.
“Yeah. Sorry. It’s nothing. Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch. We’ve got a match to win.” I flashed him a forced smile.
He nodded, though still not convinced. “That’s right. And I meant what I said earlier about listening to Hayes. That goes for you, too, Jenyse. Got it?”
I bit back a retort and, instead, replied, “Mmhmm.”
James’s hand on my back moved to my side as he pulled me in for a hug. “That’s my girl,” he said, before kissing the top of my head.
We released each other when we heard the clearing of somebody’s throat, but James’s hand remained on my back.
Hello, again, guilt. I missed you, the two seconds that you were gone. Merlin’s freaking phalanges.
Without giving me one glance, Ian told James, “It looks like everyone’s in the stands. We should be starting in a few minutes.”
“Alright. Sounds good. Thanks.”
“No problem. I’m gonna head to the stands now. Good luck.”
For some reason, I knew that he had looked at me when he had said those last two words. I could feel his gaze. Once again, I heard the locker room door swing shut, and Ian was out of the building. I received a reassuring pat on my back from James before he stood up to address the team.
“Alright, team! Let’s go out there and play some Quidditch! Hands in!”
Everyone put their fists up, in the middle of the circle that we made.
“Gryffindor on three! One, two, three–!”
The team filed out, one by one, receiving high-fives from James, again, as we exited the locker room, brooms in hand.
Walking to our entrance of the pitch, Sirius walked next to me. “You good?”
“I’m good.” I hoped.
We stood in line, James in front and me behind him, waiting to be called into the pitch by the animated commentator, a seventh-year Hufflepuff, Kent Deering.
“Helloooo, Hogwarts!” Kent’s voice echoed through the air. “Today is the day. An odd day, though, isn’t it? Quidditch on a Sunday? That’s just bizarre! But it is a splendid day, despite it all! Now, who’s ready for some Quidditch?!”
The whole pitch was filled with a roar of cheers, applause, and other various noises, in response.
“Alright! Today, we have two teams – enemies, if you will – fighting for their chance at the Quidditch Cup. In the red and gold, we have the Gryffindor team, led by – ladies, sorry, but he’s a taken man – the brilliant Captain James Potter!”
James, wishing us luck one last time, flew into the pitch, leaving me at the front of the line. I watched as he circled around the pitch, above the crowd, pumping his fist in the air. I rolled my eyes when he blew Lily a kiss.
“His marvelous team consists of his fellow Chasers, Baccari and Cale; Beaters, Black and Murphy; Keeper, Miller; and Seeker, Fenwick!”
With me leading the way, we all took off, in the order that we were called, filing in behind James, who was still circling around the pitch. I put on my game face and forced myself not to look at the Gryffindor stands. I did my best to relax my body and just fly.
When the cheering died down, we went to land on our side of the central circle to await the entering of our opponents.
“Going against the reigning champions of eight years is the Slytherin team in silver and green! Captained by Keeper, Robert Gordon, we have Chasers, Sealey, Fallon, and O’Toole; Beaters, Mitchell and Styger; and Seeker, Dole!”
One by one, green figures zoomed into the pitch and flew above the crowd, just as we had done. They landed in formation, across from us, as Madam Hooch joined us in the middle of the field with the chest of Quidditch balls.
“Captains, shake hands!” she ordered.
James offered his hand to Gordon, who took it and squeezed it as hard as he could, rather than shaking it. From what I could see, James seemed to return the same amount of pressure to Gordon’s hand before they let it go and returned to their positions.
“I want a clean match from all of you! I will not hesitate to give penalties!” she said sternly and loudly, so that all of us could hear. “Mount your brooms!”
“It looks like it’s going to be a good fight! I mean, match! They’ve mounted their brooms. The balls have been released, and they’re off! Gryffindor gets possession. Potter with the Quaffle. He passes it to Cale, who gets past O’Toole to pass it back to Potter. Potter dodges a Bludger with ease, hit by Mitchell. Potter passes it to Baccari.”
All of Kent’s commentary stopped entering my ears when I caught the Quaffle. I faked to the right to get Sealey out of my way, and then headed straight for the goals. I made a show of attempting a throw at the right goal post – which caused Gordon to zoom in that direction – but threw it to the left, where Colleen caught it and tossed it into the left goal.
“Brilliant play by Baccari and Cale! That’s 10 to zero, to Gryffindor.”
I made a loop around, so that I could give Colleen a quick high-five before heading back down to the other side of the pitch for defense. James gave us a thumbs-up before setting his attention back on Sealey, who had possession of the Quaffle and was flying our way.
“Sealey tosses it to Fallon. He throws it overhead to O’Toole, who’s all the way in the other corner. Bad move, Fallon. This is no Muggle basketball game! These guys have got brooms! And Baccari intercepts the pass!”
I tucked it underneath my arm and made my way to the other posts. I took a peek over my shoulder to see if anyone was tailing me.
I wasn’t able to see the Bludger coming right at me until the last couple of seconds before it could hit me. I narrowly dodged it, throwing all of my body weight to my left and swinging myself back on top of my broom.
“That was a close one, Baccari! And Black whacks the Bludger back at Styger.”
“Pay attention, Jenyse!” Sirius yelled at me.
I ignored him and passed the Quaffle to James, so I could look and see who yelled my name out in warning.
“What are you doing, Jenyse?! Get down there!” Ian shouted to me from the front of the Gryffindor stands.
Though I wanted to rebel and not follow his directions, I knew I had to do it. I shot down to the other end, but was too late to participate. James had already scored.
“20 to nothing, Gryffindor!”
“Ugh!” I groaned, while heading back to where I had just come from. I turned my broom straight at O’Toole, going full speed.
Unfortunately, she saw me coming, and was able to make a short dive before I hit her and keep possession of the Quaffle.
“Bad luck, Baccari. O’Toole passes it to Fallon who just scores past Miller, making it 20 to 10, Gryffindor!”
Seth cursed before grabbing the Quaffle and throwing it to me.
“The score is now 90 to 20, in favor of Slytherin. And there’s a time-out – our first of the match – called by Gryffindor captain, James Potter.”
Frustrated beyond all belief – even more so, after seeing Ian motion to James to call a time-out in five minutes –, I landed by the rest of the team, by the tunnel we had entered the pitch through.
James put on a level-headed façade, but I could tell that he was furious. He looked about ready to throw his broom at the nearest thing with a heartbeat. He didn’t speak until Ian, out of breath, appeared in the tunnel, looking all flustered.
“What the hell is going on, guys? All they need is two more goals before Dole will be able to go after the Snitch, if they want to kick us out of the championships!” James exclaimed.
“James is right,” Ian – much to my dislike – voiced his agreement. “You guys need to shape up if you want to win this match. You’re facing things we went over thousands of times during practice. Why aren’t you executing what we practiced?”
I forced myself to stay mute, not looking at him. I knew I was playing horribly. I just didn’t know why. Or maybe I did…
“Sirius and Adam, keep doing what you’re doing. Seth, I need you to step it up, buddy. They’re faking you out like crazy,” James said. “Colls, keep it up with the passes. Don’t be afraid to go for some of those steals. Benjy, you’re doing great, keeping Dole away from the Snitch. Let’s get back in there and play like we’re capable of playing. Come on!”
I was shocked and somewhat disappointed when James didn’t direct any advice to me. I knew he knew that I knew how bad I was playing, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want a scolding to get me back in shape. Then again, telling everyone but me what they were doing right and wrong was probably enough to send me on the guilt trip.
I stopped when I felt a hand grab hold of my arm and turned back to face Ian. We both paused as I shot a glance at his hand on my arm, after which he withdrew with lightning speed.
“You need to get your head in the game, Jenyse. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, today. If you want to win this match, you’ve got to stop thinking about whatever or whoever it is you’re thinking about, and start thinking about Quidditch,” he ordered in a quiet, assertive voice.
I looked in his eyes for a brief moment as I registered what he had just said. ‘Whatever or whoever’? You’ve got to be kidding me. I didn’t even bother to respond before I stormed off, catching up with the others. Who did he think he was, talking to me like that? He wasn’t my captain. He wasn’t even a Gryffindor, for Merlin’s sake! I’d show him.
“And we’re back in it! It looks like the Gryffindor team took some got whooped into shape during that much-needed time-out. Look at them go! Great goal by Baccari, making it 90 to 30, Slytherin! I see a comeback on the way!”
That’s right, Kent. Here’s the comeback of the season.
“Slytherin has possession. Nicely directed Bludger by Murphy! Sealey drops the Quaffle. Potter catches it and SCORES! That’s two goals, already, by Gryffindor, before Slytherin even made it onto their half of the pitch! 90 to 40, Slytherin!”
A bunch of penalties, exceptional saves by Seth, mind-blowing hits and blocks by Sirius and Adam, and incredible steals, passes, dodges, and goals by Colleen, James, and me later, the score was 90 to 80, with Slytherin still in the lead.
“Potter is saved from a blow to the head by a Bludger by Black, who knocks it towards O’Toole, causing her to lose the Quaffle. That is some great teamwork right there! There are Cale and Fallon, racing to get the falling Quaffle! And Cale gets it! Passes it to Baccari, and SCORE! We’re all tied up at 90 points to 90!”
I punched my fist through the air, pumped by the goal I had just made and the energy I was getting from the cheers of the crowd. I flew over to the Gryffindor stands, just for kicks, as well as to rub it in Ian’s face.
He denied me the chance to boast when he yelled, “Get back on defense!” at me, pointing at the other goal posts.
Appalled, I didn’t budge. “Why the hell are you being such an arse?! I just scored three goals in the last twenty minutes and tied up the game! What else do you want?! Get off my back!”
About to fly away, he stopped me, yelling over the noise of the crowd, “If I recall correctly, I wasn’t the one with my hands all over your back last night!”
Unable to move, I just floated there, staring at him. I could hear nothing but yelling and screaming of the students watching the Quidditch match they came to see. It took me a while to finally react to what he had said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I yelled back.
I turned to see James throwing the Quaffle at me. I caught it and quickly passed it to Colleen who was wide open, down the pitch, and then turned back to Ian.
“Like hell, you don’t! It was great to see you last night!” he shouted, so I could hear over all the other noises around us, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Really! It was a great present, seeing you and him, just as the clock struck twelve, marking the start of my birthday!”
I felt my eyes grow as wide as they could go as that fact dawned on me. His birthday. March 1st. Of course this whole thing would have to happen on this particular day. I chanced a glance up the stands and locked eyes with Travis for the first time since breakfast. I ignored his what-are-you-doing look, and looked back at Ian’s livid face. Shaking my head in disbelief – of what part of the whole interaction, I didn’t know –, I backed away and flew back to defense.
“Gryffindor lead 100 to 90! What a comeback! Gryffindor only need two more goals and the Snitch to kick Slytherin out of the running for the Cup!”
Taking all of my fury and applying it to the game, I managed to help James and Colleen get our team another ten points ahead.
“One more goal! Just one more goal!” James yelled excitedly to Colleen and me.
I managed to get possession of the Quaffle again after stealing it from O’Toole by bumping my shoulder roughly into her side and catching the falling Quaffle beneath her. As I was flying to the goal posts, I was knocked into, unexpectedly, by Sealey. The first hit wasn’t that bad and I easily stayed on my broom and held onto the Quaffle, but I had to try harder to stay intact, after the second hit. Before I knew it, I was sandwiched between Sealey and Fallon, both nudging me back and forth. I tried to accelerate to lose them, but they kept up with me. With one last shove from the both of them, the Quaffle slipped from my grip and they got possession.
“Dammit!” I yelled as I tried to regain my balance on my broom.
“It looks like Baccari’s alright, but Slytherin gets past Potter and Cale, and Sealey scores, making it 110 to 100, to Gryffindor!”
For the next twenty-five minutes or so, the match followed as such. We would be twenty points up, just one goal away from a catch from Benjy, and then Slytherin would score. Back and forth, the score would toggle from our team being twenty to ten points ahead.
“And Gryffindor is back to being twenty points ahead, at 170 to 150! This is getting to be the longest and most exciting match of the year, mates!”
“Come on, guys! We’ve got this! One more!” James encouraged us.
The higher the score went, the more frustrated I got. I was sick and tired of this match. I just wanted it all to stop, and get out of the yelling presence of Ian Hayes. This match needed to end.
“Slytherin has possession. O’Toole is heading down the pitch. She passes to Fallon. He passes to Sealey. It goes back to O’Too– No, wait! The Quaffle is intercepted by Baccari! Where did she even come from?! She heads down the pitch at lightning speed! She passes to Potter! And SCORE! 180 to 150, Gryffindor!”
“GO, BENJY, GO!” James roared to the Seeker.
I watched as Benjy made a sharp turn from where he was fake-leading Dole to, to head the other direction, toward the real direction of the Snitch.
“Fenwick’s been given the go for the Snitch! Slytherin’s got possession of the Quaffle! Sealey is flying super speed towards his goal posts!”
I stopped watching Benjy when I heard Kent’s commentary. I looked over and saw James tailing Sealey.
“Sealey passes to Fallon! It’s– INTERCEPTED BY POTTER! Potter, about to throw to Cale, who is– NO! She’s knocked off her broom by O’Toole! Hang on, Colleen!”
Terrified, I turned to see if Colleen was alright. She was hanging onto her broom with one hand, and her other hand was holding what I assumed to be a bleeding nose. I was about to go help her when I saw Adam flying towards her. Deciding she was about to be in good hands, I turned back to find James.
“Potter’s still got the Quaffle. Look at Fenwick and Dole go! I’ve never– Oh, MERLIN! James Potter gets a hit to the shoulder by a Bludger sent by Styger!”
“JAMES, NO!” I screamed, shooting towards him.
“Fallon’s got the Quaffle! He just scores past Miller! We’re back to a twenty point lead for Gryffindor, at 180 to 160!”
“Jenyse! Get back and play!”
“What?! Are you kidding?! You’re hurt! You need help!”
“Jenyse! Get back and play!” a new voice demanded.
I looked up at Sirius who was giving me a reassuring look with belief in his eyes. After a bit of internal fighting, I nodded and flew off.
I caught the Quaffle from Seth, midway down our half of the pitch, and swiveled around to face the other end of the pitch. Before I had the chance to react, my path was blocked by Fallon, who knocked me off my broom and stole the Quaffle. The adrenaline rushing through me allowed me to pull myself back onto my broom quickly. Determinedly, I sped as fast as I could to catch up to Fallon. Making my mind instantly, I did the only thing that came to mind.
Once I was right next to Fallon, I tightened my grip as much as I could and flipped my left leg over my broom. Miraculously, my broom kept its momentum forward, keeping up with Fallon’s speed. I swung my weight forward, kicking up my foot, so that it hit right through the hole that his arm made, that wasn’t covering the Quaffle. As I intended, the Quaffle shot out of Fallon’s arm and into the air. I swung my leg, again, and kicked the Quaffle up. Letting one hand off of my broom, I reached out to catch the ball. Just as I caught it, Fallon’s foot kicked me in the stomach, knocking the air out of me. I was a split second from letting go, before I quickly tightened my grip. I managed to stop my broom, abruptly – causing Fallon to zoom past me –, so that I could re-mount my broom. I swung my leg over the handle, and – by the grace of Merlin – managed to get back onto it.
Immediately, I sharply turned towards our goal posts and flew as fast as magically possible, while dodging anything coming my way. As I was approaching the distance where I would be close enough to score, I took a split second to think about how I was going to nail this goal. My lips grew into a smirk.
“Fenwick has gone into a dive with Dole close behind!”
Without thinking about the specific maneuver, I performed my original “favorite move” taught to me by my brother.
“Was that a goal? That was a goal! That was a kickarse move and goal by Jenyse Baccari of Gryffindor, making the score 190 to 160, to–! BENJY FENWICK HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!”
Breathing heavily from the incredible amount of energy I had just exerted, I swiveled around to see Benjy flying around in circles, holding up his fist that was enclosed around the Golden Snitch.
“GRYFFINDOR WINS, 340 POINTS TO 160!”
“YESSS!” I shrieked in pure bliss. It was finally over. We had won.
I took a dive, to reach the ground as fast as possible. I didn’t even wait until both of my feet were on the ground before I jumped off of my broom to run to the rest of my team. As soon as I was close enough, I jumped up and into Sirius’s arms, which caught me easily. “WE WON!”
“Jenyse, you did it!” he exclaimed, just as excitedly. After hugging me tighter and making a few twirls, he set me on my feet. “You insane son of a motherless goat! What’s wrong with you?!” He hit me forcefully on the arm as his expression grew from elated to enraged.
“What?!” I asked, rubbing the probably bruised spot on my arm.
“That idiotic move you made to steal the Quaffle from Fallon! You could have died! That was amazing!” He proved to be bipolar when he pulled me in for another hug and a kiss on the forehead.
I couldn’t help but grin.
“James!” I let go of Sirius and made my way to James. “Are you alright?”
His shoulder looked eerily deformed. “Of course I am. I think it’s just dislocated. But never mind that. Besides the fact that you could’ve killed yourself, you were brilliant!” he praised as he pulled me in for a one-armed hug. He kissed my head repeatedly for a good minute.
“Thanks, James,” I said with a laugh. “Now, go get that shoulder fixed!”
“Good call. Oi! Sirius!”
I chuckled as he moved away from me. It wasn’t long before I was attacked again, this time by Colleen and Adam.
“Jenyse! Are you okay?!”
“Jenyse, you were ridiculous!”
I smiled, gratefully. “Thanks, Adam. And I’m fine. How about you, Colls?”
“I’m good. The bleeding’s stopped. I just have a killer headache.”
“I bet. I would’ve helped you out, up there, but I figured you were in good hands.” I shot her a smirk, noticing that Adam’s arm was around her.
She blushed and shrank into Adam’s side.
“See you at the party?” Adam asked.
Oh, Merlin. I hadn’t even thought about a victory party. “Uhh, yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Awesome,” he said, before steering them both away to congratulate other teammates.
Before I could find Benjy to give him a big hug, I felt a body collide into mine, from behind.
I turned in Travis’s arms to hug him back as the adrenaline and elation from the match still pumped through my veins. “Trav!” I exclaimed happily. “We won!”
“I know! But more importantly, you’re alive!” he proclaimed thankfully, as he brought his hands to cradle my face and tilted it towards his.
At first I thought that he was about to give me a kiss on the forehead, like James and Sirius had done minutes before, but as soon as I saw him close his eyes and lower his target, I understood what he meant to do and freed myself from his gasp. “What are you doing?”
A confused expression on his face, Travis slowly opened his eyes. He stared at me for a second before smiling knowingly. “It's okay, Jenyse. It’s a celebration. No one’s going to care about a little PDA. Look.”
I turned my head to see where he was gesturing to. Lily and James were snogging each other fiercely, in the middle of all the insanity surrounding us. I quickly averted my eyes.
“See?” Travis pointed out as he tried to kiss me again.
I pushed him away, halting him with my hands on his chest. “Trav, what are you doing?”
His happy smile started to falter. “Jenyse,” he said.
I stared back at him, hoping he would understand.
“Oh,” he said finally. “I thought,” he sputtered. “But, before…I thought…”
I fidgeted uneasily, looking down at my hands. I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want that embrace we shared to be our last hug ever. I didn’t want to lose his friendship, but I knew I had to do it. I couldn’t keep leading him on. It would just build up and blow up in my face eventually. Breaking his heart would be saving his heart. I took a deep breath, paused, and then bravely looked him in the eye.
All traces of his smile were gone.
Not feeling so brave anymore, I quickly glanced around at all the cheering people around us. Colleen waved at me cheerfully before jumping into Seth’s arms. I kept my eyes focused on them because it was easier than looking into Travis’s eyes. “Trav, maybe we should go take a walk.” I reached out to grab his hand, but he slapped my hand away.
“No,” he said firmly. “No thank you. Anything you have to say to me you can say right here. What's going on with you?”
I looked down at my muddy shoes. “I don't know.”
He tenderly lifted my chin and caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Not that I’m that experienced, but I’m thinking that it’s okay to be a little scared. I’m a bit petrified myself, but it’s a good scared, you know? Like my legs have turned to jelly and my heart beats like crazy every time I'm near you.” He grinned. “This is new territory for us. Not that I'm complaining,” he added enthusiastically.
I winced and removed his hand from my face. To soften the blow, I kept hold of his hand. “Trav,” I breathed sadly.
He took his hand back and brought it to his side with a huff. “Jenyse, I don't understand. We kissed last night. I kissed you, and you kissed me back for a rather long time, I'll add. I thought, well, you seemed like you enjoyed it. Didn't you?”
I brought myself to look up at his vulnerable and expecting brown eyes, and I opened my mouth to answer him. My voice cracked. “Travis.”
He looked away. “I think we should take a walk.”
He held out his hand, as though he was going to grab mine, but he must of thought better of it, because he hastily stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers.
We meandered through the cheering Gryffindors, parting through the sea of red. Only, I didn’t exactly feel like Moses at the time.
Finally, near the edge of the pitch, we found an uncrowded place where only a few Ravenclaw girls were standing.
He stopped firmly and looked at me.
I waited for him to say something, but he was silent. I took a shaky breath. “Trav, I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression,” I started.
He balked. “The wrong impression?” he echoed angrily. “We kissed! You kissed me back. Believe me. I was there. How was that supposed to be taken?”
“I was confused.”
“So you thought moving your lips against mine would help clear things up? Merlin, Jenyse.” He looked away, again, angrily, throwing his hands in the air.
I frowned. “I wasn’t sure what was going on,” I defended lamely but honestly.
“Bloody hell!” he cursed venomously. “Jenyse, I’ve spent five years being in love with you. I asked you on a date. You said yes. I kissed you. What else was supposed to be going on?”
My heart faltered painfully as one word stabbed into it. “You love me?” I croaked.
Softening, he turned back to me. He moved closer to me and brushed my sweaty hair back. “I love you,” he told me. “Always have.”
I closed my eyes as tears began to well up, ready to taunt me by running down my face. I felt him lean in again, but I took a step backwards. “Travis, I can’t.”
He groaned. “Why not?” he asked. “Is there somebody else that I don’t know about?”
I laughed humorlessly. “There’s nobody out there. Trust me.”
“Then why? We get along. We enjoy spending time together. We already know everything there is to know about each other. We could be happy together.”
I smiled sadly. “No, we wouldn’t,” I said truthfully, almost breaking my own heart. “I couldn’t make you happy.”
Travis laughed. “Jenyse, yesterday was the best day of my life, up until you ran off, leaving me confused. You’re the person I want to be with. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I replied.
He smiled again, preparing for another attempt at a kiss.
“I’m just not in love with you,” I corrected.
“Well, try,” he pleaded. “Maybe if we just date for a little while, things will change, and–”
“Travis,” I cut him off pathetically. “That’s not the problem. I know what it is that you want from me, but I just can’t give it to you. And I can’t lie to you, either.”
“I can change,” he insisted as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. “I can be less demanding, less aggressive. Rewind. We can just take things one step at a time.”
I sniffed. “You don't want that. You deserve better than that. You deserve better than what I could give you.”
“Oh, don’t give me that,” he said sharply. “It’s you that I want, Jenyse.”
I took a deep breath and took a step away from him. A tear slid down my cheek. “We can still be frie–”
He held up his hand to silence me before I could finish the word. “Don’t say it,” he said in a trembling voice. “I don't want to be just your friend anymore, Jenyse. I can’t bear being around you all the time, watching you smile or brush back your hair, and knowing that I’ll always want more. I want to be more than a friend.”
Another tear fell. I tried to speak, but my mouth quivered as I sucked in my tears.
“But you don’t, do you?” he asked in bitter rhetoric. “To you, I’ll always just be ‘Trav Trav the asexual lad,’” he spat before briskly pivoting to walk away.
“Travis!” I called out to him, my voice cracking loudly.
His body froze immediately, but he did not turn around.
“I am so sorry,” I said desperately, in between deep breaths to rid of the sobs overtaking me.
He sighed, and I saw his heavy shoulders sag. “I know you are,” he said quietly over his shoulder where I could not clearly see his face, “but it doesn’t make this any easier. I’m going to need some time alone to figure myself out and calm myself down before I destroy something.”
“How much time?” I asked desperately.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Just…if you do care about me at all, leave me alone.” He walked away, leaving me in my pathetic state.
“Travis!” I called hoarsely, the sobs coming uncontrollably now.
This time he did not stop but just continued walking until he disappeared into the mass of scarlet.
Wanting nothing but to get away from all of the happy vibes that were coming off of everyone on the field that were solely present to mock me, I “Accio”-ed my broom and stumbled my way back to the locker rooms. Approaching the tunnel, I heard footsteps following me and a voice call out.
Wincing, I covered my mouth in attempt to quiet my sobs, so that they wouldn’t echo off of the walls of the tunnel, and walked on. Now was not the time, Ian Hayes. I quickened my pace, ignoring his frustrated calls. When I got through the locker room door, I ran to the shower room, slammed the room’s door shut, and locked it quickly, just before Ian banged his fists against it.
“Jenyse, open up!”
I let my broom fall to the floor, before I leaned my back against the door and slid down it until my bottom reached the floor, not caring about the bathroom germs. With my arms around my legs and head against my knees, I rocked back and forth as the tears flowed freely.
The force from his rapping on the door hit my back. “Jenyse, you can’t hide in there forever!”
“Hey, what’s going on?” I heard James ask.
“Jenyse is in there.”
“Jenyse? It’s James. Are you alright in there?” he asked, concerned, through the door.
“I just want to be alone,” I said, hoping my voice wouldn’t be a giveaway of my crying state. “Please.”
There was a short pause, and then James said, “Okay. We’ll see you in the common room.”
“You go. I’ll stay and wait.”
I cringed, praying that he wouldn’t.
“No. You heard her. Let’s go.”
There was another moment of silence before the sound of angry footsteps began and faded. I thanked Merlin for James Potter.
“Take your time, Jenyse,” James told me before following Ian out of the locker room.
Once I heard the outside door swing shut, I let myself go and allowed myself to get taken over by my sobs.
It was done. My friendship with Travis was over. After five years of having him as a best friend, I had managed to go and ruin it in one single conversation. I could hardly believe it. “I’m going to need some time,” he said. How was I to know whether it would be a day or forever, before he forgave me? I couldn’t just give him up just like that. Then again, it was all my fault for turning him away in the first place.
I wiped some of the snot that was running out of my nose on my already dirty uniform sleeve.
I never should have gone to Hogsmeade with him. But that’s thing. I’d gone to Hogsmeade with him loads of times. I’d invited him over my house and gone over his house numerous times. What made that time so different? Why hadn’t I seen a flashing light saying, “DATE! DATE! DATE!” anywhere?
Suddenly, anger at myself shot through me. What was I doing, making excuses for myself? There were no excuses for what I had done. It was all my fault. I was the one who had missed the signs. I was the one who resultantly let his feelings grow as time passed on. I was the one who – though unintentionally – led him on. I was the one to blame. Travis didn’t choose to fall in love with me.
Just like I hadn’t chosen to fall in love with Alec.
I couldn’t help but wonder whether things between Travis and me would’ve been different if I had never met or fallen in love with Alec, or if Ian had never woken up and come back to Hogwarts.
Who was I kidding? It had been no secret that I didn’t like him in that way. Travis was adorable and all, but, me and him? It would have never worked out. For one, he absolutely despised my other best friends. Two, if I wasn’t collected or strong enough to move on from Alec and just accept Ian for himself, how could I have moved on to someone completely different? And three…I’d known him for too long. Any feelings of that kind would’ve never come; I was sure of it.
And there’s another thing. How could I not have figured out that he had feelings for me, after all this time? Was I that blind? That naive? Merlin, I was an idiot.
Mentally berating myself, I willed the tears to stop falling. By no means did it work. Another wave of sadness hit me, full force. It wasn’t until after another twenty more minutes bawling my eyes out, did I calm down enough to pick my pathetic self off of the bathroom floor. Soft sobs still going through me at irregular intervals, I decided to clean myself off.
I unlocked the shower room door, opened it slowly, and entered the locker room to get my shower stuff. By the time I was cleaned, three times over, it had become well past an hour since I’d entered, and I had come to a decision.
I would obey Travis’s request and give him as much space as he needed. There would be no chance in him ever forgiving me if I kept bugging him, constantly asking him to accept my apology. I needed to respect his wishes if I wanted to get my friend back.
Finally feeling somewhat collected, I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. I took my time, getting dressed and fixing my wet, out-of-control hair. Taking one last look at my face in the mirror, I prepared myself for the victory party I was about to attend. I practiced my façade in front of the mirror for a little bit, and then made my way to the castle, broom in hand.
I walked slowly, and when I finally reached my destination and provided the password to the Fat Lady, I took a deep, calming breath before I went through the portrait hole.
I was only granted a few seconds to take in the view before I was surrounded by my teammates, but from what I could tell, the party had been going pretty well without my presence.
“And here she finally is! Jenyse Baccari: the hero of the day!”
My lips twitched slightly as I pulled Benjy down from the chair he was standing on, embarrassed from all the applause I was getting. “What are you talking about, Benjy? You’re the one that won the game, you brilliant Seeker, you.”
“If it wasn’t for that ridiculous steal and awesome score you made last second – which I can’t tell you that I saw, since I was on a Snitch chase –, we wouldn’t have kicked those lousy gits out of the running for the Cup,” he corrected, laying his arm around my shoulders. “Then again, I suppose we could share the glory.” He winked down at me, and then pulled me in for a big hug. He kissed my cheek before releasing me to grab me a Butterbeer.
Not a minute passed before I was attacked by another teammate.
Seth hugged me briefly but excitedly, exclaiming, “You were amazing, Jenyse! That last goal was crazy! Gordon was nowhere near blocking that Quaffle!”
I smiled. “You did great, too, Seth!”
He blushed. “Nahh, I was lousy. I let them score 160 points.”
I gave him a look. “Did James tell you that you were lousy?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Then you weren’t lousy. Case closed.” I shot him another smile and ruffled up his hair.
Seth thanked me bashfully.
Not long after, Benjy came back with my Butterbeer, but didn’t stay to talk, so I was left to wander the common room, looking for James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. I found them, along with Lily, by the food table – figures – and was engulfed in a group hug the moment I was spotted.
Laughing was a bad idea, for it left me with no breath, as my lungs were being crushed by the four boys. “Oxygen!” I dramatically croaked out.
Everyone but Sirius let go.
“Uhh, Sirius? Still…can’t breathe…”
“Right!” he said, finally releasing me. “I’m just glad that you’re alive and unscathed, is all. You prat!” He hit my arm again, just like he did right after the match, on the field.
“Ow! Stop it with the abuse! I won’t be unscathed any longer if you keep hitting me like that.”
“She’s right, Padfoot. We need that incredible arm of hers,” James said with a smile.
Remus pulled me in for another hug, saying, “Thank Merlin you’re alright. You ever try something like that again, I’ll kill you myself if it doesn’t kill you first.”
I chuckled at his concern. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about. That move was completely safe.”
“My arse, it was!” Peter disagreed.
The group of us laughed.
“But, seriously,” Lily cut in, “you’re lucky you pulled that off, Jenyse. That could’ve been a nasty fall.”
“Yeah, I know.” I was getting tired of hearing how dangerous that stunt I pulled was. “Sorry. I had to do it. Benjy was doing his thing and nobody told him to stop. We needed that goal,” I defended.
“Yeah,” James agreed. “I’m just glad you were able to do it without losing me a Chaser.”
I hit James in the chest with the back of my hand. “Thanks for your concern, Captain,” I said sarcastically.
James laughed, obviously still elated, and lifted me up in a hug. “You’re the greatest, Jenyse! And I am honestly very glad to have you here, alive and kicking.”
“You must be starving, Jenyse. You should go get something to eat before these guys eat all of the food,” Lily advised, just as my stomach growled.
It wasn’t until then that I realized that it was well past lunch. I agreed to grab some food, and all of them, but Remus, dispersed to different areas of the room – James and Lily to snog in a corner, and Sirius to entertain a crowd with different play-by-plays of today’s match with the assistance of Peter. Since no one had asked where I was the past hour, I figured James had told them. Sometimes, I really, really loved James.
As I grabbed a plate, I asked Remus jokingly, “How’s your heart? Still beating?”
“Thankfully, yes. You sure gave me a fright. I mean, imagine,” he said theatrically, “a world without Jenyse Baccari.”
“‘Twould be a dull place.”
“Indeed it would.” Remus gave me one last one-armed hug, saying, “I’ve got to go monitor Sirius’s number of Firewhiskeys. See you around?”
“Yep. Go take care of our boy.”
Finally left alone, I filled my plate up with the various sweets – the only type of food there. When I was done, I took my plate and Butterbeer and walked over to the only open seat: the window sill. On my way, I received many congratulations from various people. Thankfully, though, nobody stopped to chat. Reaching my semi-secluded spot, I set down my bottle on the left side of the sill and sat on the right side, sideways, instead of facing out to the room.
Looking around, I could tell that this party was just beginning, even though it had technically started an hour ago. Gryffindors partied hard.
As I was putting my last bit of peach cobbler in my mouth, I saw a head of blonde, curly hair.
Travis was sitting in a chair, alone, not far away from me, near the fireplace, with his chin in his hands, staring into the fire. He looked so distraught. It was almost enough to make me go see if he was okay, but I knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything. I watched as he sighed deeply and changed his position to lean back and slouch in his chair. His one hand moved to massage his temple, while the other rubbed one of his eyes.
Feeling worse and worse, I looked away from him and out the window.
“Trouble in paradise?”
I jumped and momentarily thanked Merlin for the glass preventing me from falling out of the seven story window. Turning to look at the culprit, my glare fell short. “What are you doing in here?”
“It’s a party. I was invited,” Ian replied cheekily from his leaning position against the wall behind me. “Let’s skip the small talk, shall we?” He pushed himself off of the wall to stand in front of me. His face grew serious as he crossed his arms across his chest. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Offended, I replied, “What’s wrong with me?”
“What did you think you were doing, pulling a stunt like that? You could have gotten yourself killed!”
I glowered at him. He would come over to yell at me for that. “I just wanted to get the match over with. I saw an opportunity, so I took it. And what’s it to you if I got myself hurt? It’d be me who would have to deal with the pain,” I spat.
“What, so I’m the bad guy for caring about your safety?”
“Oh, whatever! You’re just mad that I won the game by making my signature move, without the help from you.”
“And what if I am? What were you thinking? You made that stupid, ridiculous stunt to get the Quaffle, almost throwing yourself off of your broom, just to attempt a goal, using a trick that didn’t absolutely guarantee a score?” he fumed.
“It went in, didn’t it?”
He stared at me in furious disbelief. “I can’t believe you.”
“I can’t believe you!” I returned. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like that during the match? You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Instead of whisper-yelling like we had been doing, I turned in my seat on the window sill to flat-out yell heatedly in his face. Yelling didn’t make a difference when it came to keeping our conversation private, because the volume of the music and several voices throughout the room drowned out our voices.
“So, that was what that whole stunt was about? You went and risked your life because you couldn’t handle the blow of reality? How do you think it felt for me to see you and him, snogging each other’s faces off, the moment I turned twenty years old? Oh, and by the way, incest much, Baccari?”
Shocked by every question he spat out, especially the last, I couldn’t do anything but stare blankly at him. Finally overcoming my senses, I slid down from the window sill to stand right in front of him. I glared up at him for a moment before I spoke. “For your information, the only reason why that kiss happened was because I was caught off guard. Why do you think I ran off the moment I saw you? That kiss meant nothing to me.”
Not being able to take much more and not wanting Ian to see the tear threatening to fall from my eye, I brushed past him. I didn’t get very far before I stopped, catching Travis’s hurt-filled eyes.
Shit. He heard.
“Jenyse?” I vaguely heard from Ian behind me.
Taking to a run, I fled the scene, ignoring Ian’s calls of, “Jenyse, wait!” and James’s drunken calls of, “Hey, Jenyse! You’re alive! Thanks for winning the match! Love you!”
In the comfort of my bed, I fell asleep after letting out a few fresh sobs.
When I woke up, I was shocked to hear the base of the music still playing in the common room. Rubbing the sleep and dried tears out of my eyes, I looked at the clock next to my bed. 11:48 PM. Dammit. It wasn’t even tomorrow yet.
I peered around the room and counted three bodies. Lily’s bed was vacant, so I figured she was still downstairs with James.
Unable to go back to sleep, I daringly decided to check out what was going on downstairs. Pulling my hood up, but not bothering to put my sock-clad feet into shoes, I trudged down the girls’ staircase.
The sight that greeted me shouldn’t have surprised me. The whole floor was a sea of scarlet, covered with sleeping drunken bodies. Taking the last step, onto the floor, my foot accidentally landed on the side of one of the bodies.
“Oughhr,” the boy groaned.
I hastily took my weight off of him by jumping off and landing next to him. “I’m so sorry!”
He groggily ran his hand down his face, revealing the face of Ian Hayes.
I wanted to run back upstairs, but concern won out. I crouched down next to him to see if he was okay.
“Jenyse?” he said sleepily.
“Ian, what are you still doing here?” I asked gently.
“Ugh,” he grunted as he pulled himself up to a sitting position, using the bottom stair. This proved to be a bad idea when the stairs transformed into a flat ramp, causing him to slip back down onto the floor. “Dammit!”
“Here.” I hesitantly took his hands and stood up, pulling him up with me. “Ian, what are you doing here? You should go back to Ravenclaw Tower.”
“No,” he grumbled. “I was waiting for you.” His hand moved to run over his face again to wipe the sleep away. “I tried to ask James and them how to get up the stairs, but they were too drunk to answer.”
I looked in the direction he pointed and found James sprawled on the floor with Lily cuddled up to his side.
“I needed– need to talk to you.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “You could’ve just waited until tomorrow during class…which I hope they all know they have in eight hours,” I said, motioning to all of the sleeping Gryffindors.
“No.” He shook his head. “Now. I need to talk to you now.”
I peered up at him wearily, about to deny him the chance, but changed my mind when I saw the determination in his eyes. I looked around the room and was able to spot all six of the seventh-year boys, including poor Travis, still in his chair by the fire. “Alright, come on,” I said, leading him up the boys’ staircase and into the seventh-year dormitory. I sank onto Sirius’s bed and Ian followed suit, facing me. I waited for him to start.
“Jenyse, I’m sorry for everything I said today.”
“Ian, you don’t have to apologize,” I told him quietly. “You have the right to your own opinions.”
“No. You were right. I didn’t know what I was talking about,” he admitted, looking down. “I don’t know what came over me. I was a real git today. I didn’t have the right to judge you or accuse you of anything. What you do and who you see is none of my business.”
“It’s okay,” I forgave him. Though I knew I should still be mad at him for the things he said to me today, I didn’t have the power to hold the grudge. Hearing him apologize was enough for me to accept his apology.
His eyes snapped up to mine in surprise. “No, really, Jenyse. I’m seriously really sorry. Go date Decker. It’s fine – well, not fine, per se – but, you know…” he stammered.
“Oh, so I need your permission, now, do I?” I joked in a mock-serious voice.
“What? No! I just mean that, if you were to want t-to date Decker, by all means, go ahead.”
I smiled. I liked Ian all flustered, I decided. It was a nice change from the tough-guy front. It reminded me of Alec. “Ian, I’m not dating Travis.”
He stared at me for a moment and then said, “If you and him not being together is in any way because of me, I am sorry. It’s his loss, really.”
The corners of my lips twitched upwards. “I was the one who told him ‘no.’”
Ian just looked confused. “But, last night. You were kissing him.”
I averted my gaze, remembering the scene. “I wasn’t thinking. I was tired. Like I said earlier; he caught me off guard.”
“Hmm,” was all he said.
I returned my gaze to him, tilting my head in wonder. “Why do you care so much, anyway?” The moment the interrogative escaped my mouth, I regretted it and dreaded the answer.
Ian’s hazel-green eyes bore into my plain green. There was something in them that I couldn’t quite place, but for some reason made me think of Alec.
“How could I not, Jenyse?” he whispered, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.
My heart beating fast, I turned away again, like the coward that I was. After a moment, I cleared my throat before saying, “It’s late. You should get back to your dorm.”
Letting out a breath, Ian nodded. “You’re right.”
In a comfortable silence, we made our way down the stairs and back into the common room. I walked over to the girls’ staircase, ready to go back up to my bed, but was stopped on the second step, by Ian’s voice.
I turned around to see him standing right in front of me, in the same spot I found him sleeping in, with his hands on the walls of either side of the stairs.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s 11:59, and I think there’s a few seconds left of my birthday. Care to give me that birthday kiss I’ve been waiting for?” He had a smile displayed on his lips and a touch of hope in his eyes.
After a momentary internal struggle, I slowly stepped down to the bottom step, making myself level with him. I saw the excitement flash in his eyes as I placed my right hand on his shoulder. Slowly, I leaned forward until my lips brushed his cheek. Just as the big castle clock which could be heard all over the castle struck twelve, I pulled back.
There was a pleasant mix of pure delight and slight disappointment on his face as I retreated slowly backwards up the stairs with a small smile.
A/N: hey there! so there it was. the scene that Molly Raesly practically wrote was the whole Neesy/Trav scene. thank goodness for her. let me tell you, it is a PAIN to write Quidditch. never again, i say, never again (wink to Adds). i'm actually quite pleased with how this monster came out. sorry for the ridiculous length. i hope it was worth the wait! please leave me a review with critiques, comments, suggestions, and favorite parts! you should know me by now.
thanks so much for reading! see you at the next chapter!
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|Madhya-lila||Chapter 9: Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Travels to the Holy Places|
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita
CC Madhya 9 Summary
CC Madhya 9.1: Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted the inhabitants of South India. These people were as strong as elephants, but they were in the clutches of the crocodiles of various philosophies, such as the Buddhist, Jain and Mayavada philosophies. With His disc of mercy the Lord delivered them all by converting them into Vaishnavas, devotees of the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.2: All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Sri Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
CC Madhya 9.3: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's tour of South India was certainly very extraordinary because He visited many thousands of places of pilgrimage there.
CC Madhya 9.4: On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.
CC Madhya 9.5: I cannot chronologically record all the places of pilgrimage visited by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I can only summarize everything by saying that the Lord visited all holy places right and left, coming and going.
CC Madhya 9.6: Because it is impossible for me to record all these places in chronological order, I will simply make a token gesture of recording them.
CC Madhya 9.8: As previously stated, all the residents of the villages visited by Lord Caitanya became Vaishnavas and began to chant Hari and Krishna. In this way, in all the villages visited by the Lord, everyone became a Vaishnava, a devotee.
CC Madhya 9.9: In South India there were many types of people. Some were philosophical speculators, and some were fruitive workers, but in any case there were innumerable nondevotees.
CC Madhya 9.10: By the influence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these people abandoned their own opinions and became Vaishnavas, devotees of Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.11: At the time, all the South Indian Vaishnavas were worshipers of Lord Ramacandra. Some were Tattvavadis, and some were followers of Ramanujacarya.
CC Madhya 9.12: After meeting Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all those different Vaishnavas became devotees of Krishna and began chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
CC Madhya 9.13: "'O Lord Ramacandra, descendant of Maharaja Raghu, kindly protect me! O Lord Krishna, killer of the Kesi demon, kindly protect me!'"
CC Madhya 9.14: While walking on the road, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to chant this Rama Raghava mantra. Chanting in this way, He arrived at the banks of the Gautami-ganga and took His bath there.
CC Madhya 9.15: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Mallikarjuna-tirtha and saw the deity of Lord Siva there. He also induced all the people to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
CC Madhya 9.16: There he saw Lord Mahadeva [Siva], the servant of Lord Rama. He then went to Ahovala-nrisimha.
CC Madhya 9.17: Upon seeing the Ahovala-nrisimha Deity, Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered many prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavata, where He saw the Deity of Ramacandra, the Lord of Sitadevi.
CC Madhya 9.18: Upon seeing the Deity of Lord Ramacandra, the descendant of King Raghu, the Lord offered His prayers and obeisances. Then a brahmana invited the Lord to take lunch.
CC Madhya 9.19: That brahmana constantly chanted the holy name of Ramacandra. Indeed, but for chanting Lord Ramacandra's holy name, that brahmana did not speak a word.
CC Madhya 9.20: That day, Lord Caitanya remained there and accepted prasadam at his house. After bestowing mercy upon him in this way, the Lord proceeded ahead.
CC Madhya 9.21: At the holy place known as Skanda-kshetra, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Skanda. From there He went to Trimatha, where He saw the Vishnu Deity Trivikrama.
CC Madhya 9.22: After visiting the temple of Trivikrama, the Lord returned to Siddhavata, where He again visited the house of the brahmana, who was now constantly chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
CC Madhya 9.23: After finishing His lunch there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the brahmana, "My dear friend, kindly tell Me what your position is now.
CC Madhya 9.24: "Formerly you were constantly chanting the holy name of Lord Rama. Why are you now constantly chanting the holy name of Krishna?"
CC Madhya 9.25: The brahmana replied, "This is all due to Your influence, Sir. After seeing You, I have lost my lifelong practice.
CC Madhya 9.26: "From my childhood I have been chanting the holy name of Lord Ramacandra, but upon seeing You I chanted the holy name of Lord Krishna just once.
CC Madhya 9.27: "Since then, the holy name of Krishna has been tightly fixed upon my tongue. Indeed, since I have been chanting the holy name of Krishna, the holy name of Lord Ramacandra has gone far away.
CC Madhya 9.28: "From my childhood I have been collecting the glories of the holy name from revealed scriptures.
CC Madhya 9.29: "'The Supreme Absolute Truth is called Rama because the transcendentalists take pleasure in the unlimited true pleasure of spiritual existence.'
CC Madhya 9.30: "'The word "krish" is the attractive feature of the Lord's existence, and "na" means spiritual pleasure. When the verb "krish" is added to the affix "na," it becomes "Krishna," which indicates the Absolute Truth.'
CC Madhya 9.31: "As far as the holy names of Rama and Krishna are concerned, they are on an equal level, but for further advancement we receive some specific information from the revealed scriptures.
CC Madhya 9.32: "[Lord Siva addressed his wife, Durga:] 'O Varanana, 'I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord Vishnu.'
CC Madhya 9.33: "'The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names of Vishnu three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of Krishna.'
CC Madhya 9.34: "According to this statement of the sastras, the glories of the holy name of Krishna are unlimited. Still I could not chant His holy name. Please hear the reason for this.
CC Madhya 9.35: "My worshipable Lord has been Lord Ramacandra, and by chanting His holy name I received happiness. Because I received such happiness, I chanted the holy name of Lord Rama day and night.
CC Madhya 9.36: "By Your appearance, Lord Krishna's holy name also appeared, and at that time the glories of Krishna's name awoke in my heart.
CC Madhya 9.37: "Sir, You are that Lord Krishna Himself. This is my conclusion." Saying this, the brahmana fell down at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
CC Madhya 9.38: After showing mercy to the brahmana, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left the next day and arrived at Vriddhakasi, where He visited the temple of Lord Siva.
CC Madhya 9.39: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then left Vriddhakasi and proceeded further. In one village He saw that most of the residents were brahmanas, and He took His rest there.
CC Madhya 9.40: Due to the influence of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many millions of men came just to see Him. Indeed, the assembly being unlimited, its members could not be counted.
CC Madhya 9.41: The Lord's bodily features were very beautiful, and in addition He was always in the ecstasy of love of Godhead. Simply by seeing Him, everyone began chanting the holy name of Krishna, and thus everyone became a Vaishnava devotee.
CC Madhya 9.42: There are many kinds of philosophers. Some are logicians who follow Gautama or Kanada. Some follow the Mimamsa philosophy of Jaimini. Some follow the Mayavada philosophy of Sankaracarya, and others follow Kapila's Sankhya philosophy or the mystic yoga system of Patanjali. Some follow the smriti-sastra composed of twenty religious scriptures, and others follow the Puranas and the tantra-sastra. In this way there are many different types of philosophers.
CC Madhya 9.43: All of these adherents of various scriptures were ready to present the conclusions of their respective scriptures, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke all their opinions to pieces and established His own cult of bhakti based on the Vedas, Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra and the philosophy of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva.
CC Madhya 9.44: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the devotional cult everywhere. No one could defeat Him.
CC Madhya 9.45: Being thus defeated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these philosophers and their followers entered into His cult. In this way Lord Caitanya made South India into a country of Vaishnavas.
CC Madhya 9.46: When the nonbelievers heard of the erudition of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they came to Him with great pride, bringing their disciples with them.
CC Madhya 9.47: One of them was a leader of the Buddhist cult and was a very learned scholar. To establish the nine philosophical conclusions of Buddhism, he came before the Lord and began to speak.
CC Madhya 9.48: Although the Buddhists are unfit for discussion and should not be seen by Vaishnavas, Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke to them just to decrease their false pride.
CC Madhya 9.49: The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated the Buddhists in their argument, they could not establish their cult.
CC Madhya 9.50: The teacher of the Buddhist cult set forth the nine principles, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke them to pieces with His strong logic.
CC Madhya 9.51: All mental speculators and learned scholars were defeated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and when the people began to laugh, the Buddhist philosophers felt both shame and fear.
CC Madhya 9.52: The Buddhists could understand that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava, and they returned home very unhappy. Later, however, they began to plot against the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.53: Having made their plot, the Buddhists brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and called it maha-prasadam.
CC Madhya 9.54: When the contaminated food was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a very large bird appeared on the spot, picked up the plate in its beak and flew away.
CC Madhya 9.55: Indeed, the untouchable food fell upon the Buddhists, and the large bird dropped the plate on the head of the chief Buddhist teacher. When it fell on his head, it made a big sound.
CC Madhya 9.56: The plate was made of metal, and when its edge hit the head of the teacher, it cut him, and the teacher immediately fell to the ground unconscious.
CC Madhya 9.57: When the teacher fell unconscious, his Buddhist disciples cried aloud and ran to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for shelter.
CC Madhya 9.58: They all prayed to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and saying, "Sir, please excuse our offense. Please have mercy upon us and bring our spiritual master back to life."
CC Madhya 9.59: The Lord then replied to the Buddhist disciples, "You should all chant the names of Krishna and Hari very loudly near the ear of your spiritual master.
CC Madhya 9.60: "By this method your spiritual master will regain his consciousness." Following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advice, all the Buddhist disciples began to chant the holy name of Krishna congregationally.
CC Madhya 9.61: When all the disciples chanted the holy names Krishna, Rama and Hari, the Buddhist teacher regained consciousness and immediately began to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.
CC Madhya 9.62: When the spiritual master of the Buddhists began to chant the holy name of Krishna and submitted to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the people who were gathered there were astonished.
CC Madhya 9.63: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of Sacidevi, then suddenly and playfully disappeared from everyone's sight, and it was impossible for anyone to find Him.
CC Madhya 9.64: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu next arrived at Tirupati and Tirumala, where He saw a four-handed Deity. Then He proceeded toward Venkata Hill.
CC Madhya 9.65: After arriving at Tirupati, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord Ramacandra. He offered His prayers and obeisances before Ramacandra, the descendant of King Raghu.
CC Madhya 9.66: Everywhere Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went, His influence astonished everyone. He next arrived at the temple of Pana-nrisimha. The Lord is so merciful.
CC Madhya 9.67: In great ecstatic love, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered obeisances and prayers unto Lord Nrisimha. The people were astonished to see Lord Caitanya's influence.
CC Madhya 9.68: Arriving at Siva-kanci, Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the deity of Lord Siva. By His influence, He converted all the devotees of Lord Siva into Vaishnavas.
CC Madhya 9.69: The Lord then visited a holy place known as Vishnu-kanci. There He saw Lakshmi-Narayana Deities, and He offered His respects and many prayers to please Them.
CC Madhya 9.70: When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at Vishnu-kanci for two days, He danced and performed kirtana in ecstasy. When all the people saw Him, they were converted into devotees of Lord Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.71: After visiting Trimalaya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to see Trikala-hasti. There He saw Lord Siva and offered him all respects and obeisances.
CC Madhya 9.72: At Pakshi-tirtha, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord Siva. Then He went to the Vriddhakola place of pilgrimage.
CC Madhya 9.73: At Vriddhakola, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Sveta-varaha, the white boar incarnation. After offering Him respects, the Lord visited the temple of Lord Siva, wherein the deity is dressed with yellow garments.
CC Madhya 9.74: After visiting the temple of Siyali-bhairavi [a form of the goddess Durga], Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Saci, went to the bank of the river Kaveri.
CC Madhya 9.75: The Lord then visited a place known as Go-samaja, where He saw Lord Siva's temple. He then arrived at Vedavana, where He saw another deity of Lord Siva and offered him prayers.
CC Madhya 9.76: Seeing the Siva deity named Amrita-linga, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered His obeisances. Thus He visited all the temples of Lord Siva and converted the devotees of Lord Siva into Vaishnavas.
CC Madhya 9.77: At Devasthana, Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord Vishnu, and there He talked with the Vaishnavas in the disciplic succession of Ramanujacarya. These Vaishnavas are known as Sri Vaishnavas.
CC Madhya 9.78: At Kumbhakarna-kapala, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw a great lake and then the holy place named Siva-kshetra, where a temple of Lord Siva is located.
CC Madhya 9.79: After visiting the holy place named Siva-kshetra, Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived at Papanasana and there saw the temple of Lord Vishnu. Then He finally reached Sri Ranga-kshetra.
CC Madhya 9.80: After bathing in the river Kaveri, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the temple of Ranganatha and offered His ardent prayers and obeisances. Thus He felt Himself successful.
CC Madhya 9.81: In the temple of Ranganatha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced in ecstatic love of Godhead. Seeing His performance, everyone was struck with wonder.
CC Madhya 9.82: A Vaishnava known as Venkata Bhatta then invited Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his home with great respect.
CC Madhya 9.83: Sri Venkata Bhatta took Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his home. After he washed the Lord's feet, all the members of his family drank the water.
CC Madhya 9.84: After offering lunch to the Lord, Venkata Bhatta submitted that the period of Caturmasya had already arrived.
CC Madhya 9.85: Venkata Bhatta said, "Please be merciful to me and stay at my house during Caturmasya. Speak about Lord Krishna's pastimes and kindly deliver me by Your mercy."
CC Madhya 9.86: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained at the house of Venkata Bhatta for four continuous months. The Lord passed His days in great happiness, enjoying the transcendental mellow of discussing Lord Krishna's pastimes.
CC Madhya 9.87: While there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took His bath in the river Kaveri and visited the temple of Sri Ranga. Every day the Lord also danced in ecstasy.
CC Madhya 9.88: The beauty of Lord Caitanya's body and His ecstatic love of God were witnessed by everyone. Many people used to come see Him, and as soon as they saw Him, all their unhappiness and distress vanished.
CC Madhya 9.89: Many hundreds of thousands of people from various countries came to see the Lord, and after seeing Him they all chanted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
CC Madhya 9.90: Indeed, they did not chant anything but the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and all of them became Lord Krishna's devotees. Thus the general populace was astonished.
CC Madhya 9.91: All the Vaishnava brahmanas residing in Sri Ranga-kshetra invited the Lord to their homes. Indeed, He had an invitation every day.
CC Madhya 9.92: Each day the Lord was invited by a different brahmana, but some of the brahmanas did not get the opportunity to offer Him lunch because the period of Caturmasya came to an end.
CC Madhya 9.93: In the holy place of Sri Ranga-kshetra, a brahmana Vaishnava used to visit the temple daily and recite the entire text of the Bhagavad-gita.
CC Madhya 9.94: The brahmana regularly read the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-gita in great transcendental ecstasy, but because he could not pronounce the words correctly, people used to joke about him.
CC Madhya 9.95: Due to his incorrect pronunciation, people sometimes criticized him and laughed at him, but he did not care. He was full of ecstasy due to reading the Bhagavad-gita and was personally very happy.
CC Madhya 9.96: While reading the book, the brahmana experienced transcendental bodily transformations. The hairs on his body stood on end, tears welled up in his eyes, and his body trembled and perspired as he read. Seeing this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very happy.
CC Madhya 9.97: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the brahmana, "My dear sir, why are you in such ecstatic love? Which portion of the Bhagavad-gita gives you such transcendental pleasure?"
CC Madhya 9.98: The brahmana replied, "I am illiterate and therefore do not know the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read the Bhagavad-gita correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I am doing this in compliance with the orders of my spiritual master."
CC Madhya 9.99: The brahmana continued, "Actually I only see Lord Krishna sitting on a chariot as Arjuna's charioteer. Taking the reins in His hands, He appears very beautiful and blackish.
CC Madhya 9.100: "While seeing Lord Krishna sitting in a chariot and instructing Arjuna, I am filled with ecstatic happiness.
CC Madhya 9.101: "As long as I read the Bhagavad-gita, I simply see the Lord's beautiful features. It is for this reason that I am reading the Bhagavad-gita, and my mind cannot be distracted from this."
CC Madhya 9.102: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the brahmana, "Indeed, you are an authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gita. Whatever you know constitutes the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita."
CC Madhya 9.103: After saying this, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced the brahmana, and the brahmana, catching the lotus feet of the Lord, began to cry.
CC Madhya 9.104: The brahmana said, "Upon seeing You, my happiness is doubled. I take it that You are the same Lord Krishna."
CC Madhya 9.105: The mind of the brahmana was purified by the revelation of Lord Krishna, and therefore he could understand the truth of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all details.
CC Madhya 9.106: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then taught the brahmana very thoroughly and requested him not to disclose the fact that He was Lord Krishna Himself.
CC Madhya 9.107: That brahmana became a great devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and for four continuous months he did not give up the Lord's company.
CC Madhya 9.108: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained at the house of Venkata Bhatta and constantly talked with him about Lord Krishna. In this way He was very happy.
CC Madhya 9.109: Being a Vaishnava in the Ramanuja-sampradaya, Venkata Bhatta worshiped the Deities of Lakshmi and Narayana. Seeing his pure devotion, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very satisfied.
CC Madhya 9.110: Constantly associating with each other, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Venkata Bhatta gradually developed a friendly relationship. Indeed, sometimes they laughed and joked together.
CC Madhya 9.111: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the Bhattacarya, "Your worshipable goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, always remains on the chest of Narayana, and she is certainly the most chaste woman in the creation.
CC Madhya 9.112: "However, my Lord is Lord Sri Krishna, a cowherd boy who is engaged in tending cows. Why is it that Lakshmi, being such a chaste wife, wants to associate with My Lord?
CC Madhya 9.113: "Just to associate with Krishna, Lakshmi abandoned all transcendental happiness in Vaikuntha and for a long time accepted vows and regulative principles and performed unlimited austerities."
CC Madhya 9.114: Caitanya Mahaprabhu then said, "'O Lord, we do not know how the serpent Kaliya attained such an opportunity to be touched by the dust of Your lotus feet. Even the goddess of fortune, for this end, performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires and observing austere vows. Indeed, we do not know how the serpent Kaliya got such an opportunity.'"
CC Madhya 9.115: Venkata Bhatta then said, "Lord Krishna and Lord Narayana are one and the same, but the pastimes of Krishna are more relishable due to their sportive nature.
CC Madhya 9.116: "Since Krishna and Narayana are the same personality, Lakshmi's association with Krishna does not break her vow of chastity. Rather, it was in great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord Krishna."
CC Madhya 9.117: Venkata Bhatta continued, "'According to transcendental realization, there is no difference between the forms of Narayana and Krishna. Yet in Krishna there is a special transcendental attraction due to the conjugal mellow, and consequently He surpasses Narayana. This is the conclusion of transcendental mellows.'
CC Madhya 9.118: "The goddess of fortune considered that her vow of chastity would not be damaged by her relationship with Krishna. Rather, by associating with Krishna she could enjoy the benefit of the rasa dance."
CC Madhya 9.119: Venkata Bhatta further explained, "Mother Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, is also an enjoyer of transcendental bliss; therefore if she wanted to enjoy herself with Krishna, what fault is there? Why are You joking so about this?"
CC Madhya 9.120: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "I know that there is no fault on the part of the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rasa dance. We hear this from the revealed scriptures.
CC Madhya 9.121: "'When Lord Sri Krishna was dancing with the gopis in the rasa-lila, the gopis were embraced around the neck by the Lord's arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma exactly resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?'
CC Madhya 9.122: "But can you tell Me why the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, could not enter the rasa dance? The authorities of Vedic knowledge could enter the dance and associate with Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.123: "'Great sages conquer the mind and senses by practicing the mystic yoga system and controlling the breath. Thus engaging in mystic yoga, they see the Supersoul within their hearts and ultimately enter into impersonal Brahman. But even the enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead attain that position simply by thinking of the Supreme Lord. However, the damsels of Vraja, the gopis, being attracted by the beauty of Krishna, simply wanted to embrace Him and His arms, which are like serpents. Thus the gopis ultimately tasted the nectar of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, we Upanishads can also taste the nectar of His lotus feet by following in the footsteps of the gopis.'"
CC Madhya 9.124: Having been asked by Caitanya Mahaprabhu why the goddess of fortune could not enter into the rasa dance whereas the authorities on Vedic knowledge could, Venkata Bhatta replied, "I cannot enter into the mysteries of this behavior."
CC Madhya 9.125: Venkata Bhatta then said, "I am an ordinary human being. Since my intelligence is very limited and I am easily agitated, my mind cannot enter within the deep ocean of the pastimes of the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.126: "You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna Himself. You know the purpose of Your activities, and the person whom You enlighten can also understand Your pastimes."
CC Madhya 9.127: The Lord replied, "Lord Krishna has a special characteristic: He attracts everyone's heart by the mellow of His personal conjugal love.
CC Madhya 9.128: "By following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of the planet known as Vrajaloka or Goloka Vrindavana, one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Krishna. However, in that planet the inhabitants do not know that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
CC Madhya 9.129: "There someone may accept Him as a son and sometimes bind Him to a grinding mortar. Someone else may accept Him as an intimate friend and, attaining victory over Him, playfully mount His shoulders.
CC Madhya 9.130: "The inhabitants of Vrajabhumi know Krishna as the son of Maharaja Nanda, the King of Vrajabhumi, and they consider that they can have no relationship with the Lord in the rasa of opulence.
CC Madhya 9.131: "One who worships the Lord by following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi attains Him in the transcendental planet of Vraja, where He is known as the son of Maharaja Nanda."
CC Madhya 9.132: Caitanya Mahaprabhu then quoted, "'The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the son of mother Yasoda, is accessible to those devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.'
CC Madhya 9.133: "The authorities in the Vedic literature who are known as the sruti-ganas worshiped Lord Krishna in the ecstasy of the gopis and followed in their footsteps.
CC Madhya 9.134: "The personified authorities on the Vedic hymns acquired bodies like those of the gopis and took birth in Vrajabhumi. In those bodies they were allowed to enter into the Lord's rasa-lila dance.
CC Madhya 9.135: "Lord Krishna belongs to the cowherd community, and the gopis are the dearmost lovers of Krishna. Although the wives of the denizens of the heavenly planets are most opulent within the material world, neither they nor any other women in the material universe can acquire Krishna's association.
CC Madhya 9.136: "The goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, wanted to enjoy Krishna and at the same time retain her spiritual body in the form of Lakshmi. However, she did not follow in the footsteps of the gopis in her worship of Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.137: "Vyasadeva, the supreme authority on Vedic literature, composed the verse beginning 'nayam sukhapo bhagavan' because no one can enter into the rasa-lila dance in any body other than that of a gopi."
CC Madhya 9.138: Before this explanation was given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Venkata Bhatta thought that Sri Narayana was the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
CC Madhya 9.139: Thinking in this way, Venkata Bhatta believed that worship of Narayana was the supreme form of worship, superior to all other processes of devotional service, for it was followed by the Sri Vaishnava disciples of Ramanujacarya.
CC Madhya 9.140: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had understood this misconception of Venkata Bhatta's, and to correct it the Lord talked so much in a joking way.
CC Madhya 9.141: The Lord then continued, "My dear Venkata Bhatta, please do not continue doubting. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this is the conclusion of the Vedic literatures.
CC Madhya 9.142: "Lord Narayana, the opulent form of Krishna, attracts the minds of the goddess of fortune and her followers.
CC Madhya 9.143: "'All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the purusha-avataras. But Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.'
CC Madhya 9.144: "Because Krishna has four extraordinary qualities not possessed by Lord Narayana, the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, always desires His company.
CC Madhya 9.145: "You have recited the sloka beginning with 'siddhantatas tv abhede 'pi.' That very verse is evidence that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
CC Madhya 9.146: "'According to transcendental realization, there is no difference between the forms of Krishna and Narayana. Yet in Krishna there is a special transcendental attraction due to the conjugal mellow, and consequently He surpasses Narayana. This is the conclusion of transcendental mellows.'
CC Madhya 9.147: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, attracts the mind of the goddess of fortune, but Lord Narayana cannot attract the minds of the gopis. This proves the superexcellence of Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.148: "To say nothing of Lord Narayana personally, Lord Krishna Himself appeared as Narayana just to play a joke on the gopis.
CC Madhya 9.149: "Although Krishna assumed the four-armed form of Narayana, He could not attract the serious attention of the gopis in ecstatic love.
CC Madhya 9.150: "'Once Lord Sri Krishna playfully manifested Himself as Narayana, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopis saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. A learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopis' ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Krishna as the son of Nanda Maharaja. The wonderful feelings of the gopis in ecstatic parama-rasa with Krishna constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life.'"
CC Madhya 9.151: In this way Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu deflated the pride of Venkata Bhatta, but just to make him happy again, He spoke as follows.
CC Madhya 9.152: The Lord pacified Venkata Bhatta by saying, "Actually whatever I have said is by way of jest. Now you can hear from Me the conclusion of the sastras, in which every Vaishnava devotee has firm faith.
CC Madhya 9.153: "There is no difference between Lord Krishna and Lord Narayana, for They are of the same form. Similarly, there is no difference between the gopis and the goddess of fortune, for they also are of the same form.
CC Madhya 9.154: "The goddess of fortune enjoys the association of Krishna through the gopis. One should not differentiate between the forms of the Lord, for such a conception is offensive.
CC Madhya 9.155: "There is no difference between the transcendental forms of the Lord. Different forms are manifested due to different attachments of different devotees. Actually the Lord is one, but He appears in different forms just to satisfy His devotees.
CC Madhya 9.156: "'When the jewel known as vaidurya touches various other materials, it appears to be separated into different colors, and consequently its forms also appear different. Similarly, according to the meditational ecstasy of the devotee, the Lord, who is known as Acyuta ["the infallible one"], appears in different forms, although He is essentially one.'"
CC Madhya 9.157: Venkata Bhatta then said, "I am an ordinary fallen living entity, but You are Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.
CC Madhya 9.158: "The transcendental pastimes of the Lord are unfathomable, and I do not know anything about them. Whatever You say I accept as the truth.
CC Madhya 9.159: "I have been engaged in the service of Lakshmi-Narayana, and it is due to Their mercy that I have been able to see Your lotus feet.
CC Madhya 9.160: "Out of Your causeless mercy You have told me of the glories of Lord Krishna. No one can reach the end of the opulence, qualities and forms of the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.161: "I can now understand that devotional service unto Lord Krishna is the supreme form of worship. Out of Your causeless mercy You have made my life successful simply by explaining the facts."
CC Madhya 9.162: After saying this, Venkata Bhatta fell down before the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord, out of His causeless mercy, embraced him.
CC Madhya 9.163: When the period of Caturmasya was completed, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took permission to leave from Venkata Bhatta, and after visiting Sri Ranga, He proceeded further toward southern India.
CC Madhya 9.164: Venkata Bhatta did not want to return home but also wanted to go with the Lord. It was with great endeavor that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu bade him farewell.
CC Madhya 9.165: When He did so, Venkata Bhatta fell down unconscious. Such are the pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Saci, at Sri Ranga-kshetra.
CC Madhya 9.166: When the Lord arrived at Rishabha Hill, He saw the temple of Lord Narayana and offered obeisances and various prayers.
CC Madhya 9.167: Paramananda Puri had stayed at Rishabha Hill during the four months of the rainy season, and when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He immediately went to see him.
CC Madhya 9.168: Upon meeting Paramananda Puri, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered him all respects, touching his lotus feet, and Paramananda Puri embraced the Lord in ecstasy.
CC Madhya 9.169: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed with Paramananda Puri in the brahmana's house where he was residing. The two of them passed three days there discussing topics of Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.170: Paramananda Puri informed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that he was going to see Purushottama at Jagannatha Puri. After seeing Lord Jagannatha there, he would go to Bengal to bathe in the Ganges.
CC Madhya 9.171: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then told him, "Please return to Jagannatha Puri, for I will return there very soon from Ramesvara [Setubandha].
CC Madhya 9.172: "It is My desire to stay with you, and therefore if you would return to Jagannatha Puri, you would show great mercy to Me."
CC Madhya 9.173: After talking in this way with Paramananda Puri, the Lord took his permission to leave and, very pleased, departed for southern India.
CC Madhya 9.174: Thus Paramananda Puri started for Jagannatha Puri, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began walking toward Sri Saila.
CC Madhya 9.175: In Sri Saila Lord Siva and his wife Durga lived in the dress of brahmanas, and when they saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they became very pleased.
CC Madhya 9.176: Lord Siva, dressed like a brahmana, gave alms to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and invited Him to spend three days in a solitary place. Sitting there together, they talked very confidentially.
CC Madhya 9.177: After talking with Lord Siva, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took his permission to leave and went to Kamakoshthi-puri.
CC Madhya 9.178: When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived at southern Mathura from Kamakoshthi, He met a brahmana.
CC Madhya 9.179: The brahmana who met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu invited the Lord to his home. This brahmana was a great devotee and an authority on Lord Sri Ramacandra. He was always detached from material activities.
CC Madhya 9.180: After bathing in the river Kritamala, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the brahmana's house to take lunch, but He saw that the food was unprepared because the brahmana had not cooked it.
CC Madhya 9.181: Seeing this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "My dear sir, please tell Me why you have not cooked. It is already noon."
CC Madhya 9.182: The brahmana replied, "My dear Lord, we are living in the forest. For the time being we cannot get all the ingredients for cooking.
CC Madhya 9.183: "When Lakshmana brings all the vegetables, fruits and roots from the forest, Sita will do the necessary cooking."
CC Madhya 9.184: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very satisfied to hear about the brahmana's method of worship. Finally the brahmana hastily made arrangements for cooking.
CC Madhya 9.185: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took His lunch at about three o'clock, but the brahmana, being very sorrowful, fasted.
CC Madhya 9.186: While the brahmana was fasting, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked him, "Why are you fasting? Why are you so unhappy? Why are you so worried?"
CC Madhya 9.187: The brahmana replied, "I have no reason to live. I shall give up my life by entering either fire or water.
CC Madhya 9.188: "My dear Sir, mother Sita is the mother of the universe and the supreme goddess of fortune. She has been touched by the demon Ravana, and I am troubled upon hearing this news.
CC Madhya 9.189: "Sir, due to my unhappiness I cannot continue living. Although my body is burning, my life is not leaving."
CC Madhya 9.190: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "Please do not think this way any longer. You are a learned pandita. Why don't you consider the case?"
CC Madhya 9.191: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "Sitadevi, the dearmost wife of the Supreme Lord Ramacandra, certainly has a spiritual form full of bliss. No one can see her with material eyes, for no materialist has such power.
CC Madhya 9.192: "To say nothing of touching mother Sita, a person with material senses cannot even see her. When Ravana kidnapped her, he kidnapped only her material, illusory form.
CC Madhya 9.193: "As soon as Ravana arrived before Sita, she disappeared. Then just to cheat Ravana she sent an illusory, material form.
CC Madhya 9.194: "Spiritual substance is never within the jurisdiction of the material conception. This is always the verdict of the Vedas and Puranas."
CC Madhya 9.195: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then assured the brahmana, "Have faith in My words and do not burden your mind any longer with this misconception."
CC Madhya 9.196: Although the brahmana was fasting, he had faith in the words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and accepted food. In this way his life was saved.
CC Madhya 9.197: After thus assuring the brahmana, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu proceeded further into southern India and finally arrived at Durvasana, where He bathed in the river Kritamala.
CC Madhya 9.198: At Durvasana Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord Ramacandra, and on the hill known as Mahendra-saila He saw Lord Parasurama.
CC Madhya 9.199: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Setubandha [Ramesvara], where He took His bath at the place called Dhanus-tirtha. From there He visited the Ramesvara temple and then took rest.
CC Madhya 9.200: There, among the brahmanas, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu listened to the Kurma Purana, wherein is mentioned the chaste woman's narration.
CC Madhya 9.201: Srimati Sitadevi is the mother of the three worlds and the wife of Lord Ramacandra. Among chaste women she is supreme, and she is the daughter of King Janaka.
CC Madhya 9.202: When Ravana came to kidnap mother Sita and she saw him, she took shelter of the fire-god, Agni. The fire-god covered the body of mother Sita, and in this way she was protected from the hands of Ravana.
CC Madhya 9.203: Upon hearing from the Kurma Purana how Ravana had kidnapped a false form of mother Sita, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very satisfied.
CC Madhya 9.204: The fire-god, Agni, took away the real Sita and brought her to the place of Parvati, goddess Durga. An illusory form of mother Sita was then delivered to Ravana, and in this way Ravana was cheated.
CC Madhya 9.205: After Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra, Sitadevi was brought before the fire and tested.
CC Madhya 9.206: When the illusory Sita was brought before the fire by Lord Ramacandra, the fire-god made the illusory form disappear and delivered the real Sita to Lord Ramacandra.
CC Madhya 9.207: When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard this story, He was very pleased, and He remembered the words of Ramadasa Vipra.
CC Madhya 9.208: Indeed, when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard these conclusive statements from the Kurma Purana, He felt great happiness. After asking the brahmanas' permission, He took possession of the manuscript leaves of the Kurma Purana.
CC Madhya 9.209: Since the Kurma Purana was very old, the manuscript was also very old. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took possession of the original leaves in order to have direct evidence. The text was copied onto new leaves in order that the Purana be replaced.
CC Madhya 9.210: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned to southern Mathura [Madurai] and delivered the original manuscript of the Kurma Purana to Ramadasa Vipra.
CC Madhya 9.211-212: "When he was petitioned by mother Sita, the fire-god, Agni, brought forth an illusory form of Sita, and Ravana, who had ten heads, kidnapped the false Sita. The original Sita then went to the abode of the fire-god. When Lord Ramacandra tested the body of Sita, it was the false, illusory Sita that entered the fire. At that time the fire-god brought the original Sita from his abode and delivered her to Lord Ramacandra."
CC Madhya 9.213: Ramadasa Vipra was very pleased to receive the original leaf manuscript of the Kurma Purana, and he immediately fell down before the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and began to cry.
CC Madhya 9.214: After receiving the manuscript, the brahmana, being very pleased, said, "Sir, You are Lord Ramacandra Himself and have come in the dress of a sannyasi to give me audience.
CC Madhya 9.215: "My dear Sir, You have delivered me from a very unhappy condition. I request that You take Your lunch at my place. Please accept this invitation.
CC Madhya 9.216: "Due to my mental distress I could not give You a very nice lunch the other day. Now, by good fortune, You have come again to my home."
CC Madhya 9.217: Saying this, the brahmana very happily cooked food, and a first-class dinner was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
CC Madhya 9.218: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu passed that night in the house of the brahmana. Then, after showing him mercy, the Lord started toward the Tamraparni River in Pandya-desa.
CC Madhya 9.219: There were nine temples of Lord Vishnu at Naya-tripati, on the bank of the river Tamraparni, and after bathing in the river, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the Deities with great curiosity and wandered on.
CC Madhya 9.220: After this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to a holy place known as Ciyadatala, where He saw the Deities of the two brothers Lord Ramacandra and Lakshmana. He then proceeded to Tila-kanci, where He saw the temple of Lord Siva.
CC Madhya 9.221: Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then visited the holy place named Gajendra-mokshana, where He went to a temple of Lord Vishnu. He then came to Panagadi, a holy place where He saw the Deities of Lord Ramacandra and Sita.
CC Madhya 9.222: Later the Lord went to Camtapura, where He saw the Deities of Lord Ramacandra and Lakshmana. He then went to Sri Vaikuntha and saw the temple of Lord Vishnu there.
CC Madhya 9.223: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Malaya-parvata and offered prayers to Agastya Muni. He then visited Kanya-kumari [Cape Comorin].
CC Madhya 9.224: After visiting Kanya-kumari, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Amlitala, where He saw the Deity of Sri Ramacandra. Thereafter He went to a place known as Mallara-desa, where a community of Bhattatharis lived.
CC Madhya 9.225: After visiting Mallara-desa, Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Tamala-kartika and then to Vetapani. There He saw the temple of Raghunatha, Lord Ramacandra, and passed the night.
CC Madhya 9.226: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was accompanied by His servant, Krishnadasa. He was a brahmana, but he met with the Bhattatharis there.
CC Madhya 9.227: With women the Bhattatharis allured the brahmana Krishnadasa, who was simple and gentle. By virtue of their bad association, they polluted his intelligence.
CC Madhya 9.228: Allured by the Bhattatharis, Krishnadasa went to their place early in the morning. The Lord also went there very quickly just to find him.
CC Madhya 9.229: Upon reaching their community, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the Bhattatharis, "Why are you keeping My brahmana assistant?
CC Madhya 9.230: "I am in the renounced order of life, and so are you. Yet you are purposefully giving Me pain, and I do not see any good logic in this."
CC Madhya 9.231: Upon hearing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the Bhattatharis came running from all sides with weapons in their hands, desiring to hurt the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.232: However, their weapons fell from their hands and struck their own bodies. When some of the Bhattatharis were thus cut to pieces, the others ran away in the four directions.
CC Madhya 9.233: While there was much roaring and crying at the Bhattathari community, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu grabbed Krishnadasa by the hair and took him away.
CC Madhya 9.234: That very night, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His assistant Krishnadasa arrived at the bank of the Payasvini River. They took their bath and then went to see the temple of Adi-kesava.
CC Madhya 9.235: When the Lord saw the Adi-kesava temple, He was immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy. Offering various obeisances and prayers, He chanted and danced.
CC Madhya 9.236: All the people there were greatly astonished to see the ecstatic pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They all received the Lord very well.
CC Madhya 9.237: In the temple of Adi-kesava, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu discussed spiritual matters among highly advanced devotees. While there, He found a chapter of the Brahma-samhita.
CC Madhya 9.238: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was greatly happy to find a chapter of that scripture, and symptoms of ecstatic transformation -- trembling, tears, perspiration, trance and jubilation -- were manifest in His body.
CC Madhya 9.239-240: There is no scripture equal to the Brahma-samhita as far as the final spiritual conclusion is concerned. Indeed, that scripture is the supreme revelation of the glories of Lord Govinda, for it reveals the topmost knowledge about Him. Since all conclusions are briefly presented in the Brahma-samhita, it is essential among all the Vaishnava literatures.
CC Madhya 9.241: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu copied the Brahma-samhita, and then with great pleasure He went to a place known as Ananta Padmanabha.
CC Madhya 9.242: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained for two or three days at Ananta Padmanabha and visited the temple there. Then, in great ecstasy He went to see the temple of Sri Janardana.
CC Madhya 9.243: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced at Sri Janardana for two days. He then went to the bank of the Payasvini River and visited the temple of Sankara-narayana.
CC Madhya 9.244: Then He saw the monastery known as Sringeri-matha, the abode of Acarya Sankara. He then visited Matsya-tirtha, a place of pilgrimage, and took a bath in the river Tungabhadra.
CC Madhya 9.245: Caitanya Mahaprabhu next arrived at Udupi, the place of Madhvacarya, where the philosophers known as Tattvavadis resided. There He saw the Deity of Lord Krishna and became mad with ecstasy.
CC Madhya 9.246: While at the Udupi monastery, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw "dancing Gopala," a most beautiful Deity. This Deity appeared to Madhvacarya in a dream.
CC Madhya 9.247: Madhvacarya had somehow or other acquired the Deity of Krishna from a heap of gopi-candana that had been transported in a boat.
CC Madhya 9.248: Madhvacarya brought this dancing Gopala Deity to Udupi and installed Him in the temple. To date, the followers of Madhvacarya, known as Tattvavadis, worship this Deity.
CC Madhya 9.249: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu received great pleasure in seeing this beautiful form of Gopala. For a long time He danced and chanted in ecstatic love.
CC Madhya 9.250: When the Tattvavadi Vaishnavas first saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they considered Him a Mayavadi sannyasi. Therefore they did not talk to Him.
CC Madhya 9.251: Later, after seeing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in ecstatic love, they were struck with wonder. Then, considering Him a Vaishnava, they gave Him a nice reception.
CC Madhya 9.252: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu could understand that the Tattvavadis were very proud of their Vaishnavism. He therefore smiled and began to speak to them.
CC Madhya 9.253: Considering them very proud, Caitanya Mahaprabhu began His discussion.
CC Madhya 9.254: The chief acarya of the Tattvavada community was very learned in the revealed scriptures. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu humbly questioned him.
CC Madhya 9.255: Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "I do not know very well the aim of life and how to achieve it. Please tell Me of the best ideal for humanity and how to attain it."
CC Madhya 9.256: The acarya replied, "When the activities of the four castes and the four asramas are dedicated to Krishna, they constitute the best means whereby one can attain the highest goal of life.
CC Madhya 9.257: "When one dedicates the duties of varnasrama-dharma to Krishna, he is eligible for five kinds of liberation. Thus he is transferred to the spiritual world in Vaikuntha. This is the highest goal of life and the verdict of all revealed scriptures."
CC Madhya 9.258: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "According to the verdict of the sastras, the process of hearing and chanting is the best means to attain loving service to Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.259-260: "'This process entails hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord, offering service according to the time, place and performer, worshiping the Deity, offering prayers, always considering oneself the eternal servant of Krishna, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Krishna, constitute the highest attainment of life. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures.'
CC Madhya 9.261: "When one comes to the platform of loving service to Lord Krishna by executing these nine processes, beginning with hearing and chanting, he has attained the fifth platform of success and the limit of life's goals.
CC Madhya 9.262: "'When a person is actually advanced and takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is agitated and loudly chants the holy name. He also laughs, cries, becomes agitated and chants just like a madman, not caring for outsiders.'
CC Madhya 9.263: "In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them.
CC Madhya 9.264: "'Occupational duties are described in the religious scriptures. If one analyzes them, he can fully understand their qualities and faults and then give them up completely to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A person who does so is considered a first-class man.'
CC Madhya 9.265: "'Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. [Bg. 18.66]'
CC Madhya 9.266: "'As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by sravanam kirtanam vishnoh [SB 7.5.23], one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.'
CC Madhya 9.267: "Pure devotees reject the five kinds of liberation; indeed, for them liberation is very insignificant because they see it as hellish.
CC Madhya 9.268: "'Pure devotees always reject the five kinds of liberation, which include living in the spiritual Vaikuntha planets, possessing the same opulences as those possessed by the Supreme Lord, having the same bodily features as the Lord's, associating with the Lord and merging into the body of the Lord. The pure devotees do not accept these benedictions without the service of the Lord.'
CC Madhya 9.269: "'It is very difficult to give up material opulence, land, children, society, friends, riches, wife or the blessings of the goddess of fortune, which are desired even by great demigods. But King Bharata did not desire such things, and this was quite befitting his position, because for a pure devotee whose mind is always engaged in the service of the Lord, even liberation, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is insignificant. And what to speak of material opportunities?'
CC Madhya 9.270: "'A person who is a devotee of Lord Narayana is not afraid of a hellish condition, because he considers it the same as elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. The devotees of Lord Narayana are accustomed to seeing all these things on the same level.'
CC Madhya 9.271: "Both liberation and fruitive activity are rejected by devotees. You are trying to establish these things as life's goal and the process for attaining it."
CC Madhya 9.272: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued speaking to the Tattvavadi acarya: "Seeing that I am a mendicant in the renounced order of life, you have been playing with Me in a duplicitous way. You have not actually described the process and ultimate objective."
CC Madhya 9.273: After hearing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the acarya of the Tattvavada sampradaya became very much ashamed. Upon observing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's rigid faith in Vaishnavism, he was struck with wonder.
CC Madhya 9.274: The Tattvavadi acarya replied, "What You have said is certainly factual. It is the conclusion of all the revealed scriptures of the Vaishnavas.
CC Madhya 9.275: "Still, whatever Madhvacarya has established as the formula for our party we practice as a party policy."
CC Madhya 9.276: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Both the fruitive worker and the speculative philosopher are considered nondevotees. We see both elements present in your sampradaya.
CC Madhya 9.277: "The only qualification that I see in your sampradaya is that you accept the form of the Lord as truth."
CC Madhya 9.278: Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke the pride of the Tattvavadis to pieces. He then went to the holy place known as Phalgu-tirtha.
CC Madhya 9.279: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Saci, next went to Tritakupa, and after seeing the Visala Deity there, He went to the holy place known as Pancapsara-tirtha.
CC Madhya 9.280: After seeing Pancapsara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gokarna. While there, He visited the temple of Lord Siva, and then He went to Dvaipayani. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the crown jewel of all sannyasis, then went to Surparaka-tirtha.
CC Madhya 9.281: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then visited the town of Kolapura, where He saw the goddess of fortune in the temple of Kshira-bhagavati and saw Langa-ganesa in another temple, known as Cora-parvati.
CC Madhya 9.282: From there Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Pandarapura, where He happily saw the temple of Viththala Thakura.
CC Madhya 9.283: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced in various ways as usual. A brahmana, seeing Him in ecstatic love, was very pleased and invited the Lord to his home for lunch.
CC Madhya 9.284: The brahmana offered Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu food with great respect and love. After finishing His lunch, the Lord received auspicious news.
CC Madhya 9.285: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu received word that Sri Ranga Puri, one of the disciples of Sri Madhavendra Puri, was present in that village at the home of a brahmana.
CC Madhya 9.286: Hearing this news, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately went to see Sri Ranga Puri at the brahmana's home. Upon entering, the Lord saw him sitting there.
CC Madhya 9.287: As soon as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw Sri Ranga Puri, He immediately offered him obeisances in ecstatic love, falling flat on the ground. The symptoms of transcendental transformation were visible -- namely, tears, jubilation, trembling and perspiration.
CC Madhya 9.288: Upon seeing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in such an ecstatic mood, Sri Ranga Puri said, "Your Holiness, please get up.
CC Madhya 9.289: "Your Holiness is certainly related to Sri Madhavendra Puri, without whom there is no fragrance of ecstatic love."
CC Madhya 9.290: After saying this, Sri Ranga Puri lifted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu up and embraced Him. As they embraced shoulder to shoulder, they both began to cry in ecstasy.
CC Madhya 9.291: After some moments, they came to their senses and became patient. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then informed Sri Ranga Puri about His relationship with Isvara Puri.
CC Madhya 9.292: They were both inundated by the wonderful ecstasy of love that was aroused in them. Finally they sat down and respectfully began to converse.
CC Madhya 9.293: In this way they discussed topics about Lord Krishna continually for five to seven days.
CC Madhya 9.294: Out of curiosity, Sri Ranga Puri asked Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu about His birthplace, and the Lord informed him that it was Navadvipa-dhama.
CC Madhya 9.295: Sri Ranga Puri had formerly gone to Navadvipa with Sri Madhavendra Puri, and he therefore remembered the incidents that had taken place there.
CC Madhya 9.296: As soon as Sri Ranga Puri recalled Navadvipa, he also recalled accompanying Sri Madhavendra Puri to the house of Jagannatha Misra, where Ranga Puri had taken lunch. He even remembered the taste of an unprecedented curry made of banana flowers.
CC Madhya 9.297: Sri Ranga Puri also remembered the wife of Jagannatha Misra. She was very devoted and chaste. As for her affection, she was exactly like the mother of the universe.
CC Madhya 9.298: He also remembered how Sri Jagannatha Misra's wife, Sacimata, was expert in cooking. He recalled that she was very affectionate toward the sannyasis and fed them exactly like her own sons.
CC Madhya 9.299: Sri Ranga Puri also remembered that one of her deserving sons had accepted the renounced order at a very young age. His name was Sankararanya.
CC Madhya 9.300: Sri Ranga Puri informed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that the sannyasi named Sankararanya had attained perfection in that holy place, Pandarapura.
CC Madhya 9.301: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "In My previous asrama, Sankararanya was My brother and Jagannatha Misra was My father."
CC Madhya 9.302: After finishing his talks with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Ranga Puri started for Dvaraka-dhama.
CC Madhya 9.303: After Sri Ranga Puri departed for Dvaraka, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained with the brahmana at Pandarapura for four more days. He took His bath in the Bhima River and visited the temple of Viththala.
CC Madhya 9.304: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu next went to the bank of the Krishna-venva River, where He visited many holy places and the temples of various gods.
CC Madhya 9.305: The brahmana community there was composed of pure devotees. They regularly studied a book entitled Krishna-karnamrita, which was composed by Bilvamangala Thakura.
CC Madhya 9.306: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased to hear the book Krishna-karnamrita, and with great eagerness He had it copied and took it with Him.
CC Madhya 9.307: There is no comparison to the Krishna-karnamrita within the three worlds. By studying this book, one is elevated to the knowledge of pure devotional service to Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.308: One who constantly reads the Krishna-karnamrita can fully understand the beauty and melodious taste of the pastimes of Lord Krishna.
CC Madhya 9.309: The Brahma-samhita and Krishna-karnamrita were two books that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu considered to be most valuable jewels. Therefore He took them with Him on His return trip.
CC Madhya 9.310: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu next arrived at the banks of the river Tapi. After bathing there, He went to Mahishmati-pura. While there, He saw many holy places on the banks of the river Narmada.
CC Madhya 9.311: The Lord next arrived at Dhanus-tirtha, where He took His bath in the river Nirvindhya. He then arrived at Rishyamuka Mountain and then went to Dandakaranya.
CC Madhya 9.312: Within the Dandakaranya forest Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then visited a place called Saptatala. The seven palm trees there were very old, very bulky and very high.
CC Madhya 9.313: Upon seeing the seven palm trees, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced them. As a result, they all returned to Vaikunthaloka, the spiritual world.
CC Madhya 9.314: After the seven palm trees had departed for Vaikuntha, everyone was astonished to see that they were gone. The people then began to say, "This sannyasi called Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu must be an incarnation of Lord Ramacandra.
CC Madhya 9.315: "Only Lord Ramacandra has the power to send seven palm trees to the spiritual Vaikuntha planets."
CC Madhya 9.316: Eventually Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived at a lake known as Pampa, where He took His bath. He then went to a place called Pancavati, where He rested.
CC Madhya 9.317: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then visited Nasika, where He saw the deity of Tryambaka [Lord Siva]. He then went to Brahma-giri and then to Kusavarta, the source of the river Godavari.
CC Madhya 9.318: After visiting many other holy places, the Lord went to Sapta-godavari. At last He returned to Vidyanagara.
CC Madhya 9.319: When Ramananda Raya heard of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's arrival, he was very pleased, and he immediately went to see Him.
CC Madhya 9.320: When Ramananda Raya fell flat, touching the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord immediately raised him to his feet and embraced him.
CC Madhya 9.321: In great ecstatic love they both began to cry, and thus their minds were slackened.
CC Madhya 9.322: After some time they regained their senses and sat together to discuss various subjects.
CC Madhya 9.323: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave Ramananda Raya a vivid description of His travels to the holy places and told him how He had acquired the two books named Krishna-karnamrita and Brahma-samhita. The Lord delivered the books to Ramananda Raya.
CC Madhya 9.324: The Lord said, "Whatever you have told Me about devotional service is all supported by these two books."
CC Madhya 9.325: Ramananda Raya was very happy to receive these books. He tasted their contents along with the Lord and made a copy of each.
CC Madhya 9.326: News spread in the village of Vidyanagara about the arrival of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and everyone came to see Him once again.
CC Madhya 9.327: After seeing the people who gathered there, Sri Ramananda Raya returned to his own home. At noon, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu got up to take His lunch.
CC Madhya 9.328: Sri Ramananda Raya returned at night, and he and the Lord discussed topics concerning Krishna. Thus they passed the night.
CC Madhya 9.329: Ramananda Raya and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu discussed Krishna day and night, and thus they passed from five to seven days in great happiness.
CC Madhya 9.330: Ramananda Raya said, "My dear Lord, with Your permission I have already written a letter to the King with great humility.
CC Madhya 9.331: "The King has already given me an order to return to Jagannatha Puri, and I am making arrangements to do this."
CC Madhya 9.332: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then said, "It is for this purpose alone that I have returned. I want to take you with Me to Jagannatha Puri."
CC Madhya 9.333: Ramananda Raya said, "My dear Lord, it is better that You proceed to Jagannatha Puri alone because with me there will be many horses, elephants and soldiers, all roaring tumultuously.
CC Madhya 9.334: "I shall make arrangements within ten days. Following You, I shall go to Nilacala without delay."
CC Madhya 9.335: Giving orders to Ramananda Raya to come to Nilacala, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu departed for Jagannatha Puri with great pleasure.
CC Madhya 9.336: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned by the same road He had formerly taken to Vidyanagara, and all the Vaishnavas along the way saw Him again.
CC Madhya 9.337: Wherever Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went, the holy name of Sri Hari was vibrated. Seeing this, the Lord became very happy.
CC Madhya 9.338: When the Lord reached Alalanatha, He sent His assistant Krishnadasa ahead to call for Nityananda Prabhu and other personal associates.
CC Madhya 9.339: As soon as Nityananda Prabhu received news of the arrival of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He immediately got up and started out to see Him. Indeed, He was very impatient in His great ecstasy.
CC Madhya 9.340: Sri Nityananda Raya, Jagadananda, Damodara Pandita and Mukunda all became ecstatic in their happiness, and dancing along the way, they went to meet the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.341: Gopinatha Acarya also went in a very happy mood. They all went to meet the Lord, and they finally contacted Him on the way.
CC Madhya 9.342: The Lord was also filled with ecstatic love, and He embraced them all. Out of their love, they began to cry with pleasure.
CC Madhya 9.343: Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya also went to see the Lord with great pleasure, and he met Him on the beach by the sea.
CC Madhya 9.344: Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord pulled him up and embraced him.
CC Madhya 9.345: Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya cried in great ecstatic love. Then the Lord, accompanied by them all, went to the temple of Jagannatha.
CC Madhya 9.346: Due to ecstatic love experienced upon visiting Lord Jagannatha, inundations of trembling, perspiration, tears and jubilation swept the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
CC Madhya 9.347: In ecstatic love Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced and chanted. At that time all the attendants and priests came to offer Him a garland and the remnants of Lord Jagannatha's food.
CC Madhya 9.348: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became patient after receiving the garland and prasadam of Lord Jagannatha. All the servants of Lord Jagannatha met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with great pleasure.
CC Madhya 9.349: Afterward, Kasi Misra came and fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord respectfully embraced him.
CC Madhya 9.350: Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then took the Lord with him to his home, saying, "Today's luncheon will be at my home." In this way he invited the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.351: Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya brought various types of food remnants that had been left by Lord Jagannatha. He brought all kinds of cakes and condensed-milk preparations.
CC Madhya 9.352: Accompanied by all His associates, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya's house and took His noon lunch there.
CC Madhya 9.353: After offering food to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya made Him lie down to rest, and he personally began to massage the legs of the Lord.
CC Madhya 9.354: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then sent Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya to take his lunch, and the Lord remained that night in his home just to please him.
CC Madhya 9.355: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His personal associates remained with Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. They all stayed awake the entire night as the Lord spoke of His pilgrimage.
CC Madhya 9.356: The Lord told Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, "I have traveled to many holy places, but I could not find a Vaishnava as good as you anywhere."
CC Madhya 9.357: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "I received much pleasure from the talks of Ramananda Raya."The Bhattacarya replied, "For this reason I requested that You meet him."
CC Madhya 9.358: Thus I have ended my narration about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pilgrimage, describing it in brief. It cannot be described very broadly.
CC Madhya 9.359: The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are unlimited. No one can properly describe His activities, yet I make the attempt out of greed. This but reveals my shamelessness.
CC Madhya 9.360: Whoever hears of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pilgrimage to various holy places attains the riches of very deep ecstatic love.
CC Madhya 9.361: Please hear the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with faith and devotion. Giving up envy of the Lord, everyone chant the Lord's holy name, Hari.
CC Madhya 9.362: In this Age of Kali there are no genuine religious principles other than those established by Vaishnava devotees and the Vaishnava scriptures. This is the sum and substance of everything.
CC Madhya 9.363: The pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are just like an unfathomable ocean. It is not possible for me to enter into it. Simply standing on the shore, I am but touching the water.
CC Madhya 9.364: The more one hears the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with faith, analytically studying them, the more one attains the ecstatic riches of love of Godhead.
CC Madhya 9.365: Praying at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha, always desiring their mercy, I, Krishnadasa, narrate Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, following in their footsteps.
Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness | <urn:uuid:db4d810c-2e43-497a-8938-4c0f2d1dad07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/9/en1 | 2013-05-25T13:10:17Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955258 | 17,905 |
PAYNE v. TENNESSEE
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
Argued April 24, 1991
Decided June 27, 1991
Petitioner Payne was convicted by a Tennessee jury of the first-degree murders of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, and of first-degree assault upon, with intent to murder, Charisse's 3-year-old son Nicholas. The brutal crimes were committed in the victims' apartment after Charisse resisted Payne's sexual advances. During the sentencing phase of the trial, Payne called his parents, his girlfriend, and a clinical psychologist, each of whom testified as to various mitigating aspects of his background and character. The State called Nicholas' grandmother, who testified that the child missed his mother and baby sister. In arguing for the death penalty, the prosecutor commented on the continuing effects on Nicholas of his experience and on the effects of the crimes upon the victims' family. The jury sentenced Payne to death on each of the murder counts. The State Supreme Court affirmed, rejecting his contention that the admission of the grandmother's testimony and the State's closing argument violated his Eighth Amendment rights under Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 , and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 , which held that evidence and argument relating to the victim and the impact of the victim's death on the victim's family are per se inadmissible at a capital sentencing hearing.
The Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar prohibiting a capital sentencing jury from considering "victim impact" evidence relating to the victim's personal characteristics and the emotional impact of the murder on the victim's family, or precluding a prosecutor from arguing such evidence at a capital sentencing hearing. To the extent that this Court held to the contrary in Booth and Gathers, those cases are overruled. Pp. 817-830.
REHNQUIST, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which WHITE, O'CONNOR, SCALIA, KENNEDY, and SOUTER, JJ., joined. O'CONNOR, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which WHITE and KENNEDY, JJ., joined, post, p. 830. SCALIA, J., filed a concurring opinion, in Part II of which O'CONNOR and KENNEDY, JJ., joined, post, p. 833. SOUTER, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which KENNEDY, J., joined, post, p. 835. MARSHALL, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BLACKMUN, J., joined, post, p. 844. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BLACKMUN, J., joined, post, p. 856.
J. Brooke Lathram argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.
Charles W. Burson, Attorney General of Tennessee, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Kathy M. Principe, Assistant Attorney General.
Attorney General Thornburgh argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging affirmance. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Mueller, Deputy Solicitor General Bryson, and Stephen L. Nightingale. *
[ Footnote * ] Stephen B. Bright and J. L. Chestnut filed a brief for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as amicus curiae urging reversal.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation by Kent S. Scheidegger; for the Washington Legal Foundation et al. by Richard K. Willard, Daniel J. Popeo, Paul D. Kamenar, and Richard Samp; and for Congressman Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., et al. by Michael J. Lockerby and Frank G. Carrington.
Briefs of amici curiae were filed for the State of Alabama et al. by Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General of California, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Harley D. Mayfield, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Frederick R. Millar, Jr., Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Louis R. Hanoian, Deputy Attorney General, James H. Evans, Attorney General of Alabama, Grant Woods, Attorney General of Arizona Gale A. Norton, Attorney General of Colorado, John J. Kelly, Chief State's Attorney of Connecticut, Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General [501 U.S. 808, 811] of Florida, Linley E. Pearson, Attorney General of Indiana, Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General of Kentucky, J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General of Maryland, Mike Moore, Attorney General of Mississippi, William L. Webster, Attorney General of Missouri, Marc Racicot, Attorney General of Montana, Don Stenberg, Attorney General of Nebraska, Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General of Nevada, Robert J. Del Tufo, Attorney General of New Jersey, Lacy H. Thornburg, Attorney General of North Carolina, Lee Fisher, Attorney General of Ohio, Dave Frohnmayer, Attorney General of Oregon, Ernest D. Preate, Jr., Attorney General of Pennsylvania, T. Travis Medlock, Attorney General of South Carolina, Mark W. Barnett, Attorney General of South Dakota, and Kenneth O. Eikenberry, Attorney General of Washington; for the Appellate Committee of the California District Attorneys Association by Ira Reiner, Harry B. Sondheim, and Martha E. Bellinger; for the Justice for All Political Committee et al. by Mario Thomas Gaboury and Sally S. King; and for the National Organization for Victim Assistance et al. by Judith Rowland. [501 U.S. 808, 811]
CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST delivered the opinion of the Court.
In this case we reconsider our holdings in Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), that the Eighth Amendment bars the admission of victim impact evidence during the penalty phase of a capital trial.
Petitioner, Pervis Tyrone Payne, was convicted by a jury on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to commit murder in the first degree. He was sentenced to death for each of the murders and to 30 years in prison for the assault.
The victims of Payne's offenses were 28-year-old Charisse Christopher, her 2-year-old daughter Lacie, and her 3-year-old son Nicholas. The three lived together in an apartment in Millington, Tennessee, across the hall from Payne's girlfriend, Bobbie Thomas. On Saturday, June 27, 1987, Payne visited Thomas' apartment several times in expectation of her return from her mother's house in Arkansas, but found no one at home. On one visit, he left his overnight bag, [501 U.S. 808, 812] containing clothes and other items for his weekend stay, in the hallway outside Thomas' apartment. With the bag were three cans of malt liquor.
Payne passed the morning and early afternoon injecting cocaine and drinking beer. Later, he drove around the town with a friend in the friend's car, each of them taking turns reading a pornographic magazine. Sometime around 3 p.m., Payne returned to the apartment complex, entered the Christophers' apartment, and began making sexual advances towards Charisse. Charisse resisted and Payne became violent. A neighbor who resided in the apartment directly beneath the Christophers heard Charisse screaming, "`Get out, get out,' as if she were telling the children to leave." Brief for Respondent 3. The noise briefly subsided and then began, "`horribly loud.'" Ibid. The neighbor called the police after she heard a "blood curdling scream" from the Christophers' apartment. Ibid.
When the first police officer arrived at the scene, he immediately encountered Payne, who was leaving the apartment building, so covered with blood that he appeared to be "`sweating blood.'" The officer confronted Payne, who responded, "`I'm the complainant.'" Id., at 3-4. When the officer asked, "`What's going on up there?'" Payne struck the officer with the overnight bag, dropped his tennis shoes, and fled. 791 S.W.2d 10, 12 (Tenn. 1990).
Inside the apartment, the police encountered a horrifying scene. Blood covered the walls and floor throughout the unit. Charisse and her children were lying on the floor in the kitchen. Nicholas, despite several wounds inflicted by a butcher knife that completely penetrated through his body from front to back, was still breathing. Miraculously, he survived, but not until after undergoing seven hours of surgery and a transfusion of 1,700 cc's of blood - 400 to 500 cc's more than his estimated normal blood volume. Charisse and Lacie were dead. [501 U.S. 808, 813]
Charisse's body was found on the kitchen floor on her back, her legs fully extended. She had sustained 42 direct knife wounds and 42 defensive wounds on her arms and hands. The wounds were caused by 41 separate thrusts of a butcher knife. None of the 84 wounds inflicted by Payne were individually fatal; rather, the cause of death was most likely bleeding from all of the wounds.
Lacie's body was on the kitchen floor near her mother. She had suffered stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, back, and head. The murder weapon, a butcher knife, was found at her feet. Payne's baseball cap was snapped on her arm near her elbow. Three cans of malt liquor bearing Payne's fingerprints were found on a table near her body, and a fourth empty one was on the landing outside the apartment door.
Payne was apprehended later that day hiding in the attic of the home of a former girlfriend. As he descended the stairs of the attic, he stated to the arresting officers, "`Man, I ain't killed no woman.'" Id., at 13. According to one of the officers, Payne had "`a wild look about him. His pupils were contracted. He was foaming at the mouth, saliva. He appeared to be very nervous. He was breathing real rapid.'" Ibid. He had blood on his body and clothes and several scratches across his chest. It was later determined that the blood stains matched the victims' blood types. A search of his pockets revealed a packet containing cocaine residue, a hypodermic syringe wrapper, and a cap from a hypodermic syringe. His overnight bag, containing a bloody white shirt, was found in a nearby dumpster.
At trial, Payne took the stand and, despite the overwhelming and relatively uncontroverted evidence against him, testified that he had not harmed any of the Christophers. Rather, he asserted that another man had raced by him as he was walking up the stairs to the floor where the Christophers lived. He stated that he had gotten blood on himself when, after hearing moans from the Christophers' apartment, he [501 U.S. 808, 814] had tried to help the victims. According to his testimony, he panicked and fled when he heard police sirens and noticed the blood on his clothes. The jury returned guilty verdicts against Payne on all counts.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, Payne presented the testimony of four witnesses: his mother and father, Bobbie Thomas, and Dr. John T. Hutson, a clinical psychologist specializing in criminal court evaluation work. Bobbie Thomas testified that she met Payne at church, during a time when she was being abused by her husband. She stated that Payne was a very caring person, and that he devoted much time and attention to her three children, who were being affected by her marital difficulties. She said that the children had come to love him very much and would miss him, and that he "behaved just like a father that loved his kids." She asserted that he did not drink, nor did he use drugs, and that it was generally inconsistent with Payne's character to have committed these crimes.
Dr. Hutson testified that based on Payne's low score on an IQ test, Payne was "mentally handicapped." Hutson also said that Payne was neither psychotic nor schizophrenic, and that Payne was the most polite prisoner he had ever met. Payne's parents testified that their son had no prior criminal record and had never been arrested. They also stated that Payne had no history of alcohol or drug abuse, he worked with his father as a painter, he was good with children, and he was a good son.
The State presented the testimony of Charisse's mother, Mary Zvolanek. When asked how Nicholas had been affected by the murders of his mother and sister, she responded:
The Supreme Court of Tennessee affirmed the conviction and sentence. 791 S.W.2d 10 (1990). The court rejected Payne's contention that the admission of the grandmother's testimony and the State's closing argument constituted prejudicial violations of his rights under the Eighth Amendment as applied in Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989). The court characterized the grandmother's testimony as "technically [501 U.S. 808, 817] irrelevant," but concluded that it "did not create a constitutionally unacceptable risk of an arbitrary imposition of the death penalty and was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt." 791 S.W.2d, at 18.
The court determined that the prosecutor's comments during closing argument were "relevant to [Payne's] personal responsibility and moral guilt." Id., at 19. The court explained that "[w]hen a person deliberately picks a butcher knife out of a kitchen drawer and proceeds to stab to death a twenty-eight-year-old mother, her two and one-half year old daughter and her three and one-half year old son, in the same room, the physical and mental condition of the boy he left for dead is surely relevant in determining his `blameworthiness.'" The court concluded that any violation of Payne's rights under Booth and Gathers "was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt." Ibid.
We granted certiorari, 498 U.S. 1080 (1991), to reconsider our holdings in Booth and Gathers that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a capital sentencing jury from considering "victim impact" evidence relating to the personal characteristics of the victim and the emotional impact of the crimes on the victim's family.
In Booth, the defendant robbed and murdered an elderly couple. As required by a state statute, a victim impact statement was prepared based on interviews with the victims' son, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. The statement, which described the personal characteristics of the victims, the emotional impact of the crimes on the family, and set forth the family members' opinions and characterizations of the crimes and the defendant, was submitted to the jury at sentencing. The jury imposed the death penalty. The conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal by the State's highest court.
This Court held by a 5-to-4 vote that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a jury from considering a victim impact statement at the sentencing phase of a capital trial. The Court [501 U.S. 808, 818] made clear that the admissibility of victim impact evidence was not to be determined on a case-by-case basis, but that such evidence was per se inadmissible in the sentencing phase of a capital case except to the extent that it "relate[d] directly to the circumstances of the crime." 482 U.S., at 507 , n. 10. In Gathers, decided two years later, the Court extended the rule announced in Booth to statements made by a prosecutor to the sentencing jury regarding the personal qualities of the victim.
The Booth Court began its analysis with the observation that the capital defendant must be treated as a "`uniquely individual human bein[g],'" 482 U.S., at 504 (quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 304 (1976)), and therefore the Constitution requires the jury to make an individualized determination as to whether the defendant should be executed based on the "`character of the individual and the circumstances of the crime.'" 482 U.S., at 502 (quoting Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 879 (1983)). The Court concluded that while no prior decision of this Court had mandated that only the defendant's character and immediate characteristics of the crime may constitutionally be considered, other factors are irrelevant to the capital sentencing decision unless they have "some bearing on the defendant's `personal responsibility and moral guilt.'" 482 U.S., at 502 (quoting Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 801 (1982)). To the extent that victim impact evidence presents "factors about which the defendant was unaware, and that were irrelevant to the decision to kill," the Court concluded, it has nothing to do with the "blameworthiness of a particular defendant." 482 U.S., at 504 , 505. Evidence of the victim's character, the Court observed,"could well distract the sentencing jury from its constitutionally required task [of] determining whether the death penalty is appropriate in light of the background and record of the accused and the particular circumstances of the crime." The Court concluded that, except to the extent that victim impact evidence relates [501 U.S. 808, 819] "directly to the circumstances of the crime," id., at 507, and n. 10, the prosecution may not introduce such evidence at a capital sentencing hearing because "it creates an impermissible risk that the capital sentencing decision will be made in an arbitrary manner," id., at 505.
Booth and Gathers were based on two premises: that evidence relating to a particular victim or to the harm that a capital defendant causes a victim's family do not in general reflect on the defendant's "blameworthiness," and that only evidence relating to "blameworthiness" is relevant to the capital sentencing decision. However, the assessment of harm caused by the defendant as a result of the crime charged has understandably been an important concern of the criminal law, both in determining the elements of the offense and in determining the appropriate punishment. Thus, two equally blameworthy criminal defendants may be guilty of different offenses solely because their acts cause differing amounts of harm. "If a bank robber aims his gun at a guard, pulls the trigger, and kills his target, he may be put to death. If the gun unexpectedly misfires, he may not. His moral guilt in both cases is identical, but his responsibility in the former is greater." Booth, 482 U.S., at 519 (SCALIA, J., dissenting). The same is true with respect to two defendants, each of whom participates in a robbery, and each of whom acts with reckless disregard for human life; if the robbery in which the first defendant participated results in the death of a victim, he may be subjected to the death penalty, but if the robbery in which the second defendant participates does not result in the death of a victim, the death penalty may not be imposed. Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137, 148 (1987).
The principles which have guided criminal sentencing - as opposed to criminal liability - have varied with the times. The book of Exodus prescribes the Lex talionis, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Exodus 21: 22-23. In England and on the continent of Europe, as recently as the 18th century, crimes which would be regarded as quite minor today [501 U.S. 808, 820] were capital offenses. Writing in the 18th century, the Italian criminologist Cesare Beccaria advocated the idea that "the punishment should fit the crime." He said that "[w]e have seen that the true measure of crimes is the injury done to society." J. Farrer, Crimes and Punishments 199 (1880).
Gradually the list of crimes punishable by death diminished, and legislatures began grading the severity of crimes in accordance with the harm done by the criminal. The sentence for a given offense, rather than being precisely fixed by the legislature, was prescribed in terms of a minimum and a maximum, with the actual sentence to be decided by the judge. With the increasing importance of probation, as opposed to imprisonment, as a part of the penological process, some States such as California developed the "indeterminate sentence," where the time of incarceration was left almost entirely to the penological authorities rather than to the courts. But more recently the pendulum has swung back. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which went into effect in 1987, provided for very precise calibration of sentences, depending upon a number of factors. These factors relate both to the subjective guilt of the defendant and to the harm caused by his acts.
Wherever judges in recent years have had discretion to impose sentence, the consideration of the harm caused by the crime has been an important factor in the exercise of that discretion:
We have held that a State cannot preclude the sentence from considering "any relevant mitigating evidence" that the defendant proffers in support of a sentence less than death. Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 114 (1982). See also Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1 (1986). Thus we have, as the Court observed in Booth, required that the capital defendant be treated as a "`uniquely individual human bein[g],'" 482 U.S., at 504 (quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S., at 304 ). But it was never held or even suggested in any of our cases preceding Booth that the defendant, entitled as he was to individualized consideration, was to receive that consideration wholly apart from the crime which he had committed. The language quoted from Woodson in the Booth opinion was not intended to describe a class of evidence that could not be received, but a class of evidence which must be received. Any doubt on the matter is dispelled by comparing the language in Woodson with the language from Gregg v. Georgia, quoted above, which was handed down the same day as Woodson. This misreading of precedent in Booth has, we think, unfairly weighted the scales in a capital trial; while virtually no limits are placed on the relevant mitigating evidence a capital defendant may introduce concerning his own circumstances, the State is barred from either offering "a quick glimpse of the life" which a defendant "chose to extinguish," Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 397 (1988) (REHNQUIST, C.J., dissenting), or demonstrating the loss to the victim's family and to society which has resulted from the defendant's homicide. [501 U.S. 808, 823]
The Booth Court reasoned that victim impact evidence must be excluded because it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the defendant to rebut such evidence without shifting the focus of the sentencing hearing away from the defendant, thus creating a "`mini-trial' on the victim's character." Booth, supra, at 506-507. In many cases the evidence relating to the victim is already before the jury at least in part because of its relevance at the guilt phase of the trial. But even as to additional evidence admitted at the sentencing phase, the mere fact that for tactical reasons it might not be prudent for the defense to rebut victim impact evidence makes the case no different than others in which a party is faced with this sort of a dilemma. As we explained in rejecting the contention that expert testimony on future dangerousness should be excluded from capital trials, "the rules of evidence generally extant at the federal and state levels anticipate that relevant, unprivileged evidence should be admitted and its weight left to the factfinder, who would have the benefit of cross-examination and contrary evidence by the opposing party." Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 898 (1983).
Payne echoes the concern voiced in Booth's case that the admission of victim impact evidence permits a jury to find that defendants whose victims were assets to their community are more deserving of punishment than those whose victims are perceived to be less worthy. Booth, supra, at 506, n. 8. As a general matter, however, victim impact evidence is not offered to encourage comparative judgments of this kind - for instance, that the killer of a hardworking, devoted parent deserves the death penalty, but that the murderer of a reprobate does not. It is designed to show instead each victim's "uniqueness as an individual human being," whatever the jury might think the loss to the community resulting from his death might be. The facts of Gathers are an excellent illustration of this: The evidence showed that the victim was an out of work, mentally handicapped individual, [501 U.S. 808, 824] perhaps not, in the eyes of most, a significant contributor to society, but nonetheless a murdered human being.
Under our constitutional system, the primary responsibility for defining crimes against state law, fixing punishments for the commission of these crimes, and establishing procedures for criminal trials rests with the States. The state laws respecting crimes, punishments, and criminal procedure are, of course, subject to the overriding provisions of the United States Constitution. Where the State imposes the death penalty for a particular crime, we have held that the Eighth Amendment imposes special limitations upon that process.
Within the constitutional limitations defined by our cases, the States enjoy their traditional latitude to prescribe the method by which those who commit murder shall be punished." Blystone v. Pennsylvania, 494 U.S. 299, 309 (1990). The States remain free, in capital cases, as well as others, to [501 U.S. 808, 825] devise new procedures and new remedies to meet felt needs. Victim impact evidence is simply another form or method of informing the sentencing authority about the specific harm caused by the crime in question, evidence of a general type long considered by sentencing authorities. We think the Booth Court was wrong in stating that this kind of evidence leads to the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. In the majority of cases, and in this case, victim impact evidence serves entirely legitimate purposes. In the event that evidence is introduced that is so unduly prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a mechanism for relief. See Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 179 -183 (1986). Courts have always taken into consideration the harm done by the defendant in imposing sentence, and the evidence adduced in this case was illustrative of the harm caused by Payne's double murder.
We are now of the view that a State may properly conclude that for the jury to assess meaningfully the defendant's moral culpability and blameworthiness, it should have before it at the sentencing phase evidence of the specific harm caused by the defendant. "[T]he State has a legitimate interest in counteracting the mitigating evidence which the defendant is entitled to put in, by reminding the sentencer that just as the murderer should be considered as an individual, so too the victim is an individual whose death represents a unique loss to society and in particular to his family." Booth, 482 U.S., at 517 (WHITE, J., dissenting) (citation omitted). By turning the victim into a "faceless stranger at the penalty phase of a capital trial," Gathers, 490 U.S., at 821 (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting), Booth deprives the State of the full moral force of its evidence and may prevent the jury from having before it all the information necessary to determine the proper punishment for a first-degree murder.
The present case is an example of the potential for such unfairness. The capital sentencing jury heard testimony from [501 U.S. 808, 826] Payne's girlfriend that they met at church; that he was affectionate, caring, and kind to her children; that he was not an abuser of drugs or alcohol; and that it was inconsistent with his character to have committed the murders. Payne's parents testified that he was a good son, and a clinical psychologist testified that Payne was an extremely polite prisoner and suffered from a low IQ. None of this testimony was related to the circumstances of Payne's brutal crimes. In contrast, the only evidence of the impact of Payne's offenses during the sentencing phase was Nicholas' grandmother's description - in response to a single question - that the child misses his mother and baby sister. Payne argues that the Eighth Amendment commands that the jury's death sentence must be set aside because the jury heard this testimony. But the testimony illustrated quite poignantly some of the harm that Payne's killing had caused; there is nothing unfair about allowing the jury to bear in mind that harm at the same time as it considers the mitigating evidence introduced by the defendant. The Supreme Court of Tennessee in this case obviously felt the unfairness of the rule pronounced by Booth when it said: "It is an affront to the civilized members of the human race to say that at sentencing in a capital case, a parade of witnesses may praise the background, character and good deeds of Defendant (as was done in this case), without limitation as to relevancy, but nothing may be said that bears upon the character of, or the harm imposed, upon the victims." 791 S.W.2d, at 19.
In Gathers, as indicated above, we extended the holding of Booth barring victim impact evidence to the prosecutor's argument to the jury. Human nature being what it is, capable lawyers trying cases to juries try to convey to the jurors that the people involved in the underlying events are, or were, living human beings, with something to be gained or lost from the jury's verdict. Under the aegis of the Eighth Amendment, we have given the broadest latitude to the defendant to introduce relevant mitigating evidence reflecting [501 U.S. 808, 827] on his individual personality, and the defendant's attorney may argue that evidence to the jury. Petitioner's attorney in this case did just that. For the reasons discussed above, we now reject the view - expressed in Gathers - that a State may not permit the prosecutor to similarly argue to the jury the human cost of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted. We reaffirm the view expressed by Justice Cardozo in Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 122 (1934): "[J]ustice, though due to the accused, is due to the accuser also. The concept of fairness must not be strained till it is narrowed to a filament. We are to keep the balance true."
We thus hold that if the State chooses to permit the admission of victim impact evidence and prosecutorial argument on that subject, the Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar. A State may legitimately conclude that evidence about the victim and about the impact of the murder on the victim's family is relevant to the jury's decision as to whether or not the death penalty should be imposed. There is no reason to treat such evidence differently than other relevant evidence is treated.
Payne and his amicus argue that despite these numerous infirmities in the rule created by Booth and Gathers, we should adhere to the doctrine of stare decisis and stop short of overruling those cases. Stare decisis is the preferred course because it promotes the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles, fosters reliance on judicial decisions, and contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process. See Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U.S. 254, 265 -266 (1986). Adhering to precedent "is usually the wise policy, because in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than it be settled right." Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U.S. 393, 406 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting). Nevertheless, when governing decisions are unworkable or are badly reasoned, "this Court has never felt constrained to follow precedent." Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649, 665 (1944). [501 U.S. 808, 828] Stare decisis is not an inexorable command; rather, it "is a principle of policy and not a mechanical formula of adherence to the latest decision." Helvering v. Hallock, 309 U.S. 106, 119 (1940). This is particularly true in constitutional cases, because in such cases "correction through legislative action is practically impossible." Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., supra, at 407 (Brandeis, J., dissenting). Considerations in favor of stare decisis are at their acme in cases involving property and contract rights, where reliance interests are involved, see Swift & Co. v. Wickham, 382 U.S. 111, 116 (1965); Oregon ex rel. State Land Bd. v. Corvallis Sand & Gravel Co., 429 U.S. 363 (1977); Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., supra, at 405-411 (Brandeis, J., dissenting); United States v. Title Ins. & Trust Co., 265 U.S. 472 (1924); The Genesee Chief v. Fitzhugh, 12 HOW. 443, 458 (1852); the opposite is true in cases such as the present one involving procedural and evidentiary rules.
Applying these general principles, the Court has during the past 20 Terms overruled in whole or in part 33 of its previous constitutional decisions. 1 Booth and Gathers were [501 U.S. 808, 829] decided by the narrowest of margins, over spirited dissents challenging the basic underpinnings of those decisions. They have been questioned by Members of the Court in later [501 U.S. 808, 830] decisions and have defied consistent application by the lower courts. See Gathers, 490 U.S., at 813 (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting); Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S., at 395 -396 (REHNQUIST, C.J., dissenting). See also State v. Huertas, 51 Ohio St. 3d 22, 33, 553 N.E.2d 1058, 1070 (1990) ("The fact that the majority and two dissenters in this case all interpret the opinions and footnotes in Booth and Gathers differently demonstrates the uncertainty of the law in this area") (Moyer, C.J., concurring). Reconsidering these decisions now, we conclude, for the reasons heretofore stated, that they were wrongly decided and should be, and now are, overruled. 2 We accordingly affirm the judgment of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
[ Footnote 2 ] Our holding today is limited to the holdings of Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), that evidence and argument relating to the victim and the impact of the victim's death on the victim's family are inadmissible at a capital sentencing hearing. Booth also held that the admission of a victim's family members' characterizations and opinions about the crime, the defendant, and the appropriate sentence violates the Eighth Amendment. No evidence of the latter sort was presented at the trial in this case.
JUSTICE O'CONNOR, with whom JUSTICE WHITE and JUSTICE KENNEDY join, concurring.
In my view, a State may legitimately determine that victim impact evidence is relevant to a capital sentencing proceeding. A State may decide that the jury, before determining whether a convicted murderer should receive the death penalty, should know the full extent of the harm caused by the crime, including its impact on the victim's family and community. A State may decide also that the jury should see "a quick glimpse of the life petitioner chose to extinguish," Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 397 (1988) [501 U.S. 808, 831] (REHNQUIST, C.J., dissenting), to remind the jury that the person whose life was taken was a unique human being.
Given that victim impact evidence is potentially relevant, nothing in the Eighth Amendment commands that States treat it differently than other kinds of relevant evidence. "The Eighth Amendment stands as a shield against those practices and punishments which are either inherently cruel or which so offend the moral consensus of this society as to be deemed `cruel and unusual.'" South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805, 821 (1989) (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting). Certainly there is no strong societal consensus that a jury may not take into account the loss suffered by a victim's family or that a murder victim must remain a faceless stranger at the penalty phase of a capital trial. Just the opposite is true. Most States have enacted legislation enabling judges and juries to consider victim impact evidence. Ante, at 821. The possibility that this evidence may in some cases be unduly inflammatory does not justify a prophylactic, constitutionally based rule that this evidence may never be admitted. Trial courts routinely exclude evidence that is unduly inflammatory; where inflammatory evidence is improperly admitted, appellate courts carefully review the record to determine whether the error was prejudicial.
We do not hold today that victim impact evidence must be admitted, or even that it should be admitted. We hold merely that if a State decides to permit consideration of this evidence, "the Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar." Ante, at 827. If, in a particular case, a witness' testimony or a prosecutor's remark so infects the sentencing proceeding as to render it fundamentally unfair, the defendant may seek appropriate relief under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
That line was not crossed in this case. The State called as a witness Mary Zvolanek, Nicholas' grandmother. Her testimony was brief. She explained that Nicholas cried for his mother and baby sister and could not understand why they [501 U.S. 808, 832] did not come home. I do not doubt that the jurors were moved by this testimony - who would not have been? But surely this brief statement did not inflame their passions more than did the facts of the crime: Charisse Christopher was stabbed 41 times with a butcher knife and bled to death; her 2-year-old daughter Lacie was killed by repeated thrusts of that same knife; and 3-year-old Nicholas, despite stab wounds that penetrated completely through his body from front to back, survived - only to witness the brutal murders of his mother and baby sister. In light of the jury's unavoidable familiarity with the facts of Payne's vicious attack, I cannot conclude that the additional information provided by Mary Zvolanek's testimony deprived petitioner of due process.
Nor did the prosecutor's comments about Charisse and Lacie in the closing argument violate the Constitution. The jury had earlier seen a videotape of the murder scene that included the slashed and bloody corpses of Charisse and Lacie. In arguing that Payne deserved the death penalty, the prosecutor sought to remind the jury that Charisse and Lacie were more than just lifeless bodies on a videotape, that they were unique human beings. The prosecutor remarked that Charisse would never again sing a lullaby to her son and that Lacie would never attend a high school prom. In my view, these statements were permissible. "Murder is the ultimate act of depersonalization." Brief for Justice For All Political Committee et al. as Amici Curiae 3. It transforms a living person with hopes, dreams, and fears into a corpse, thereby taking away all that is special and unique about the person. The Constitution does not preclude a State from deciding to give some of that back.
I agree with the Court that Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and Gathers, supra, were wrongly decided. The Eighth Amendment does not prohibit a State from choosing to admit evidence concerning a murder victim's personal characteristics or the impact of the crime on the victim's [501 U.S. 808, 833] family and community. Booth also addressed another kind of victim impact evidence - opinions of the victim's family about the crime, the defendant, and the appropriate sentence. As the Court notes in today's decision, we do not reach this issue as no evidence of this kind was introduced at petitioner's trial. Ante, at 830, n. 2. Nor do we express an opinion as to other aspects of the prosecutor's conduct. As to the victim impact evidence that was introduced, its admission did not violate the Constitution. Accordingly, I join the Court's opinion.
JUSTICE SCALIA, with whom JUSTICE O'CONNOR and JUSTICE KENNEDY join as to Part II, concurring.
Today, however, JUSTICE MARSHALL demands of us some "special justification" - beyond the mere conviction that the rule of Booth significantly harms our criminal justice system and is egregiously wrong - before we can be absolved of exercising "[p]ower, not reason." Post, at 844. I do not think that is fair. In fact, quite to the contrary, what would enshrine power as the governing principle of this Court is the notion that an important constitutional decision with plainly inadequate rational support must be left in place for the sole reason that it once attracted five votes.
It seems to me difficult for those who were in the majority in Booth to hold themselves forth as ardent apostles of stare decisis. That doctrine, to the extent it rests upon anything more than administrative convenience, is merely the application [501 U.S. 808, 835] to judicial precedents of a more general principle that the settled practices and expectations of a democratic society should generally not be disturbed by the courts. It is hard to have a genuine regard for stare decisis without honoring that more general principle as well. A decision of this Court which, while not overruling a prior holding, nonetheless announces a novel rule, contrary to long and unchallenged practice, and pronounces it to be the Law of the Land - such a decision, no less than an explicit overruling, should be approached with great caution. It was, I suggest, Booth, and not today's decision, that compromised the fundamental values underlying the doctrine of stare decises.
JUSTICE SOUTER, with whom JUSTICE KENNEDY joins, concurring.
I join the Court's opinion addressing two categories of facts excluded from consideration at capital sentencing proceedings by Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989): information revealing the individuality of the victim and the impact of the crime on the victim's survivors. 1 As to these two categories, I believe Booth and Gathers were wrongly decided.
To my knowledge, our legal tradition has never included a general rule that evidence of a crime's effects on the victim and others is, standing alone, irrelevant to a sentencing determination of the defendant's culpability. Indeed, as the Court's opinion today, see ante, at 819-821, and dissents in Booth, supra, at 519-520 (opinion of SCALIA, J.) and Gathers, supra, at 817-820 (opinion of O'CONNOR, J.), make clear, criminal conduct has traditionally been categorized and penalized differently according to consequences not specifically [501 U.S. 808, 836] intended, but determined in part by conditions unknown to a defendant when he acted. The majority opinion in Booth, supra, at 502-503, nonetheless characterized the consideration in a capital sentencing proceeding of a victim's individuality and the consequences of his death on his survivors as "irrelevant" and productive of "arbitrary and capricious" results, insofar as that would allow the sentencing authority to take account of information not specifically contemplated by the defendant prior to his ultimate criminal decision. This condemnation comprehends two quite separate elements. As to one such element, the condemnation is merited but insufficient to justify the rule in Booth, and as to the other it is mistaken.
Evidence about the victim and survivors, and any jury argument predicated on it, can of course be so inflammatory as to risk a verdict impermissibly based on passion, not deliberation. Cf. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 319 -328 (1989) (capital sentence should be imposed as a "`reasoned moral response'") (quoting California v. Brown, 479 U.S. 538, 545 (1987) (O'CONNOR, J., concurring)); Gholson v. Estelle, 675 F.2d 734, 738 (CA5 1982) ("If a person is to be executed, it should be as a result of a decision based on reason and reliable evidence"). But this is just as true when the defendant knew of the specific facts as when he was ignorant of their details, and in each case there is a traditional guard against the inflammatory risk, in the trial judge's authority and responsibility to control the proceedings consistently with due process, on which ground defendants may object and, if necessary, appeal. See Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 178 -183 (1986) (due process standard of fundamental fairness governs argument of prosecutor at sentencing); United States v. Serhant, 740 F.2d 548, 551-552 (CA7 1984) (applying due process to purportedly "inflammatory" victim impact statements); see also Lesko v. Lehman, 925 F.2d 1527, 1545-1547 (CA3 1991); Coleman v. Saffle, 869 F.2d 1377, 1394-1396 (CA10 1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1090 [501 U.S. 808, 837] (1990); Rushing v. Butler, 868 F.2d 800, 806-807 (CA5 1989). With the command of due process before us, this Court and the other courts of the state and federal systems will perform the "duty to search for constitutional error with painstaking care," an obligation "never more exacting than it is in a capital case." Burger v. Kemp, 483 U.S. 776, 785 (1987).
Booth, supra, 2 nonetheless goes further and imposes a blanket prohibition on consideration of evidence of the victim's individuality and the consequential harm to survivors as irrelevant to the choice between imprisonment and execution, except when such evidence goes to the "circumstances of the crime," id., at 502, and probably then only when the facts in question were known to the defendant and relevant to his decision to kill, id., at 505. This prohibition rests on the belief that consideration of such details about the victim and survivors as may have been outside the defendant's knowledge is inconsistent with the sentencing jury's Eighth Amendment duty "in the unique circumstance of a capital sentencing hearing . . . to focus on the defendant as a `uniquely individual human bein[g].'" Id., at 504 (quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 304 (1976) (plurality opinion of Stewart, Powell, and STEVENS, JJ.)). The assumption made is that the obligation to consider the defendant's uniqueness limits the data about a crime's impact, on which a defendant's moral guilt may be calculated, to the facts he specifically knew and presumably considered. His uniqueness, in other words, is defined by the specifics of his knowledge and the reasoning that is thought to follow from it.
To hold, however, that in setting the appropriate sentence a defendant must be considered in his uniqueness is not to require that only unique qualities be considered. While a defendant's anticipation of specific consequences to the victims of his intended act is relevant to sentencing, such detailed [501 U.S. 808, 838] foreknowledge does not exhaust the category of morally relevant fact. One such fact that is known to all murderers and relevant to the blameworthiness of each one was identified by the Booth majority itself when it barred the sentencing authority in capital cases from considering "the full range of foreseeable consequences of a defendant's actions." 482 U.S., at 504 . Murder has foreseeable consequences. When it happens, it is always to distinct individuals, and, after it happens, other victims are left behind. Every defendant knows, if endowed with the mental competence for criminal responsibility, that the life he will take by his homicidal behavior is that of a unique person, like himself, and that the person to be killed probably has close associates, "survivors," who will suffer harms and deprivations from the victim's death. Just as defendants know that they are not faceless human ciphers, they know that their victims are not valueless fungibles; and just as defendants appreciate the web of relationships and dependencies in which they live, they know that their victims are not human islands, but individuals with parents or children, spouses or friends or dependents. Thus, when a defendant chooses to kill, or to raise the risk of a victim's death, this choice necessarily relates to a whole human being and threatens an association of others, who may be distinctly hurt. The fact that the defendant may not know the details of a victim's life and characteristics, or the exact identities and needs of those who may survive, should not in any way obscure the further facts that death is always to a "unique" individual, and harm to some group of survivors is a consequence of a successful homicidal act so foreseeable as to be virtually inevitable.
That foreseeability of the killing's consequences imbues them with direct moral relevance, cf. Penry v. Lynaugh, supra, at 328 (death penalty should be "`reasoned moral response'"), and evidence of the specific harm caused when a homicidal risk is realized is nothing more than evidence of the risk that the defendant originally chose to run despite the [501 U.S. 808, 839] kinds of consequences that were obviously foreseeable. It is morally both defensible and appropriate to consider such evidence when penalizing a murderer, like other criminals, in light of common knowledge and the moral responsibility that such knowledge entails. Any failure to take account of a victim's individuality and the effects of his death upon close survivors would thus more appropriately be called an act of lenity than their consideration an invitation to arbitrary sentencing. Indeed, given a defendant's option to introduce relevant evidence in mitigation, see, e. g., Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 113 -114 (1982); Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604 (1978), sentencing without such evidence of victim impact may be seen as a significantly imbalanced process. See Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 397 (1988) (REHNQUIST, C.J., dissenting).
I so view the relevance of the two categories of victim impact evidence at issue here, and I fully agree with the majority's conclusion, and the opinions expressed by the dissenters in Booth and Gathers, that nothing in the Eighth Amendment's condemnation of cruel and unusual punishment would require that evidence to be excluded. See ante, at 827 ("[I]f the State chooses to permit the admission of victim impact evidence and prosecutorial argument on that subject, the Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar"); Booth, supra, at 515-516 (WHITE, J., dissenting) (nothing "`cruel or unusual' or otherwise unconstitutional about the legislature's decision to use victim impact statements in capital sentencing hearings"); Gathers, 490 U.S., at 816 -821 (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting); id., at 823-825 (SCALIA, J., dissenting).
I do not, however, rest my decision to overrule wholly on the constitutional error that I see in the cases in question. I must rely as well on my further view that Booth sets an unworkable standard of constitutional relevance that threatens, on its own terms, to produce such arbitrary consequences and uncertainty of application as virtually to guarantee a result far diminished from the case's promise of appropriately [501 U.S. 808, 840] individualized sentencing for capital defendants. 482 U.S., at 502 . These conclusions will be seen to result from the interaction of three facts. First, although Booth was prompted by the introduction of a systematically prepared "victim impact statement" at the sentencing phase of the trial, Booth's restriction of relevant facts to what the defendant knew and considered in deciding to kill applies to any evidence, however derived or presented. Second, details of which the defendant was unaware, about the victim and survivors, will customarily be disclosed by the evidence introduced at the guilt phase of the trial. Third, the jury that determines guilt will usually determine, or make recommendations about, the imposition of capital punishment.
A hypothetical case will illustrate these facts and raise what I view as the serious practical problems with application of the Booth standard. Assume that a minister, unidentified as such and wearing no clerical collar, walks down a street to his church office on a brief errand, while his wife and adolescent daughter wait for him in a parked car. He is robbed and killed by a stranger, and his survivors witness his death. What are the circumstances of the crime that can be considered at the sentencing phase under Booth? The defendant did not know his victim was a minister, or that he had a wife and child, let alone that they were watching. Under Booth, these facts were irrelevant to his decision to kill, and they should be barred from consideration at sentencing. Yet evidence of them will surely be admitted at the guilt phase of the trial. The widow will testify to what she saw, and, in so doing, she will not be asked to pretend that she was a mere bystander. She could not succeed at that if she tried. The daughter may well testify too. The jury will not be kept from knowing that the victim was a minister, with a wife and child, on an errand to his church. This is so not only because the widow will not try to deceive the jury about her relationship, but also because the usual standards of trial relevance afford factfinders enough information about [501 U.S. 808, 841] surrounding circumstances to let them make sense of the narrowly material facts of the crime itself. No one claims that jurors in a capital case should be deprived of such common contextual evidence, even though the defendant knew nothing about the errand, the victim's occupation, or his family. And yet, if these facts are not kept from the jury at the guilt stage, they will be in the jurors' minds at the sentencing stage.
Booth thus raises a dilemma with very practical consequences. If we were to require the rules of guilt-phase evidence to be changed to guarantee the full effect of Booth's promise to exclude consideration of specific facts unknown to the defendant and thus supposedly without significance in morally evaluating his decision to kill, we would seriously reduce the comprehensibility of most trials by depriving jurors of those details of context that allow them to understand what is being described. If, on the other hand, we are to leave the rules of trial evidence alone, Booth's objective will not be attained without requiring a separate sentencing jury to be empaneled. This would be a major imposition on the States, however, and I suppose that no one would seriously consider adding such a further requirement.
But, even if Booth were extended one way or the other to exclude completely from the sentencing proceeding all facts about the crime's victims not known by the defendant, the case would be vulnerable to the further charge that it would lead to arbitrary sentencing results. In the preceding hypothetical, Booth would require that all evidence about the victim's family, including its very existence, be excluded from sentencing consideration because the defendant did not know of it when he killed the victim. Yet, if the victim's daughter had screamed "Daddy, look out," as the defendant approached the victim with drawn gun, then the evidence of at least the daughter's survivorship would be admissible even under a strict reading of Booth, because the defendant, prior to killing, had been made aware of the daughter's existence, [501 U.S. 808, 842] which therefore became relevant in evaluating the defendant's decision to kill. Resting a decision about the admission of impact evidence on such a fortuity is arbitrary.
Thus, the status quo is unsatisfactory, and the question is whether the case that has produced it should be overruled. In this instance, as in any other, overruling a precedent of this Court is a matter of no small import, for "the doctrine of stare decisis is of fundamental importance to the rule of law." Welch v. Texas Dept. of Highways and Public Transportation, 483 U.S. 468, 494 (1987). To be sure, stare decisis is not an "inexorable command," Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U.S. 393, 405 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting); and our "considered practice [has] not [been] to apply stare decisis as rigidly in constitutional [cases] as in nonconstitutional cases," Glidden Co. v. Zdanok, 370 U.S. 530, 543 (1962). See Burnet, supra, at 405-407; Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 172 -173 (1989). But, even in constitutional cases, the doctrine carries such persuasive force that we have always required a departure from precedent to be supported by some "special justification." Arizona v. Rumsey, 467 U.S. 203, 212 (1984).
The Court has a special justification in this case. Booth promises more than it can deliver, given the unresolved tension between common evidentiary standards at the guilt phase and Booth's promise of a sentencing determination free from the consideration of facts unknown to the defendant and irrelevant to his decision to kill. An extension of the case to guarantee a sentencing authority free from the influence of information extraneous under Booth would be either an unworkable or a costly extension of an erroneous principle and would itself create a risk of arbitrary results. There is only one other course open to us. We can recede from the erroneous holding that created the tension and extended the false promise, and there is precedent in our stare decisis jurisprudence for doing just this. In prior cases, when this Court has confronted a wrongly decided, unworkable [501 U.S. 808, 843] precedent calling for some further action by the Court, we have chosen not to compound the original error, but to overrule the precedent. See Swift & Co. v. Wickham, 382 U.S. 111 (1965); 3 Continental T.V., Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc., 433 U.S. 36 (1977); 4 see also Patterson v. McLean Credit [501 U.S. 808, 844] Union, supra, at 173. Following this course here has itself the support not only of precedent but of practical sense as well. Therefore, I join the Court in its partial overruling of Booth and Gathers.
[ Footnote 1 ] This case presents no challenge to the Court's holding in Booth v. Maryland that a sentencing authority should not receive a third category of information concerning a victim's family members' characterization of and opinions about the crime, the defendant, and the appropriate sentence See ante, at 830, n. 2.
[ Footnote 2 ] Because this discussion goes only to the underlying substantive rule in question, for brevity I will confine most references to Booth alone.
[ Footnote 3 ] In Swift & Co. v. Wickham, the Court overruled Kesler v. Department of Public Safety of Utah, 369 U.S. 153 (1962). The issue presented in both Swift and Kesler concerned the application of the three-judge district court statute, 28 U.S.C. 2281 (1970 ed.), in cases of alleged state statutory pre-emption by federal law. The Court had held in Kesler that " 2281 comes into play only when the Supremacy Clause of the Federal Constitution is immediately drawn in question, but not when issues of federal or state statutory construction must first be decided even though the Supremacy Clause may ultimately be implicated." 382 U.S., at 115 .
Three years later in Swift & Co. v. Wickham, a majority of the Court disagreed with the Kesler analysis of the question, finding it inconsistent with the statute and earlier precedents of this Court. 382 U.S., at 122 ("The upshot of these decisions seems abundantly clear: Supremacy Clause cases are not within the purview of 2281"). The Court concluded that there were
[ Footnote 4 ] In Continental T.V., Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc., the Court overruled United States v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co., 388 U.S. 365 (1967), which had held that "[u]nder the Sherman Act, it is [per se] unreasonable . . . for a manufacturer to seek to restrict and confine areas or persons with whom an article may be traded after the manufacturer has parted with dominion over it." Id., at 379. The decision distinguished between restrictions on retailers based on whether the underlying transaction was a sale, in which case the Court applied a per se ban, or not a sale, in which case the arrangement would be subject to a "rule of reason" analysis. In Continental T.V., Inc., the Court reconsidered this per se rule in light of our traditional reliance on a "rule of reason" analysis for 1 claims under the Sherman Act and the "continuing controversy and confusion, both in the [501 U.S. 808, 844] scholarly journals and in the federal courts" caused by the sale/nonsale distinction drawn by the Court in Shwinn. 433 U.S., at 47 -56. The Court proceeded to reexamination and concluded "that the distinction drawn in Schwinn between sale and nonsale transactions is not sufficient to justify the application of a per se rule in one situation and a rule of reason in the other. The question remains whether the per se rule stated in Schwinn should be expanded to include nonsale transactions or abandoned in favor of a return to the rule of reason." Id., at 57. The Court found "no persuasive support for expanding the per se rule," and Schwinn was overruled. 433 U.S., at 57 .
JUSTICE MARSHALL, with whom JUSTICE BLACKMUN joins, dissenting.
Power, not reason, is the new currency of this Court's decisionmaking. Four Terms ago, a five-Justice majority of this Court held that "victim impact" evidence of the type at issue in this case could not constitutionally be introduced during the penalty phase of a capital trial. Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987). By another 5-4 vote, a majority of this Court rebuffed an attack upon this ruling just two Terms ago. South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989). Nevertheless, having expressly invited respondent to renew the attack, 498 U.S. 1076 (1991), today's majority overrules Booth and Gathers and credits the dissenting views expressed in those cases. Neither the law nor the facts supporting Booth and Gathers underwent any change in the last four years. Only the personnel of this Court did.
In dispatching Booth and Gathers to their graves, today's majority ominously suggests that an even more extensive upheaval of this Court's precedents may be in store. Renouncing this Court's historical commitment to a conception of "the judiciary as a source of impersonal and reasoned judgments," Moragne v. States Marine Lines, 398 U.S. 375, 403 (1970), [501 U.S. 808, 845] the majority declares itself free to discard any principle of constitutional liberty which was recognized or reaffirmed over the dissenting votes of four Justices and with which five or more Justices now disagree. The implications of this radical new exception to the doctrine of stare decisis are staggering. The majority today sends a clear signal that scores of established constitutional liberties are now ripe for reconsideration, thereby inviting the very type of open defiance of our precedents that the majority rewards in this case. Because I believe that this Court owes more to its constitutional precedents in general and to Booth and Gathers in particular, I dissent.
There is nothing new in the majority's discussion of the supposed deficiencies in Booth and Gathers. Every one of the arguments made by the majority can be found in the dissenting opinions filed in those two cases, and, as I show in the margin, each argument was convincingly answered by Justice Powell and Justice Brennan. 1 [501 U.S. 808, 847]
But contrary to the impression that one might receive from reading the majority's lengthy rehearsing of the issues addressed in Booth and Gathers, the outcome of this case does [501 U.S. 808, 848] not turn simply on who - the Booth and Gathers majorities or the Booth and Gathers dissenters - had the better of the argument. Justice Powell and Justice Brennan's position carried the day in those cases and became the law of the land. The real question, then, is whether today's majority has come forward with the type of extraordinary showing that this Court has historically demanded before overruling one of its precedents. In my view, the majority clearly has not made any such showing. Indeed, the striking feature of the majority's opinion is its radical assertion that it need not even try.
Consequently, this Court has never departed from precedent without "special justification." Arizona v. Rumsey, 467 U.S. 203, 212 (1984). Such justifications include the advent of "subsequent changes or development in the law" that undermine a decision's rationale, Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, supra, at 173; the need "to bring [a decision] into agreement with experience and with facts newly ascertained," Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., supra, at 412 (Brandeis, J., dissenting); and a showing that a particular precedent has become a "detriment to coherence and consistency in the law," Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, supra, at 173.
The majority cannot seriously claim that any of these traditional bases for overruling a precedent applies to Booth or Gathers. The majority does not suggest that the legal rationale of these decisions has been undercut by changes or developments in doctrine during the last two years. Nor does the majority claim that experience over that period of time has discredited the principle that "any decision to impose the death sentence be, and appear to be, based on reason rather than caprice or emotion," Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 358 (1977) (plurality opinion), the larger postulate of political morality on which Booth and Gathers rest.
The majority does assert that Booth and Gathers "have defied consistent application by the lower courts," ante, at 830, [501 U.S. 808, 850] but the evidence that the majority proffers is so feeble that the majority cannot sincerely expect anyone to believe this claim. To support its contention, the majority points to JUSTICE O'CONNOR'S dissent in Gathers, which noted a division among lower courts over whether Booth prohibited prosecutorial arguments relating to the victim's personal characteristics. See 490 U.S., at 813 . That, of course, was the issue expressly considered and resolved in Gathers. The majority also cites THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S dissent in Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 395 -398 (1988). That opinion does not contain a single word about any supposed "[in]consistent application" of Booth in the lower courts. Finally, the majority refers to a divided Ohio Supreme Court decision disposing of an issue concerning victim-impact evidence. See State v. Huertas, 51 Ohio St. 3d 22, 553 N.E.2d 1058 (1990), cert. dism'd as improvidently granted, 498 U.S. 336 (1991). Obviously, if a division among the members of a single lower court in a single case were sufficient to demonstrate that a particular precedent was a "detriment to coherence and consistency in the law," Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, supra, at 173, there would hardly be a decision in United States Reports that we would not be obliged to reconsider.
It takes little real detective work to discern just what has changed since this Court decided Booth and Gathers: this Court's own personnel. Indeed, the majority candidly explains why this particular contingency, which until now has been almost universally understood not to be sufficient to warrant overruling a precedent, see, e. g., Florida Dept. of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Assn., 450 U.S. 147, 153 (1981) (STEVENS, J., concurring); Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co., 416 U.S. 600, 636 (1974) (Stewart, J., dissenting); Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 677 (1961) (Harlan, J., dissenting); but see South Carolina v. Gathers, supra, at 824 (SCALIA, J., dissenting), is sufficient to justify overruling Booth and Gathers. "Considerations in favor of stare decisis are at their acme," the majority explains, "in [501 U.S. 808, 851] cases involving property and contract rights, where reliance interests are involved[;] the opposite is true in cases such as the present one involving procedural and evidentiary rules." Ante, at 828 (citations omitted). In addition, the majority points out, "Booth and Gathers were decided by the narrowest of margins, over spirited dissents" and thereafter were "questioned by Members of the Court." Ante, at 828-829. Taken together, these considerations make it legitimate, in the majority's view, to elevate the position of the Booth and Gathers dissenters into the law of the land.
This truncation of the Court's duty to stand by its own precedents is astonishing. By limiting full protection of the doctrine of stare decisis to "cases involving property and contract rights," ante, at 828, the majority sends a clear signal that essentially all decisions implementing the personal liberties protected by the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment are open to reexamination. Taking into account the majority's additional criterion for overruling - that a case either was decided or reaffirmed by a 5-4 margin "over spirited dissen[t]," ante, at 829 - the continued vitality of literally scores of decisions must be understood to depend on nothing more than the proclivities of the individuals who now comprise a majority of this Court. See, e. g., Metro Broadcasting v. FCC, 497 U.S. 547 (1990) (authority of Federal government to set aside broadcast licenses for minority applicants); Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508 (1990) (right under Double Jeopardy Clause not to be subjected twice to prosecution for same criminal conduct); Mills v. Maryland, supra (Eighth Amendment right to jury instructions that do not preclude consideration of nonunanimous mitigating factors in capital sentencing); United States v. Paradise, 480 U.S. 149 (1987) (right to promotions as remedy for racial discrimination in government hiring); Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986) (Eighth Amendment right not to be executed if insane); Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986) (reaffirming [501 U.S. 808, 852] right to abortion recognized in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)); Aguilar v. Felton, 473 U.S. 402 (1985) (Establishment Clause bar on governmental financial assistance to parochial schools). 2
In my view, this impoverished conception of stare decisis cannot possibly be reconciled with the values that inform the proper judicial function. Contrary to what the majority suggests, stare decisis is important not merely because individuals rely on precedent to structure their commercial activity but because fidelity to precedent is part and parcel of a conception of "the judiciary as a source of impersonal and reasoned judgments." Moragne v. States Marine Lines, 398 U.S., at 403 . Indeed, this function of stare decisis is in many respects even more critical in adjudication involving constitutional liberties than in adjudication involving [501 U.S. 808, 853] commercial entitlements. Because enforcement of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment frequently requires this Court to rein in the forces of democratic politics, this Court can legitimately lay claim to compliance with its directives only if the public understands the Court to be implementing "principles . . . founded in the law rather than in the proclivities of individuals." Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U.S. 254, 265 (1986). 3 Thus, as JUSTICE STEVENS has explained, the "stron[g] presumption of validity" to which "recently decided cases" are entitled "is an essential thread in the mantle of protection that the law affords the individual. . . . It is the unpopular or beleaguered individual - not the man in power - who has the greatest stake in the integrity of the law." Florida Dept. of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Assn., 450 U.S., at 153 -154 (concurring opinion).
Carried to its logical conclusion, the majority's debilitated conception of stare decisis would destroy the Court's very capacity to resolve authoritatively the abiding conflicts between those with power and those without. If this Court shows so little respect for its own precedents, it can hardly expect them to be treated more respectfully by the state actors whom these decisions are supposed to bind. See [501 U.S. 808, 854] Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co., 416 U.S., at 634 (Stewart, J., dissenting). By signaling its willingness to give fresh consideration to any constitutional liberty recognized by a 5-4 vote "over spirited dissen[t]," ante, at 829, the majority invites state actors to renew the very policies deemed unconstitutional in the hope that this Court may now reverse course, even if it has only recently reaffirmed the constitutional liberty in question.
Indeed, the majority's disposition of this case nicely illustrates the rewards of such a strategy of defiance. The Tennessee Supreme Court did nothing in this case to disguise its contempt for this Court's decisions in Booth and Gathers. Summing up its reaction to those cases, it concluded:
Far from condemning this blatant disregard for the rule of law, the majority applauds it. In the Tennessee Supreme Court's denigration of Booth and Gathers as "`an affront to the civilized members of the human race,'" the majority finds only confirmation of "the unfairness of the rule pronounced by" the majorities in those cases. Ante, at 826. It is hard to imagine a more complete abdication of this Court's historic commitment to defending the supremacy of its own pronouncements on issues of constitutional liberty. See Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958); see also Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370, 375 (1982) (per curiam) ("[U]nless we wish anarchy to prevail within the federal judicial system, a precedent of this Court must be followed by the lower federal courts no matter how misguided the judges of those courts may think it to be"). In light of the cost that such abdication exacts on the authoritativeness of all of this Court's pronouncements, it is also hard to imagine a more short-sighted strategy for effecting change in our constitutional order. [501 U.S. 808, 856]
[ Footnote 1 ] The majority's primary argument is that punishment in criminal law is frequently based on an "assessment of [the] harm caused by the defendant as a result of the crime charged." Ante, at 819. See also Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 516 (1987) (WHITE, J., dissenting); id., at 519-520 (SCALIA, J., dissenting); South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805, 818 -819 (1989) (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting). Nothing in Booth or Gathers, however, conflicts with this unremarkable observation. These cases stand merely for the proposition that the State may not put on evidence of one particular species of harm - namely, that associated with the victim's personal characteristics independent of the circumstances of the offense - in the course of a capital murder proceeding. See Booth v. Maryland, supra, at 507, n. 10 (emphasizing that decision does not bar reliance on victim-impact evidence in capital sentencing so long as such evidence "relate[s] directly to the circumstances of the crime"); id., at 509, n. 12 (emphasizing that decision does not bar reliance on victim-impact evidence [501 U.S. 808, 847] in sentencing for noncapital crimes). It may be the case that such a rule departs from the latitude of sentencers in criminal law generally to "tak[e] into consideration the harm done by the defendant." Ante, at 825. But as the Booth Court pointed out, because this Court's capital-sentencing jurisprudence is founded on the premise that "death is a `punishment different from all other sanctions,'" it is completely unavailing to attempt to infer from sentencing considerations in noncapital settings the proper treatment of any particular sentencing issue in a capital case. 482 U.S., at 509 , n. 12, quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 303 -304, 305 (1976) (opinion of Stewart, Powell, and STEVENS, JJ.).
The majority also discounts Justice Powell's concern with the inherently prejudicial quality of victim-impact evidence. "[T]he mere fact that for tactical reasons it might not be prudent for the defense to rebut victim impact evidence," the majority protests, "makes the case no different than others in which a party is faced with this sort of a dilemma." Ante, at 823. See also Booth v. Maryland, supra, at 518 (WHITE, J., dissenting). Unsurprisingly, this tautology is completely unresponsive to Justice Powell's argument. The Booth Court established a rule excluding introduction of victim-impact evidence not merely because it is difficult to rebut - a feature of victim-impact evidence that may be "no different" from that of many varieties of relevant, legitimate evidence - but because the effect of this evidence in the sentencing proceeding is unfairly prejudicial: "The prospect of a `mini-trial' on the victim's character is more than simply unappealing; it could well distract the sentencing jury from its constitutionally required task - determining whether the death penalty is appropriate in light of the background and record of the accused and the particular circumstances of the crime." 482 U.S., at 507 . The law is replete with per se prohibitions of types of evidence the probative effect of which is generally outweighed by its unfair prejudice. See, e. g., Fed. Rules Evid. 404, 407-412. There is nothing anomalous in the notion that the Eighth Amendment would similarly exclude evidence that has an undue capacity to undermine the regime of individualized sentencing that our capital jurisprudence demands.
Finally, the majority contends that the exclusion of victim-impact evidence "deprives the State of the full moral force of its evidence and may prevent the jury from having before it all the information necessary to determine the proper punishment for a first-degree murder." Ante, at 825. The majorities recycled contention, see Booth, supra, at 517 (WHITE, J., [501 U.S. 808, 848] dissenting); id., at 520 (SCALIA, J., dissenting); Gathers, supra, at 817-818 (O'CONNOR, J., dissenting), begs the question. Before it is possible to conclude that the exclusion of victim-impact evidence prevents the State from making its case or the jury from considering relevant evidence, it is necessary to determine whether victim-impact evidence is consistent with the substantive standards that define the scope of permissible sentencing determinations under the Eighth Amendment. The majority offers no persuasive answer to Justice Powell and Justice Brennan's conclusion that victim-impact evidence is frequently irrelevant to any permissible sentencing consideration and that such evidence risks exerting illegitimate "moral force" by directing the jury's attention on illicit considerations such as the victim's standing in the community.
[ Footnote 2 ] Based on the majority's new criteria for overruling, these decisions, too, must be included on the "endangered precedents" list: Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 497 U.S. 62 (1990) (First Amendment right not to be denied public employment on the basis of party affiliation); Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Comm'n of Ill., 496 U.S. 91 (1990) (First Amendment right to advertise legal specialization); Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113 (1990) (due process right to procedural safeguards aimed at assuring voluntariness of decision to commit oneself to mental hospital); James v. Illinois, 493 U.S. 307 (1990) (Fourth Amendment right to exclusion of illegally obtained evidence introduced for impeachment of defense witness); Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378 (1987) (First Amendment right of public employee to express views on matter of public importance); Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44 (1987) (Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment right of criminal defendant to provide hypnotically refreshed testimony on his own behalf); Gray v. Mississippi, 481 U.S. 648 (1987) (rejecting applicability of harmless error analysis to Eighth Amendment right not to be sentenced to death by "death qualified" jury); Maine v. Moulton, 474 U.S. 159 (1985) (Sixth Amendment right to counsel violated by introduction of statements made to government informant codefendant in course of preparing defense strategy); Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985) (rejecting theory that Tenth Amendment provides immunity to States from federal regulation); Pulliam v. Allen, 466 U.S. 522 (1984) (right to obtain injunctive relief from constitutional violations committed by judicial officials).
[ Footnote 3 ] It does not answer this concern to suggest that Justices owe fidelity to the text of the Constitution rather than to the case law of this Court interpreting the Constitution. See, e. g., South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S., at 825 (SCALIA, J., dissenting). The text of the Constitution is rarely so plain as to be self-executing; invariably, this Court must develop mediating principles and doctrines in order to bring the text of constitutional provisions to bear on particular facts. Thus, to rebut the charge of personal lawmaking, Justices who would discard the mediating principles embodied in precedent must do more than state that they are following the "text" of the Constitution; they must explain why they are entitled to substitute their mediating principles for those that are already settled in the law. And such an explanation will be sufficient to legitimize the departure from precedent only if it measures up to the extraordinary standard necessary to justify overruling one of this Court's precedents. See generally Note, 103 Harv. L. Rev. 1344, 1351-1354 (1990).
[ Footnote 4 ] Equally unsatisfactory is the Tennessee Supreme Court's purported finding that any error associated with the victim-impact evidence in this case was harmless. See 791 S.W.2d, at 19. This finding was based on the court's conclusion that "the death penalty was the only rational punishment available" in light of the "inhuman brutality" evident in the circumstances of the murder. Ibid. It is well established that a State cannot make the death penalty mandatory for any class of aggravated murder; no matter how "brutal" the circumstances of the offense, the State must permit the sentencer discretion to impose a sentence of less than death. See [501 U.S. 808, 855] Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 325 (1976); Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280 (1976). It follows that an appellate court cannot deem error to be automatically harmless based solely on the aggravated character of a murder without assessing the impact of the error on the sentencer's discretion. Cf. Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738, 751 -752 (1990).
To sentence petitioner to death, the jury was required to find that the mitigating circumstances shown by petitioner did not outweigh the aggravating circumstances. See App. 21-22. In what it tried to pass off as harmless error analysis, the Tennessee Supreme Court failed to address how the victim-impact evidence introduced during the sentencing proceedings in this case likely affected the jury's determination that the balance of aggravating and mitigating circumstances dictated a death sentence. Outside of a videotape of the crime scene, the State introduced no additional substantive evidence in the penalty phase other than the testimony of Mary Zvolanek, mother and grandmother of the murder victims. See 791 S.W.2d, at 17. Under these circumstances, it is simply impossible to conclude that this victim-impact testimony, combined with the prosecutor's extrapolation from it in his closing argument, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE BLACKMUN joins, dissenting.
The novel rule that the Court announces today represents a dramatic departure from the principles that have governed our capital sentencing jurisprudence for decades. JUSTICE MARSHALL is properly concerned about the majority's trivialization of the doctrine of stare decisis. But even if Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), had not been decided, today's decision would represent a sharp break with past decisions. Our cases provide no support whatsoever for the majority's conclusion that the prosecutor may introduce evidence that sheds no light on the defendant's guilt or moral culpability, and thus serves no purpose other than to encourage jurors to decide in favor of death rather than life on the basis of their emotions rather than their reason.
Until today our capital punishment jurisprudence has required that any decision to impose the death penalty be based solely on evidence that tends to inform the jury about the character of the offense and the character of the defendant. evidence that serves no purpose other than to appeal to the [501 U.S. 808, 857] sympathies or emotions of the jurors has never been considered admissible. Thus, if a defendant, who had murdered a convenience store clerk in cold blood in the course of an armed robbery, offered evidence unknown to him at the time of the crime about the immoral character of his victim, all would recognize immediately that the evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible. Evenhanded justice requires that the same constraint be imposed on the advocate of the death penalty.
Almost 30 years after our decision in Williams, the Court reviewed the scope of evidence relevant in capital sentencing. See Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 (1978). In his plurality opinion, Chief Justice Burger concluded that in a capital case, the sentencer must not be prevented "from considering, as a mitigating factor, any aspect of a defendant's character or record and any of the circumstances of the offense that the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death." Id., at 604 (emphasis deleted). As in Williams, the character of the offense and the character of the offender constituted [501 U.S. 808, 858] the entire category of relevant evidence. "Victim impact" evidence was still unheard of when Lockett was decided.
As the Court acknowledges today, the use of victim impact evidence "is of recent origin," ante, at 821. Insofar as the Court's jurisprudence is concerned, this type of evidence made its first appearance in 1987 in Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 . In his opinion for the Court, Justice Powell noted that our prior cases had stated that the question whether an individual defendant should be executed is to be determined on the basis of "`the character of the individual and the circumstances of the crime,'" id., at 502 (quoting Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 879 (1983)). See also Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 112 (1982). Relying on those cases and on Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 801 (1982), the Court concluded that unless evidence has some bearing on the defendant's personal responsibility and moral guilt, its admission would create a risk that a death sentence might be based on considerations that are constitutionally impermissible or totally irrelevant to the sentencing process. 482 U.S., at 502 . Evidence that served no purpose except to describe the personal characteristics of the victim and the emotional impact of the crime on the victim's family was therefore constitutionally irrelevant.
Our decision in Booth was entirely consistent with the practices that had been followed "both before and since the American colonies became a nation," Williams, 337 U.S., at 246 . Our holding was mandated by our capital punishment jurisprudence, which requires any decision to impose the death penalty to be based on reason rather than caprice or emotion. See Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 362 (1977) (opinion of STEVENS, J.). The dissenting opinions in Booth and in Gathers can be searched in vain for any judicial precedent sanctioning the use of evidence unrelated to the character of the offense or the character of the offender in the sentencing process. Today, however, relying on nothing more than those dissenting opinions, the Court abandons [501 U.S. 808, 859] rules of relevance that are older than the Nation itself and ventures into uncharted seas of irrelevance.
Even if introduction of evidence about the victim could be equated with introduction of evidence about the defendant, the argument would remain flawed in both its premise and its conclusion. The conclusion that exclusion of victim impact evidence results in a significantly imbalanced sentencing procedure is simply inaccurate. Just as the defendant is entitled to introduce any relevant mitigating evidence, so the State may rebut that evidence and may designate any relevant conduct to be an aggravating factor provided that the factor is sufficiently well defined and consistently applied to cabin the sentencer's discretion.
The premise that a criminal prosecution requires an even-handed balance between the State and the defendant is also incorrect. The Constitution grants certain rights to the criminal defendant and imposes special limitations on the State designed to protect the individual from overreaching by the disproportionately powerful State. Thus, the State must prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. See In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970). Rules of evidence are also weighted in the defendant's favor. For example, the prosecution generally cannot introduce evidence of the defendant's character to prove his propensity to commit a crime, but the defendant can introduce such reputation evidence to show his law-abiding nature. See, e. g., Fed. Rule Evid. 404(a). Even if balance were required or desirable, today's decision, by permitting both the defendant and the State to introduce irrelevant evidence for the sentencer's consideration without any guidance, surely does nothing to enhance parity in the sentencing process.
Second, the quantity and quality of victim impact evidence sufficient to turn a verdict of life in prison into a verdict of death is not defined until after the crime has been committed and therefore cannot possibly be applied consistently in different cases. The sentencer's unguided consideration of victim impact evidence thus conflicts with the principle central to our capital punishment jurisprudence that, "where discretion is afforded a sentencing body on a matter so grave as the determination of whether a human life should be taken or spared, that discretion must be suitably directed and limited so as to minimize the risk of wholly arbitrary and capricious action." Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 189 (1976) (joint opinion of Stewart, Powell, and STEVENS, JJ.). Open-ended reliance by a capital sentencer on victim impact evidence simply does not provide a "principled way to distinguish [cases], in which the death penalty [i]s imposed, from the many cases in which it [i]s not." Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 433 (1980) (opinion of Stewart, J.).
The majority attempts to justify the admission of victim impact evidence by arguing that "consideration of the harm caused by the crime has been an important factor in the exercise of [sentencing] discretion." Ante, at 820. This statement is misleading and inaccurate. It is misleading because it is not limited to harm that is foreseeable. It is inaccurate because it fails to differentiate between legislative determinations and judicial sentencing. It is true that an evaluation of [501 U.S. 808, 862] the harm caused by different kinds of wrongful conduct is a critical aspect in legislative definitions of offenses and determinations concerning sentencing guidelines. There is a rational correlation between moral culpability and the foreseeable harm caused by criminal conduct. Moreover, in the capital sentencing area, legislative identification of the special aggravating factors that may justify the imposition of the death penalty is entirely appropriate. 2 But the majority cites no authority for the suggestion that unforeseeable and indirect harms to a victim's family are properly considered as aggravating evidence on a case-by-case basis.
The dissents in Booth and Gathers and the majority today offer only the recent decision in Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (1987), and two legislative examples to support their contention that harm to the victim has traditionally influenced sentencing discretion. Tison held that the death penalty may be imposed on a felon who acts with reckless disregard for human life if a death occurs in the course of the felony, even though capital punishment cannot be imposed if no one dies as a result of the crime. The first legislative example is that attempted murder and murder are classified as two different offenses subject to different punishments. Ante, at 819. The second legislative example is that a person who drives while intoxicated is guilty of vehicular homicide if his actions result in a death but is not guilty of this offense if he has the good fortune to make it home without killing anyone. See Booth, 482 U.S., at 516 (WHITE, J., dissenting). [501 U.S. 808, 863]
These three scenarios, however, are fully consistent with the Eighth Amendment jurisprudence reflected in Booth and Gathers and do not demonstrate that harm to the victim may be considered by a capital sentencer in the ad hoc and post hoc manner authorized by today's majority. The majority's examples demonstrate only that harm to the victim may justify enhanced punishment if the harm is both foreseeable to the defendant and clearly identified in advance of the crime by the legislature as a class of harm that should in every case result in more severe punishment.
In each scenario, the defendants could reasonably foresee that their acts might result in loss of human life. In addition, in each, the decision that the defendants should be treated differently was made prior to the crime by the legislature, the decision of which is subject to scrutiny for basic rationality. Finally, in each scenario, every defendant who causes the well-defined harm of destroying a human life will be subject to the determination that his conduct should be punished more severely. The majority's scenarios therefore provide no support for its holding, which permits a jury to sentence a defendant to death because of harm to the victim and his family that the defendant could not foresee, which was not even identified until after the crime had been committed, and which may be deemed by the jury, without any rational explanation, to justify a death sentence in one case but not in another. Unlike the rule elucidated by the scenarios on which the majority relies, the majority's holding offends the Eighth Amendment because it permits the sentencer to rely on irrelevant evidence in an arbitrary and capricious manner.
The majority's argument that "the sentencing authority has always been free to consider a wide range of relevant material," ante, at 820-821 (emphasis added), thus cannot justify consideration of victim impact evidence that is irrelevant because it details harms that the defendant could not have foreseen. Nor does the majority's citation of Gregg v. Georgia [501 U.S. 808, 864] concerning the "wide scope of evidence and argument allowed at presentence hearings," 428 U.S., at 203 (joint opinion of Stewart, Powell, and STEVENS, JJ.), support today's holding. See ante, at 821. The Gregg joint opinion endorsed the sentencer's consideration of a wide range of evidence "[s]o long as the evidence introduced and the arguments made at the presentence hearing do not prejudice a defendant." 428 U.S., at 203 -204. Irrelevant victim impact evidence that distracts the sentencer from the proper focus of sentencing and encourages reliance on emotion and other arbitrary factors necessarily prejudices the defendant.
The majority's apparent inability to understand this fact is highlighted by its misunderstanding of Justice Powell's argument in Booth that admission of victim impact evidence is undesirable because it risks shifting the focus of the sentencing hearing away from the defendant and the circumstances of the crime and creating a "`mini-trial' on the victim's character." 482 U.S., at 507 . Booth found this risk insupportable not, as today's majority suggests, because it creates a "tactical" "dilemma" for the defendant, see ante, at 823, but because it allows the possibility that the jury will be so distracted by prejudicial and irrelevant considerations that it will base its life-or-death decision on whim or caprice. See 482 U.S., at 506 -507.
Arguing in the alternative, JUSTICE SOUTER correctly points out that victim impact evidence will sometimes come to the attention of the jury during the guilt phase of the trial. Ante, at 840. He reasons that the ideal of basing sentencing determinations entirely on the moral culpability of the defendant is therefore unattainable unless a different jury is empaneled for the sentencing hearing. Ante, at 841. Thus, to justify overruling Booth, he assumes that the decision must otherwise be extended far beyond its actual holding.
JUSTICE SOUTER'S assumption is entirely unwarranted. For as long as the contours of relevance at sentencing hearings have been limited to evidence concerning the character of the offense and the character of the offender, the law has also recognized that evidence that is admissible for a proper purpose may not be excluded because it is inadmissible for other purposes and may indirectly prejudice the jury. See 1 J. Wigmore, Evidence 13 (P. Tillers rev. 1983). In the case before us today, much of what might be characterized as victim impact evidence was properly admitted during the guilt phase of the trial and, given the horrible character of this crime, may have been sufficient to justify the Tennessee Supreme Court's conclusion that the error was harmless because the jury would necessarily have imposed the death sentence even absent the error. The fact that a good deal of [501 U.S. 808, 866] such evidence is routinely and properly brought to the attention of the jury merely indicates that the rule of Booth may not affect the outcome of many cases.
In reaching our decision today, however, we should not be concerned with the cases in which victim impact evidence will not make a difference. We should be concerned instead with the cases in which it will make a difference. In those cases, defendants will be sentenced arbitrarily to death on the basis of evidence that would not otherwise be admissible because it is irrelevant to the defendants' moral culpability. The Constitution's proscription against the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty must necessarily proscribe the admission of evidence that serves no purpose other than to result in such arbitrary sentences.
Given the current popularity of capital punishment in a crime-ridden society, the political appeal of arguments that assume that increasing the severity of sentences is the best cure for the cancer of crime, and the political strength of the "victims' rights" movement, I recognize that today's decision will be greeted with enthusiasm by a large number of concerned and thoughtful citizens. The great tragedy of the decision, however, is the danger that the "hydraulic pressure" of public opinion that Justice Holmes once described 3 - and that properly influences the deliberations of democratic legislatures - has played a role not only in the Court's decision to hear this case, 4 and in its decision to reach the constitutional question without pausing to consider affirming on the basis of the Tennessee Supreme Court's rationale, 5 but even in its resolution of the constitutional issue involved. Today is a sad day for a great institution.
[ Footnote 2 ] Thus, it is entirely consistent with the Eighth Amendment principles underlying Booth and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), to authorize the death sentence for the assassination of the President or Vice President, see 18 U.S.C. 1751, 1111, a Congressman, Cabinet official, Supreme Court Justice, or the head of an executive department, 351, or the murder of a policeman on active duty, see Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, 413(d)(1) (1987). Such statutory provisions give the potential offender notice of the special consequences of his crime and ensure that the legislatively determined punishment will be applied consistently to all defendants. | <urn:uuid:94b2155d-0695-4890-b461-99b8e6805633> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=501&invol=808 | 2013-06-20T02:16:52Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951056 | 21,519 |
Leah A. BILYEU, Plaintiff-counter-defendant Appellant, v. MORGAN STANLEY LONG TERM DISABILITY PLAN; Morgan Stanley Long Term Disability Plan Administrator, Defendants–Appellees, First Unum Life Insurance Company, Defendant-counter-claimant Appellee.
Argued and Submitted Aug. 29, 2011. -- June 20, 2012
Randolph G. Bachrach, Chandler, AZ; Kevin Koelbel (argued), Chandler, AZ, for the appellant.Ann Martha Andrews, Kristina N. Holmstrom and Lawrence Kasten (argued), Lewis and Roca LLP, Phoenix, AZ, for the appellee.
Leah A. Bilyeu appeals the district court's dismissal of her claim challenging the termination of her long-term disability benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1132. Bilyeu also challenges the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of First Unum Life Insurance Company (Unum) on Unum's counterclaim for restitution of overpaid benefits. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate and remand.
We vacate the judgment in favor of Unum on Bilyeu's claim for denial of benefits. We hold that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing this claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The exhaustion requirement should have been excused because Bilyeu acted reasonably in light of Unum's ambiguous communications and failure to engage in a meaningful dialogue.
We also vacate the judgment in favor of Unum on Unum's counterclaim for reimbursement of overpaid long-term disability benefits. Unum has not shown that it is seeking equitable relief because it has not satisfied the elements for an equitable lien by agreement, which is the only form of equitable relief Unum has asserted. These elements are not satisfied because the particular fund subject to the lien, having been dissipated, is no longer in Bilyeu's possession. Unum thus seeks only the imposition of personal liability against Bilyeu, to be paid out of her general assets. That is quintessentially legal, rather than equitable, relief.
Bilyeu was employed by Discover Financial Services from 1987 through April 2004. Compl. ¶ 8. Morgan Stanley Long–Term Disability Plan (the Plan) provides benefits for long-term disabilities to Discover employees. Id. ¶¶ 4–5. Unum is the Plan's claim administrator, and also the insurer and payor of Plan benefits. Id. ¶¶ 6–7.
Alleging she suffered from several medical conditions that prevented her from materially performing the duties of any occupation, Bilyeu filed a long-term disability (LTD) claim with Unum in April 2004. Id. ¶¶ 9–10. These conditions included Behçet's disease, fatigue and anxiety. Id. ¶¶ 12–18; Clerk's Record 13–2 at 3. Unum approved the claim in October 2004. Compl. ¶ 11. Under the Plan, benefits for disabilities arising from mental illness are limited to 24 months. Id. ¶ 19. Unum concluded that Bilyeu's disability was subject to the mental illness limitation. Id. Bilyeu disputed that conclusion. Id. ¶¶ 12–20.
Nearing the 24–month deadline, Dr. Sharon Hogan, a medical consultant for Unum, called Bilyeu's treating physician, Dr. Kenneth Proefrock, to discuss her medical condition. Clerk's Record 15.1 at 5–7. On December 6, 2006, Dr. Hogan sent a summary of the conversation to Dr. Proefrock, asking him to respond within 10 business days if he believed the letter inaccurately summarized their conversation. Id. at 6. The letter reflected disagreement between Dr. Hogan and Dr. Proefrock regarding the nature of Bilyeu's limitations. Dr. Hogan believed “Bilyeu's fatigue in large part arises from her anxiety and depression, since her Behçet's is not very active.” Id. at 6. It was Dr. Proefrock's opinion, however, “that her fatigue is mainly physical.” Id. Dr. Hogan also believed that Bilyeu “should have full-time sedentary work capacity,” an assessment with which Dr. Proefrock disagreed. Id. at 5; Clerk's Record 13–2 at 3.
On December 27, 2006, Unum sent Bilyeu a termination of benefits letter. Clerk's Record 13–2. Unum terminated benefits under the Plan provision limiting disability benefits due to mental illness to 24 months. Id. at 3. The letter reported that, although “fatigue can result from Behcet's, ․ your anxiety and depression are the more likely causes of your fatigue.” Id. It said, “because your claim is subject to a 24 month mental [illness] limitation and we have now provided 24 months of benefits, we will stop paying benefits on your claim as of December 03, 2006 and your claim will be closed at this time.” Id. at 4. The letter also recorded Unum's conclusion that “you have full time sedentary work capacity” and thus “no longer meet the definition of disability from a physical perspective.” Id. The letter noted Dr. Proefrock's contrary determination that Bilyeu was unable to return to work. Id. at 3.
The letter then advised Bilyeu:
If you have additional information to support your request for disability benefits, it must be sent to my attention for further review at the address noted on this letterhead, within 180 days of the date you receive this letter.
However, if you disagree with our determination and want to appeal this claim decision, you must submit a written appeal. This appeal must be received by us within 180 days of the date you receive this letter.
Id. at 4. The “address noted on this letterhead” was:
First Unum Life Insurance Company
The Benefits Center
PO Box 100158
Columbia, SC 29202–3158
Id. at 1.
After receiving Unum's termination of benefits letter, Bilyeu asked Dr. Proefrock to respond to the letter. Compl. ¶ 22. Dr. Proefrock did so, writing a letter to Unum on April 19, 2007. Id. ¶ 23. Dr. Proefrock's letter was addressed “To Whom It May Concern” and, it appears, faxed to 1–800–447–2498—the number listed in the letterhead of Unum's December 27, 2006 termination of benefits letter as the place to send “additional information to support your request for disability benefits.” Clerk's Record 15–1 at 2–4.
Unum construed Dr. Proefrock's letter as “new information,” but concluded that it did not “change[the] prior decision” to terminate benefits. Id. at 9. Unum, however, never communicated this conclusion to Bilyeu or, for that matter, contacted Bilyeu or Dr. Proefrock at all in response to the letter. Compl. ¶ 27.
In November 2008, Bilyeu filed a complaint against Unum, alleging that Unum wrongfully terminated benefits under the 24–month mental illness limitation because “[t]he substantial weight of the medical opinion contained in the claim file reasonably supports a finding that [her] disability is not due to ‘mental illness,’ rather, it is due to an autoimmune condition which was exacerbated by anxiety and mental/emotional stressors in [her] life.” Id. ¶ 20. The complaint sought a reinstatement of benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). Id. at ¶ 44.
Unum filed an answer and a counterclaim. In its counterclaim, Unum sought reimbursement of overpaid long-term disability benefits. Unum alleged that it had paid Bilyeu LTD benefits subject to her promise to reimburse Unum for any overpayment arising from her receipt of disability benefits from any other source, including social security disability benefits. Answer and Counterclaim ¶¶ 5–10. Bilyeu subsequently received an award of social security benefits, resulting in an overpayment of LTD benefits in the amount of $36,597.82. Id. ¶¶ 11–12. Unum's counterclaim sought to recover the overpayment from Bilyeu. Specifically, Unum asserted a claim for equitable relief under ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3), as well as a claim for breach of contract. Id. at 7–8.
Unum then moved to dismiss Bilyeu's denial-of-benefits claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Clerk's Record 13. In that motion, Unum contended that the December 2006 termination of benefits letter required Bilyeu to file a written appeal within 180 days, which she failed to do. Id. Unum thus sought dismissal of Bilyeu's claim. The district court granted the motion, concluding that Bilyeu failed to exhaust administrative remedies and dismissing Bilyeu's claim with prejudice. Clerk's Record 21 at 7.
Unum then filed a motion for summary judgment on its counterclaim for reimbursement of overpaid benefits. Clerk's Record 28. Unum argued that it was entitled to relief under ERISA because it “has an equitable lien by agreement over the long-term disability benefits that it overpaid to Bilyeu.” Id. at 1. Bilyeu opposed the motion, arguing that Unum could not satisfy the requirements for an equitable lien by agreement because it could not establish that the overpaid LTD benefits remained in her possession. Clerk's Record 30 at 2. The parties stipulated that, by the time Bilyeu was awarded social security benefits, “she had dissipated at least a portion of her LTD benefits.” Joint Statement of Facts¶ 15. The district court granted Unum's motion, and it directed the clerk of court “to enter judgment in the amount of $36,597.82 in favor of [Unum].” Clerk's Record 32 at 6.
The court entered judgment and Bilyeu timely appealed. Clerk's Record 33, 35.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
The district court dismissed Bilyeu's denial-of-benefits claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Both parties, however, have relied on matters outside the pleadings. Consistent with circuit practice addressing exhaustion, we construe Unum's motion as an unenumerated motion to dismiss. In addressing that motion, a court may look beyond the pleadings and decide disputed issues of fact. See Payne v. Peninsula Sch. Dist., 653 F.3d 863, 881 (9th Cir.2011) (en banc); Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F .3d 1108, 1119–20 (9th Cir.2003). We review for an abuse of discretion a district court's refusal to grant an exception to ERISA's exhaustion requirement. See Barboza v. Cal. Ass'n of Prof'l Firefighters, 651 F.3d 1073, 1076 (9th Cir.2011). We review de novo the grant or denial of summary judgment. See Russell Country Sportsmen v. U.S. Forest Serv., 668 F.3d 1037, 1041 (9th Cir.2011).
III. BILYEU'S DENIAL–OF–BENEFITS CLAIM: EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES
We hold that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing Bilyeu's denial-of-benefits claim for a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
“ERISA itself does not require a participant or beneficiary to exhaust administrative remedies in order to bring an action under § 502 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132.” Vaught v. Scottsdale Healthcare Corp. Health Plan, 546 F.3d 620, 626 (9th Cir.2008). We have, however, adopted a “prudential exhaustion requirement.” Id. Thus, “[a]s a general rule, an ERISA claimant must exhaust available administrative remedies before bringing a claim in federal court.” Barboza, 651 F.3d at 1076. “However, when an employee benefits plan fails to establish or follow ‘reasonable claims procedures' consistent with the requirements of ERISA, a claimant need not exhaust because his claims will be deemed exhausted.” Id. (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 2560.503–1(l )). ERISA, moreover, requires “a meaningful dialogue between ERISA plan administrators and their beneficiaries.” Booton v. Lockheed Med. Benefit Plan, 110 F.3d 1461, 1463 (9th Cir.1997).
Here, Unum's December 27, 2006 termination of benefits letter advised Bilyeu of two courses of action, either of which she was required to undertake within 180 days: (a) providing “additional information to support your request for disability benefits” or (b) “if you disagree with our determination and want to appeal this claim decision, you must submit a written appeal.” After receiving Unum's letter, Bilyeu asked her treating physician, Dr. Proefrock, to respond, and he did so, writing a letter to Unum on April 19, 2007—well within the 180–day window required in Unum's letter. Dr. Proefrock addressed his letter “To Whom It May Concern” and faxed it to 1–800–447–2498—the number listed in the letterhead of Unum's December 27, 2006 termination of benefits letter as the place to send “additional information to support your request for disability benefits.”
Unum construed Dr. Proefrock's letter as “new information,” but concluded that it did not “change[the] prior decision” to terminate benefits. Unum, however, never communicated this conclusion to Bilyeu or, for that matter, contacted Bilyeu or Dr. Proefrock at all in response to the letter. Meanwhile, according to Unum, Bilyeu's deadline to appeal expired sometime after June 25, 2007, 180 days after the termination of benefits letter.
Under the circumstances of this case, exhaustion must be excused. Bilyeu contends that she read the termination of benefits letter as presenting two options—she could either (a) submit additional information or (b) file a written appeal. The letter was ambiguous, so Bilyeu's reading was not unreasonable. On the contrary, given that it would have made no sense to appeal the adverse benefits decision while simultaneously submitting additional medical information from her physician, as she was invited to do by Unum, her reading of the letter was entirely appropriate.
We recognize that the letter is also susceptible to the reading proffered by Unum—that Bilyeu was required to file an appeal within 180 days even if she submitted additional medical information. But the letter could have been, and should have been, much clearer on this point. Bilyeu was not represented by counsel and, we presume, had no legal training. She should not be saddled with a loss of her legal rights because she misconstrued a confusingly worded communication from her plan's claims administrator. Cf. Saffon v. Wells Fargo & Co. Long Term Disability Plan, 522 F.3d 863, 870 (9th Cir.2008) (“[The insurer's] communications with[the insured] and her doctors are hardly a model of clarity; they certainly do not explain ‘in a manner calculated to be understood by the claimant’ what [she] must do to perfect her claim.”); White v. Jacobs Eng'g Grp. Long Term Disability Benefit Plan, 896 F.2d 344, 350 (9th Cir.1990) (“When a benefits termination notice fails to explain the proper steps for appeal, the plan's time bar is not triggered.”). A communication from a claims administrator to a plan participant should clearly apprise her of her rights and obligations under the plan. Unum's letter did not do so. Nor did Bilyeu receive timely notice that Unum considered her reading of the letter to be wrong, because Unum never responded to Dr. Proefrock's timely letter.1
We hold that the district court abused its discretion by barring Bilyeu's claim.
IV. UNUM'S COUNTERCLAIM
A. Bilyeu Waived Her Argument That Unum Lacks Statutory Standing as a Fiduciary
Bilyeu argues for the first time on appeal that Unum lacks standing to seek equitable restitution under ERISA because Unum is not a plan “fiduciary.” This is a challenge to Unum's statutory standing. Cf. Leeson v. Transamerica Disability Income Plan, 671 F.3d 969, 971 (9th Cir.2012) (“Whether [the plaintiff] is a participant for purposes of ERISA is a substantive element of his claim, not a prerequisite for subject matter jurisdiction.”); Harris v. Amgen, Inc., 573 F.3d 728, 732 n. 3 (9th Cir.2009) (same); Vaughn v. Bay Envtl. Mgmt., Inc., 567 F.3d 1021, 1024 (9th Cir.2009) (same); Parker v. Bain, 68 F.3d 1131, 1138 (9th Cir.1995) (treating a plaintiff's status as a “fiduciary” under ERISA as a question of statutory standing).
Unlike constitutional standing, which is jurisdictional, we presume that statutory standing may be waived. See Leeson, 671 F.3d at 975 n. 12; cf. Pershing Park Villas Homeowners Ass'n v. United Pac. Ins. Co., 219 F.3d 895, 899 (9th Cir.2000) (distinguishing constitutional standing from prudential standing, and holding that “a party waives objections to non-constitutional standing not properly raised before the district court”); Sycuan Band of Mission Indians v. Roache, 54 F.3d 535, 538 (9th Cir.1995) (same). By failing to raise this argument before the district court, Bilyeu thus waived her challenge to Unum's standing as a fiduciary under ERISA.
B. The District Court Improperly Awarded Legal Relief
Unum paid Bilyeu long-term disability benefits pursuant to Bilyeu's agreement to reimburse Unum “any overpayment resulting from my receipt of benefits from other sources.” Joint Statement of Facts ¶ 12. The agreement stated in pertinent part:
Please pay me the disability benefit with no reduction for amounts received by other sources until a final determination of my eligibility to receive those benefits is made. I understand that this may result in an overpayment by the Insurer. I agree to notify the Insurer within 48 hours of receiving notice of any and all decisions, to supply the Insurer with a copy of the final decision, and to repay any overpayment incurred as a result of receiving any other benefits from those sources specified in the policy․
By selecting [this] Option ․, I understand that the Insurer has agreed to pay me an unreduced benefit based upon my written promise herein to pay the Insurer any overpayment resulting from my receipt of benefits from other sources, as outlined in my policy. I agree to reimburse the Insurer any such over-payment within thirty (30) days of my receipt of such funds.
If I fail to pay the Insurer the overpayment within the thirty (30) day period specified above, I understand that the Insurer may reduce future payments under the policy in order to recover the overpaid benefits.
I also understand that I shall be liable to the Insurer for the full amount of any such overpayment, plus applicable statutory interest, and for all reasonable costs (including attorney's fees) of collection of the overpaid benefits.
Id. Bilyeu subsequently received social security disability benefits, but did not reimburse Unum. Id.¶¶ 16–19. Unum filed a counterclaim for reimbursement of the overpaid benefits.
Ordinarily, a contracting party in Unum's position would file a claim for breach of contract and seek relief in the form of a judgment for money damages.2 Under ERISA, however, a plan fiduciary such as Unum can seek only “equitable relief” from a plan participant such as Bilyeu. 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3)(B). Section 1132(a) provides:
A civil action may be brought ․ (3) by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary (A) to enjoin any act or practice which violates any provision of this subchapter or the terms of the plan, or (B) to obtain other appropriate equitable relief (i) to redress such violations or (ii) to enforce any provisions of this subchapter or the terms of the plan.
29 U.S.C. § 1132(a) (emphasis added). Unum therefore cannot sue for damages under ERISA; it must show that it is seeking equitable relief.
Unum contends it has made this showing because it is seeking an equitable lien by agreement. Clerk's Record 28 at 1, 6–7; Answering Brief at 36. The Supreme Court has recognized an equitable lien by agreement as a form of “equitable relief” authorized by § 1132(a)(3)(B). See Sereboff v. Mid Atl. Med. Servs., Inc., 547 U.S. 356, 364–65 (2006).3 The only question, therefore, is whether Unum has satisfied the requirements for an equitable lien by agreement in this case. We begin by summarizing Sereboff.
The Sereboffs were beneficiaries of a health insurance plan governed by ERISA and administered by Mid Atlantic. See id. at 359. The plan provided for payment of covered medical expenses, subject to an “Acts of Third Parties” provision requiring a beneficiary to reimburse Mid Atlantic in the event of recovery from a third-party tortfeasor. See id. This provision applied when a beneficiary was sick or injured as a result of the act or omission of another person or party, and required a beneficiary who received benefits under the plan for such injuries to reimburse Mid Atlantic for those benefits from all recoveries from a third party, whether by lawsuit, settlement or otherwise. See id. After the Sereboffs were injured in an automobile accident and the plan paid their medical expenses, the Sereboffs recovered a tort settlement from third parties. See id. at 360. Mid Atlantic filed suit under ERISA seeking to recover their medical payments from the Sereboffs' tort recovery. See id. The Sereboffs agreed to set aside from the tort recovery a sum equal to the amount Mid Atlantic claimed, and to preserve that sum in a segregated investment account pending the outcome of the suit. See id.
The Supreme Court held that Mid Atlantic could enforce the terms of the Acts of Third Parties provision through an equitable lien by agreement—“the familiar rul[e] of equity that a contract to convey a specific object even before it is acquired will make the contractor a trustee as soon as he gets a title to the thing.” Id. at 363–64 (alteration in original) (quoting Barnes v. Alexander, 232 U.S. 117, 121 (1914)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Sereboff's promise to reimburse Mid Atlantic from any recovery from a third party created a lien upon that recovery as soon as it was created. See id. at 364. Mid Atlantic was allowed to follow a portion of the tort recovery into the Sereboffs' hands, and to impose upon that portion an equitable lien. See id.
The Court also made clear that, to satisfy the requirements for an equitable lien by agreement, Mid Atlantic was not required to trace the funds in the Sereboffs' tort recovery back to Mid Atlantic's own possession. See id. at 364–65. The Sereboffs had argued that “strict tracing rules” applied to a claim for equitable restitution. See Reply Brief for Petitioners at 8–11, Sereboff v. Mid Atl. Med. Servs., Inc., 547 U.S. 356 (2006) (No. 05–260), 2006 WL 717048 at *8–11. They maintained that Mid Atlantic could not satisfy those tracing rules because its “claim is not for return of particular money that the Plan paid to the Sereboffs,” but rather was a claim to “recover new money paid out by third parties.” Id. at 9.
The Court declined to say whether a rule requiring the plaintiff to trace the fund or property back to the plaintiff's own possession would apply to a claim for equitable restitution. That question was beside the point, because Mid Atlantic was seeking an equitable lien by agreement, not equitable restitution. With regard to an equitable lien by agreement, the Court held that “no tracing requirement of the sort asserted by the Sereboffs applies.” Sereboff, 547 U .S. at 365 (emphasis added). The Court's decision in Barnes confirmed that this was the case: “The plaintiffs in Barnes could not identify an asset they originally possessed, which was improperly acquired and converted into property the defendant held, yet that did not preclude them from securing an equitable lien” over a specifically identified fund. Id. The Court did not purport to do away with the long established principle that an equitable lien by agreement applies only to “particular funds or property in the defendant's possession.” CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, 131 S.Ct. 1866, 1879 (2011) (second emphasis added) (quoting Great–West Life & Annuity Ins. Co. v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204, 213 (2002)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
As relevant here, we read Sereboff as establishing at least three criteria for securing an equitable lien by agreement in an ERISA action. First, there must be a promise by the beneficiary to reimburse the fiduciary for benefits paid under the plan in the event of a recovery from a third party. Second, the reimbursement agreement must “specifically identif[y] a particular fund, distinct from the [beneficiary's] general assets,” from which the fiduciary will be reimbursed. Id. at 364. Third, the funds specifically identified by the fiduciary must be “within the possession and control of the [beneficiary].” Id. at 363.
1. Here, the first criterion is clearly satisfied. Bilyeu does not dispute that she promised to reimburse Unum for an overpayment of long-term disability benefits arising from her receipt of benefits from other sources, including social security disability benefits.
2. It is less clear whether the second criterion is satisfied. Unum contends that the reimbursement agreement specifically identified the overpaid long-term disability benefits as the particular fund, distinct from Bilyeu's general assets, from which it is to be reimbursed. In Unum's view, once Bilyeu received her social security disability benefits, the specifically identified fund-the overpaid long-term disability benefits—came into existence, and Unum was allowed to impose a lien against that fund. This argument is plausible, but problematic. Unlike the third party tort recovery in Sereboff and the contingency fee in Barnes, the overpaid disability benefits are not a particular fund, but a specific amount of money encompassed within a particular fund—the long-term disability benefits Unum paid to Bilyeu. As an amount of money, the overpayment is specific. As property or as a fund, however, the overpayment is lacking in specificity because it is an undifferentiated component of a larger fund. The overpayment has never existed as a distinct object or fund. See 53 C.J.S. Liens § 19 (2012) (“In order that an equitable lien may arise by contract, the agreement of the parties must deal with some specific property, and it is also essential that the property or fund intended to be appropriated or charged should be identified or described with a reasonable degree of certainty.” (emphasis added) (footnote omitted)); 4 John Norton Pomeroy, A Treatise on Equity § 1235, p. 696 (5th ed.1941) (explaining that an equitable lien applies to “some particular property, real or personal, or fund, therein described or identified” (emphasis added)); Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 364 (holding that the requirements for an equitable lien by agreement were satisfied because the “plan specifically identified a particular fund ” (emphasis added)); Barnes, 232 U.S. at 121 (holding that “a contract to convey a specific object even before it is acquired will make the contractor a trustee as soon as he gets a title to the thing” (emphasis added)).
Unum's reimbursement agreement would have avoided these problems if, consistent with Sereboff, it had identified the third party recovery—here, Bilyeu's social security disability benefits—as the particular fund enlisted to serve as security for the overpayment of benefits. Of course, that would not have worked in this case: Under the Social Security Act, Bilyeu could not assign her social security benefits, and Unum could not attach them. See 42 U.S.C. § 407(a).4 “The purpose of the exemption created by Congress in 42 U.S.C. § 407 is to protect social security beneficiaries from creditors' claims.” Dionne v. Bouley, 757 F.2d 1344, 1355 (1st Cir.1985). By identifying the overpaid benefits as the particular fund, rather than the social security benefits, Unum attempts to circumvent the congressional prohibition on assignment and attachment of social security benefits.
3. Even assuming that Unum could satisfy the second criterion, Unum has not satisfied the third criterion—the requirement that the specifically identified fund be within Bilyeu's “possession and control.” Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 363. In Sereboff, Mid Atlantic sought to recover specifically identified funds that were “within the possession and control of the Sereboffs, ․ set aside and preserved in the Sereboffs' investment accounts.” Id. (alteration and internal quotation marks omitted). That the funds were extant, and in the Sereboffs' possession, was essential to the Court's holding that Mid Atlantic was seeking equitable, rather than legal, relief. See id. at 362–63.
Here, by contrast, Bilyeu asserts, and Unum has not refuted, that Bilyeu has spent the overpaid benefits.5 Unum, therefore, is not seeking to recover a specified fund that is preserved and in Bilyeu's possession. Instead, Unum is seeking a judgment requiring Bilyeu to pay money out of her general assets. In Sereboff's words, Unum is seeking “the imposition of personal liability,” rather than enforcement of an “equitable lien on particular property.” Id. at 362 (quoting Knudson, 534 U.S. at 214) (internal quotation marks omitted). This is quintessentially legal, rather than equitable, relief. See Mertens v. Hewitt Assocs., 508 U.S. 248, 255 (1993) ( “Money damages are, of course, the classic form of legal relief.”).
We recognize that a number of circuits have interpreted Sereboff's discussion of tracing rules as a signal that a fiduciary can assert an equitable lien–––presumably against a beneficiary's general assets—even if the beneficiary no longer possesses the specifically identified funds. See Funk v. CIGNA Grp. Ins., 648 F.3d 182, 194 n. 14 (3d Cir.2011) (opining that Sereboff “strongly implies that ․ the defendant need not possess the property at the time relief is sought in order for the relief to be equitable—any post-agreement possession will suffice”); Cusson v. Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Boston, 592 F.3d 215, 231 (1st Cir.2010) (holding that the insurer's claim was for equitable relief under § 1132(a)(3), even though the insurer “has not identified a specific account in which the funds are kept or proven that they are still in [the participant's] possession,” because “the contract between [the participant] and [the insurer] put [the participant] on notice that she would be required to reimburse [the insurer] for an amount equal to what she might get from Social Security”); Longaberger Co. v. Kolt, 586 F.3d 459, 466 (6th Cir.2009) (under ERISA, “an equitable lien by agreement does not require tracing or maintenance of a fund in order for equity to allow repayment”); Gutta v. Standard Select Trust Ins. Plans, 530 F.3d 614, 621 (7th Cir.2008) (allowing a claim under “29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3) even if the benefits it paid [the beneficiary] are not specifically traceable to[the beneficiary's] current assets because of commingling or dissipation”); Gilchrest v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., 255 F. App'x 38, 44–45 (6th Cir.2007) (unpublished) (holding that the participant's “undisputed averment that the overpayments had been dissipated would seem to be of no avail,” because Sereboff “clarified that to establish an equitable lien by agreement, strict tracing of funds is not required”). But see Epolito v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 737 F.Supp.2d 1364, 1380 (M.D.Fla.2010) (“[T]his Court is not convinced that Sereboff's holding eliminates the requirement that the insurer identify an intact, identifiable res, in the possession of the insured, on which it seeks to impose the equitable lien.”); cf. Amschwand v. Spherion Corp., 505 F.3d 342, 346 (5th Cir.2007) (“[T]he sine qua non of restitutionary recovery available under § 502(a)(3) is a defendant's possession of the disputed res.”); id. at 347 (“[P]ossession is the key to awarding equitable restitution in the form of a constructive trust or equitable lien.”).
We are unpersuaded by the view of those other circuits. The tracing issue in Sereboff was whether Mid Atlantic could obtain an equitable lien against specifically identified funds when Mid Atlantic had never possessed those funds itself—an issue that has no relevance here. See Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 364–65. Nothing in Sereboff suggests that a fiduciary can enforce an equitable lien against a beneficiary's general assets when specifically identified funds are no longer in a beneficiary's possession.
This conclusion—that the fiduciary must recover from specifically identified funds in the beneficiary's possession, rather than from general assets—is consistent not only with Sereboff but also with the Supreme Court's decisions in Knudson and CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, 131 S.Ct. 1866 (2011).
In Knudson, the Court said, “where the property sought to be recovered or its proceeds have been dissipated so that no product remains, the plaintiff's claim is only that of a general creditor, and the plaintiff cannot enforce a constructive trust of or an equitable lien upon other property of the defendant.” 534 U.S. at 213–14 (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Restatement (First) of Restitution § 215 cmt. a, p. 867 (1936)). In Amara, decided just last Term, the Court once again underscored that, “traditionally speaking, relief that sought a lien or a constructive trust was legal relief, not equitable relief, unless the funds in question were ‘particular funds or property in the defendant's possession.’ “ 131 S.Ct. at 1879 (second emphasis added) (quoting Knudson, 534 U.S. at 213). Here, Unum has arguably identified a particular fund—the overpaid benefits—but that fund is no longer in Bilyeu's possession.
Unum's argument that an equitable lien can be enforced against general assets when the specifically identified property has been dissipated finds no support in the traditional doctrine governing equitable liens by agreement. See 4 Pomeroy, A Treatise on Equity § 1235, p. 696 (5th ed.1941) (explaining that an equitable lien may be enforced when the specifically identified property is in the hands of the contractor—or in the hands of a subsequent possessor with notice of the lien, a qualification not relevant to Bilyeu's case). If the property or fund subject to the lien (or proceeds to which the property or fund can be traced), are no longer in the defendant's possession, then there is no res against which the equitable lien can be enforced. See 53 C.J.S. Liens § 46 (2012) (“[A] lien that is not satisfied voluntarily may be enforced by an action to foreclose, in which a court may order the property securing the debt or obligation to be sold and its proceeds applied on the demand of the creditor in whose favor the lien exists.” (footnote omitted)); Restatement (First) of Restitution § 161 cmt. e (1937) (“An equitable lien can be established and enforced only if there is some property which is subject to the lien. Where property is subject to an equitable lien and the owner of the property disposes of it and acquires other property in exchange, he holds the property so acquired subject to the lien․ So also, where the property which is subject to the lien is mingled with other property in one indistinguishable mass, the lien can be enforced against the mingled mass ․ Where, however, the property subject to the equitable lien can no longer be traced, the equitable lien cannot be enforced ․“ (emphasis added)); id. § 215(1) (“[W]here a person wrongfully disposes of the property of another but the property cannot be traced into any product, the other has merely a personal claim against the wrongdoer and cannot enforce a constructive trust or lien upon any part of the wrongdoer's property.”); id. § 215 cmt. a (“[I]f it is shown that the property or its proceeds have been dissipated so that no product remains, ․ the claimant cannot enforce ․ an equitable lien upon other property of the wrongdoer, and has only a personal claim against the wrongdoer.”); Restatement (Third) of Restitution § 58 cmt. c (2011) (“To obtain a property interest in something other than the original asset, and not merely restitution of its value in money, the claimant must normally show that the property claimed is the traceable product of the original asset.”); id. § 60(3) (“A claimant who is entitled to restitution but who is unable to identify specific property from which restitution is available has a remedy via money judgment that ranks equally with the claims of general creditors.”).
In sum, although the district court's decision may have produced an equitable result, the court erred because Unum has not shown that it is seeking equitable relief. We remand, affording Unum the opportunity to establish that it has identified a particular fund (the second criterion) and that the overpaid long-term disability benefits, or assets to which the overpaid benefits can be traced, remain in Bilyeu's possession (the third criterion). See 53 C.J .S. Liens § 24 (2012) (“An equitable lien for advances may exist where advancements of money or funds are made on the faith of certain property, real or personal, under an agreement or circumstances showing that it was the intention of the parties to pledge such property as security for the advancements, provided the specific property or its proceeds on which the advancements were invested can be traced or identified.” (emphasis added) (footnote omitted)); 2 Dan B. Dobbs, Law of Remedies § 6.1(4) (2d ed.1993) (discussing enforcement of an equitable lien in the case of commingled funds).6
There is much to be said for maintaining uniformity among the federal circuits, and we should strive to do so when we can. See Am. Vantage Cos. v. Table Mountain Rancheria, 292 F.3d 1091, 1098 (9th Cir.2002). ERISA, however, provides only for “equitable relief,” 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3)(B), and Unum has not shown that the relief granted here—“judgment in the amount of $36,597.82 in favor of First Unum Life Insurance Company,” to be paid out of Bilyeu's general assets—falls into that category. The district court did not identify a particular fund and impose upon it an equitable lien. Instead, the district court's order reads like a money judgment, which is what it is. As we explained in Bonneville Power Administration v. Washington Public Power Supply System, 956 F.2d 1497 (9th Cir.1992),
“An equitable lien can be established and enforced only if there is some property which is subject to the lien.” In this case there is no “identifiable res” on which a lien can be imposed, because the allegedly misallocated funds have been disbursed. Therefore the court erred in granting ․ a lien on funds.
Id. at 1507 (citation omitted) (quoting Restatement (First) of Restitution § 161 cmt. e (1937)).7 We are bound to adhere to that principle today.
The district court abused its discretion by dismissing Bilyeu's denial-of-benefits claim for a failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The court also erred when it concluded that Unum had satisfied the requirements for an equitable lien by agreement. The judgment of the district court is therefore vacated and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
VACATED AND REMANDED. Costs of appeal are awarded to Bilyeu.
I agree with the majority that Plaintiff Leah Bilyeu (Bilyeu) waived her argument that Unum Life Insurance Company (Unum) lacks statutory standing. I respectfully disagree on all other issues.
Bilyeu argues on appeal, as she did before the district court, that a fax sent by her physician Dr. Proefrock to Dr. Hogan, the physician for Unum, satisfied the exhaustion requirement under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). However, the letter denying Bilyeu's claim explicitly directed her that if she disagreed with the determination denying disability benefits, she was required to submit an appeal in writing to: First Unum Life Insurance Company at PO Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202–3158, Fax: 1–800–447–2498 www.unumprovident.com.
Rather than submitting an appeal as directed, Bilyeu elected to provide additional information pursuant to a different paragraph of the denial letter. This information was sent to Unum's physician advisor rather than to the benefits center as directed in the denial letter from Unum.
The district court found that because the letter from Bilyeu's physician to Unum's physician did not comply with the appeal procedure, Bilyeu did not exhaust the administrative remedies available under the ERISA Plan. We review this determination for an abuse of discretion. See Diaz v. United Agricultural Employee Welfare Benefit Plan and Trust, 50 F.3d 1478, 1483 (9th Cir.1995).
A district court abuses it discretion only if the district court applied an incorrect legal rule in view of the relief requested or made a factual finding that was “illogical, implausible, or without support in inferences that may be drawn from the record.” United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247, 1263 (9th Cir.2009) (footnote reference omitted).
The district court explained its ruling by observing that the letter from Bilyeu's physician did not indicate that Bilyeu desired to appeal the Plan's decision. See District Court Opinion, p. 6. The district court also noted that the letter from Bilyeu's physician was faxed to Unum's physician advisor rather than to Unum, as instructed in the communication from Unum to Bilyeu. See id. Because the letter from Bilyeu's physician did not comply with the appeal procedure and did not seek administrative review, the district court found that Bilyeu failed to exhaust the available administrative remedies. See id. The district court specifically ruled that Bilyeu's submission of additional medical information was no substitute for filing an appeal as directed.
The district court correctly identified and applied governing precedent. As noted in Diaz, 50 F.3d at 1483, “[e]arly in ERISA's history,” we established the general rule requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies. See also Mack v. Kuckenmeister, 619 F.3d 1010, 1020 (9th Cir.2010). We concluded that exhaustion of administrative remedies is warranted because exhaustion is consistent with the legislative structure of ERISA. We also reasoned that the exhaustion requirement advances “important policy considerations, including the reduction of frivolous litigation, the promotion of consistent treatment of claims, the provision of a nonadversarial method of claims settlement, the minimization of costs of claim settlement and a proper reliance on administrative expertise․” Id., citing Amato v. Bernard, 618 F.2d 559, 566–68 (9th Cir.1980).
The district court faithfully adhered to this precedent when it precluded Bilyeu's claim due to her failure to submit an appeal to Unum, the benefits administrator. See Diaz, 50 F.3d at 1483 (“By not submitting a written appeal to the Benefits Administrator, [the Plaintiff] failed to comply with the Plan's internal review procedures and hence did not exhaust the available administrative remedies ․”); see also Sarraf v. Standard Insurance Co., 102 F.3d 991, 993 (9th Cir.1996) (“Under Diaz, [Plaintiff's] failure to request in writing review of the Administrator's adverse decision precludes the instant claims under the ERISA plan.”), citing Diaz, 50 F.3d at 1483.
Because the district court followed well-established precedent in requiring exhaustion of the prescribed administrative remedy, the majority understandably refrains from holding that the district court abused its discretion by applying an incorrect legal rule. Rather, the majority excuses Bilyeu's lack of exhaustion by attributing to Unum a purported failure “to establish or follow reasonable claims procedures.” Majority Opinion, p. 7254. The majority cites to Barboza v. Cal. Ass'n of Prof'l Firefighters, 651 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir.2011) as support for its holding. However, that case bears little resemblance to this case and is not controlling or compelling. In Barboza, the ERISA beneficiary did not receive a timely determination of the Plan's decision. See Barboza, 651 F.3d at 1078. No similar allegation was made in this case. In Barboza, the issue was whether the Plan provisions complied with ERISA regulations. See id. at 1077. No similar issue exists in this case. In Barboza we deferred to the interpretation of the Secretary of Labor regarding the proper resolution of “conflicting interpretations” of an ERISA regulation. Id. at 1079. No interpretation of an ERISA regulation was involved in this case. Rather, the district court in this case was called upon to decide whether Bilyeu perfected her appeal by sending additional information to the Plan's physician rather than challenging the denial of benefits by directing an appeal to Unum at the address provided.
The majority concedes that the provisions of the denial letter sent to Bilyeu were susceptible to the reading argued by Unum as well as the reading urged by Bilyeu. See Majority Opinion, p. 7255. That concession guts the majority's analysis, because a decisionmaker's choice between two viable interpretations of the facts cannot constitute abuse of discretion as a matter of law. See Hinkson, 585 F.3d at 1260 (“Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.”) (citation omitted). The district court acted within its discretion when it concluded that Bilyeu failed to exhaust the administrative remedies available under the ERISA plan administered by Unum. No legal or factual basis exists for reversing the district court's ruling. Quite simply, as we stated in Diaz, “[b]y not submitting a written appeal to the Benefits Administrator, [Bilyeu] failed to comply with the Plan's internal review procedures and hence did not exhaust the available administrative remedies․” Diaz, 50 F.3d at 1483 (emphasis added).
I also part company with the majority in its analysis of the district court's ruling on the merits of Unum's counterclaim.
Like the majority opinion, I start my analysis with the United States Supreme Court's decision in Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc., 547 U.S. 356, 362–63 (2006). In that case, the Supreme Court addressed the circumstances under which an ERISA fiduciary may sue an ERISA beneficiary for reimbursement when the beneficiary recovers from a third party. See id. at 359. The Supreme Court relied on the equitable rule that an obligation to convey specific proceeds imposes a constructive trust on those proceeds. See id. at 362–64.
Applying the precepts of Sereboff to the facts of this case, I reach the same conclusion as the majority opinion regarding the existence of an equitable trust. The ERISA Plan provided that Bilyeu could receive full long-term disability benefits premised upon her agreement to reimburse Unum for any overpayment due to receipt of benefits from any other sources. Thus, any overpayment due to receipt of benefits from other sources would constitute the particular fund to which a constructive lien in favor of Unum applied.
Although all parties agree that Bilyeu was obligated to reimburse Unum, the majority opinion lets Bilyeu off the hook, accepting her argument that she has already spent the money paid to her by Unum and, therefore, those specific proceeds can never be recovered. In doing so, the majority opinion creates an unwarranted circuit split and completely disregards the concept of fairness, the paramount principle of equity. See Things Remembered, Inc. v. Petrarca, 516 U.S. 124, 133 (1995).
In Cusson v. Liberty Life Insurance Co. of Boston, 592 F.3d 215, 231–32 (1st Cir.2010), the First Circuit considered a case also involving overpayment of long-term disability benefits due to the receipt of social security benefits by the claimant.
The claimant argued that the ERISA fiduciary advanced a legal claim rather than an equitable claim, and therefore, the claim was barred. See id. at 230. The First Circuit rejected this argument, concluding that it was inconsistent with the Supreme Court's reasoning in Sereboff. See id. at 231. The First Circuit concluded that the rule of equity imposes a constructive trust on the proceeds as soon as they are acquired by the recipient of those proceeds. See id. The First Circuit reasoned that because the contract between the ERISA fiduciary and the ERISA beneficiary put the ERISA beneficiary on notice that reimbursement would be required if the ERISA beneficiary was overpaid, enforcement of the resulting constructive trust constituted equitable relief. See id. Because the circumstances in Cusson are virtually identical to the facts in this case, there is no principled basis upon which Cusson can be distinguished.
Similarly applying Sereboff, the Third Circuit in Funk v. Cigna Grp. Ins., 648 F.3d 182, 194 (3d Cir.2011) held that “there is no tracing requirement for an equitable lien by agreement. Property to which the lien attached may be converted into other property without affecting the efficacy of the lien.” (citations and footnote reference omitted).
In Gilchrest v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, 255 F. App'x 38 (6th Cir.2007) (unpublished), the Sixth Circuit interpreted Sereboff in a similar fashion, ruling that the enforcement of a constructive trust does not require “strict tracing of funds.” Id. at 45. Rather, the ERISA fiduciary must merely identify a specific fund distinct from the general assets of the ERISA beneficiary for satisfaction of the ERISA fiduciary's equitable claim. This requirement was met by identifying the proceeds of recoveries from any third party. See id. This holding was reiterated in Longaberger Co. v. Kolt, 586 F.3d 459, 466 (6th Cir.2009), with the Sixth Circuit declaring in a published opinion that “an equitable lien by agreement does not require tracing or maintenance of a fund in order for equity to allow repayment,” and citing Gilchrest with approval.
The Seventh Circuit reached the same result in Gutta v. Standard Select Trust Ins. Plans, 530 F.3d 614 (7th Cir.2008). Applying Sereboff, the Seventh Circuit recognized a distinction between the “equitable lien by agreement” created by the reimbursement provision in the ERISA plan document and “an equitable lien sought as a matter of restitution.” Specifically, for the former, “strict tracing of the funds to be recovered was not required [under Sereboff ]”. Id. at 620 (quoting Sereboff, 126 S.Ct. at 1875). This distinction is persuasive in view of the express agreement by the beneficiary to reimburse the ERISA plan for any overpayment, without any limitation regarding the funding source of the repayment.
In Dillard's Inc. v. Liberty Life Assurance Co., 456 F.3d 894 (8th Cir.2006), the Eighth Circuit followed the approach taken by the First, Sixth and Seventh Circuits. The Eighth Circuit determined that the Supreme Court's ruling in Sereboff precluded the argument that the ERISA fiduciary's reimbursement claim sought legal damages. See id. at 901. The Eighth Circuit explained that enforcement of an equitable lien by agreement was an equitable remedy rather than a legal one. See id.
In an effort to distinguish the rulings of five of our sister circuit courts, the majority relies on an out-of-circuit district court decision, Epolito v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 737 F.Supp.2d 1364 (M.D.Fla.2010). See Majority Opinion, p. 7265. The district court in Florida acknowledged the Supreme Court's holding in Sereboff that “strict tracing rules do not apply to equitable liens by agreement․” Id. at 1380 (quoting Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 364). However, the district court stated that it would “not read Sereboff's holding with respect to tracing as broadly” as the circuit courts. Id. I am not persuaded by the reasoning of the Florida district court. Indeed, it appears that the Eleventh Circuit does not agree with the reasoning in Epolito. See Popowski v. Parrott, 461 F.3d 1367, 1374 n. 8 (11th Cir.2006) (“[W]e observe that the Supreme Court in Sereboff ․ clarified that the strict tracing requirements that apply to equitable liens ․ do not apply to equitable liens by agreement ․”) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The Florida district court acknowledged this language in the Eleventh Circuit's decision, but dismissed it as dicta. See Epolito, 737 F.Supp.2d at 1381 n. 8.
The Florida district court also gave extremely short shrift to the Eleventh Circuit decision in Admin. Comm. for the WalMart Stores, Inc. Assocs.' Health & Welfare Plan v. Horton, 513 F.3d 1223, 1227 & n. 4 (11th Cir.2008) (concluding that the ERISA Plan's action to recover overpayment from a third-party was equitable in nature).
The majority opinion seeks to bolster the district court's ruling in Epolito by reference to Great–West Life & Annuity Ins. Co. v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204 (2002). See Majority Opinion, pp. 7265–66. However, the First Circuit convincingly distinguished Knudson, noting that in Knudson, the funds in question were never actually in the possession of the ERISA beneficiaries. See Cusson, 592 F.3d at 230; see also Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 365–66 (distinguishing Knudson ). The First Circuit persuasively explained that Sereboff is the governing precedent when the funds in question are controlled by the ERISA beneficiary. See id .
The majority's reliance on general language in Amschwand v. Spherion Corp., 505 F.3d 342, 346 (5th Cir.2007) regarding the general principles of equity does not in any way dilute the force of the five circuit courts that have interpreted Sereboff as not imposing a tracing requirement on funds being sought pursuant to an equitable agreement. This tracing discussion from Sereboff was totally ignored by the Fifth Circuit. The main problem with the majority's reliance on CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, 131 S.Ct. 1866 (2011), a recent case from the United States Supreme Court, is that the cited language is part of the preliminary discussion from the Court prior to its analysis of the actual issues presented. See id. at 1879 (“[T]raditionally speaking, relief that sought a lien or a constructive trust was legal relief, not equitable relief, unless the funds in question were particular funds or property in the defendant's possession.”) (citation omitted) (emphasis in the original). The Court then went on to discuss the imposition of an injunction against the ERISA Plan Administrator, with no mention of the tracing issue. See id. at 1879–80.
Another problem with the majority's reliance on Amara is that the quoted language is entirely consistent with the analysis in Sereboff. See 547 U.S. at 364–65 (noting that the common law requirement of tracing property to “some particular funds or assets” applied to an equitable lien by restitution but not to an equitable lien by agreement) (citation omitted).
The final problem with the majority's reliance on Amara is that it never mentions, let alone purports to overrule, the analysis in Sereboff. Indeed, because Sereboff specifically addresses the issue presented to us, it is the more applicable Supreme Court precedent.
The majority opinion also quotes at length from various treatises. See Majority Opinion, pp. 7266–67. However, it is well-established that treatises are a compilation of general principles of law, rather than concrete application of principles of law to a defined set of facts. See Hart v. Massanari, 266 F.3d 1155, 1169–70, 1171–73 (9th Cir.2001) (explaining that persuasive authority, including treatises, cannot overcome the force of Supreme Court precedent).
I am also not persuaded by the majority's citation to Bonneville Power Admin. v. Wash. Pub. Power Supply Sys., 956 F.2d 1497, 1507 (9th Cir.1992). See Majority Opinion, p. 7268–69. That case predates Sereboff by almost fifteen years and is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's reasoning. Rather than creating an indefensible circuit split, I would adhere to the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Sereboff as interpreted by our sister circuits, and conclude that strict tracing of the overpaid funds is not required to enforce an equitable lien by agreement. If the ERISA fiduciary were seeking reimbursement in the absence of an agreement to reimburse any overpayment, I would agree with the majority opinion that application of the holding in Knudson would be appropriate. However, where the ERISA beneficiary expressly agrees to reimburse the Plan for any benefit overpayment, as in this case, enforcement of the resulting equitable lien by agreement constitutes an equitable remedy rather than a legal one, and Sereboff controls. See Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 368 (recognizing the distinction between an equitable lien premised on restitution principles and an equitable lien premised on an agreement). The district court's decision in this case properly applied Sereboff and its judgment should be affirmed in its entirety.
1. We disagree with the dissent's conclusion that the outcome of this case is controlled by Diaz v. United Agricultural Employee Welfare BenefitPlan & Trust, 50 F.3d 1478, 1481–83 (9th Cir.1995). In Diaz, the employee failed to follow the plan's unambiguous instructions to file an appeal within 60 days after a decision denying benefits. Diaz involved neither ambiguous communications nor a failure to engage in a meaningful dialogue.
2. Unum has, in fact, asserted a state-law claim for breach of contract. Clerk's Record 5 at 7–8 (Answer and Counterclaim); Clerk's Record 28 at 8 (motion for summary judgment). Bilyeu contends Unum has abandoned that claim and that, in any event, the claim is preempted by ERISA. Clerk's Record 30 at 9. Unum's contract claim has not been adjudicated, and we express no opinion as to its merits.
3. An equitable lien by agreement is a traditional form of equitable relief. According to Pomeroy's Treatise on Equity,The doctrine may be stated in its most general form, that every express executory agreement in writing, whereby the contracting party sufficiently indicates an intention to make some particular property, real or personal, or fund, therein described or identified, a security for a debt or other obligation, or whereby the party promises to convey or assign or transfer the property as security, creates an equitable lien upon the property so indicated, which is enforceable against the property in the hands not only of the original contractor, but of his heirs, administrators, executors, voluntary assignees, and purchasers or encumbrancers with notice. Under like circumstances, a merely verbal agreement may create a similar lien upon personal property.4 John Norton Pomeroy, A Treatise on Equity § 1235, p. 696 (5th ed.1941); see also Restatement (Third) of Restitution § 56 cmt. d (2011) (“[T]he failure to transfer a promised share of an identifiable fund may justify specific relief to the claimant, frequently accomplished via equitable lien.”).
4. Section 407 states:The right of any person to any future payment under this subchapter shall not be transferable or assignable, at law or in equity, and none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.42 U.S.C. § 407(a).
5. The burden to show that the overpaid benefits remain in Bilyeu's possession presumably falls on Unum. See Restatement (First) of Restitution § 215 cmt. b (1937) (“A person whose property is wrongfully taken by another is not entitled to priority over other creditors unless he proves that the wrongdoer not only once had the property or its proceeds, but still has the property or its proceeds or property in which the claimant's property or its proceeds have been mingled indistinguishably.”); accord Epolito v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 737 F.Supp.2d 1364, 1382 (M.D.Fla.2010).
6. The kind of tracing we discuss here is distinct from the theory of tracing rejected in Sereboff. The issue in Sereboff was whether a plaintiff is required to trace the specific property or particular fund back to the plaintiff's own possession. Sereboff makes clear that that sort of tracing is not required for an equitable lien by agreement. See Sereboff, 547 U.S. at 364–65. The kind of tracing we refer to here simply allows a plaintiff to trace the specific property or a particular fund when the defendant has either commingled it with the defendant's other assets or exchanged it for other property See 53 C.J.S. Liens § 29 (2012) (“[W]here the owner of property subject to a lien commingles it with other property alike in quality and value, the lien is not extinguished so long as there is on hand sufficient property alike in quality and value to satisfy the lien.”); id. § 49 (“If the property on which an equitable lien is held has been sold before foreclosure, the court can trace the funds from the sale and impress a lien upon any property acquired with the proceeds.”); Restatement (Third) of Restitution §§ 58–59 (2011) (describing tracing principles as applied to equitable liens and constructive trusts).
7. We recognize that “the fact that ․ relief takes the form of a money payment does not [necessarily] remove it from the category of traditionally equitable relief.” Amara, 131 S.Ct. at 1880. Here, however, Unum has not advanced a specific theory under which the money judgment against Bilyeu falls within a traditional form of equitable relief. Whether some form of equitable relief might be available here, as well as whether Unum could reformulate its reimbursement agreement to resolve the problems presented here, are thus questions beyond the scope of this appeal.
FISHER, Circuit Judge: | <urn:uuid:2812fecb-5df0-4d4d-8c5b-e08e526bdc00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1603714.html | 2013-05-23T11:34:34Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931317 | 14,328 |
Kimberley, Northern Cape
City centre seen over the Big Hole
|• Total||164.3 km2 (63.4 sq mi)|
|Elevation||1,184 m (3,885 ft)|
|• Density||1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)|
|Racial makeup (2011)|
|• Black African||63.1%|
|First languages (2011)|
|Postal code (street)||8301|
Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. Notable personalities such as Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes here, and the roots of the De Beers company can also be traced to the early days of the mining town.
- 1 History
- 2 Economy: Kimberley’s changing commercial fortunes
- 3 Climate and Geography
- 4 Government, local and provincial
- 5 Education
- 6 Society and culture
- 6.1 Religion
- 6.2 Art, music, film and literature
- 6.3 Museums, monuments and memorials
- 6.4 Architecture
- 6.5 Media
- 6.6 Sport
- 6.7 Quotations
- 6.8 Kimberley Miscellany
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Discovery of Diamonds
In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm De Kalk leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown, which was his father's farm. He showed the pebble to his father who sold it. The pebble was purchased from Jacobs by Schalk van Niekerk, who later sold it. It proved to be a 21.25 carats (4.3 g) diamond, and became known as the Eureka. Three years later, in 1869, an 83.5 carat diamond, which became known as the Star of South Africa, was found nearby ( ). This diamond was sold by van Niekerk for £11,200 and later resold in the London market for £25,000.
Henry Richard Giddy recounted how Esau Damoense (or Damon), the cook for prospector Fleetwood Rawstone's "Red Cap Party", found diamonds in 1871 on Colesberg Kopje after he was sent there to dig as punishment. Rawstorne took the news to the nearby diggings of the De Beer brothers — his arrival there sparking off the famous "New Rush" which, as historian Brian Roberts puts it, was practically a stampede. Within a month 800 claims were cut into the hillock which were worked frenetically by two to three thousand men. As the land was lowered so the hillock became a mine – in time, the world renowned Kimberley Mine.
The Cape Colony, Transvaal, Orange Free State and the Griqua leader Nikolaas Waterboer all laid claim to the diamond fields. The Free State Boers in particular wanted the area as it lay inside the natural borders created by Orange and Vaal Rivers. Following the mediation that was overseen by the governor of Natal, the Keate Award went in favour of Waterboer, who placed himself under British protection. Consequently, the territory known as Griqualand West was proclaimed on 27 October 1871.
Naming the place: from Vooruitzigt to New Rush to Kimberley
Colonial Commissioners arrived in New Rush on 17 November 1871 to exercise authority over the territory on behalf of the Cape Governor. Digger objections and minor riots led to Governor Barkly's visit to New Rush in September the following year, when he revealed a plan instead to have Griqualand West proclaimed a Crown Colony. Richard Southey would arrive as Lieutenant-Governor of the intended Crown Colony in January 1873. Months passed however without any sign of the proclamation or of the promised new constitution and provision for representative government. The delay was in London where Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley, insisted that before electoral divisions could be defined, the places had to receive "decent and intelligible names. His Lordship declined to be in any way connected with such a vulgarism as New Rush and as for the Dutch name, Vooruitzigt … he could neither spell nor pronounce it." The matter was passed to Southey who gave it to his Colonial Secretary J.B. Currey. Roberts writes that "when it came to renaming New Rush, [Currey] proved himself a worthy diplomat. He made quite sure that Lord Kimberley would be able both to spell and pronounce the name of the main electoral division by, as he says, calling it 'after His Lordship'." New Rush became Kimberley, by Proclamation dated 5 July 1873. Digger sentiment was expressed in an editorial in the Diamond Field newspaper when it stated "we went to sleep in New Rush and waked up in Kimberley, and so our dream was gone."
Following agreement by the British government on compensation to the Orange Free State for its competing land claims, Griqualand West was annexed to the Cape Colony in 1877. The Cape Prime Minister John Molteno initially had serious doubts about annexing the heavily indebted region, but, after striking a deal with the Home Government and receiving assurances that the local population would be consulted in the process, he passed the Griqualand West Annexation Act on 27 July 1877.
The Big Hole and other mines
As miners arrived in their thousands the Hill disappeared and subsequently became known as the Big Hole or, more formally, Kimberley Mine. From mid-July 1871 to 1914, 50,000 miners dug the hole with picks and shovels, yielding 2,722 kg of diamonds. The Big Hole has a surface of 17 hectares (42 acres) and is 463 metres wide. It was excavated to a depth of 240 m, but then partially infilled with debris reducing its depth to about 215 m; since then it has accumulated water to a depth of 40 m leaving 175 m visible. Beneath the surface, the Kimberley Mine underneath the Big Hole was mined to a depth of 1097 metres. A popular local myth claims that it is the largest hand-dug hole on the world, however Jagersfontein Mine appears to hold that record. The Big Hole is the principal feature of a May 2004 submission which placed "Kimberley Mines and associated early industries" on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative Lists.
By 1873 Kimberley was the second largest town in South Africa, having an approximate population of 40,000.
Role and influence of De Beers
The various smaller mining companies were amalgamated by Cecil Rhodes and Charles Rudd into De Beers, and The Kimberley under Barney Barnato. In 1888, the two companies merged to form De Beers Consolidated Mines, which once had a monopoly over the world's diamond market.
Very quickly, Kimberley became the largest city in the area, partly due to a massive African migration to the area from all over the continent. The immigrants were accepted with open arms, because the De Beers company was in search of cheap labour to help run the mines. Another group drawn to the city for money was prostitutes, from a wide variety of ethnicities who could be found in bars and saloons. It was praised as a city of limitless opportunity.
Five big holes were dug into the earth following the kimberlite pipes, which are named after the town. Kimberlite is a diamond-bearing blue ground that sits below a yellow colored soil. The largest, The Kimberley mine or "Big Hole" covering 170,000 square metres (42 acres), reached a depth of 240 metres (790 ft) and yielded three tons of diamonds. The mine was closed in 1914, while three of the holes – Dutoitspan, Wesselton and Bultfontein – closed down in 2005.
Second Boer War
On 14 October 1899, Kimberley was besieged at the beginning of the Second Boer War. The British forces trying to relieve the siege suffered heavy losses. The siege was only lifted on 15 February 1900, but the war continued until May 1902. By that time, the British had built a concentration camp at Kimberley to house Boer women and children.
City of Kimberley
The hitherto separately administered Boroughs of Kimberley and Beaconsfield amalgamated as the City of Kimberley in 1912.
Kimberley under Apartheid
Although a considerable degree of urban segregation already existed, one of the most significant impacts of Apartheid on the city of Kimberley was the implementation of the Group Areas Act. Communities were divided according to legislated racial categories, namely European (White), Native (Black), Coloured and Indian – now legally separated by the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. Individual families could be split up to three ways (based on such notorious measures as the 'pencil test') and mixed communities were either completely relocated (as in Malay Camp – although those clearances began before Apartheid as such) or were selectively cleared (as in Greenpoint which became a ‘Coloured’ Group Area, its erstwhile African and other residents being removed to other parts of town). Residential segregation was thus enforced in a process which saw the creation of new townships at the northern and north-eastern edges of the expanding city. Institutions that were hard hit by the Group Areas Act, Bantu Education and other Acts included churches (such as the Bean Street Methodist Church) and schools (some, such as William Pescod and Perseverance School, moved while the Gore Browne (Native) Training School was closed down). Other legislation restricted the movement of Africans and some public places became ‘Europeans Only’ preserves in terms of the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act. The Native Laws Amendment Act sought to cleave church communities along racial lines – a law rejected on behalf of all Anglicans in South Africa by Archbishop Clayton in 1957 (in terms of which this aspect of apartheid was never completely implemented in churches such as Kimberley’s St Cyprian’s Cathedral).
Resistance to apartheid in Kimberley was mounted as early as mid-1952 as part of the Defiance Campaign. Dr Arthur Letele put together a group of volunteers to defy the segregation laws by occupying 'Europeans Only’ benches at Kimberley Railway Station – which led to arrest and imprisonment. Later in the year, the Mayibuye Uprising in Kimberley, on 8 November 1952, revolved around the poor quality of beer served in the Beer Hall. The fracas resulted in shootings and a subsequent mass funeral on 12 November 1952 at Kimberley’s West End Cemetery. Detained following the massacre were alleged ‘ring-leaders’ Dr Letele, Sam Phakedi, Pepys Madibane, Olehile Sehume, Alexander Nkoane, Daniel Chabalala and David Mpiwa. Archdeacon Wade of St Matthew’s Church, as a witness at the subsequent inquiry, placed the blame squarely on the policy of apartheid – including poor housing, lighting and public transport, together with "unfulfilled promises" – which he said "brought about the conditions which led to the riots."
Other prominent figures of the struggle against apartheid who had Kimberley connections include Robert Sobukwe, founder of the Pan Africanist Congress, who was banished (placed under house arrest) in Kimberley after his release from Robben Island in 1969. He died in the city in 1978.
Benny Alexander (1955–2010), who later changed his name to Khoisan X, and was General Secretary of the Pan Africanist Congress and of the Pan-Africanist Movement from 1989, was born and grew up in Kimberley. Another leading figure in Coloured politics in the apartheid era was Sonny Leon.
The Northern Cape Province became a political fact in 1994, with Kimberley as its capital. Some quasi provincial infrastructure was in place from the 1940s, but in the post-1994 period Kimberley underwent considerable development as administrative departments were set up and housed for the governance of the new province. A Northern Cape Legislature was designed and situated to bridge the formerly divided city. The Kimberley City Council of the renamed Sol Plaatje Local Municipality (see below) was enlarged. A new Coat of Arms and Motto for the city were ushered in.
With the abolition of apartheid previously ‘whites only’ institutions such as schools became accessible to all, as did suburbs previously segregated by the Group Areas Act. In practice this process has been one of upward mobility by those who could afford the more costly options, while by far the majority of Black people remain in the townships where poverty levels are high.
Major township residential developments, with 'RDP housing', were implemented – not without criticism concerning quality. There has been an increase in Kimberley’s population, urbanization being spurred on in part by the abolition of the Influx Control Act.
Also added to the city is the settlement of Platfontein created when the !Xun and Khwe community formerly of Schmidtsdrift and originally from Angola/Namibia acquired the land in 1996. Most of the community had moved to the new township by the end of 2003.
In 1998 the Kimberley Comprehensive Urban Plan estimated that Kimberley had 210,800 people representing 46,207 households living in the city.
By 2008 estimates were in the region of 250,000 inhabitants.
The shifts from frontier farm names to digger camp names to the established names of the towns of Kimberley and Beaconsfield – which duly amalgamated in 1912 – are outlined above. The only traces of any precolonial settlement within the city's boundaries are scatters of Stone Age artefacts and there is no record of what the place/s might have been called before the first nineteenth century frontier overlay of farm names. It lay beyond the areas occupied by Tswana people in the precolonial period. Sites such as the nearby Wildebeest Kuil testify to a Khoe–San history dating up into the nineteenth century.
In the post-1994 era the Kimberley City Council was renamed the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality after the area it served was expanded to include surrounding towns and villages, most notably Ritchie. Sol Plaatje, the prominent writer and activist, lived for much of his life in Kimberley. Similarly the erstwhile Diamantveld District Council became the Frances Baard District Municipality, with reference to the trade unionist, Frances Baard, who was born in Greenpoint, Kimberley.
Economy: Kimberley’s changing commercial fortunes
Kimberley was the initial hub of industrialisation in South Africa in the late nineteenth century, which transformed the country’s agrarian economy into one more dependent on its mineral wealth. A key feature of the new economic arrangement was migrant labour, with the demand for African labour in the mines of Kimberley (and later on the Gold Fields) drawing workers in growing numbers from throughout the subcontinent. The labour compound system developed in Kimberley from the 1880s was later replicated on the gold mines and elsewhere.
The rising importance of Kimberley led to one of the earliest South African and International Exhibitions to be staged in Kimberley in 1892. It was opened by Sir Henry Loch, the then Governor of the Cape of Good Hope on 8 September. It presented exhibits of art, an exhibition of paintings from the royal collection of Queen Victoria and mining machinery and implements amongst other items. The exhibition aroused considerable interest at international level, which resulted in a competition for display space.
South Africa's first school of mines was opened here in 1896 and later relocated to Johannesburg, becoming the core of the University of the Witwatersrand. A Pretoria campus later became the University of Pretoria. In fact the first two years were attended at colleges elsewhere, in Cape Town, Grahamstown or Stellenbosch, the third year in Kimberley and the fourth year in Johannesburg. Buildings were constructed against a total cost of 9,000 pounds with De Beers contributing on a pound for pound basis.
Aviation, Kimberley Airport and air transport
South Africa's first school of aviation, to train pilots for the proposed South African Aviation Corps (SAAC), was established in Kimberley in 1913. Known as Paterson's Aviation Syndicate School of Flying, it is commemorated in the Pioneers of Aviation Museum (and replica of the first Compton Patterson Biplane preserved there), situated near to Kimberley airport. In the 1930s Kimberley boasted the best night-landing facilities on the continent of Africa. A major air rally was hosted there in 1934. In the war years Kimberley Airport was commandeered by the Union Defence Force and run by the 21 Flying School for the training of fighter pilots.
Work on connecting Kimberley by rail to the cities along the Cape Colony's coastline began in 1872, under the management of the Cape Government Railways. The railway line from Cape Town to Kimberley was completed in 1885, accelerating the transport of both passengers and goods. The railway connected Kimberley with cheaper sources of grain and other products, as well as supplies of coal, so that one of its local impacts was to undercut (mainly African) trade in fresh produce and firewood in Kimberley’s hinterland. Another footnote to railway history is its role in the initial rapid spread of the Spanish Influenza epidemic in 1918.
The railway reticulation eventually would link Kimberley with Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Durban and Bloemfontein. The major junction at De Aar in the Karoo linked early twentieth century lines to Upington (later to Namibia) and to Calvinia. From the 1990s there was a decline in the use of the railways.
- Today passenger train services to and from Kimberley are provided by Spoornet's Shosholoza Meyl, with connections south to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and north to Johannesburg. Luxury railway experiences are provided on the main north-south line by the Blue Train and Rovos Rail.
Wagon and coach routes were developed rapidly as the rush for the Diamond Fields gathered momentum. Two of the major routes were from the Cape and from Port Elizabeth, the nearest maritime port at the time. Contemporary accounts of the 1870s describe the appalling condition of some of the roads and decry the absence of bridges. From the mid-1880s the route through Kimberley and Mafeking (now Mahikeng) became the main axis of British colonial penetration and it was from Kimberley, along that route, that the Pioneer Column for the settlement of Rhodesia set forth in 1890. Today, however, the central arterial route to the north, the N1 from the Cape to Johannesburg, goes via Bloemfontein, not Kimberley.
Today, Kimberley is the seat of the Provincial Legislature for the Northern Cape and the Provincial Administration. It services the mining and agricultural sectors of the region.
The city projects itself as a significant tourist destination, the ‘City that Sparkles’, boasting a diversity of museums and visitor attractions. It is also a gateway to other Northern Cape destinations including the Mokala National Park, nature reserves and numerous game farms or hunting lodges, as well as historic sites of the region.
Kimberley has hosted significant meetings and conferences, developing a major venue, the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre, and other conference hosting facilities. Recent gatherings have included the founding meeting of the Kimberley Process (2000) and a follow-up meeting of this organisation in 2013, and the International Indigenous Peoples Summit on Sustainable Development (2002).
Becoming a university city
Climate and Geography
|Climate data for Kimberley|
|Record high °C (°F)||40.4
|Average high °C (°F)||32.8
|Daily mean °C (°F)||25.1
|Average low °C (°F)||17.9
|Record low °C (°F)||7.1
|Precipitation mm (inches)||57
|Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)||7||7||7||6||2||1||1||1||2||4||5||6||49|
|Average humidity (%)||45||53||57||59||54||53||48||41||36||40||42||42||47|
|Mean monthly sunshine hours||307.1||260.7||265.7||262.0||281.2||264.2||286.7||299.3||288.3||305.1||310.6||331.0||3,461.9|
|Source #1: NOAA|
|Source #2: South African Weather Service|
|Climate chart (explanation)|
Kimberley’s water is pumped from the Vaal River at Riverton, some 15 km north of the city.
- Carters Glen
- De Beers
- Diamant Park
- Du Toit's Pan
- El Torro Park
- Galeshewe incl "Old No 2"
- Hadison Park
- Hill Crest
- Kimberley North
- Malay Camp
- Minerva Gardens
- Mint Village
- Moghul Park
- Monument Heights
- New Park
- Squarehill Park
- Verwoerd Park
- West End
According to the 2011 census, the population of Kimberley "proper" was 96,977, while the townships Galeshewe and Roodepan had populations of 107,920 and 20,263 respectively. This gives the urban area a total population of 225,160. Of this population, 63.1% identified themselves as "Black African", 26.8% as "Coloured", 8.0% as "White" and 1.2% as "Indian or Asian". 43.2% of the population spoke Afrikaans as their first language, 35.8% spoke Setswana, 8.7% spoke English, 6.0% spoke isiXhosa and 2.7% spoke Sesotho.
Landscapes, urban and rural
Kimberley is set in a relatively flat landscape with no prominent topographic features within the urban limits. The only "hills" are debris dumps generated by more than a century of diamond mining. From the 1990s these were being recycled and poured back into De Beers Mine (by 2010 it was filled to within a few tens of metres of the surface). Certain of the mine dumps, in the vicinity of the Big Hole, have been proclaimed as heritage features and are to be preserved as part of the historic industrial landscape of Kimberley.
The surrounding rural landscape, not more than a few minutes’ drive from any part of the city, consists of relatively flat plains dotted with hills, mainly outcropping basement rock (andesite) to the north and north west, or Karoo age dolerite to the south and east. Shallow pans formed in the plains.
One of Kimberley’s famous features is Kamfers Dam, a large pan north of the city, which is an important wetland supporting a breeding colony of Lesser Flamingos. Conservation initiatives in the area aim to bring people from the city in touch with its wildlife. In 2012 rising water levels flooded the artificial island built to enhance flamingo breeding, while in December 2013 a local outbreak of avian botulism bacteria resulted in the deaths of hundreds of birds. The island has since re-emerged.
Government, local and provincial
The administration of the Crown Colony of Griqualand West (from 1873) was conducted from Government Buildings in Kimberley up until the annexation of the Colony to the Cape in 1880. At the level of local government, separate Borough Councils operated in Kimberley and Beaconsfield up to the time of their amalgamation as the City of Kimberley in 1912. Thereafter a single City Council regulated the affairs of the city, while a Divisional Council administered the surrounding rural district. In the 1980s, in the last days of apartheid, a separate political entity referred to as Galeshewe (with Mankurwane) was brought into existence with its own council.
Post-1994 the Kimberley City Council became the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality while the successor to what had become the Diamandveld Regional Services Council was the Frances Baard District Municipality.
The idea of establishing the Northern Cape as a distinct geographic entity dates from the 1940s but it became a political and administrative fact only in 1994, with Kimberley formally becoming the new province’s legislative capital. The provincial legislature initially occupied the old Cape Provincial Administration building at the Civic Centre before moving into a purpose-built Legislature deliberately situated between one of the townships and erstwhile white suburbs. Kimberley is also the seat of the Northern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa, which exercises jurisdiction over the province.
Education is a major sector in Kimberley's social and economic life.
Sol Plaatje University
The Sol Plaatje University opened in Kimberley in 2014, accommodating a modest initial intake of 135 students. Announcing the name for the university, President Jacob Zuma mentioned the development of academic niche areas that did not exist elsewhere, or were under-represented, in South Africa. "Given the rich heritage of Kimberley and the Northern Cape in general," Zuma said, "it is envisaged that Sol Plaatje will specialise in heritage studies, including interconnected academic fields such as museum management, archaeology, indigenous languages, and restoration architecture."
Defunct tertiary institutions
Tertiary education institutions no longer in existence (or absorbed into the above organisational configurations):
Society and culture
Kimberley, from its earliest days, attracted people of diverse faiths which are still reflected by practising faith communities in the city. Pre-eminently these are various denominations of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, as well as other faiths. Traditional African beliefs continue as an element in the Zionist Christian Church (ZCC). Kimberley is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman and also of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley – previously the Apostolic Vicariate of Kimberley in Orange. Other denominations having churches in the city are the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Congregational Church, the Dutch Reformed Church (Afrikaans: Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk), the Baptist Church, the Afrikaans Baptist Church (Afrikaans: Afrikaanse Baptiste Kerk), the Apostolics, Pentecostalists. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa was first established in Kimberley.
Art, music, film and literature
Writers from the city or with strong Kimberley links include Diane Awerbuck, Benjamin Bennett, Lawrence Green, Dorian Haarhoff, Dan Jacobson, Z.K. Matthews, Sarah Gertrude Millin, Sol Plaatje, Olive Schreiner, A.H.M. Scholtz.
Museums, monuments and memorials
- The Big Hole, previously known as the Kimberley Mine Museum, is a recreated townscape and museum, with Big Hole viewing platform and other features, situated next to the Kimberley Mine ("Big Hole"). It houses a rich collection of artefacts and information from the early days of the city.
- The McGregor Museum, which celebrated its centennial in 2007, curates and studies major research collections and information about the history and ecology of the Northern Cape, which are reflected in displays at the museum's headquarters at the Sanatorium in Belgravia and nine branch museums.
- Dunluce and Rudd House Museums.
- Pioneers of Aviation Museum: In 1913, South Africa's first flying school opened at Kimberley and started training the pilots of the South African Aviation Corps, later to become the South African Air Force. The museum is located on the site of that flying school and houses a replica of a Compton Paterson biplane, one of the first aircraft to be used for flight training. The first female on the African continent to receive her pilot's license, Ann Maria Bocciarelli, was trained at this facility.
- Robert Sobukwe's Law Office
- Transport Spoornet Museum
- Clyde N. Terry Hall of Militaria
- Freddie Tate Museum
- On the outskirts of Kimberley, on the Barkly West Road, the Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre, as well as Nooitgedacht Glacial Pavements. To the south of the city, the Magersfontein Battlefield Museum (see Battle of Magersfontein), while blockhouses can be seen at Modder River.
- The Miners' Memorial, also known as the Diggers' Fountain, located in the Oppenheimer Gardens and designed by Herman Wald. It was built in honour of all the miners of Kimberley. The memorial consists of five life-sized diggers lifting a diamond sieve.
- The Honoured Dead Memorial commemorates those who died defending the city during the Siege of Kimberley in the Anglo-Boer War.
- The Cenotaph erected originally to commemorate the fallen of World War I, with plaques added in memory of fallen Kimberley volunteers in World War II. There is a memorial dedicated to the Kimberley Cape Coloured Corps who died in the Battle of Square Hill during World War I. Consisting of a gun captured at the battle, it originally stood in Victoria Crescent, Malay Camp, but, post-1994, was moved to the Cenotaph.
- The Concentration Camp Memorial remembers those who were interned in the Kimberley concentration camp during the Second Boer War, and is located in front of the Dutch Reformed Mother Church.
- The Henrietta Stockdale statue, by Jack Penn, commemorates the Anglican nun, Sister Henrietta CSM&AA (her reinterred remains are buried alongside), who petitioned the Cape Parliament to pass a law recognizing nursing as a profession and requiring compulsory state registration of nurses - a first in the world.
- The Sol Plaatje Statue was unveiled by South African President Jacob Zuma on 9 January 2010, the 98th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress. Sculpted by Johan Moolman, it is at the Civic Centre, formerly the Malay Camp, and situated approximately where Plaatje had his printing press in 1910-13.
- Burger Monument near Magersfontein Battlefield
- Mayibuye Memorial
- Rhodes equestrian statue
- Malay Camp Memorial
- Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum (1907)
- De Beers Head Office
- Dunluce (Late Victorian)
- Harry Oppenheimer House (mid-1970s)
- Honoured Dead Memorial
- Kimberley Africana Library
- Kimberley City Hall (Neo-classical)
- Kimberley Club
- Kimberley Regiment Drill Hall (1892)
- Kimberley Sanatorium (McGregor Museum) (1897)
- Kimberley Undenominational Schools
- Masonic Temple
- Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
- Old School of Mines (Late Victorian)
- Rudd House (The Bungalow)
- The Lodge (Duggan-Cronin Gallery)
Notable religious buildings
- Dutch Reformed Mother Church Newton is a good example of Stucco architecture in Kimberley. It was declared a National Monument in 1976, now a Provincial Heritage Site.
- Kimberley's older Mosques were replaced by newer ones as a result of the Group Areas Act and the forced resettlement of the city's Muslim communities.
- Kimberley Seventh-day Adventist Church is a small L shaped corrugated-iron building and is considered the mother church of Seventh-day Adventists in South Africa. It was declared a National Monument in 1967, now a Provincial Heritage Site.
- St Cyprian's Anglican Cathedral was designed by Arthur Lindley of the firm of Greatbatch, the building of the nave being completed in 1908. The remainder of the cathedral was completed in stages, partly under guidance of William M. Timlin (also of the firm of Greatbatch). In 1926 the Chancel was dedicated (and as a World War I memorial); in 1936 the Lady Chapel, Vestry & new organ were added; and in 1961, the tower (a World War II memorial). The cathedral contains notable stained glass windows including works by the Pretoria artist Leo Theron.
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral.
- Synagogue in the Byzantine style designed by D.W. Greatbatch, and based on the synagogue in Florence, Italy.
The city is served by both print media and community radio stations.
The earliest newspaper here was the Diamond Field, published initially at Pniel on 15 October 1870. Other early papers with the Diamond News and the Independent. The Diamond Fields Advertiser is Kimberley's current daily newspaper, published since 23 March 1878. The Volksblad, with a free local supplement called Noordkaap, is read by Afrikaans-speaking readers.
Two community radio stations were founded in the 1990s:
- Radio Teemaneng
- XKfm which is based in the !Xun and Khwe settlement of Platfontein outside Kimberley and broadcasts in the two KhoeSan languages spoken at Platfontein (!Xun and Khwedam)
Kimberley has contributed to much of cricket's history having supplied several international players. There was Nipper Nickelson, Xenophon Balaskas born in Kimberley to Greek parents and Ken Viljoen, Ronnie Draper and in more recent times Pat Symcox and the Proteas coach Micky Arthur.
Frank Dobbin known as Uncle Dobbin was a member of Paul Roos' original Springboks in the tour to the British Isles in 1906/1907. His memory lives in his old colonial-style home in Roper street, bearing a simple brass plaque with the name 'Dobbin'. Later Springboks to wear green and gold included Ian Kirkpatrick, Tommy Bedford and Gawie Visagie, brother of Ammosal-based Springbok flyhalf Piet Visagie. Kimberley is home to the GWK Griquas rugby team.
Richard Henyekane, South African footballer, comes from Kimberley.
Jimmy Tau is from Kimberley, born and grew up in the dusty streets of No. 5 in Makapane Street, Vergenoeg.
Karen Muir, born in Kimberley, became in 1965 the youngest person to break a world record in any sport. This age group record stands to this day. She set it in August 1965 at the junior world champions in Blackpool, England in the 110 metres (360 ft) backstroke at the age of 12. She went on to break many more world records but was denied a role in world swimming when she lost the opportunity to represent her country at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City as a result of South Africa being excluded due to its racial apartheid policies. Kimberley also saw a world record broken in the municipal pool which now bears Karen Muir's name. It was Johannesburg's Anne Fairlie who beat Karen Muir and Frances Kikki Caron in world record breaking time.
Bevil Rudd, Olympic medallist.
Brian Davis, son of civic leader Edgar Davis, was part of the 4x400 metres relay which won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics.
The first Maloof Money Cup World Skateboarding Championships were held in Kimberley in September 2011 and again in 2012. In 2013 a new event is taking over where the Maloof family left off called Kimberley Diamond Cup.
"Kimberley has had a profound effect on the course of history in Southern Africa. The discovery of diamonds there, more than a century ago, proved to be the first step in the transformation of South Africa from an agricultural into an industrial country. When gold and other minerals were later discovered to the north, there were already Kimberley men of vision and enterprise with the capital and technology to develop the new resources." - H.F. Oppenheimer, 1976. Foreword to Brian Roberts’ book, Kimberley, turbulent city.
Anthony Trollope visited Kimberley in 1877 and was notoriously put off by the heat, enervating and hideous, while the dust and the flies of the early mining town almost drove him mad: "I sometimes thought that the people of Kimberley were proud of their flies and their dust." Of the townscape, largely built of sun-dried brick, and of plank and canvas and corrugated iron sheets brought up by ox-wagon from the coast, he remarked: "In Kimberley there are two buildings with a storey above the ground, and one of these is in the square: this is its only magnificence. There is no pavement. The roadway is all dust and holes. There is a market place in the midst which certainly is not magnificent. Around are the corrugated iron shops of the ordinary dealers in provisions. An uglier place I do not know how to imagine."
A.H.J. Bourne, a former headmaster of Kimberley Boys' High School, returned to the city in 1937, observing that: "The history of Kimberley would appear remarkable to any stranger who could not fail to think that some supermind was behind its destinies. In so short a time it has grown from bare veld."
In the early 1990s writer Dan Jacobson returned to Kimberley, where he had grown up in the 1930s, giving a sense of how things had changed: "The people I had known had vanished; so had their language. That contributed to my ghostlike state. In my earliest years the whites of Kimberley spoke English only; Afrikaans was the tongue of the Cape Coloured people ... Now I was addressed in Afrikaans everywhere I went, by white, black, and Coloured alike".
Kimberley dull? – asked virtualtourist reviewer Catherine Reichardt: "Happily, the answer is a resounding 'No', provided that you have a passion for history - in which case Kimberley has it in spades, and you'll probably need to overnight to fully appreciate its attractions and charms. In many ways, exploring Kimberley and its heritage is like experiencing South African history in microcosm."
- The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is an initiative for preventing trade in "conflict diamonds" used to finance the undermining of legitimate governments. It was founded in 2003, following a May 2000 meeting of Southern African diamond-producing states in Kimberley. A tenth anniversary meeting of the Kimberley Process was held at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre, Kimberley, on 4--7 June 2013, bringing together representatives of Governments, the diamond industry and civil society. A commemorative event was held at the Kimberley Tabernacle, the venue for the original meeting of the KPCS, where 23 individuals present at the very first meeting were honoured for their involvement. South African Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, addressed the closing session, noting the role of the KPCS in minimising "blood diamond" trade, as well as its "significant developmental impact in improving the lives of people dependent on the trade in diamonds."
- The Kimberley Declaration is a statement, inter alia on respect, promotion and protection of traditional knowledge systems, published by the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, on behalf of the International Indigenous Peoples Summit on Sustainable Development, Khoi-San Territory, Kimberley, South Africa, 20–23 August 2002
- Sum of the Main Places Roodepan, Galeshewe and Kimberley from Census 2011.
- Martin Meredith (2007). Diamonds, Gold, and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa. New York: Public affairs. p. 16. ISBN 1-58648-473-7.
- Roberts, Brian (1972). The Diamond Magnates. London: Hamilton. p. 5. ISBN 0241021774.
- Wilson, A.N. (1982). Diamonds : from birth to eternity. Santa Monica, Calfornia: Gemological Institute of America. p. 135. ISBN 0873110102.
- Chilvers, Henry (1939). The Story of De Beers. Cassell. pp. 23–24.
- Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip pp 45-49
- Ralph, Julia (1900). Towards Pretoria; a record of the war between Briton and Boer, to the relief of Kimberley. Frederick A. Stokes company.
- Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip, p 115
- Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip, p 116
- Select Constitutional Documents Illustrating South African History 1795-1910. Routledge and Sons. 1918. p. 66.
- Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip, p. 155.
- Hannatjie van der Merwe (20 May 2005). "Big Hole loses claim to fame". News24. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- Bid to plug Big Hole worldwide, News24
- UNESCO World Heritage Tentative Lists: Kimberley Mines and Associated Early Industries
- Martin Meredith, Diamonds, Gold, and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa, (New York, Public Affairs, 2007):34
- "Anglo American: De Beers investor presentation". Anglo American. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- John Hays Hammond (1974). The Autobiography of John Hays Hammond. Ayer Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 0-405-05913-2.
- Meredith, 36.
- Martin Meredith, Diamonds, Gold, and War, (New York, Public Affairs, 2007): 34
- Sessional Papers By Great Britain Parliament. House of Commons. 1902.
- Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip
- Apartheid and the archbishop: the life and times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town Paton, A: New York, Scribner 1974 ISBN 0-684-13713-5
- Review of Paton's Apartheid and the Archbishop by Edgar Brookes
- Mayibuye Uprising of 8 November 1952 by Johlene May
- Indian Opinion 23 Jan 1953 – Apartheid policy responsible for riots
- e.g. Shillington, K. 1985. The colonisation of the Southern Tswana. Johannesburg: Ravan Press
- Brian Roberts (1976). Kimberley. D. Philip, Historical Society of Kimberley and the Northern Cape. ISBN 0-949968-62-5.
- Michael Morris & John Linnegar (2004). Every Step of the Way. Human Sciences Research Council. ISBN 0-7969-2061-3.
- Becker, Dave (1991). On Wings of Eagles: South Africa's Military Aviation History (1 ed.). Durban: Walker-Ramus Trading Co. p. 9. ISBN 0-947478-47-7.
- Burman, Jose (1984). Early Railways at the Cape. Cape Town. Human & Rousseau, p.95. ISBN 0-7981-1760-5
- Worger, W.H. 1987. South Africa’s City of Diamonds. Mine Workers and Monopoly Capitalism in Kimberley, 1867–1895. London: Yale University Press
- e.g. Holub, Emil (1881). Seven Years in South Africa: Travels, Researches and Hunting Adventures, Between the Diamond-Fields and the Zambesi (1872–79)
- "Home | New Universities | DHET New Universities Project Management Team". New Universities. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
- "Kimberley Climate Normals 1961−1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- "Climate data for Kimberley". South African Weather Service. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- "Main Place Kimberley". Census 2011.
- "Main Place Galeshewe". Census 2011.
- "Main Place Roodepan". Census 2011.
- Wildenboer, N. 2013. Expert confirms Kamfers Dam birds' cause of death. Diamond Fields Advertiser 13 Dec 2013 p 11
- Address by the President of South Africa during the announcement of new Interim Councils and names of the New Universities
- Government Notice 1031 gazetted on 7 Dec 2012, as amended by Government Notice 1073, gazetted on 14 Dec 2012
- Northern Cape’s first university to open in 2014, Timeslive 21 Mar 2013
- New Universities Project Management Team: Academic Planning
- Dr Victor: biography Accessed 9 June 2013
- The Big Hole Kimberley - Diamonds and Destiny
- William Humphreys Art Gallery
- Tidy, Major D.P. "They Mounted up as Eagles (A brief tribute to the South African Air Force)" 5 (6). The South African Military History Society.[dead link]
- "The History of Aviation in South Africa". South African Power Flying Association. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- Plaatje Statue unveiled, Diamond Fields Advertiser, 11 Jan 2010, p 6. (Reports in the Sunday Argus and Independent On Line [10 January 2010 at 12:42PM] incorrectly state that the unveiling of this statue took place in Cape Town)
- "Dutch Reformed Mother Church Newton". South African Heritage Resources Agency. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- "First Seventh Day Adventist Church Blacking Street Kimberley". South African Heritage Resources Agency. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- Brian Roberts. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city, p 173
- Swimming in South Africa. Last accessed 2008-04-12
- Charl Bouwer swem SA se negende Paralimpiese medalja los: 2 Sep 2012
- cited by Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city, p 159-160
- cited in L. Moult. 1987. KHStory, p 126
- Dan Jacobson, The Electronic Elephant: A Southern African Journey, London: Penguin, 1994, p 73
- Catherine Reichardt on A cracking day out in Kimberley.
- Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Intersessional Meeting ends with review on processes and functions Accessed 7 June 2013.
- Kimberley Declaration Accessed on 7 June 2013
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kimberley (South Africa).|
- The Kimberley City Portal - An on-line directory for tourists, travellers and residents of Kimberley. Detailed listings of business, attractions, activities and events with photos, contact information and geo-locations.
- Kimberley, turbulent city by Brian Roberts (1976, published by David Phillip & Historical Society of Kimberley and the Northern Cape)
- "Diamond Mines of South Africa" by Gardner Williams (General manager De Beers), Chapter 15 (25 page history + images). | <urn:uuid:6d6965b9-e86b-47a7-9262-d93b4abd2b74> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley,_Northern_Cape | 2015-03-30T11:35:07Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00232-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934032 | 9,987 |
US 5396417 A
A data collection device and method, particularly for point-of-sale systems used in the sales and rental of merchandise including video records, and more particularly for a revenue-sharing video record rental system. In such a revenue-sharing system, both revenue-sharing records and ordinary merchandise can be sold using the same point-of-sale entry system. Data relating to the sales of rental of records is separated from the other data generated at the point-of-sale terminals by a data capture device, and the separated data is transmitted to a central computer where it is further processed to separate revenue-sharing record data from other record data, compute the shares due the store proprietor and the distributor of the revenue-sharing records, and for the performance of other functions. The data capture device is usable with a very wide variety of current point-of-sale computers and software so that the store owner can participate in the revenue-sharing system without the expense of buying new software compatible with the central computer. A relatively inexpensive, small-footprint data input terminal is provided.
1. A point-of-sale system comprising, in combination, data entry means for entering data concerning the sale and/or rental of merchandise, means for developing display signals corresponding to said data, display means responsive to said display signals for displaying said data in visual form, and data collection means for receiving said display signals and selecting from said signals those representing predetermined data, and sending said predetermined data to a remote location for processing.
2. A system as in claim 1 in which said data collections means is responsive to signals in ASCII code form.
3. A system as in claim 1 in which said merchandise includes video records, and said predetermined data includes data regarding rental transactions for video records.
4. A system as in claim 3 in which said remote location is a computer processing location in a revenue-sharing system for computing and sorting shares of rental revenues.
5. A system as in claim 1 in which said display means is a member of the group consisting of a character display screen and a printer.
6. A system as in claim 5 in which said display screen, printer and data collection means all are responsive to ASCII code.
7. A system as in claim 1 in which said data collection means includes data template means for selecting said signals based on the position of the images produced by said signals in said display means.
8. A system as in claim 1 including a master computer and LAN adapter means connecting said data entry means together with said master computer in a local area network.
9. A system as in claim 8 in which said data entry means includes a small-footprint point of sale terminal for entering sales and rentals of merchandise, including sales and rentals of video records, said terminal comprising, in combination, a housing, a small display in said housing for displaying at least one line of character images, a keypad in said housing, said keyboard having numerical entry keys, programmable function keys, and substantially less than a full complement of alphabetic character entry keys, connector means for connecting said terminal to said master computer in said local area network, and dedicated key input means for operation to identify to said master computer a video record rental transaction.
10. A system as in claim 8 in which said remote location is a computer processing location in a revenue-sharing system for computing and sorting shares of rental revenues and recipients thereof, said master computer of said local area network being programmed with software operable with that of the computer at said remote location to upload data to the remote computer and receive downloaded data from said remote computer.
11. A system as in claim 8 in which said remote location is a computer processing location in a revenue-sharing system for computing and sorting shares of rental revenues, said master computer of said local area network being programmed with software operable with that of the computer at said remote location, said data collection means being connected to said data entry means and operating to deliver said predetermined data to said remote location in compatible form, without altering the programming of said master computer.
12. A data collection device for selecting predetermined output data signals from output data signal streams created by diverse types of miniature computers, said data collection device comprising data collection means for selecting said predetermined data signals from said data signal streams in response to output data signals for delivery to a visual display device in a form common to said diverse types of miniature computers, and means for transmitting the selected predetermined data signals to a utilization location separate from the destination of said data signal streams.
13. A device as in claim 12 in which the data in said streams is in ASCII display code.
14. A device as in claim 12 in which each of said miniature computers is a part of a point-of-sale system including display and printer means connected to receive said output data streams and adapted for rental of video records.
15. A device as in claim 12 in which said data collection means includes data template means for selecting said predetermined data signals based on the position of images produced by said output data signals in said visual display device.
16. A device as in claim 12 including means, programmed to form movable variable areas on said visual display device to permit positions on said visual display device from which signals are selected to be changed either by local operation of one of said miniature computers, or remotely from a remote computer at said utilization location.
17. A revenue-sharing video record data collection system for collecting data from a plurality of remote video record marketing locations and for transmitting selected portions of said data to a revenue-sharing computer at a computing location, said system comprising, in combination, a point of sale system at each of a plurality of marketing locations, each of said point of sale systems comprising, in combination, data entry means for entering data concerning the sale and/or rental of merchandise, means for developing display signals corresponding to said data, means responsive to said display signals for displaying said data in visual form, and data collection means for receiving said display signals and selecting from said signals those representing predetermined data, and sending predetermined data to said revenue-sharing computer.
18. A data collection system as set forth in claim 17, in which said predetermined data is that relating to video record rentals, and said revenue-sharing computer is adapted to compute the shares of record rentals due the participants in said system.
19. A data collection system as set forth in claim 17, in which said point of sale system includes means for storing the data selected, and dial-up modem means for periodically sending the stored data to said revenue-sharing computer through public communications channels.
20. A method of selecting predetermined output data signals from output data signal streams created by diverse types of miniature computers, said method comprising the steps of analyzing the display signals for displaying images using the display means of any one of a plurality of said diverse types of miniature computers, utilizing a circuit device, responsive to data in a single display code used by all of said display signals, for selecting predetermined data from said output data signal streams, and transmitting the selected predetermined data to a utilization location separate from the destination of said data signal streams.
21. A method as in claim 20 including the step of displaying images corresponding to said display signals on a display device selected from the group consisting of an electronic display panel and a printer.
22. A method as in claim 20 including the step of formatting said signals for display in a predetermined format, and in which said analyzing step comprises determining the position of said data in said display.
23. A method as in claim 22 including the step of utilizing a locally-stored computer program to make the selection based on outlines on said display, said outlines being adjustable as to size and position either locally or from a remote computer.
24. A method as in claim 20 including point-of-sale merchandise sale or rental steps, including the steps of recording sales or rentals of video records, in which said analyzing step comprises selecting the signals representing sales or rentals of video records from those representing the sale or rental of other merchandise.
25. A method as in claim 24 including the steps of discriminating the data for sales and rentals of revenue-sharing records from the sales or rentals of all other merchandise, and computing revenue shares due the participants in a revenue-sharing program.
26. A method of incorporating local computerized POS systems into a centralized data processing network utilizing a central computer at a data processing station, the programming of said local POS systems being incompatible with the programming of said computer at said data processing station, said method comprising the steps of connecting data tap means into each POS system to analyze display data signals, said data tap means being adapted to segregate predetermined data signals from the others, and transmitting said predetermined data signals to said central computer.
27. A method as in claim 26 in which said centralized data processing network is for the sharing of revenue from the merchandising of selected products through said POS systems, and said predetermined data signals represent the merchandising of said selected products.
28. A method as in claim 27 in which the selected products are video records merchandised by a method selected from the group consisting of selling the records, renting them, and charging for their use on a per-play basis.
29. A method as in claim 26 in which said display signals are in ASCII form, and each of said data tap means is responsive to ASCII code and is of essentially the same construction regardless of the programming of the POS system it is connected into.
30. A method as in claim 26 in which said display signals are formatted to cause visible representations thereof appear in predetermined locations in a visible display, and said analyzing step comprises determining the location of said data in said display.
31. A method as in claim 26 including the step of programming each data tap means, either locally or remotely, to adapt it to the format of data displayed in each individual POS system, thereby accommodating analysis in a wide variety of formats in different POS systems.
32. A method as in claim 26 including the step of installing original POS equipment at additional merchandising locations in said network, said original POS equipment including software compatible with said central computer and said data tap means for performing the analyzing step, and including means for performing said transmitting step.
33. A method as in claim 32 in which said original POS equipment includes a master computer, a LAN adapter, and at least one data entry terminal comprising a small-footprint point-of-sale terminal for entering sales and rentals of merchandise, including sales and rentals of video records, said terminal comprising, in combination, a housing, a small display in said housing for displaying at least one line of alpha numeric characters, a keypad in said housing, said keypad having numerical entry keys, programmable function keys, and substantially less than a full complement of alphabetic character keys, connector means for connecting said terminal to a master computer in a local area network, and dedicated key input means for operation to identify to said master computer a video record rental transaction.
This invention relates to systems and methods for the selective collection and processing of data, particularly in point-of sales systems, and especially in the distribution of video records. In particular, this invention relates to a method and system for collecting and transmitting video record rental data to a processing device at a remote location for revenue-sharing purposes.
In the business of renting video tape records of movies, distributors such as motion picture studios normally sell the tape cassettes at relatively high prices to the rental stores. As a result, the rental store owners are required to make a relatively large capital investment in order to buy enough tapes to meet their customers' needs. Often the owner can not afford to purchase the quantity of video tapes required to satisfy the demand. The result is that both the distributors and the rental stores lose revenues, and some members of the public do not get the opportunity to rent the movie of their choice.
In response to these problems, video tape revenue-sharing rental methods have been proposed and developed. In one such method, a video tape store owner may obtain a video tape from a studio or other distributor for a relatively small initial cost. Thereafter, each time the video tape is rented, the distributor receives a certain percentage of the rental income. After a video tape has been rented a certain number of times, or after a predetermined time period has passed since the video tape was first offered for rent, the video tape may be offered for sale to the public and the proceeds divided between the store owner and the distributor.
All parties benefit from such an arrangement. The public has more copies of a movie available to rent, the store owner can reduce the amount of capital tied up in the tapes, and both the store owners and the distributors earn more revenues from the added rentals. This may induce the motion picture studios to release movies on video tape much sooner, or even simultaneously with the movies' release to theaters, so that a greater portion of the public can enjoy the movies sooner and at a lower cost.
The above-described rental method preferably is carried out by a computer system such as that shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,029,034, issued Jul. 2, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,031, issued Sep. 17, 1991. Both of those patents are assigned to the assignee of the present patent application.
The system shown in those patents is highly advantageous; it enables the transmission of rental data from many different retail rental store terminals to a central computer or processor. This system computes the shares of video rentals earned by the retailers and distributors, prepares reports regarding rental transactions, and otherwise handles the accounting for the transactions electronically, as it is described in greater detail in those patents.
The system shown in those patents has the advantage that the speed and cost of collecting rental data is greatly improved. If desired, "counting cassettes" also can be used to count the number of plays of a video record by the customer, and the rental charge can be based on the number of plays.
In one known commercial system using one embodiment of the invention shown in those patents, all of the transaction data including rental and sale information of each store is transmitted to the central computer from each rental terminal. A problem with that arrangement is that many stores sell other products such as sweatshirts, candy, etc. in addition to renting or selling video records. Therefore, the video record business forms only a portion of the business of many rental stores. This is particularly true where the store is one which primarily sells other merchandise, such as supermarkets, department stores, etc. Therefore, there is a substantial amount of data which must be sorted out from the record rental information. This sorting should be done in the stores before the transmission of data to the central computer to prevent overloading the central computer equipment, thus increasing its cost, and also increasing the cost of data transmission and processing. For this reason, special features presently are required in the software used in the rental store to sort the extraneous data out before transmission to the central computer. Without such features, the software is incompatible with that of central computer.
Another problem is caused by the diversity of different point-of-sale computers and software which are used by video record retailers. Only a relatively few of the software packages have been modified to make them compatible with the central computer. Therefore, in order for retailers to participate in the revenue-sharing program, they often are required to buy relatively expensive compatible software to replace that which they already have. Also, they are required to re-train their employees to use the new software.
Another problem exists even with rental stores which have compatible software in that they may not have a compatible local area network operating software.
Another problem is that some rental stores do not have any computerized point-of-sale equipment at all. Therefore, even the smallest rental store is forced to acquire relatively sophisticated and expensive computer equipment in order to be able to participate in the revenue-sharing plan.
In either of the foregoing circumstances, the relatively high cost of acquiring new computer hardware and/or software is a significant deterrent to participation in the revenue-sharing plan.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide equipment and methods for merchandise distribution data processing which overcomes or substantially alleviates the foregoing problems.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide equipment and methods for use in video record revenue-sharing which significantly reduce the cost of entry into the revenue-sharing plan.
Another object of the invention is to provide a data collection system and method which can be used with a wide variety of computers and software without significant modifications.
It also is an object of the invention to provide a relatively low-cost and compact point-of-sale input terminal.
The foregoing objects are met by the provision of a data collection means and method, operating on signals used to display data in the local computers, to collect data for transmitting to a central computer. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the data is video record rental and sale data from retail distribution locations.
If desired, the rental data is segregated from that relating to the sale of other merchandise, and the data for revenue-sharing rentals is identified so that it can be further segregated by the central computer. Alternatively, if desired, the revenue-sharing data can be segregated locally so that only it will be sent to the central computer. Optionally, the revenue-sharing data can include pay-per-play data developed by the use of play-counting cassettes.
The invention is capable of segragating rental transaction data from sales transaction data. Additionally, revenue-sharing rental transaction data can be segregated from non-revenue sharing data. Further, if desired, sending of transaction data to the central computer can be controlled on a product or title ID basis.
Selecting data from that used by display devices in the local point-of-sale ("POS") systems has the advantage that the data collection equipment used can be largely standardized and need not be customized to be compatible with each of the multitude of hardware and software systems now used as point-of-sale equipment. The data sent to the display device (display screen or printer, e.g.) almost always is in ASCII code. Therefore, a device responsive to that code will be useable with almost all such equipment.
The invention includes a method for integrating into a data processing network, POS equipment which has incompatible software. A display data analyzing device is connected to the POS equipment to separate out and transmit to the central computer the data desired. Since the original POS equipment and software need not be changed, the cost of entry into the revenue-sharing plan is reduced significantly.
Display data sent to the display screen and/or printer of the usual POS system is formatted by the system software so that predetermined data usually appears in a predetermined location on the screen and/or printed invoice, or receipt or other business form. In the present invention, advantage is taken of this fact to provide a relatively fast, inexpensive means for selecting data.
The data is selected on the basis of its location on the display. Preferably, this is done by forming movable outlines of variable size on the display and capturing any data which falls within the outlines. In addition, recognition marks are placed on the display to identify that display as one which contains data to be captured; for example, data pertaining to the rental or sale of video records.
Advantageously, the recognition marks and the location and size of the windows can be varied individually in each POS system, either locally by relatively simple manipulations of the POS system controls, or by a command downloaded from the central computer. Thus, each data collection device may be customized to accommodate the individual needs of the POS system. Moreover, this can be done by an ordinary installer who need not be a computer programmer.
Changes made in the data collection system or POS system after installation similarly can be accommodated easily. For example, if the retailer decides to start renting play-counting tape cassettes such as those described in the above-identified patents, and therefore must capture data indicating the number of plays, the changes in the data capture procedures can be made relatively quickly and inexpensively.
A novel small-footprint data entry terminal is provided to reduce the cost and size of the POS equipment used by the retailer.
The small-footprint terminal has a keyboard with substantially less than a full complement of alphabetic character entry keys. Preferably, the keyboard has no such keys; rather, it has numerical keys and dedicated but programmable keys for entering specific data relating to video record transactions. This saves the cost and space required for a full keyboard, and makes the recording of a transaction faster and simpler.
Preferably, the small footprint terminal has a relatively small display using segmented elements, for example, dot matrix elements, to form the characters. A two-line, forty-character, LCD display is preferred. This small display provides all the display capacity needed, while saving the space and cost of a large video display.
The small-footprint terminal is operated as a slave from an ordinary personal computer used as a master in a local area network.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in or apparent from the following detailed description and drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a video record rental revenue-sharing system constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic, partially perspective drawing of one embodiment of the point-of-sale system of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic, partially perspective view of another embodiment of the point-of-sale system of the invention;
FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C-1, 4C-2, 4D-1 and 4D-2 comprise flow charts for computer programs utilized in the invention;
FIGS. 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4I and 4J represent respective screens which may appear on a CRT display;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic, partially perspective views of further embodiments of the point-of-sale system of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram of a "data tap" or collection device constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the circuitry of a small footprint data entry terminal ("SFT") constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of a LAN adapter constructed in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the small-footprint data entry terminal ("SFT") whose circuitry is shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 1 shows a video tape record revenue-sharing distribution system 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 1 is schematic and shows only a small part of an actual system which typically would be used commercially.
The system 10 includes a central computer or processor 12 which communicates with a point-of-sale ("POS") system in each of a large number of individual video record retail stores. Only three such stores, Stores No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 are shown in FIG. 1, by way of example.
The POS equipment in Store No. 1 is conventional prior art equipment. It comprises a local area network which includes a personal computer 14 used as a server. The server 14 uses programming compatible with that of the central computer. Also included are two slave terminals T1 and T2. The server or PC 14 is connected to a dial-up modem 13. The server 14 through the use of the modem 13 periodically calls up the central computer 12 and transmits accumulated rental transaction data for the store to the central computer over telephone lines 31, which if it is a long distance call would preferably be through one of the long distance systems such as "Tymnet", "Sprint", "MCI" or "AT&T". Alternately, the central computer 12 may periodically call up the modem and cause it to transmit the accumulated rental transaction data for the store to the central computer over the telephone lines.
The central computer or processor 12 processes the data it receives by first separating the data regarding revenue-sharing cassettes from all of the other data it receives. Then, it computes the shares of the revenues due to the cassette owners or distributors and to the retailers. Reports and funds are sent to the respective participants in the revenue-sharing program according to a formula previously agreed upon. If desired, reports can be transmitted through a modem 30 and telephone lines to computers such as S1 -S4 at the places of business of the cassette owners. Alternatively, reports can be sent by ordinary mail or telecopier, etc.
Payments from the retailers can be made by conventional means, or by means of electronic fund transfer banks B1, B2, B3, etc., as it is more fully described in the above-identified patents. Payments can be made to the entity owning and operating the system 10, which then pays the cassette owners and retains its share of the revenues.
As it is indicated in FIG. 1, many other stores in the revenue-sharing system communicate over other telephone lines 34 with the central computer 12. Each of those other stores can have point-of-sale equipment and software such as that shown in one of Stores No. 1, 2 and 3, or other combinations shown herein, or in any other desired combination.
The point-of-sale ("POS") system in Store No. 1 includes, in addition to the modem 13, server 14 and terminals T1 and T2, a cash drawer 15 or 17 for each terminal T1 or T2, and a printer 16 which is connected to one of the terminals T1 and T2 to print receipts and other matter in the normal transaction of retail video store business.
Each terminal has a bar-code reading wand 18 or 19 to read bar-coded product identification numbers and other product data into the terminal. A credit-card reader (not shown in Store No. 1) often is used with each terminal.
The server 14 also can be used as a sales terminal, and can have its own cash drawer, bar-code reader, credit card reader and printer, if desired.
The server can have local area network ("LAN") adapter equipment, file servers, and other equipment used in a local area network. Each terminal T1, T2 usually has a video display screen, a keyboard, hard disc and/or soft or floppy disc drives, etc., as in conventional personal computers.
Of course, if only one sales terminal is needed, the PC 14 can be used, together with a printer, wand, cash drawer, etc., as the only input terminal.
If needed, further terminals can be added, as indicated by the dashed line 20.
As it has been stated above, point-of-sale systems like the one in Store No. 1 are in widespread use in video stores throughout the United States and elsewhere in the world. However, in order for such systems to operate with the central computer 12, the software they use must be compatible with that used in the central computer. Specifically, the software should segregate the video record transactions from the others into separate files which may be then transmitted to the central computer in pre-defined data record formats. Further, video record titles which are used in the store are matched to the standard titles as defined by the central computer.
Only a few of the software packages designed for video rental store use have been modified to be compatible with the central computer software in the known revenue-sharing system in the U.S.A., the one which is operated by Rentrak Corporation. Therefore, the owners of many stores having point-of-sale computer equipment are forced to buy expensive compatible software and re-train their employees to use the new software in order for the retailer to participate in the revenue-sharing program. This is daunting and creates a substantial impediment to the growth of revenue sharing and its benefits.
Store No. 2 has exactly the same point-of-sale equipment as store No. 1 except that its software is not compatible with that of the central computer 12. However, it has been adapted, in accordance with the present invention, to be operable with the central computer 12 without replacing the incompatible software already in use.
In accordance with the present invention, three novel devices called "data taps" 22 are used together with a LAN adapter card 21, a master PC 25 and software stored in the server 14, terminals T1 and T2 and in the master PC 25. Each data tap 22, as will be described in greater detail below, separates the information regarding video record rentals from the data which is sent to the printer or the display screen of the terminals T1 or T2 or the server 14, and sends the information to the master PC 25 which stores the information until it is transmitted through the modem 13 to the central computer 12.
The three data taps 22 are connected together in series in a "daisy chain" sequence. There is one data tap for each terminal T1, T2, etc. and for the server 14 in the POS system.
FIG. 3 is a partially perspective schematic view of an adapted POS system 60 which is the same as that used in Store No. 2 of FIG. 1, except that the terminal T2 and the server 14 are not shown, and only one data-tap 22 is used.
The server 14 and each terminal T1, T2, etc. is a separate personal computer whose software is not compatible with that of the central computer. The LAN adapter card 21 and modem 13 shown in Store No. 2 of FIG. 1 are inside the master unit 25 and are not visible in FIG. 3.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, each respective data tap 22 is connected to the terminals T1, T2 and the server 14, and is further coupled through the LAN adapter 21 to the master computer 25. One of the data taps, for example, the data tap connected to terminal T1 is also connected to the printer 16. The data tap 22 is adapted to receive and temporarily store all data displayed on the display screen of the terminals T1, T2, and data to be printed on the printer 16. The captured data is thereafter supplied through the LAN adapter to the master computer.
A "TSR" program disc 52 is shown in FIG. 3. As it will be described in greater detail below, the TSR program is used in each terminal T1, T2, etc. to facilitate data selection and processing in accordance with the invention.
Applicants have taken advantage of the fact that, regardless of the brand of the computer, data which is sent to the display screen or display device such as the printer 16 consistently is in ASCII code. Therefore, the hardware of the data tap can be standardized so that one type of device can be used with a wide variety of computer hardware and software.
This is highly advantageous. It minimizes hardware and software costs and facilitates modification of existing POS systems to lower the cost of entry into the revenue-sharing plan. Also, the store employees need not be re-trained to use new software, because they can simply continue to use the software with which they are familiar. This minimizes any business interruption which might be caused by entry into the revenue-sharing plan.
Store No. 3 of FIG. 1 is an example of a store that has no computer equipment to start with. Since such a system has no incompatible software, compatible software can be used from the very start. However, since it might be a major expense to the store owner to purchase a prior point-of-sale system simply for the purpose of enrolling in the revenue-sharing plan, applicants have provided hardware with minimum cost and size so that the store owner's investment is kept to a minimum.
In particular, the system in Store No. 3 includes a master PC 25, a LAN adapter 27, a printer 16 and cash drawers 15 and 17. Also included are optional credit card readers 28 and 29, as well as bar code reader wands 18 and 19.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the POS system also includes two simple, low-cost data input "Small Footprint Terminals" ("SFT's") 23 and 24. The small footprint terminals will be described in greater detail below.
With the use of the small footprint terminals, if needed, and the advantageous software of the present invention, the store owner of Store No. 3 can install a system which will keep track of inventory, and all sales transactions, and also will automatically separate out the data for video record transactions and transmit it through a modem over a telephone line 32 to the central computer, all at a relatively modest cost.
FIG. 2 is a partially perspective view showing an integrated POS system 40 like that used in Store No. 3 of FIG. 1, except that only one SFT terminal 23 is used instead of two.
The master computer 25 is a conventional personal computer such as one made by IBM, or an IBM compatible personal computer. It has a full keyboard 42, a video display screen 44, an internal hard-disc drive (not shown), and a floppy-disc drive whose input port is shown at 46.
The master computer 25 is programmed to be compatible with the central computer 12. It also is programmed to perform the data capture functions similar to those previously described with reference to the data tap 22.
In addition, certain other features are provided by the software, as it will be described below.
The printer 16 is a standard dot-matrix, ink-jet, laser or other printer connected to the printer port of the computer 25.
The cash drawer 15 is conventional, as is the credit card reader 28 and the bar-code reader 18.
The modem 26 and the LAN adapter card 27 of FIG. 1 are physically located inside the housing of computer 25 and are not visible in FIG. 2.
The small footprint terminal ("SFT") 23 is a compact, relatively inexpensive data entry terminal with a keypad 50 and a two line LCD display 148, each line having 40 characters. The SFT 23 will be described in greater detail below, and is shown enlarged and in its preferred form in FIG. 10.
Each of the master computer 25 and the SFT can be used at a separate check-out counter or station in the store. Another SFT can be added for each other station in the store.
Actually, the cash drawer 15, bar-code reader 18, card reader 28, the LAN adapter card, and the SFT 23 are not absolutely necessary to enable a store without a computer to participate in the revenue-sharing plan. The store only needs to acquire a master computer 25 with the compatible software described herein, and a modem and a printer.
As it is explained in the above-identified patents, most video tape cassettes bear information which is in both human-readable and bar-code form identifying the title of the work, a serial number for the cassette, etc. The bar-code reader 18 can be used to read this information into the computer 25 quickly. However, the store clerk can input the same information by means of the keyboard 42. Other products sold in the store also have similar identification information which is entered into the master computer 25. If one or more SFT terminals is included in the system, each such terminal can be used to enter the same information into the computer 25.
The computer 25 preferably is programmed to provide functions other than simply entering sales and rental data. For example, it can be used to order video tapes from an on-line revenue sharing catalog which may be periodically downloaded from the central computer 12. Additionally, the computer 25 provides information useful in operating the video tape rental store, including lists of video tape rentals by title, over-due video tapes, current video tape inventory, purchase order status, etc.
Other functions which can be performed by the master computer 25 are described in the above-identified patents.
The SFT 23 communicates with the master computer 25 by way of a local area network (LAN) which is implemented using the LAN adapter card 27 (FIG. 1). By way of this communication, the SFT 23 is able to receive price or other information from data bases stored in memory in the computer 25. Upon completion of each business transaction, the SFT 23 transmits the information relating to the transaction to the computer 25, which processes the information, and may cause the printer 16 to print an appropriate record of the transaction, such as an invoice.
The master computer 25 separates the data regarding rentals or sales of video records from other information, stores the video record data, and, at a predetermined time, transmits it to the central computer 12. The cassette identification numbers for revenue-sharing cassettes are known and can be identified by the central computer 12 to compute revenue shares. If preferred, only the revenue-sharing cassette rental information is collected, stored and transmitted to the central computer.
The computer 25 through the use of the modem 26 periodically calls up the central computer 12 and transmits accumulated transaction data for the store to the central computer over telephone lines 32, which may be one of the long distance systems previously described with reference to telephone lines 32. Alternately, the central computer may sequentially dial the telephone numbers assigned to each of the master computers in the separate stores in the system 10 at respective predetermined times, and cause the stored revenue-sharing data to be transmitted from each computer through its modem. Previously-stored orders placed by the store for revenue-sharing tapes also are transmitted to the central computer by this means.
The central computer 12 also transmits data to each master computer 25 in the system while it is connected to it. By this means, the central computer transmits updates to the catalog of available revenue-sharing properties, and other communications to each store. It also can transmit re-programming instructions to each local POS system.
Although the cash drawer, barcode reader, printer and credit card reader are connected by cables to the master computer 25, the SFT 23 also has receptacles in the rear panel (not shown) into which those devices could be connected, if it is more convenient to do so.
Each SFT terminal 23 is specially adapted for use as a POS terminal. Therefore, extraneous features needed in a general-purpose computer are not included. By this means, the cost of each SFT is minimized. This reduces the cost of the POS system in a store requiring more than one sale terminal.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show other examples of adapted POS systems; that is, existing POS systems which are not compatible with the central computer 12 but have been adapted to be compatible without replacing the existing software.
FIG. 5 shows an existing POS system which includes a personal computer 202 used as a file server, work stations 208 and 210, and printers 212 and 213. Work stations 208 and 210 communicate with the server 202 by way of a conventional local area network package such as that sold under the trademark "NOVELL" by Novell, Inc, or "LANTASTIC", by Artisoft, Inc. Each package includes software and LAN adapter hardware. To adapt such a POS system to be compatible with the central computer 12, there is added a master computer 25, software programs, data taps 204, 205 and 206, the LAN adapter hardware and a modem (not shown) in the master computer.
As it is shown in FIG. 7, as well as FIG. 5, each of the data taps has a serial input port 230, a serial output port 232, and parallel ports 240 and 242 to allow the data tap to be connected to other equipment through either serial or parallel ports, as the equipment might require.
Each data tap also includes a LAN input connector 236 and a LAN output connector 238.
The master computer 25 is connected through cable 220 to the data tap 204 through LAN input terminal 236. Data tap 204 is connected through port 238 and cable 223 to the next data tap 205, which is connected to data tap 206 through cable 225. The three data taps thus are connected together in "daisy chain" fashion. This facilitates adding further data taps and workstations at the end of the "daisy chain", as the store and the POS system grow.
The server 202 is connected to the data tap 204 through the cable 221 and the parallel input port 240. Similarly, the printer 212 is connected to the data tap 204 through parallel port 242.
Each of the workstations 208 and 210 and the server 202 may be a full personal computer with a video display 246, a full keyboard 248, and may have a hard disc drive and/or a floppy disc drive 250. Each of these units 202, 208 and 210 has both serial and parallel ports and can be connected to the data tap through its serial input port 230. As an example, workstation 210 is connected to parallel port 240 of data tap 206 through cable 226.
Printer 213 is connected to parallel port 242 of data tap 206 through a cable 227.
The printer 212 is connected to serve both the server 202 and the first workstation 208. Printer 213 serves the second workstation 210. If desired, a separate printer can be provided for each data entry station.
It should be understood that the LAN adapter 21, modem 13, cash drawer, bar code readers, etc. shown in store No. 2 of FIG. 1 have been omitted from FIG. 5 for the sake of clarity. However, the POS system will include the adapter and modem, and usually will include the other items as well.
A program disc 214 is shown above each of the server 202 and the two workstations in FIG. 5 to indicate that a TSR program is stored in the unit and is used in the manner to be described below.
The POS system shown in FIG. 5 continues to use the software already used in the pre-existing LAN, and thus avoids the need to purchase new software and re-train employees to use the new software. The master computer 25 and data taps 204-206 operate independently, with compatible software, to gather and transmit the data needed for participation in the revenue-sharing plan.
A POS system utilizing a UNIX operating system as illustrated in FIG. 6. The existing POS system includes a UNIX server 302, slave data entry terminals 304 and 306, and printers 308 and 310. To adapt such a POS system for use with the revenue-sharing system shown in FIG. 1, a master computer 25 and three data taps 312, 314 and 316 are utilized. The master computer 25 is connected to the data taps via cables 320, 325 and 327 in a "daisy chain" sequence like that shown in FIG. 5.
The connection of the terminals 304 and 306 to the server 302 is similar to that described above and shown in FIG. 5, except that, in the UNIX POS system, a separate cable 323 or 324 connects each slave terminal 304, 306 to the server. Accordingly, each data tap is connected between the server and one of the terminals, through cable 326 or 330.
When a printer is connected to a server or terminal, additional parallel connections are used. For example, printers 308 and 310 are respectively connected to the parallel ports of the data taps by cables 322 and 330 and from there to the server 302 and terminal 306 by way of the cables 321 and 329.
A program disc 303, which bears a program which is substantially similar to the TSR program 214 of FIG. 5, is loaded into the UNIX server 302 so as to enable the server to capture data displayed on the display screen of the server and/or sent to the printers and to supply such data to the respective data taps.
Each of the terminals 304 and 306 is a so-called "dumb" terminal; that is, it is a terminal having limited processing capabilities, and which depends on the server to process the data input at the terminal and define the display on the screen of the terminal.
The master computer 25 communicates with the data taps 312, 314, and 316 in a manner substantially identical to that previously described with reference to FIG. 5.
The computer programs used for data selection and storage are highly advantageous.
In general, a "teacher" program is used to create stored "templates" and "trapper" routines in each POS system.
The "templates" are routines for recognizing data appearing in predetermined locations on either a display screen or a printed invoice. The locations are set to match the specific formats used for invoices and/or screen displays in each store.
In an integrated system which has no data taps, the template(s) is or are stored in the master computer 25, (which also may be the only computer, in the smallest POS system).
In POS systems using data taps, the templates can be stored in the data taps, to save computer storage capacity, or in the master computer 25, or in the smart terminals of a system such as that shown in FIG. 5 or in the servers such as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
The "trapper" routines which are created by use of the "teacher" program use the template(s) to separate and identify data to be stored and sent to the central computer 12. The "trapper" routines are stored in the master computer 25, and also may be stored in smart terminals or servers.
In the trapper routines, a unique combination of characters called "landmarks" is used to distinguish each type of display from the others. When a display is identified as one containing desired data, that data is selected by use of a template, stored in the master computer, and eventually uploaded to the central computer.
The "teacher" program is a program which is stored in the master computer, smart terminals and servers. It can be used by authorized personnel, such as an installer, to create the templates and trapper routines in a given POS system.
The templates for use with display screen data are created, in the manner to be discussed in detail below, by forming outlines or windows around specific areas of the screen, and enabling the detection of data when it appears in the windows.
If the data is selected from that which is transmitted to the printer to print business forms such as invoices, and if the data appears on the display screen on the computer 25, etc., in the same format as on the printed form, then the same technique can be used in establishing the template(s) as when screen data is used.
However, if the format of the data displayed on the screen does not match that of the printed data, a different technique is needed. For example, the invoice can be placed on a digitizer tablet, and the areas of the invoice from which data is selected can be outlined by the use of a digitizing pen.
Preferably, however, the data tap is programmed to have a "pass-through" mode in which data, for example, invoice data, is simply passed through to the master computer and stored on disc. Then the data for a typical invoice is put in the location required by the invoice, and pased through to the master computer, recalled, and displayed on a terminal screen. The data capture areas then are set to cover the areas occupied by the displayed data.
In either case, regardless of whether screen data or printer data is analyzed, the trapper program works in substantially the same way to detect and select data to send to the central computer 12.
The trapper and teacher routines are "terminate and stay resident" (TSR) routines; that is, routines which are able to run in a computer at the same time another portion of the main program is being executed.
The trapper and teacher programs will now be more fully described with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C-1, 4C-2, 4D-1 and 4D-2. In this description, as an example, it is assumed that the programs are used in the terminal T1 of store no. 2 of FIG. 1.
The trapper program is initiated at step S10 of FIG. 4A.
Processing then proceeds to step S20 in which a determination is made as to whether the trapper program has already been loaded. This determination prevents multiple copies of the trapper program from being executed. That is, if the trapper program has already been loaded, as indicated by a "Yes" at step S20, an indication representing that the trapper program has already been loaded is displayed and further processing is terminated, as indicated by steps S21 and S22, respectively.
If, on the other hand, the trapper program has not already been loaded, as indicated by a No at step S20, processing proceeds to step S30. At step S30, processing associated with the existing or "old" clock subroutine is redirected so as to include processing of an additional or "new" clock subroutine. This new clock subroutine is initiated by a clock interrupt signal which typically occurs at a rate of 18 times per second, and will be more fully described later. Processing then proceeds to step S35.
At step S35, the template file for the trapper program is read. The template file resides on disc in the terminal and contains a template which previously was created by use of the teacher program, as it will be described below.
At step S40, the status of the trapping process is set. At this time, data is not being trapped. Flags may be utilized for indicating the trapping status. For example, a "0" flag may be set at step S40 to indicate a "trapping nothing" status. Processing then proceeds to step S50.
At step S50, an indication that the trapper program has been properly loaded is supplied to the display screen of the terminal T1 so as to notify the operator. Thereafter, the trapper program is placed in a "terminate and stay resident" (TSR) mode as indicated in step S60.
Upon the occurrence of a clock interrupt signal, processing of the new clock subroutine is initiated in step S70 and then proceeds to step S80. At step S80, a determination is made as to whether the new clock or old clock subroutine is currently being executed. If the determination at step S80 is affirmative, processing proceeds to step S110. At step S110, the processing returns to the old clock subroutine, so that the normal processing of the application software is continued.
If, on the other hand, the new clock subroutine is not currently being executed, as indicated by a "No" at step S80, then processing proceeds to step S90. At step S90, the "trapper" subroutine is executed. The trapper subroutine of step S90 is shown in detail in FIG. 4B.
Referring now to FIG. 4B, the trapper subroutine starts at 125 and proceeds to step S130, in which a flag is detected, if it is present, indicating that video cassette rental data was being selected or "trapped" during the previous interrupt cycle. If the determination in step S130 is affirmative, processing proceeds to a series of steps S131-S134 for determining when the data on the terminal screen has changed, and for saving cassette rental data.
At step S131, a determination is made as to whether the previously selected "landmarks" have changed. "Landmarks" are selected certain portions of the data displayed on the terminal screen during the processing of video cassette rentals. They are unique in terms of their content and/or their location on the screen. Any screen having these marks is identified as a screen containing video cassette rental data.
If the recognition marks have changed, as indicated by a Yes at step S131, processing proceeds to step S132. At step S132, a "trapping nothing" flag is set for the next interrupt cycle. This indicates that the display has changed and that the next display must be tested to see if it has cassette rental or return data.
When the landmarks have changed, this indicates that the screen being displayed has changed, and the next screen must be tested to determine whether or not it is one which has rental or return data. After step S132, processing proceeds to step S133, in which the data saved from the areas of the display selected by the template is sent to an output buffer. Thereafter, processing proceeds to step S170, wherein processing exits the trapper subroutine and returns to step S100 in FIG. 4A, where one packet of data is sent to the output port of the data tap or computer in which the program is operating.
If, however, the landmarks have not changed, as indicated by a No at step S131, processing proceeds to step S134. At step S134, the rental information which has been trapped is saved, updated during subsequent interrupt cycles, and ultimately sent to the output buffer at the end of the display. Thereafter, processing returns to step S100 to wait for the next interrupt cycle.
If the determination in step S130 is negative, processing proceeds to step S140. At step S140, a determination is made as to whether the selected information pertains to the return of video cassettes to the store after a rental. If the determination in step S140 is affirmative, processing proceeds to steps S141-S144, which are the same as steps S131-S134 except that they are performed for return data rather than rental data.
If the determination in step S140 is negative, meaning that neither a "trapping returns" or "trapping rentals" flag has been set, processing proceeds to step S150. At step S150, a determination is made as to whether landmarks have been detected which match. This comprises the first identification of the display as one having video cassette rental data. If there is such a match, as indicated by a Yes at step S150, then rental data is trapped and stored in the memory at step S151. Thereafter, at step S152, a "trapping rentals" flag is set to indicate that video cassette rental data is being trapped, and the process returns to step S100 in FIG. 4A to await the next interrupt cycle.
If, on the other hand, there is not a match of video cassette rental landmarks, as indicated by a No at step S150, then processing proceeds to step S160. At step S160, a determination is made as to whether cassette return landmarks have been detected. If there is such a match, as indicated by a Yes at step S160, then processing proceeds to steps S161 and S162, whereupon processing identical to that of steps S151 and S152, respectively, is performed, except that a "trapping returns" flag is set up and return data is saved.
If there is not a match of video cassette return landmarks, as indicated by a No at step S160, then processing returns to step S100 in FIG. 4A.
The trapper routines are repeated once for every clock interrupt signal, which has a frequency of 18 interrupt cycles per second.
When each new display is created, it has neither a "trapping rentals" flag nor a "trapping returns" flag. The display is first identified as one containing data to be saved in step S150 or S160. Thereafter, during each subsequent interrupt, since the status flag has been set at step S152 or S162, the determination of step S130 or S140 is affirmative. As a result, processing proceeds to step S131 or S141 so as to determine if the landmarks have changed. If the landmarks have not changed, thereby indicating that the same screen is still being displayed, video cassette rental information continues to be trapped and saved.
The next time in which the trapper subroutine is executed, since the status flag set in step S152 or S162 has not changed, the determination at step S130 or S141 is again affirmative. Processing then proceeds to step S131 or S141. At this point, assume that the display screen has changed. The determination at step S131 or S141 is then affirmative. Since the screen has changed, video cassette rental information is no longer being trapped and, as such, the status flag is set accordingly at step S132 or S142. All of the trapped video cassette transaction information, which had been saved at steps S151, S161, S144 and S134, is supplied to the output data buffer of the terminal at step S133. Processing then proceeds to step S170.
Referring again to FIG. 4A, the data stored in the output data buffer at steps S133 and S143 at the termination of a screen is supplied by way of the output parallel printer port of the terminal T1 to the data tap 22, or are sent directly to storage in the master computer 25, in a system having no data tap. Since only a certain limited amount of data can be transmitted during each interrupt cycle, one packet of data is transmitted during each cycle until all of the data has been transmitted. By transmitting the data in this manner, a slowdown of the POS processing is not noticeable. The data waiting to be transmitted is stored in memory, for example, the RAM, of terminal T1.
Prior to transmitting this data, a unique character or characters are added at the beginning and the end of the data stream. These characters provide a means for the data tap 22 to distinguish between data which is trapped as a result of the trapper program from data to be printed by the printer 16. That is, upon detecting these unique characters, the data tap is alerted that the data identified by the unique characters is trapped data to be sent to the master computer, and is not to be printed.
After step S100, processing proceeds to steps S110 and S120 as previously described.
Referring now to FIGS. 4C-1 and 4C-2, the "Teacher" program is initiated at step S210. Thereafter, processing proceeds to the determination step S220. The processing performed in steps S220, S230 and S240 is substantially similar to that of steps S20, S21 and S22, respectively, and therefore will not be further described.
If the teacher program has not already been loaded, as indicated by a No at step S220, processing proceeds to step S250 in which the signals produced by pressing the keys on the keyboard of the terminal T1 are modified or "redirected" in a "new keyboard" routine.
Subsequently, in step S260 a template file is loaded from disc into memory. This template file may be a default file as, for example, represented by the windows located on the right side of screen No. 4. Alternatively, the template file may be one that had been previously modified, and may be similar to that represented by the windows shown in screen No. 6.
After step S260, in step S270, an indication that the teacher program has been loaded successfully is displayed. Thereafter, the program is placed in a terminate and stay resident mode (TSR) at step S280.
Step S290 is initiated to bring the target application onto the screen. Because teacher is not active, the new keyboard, as in the step S300 routine, executes the old keyboard function. In step S310, the application responds in a normal manner to a key press. In step S320, a determination is made as to whether the key pressed terminates the application. If not, the loop formed of steps S300, S310 and S320 are repeated as the application responds to each key press. Once the desired screen is brought to the display, so-called "Hot Keys" are pressed and the teacher is activated.
The "new keyboard" portion of the teacher program utilized for creating the trapper template will now be described.
Referring now to FIG. 4C-2, the new keyboard routine is initiated by a key press. As previously mentioned, while the teacher is not active and prior to a hot key press, the old keyboard routine is executed in step S350 and processing then proceeds through steps S360 and S370 to step S450, which completes the routine. Once the hot key is pressed, while the teacher is inactive, step S350 executes the old keyboard routine. Processing then proceeds through step S360 to step S370, whereupon the hot key press is detected.
At step S380, a status indication or flag is set indicating that the teacher program is active. Thereafter, processing proceeds to step S390, in which an initial status indication or flag is set indicating that neither landmarks nor data areas are currently being set or learned. Processing then proceeds to step S400, in which the currently displayed application screen is saved in a memory of the terminal T1. Thereafter, processing proceeds to the teacher subroutine of step S410.
The teacher subroutine of step 410 is expanded as shown in FIG. 4D.
Referring now to FIGS. 4D-1 and 4D-2, the processing of the teacher subroutine starts at step S460 and proceeds to step S470. At step S470, the installer may select a key from the displayed main menu. As an example, in the preferred embodiment, selecting the "Alt" and "1" keys initiates processing of the trapper template for the video cassette rental landmarks and data, whereas selecting the "Alt" and "2" keys initiates processing of the trapper template for the video cassette return landmarks and information data. After selection of the key or keys in step S470, processing proceeds to step S480.
At step S480, a determination is made as to whether the escape key has been pressed by the installer. If the escape key has been pressed, as indicated by a Yes at step S480, processing proceeds to step S482.
At step S482, a determination is made as to whether areas for either rental or return landmarks and data are being set or learned. If the determination in step S482 is affirmative, processing proceeds to step S484. At step S484, the status indication or flag is set to indicate that neither rental or return information is being learned. Thereafter, processing returns to step S470. If, however, the determination at step S482 is negative, processing proceeds to step S486, whereupon the teacher subroutine is exited and processing is returned to step S420. Thus, after the learning processing has been initiated as described later, the escape key needs to be pressed twice in order to exit the teacher subroutine.
If, on the other hand, the escape key has not been pressed, as indicated by a No at the Step S480, processing proceeds to step S490. At step S490, a determination is made as to whether the key(s) selected in step S470 initiates learning of the video cassette rental landmarks and data information. That is, in the preferred embodiment, were the "Alt" and "1" keys selected in step S470.
As an example, assume that the "Alt" and "1" keys were selected in step S470. As a result, the determination in step S490 is affirmative. Processing then proceeds to step S492 in which areas to be used for landmarks and data information are displayed as well as functional information used for identifying the landmarks and data information. Processing then proceeds to step S494, in which the status indication or flag is set to indicate that rental landmark or data information areas are being set. Thereafter, processing returns to step S470, for selection of key from those identified in the sub-menu.
Processing then proceeds through steps S470 and S480 to step S490. At step S490, since a key from the sub-menu was selected in step S470 and not the learning rental or "ALT" and "1" keys, processing proceeds to step S500. Similarly, processing proceeds through step S500 to step S530.
At step S530, a determination is made as to whether the learning of rental landmark and data information areas is currently being performed. If the determination in step S530 is affirmative, processing proceeds to step S540. In this situation, since the flag was set in step S494 indicating that rental learning is being performed, processing proceeds to step S540. At step S540, the landmark and data areas are selected. These areas may be selected by using, for example, cursor locating or arrow keys (↑, ←, ↓, →) to move shaded areas to the desired positions, thereby forming a rental template. After completing this rental template, processing returns to step S470.
Since the rental template is completed, processing proceeds from step S470 to step S480, whereupon the escape key is selected. Thereafter, processing proceeds to step S482. Since the flag set in step S494 still indicates that rental landmark and data information areas are being learned, processing proceeds to step S484.
At step S484, the flag is reset to indicate that rental learning is no longer being performed. Thereafter, processing returns through step S470 to step S480. Upon pressing the escape key again, processing now proceeds through step S482 to step S486, thereby exiting the teacher subroutine.
If landmark and data information areas pertaining to video cassette returns had been desired, the "Alt" and "2" keys would have been selected initially at step S470. In this situation, the processing of steps S500, S510, S520, S550 and S560 would have been performed. Since the processing performed in these steps is substantially the same as that performed in steps S490, S492, S494, S530 and S540, respectively, they will not be described further.
Referring again to FIG. 4C-2, after the teacher subroutine ends, as indicated at S420, the landmark and data information areas are saved in a file entitled the "template file" in memory. Then, as indicated at S430, the application screen saved at step S400 is displayed.
Processing then proceeds to step S440 where the flag initially set in step S380 is changed to indicate that the subroutine is no longer active. Processing is then returned to the application software at step S450.
If the new keyboard is called while the teacher is active, processing proceeds through steps S340, S350 and S360 to completion at step S450.
The following description illustrates the operation of the teacher program. Sample display screens are reproduced for use in the description. The screens were produced using a data format produced by an existing POS program. This illustrates how the invention easily can be used with a variety of existing video retail store software packages.
In the interest of brevity, the following description will be limited to the use of the teacher program to set landmark and data capture areas for video record rentals only, with the understanding that the teacher program also can be used for video record returns and sales, etc. Similarly, the teacher program may also be used in the rentals, returns and sales of non-video record items.
Upon loading the teacher program into the memory of the terminal T1 or other computer, display shown in Screen 1 illustrated in FIG. 4E appears on the CRT display.
Next, a display for use in renting video records is selected, and screen 2 illustrated in FIG. 4F appears.
The information appearing on screen No. 2 illustrated in FIG. 4F will now be described, beginning at the top of the screen and proceeding to the bottom.
The top line of Screen No. 2 includes an invoice number for the rental transaction, the time and date, and the term "CAP". The invoice number displayed in this example is No. 1. The time and date represent the time and date of transaction. The "CAP" term indicates the lock function of the keyboard.
The second line from the top of Screen 2 includes identification of the cashier/drawer, the customer file number and "items out."
The cashier/drawer entry identifies the cashier operating the terminal or workstation or the cash/drawer being used with the terminal or workstation.
The customer file number allows tracking of customers between different stores of the same chain.
The term "items out" indicates the current number of video cassettes and video players which this customer has not as yet returned.
The third line from the top of Screen 2 includes a sales person identification number, customer identification, and total rentals.
The sales person identification is entered into the terminal or workstation by the sales person and stored in memory prior to initiating any business transactions. The customer identification may be in the form of a number, and the customer's name and/or phone number. In this situation, the customer identification is "1 J. Smith".
The total rentals (TOT RENTS) indicates the number of rentals which this customer has rented over a predetermined time period. In this situation, this customer has previously rented one video cassette during the last week.
The fourth line of Screen 2 includes the term "DAYS OUT", "MEMBERSHIP FEE" and "CREDITS DUE".
"DAYS OUT" refers to the rental period and is typically set by the store owner. In this particular example, the store owner has set the standard time period for the rental of a video cassette to be one day.
The "MEMBERSHIP FEE" term indicates the total expenditure paid by the customer for his or her membership in the video store club. In this example, since the customer is not a member (as indicated by the pricing type "O") the customer has not paid anything towards a membership fee.
The "CREDITS DUE" term refers to a credit in terms of a number of free rentals which may be owed to the customer. In the example shown, the customer is not owed anything.
The fifth line from the top of Screen 2 includes the terms "DAYS CHARGE", "MEMB PRICING TYPE" and "ITEM NUMBER".
The "DAYS CHARGED" term refers to the number of days charged to the customer for the video cassette rental. As with the previously described "DAYS OUT" term, the charge is set by the video store owner. In this example, since the video cassette is rented for one day, the number of days charged for also is 1. If, however, the customer were to rent a video cassette on a Saturday evening and the store were to be closed on the next day, a Sunday, the "days out" term would indicate 2, but the "days charge" term would still be 1.
The "MEMB PRICING TYPE" term stands for "membership pricing type". This indicates one of four pricing classifications in which the customer has been placed. As an example, the store owner may provide discount memberships to senior citizens or full-time students, and so forth.
The ITEM NUMBER term is the actual identification number of the item being rented or purchased. As previously described, this item may be entered by use of the bar code wand 18 to read it off of the tape cassette being rented, or by use of the keyboard of the terminal or workstation. While the item number is being entered, the number appears on the line to the right of the colon (:). Upon entering a valid item number, the number to the right of the colon is omitted and the number is placed in parenthesis as shown to the left of the colon.
The sixth line from the top of Screen 2 includes the headings "NO.", "DESCRIPTION", "RSCF", "DAY O", "DAY C", "CHARGE", "DUE DATE", "DUE TM" and "A/P".
"NO" is a number assigned to the item which is being sold or rented, and corresponds to the above-described item number. More specifically, upon entering the item number from the fifth line, the number corresponding to this item number, which is stored in the database of the master computer, is recalled and displayed. In this example, the number in the master computer's database corresponding to the entered item number of the fifth line is 1001.
The "Description" column provides a description of the item being rented or sold. In this situation the item is a movie, as indicated by the term "MOV", and is entitled Gone With The Wind.
The RSCF column refers to the type of the transaction. That is, "R" indicates a rental, "S" indicates a sale, "C" indicates a credit and "F" indicates a free transaction, such as for a free replacement.
The "Day O" column indicates the number of days which this movie is rented for, which, in this example is one day.
The "Day C" column indicates the number of days for which the customer is to be charged for this rental which in this situation is one day.
The "Charge" column indicates the cost of the rental.
The "Due Date", "Due Time" (TM) and A/P columns indicate the day and time in which the video cassette is to be returned. In this example, the cassette is to be returned no later than 4:00 pm on Sep. 24, 1991.
The eighth line of Screen 2 includes membership pricing type (MEM TYP) and account balance (ACT BAL).
The membership pricing type is identical to that displayed on the fifth line and is merely redisplayed at this location.
The account balance indicates the outstanding balance which the customer owes. In the example shown, the balance is 0.
The ninth line of Screen 2 includes total rentals ("TOTAL RENT"), membership fee ("MEMB FEE") and sub-total.
The total rentals is the amount charged for all video cassette rentals for the current transaction, which in this example is $7.00.
The membership fee indicates the amount towards a membership which the customer is currently paying. In this situation, the customer is not paying anything towards his or her membership fee.
The sub-total indicates the amount of total rentals, sales and miscellaneous charges prior to any applicable sales tax.
The ninth line from the top of Screen 2 includes "TOTAL SALE," "SALES TAX" and "NOT-RESERVED".
The "TOTAL SALE" indicates the total amount of video cassette sales, and thus lists sales separately from rentals. The sales tax entry is self-explanatory.
The "NOT RESERVED" message appears indicating that the cassette being rented was not previously reserved by the customer. If the cassette is rented at the same time as it was reserved for, and if the customer renting the cassette is the one who reserved it, a "MATCH" message will appear. If the same customer reserved it for a different time, a "SEMI-MATCH" message appears.
The eleventh line of Screen 2 lists miscellaneous charges ("MISC CHRGS"), "TOTAL" and [Esc]=END.
The miscellaneous charges indicate the non-video cassette items such as candy, cigarettes, etc. which have been purchased.
"TOTAL" is the grand total of the current transaction, including tax.
The [Esc]=END prompt reminds the operator that upon completing the transaction the "ESC" key is to be pressed to end the transaction.
The last two lines on Screen 2 list the function keys F1 through F10 and their respective functions.
F1 and F2 move the cursor to be moved in an upwardly or downwardly direction, respectively, inside the area of the screen dedicated to the transaction information. That is, these keys, in combination with the keyboard, allow the operator to edit a line.
Function keys F3 and F4 may be used by the operator to enter a Days Out and a Days Charge which may be different from that set by the store owner.
Key F5 informs the terminal or workstation that a check-in or video cassette return is to be entered. By pressing function key F5, the screen is changed to a screen for handling the returns of video cassettes.
The customer key F6 is used to modify the customer number/name or phone number of the third line.
The total key F7 is used to calculate a re-total. The miscellaneous or function key F8 is used to enter price information for miscellaneous items, such as popcorn, etc.
Pressing function key F9 allows the cursor to move to the portion of the screen containing the No., description, RSCF, Day O, etc., terms.
Upon pressing the function key F10 the transaction currently displayed on the screen is aborted.
In accordance with the present invention, upon pressing the "hot keys" on the keyboard, that is, the "Alt" and the left "shift" keys, the main menu of the teacher program is displayed in the shaded area at the bottom of the display as shown in Screen 3 illustrated in FIG. 4G. The main menu allows the installer to select processing for either "rentals" or "returns".
By pressing the "Alt" and "1" keys, the operator displays the sub-menu of the teacher program for rentals in the shaded area at the bottom of the display as shown in Screen 4 illustrated in FIG. 4H.
The sub-menu in Screen 4 includes ten terms which are used for identifying the landmarks and the data capture areas.
Terms LM1, LM2 and LM3 are used for identifying three landmarks. Similarly, the next seven terms are used to identify rental transaction data, that is, the invoice No. ("Inv"), customer ("Cust"), type of transaction ("Type"), the number of days desired to rent the video cassette ("Qty"), volume identification or the number of the volume ("Vo Id") of the item being rented or sold, title of the video cassette ("Title") and the price or charge for the rental or sale ("Price").
Also displayed on the right side of the screen is a row of 10 rectangular shaded areas, each of which corresponds to one of the 10 terms displayed in the sub-menu. The top-most shaded area is reserved for landmark No. 1, the next shaded area below is for landmark No. 2, and so forth, down to the bottom shaded area which is for the price data. The operator can move the shaded areas and change their sizes to cover the desired landmark and information areas as described below with reference to Screens 5 and 6.
Any of the terms in the submenu in Screen 4 can be selected by pressing "ALT" plus one of the keys 0 to 9 on the keyboard. When this is done, Screen 5 illustrated in FIG. 4I appears.
Each of the shaded areas on the right side of the screen can be moved to a desired location to cover the area where certain data appears. The shaded areas can be moved by using the cursor or arrow keys (↑, ←, ↓, →). The size of each area can be modified by using the "Shift" key together with the desired arrow key.
The technology for creating, moving and enlarging these areas is well known in the art and will not be described here. For example, such technology is utilized in a number of word processing programs which are commercially available.
As shown in Screen 5, the areas containing the "INVOICE NUMBER", "CASHR/DRAWER" and "NO. DESCRIPTION" have been selected as the three landmark areas. This has been done by moving the three uppermost shaded areas in Screen 4 to the left, as shown in Screen 5.
These three areas were selected because collectively they contain data which is unique to the rental screen in terms of content and location. Therefore, later, during use of the "trapper program", if each of the terms "INVOICE NUMBER", "CASHR/DRAWER" and "NO. DESCRIPTION" is detected in these landmark areas, then the screen being displayed is identified as a rental screen from which data is to be saved for transmission to the central computer 12.
Screen 6 illustrated in FIG. 4J is the same as Screen 5, except that the data capture areas have been fully defined.
The manipulative steps involved are illustrated by the following example.
The operator presses the "Alt" and the "4" keys to activate the fourth shaded area from the top in the right portion of Screen 4. Then, this capture area is moved by use of the arrow keys so as to cover the "1" following the "INVOICE NUMBER" term on the top line of the screen. This area then is reduced in size, by using the "SHIFT" and the arrow keys, as it has been described above, so as to cover only the area reserved for the invoice numbers.
Similarly, the other data capture areas are moved and re-shaped to cover the customer number, the type or RSCF column, the quantity or days out column, the volume identification No. column (i.e., the column entitled "NO."), and the title and the price or charge column.
Later, during operation of the "trapper" program, the data in these seven data captures areas is saved for later transmission to the central computer 12.
The pattern of data capture areas shown in Screen 6 is referred to in this patent application as a "template".
Upon completing the template for the video cassette rentals, the operator presses the ESCAPE key. As a result, the teacher program exits from the sub-menu and returns to the main menu display shown in Screen 3 above.
Upon pressing the ESCAPE key a second time, the operator restores the rental screen normally displayed by the application software, Screen 2 which is shown above.
The teacher program can be used in the same manner to set or adjust the landmark and data capture areas for other screens, such as for returns, etc.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the data tap 22. The data tap includes a microcontroller 102, a memory segmentation and selection circuit 104, a programmable serial I/O circuit 112, a parallel I/O circuit 116, a local area network (LAN) I/O circuit 120 and a data, address and control bus 110.
The data tap 22 is connected to the master computer 25 by way of the LAN I/O circuit 120 and a cable as shown above in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, etc. (not shown in FIG. 7). This allows communication between the master computer and the data tap. In a preferred embodiment, both transmitted and received communications are differentially driven by utilizing RS-422 or RS-485 interfaces. The use of these interfaces allows effective communications over relatively large distances. That is, an RS-422 or RS-485 interface allows effective communication up to a length of approximately 5,000 feet, whereas a standard RS-232 interface typically restricts the effective length of a communication path to only about 50 feet. The LAN I/O circuit 120 is preferably configured so as to allow "daisy chain" connections between multiple terminals or work stations, as described above, and as it will be described in greater detail below.
The parallel I/O circuit 116 includes two parallel ports 240, 242 in which one of the ports 242 is adapted to function in a bi-directional manner as either an input or an output port. This bi-directional port 242 is connected to the printer, 212 as shown in FIG. 5. The other port 240 may be connected to a terminal, a server computer or a workstation, also as shown in FIG. 5.
The programmable serial I/O circuit 112 contains a dual universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (Dual UART) integrated circuit. This I/O circuit has two serial interface ports 230, 232, in which one of the ports 232 is connected to a POS terminal and the other port 230 is connected to its server computer, for example, a Unix server, as shown in FIG. 6.
The microcontroller 102 is adapted to control the data processing functions performed by the data tap. As an example, the microcontroller may be an 8-bit microcontroller such as model no. MC68HC11A1 manufactured by the Motorola Corporation. This microcontroller is limited to controlling 64 k-bytes of data, which is entirely adequate for the task.
The memory segmentation and selection circuit 104 includes a EPROM 106 and a RAM 108. This circuit is adapted to apportion areas of the EPROM and RAM as required. Since the preferred microcontroller is limited to controlling 64 k-bytes of data, the total available memory in the EPROM and RAM is also limited to 64 k-bytes, As a result, in a preferred embodiment, the EPROM has 32 k-bytes of memory capacity in which 8 k-bytes are available and the RAM has 64 k-bytes of memory capacity in which 56 k-bytes are available. The RAM is adapted to receive an operating program from the master computer 25 and to store the same within its 56 k-bytes of available memory. A boot code program is stored within the 8 k-bytes of available memory in the EPROM. Predetermined subroutines may also be stored in the EPROM.
A power supply 122 receives power from an external power source, for example, a 115 V., 60 Hz outlet, and transforms the 115 V. power to 5 Vdc which is used to power the data tap 22. Alternatively, the power supply may be configured so as to receive other input power which, for example, may be 230 V., 50 Hz, or other power available in other countries.
A unique serial number circuit 114 is provided. It includes an integrated circuit and is adapted to generate a unique 48-bit number. This unique number is supplied via the bus 110 and the LAN I/O circuit 120 to the master computer 25. The master computer supplies this 48 bit number to the central computer 12. Alternatively, this number is replaced with a smaller unique number, for example, an 8-bit number, which may be supplied to the central computer. This number provides a means for identifying the data tap and the corresponding POS station.
As an example, the central computer can identify a malfunctioning POS station to the store owner through use of the unique identification number. Further, in the event that a POS station is disconnected, either intentionally or unintentionally, the central computer can identify the disconnected POS station by use of the identification number.
The data, address and control bus 110 provides a means for a controlled data transfer between the microcontroller 102, memory segmentation and selection circuit 104, programmable serial I/O circuit 112, unique serial number circuit 114, parallel I/O circuit 116, LEDS 118 and 119 and LAN I/O circuit 120.
When power is applied to the data tap 22 from the power supply 122, the boot code program stored in the EPROM 106 is executed by the microcontroller circuit 102. As a result, the main operating program is downloaded from the master computer 25 into the RAM 108. The microcontroller then executes the program which was recently stored in the RAM. The subroutines stored in the EPROM may be addressed during execution of the main program.
As previously described, the data tap 22 is connected between a printer and a data entry terminal by way of the parallel I/O circuit 116. Further, the data tap is coupled to the master computer 25 by way of the LAN I/O circuit 120.
As it has been indicated above, a data template can be used to capture data either from the data displayed on the screen of the input terminal, or from the data sent to the printer to prepare a printed record of the transaction.
Assuming that printer data is to be captured, printer data is sent from the input terminal to the data tap, where the data is temporarily stored in the RAM 108. While the data to be printed is temporarily stored in the RAM, the data tap executes the trapper routine so as to determine if the data to be printed contains relevant video record transaction information. As an example, if this determination indicates that the document to be printed is an invoice, then data appearing at specific locations, will be captured. That data typically includes the invoice number, the video title, etc. The data captured is temporarily stored in the RAM and later is transmitted to the master computer for storage until it is uploaded to the central computer.
The stored data also is supplied through the parallel I/O circuit 116 to the printer in a regulated manner. Therefore, the data tap also functions as a data buffer for the printer.
If it is screen data which is being captured, and if the POS system uses a data tap, the captured or trapped data is sent to the data tap where it is temporarily stored. By detecting the unique character or characters which are placed at the beginning and the end of the trapped data by the trapper program, the data tap is able to distinguish trapped data from data which is to be printed. This prevents the trapped data from being mistakenly supplied to the printer and then printed. The data temporarily stored in the data tap is subsequently supplied to the master computer 25.
The master computer repeatedly polls all of the data taps in a POS system in sequence to determine if they have data to be transmitted to the master computer. If a data tap has any such data, the master computer signals the data tap to transmit it. The data is transmitted in separate data packets, one for each polling cycle, as it is commonly done in computer networks.
Still referring to FIG. 7, light-emitting diodes ("LED's") 118 and 119 are used for providing information relevant to the operation of the data tap 22 to the operator. The activation of the green LED 119 indicate that the master computer is attempting to communicate with the data tap. The activation of the red LED 118 indicates that the data tap is properly communicating with the master computer.
Additionally, the LED's 118 and 119 are utilized for fault isolation or error detection by causing the LED to blink.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the small footprint terminal ("SFT") 23, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the circuitry of the SFT. The SFT 23 also is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The SFT, as shown in FIG. 10, includes a housing 500 with an upper surface 501. A display 148 and a keypad 50 are located on the upper surface 50.
The SFT circuit shown in FIG. 8 includes a microcontroller 140, a memory segmentation and selection circuit 142, the display 148, a keypad controller 150, the keypad 50, a data, address and control bus 154, a programmable serial I/O circuit 156, a parallel I/O circuit 162 and a LAN I/O circuit 164.
The memory segmentation and selection circuit 142 includes an EPROM 144 and a RAM 146. Circuit 142 controls the configuration of the EPROM 144 and RAM 146. In a preferred embodiment, EPROM 144 contains 64 k-bytes of which 8 k-bytes are available and RAM 146 contains 64 k-bytes of which 56 k-bytes are available. A boot-up program is stored within the EPROM 144.
Preferably, the microcontroller, EPROM, RAM, I/O circuits, power supply and memory control circuits are the same as in the data tap 22 so as to take advantage of standardization as much as possible.
The display 148 is adapted to display operator requested data. The display also may provide the operator with other useful information. For example, in the event that network communications with any of the master computer 25, the printer 16, the bar code reader 18, the credit card reader 28 or the cash drawer 15 are interrupted, an error message will be displayed. To aid during the installation of the system, installation messages may be displayed. Further, if the printer runs out of paper or if input data is in an incorrect format (e.g., the data does not contain the required number of numerals), an error message will be displayed. Furthermore, prompts to assist in the use of the credit card reader and the cash drawer also may be displayed.
Referring now to FIG. 10, as well as FIG. 8, the display preferably is a two-line by 40 character wide reflective dot matrix liquid crystal display ("LCD"). Alternatively, the display can be a two-line by 24 character wide LED or vacuum fluorescent display, or one of a number of known, relatively inexpensive and compact displays.
The keypad 50 has keys of the type having a tactile feel, with graphic overlay.
The keypad 50 has numeric keys 534 which include ten keys for the numbers 0 through 9, and a decimal point key 523. These keys allow entry by the operator of rental, sale and customer identification numbers, quantity, discount information and price changes, and other numerical information.
The keyboard has five edit keys which include a Clear All key 502; a Clear Item key 504; a Scroll Up key 508; a Scroll Down key 510; and a Back Space key 524.
Pressing the Clear All key 502 clears all items or entries in the current transaction, and returns the display 148 to a ready state. Any data which was displayed on the display 148 is not forwarded to the master computer 25.
The Clear Item key 504 clears the customer identification, item identification and/or the price of the item currently being displayed. This allows a revised customer identification, item identification and/or price of the current item to be entered and displayed.
The Scroll Up and Scroll Down keys 508 and 510 change the lines which are displayed. As a result, when a customer has changed his or her mind about a transaction, or when an error has occurred, the operator is able to go back to a line which had been previously entered so that the operator may revise the line as desired. The backspace key 524 moves the operating display cursor (not shown) one space to the left each time this key is depressed. In so doing, the character occupying this space is deleted.
The keypad has programmable function keys which include a Tape Return key 506; a No Tax Total key 512; a Print key 514; a Sell key 516; a Quantity key 518; a Discount key 520; a New Price key 522; a Customer key 526; a Rental key 528; a Total key 530; and an Amount Tendered key 532. The functions of these keys will be explained below.
The small footprint terminal 23 is surprisingly versatile for a unit so small and inexpensive. It can be used to enter video record transactions and the sales of widely varying merchandise which also might be offered in the same store. It can be used to enter the sales of goods and beverages; clothing; hardware, and many other items as well as the sale, rental or return of video records.
This versatility facilitates the installation of video record rental counters or departments in retail food stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, and many other types of stores which often do not rent video records, thus increasing the income of the stores, and expanding the distribution outlets for the video records.
When the terminal is used as a part of a revenue-sharing video record rental it also facilitates the participation of the user in the revenue-sharing plan.
The use of the SFT to enter such a wide variety of transactions now will be described.
When power is first applied to the POS system including the SFT, the microcontroller 140 (FIG. 8) provides an operator message or "prompt" display via bus 154 to the display 148. The "prompt" is shown in Display 1 below. ##STR1##
Display 1 instructs the operator to enter the customer number, or the Item identification number, or the price. If the transaction is a video record rental, the customer number is entered. The item I.D. or price is entered for other transactions.
All of this information can be input by use of the keypad 50. The Item identification can be entered by use of the bar-code reader to read the number off of the product, or by use of the keypad. In the situation in which the price is to be entered, as later described, the price will be input by means of the keypad.
Following is an example of the use of the SFT to record a rental transaction in which two video cassettes are rented to one customer.
In response to Display 1, the operator enters the customer's identification number, which is 1234567. Then, Display 2 appears, instructing the operator to press the appropriate function key, ##STR2##
The proper function key is the Customer key 526 (FIG. 10) which is pressed to indicate that the number is a customer number. Then, the SFT displays the customer's name and any late fees which the customer owes, as shown below in Display 3. In this example, the late fee owed is zero. ##STR3##
Next, the identification number of the first video cassette of the two to be rented is entered, by means of the keypad or bar-code reader. Upon entering this number, the operator is instructed to press the appropriate function key, as shown below in Display 4. ##STR4##
Since this video cassette is being rented, rather than sold, the Rental key 528 (FIG. 10) is pressed. As shown below, in Display 5, pressing the Rental key causes the title, rental return date and price of renting that cassette to be retrieved from memory in the master computer and displayed on the SFT display 148. ##STR5##
Next, information relating to the rental of the second video cassette ("Title 2") is entered and displayed using the same steps as those described above for the rental of the first video cassette. These steps are shown by displays 6 and 7 below. ##STR6##
Next, the Total key 530 is pressed. As shown below, in Display 8, pressing this key causes the total amount, including tax, to be calculated and displayed. Further, individual subtotals of the rental charge; charges for any sales included in the transaction; and tax amounts also are displayed. ##STR7##
Assume, at this point, that the customer gives the operator $5.00 in payment for the rentals. The operator enters "5.", and is instructed to press the appropriate function key, as shown below in Display 9. ##STR8##
The operator presses the Amount Tendered key 532, which causes the amount of change owed the customer to be computed and displayed, as shown below in Display 10. ##STR9##
Next, signals are supplied to the drivers 157 and 158 (FIG. 8) so as to open the cash drawer and activate the buzzer 159. The buzzer warns the operator that the cash drawer is open.
If the POS system is configured to automatically print a customer invoice, a data signal containing certain portions of the information relating to the transaction is supplied from the microcontroller 140 via the bus 154 and the parallel I/O circuit 162 to the printer. Upon receipt of this signal, the printer prints a customer invoice. If the POS system is not so configured, an invoice can be printed by pressing the Print key 514.
If the transaction is the return of a rented tape cassette, the operator again inputs the customer's identification number in response to Display 1. Alternatively, in this situation, the customer identification number need not be entered.
Now, the operator presses the Customer key 526, and then the Tape Return key 506. In response, the program of the SFT causes the display of the title of the rental cassette; the due date for its return; and any late fees due for late return of the rental cassette.
The Total key 530 and the Amount Tendered key 532 can be used in the manner described above to complete the transaction, and the Print button can be used to print an invoice for the further fees.
If a video record is being sold, rather than rented, the operator enters the cassette identification number in response to Display 1, and presses the Sell key 516 this identifies the transaction as a sale rather than a rental. Preferably, the data regarding this transaction, as well as the record rental data is captured, saved and eventually uploaded to the central computer.
The sales transaction is concluded in the same manner as the other transactions described above.
Sales of merchandise other than video records can be handled in the same way as for record sales, where the product has an identification code.
Sales of merchandise which has no product code, or sales where the store does not use product codes for merchandise other than records, can be handled in another fashion. When Display 1 appears, the operator simply enters the price of the item together with a decimal point (e.g. "10."), and the program recognizes this as a sale, and the price and the words "DIRECT SALE" are displayed.
The sales transaction then is completed in the same way as other transactions.
In sorting the data concerning video record rentals or sales from other transactions, the identification numbers on the cassettes are used to identify the product as a video record. This causes the data for the transaction to be arranged in a predetermined format. A template is used, in the manner described above, to identify the display, and to data capture selected parts of the data, and to save and upload the data to the central computer.
Various other function keys are provided to assist in recording rental and sales transactions.
The No Tax Total key 512 is used to calculate a subtotal without including sales tax. Upon depressing this key, "NO TAX TOTAL" and the corresponding cost is displayed on the display 148.
The Quantity key 518 can be used to enter quantity of the item being sold or rented, where more than one such item is being sold or rented. The resultant cost (i.e., quantity x unit price of the item) is displayed.
If the item is being rented, the Quantity key 518 is used to input the number of rental periods, for example, the number of days, for which the customer desires; to keep the record. In this situation, the due date and the price are displayed.
The Discount key 520 can be pressed after either an item has been entered, or the Total key 530 has been pressed. In the former situation, the discount entered is applied to the associated item to reduce its price. In the latter situation, the discount entered is applied to the total cost of the transaction.
In either situation, the discount value is interpreted by the SFT 23 as an actual discount amount, if the decimal point key 523 is used. However, if the decimal key is not used, then the discount is interpreted as a percentage.
The Change Price key 522 is used to override the stored price and manually enter a new price of an item. This allows incorrect or outdated rental or sales prices stored in the data base of the master computer 25 to be corrected. This key may also be used to modify a late fee. However, this key can not be used to change either the total amount of the transaction or the applicable tax.
As it is shown in FIG. 10, the keys on the keypad 50 have been arranged optimally. For example, the four most frequently used function keys (that is, the Customer, Rental, Total and Amount keys) are arranged in an array located on the right hand portion of the keypad and in a sequence which is anticipated to be that most often used in a rental transaction.
The numeric keys 534 are arranged in a pattern substantially similar to that of most calculator keypads. Further, the more frequently used keys such as the Customer, Tape Return, etc. keys are wider or higher than the other keys and also are identified with distinctive colors.
This arrangement makes the keypad 50 very user friendly. As a result, daily operations are relatively easy to perform. Further, training time for new operators is minimized.
The SFT achieves its compact size and low cost in part by the elimination of the 26 letter keys of the usual keyboard. It also uses a display of greatly reduced size and cost to achieve those results.
Despite the lower cost and smaller size, the terminal is versatile and reliable. More over it is not "dumb"; it has its own "intelligence" and storage capacity, and programming which helps it achieve versatility.
Referring again to FIG. 8, the keypad controller 150 preferably is a microprocessor, such as the model number 16C54 microprocessor manufactured by the MicroChip Corporation. The chip 150 contains a ROM. Stored in this ROM is a program used for controlling the keypad operation. The keypad controller is adapted to "debounce" the keypad in a conventional manner, and to transmit data corresponding to the operator-selected keys to the microcontroller 140.
Circuits 156, 157 and 162 provide tke respective interfaces for the bar code wand 18, the cash drawer 17 and the printer 16.
The programmable serial I/O circuit 156 contains a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) integrated circuit device and is adapted to provide a serial interface for the bar code wand. As a result, data received from the bar code wand is supplied to the microcontroller 140.
The driver circuit 157, in response to a predetermined signal from the microcontroller 140, supplies an enabling signal to the cash drawer 15 which causes the cash drawer to open. An additional predetermined signal is supplied from the microcontroller 140 through a driver circuit 158 to a buzzer 159. The buzzer 159 is activated to inform the operator of the opening of the cash drawer.
The parallel I/O circuit 162 is adapted to enable data transfer between the SFT 23 and the printer 16. Circuit 162 includes a parallel port which may function in a bi-directional manner, that is, as either an input or an output port.
The buzzer 159 is also actuated if one of the previously-described error messages is displayed, or when a function is completed which has taken longer than a predetermined time, for example, a few seconds, to complete. In this latter situation, the use of the buzzer helps to reduce operator fatigue, by allowing the operator to direct his or her attention away from the SFT 23 during relatively long processing time periods.
The buzzer also is activated if a key is pressed out of the correct sequence. In this situation, the display 148 will display an "INVALID KEY" message for a predetermined time period which, for example, may be approximately one second.
The data, address and control bus 154 is connected to the circuits of the SFT 23 as shown in FIG. 8. This bus provides a controlled path by which data may be transferred between the circuits of the SFT.
The unique serial number circuit 160, LAN I/O circuit 164 and the power supply circuit 166 are substantially similar to the unique serial number circuit 114, LAN I/O circuit 120 and power supply circuit 122, previously explained with reference to FIG. 7 and, as such, will not be further described.
Upon applying power to the SFT 23 through the power supply circuit 166, the boot-up program stored in the EPROM 144 is executed by the microcontroller 140. This causes an operating program from the master computer 42 to be downloaded into the RAM 146. Thereafter, the microcontroller 140 executes the operating program stored in the RAM 146.
As with the EPROM 106 of FIG. 7, the EPROM 144 may contain predetermined subroutines which may be referenced in the operating program. When this occurs, such subroutines will be read from the EPROM 144 and executed during the execution of the operating program by the microcontroller 140.
The SFT 23 is enabled to receive incoming data from the master computer 25 via the LAN I/O circuit 164. The SFT may also receive incoming data from the bar code reader 18 or the credit card reader 28 via the programmable serial I/O circuit 156.
The SFT also receives operator-input data from the keypad 50. The SFT, through use of the microcontroller 140, provides data to the printer 16 and the display 148, and provides enabling signals to the cash drawer 15. The SFT also supplies data relating to completed transactions via the LAN I/O circuit 164 to the master computer 25.
Cable connectors (not shown) are provided at the rear of the SFT 23 for cable connections to each of the bar code wand; the credit card reader; the printer; the cash drawer; and the LAN.
The small footprint terminal provides a relatively simple, compact and inexpensive sales terminal for POS systems in general, and particularly for video record rental and sales activity. By recognizing that the full keyboard, video screen and other features of a full-feature input computer are not necessary, applicants have lowered the cost and space requirement for entry into the efficient computerized business operations, and revenue-sharing video record rentals.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the LAN adapter 27. The LAN adapter enables data communications between the master computer and all units which are connected to the LAN adapter, including, for example, SFT's and data taps. The LAN adapter circuitry preferably is configured to be mounted on a single printed circuit board which may be inserted into an expansion slot of the master computer. Upon being inserted into the expansion slot, the LAN adapter card is connected to the master computer's bus. This enables power to be supplied to the LAN adapter and enables data transfer.
The LAN adapter includes a microprocessor 180, a memory segmentation and selection circuit 182, a programmable serial I/O circuit 188, a LAN I/O circuit 190, a dual port arbitration circuit 192 and a dual port RAM 196.
The microprocessor, I/O circuits, and memory circuits preferably are the same as corresponding components in the data tap and SFT, to obtain the benefits of standardization.
The memory segmentation and selection circuit 182 includes an EPROM 184 having 32 k-bytes of memory capacity and a RAM 186 having 64 k-bytes of memory capacity. The circuit 182 is adapted to function in a manner similar to that of the previously described memory segmentation and selection circuits 104 and 142. That is, the EPROM 184 is adapted to store a boot code program. This stored boot program is executed by the microprocessor 180 when power is applied to the LAN adapter or when the microprocessor is reset.
As a result of executing this program, a main operating program is downloaded from the master computer into the RAM. The main program is then executed by the microprocessor. This program enables the LAN adapter to perform a rapidly repeating polling of the units connected to the LAN adapter. The results of this polling are supplied to the master computer, and the master computer responds accordingly. For example, as previously described, data taps are periodically polled to determine if they have data for the master computer. If they do, then the master computer may request such data be transmitted to the master computer by way of the LAN adapter.
The dual port RAM 196, which in a preferred embodiment is an 8 k-byte dual port RAM, enables the LAN adapter to communicated with the master computer in an asynchronous manner. Utilizing such a dual port RAM increases the amount of data transfer between the adapter and the master computer by eliminating the need for hardware interrupts. However, only one of the LAN adapter and the master computer may access the dual port RAM at a given time. Controlling which of these devices has access to the dual port RAM is performed by the dual port arbitration circuit 192.
The dual port arbitration circuit 132 generates a control signal which indicates when the dual port RAM is activated. This control signal is supplied from the dual port arbitration circuit to the master computer. In response to this control signal, neither the LAN adapter nor the master computer will attempt to access the dual port RAM while the dual port RAM is in use. That is, whichever first accesses the dual port RAM asserts an arbitration/bit flag so as to deny the other access until the bit is reset.
The dual port arbitration circuit all. so sets the address range of the dual port RAM. Since in the preferred embodiment the dual port RAM contains 8 k-bytes of memory capacity, the dual port RAM only requires an 8-k address range. However, the master computer is typically adapted to address a memory from within a 24-bit address range and the LAN adapter is adapted to address a memory from within a 16-bit address range. To accommodate this difference in address ranges, an 8-bit memory offset address switch 194 is utilized. That is, this offset address switch shifts the 8-k address range of the dual port RAM within the 24 bit address range of the master computer as required.
The LAN I/O circuit 190 is adapted to transmit and receive data to and from the devices connected to the LAN adapter such as a data tap and a SFT. Communications between these devices and the LAN I/O circuit are differentially driven by using, for example, RS-422 and RS-485 interfaces. This LAN I/O circuit operates substantially similar to the previously described LAN I/O circuits 120 and 164 and, as such, will not be further described.
The programmable serial I/O circuit 188 is adapted to transform data between serial and parallel format. In a preferred embodiment, the programmable serial I/O circuit contains a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART).
A LED 191 is coupled to the LAN I/O circuit 190 and is adapted to provide an indication of the current operating status of the LAN adapter. For example, a lit LED indicates that the LAN adapter is being addressed.
As shown in FIG. 9, the data, address and control bus 198 enables controlled communications between the microprocessor 180, memory segmentation and selection circuit 182, programmable serial I/O circuit 188 and the dual port arbitration circuit 192. Communication between the programmable serial I/O circuit 188 and the LAN I/O circuit 190 is by way of a bus 199. Likewise, communication between the dual port arbitration circuit 192 and the dual port RAM 196 is by way of a communication bus 197.
Thus, the LAN adapter performs polling of the attached slave units and processes commands received from the master computer for transmission to the respective slave units.
By performing the polling function in the LAN adapter, instead of the master computer, the demand on processing cycles is reduced in the master computer. As a result, a master computer having slower processing speed may be utilized, thus reducing the costs. Alternatively, the master computer may use the processing cycles saved in performing additional functions.
By utilizing the RS-422 or RS-485 interfaces, data communication over a relatively long path can be accommodated.
If only one POS station in a store is needed, without SFT's or data taps, the LAN adapter is not required. However, if additional check-out stations are added and one or more SFTs or data taps is added, the LAN adapter can be installed easily in an expansion slot of the master computer.
In some personal computer operating environments, such as those supporting a graphical user's interface (GUI), for example, WINDOWS® from the Microsoft Corp. and OS/2® from the Microsoft or the IBM corporations, screen displays may be controlled on a bit-by-bit basis. In these circumstances, the TEACHER and TRAPPER programs may be modified so as to be used therein. These modified versions may be responsive to ASCII or other standard coding methods. However, the ASCII representations are not typically written directly to the display controller, but would be otherwise communicated within the operating environment in a way that is easily accessible by the TEACHER or TRAPPER.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that many modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. | <urn:uuid:2aa7e7c1-ac58-4f59-8da0-a134a36356c8> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.google.com.au/patents/US5396417 | 2015-03-30T17:34:53Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00064-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926598 | 23,995 |
Remember That Night…….
“I remember that night, the first time I met him.” The older lady said. The younger woman sitting alongside cocked her head to one side, and listened intently.
“I had taken a sabbatical from my university studies, and gone travelling.” She continued “Unheard of at the time, but the idea of a ‘gap year’ is quite common, now, of course.”
The young woman nodded in encouragement, but did not speak, she simply continued to listen.
“I’d wound up on Skiathos, in the Mediterranean Sea” the old woman went on “A tiny little Greek island. Unknown at the time, well off the beaten track, but it’s quite famous now. They made a film there a few years ago. Beautiful place. There was even a beach where it was ok to remove your swimsuit! Scandalous at the time – one simply did not do such a thing!”
The older woman winced slightly as she leaned forward, but she managed a conspiratorial wink towards the younger one. “But I did!” She chuckled, and the pretty young girl joined her in a little giggle. “I’ve always hated strap-lines, so I went to that beach almost every day. My hair was long and blonde, then, and it bleached to the colour of straw in the sun. Along with the tan I had, I must’ve looked every inch the Classical Greek Goddess, even if I do say so myself.” She said, smiling. Helen grinned to herself as she recalled the memories, and brushed her greying hair back from her forehead.
She was nineteen years old back then, and having the time of her life. The world was changing, and she’d relished the new-found freedoms. The doldrums after the War were becoming a thing of the past. Rationing of food had ended, rock and roll had arrived from America, and it was a good time to be young. She’d decided, much to her parents’ chagrin, to head off around The Med for a while, and then resume her course when she returned. Art & Technology was a relatively new field at her university anyway, and the subject was one she could pick up again upon her return.
She fondly recalled the four months she’d been travelling during that long, hot summer. She’d supplemented her allowance by getting a few random jobs here and there, washing up in restaurants, cleaning hotel bedrooms and the like. She’d enjoyed the attentions of a number of young Greek men, but their intentions were always just one thing. Helen had enjoyed flirting with them, dancing the night away at little Tavernas to the sounds of the exciting music on those new jukeboxes, and even kissing and cuddling, but no more than that. She wasn’t going to let just anybody be the first, and besides, it was risky – she had no wish to go home with more than memories from her trip. A disease, or even a baby, was definitely not on the agenda.
That had all changed when she met Jonathan. Fate must have conspired to bring them both to that obscure Greek Island at the same time. She just drifting, experiencing life, but he, he was there for inspiration, seeking a muse.
They’d met that night, down by the harbour. The moon had shone down, illuminating the white-painted buildings that nestled there. Helen had been sitting on the steps, idly sketching a pencil drawing of the scene, with the moon in the background, and little pencil strokes marking the outlines of the last of the sea-birds heading off to wherever sea-birds go to at night.
She’d become aware of someone standing behind her, a couple of steps above, peering over her shoulder at the picture that was forming on the page of her sketch-book in front of her.
Embarrassed, she’d tried to quickly turn the page, ashamed of her idle doodlings. He’d spoken gently to her, his deep English accent telling her not to be so protective. It seemed that he actually thought her sketch was good, and had asked to see any others. He introduced himself, and it turned out that he was actually from Oxfordshire, not more than forty miles from her own home.
Jonathan, it transpired, was an artist, and having recently sold a few paintings he was now travelling around to seek inspiration for further works.
Ten years older than Helen, he seemed so sophisticated, so worldly. On reflection, Helen recalled, she fell in love with him there and then, right at that precise moment. Timidly she handed the sketch-book over to him. He flicked through the drawings there, and smiled, nodding approval at many of them, and making encouraging remarks here, and giving a little advice about picture composition there. Helen blushed slightly at the praise her work was receiving from a ‘professional’.
At his suggestion, they went for a walk along the long road that led down onto the causeway. Helen noted that he carefully rolled up her sketch-book and, like a true gentleman, tucked it under his arm so as to carry it for her. She’d tucked her arm in his, and off they’d gone.
As they walked, the night had cooled. Helen had been slightly embarrassed when she’d realised that her nipples had become visible through the light blouse she was wearing. She’d washed all her clothes earlier, and was only wearing a flowing white gypsy skirt, and a thin white blouse, with no underwear – all the rest of her things were currently hanging on a line at the back of the little digs she was renting in town. A pair of high wedge-heeled sandals completed the look of as much sophistication as a young woman on a budget could be.
She’d hoped that Jonathan wouldn’t notice the fact that she was blushing, and that the darkness would hide the crimson hue that she knew her cheeks were getting. She wasn’t sure whether she was embarrassed by the fact that her nipples were visible, or whether it was the fact that she didn’t want Jonathan to notice her blushes.
They’d walked, arm in arm, for what seemed like hours, talking about art, travelling, life, their pasts, what they wanted for their lives, all sorts. She’d explained that she wanted to be a photographer, and was going back home at the end of the summer to complete her course, he’d told her he specialised in painting the human body, and the female form in particular.
When Jonathan had suggested that they go to his studio to see some of his paintings, Helen was astonished to hear herself readily agree.
She had been nervous as she’d climbed the stairs into the loft apartment that Jonathan was renting, overlooking the harbour, but her trepidations were replaced by awe and wonder at the sights that greeted her as he switched on the single bare light bulb that hung from the ceiling.
Several large canvasses stood around the large, uncarpeted loft, all on easels with half-finished paintings upon them. A small unmade bed was against one wall, and a small table with two chairs had stood next to it. A single wardrobe and a kitchenette with one small sink, a tiny cooker and a small gas-powered fridge in the corner of the room completed the meagre furnishings.
As her eyes had adjusted to the light, Helen had seen that the canvasses were of reclining bodies, but all were unfinished, just outlines, part-painted snatches of forms, with some backgrounds. Sketches were scattered across the floor, in hap-hazard piles.
Jonathan offered her a drink, some Retsina, the local wine. She’d accepted, and had been amused to see that he’d had to pour it into two cracked china tea-cups, as he didn’t actually possess any glasses in his apartment. They talked, for hours it seemed, and Jonathan explained that he was having trouble with his work. He seemed unable to find inspiration to complete his pictures.
Perhaps it was the wine, perhaps it was his quiet charm, his charisma, or perhaps it was simply the mystique of the fact that he was obviously such an accomplished artist, Helen still to this day did not know, but she found herself there and then offering to model for Jonathan, if he wished.
He had readily agreed, and so she found herself sitting on a blanket in the middle of the uncarpeted floor of the loft studio, supporting her upright upper body with one arm while her legs were together, and stretched out beside her, mimicking the pose she had seen in one of the partly finished paintings. She smoothed down her skirt, and straightened the collar of her blouse, and kicked off the sandals she had been wearing.
Jonathan had begun to paint, chatting to her all the time as he did so, his head popping up above the easel, or sometimes to either side. Once he ducked down and peered at her from underneath – making her giggle.
He’d topped up her cup of wine on several occasions and, unused to drinking, Helen had got gigglier and gigglier, as Jonathan joked with her.
All these years later, Helen still did not know why she had done what she did next, but whilst Jonathan was obscured behind the large canvass, she’d hastily undone the buttons on her blouse, and slipped it off, laying it carefully behind her.
She looked down nervously at the erect nipples standing up on her pert, tanned breasts in the cool night air, then proudly raised her head and stared straight at the back of the canvass. When Jonathan’s head had bobbed around the canvass she had had to fight to retain her composure, but proud of her body she straightened up, pushing her shoulder blades together so that her breasts pointed towards him. She tried not to smirk as she saw the look of at first astonishment, then delight, as his eyes travelled across her nude torso.
There’d been a long pause while he’d stared at her, then, grinning, he’d resumed painting, quicker now, and looking around the canvass more often. She’d been flattered just by his gaze, and was even more impressed by the compliments that flowed from his mouth.
She’d been a little hesitant when he had suggested that she remove her skirt too, but when she’d got up and walked around to have a quick preview of the painting, she had been so impressed by the spectacle of what she’d seen that, giggling, she’d agreed.
It was certainly impressive, and very flattering, to see her face painted large upon the canvass in front of her, and the way he had painted the image of her breasts made her very proud indeed.
Laughing, she’d made him turn around and promise to close his eyes while she’d unbuttoned the skirt, and slipped it down her long brown legs. She’d quietly walked back over to the blanket upon which she had been posing, and had folded the skirt neatly on top of her blouse, then resumed the position in which she had been sitting for most of the past few hours.
When she’d given him permission to turn around, she’d been more than impressed by his reaction – the obvious delight on his face was mirrored by the bulge at the front of his trousers.
Up to that point Helen had never really seen an erect penis, although occasionally she had taken a sly peek at the front of the swimsuits of men at the beach, and on the nudist beach - she had seen them half hard, but nothing like the look of the thing straining against the material of Jonathan’s denim pants.
As he continued to paint, Helen had become more and more aware of the aching between her legs.
She’d experienced this before, when kissing and ‘making out’ with boys, when they’d cuddled and snogged after nights in the Taverna, but the fact that it was happening without any form of physical stimulation was a novel experience.
Almost without thinking, her hand had strayed ‘down there’ and she was amazed to discover that the lips there were glistening with moisture. Idly, she slipped a finger between them, and stroked lightly, astounded by how wet it had become.
Involuntarily a light moan escaped from her mouth, as a new sensation rippled through her.
She hastily removed her hand as she saw that Jonathan had looked around the canvass at the sound she had made. Flushed with embarrassment at being caught out ‘playing’, she stuttered and apologised, and stammered that she must leave, it was late.
She hastily turned round and picked up her clothes, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Not knowing, in her haste, which to put on first, her hands shook as she tried to pull her blouse on, when Jonathan had gently slipped his arms around her, and whispered quietly in her ear.
She’d frozen as he’d told her how beautiful she was, and that she was a gorgeous, young, sexy, woman who should be proud of herself, and proud of her sexuality.
She’d let the blouse and skirt fall from her hands into an untidy pile by her feet, and she’d allowed him to turn her around and hold her close as he kissed her.
She felt her body, rigid with fear, melt into his arms, as his passionate masculinity overcame her trepidation. She’d kissed him back, and felt a warmth spread over her whole body.
His tongue had gently slipped between her lips and begun to explore her mouth as his hands softly caressed her back, long slow strokes with his fingertips making her shiver with pleasure. She’d responded, kissing him back, and pulling him closer to her naked body by wrapping her arms around him. She was amazed to feel the hard bulge in his trousers pressing against her abdomen, scarily large, but she was certain of one thing – she wanted this man. He was the one. And now was the time.
Helen had offered no resistance as Jonathan had scooped her up, carried her over and lain her gently on to the single bed. She’d nodded when he’d whispered was it her first time, and he had promised he would be gentle.
Helen had been amazed when Jonathan had begun to plant little kisses on her neck, and the top of her breasts. She knew the mechanics of ‘sex’ and she had simply expected him to get on top of her and insert his penis into her vagina, but it was fantastic what he was doing to her.
His lips had closed over her nipple, causing her to moan out loud as he sucked and kissed, rolling his tongue around the hard tip. His hands strayed across her soft skin, each touch sending strange new pleasures through her. She shivered as his lips planted kisses down across her flat belly and his hands gently prised her thighs apart, but then she was shocked to find that he had extended his tongue, and run the tip of it down, through her pubic hair and across the lips of her vagina!
She sat upright, horrified by what this strange man was doing, and for a split second she wanted to push him away, what was the filthy beast thinking of?
Then a whole new sensation opened up inside her – as his tongue reached her clitoris it began to flick the engorged flesh it found there. A wave rumbled up through Helen’s body, and her eyes opened wide as her orgasm hit her. She flopped back onto the bed, and her back arched as the pleasure hit her. It was like being struck by a train, she lost all control of her body, her thoughts, her reality. She had been astonished when a long, loud moan had escaped her lips.
She was in a different world from the one she had previously inhabited.
Jonathan continued to lick away at her for a while longer, and then raised himself up, removing his shirt, and then slipping down his trousers and underwear in one swift movement.
He was above her now, and she shivered in fear and anticipation as she felt a little fluid dribble from his penis onto her belly.
She had recoiled briefly as he had stooped down to kiss her as she had realised that the wetness on his face was her own love-juices, but she had been unable to stop him kissing her, and she had been surprised and delighted to find that it actually tasted sweet, and strangely sexy.
He had kissed her passionately as his cock had begun to penetrate her, any remaining fears slipped away as she had felt herself being overcome by her sudden love for this man. It was amazing to feel him inside her, their bodies joined, as one.
There was a moment’s pain, and a muffled cry slipped from her mouth as he had pushed himself into her in one steady movement, but then he had pulled back a little and held steady. After a brief pause Helen had begun to thrust her hips back and fro, naturally assuming a comfortable rhythm. Jonathan eventually began to thrust with her rhythm, gently at first, then harder and faster. She gasped as he rode her, ever faster.
She’d screamed at the top of her voice as another orgasm overtook her, the feel of this man deep inside her making her feel proud of herself, her femininity assured, and the closeness of their intimate physical contact making her feel closer to this man than any other person in the world.
She sighed with disappointment as he pulled himself out of her; she’d raised her head and had given him a questioning ‘awwww?’
He’d quietly told her that it was too risky to ejaculate inside her, and she had been amazed when he had brought the glistening, throbbing member towards her face.
She hadn’t realised what he was about to do, and she was sure (on reflection) that she would have tried to stop him doing what he did next had she known.
But it was too late; suddenly he had placed his hands firmly around the sides of her head, and had slipped the penis into her mouth.
Helen remembered attempting to protest initially, but the muffled sounds she made were of no consequence.
Almost immediately though, she had realised that not only did it taste good, it felt good too – she glanced up and saw the pleasure on Jonathan’s face and his eyes closed in delight. Almost instinctively she began to suck on it, bobbing her head gently back and forth whilst rubbing her tongue around the veins she could feel on it.
When, a few seconds later, his ejaculate exploded into her mouth she was amazed at how much of it there was, and the peculiar salty tang, but she heard his loud shout of triumph, and she obediently sucked and swallowed as his cum filled her mouth. A feeling of great pride and satisfaction swept through her, knowing how much she had pleasured her man.
She’d spent the rest of the night there, they’d cuddled up close, bodies pressed tightly together in the single bed. They’d made love again, two more times before finally spooning into each other and drifting off into an exhausted sleep.
They’d woken just before dawn, and at Jonathan’s suggestion they’d made their way down to the beach. As they walked through the empty streets of the town a dawn mist floated through the air. They walked past the harbour and down to the beach.
Removing their clothes, they’d played and frolicked about, laughing as they ran up and down the beach, she charged off, daring him to chase her, running into the cool surf as the waves broke on the shore.
Finally, laughing, she’d allowed him to catch up with her, and their bodies had entwined, as they slid onto the sand and made love once again.
This time he had pulled out from her at just the right moment, and had shot his load across her, the cum splattering across her breasts and sticking to the sand that had also gathered there as they’d rolled around on the golden grains of the beach.
They’d gone back into the water and washed off the sand from their bodies and, still joking and laughing, had gone back into town for some breakfast.
“Well, as you can imagine, I fell totally in love with this lovely man.” Helen continued.
The young woman shifted uneasily in her chair, and brushed an imaginary speck of dust from her crisply starched white jacket. She was a good listener, and the length of the story didn’t bother her at all, but it was a little…embarrassing….to hear such an old woman talk about sex so explicitly.
Noticing her companion’s unease, Helen smiled “I’m sorry if any of that makes you uncomfortable, but you youngsters didn’t invent s-e-x you know” she said with a titter. “Thank you for listening, though. It is very kind of you to spend this time with an old dear like me – no don’t act so shocked, I’m well aware of what I am young lady!” Helen continued, as she noted the expression on the young woman’s face. “I’m glad I have you to talk to though, dear. I deliberately didn’t have my pills this morning so that my head would be a bit clearer, in order that I might speak to you without those damned drugs clouding my mind.” Helen winced again as she shifted position in her bed “It does mean that I feel a bit of pain at the moment though. Well worth it today, as it’s nice to be able to recall so much of my life. They were happy times. The grass was greener, the light was brighter.”
Helen continued to relate the story of her life to the pretty young woman beside her. She told her how she’d moved into the studio loft soon after, and that summer Jonathan had painted picture after picture of her during the days and the nights had been spent consummating their passions. The nights of wonder, Helen described them as.
One of their favourite paintings had been one of her, naked, on a rusty swing. She’d sat for that several times, they used to rise early, hurry to the local play park, and she’d slip out of her clothes and sit there whilst he’d paint away. They’d managed a few sessions, and then after that he’d just used his imagination. That and the fact that she remained naked most of the time in their loft during that long hot summer, so he didn’t need to tax his memory or his imagination too heavily.
When the time came for Helen to return to England to complete her studies, Jonathan had eventually followed her, packing up his paintings and shipping them back home.
They’d set up home together, scandalising Helen’s mother, as ‘living in sin’ was regarded as horrific.
A London gallery which had previously sold some of Jonathan’s pictures expressed an interest, and displayed some of his work. She’d gone down there to see it, and it was most strange to be standing there in front of a large image of one’s self, naked, on display in front of a load of strangers. Helen’s mother was further shocked when she discovered this, a fact that amused Helen even more.
One of the first pictures to sell was the painting of Helen on the swing, and a good price it fetched too. A few more pictures began to sell, and some money began to come in. Helen completed her studies, and eventually they married.
Helen forewent her original plans for a career, and became a full-time housewife, whist still continuing to pose as Jonathan’s model.
“And that was that, for a few years” Helen continued “But it all changed when I had the children. I was a little miffed that Jonathan refused to paint me while I was pregnant. He said it was too personal, too private, and I suppose at the time he was right. It’s all changed now, nowadays you see young actresses heavily pregnant on the cover of magazines with nothing on, but back then you covered up.”
The young woman gave her a sympathetic look. A wave of pain passed across Helen’s face, not because of her lack of painkillers this time, but due to the sad memories that came back, unbidden, to her.
“He got himself another couple of models, pretty girls, a year or two younger than me and, obviously, slimmer than me, I was all fat and frumpy and Mumsy at the time of course.” Helen said, testily. “I had no reason to suspect anything was amiss, Jonathan was the perfect husband, and it was just his job, painting these pictures of women, but nevertheless I got jealous. I felt trapped, unattractive, and bored. Motherhood wasn’t really for me. Nowadays there’s all sorts of help for what they call Post-Natal Depression, but back then it was just assumed that you were a poor mother.”
Helen continued: “I was so glad when my Mother offered to look after both the children for a while, to give me a break.” The young woman held Helen’s hand lightly, as she began to tremble as the painful memories returned. “I seized my chance. Like a fool, I just packed my bags and went one day, telling no-one where I was going. I thought that Jonathan would be fine with his little young girlies, let him stew with them - and I went off, out into the world. The life of a housewife was not for me.”
“I moved down to London, got myself a little flat and a day job running errands for a photographic agency. To supplement my income I used to work at a little club, where I’d sit in a room and take my clothes off while men put money into slot machines in booths outside the room, so that they could see in through little peep-holes. Sounds quaint now, but then it was quite seedy. It paid, however. Even then, a flat in London was expensive, and my little job didn’t pay me much.
Because I was so used to posing naked, and to being on display, I guess I had the confidence and poise, and I became popular at the club.
I used to put a real show on for the men, and I soon realised that I’d get more hours if the takings increased while I was on duty. I used to play with myself for them, and spend all afternoon at the weekends, or all evening during the week, frantically fingering myself. The bosses noticed, and I did quite well out of it, enough to buy myself some decent cameras and other photographic gear.”
The young woman shifted uneasily in her chair again – Helen’s frankness was disarming, and it was difficult to know what to say. She looked up at the ceiling, and at the opposite wall, but found herself unable to look Helen right in the eye. Noticing this, Helen whispered cheekily “Have you ever done anything like that, young lady? You’re blushing a little!”
The young woman turned crimson, and nodded as she explained that she’d done a little dancing on a pole at a local club to support herself through university. Helen cackled loudly, and then winced again, the laughter racking through her body causing the aches to flare up again. Both women giggled though – Helen winked at her and re-assured her that it was nothing to be ashamed of. She explained how she had, with her newly bought camera equipment, to be able to actually become one of the freelance photographers at the agency.
“It was a great time to be alive,” she continued “Swinging London, in the 60’s, it was the cultural centre of the Earth at the time, or so it seemed. The pill was available, and for the first time you could have as much sex as you liked without the fear of getting pregnant. Our agency got a load of work from newspapers and record companies – I travelled to America for the first time in 1964 to cover The Beatles first US Tour, I was at Wembley Stadium a couple of years later when the England football team won the World Cup, and back out to America a few years later, supposedly to cover a big rock festival – you might have heard of it, but I got a little too much into the hippy culture. I turned on, tuned in and dropped out!”
Helen tittered again “I spent the whole weekend naked, smoking reefers and having sex with, well basically, with anyone and everyone. I just went from tent to tent, smoking and making love. I didn’t even know the names of many of the guys. I guess there must have been about twenty of them over the four days I was there. And a couple of women too. One time, in broad daylight, I sat down with this hippy chick who was wearing nothing but beads and flowers in her hair. We sat and cuddled each other, then we began to stroke and caress each other’s bodies.”
Helen retold the story of how she and the hippy girl had laid out together on the grass, and explored each other’s bodies, hands softly roaming over each other. It had been Helen’s first experience with a member of the same sex, and she had been determined to enjoy it.
They had gotten each other turned on by their gentle ministrations upon each other, and a few people had gathered around them, watching the two women with interest. Helen told how the woman had begun to kiss and lick her bare breasts, and had worked her way down her body – the tingling sensations had reminded her of that first time with Jonathan on the Greek island over a decade earlier. When the girl had begun to lick Helen’s clit, the same thing had happened too, her back arched involuntarily as an orgasm bucked through her, lost in her own little world.
She’d then gotten on top of the girl, and had plunged her own mouth towards the girl’s pussy, enveloping her in a lesbian 69. She’d pleasured the girl, who continued to lick and finger Helen’s pussy, and as she came, her juices filling Helen’s mouth, Helen came yet again, the thought of this girl’s orgasm setting her off once more. A few people applauded and Helen was suddenly reminded of where she was. She glanced around and saw that a crowd of people had now gathered around them
The pleasuring wasn’t over, though. As she held herself, panting, above the girl’s inverted body, she felt a pair of hands grasp her hips firmly, and a cock slid into her pussy from behind. She looked around and saw that a long-haired man had come up behind her, and had begun to fuck her. She let her head hang down and looked back, through the arch of her dangling tits, to see the hippy chick, still beneath her, reach up and begin to lick both Helen’s pussy lips, and the base of the cock of the man fucking Helen.
Helen watched, fascinated, as the girl’s tongue flicked around the balls of the man, until another pair of hands softly grasped her face and pulled her gently away from that fantastic sight. Helen looked up as yet another long-haired stranger kneeled before her, and held his erect cock in front of her face. Helen didn’t hesitate; she plunged her head forward, over this new cock, and sucked for all she was worth. She ran her tongue around the throbbing shaft, her head bobbing back and forth with the rhythm of the man fucking her from the rear.
She felt the man behind her cum, the warm spunk shooting deep into her. When he withdrew she continued to move her head up and down on the cock in her mouth, thrusting her face forward ever faster. She struggled to control herself as she felt the hippy girl beneath her begin to lick at her pussy once more, and she knew that the girl was lapping the cum from her.
Finally it all became too much for her – as the man ejaculated into Helen’s mouth, his cum filling her up and shooting down her throat, she gave a long muffled moan of ecstasy as another orgasm shuddered through her body. The feeling of having pleasured these complete strangers heightened the experience, and she felt herself squirt. She knew that the girl beneath her would be getting a faceful of cum, and now her own pussy juice.
“And that was Woodstock,” Helen continued “After that I stayed out in the States for a couple of years. I’d lost touch with Jonathan almost immediately after I’d left him – he went round to my Mother’s regularly to visit the children apparently, but we’d never met since. I carried on with my career, jetting here there and everywhere.
The children grew up, a fine healthy pair they were too, but they weren’t ever too fond of me. No more than I deserved I suppose, after all I did abandon them while they were babies.
In the meantime I flew all over the world – I covered the Vietnam War, one of the few female photographers out there, then back to London in 1976. I spiked my hair up, and became a bit of a familiar figure around all the happening places, photographing the Sex Pistols, and The Clash – have you heard of them, dear? A little before your time, I suspect.” The young woman looked blankly at her, but motioned with her hand for Helen to continue.
Helen went on to explain how she continued to lead a glamorous lifestyle, but never settled down with anyone, content with her globetrotting.
Eventually her Father had passed away during the early 1990’s and her Mother a few years later. The house had been left in her Mother’s will equally to Helen and the two children. Helen was, at the time, looking for somewhere to retire to, and her old home in rural England sounded like too good an opportunity to pass up. She reached an agreement with the children that she would pay them a nominal rent in lieu of buying their shares out, and that the total ownership of the house would pass to the two of them upon her death.
“For the first time in my life, it seemed, I was alone.” Helen said “I was unused to not having things going on in my life. I was beginning to get restless, and even considered coming out of retirement, to alleviate the boredom and loneliness. That’s when I found the lumps.”
Helen went on: “The Doctors were very good – I was lucky enough to be able to afford private care, and they performed the mastectomy within a month. It was while I was convalescing at home that he knocked on my door one bright summer’s afternoon.”
The younger woman cocked her head quizzically at this.
Helen’s hands shook slightly as she took a sip of the small glass of water on the table by her bedside, and then spoke once more: “Jonathan. The children had told him that I had been ill, and he had finally decided to come round and visit.”
The young woman smiled as Helen continued “He’d never re-married, you know. I was a bit suspicious at first. I knew he’d done well with his paintings and so I knew he wasn’t after my money, but I was worried that he’d be bitter after all that time – it had been nearly forty years, after all.”
Helen told the young woman how Jonathan still lived not too far away, and he had spent more and more time with her as she recovered from her operation. They had slowly grown to be great friends once more.
She told how one day he turned up carrying a large, flat package, wrapped in brown paper.
He’d struggled to carry it in, and had set it upright on the sofa in her lounge.
‘Well, what is it?’ Helen had asked him. He’d simply smiled, and told her to look for herself. Bemused, she’d begun to tear the paper off. As the wrapping came away in her hand she saw what it was.
The painting of her on the rusty swing from forty years earlier.
He’d tracked it down, and had bought it from its current owner just so that he could return it to its subject, after all these years.
Helen told how she’d wept at the gesture, seeing herself as she was when she had been a young woman had sparked off a wave of nostalgia in her. It was particularly poignant a reminder, seeing herself there as a voluptuous young woman, with both her breasts complete had brought the tears forth. Jonathan had misunderstood, and had apologised and made to remove the painting. Helen told how she had put her hand on his arm to stop him, explaining that they were tears of joy, not sadness.
They’d fallen into each other’s arms, and had embraced each other and kissed, for the first time in forty years.
Helen reached out to the young woman at her bedside and, grasping lightly on the sleeve of her white jacket pulled her towards herself. She whispered in a mock-conspiratorial tone “And then we went upstairs…and did it!” she said with a wink.
The young woman tried hard to remain professional, and suppress a laugh. She failed. You couldn’t help but like this old lady. What a character she was. It must have been really something to have lived her life.
“It’s surprising how good prosthetics are nowadays,” Helen went on “I kept my bra on, I was too embarrassed to show him where my tit used to be, but we did it. A bit slower than we used to, I must admit, but nevertheless that’s not such a bad thing.”
Both women laughed, the younger girl putting her hand over her mouth as she realised that she was failing to show any of the professional detachment she had been trained to do. The words ‘Old Rascal’ could have been coined specially for this grey-haired, innocent looking old woman in the bed alongside her. She felt sad as she saw Helen wince once again, and she knew that the pains were worsening for her, the longer she went without her medication.
Helen explained how Jonathan had ended up living full time with her. He kept his old house on, but never spent the night there. Their old sense of fun had returned, and they had laughed and joked constantly. She had thrown her ‘falsie’ at him one time, as they were getting ready in the morning. Not knowing what it was, he’d caught the large squashy blob before he realised what she had done. Helen had roared with laughter at his bemused expression as she’d told him that he must feel a right tit at the moment.
Life had been fun for a few years, she had been given the all-clear following her cancer treatment, and they set about making up for lost time. They went on holidays; they spent time on cold nights in front of a roaring open fire, cuddling together on their sofa, while the swing painting took pride of place on the wall above them.
Life had been fine for the pair of them until Helen had started to feel aches and pains throughout her body. At first she’d dismissed it as simply old age, but eventually she sought the advice of a Doctor, who told her that she was suffering from Cancer once more. Scans had revealed that she had left it too late to seek treatment, and that it was, in all likelihood, incurable.
Jonathan was her rock, he cared for her during the difficult weeks that followed, despite his own advanced years he jollied her along, never once allowing her to become maudlin. Helen regretted the years they had missed – she had lived a dozen lifetimes in her years on this Earth, but she would have gladly swapped all the good times just to be able to go back and correct the wrongs she done to the lovely man who had been her first lover, and who now would be her last.
Helen had been comforted by Jonathan’s love and devotion, and he had made it seem worth going on, until the morning when she woke up in the bed they had shared for the past few years to discover that he was laid next to her un-moving. She had felt for his hand, but it had been cold and lifeless.
She had screamed and sobbed hysterically on the phone to the emergency services, demanding an ambulance, but she knew in her heart that he was gone forever.
He was eighty years old, and had gone peacefully in his sleep.
At the funeral the children had physically supported her, as she had been unable to stand for very long unaided and after the service was over she had decided what she was going to do. She had explained all the details to them, and a few weeks later her lawyer had completed all the paperwork, so that the children would have no problem with the inheritance of both Jonathan’s house, and her own home in the event of her passing.
“Well, that’s about it. The story of my life!” Helen managed a smile as she spoke to the young woman at her bedside. “Thank you again for listening, you’ve been very kind, dear.”
There was a tear in the young woman’s eye as she said “No trouble at all, it’s been a pleasure.”
Helen winced once more, as another sharp pang of agony stabbed her body. She drew a breath, and quietly said “Ok, it’s time.”
The young nurse struggled to hold her voice steady as she said “You don’t have to go through with this, Mrs Moore. You can still change your mind should you wish to do so.”
“No dear, thank you, but the pain will only get worse, and I have nothing more to look forward to, and no-one to share my life with. I will go with dignity, which is why I have come here. Please, go ahead. Farewell.” Helen said, with a steely determination.
The nurse nodded to the Doctor who stood alongside the small machine at the bedside, with its pipes connected to Helen’s arm. He pressed the buttons on its control panel, and a couple of lights came on. It emitted a quiet hum as it began to pump the drugs into Helen’s arm which would end her pain forever.
Tears ran down the young nurse’s face now, as Helen laid her head back on the pillow and smiled as she closed her eyes for the last time…… | <urn:uuid:bcf173dd-55bf-4ca5-95a8-438cdb42fb77> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.sexstories.com/story/24190/Remember+That+Night | 2015-03-27T12:48:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296383.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00080-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991596 | 9,300 |
Not Completely Worthless
Reviewed by Barry R. Bickmore
When Stephen Robinson and Craig Blomberg wrote How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation, they covered a lot of ground and were obviously limited by space constraints. They didn't intend their book to be the end of fruitful discussion between evangelicals and Latter-day Saints but rather a beginning. Therefore, I do not have any particular problem with the idea of a group of evangelicals writing what they see as a more complete exposition of their point of view, in opposition to that of the Latter-day Saints. This is ostensibly the purpose of The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism—to respond to How Wide the Divide? by providing evidence for their faith and against the Latter-day Saint faith, in the process showing more clearly that Mormonism is really "another Gospel," not fit to be called Christian.
If this is the goal of The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism, the chapter "Christ" by Ron Rhodes1 fails on a number of counts. For instance, Rhodes does not respond to Robinson's central argument, that behind mainstream Christianity's creedal formulations lie extrabiblical assumptions and definitions that appear to have been adopted from the Greek philosophical schools. More important, Rhodes seems to have uncritically accepted some of the worst anti-Mormon caricatures of Latter-day Saint doctrine and spends a good deal of his chapter knocking down these straw men.
This is not to say Rhodes's argumentation is completely without merit. He does in fact bring up a few legitimate points that Blomberg does not. These deserve a response, no matter what his failings. In this review I intend to rebut Rhodes's most important arguments against the Latter-day Saint view of Christ and the Trinity and in the process clarify some aspects of the debate that he has not dealt with.
A Framework for Interpretation
It is a fundamental truth that nobody can interpret the Bible, or any other document, without supplying some set of assumptions and definitions external to the text. It just isn't possible. Consider this example from the New Testament: "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5 NIV). At Pentecost, were there really Jews visiting from every nation or just the ones in that part of the world? Even in our own language, these same terms can be ambiguous. If I were to say, "Everyone is here," would I necessarily mean everyone in the universe? One makes sense of such statements within an interpretive framework that lies outside the particular words used.
Craig Blomberg appears to have recognized and readily admitted this in How Wide the Divide? (see p. 142). Stephen Robinson made some limited attempts to show that many of the assumptions and definitions that mainstream Christians use to arrive at their doctrines about Christ and the Trinity were adopted from the pagan Greek philosophical schools and could not have been part of the original Christian message. In turn, Craig Blomberg made an attempt to neutralize this charge. Space considerations did not allow for a complete discussion, but if Rhodes had bothered to look up the footnoted references in How Wide the Divide? he would have been able to gain a more complete understanding of this most important issue. That mainstream Christianity's doctrines are based on pagan philosophy is not a charge that can be passed by in silence because the Hellenization of Christian doctrine is a topic too well attested in the scholarly literature.2 Consider, for example, the following recent admission by a group of evangelical scholars:
The view of God worked out in the early church, the "biblical-classical synthesis," has become so commonplace that even today most conservative theologians simply assume that it is the correct scriptural concept of God and thus that any other alleged biblical understanding of God . . . must be rejected. The classical view is so taken for granted that it functions as a preunderstanding that rules out certain interpretations of Scripture that do not "fit" with the conception of what is "appropriate" for God to be like, as derived from Greek metaphysics.3
I am not suggesting that these evangelicals are advocating a concept of God in all respects identical to ours. While they believe that "the early Fathers did not sell out to Hellenism, but they did, on certain key points, use it to both defend and explain the Christian concept of God to their contemporaries,"4 some evangelical scholars are beginning to realize the extent to which Greek metaphysics governs the boundaries of "acceptable" Christian theology and are attempting to unshackle themselves from its influence. Furthermore, they point out that people like Rhodes largely do not even recognize this influence at all—it is completely taken for granted.
In order to expand the discussion begun by Blomberg and Robinson, I intend to supply a few concrete examples where Latter-day Saints believe mainstream Christians have adopted Greek philosophical tenets in place of Hebrew thought forms.5 These examples will provide a framework for the discussion of how Latter-day Saints and evangelicals come to widely different conclusions about the very same biblical passages.
My first example is perhaps the most important: the kind of being God is. Is he a person with a body in human form, as the Latter-day Saints believe, or "a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternally incomprehensible," as the Westminster Confession of Faith states?6 The Vatican Council further explains that God's being is "a unique spiritual substance by nature, absolutely simple and unchangeable, [and] must be declared distinct from the world in fact and by essence."7 These definitions of God go beyond anything in the Bible, but they happen to coincide nearly exactly with those taught by the ancient Greek philosophers. For instance, Xenophanes (570-475 B.C.) conceived of "God as thought, as presence, as all powerful efficacy." He is one God—incorporeal, "unborn, eternal, infinite, . . . not moving at all [and] beyond human imagination."8 Empedocles (ca. 444 B.C.) claimed that God "does not possess a head and limbs similar to those of humans. . . . [He is] a spirit, a holy and inexpressible one."9 This concept of God was adopted by Christians, starting in the mid-second century, in an attempt to make sense of their faith in light of the assumptions they inherited from their Hellenistic culture.10 Thus the Christian theologian Tertullian (ca. A.D. 200) could say, "The Father . . . is invisible and unapproachable, and placid, and (so to speak) the God of the philosophers."11
How did the Jews and Jewish Christians conceive of God before they moved out into the Hellenistic world? Christopher Stead, Ely Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Cambridge, writes that "The Hebrews . . . pictured the God whom they worshipped as having a body and mind like our own, though transcending humanity in the splendour of his appearance, in his power, his wisdom, and the constancy of his care for his creatures."12 In the early third century, the Christian theologian Origen argued against the Jewish and Jewish Christian belief in an anthropomorphic God, not by appealing to unanimous Christian tradition, but to the philosophers: "The Jews indeed, but also some of our people, supposed that God should be understood as a man, that is, adorned with human members and human appearance. But the philosophers despise these stories as fabulous and formed in the likeness of poetic fictions."13 Our evangelical friends interpret the anthropomorphic passages in the Bible allegorically, but Latter-day Saints see no compelling reason (apart from the assumptions of Greek philosophy) not to take Ezekiel quite literally when he says he saw "upon the throne, a form in human likeness" (Ezekiel 1:26 NEB). True, some passages describe God's "wings" or "feathers" (e.g., Psalm 91:4), and the like, but these are always given in a clearly metaphorical context. What, then, was Ezekiel's metaphor when he simply described what he saw?
Our neighbors might object that the biblical God cannot have a body, for that would contradict John 4:24. This verse can be translated "God is a spirit" but in modern translations is usually rendered "God is Spirit." This passage is parallel to two others from John's writings, where it is said that "God is light" (1 John 1:5) and "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Read in context, these passages are not metaphysical statements about God's "being" but rather descriptions of God's activity with respect to men. Stead explains how the ancient Hebrews would have interpreted God's "spiritual" nature. "By saying that God is spiritual, we do not mean that he has no body . . . but rather that he is the source of a mysterious life-giving power and energy that animates the human body, and himself possesses this energy in the fullest measure."14
In fact, some of the ancients, like the Latter-day Saints, considered spirit itself to be material. Origen complained that some of these actually used John 4:24 to prove that God is material! "Fire and spirit, according to them, are to be regarded as nothing else than a body."15 In contrast, historian J. W. C. Wand (formerly the Anglican bishop of London) writes that the Hellenized Christians learned what it meant for God to be "a spirit" from the Neoplatonists:
It is easy to see what influence this school of thought [i.e., Neoplatonism] must have had upon Christian leaders. It was from it that they learnt what was involved in a metaphysical sense by calling God a Spirit. They were also helped to free themselves from their primitive eschatology and to get rid of that crude anthropomorphism which made even Tertullian [A.D. 160-220] believe that God had a material body.16
Rhodes also objects that since God is said to be "omnipresent," the divine nature cannot be limited to a body (see pp. 104-5). Apparently Jesus' body is thought to be attached to the omnipresent divine nature as some sort of appendage. Again, Latter-day Saints do not take such passages as metaphysical statements about God's "being" but as indications that God's power and knowledge simultaneously extend to the farthest reaches of the universe (see D&C 88:6-13, 41). Apparently the ancient Jews and Jewish Christians agreed that God's body was not a limitation.17
The Greeks had a strong tendency to take statements about God in an extreme metaphysical—even mathematical—sense, whereas the Hebrews spoke in more relative terms. Consider Christopher Stead's statement about how the biblical authors spoke of God's immutability.
The Old Testament writers sometimes speak of God as unchanging. . . . In Christian writers influenced by Greek philosophy this doctrine is developed in an absolute metaphysical sense. Hebrew writers are more concrete, and their thinking includes two main points: (1) God has the dignity appropriate to old age, but without its disabilities . . . ; and (2) God is faithful to his covenant promises, even though men break theirs.18 (cf. Isaiah 40:28; Exodus 34:9-10)
What about all those statements about God's "eternity"? While mainstream Christian theologians, influenced by Greek philosophy, take this in an absolute sense, the biblical writers once again spoke in a more relative sense. For example, God is described as "from everlasting to everlasting" (Psalm 41:13 NEB), but the Hebrew word for "everlasting" is côlam, which literally means "(practically) eternity," "time out of mind," or "forever," expressing the concept of a really, really long time.19
In any number of examples from the Bible, such superlative terms are obviously used in a limited, relative sense. For instance, Exodus 31:16 says, "The Israelites shall keep the sabbath, they shall keep it in every generation as a covenant for ever" (NEB). Perhaps recognizing the ambiguity in the Hebrew terms used, the evangelical translators of the New International Version (NIV) render the passage, "The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant" (Exodus 31:16-17). So is it "every generation" or "the generations to come"? Were the Israelites to keep this covenant "for ever," or was it just a "lasting covenant"? Incidentally, the salient Hebrew word in this verse is the familiar côlam, the very word the Bible uses to describe God's eternity.
If it weren't for such linguistic ambiguities, Leviticus 16:34 might be especially troubling. "This shall become a rule binding on you for all time, to make for the Israelites once a year the expiation required by all their sins" (NEB). Of course, the NIV translates côlam here so as to make it a "lasting rule" rather than a "rule . . . for all time" or an "everlasting statute" (KJV).
As we can see, the philosophical framework within which Latter-day Saints interpret the scriptural passages describing the attributes of God is widely different from the one used by most mainstream theologians. In addition, a good case can be made to show that the LDS framework is very much like that of the ancient Hebrews and Jewish Christians. And yet, time and time again we will see that Rhodes, like most anti-Mormon writers, seeks to establish some contradiction between the scriptures and LDS doctrine by interpreting scriptural passages within his framework of ideas without taking into account that of the Latter-day Saints or even the biblical writers. In the following responses to his specific criticisms, I will expose this faulty methodology.
"The Only Begotten Son"
Rhodes's first target is the LDS view of the virgin birth, and here he shows not only a lack of understanding with respect to the LDS interpretive backdrop but also a willingness to twist the words of his LDS sources to make them sound offensive to evangelical ears. In order to justify his assertion that Latter-day Saints believe Jesus "was begotten through sexual relations between a flesh-and-bone Heavenly Father and Mary" (p. 121), he quotes several unofficial statements of LDS leaders, justifying himself by showing that Latter-day Saints consider the words of the living prophets as scripture—despite the distinctly antifundamentalist view of scripture held by the Latter-day Saints.20 In any case, even while expanding the field of sources for "official" LDS doctrine, Rhodes can't seem to provide any compelling evidence to make his case. What he does provide is a long series of statements by LDS leaders to the effect that Jesus is the literal, biological Son of the Father in the flesh. But this is simply a by-product of our understanding of God the Father as an anthropomorphic being with a flesh-and-bone body (the Father was the source of Jesus' Y chromosome) and says nothing about the mechanics of conception. For instance, Rhodes quotes Bruce R. McConkie and James E. Talmage to this effect, but what did they actually say about the mechanics of Jesus' conception? Talmage says he was begotten "not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof."21 McConkie says:
How and by what means and through whose instrumentality does such a conception come? . . .
. . . When God is involved, he uses his minister, the Holy Ghost, to overshadow the future mother and to carry her away in the Spirit. She shall conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and God himself shall be the sire. . . . A son is begotten by a father: whether on earth or in heaven it is the same.22
These descriptions do not go beyond what the scriptures affirm, no matter what seamy innuendos Rhodes wants to pull out of them.23
He seems puzzled (see pp. 122-23) by McConkie's statement that "Our Lord is the only mortal person ever born to a virgin, because he is the only person who ever had an immortal Father."24 But then, if a resurrected, exalted man can transport himself through solid walls and leave them intact (see Luke 24:36-40), I see no reason why Jesus' conception could not have left Mary truly still a "virgin." Thus, President Ezra Taft Benson could say both that "Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the most literal sense"25 and that "his mortal mother, Mary, was called a virgin, both before and after she gave birth. (See 1 Nephi 11:20.)"26 I do not pretend to know (as Rhodes does) what anyone's private speculations about the particular mode of conception might have been. However, Latter-day Saints have generally been content not to publicly speculate about such unimportant topics, and we see attempts like Rhodes's to "fill in the blanks" for us as rather silly. (Incidentally, we would also see attempts to definitively explain how Jesus transported himself through a solid wall without specific revelation on the subject as silly.)
This discussion of Jesus' conception brings up the important question of how Jesus is uniquely the "Son of God." Mormons equate Jesus' unique Sonship with his incarnation. That is, he is the only son of God with respect to the flesh (see Mosiah 15:3), but one of many children of God with respect to his spirit (see Abraham 3:22-25). In addition, he was uniquely the Son of God even before his incarnation because he "was foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20; cf. Ether 3:14; How Wide the Divide? 136) to his calling. Thus, while Latter-day Saints connect Jesus' unique Sonship with the incarnation, we believe it is proper to refer to him as the "Only Begotten" even in the premortal existence. Mainstream Christians, on the other hand, believe that Jesus has always existed as the Son within the Trinity, "eternally generated" from the Father,27 and they do not specifically connect Jesus' unique Sonship to the incarnation.
Rhodes uses several scriptures (Hebrews 1:2; Colossians 1:13-14, 17; and John 8:54-58) to conclude that Jesus existed as "the Son of God" before the incarnation (p. 125). As we have seen, he is missing the point. Likewise, when he trots out passages from the Book of Mormon (such as 2 Nephi 27:23; 29:7, 9; Mosiah 3:5, 8) in support of the eternal nature of Jesus Christ as God, he simply ignores the LDS (and ancient Hebrew) usage of words like eternity. He also expends a great deal of effort showing that Greek terms such as firstborn and Only-Begotten don't necessarily require the interpretation the Latter-day Saints give them (see pp. 124–27), but he does not acknowledge Stephen Robinson's demonstration (see How Wide the Divide? 138-39) that the LDS view reflects a legitimate interpretation of such words.
One argument Rhodes uses is the following:
Many Mormons, including Stephen Robinson, appeal to Psalm 2:7 in an attempt to prove that Jesus was begotten of the Father. However, Acts 13:33, 34 makes such a view impossible, for this passage teaches that Jesus' resurrection from the dead by the Father is a fulfillment of the statement in Psalm 2:7, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." (p. 124)
This is a legitimate point if the object is to establish that begotten was sometimes used in a more symbolic sense. However, I fail to grasp why this passage would be any more troubling for Latter-day Saints than for evangelicals, who believe Jesus is "eternally begotten." The resurrection of Jesus represents the complete fulfillment of his incarnation, so this passage fits very well with the LDS understanding indeed. In fact, the LDS interpretation receives significant historical support. For example, J. N. D. Kelly, commenting on a passage from Ignatius of Antioch (ca. A.D. 110, reputed to have been a disciple of John), says this: "His divine Sonship dates from the incarnation. . . . In tracing His divine Sonship to His conception in Mary's womb, he was simply reproducing a commonplace of pre-Origenist theology; the idea did not convey, and was not intended to convey, any denial of His pre-existence."28
Jesus as Creator
Rhodes's strongest argument against the LDS view that Jesus is one of a number of spirit children of God is his use of Colossians 1:16-17: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Rhodes comments, "The words 'thrones,' 'dominions,' 'principalities,' and 'powers' were words used by rabbinical Jews in biblical times to describe different orders of angels (see Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 2:10, 15)" (p. 127). Thus if Jesus created the angels, he couldn't possibly be their "spirit brother."
I can certainly see how one might read the passage in this way, but in fact its meaning is not so cut-and-dried. For instance, Romans 8:38 actually separates "angels" from "principalities and powers," and thus seems to militate against Rhodes's argument for the rabbinical interpretation: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come . . ." Other passages are ambiguous in meaning (see Colossians 2:10, 15; Ephesians 1:21), while some Rhodes fails to mention specifically speak of the "principalities and powers" of this world (see Luke 12:11; Romans 13:1; Ephesians 6:12; and Titus 3:1). Furthermore, the very passage in question seems not to include spirits among Christ's creations. Paul goes on in Colossians 1:20-21, "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled." Does Paul here include Satan and his angels when he says Christ has reconciled "all things" in heaven and earth to himself? I think not. Again, Paul does not even seem to include the spirits of men among the "all things" Christ created, since he sets them apart by saying, "And you . . .," referring of course to believing Christians. He couldn't have included unbelievers in the "reconciliation"; otherwise, he wouldn't have qualified the prospects of reconciliation for his audience: "If ye continue in the faith . . ." (Colossians 1:23).
Let us also consider our interpretation and Rhodes's argument within the broader context: the nature of creation. According to the earliest Jewish and Christian belief, God doesn't "create" out of nothing. In his 1990 presidential address to the British Association for Jewish Studies, Peter Hayman asserted the following:
Nearly all recent studies on the origin of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo have come to the conclusion that this doctrine is not native to Judaism, is nowhere attested in the Hebrew Bible, and probably arose in Christianity in the second century C.E. in the course of its fierce battle with Gnosticism. The one scholar who continues to maintain that the doctrine is native to Judaism, namely Jonathan Goldstein, thinks that it first appears at the end of the first century C.E., but has recently conceded the weakness of his position in the course of debate with David Winston.29
Gerhard May has convincingly shown that where these early texts say God created out of "nothing" or "non-being," etc., they were using a common ancient idiom to say that "something new, something that was not there before, comes into being; whether this something new comes through a change in something that was already there, or whether it is something absolutely new, is beside the question."30 For instance, the Greek writer Xenophon wrote that parents "bring forth their children out of non-being."31 Philo of Alexandria wrote that Moses and Plato were in agreement in accepting a preexistent material, but also that God brings things "out of nothing into being" or "out of non-being."32 Therefore, in view of this common usage and the many explicit statements by ancient authors regarding preexistent matter, we must rule out a belief in creatio ex nihilo unless such a belief is explicitly stated. We do not find such explicit statements anywhere until the mid-second century with the Gnostic teacher Basilides and later the Christian apologists Tatian and Theophilus of Antioch.33
Clearly, when Paul said that Christ created "all things," the apostle did so in a sense limited by his underlying interpretive framework. Likewise, the Latter-day Saints often say Christ created "all things" but limit this statement to the material universe.
The Divine Names
Four names or titles are commonly used to denote God in the Old Testament: El ("God"), Elohim ("God" or "gods"), Elyon ("Most High"), and Yahweh (equivalent to "Jehovah").34 Most mainline Christians see all these designations as referring to one divine being. However, Latter-day Saint usage is much more complicated. On one hand, the divine names can refer to specific persons; for example, El or Elohim usually refers to the Father, and Yahweh usually refers to the Son. On the other hand, they have also been used as titles in reference to more than one divine person. Both the Father and the Son have been called "Jehovah" (D&C 109:34, 42, 68; 110:3). For instance, Joseph Smith said, "Let us plead the justice of our cause; trusting in the arm of Jehovah, the Eloheim, who sits enthroned in the heavens."35 The Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible passages that link Yahweh with Elohim or Elyon (see, for example, Isaiah 43:12-13; 45:21-22) refer to a "divine investiture of authority"; there the Son is allowed to speak in the first person as the Father.36 Thus where Moses says, "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4), Latter-day Saints see the phrase as an expression of the perfect unity of the Godhead.
Rhodes apparently does not understand the nuances of LDS use of these terms and lists a series of Bible passages in which Jehovah and Elohim are equated. "The Mormon doctrine can easily be debunked by verses in the Bible which demonstrate that Elohim and Jehovah are one and the same God" (p. 129).
But consider the following passage found in both the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint versions of Deuteronomy: "When the Most High parcelled out the nations, when he dispersed all mankind, he laid down the boundaries of every people according to the number of the sons of God; but the Lord's [Yahweh's] share was his own people, Jacob was his allotted portion" (Deuteronomy 32:8-9 NEB).37 Based on this and other passages, some Bible scholars now conclude that the Israelites originally believed El to be the high God and Yahweh to be the chief among the "sons of El"—the second God and chief archangel who had special responsibility for Israel.38
Certainly belief in two Gods is a debated point and beyond the scope of this review, but it is beyond debate that this was a standard early Christian interpretation of the passage. As late as the fourth century, the great historian and bishop Eusebius of Caesarea could write, "In these words [Deuteronomy 32:8] surely he names first the Most High God, the Supreme God of the Universe, and then as Lord His Word, Whom we call Lord in the second degree after the God of the Universe."39 A similar interpretation of these verses is found in the Jewish Christian Clementine Recognitions, in which Peter says, "But to the one among the archangels who is greatest, was committed the government of those who, before all others, received the worship and knowledge of the Most High God. . . . Thus the princes of the several nations are called gods. But Christ is God of princes, who is Judge of all."40 Indeed, according to Margaret Barker, in a number of Jewish Apocalyptic texts there are actually two Yahwehs. Both the High God and principal angel are so designated.41
Clearly the LDS use of the divine names is complicated, so it is perhaps comprehensible that Ron Rhodes would misunderstand. However, it is equally clear that the LDS use has unambiguous precedents in ancient Jewish and Christian writings.
The Oneness of the Godhead
One feature of the New Testament all Christians must come to terms with is that in some passages the Father is represented as "the only true God" (John 17:3), while in others the Son and Holy Spirit are also called "God" (John 1:1; 14:26; Acts 13:2). How can this apparent contradiction be resolved? We can readily see that two disparate definitions of God must lead to different conclusions regarding this question.
In harmony with their definition of God as an indivisible, eternal, unchanging spiritual "essence," mainstream Christians like Rhodes say that the members of the Trinity are separate "persons" who share a single "Divine Being." All three persons have always existed in the same relationship to one another, and no hierarchy exists within the Trinity. That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not differ in rank or glory. On the other hand, Latter-day Saints believe the members of the Godhead are separate beings, and so in a sense we believe in more than one God. However, Latter-day Saints also speak of "one God" in two senses. First, the Godhead is "one" in will, purpose, love, and covenant. Second, the Father is the absolute monarch of the known Universe, and all others are subject to him.
Rhodes disputes the LDS view of the divine unity in two ways. First, he disputes the subordinationist interpretation we apply to John 14:28, where Jesus says, "My Father is greater than I." Rhodes comments,
In response, we must point out that Jesus in John 14:28 is not speaking about His nature or His essential being (Christ had earlier said "I and the Father are one" in this regard—John 10:30), but is rather speaking of His lowly position in the incarnation. Simply put, Christ is "equal" to the Father in regard to His Godhood but "inferior" to the Father in regard to His manhood. . . . During the time of the incarnation, Jesus functioned in the world of humanity, and this of necessity involved Jesus being positionally lower than the Father. (pp. 130-31)
Furthermore, he adds that while the Father is said to be "greater" than Jesus, Jesus is said to be "better" than the angels (Hebrews 1:4), underscoring the idea that Jesus is "positionally" subordinate to the Father, but "by nature" above the angels (p. 131).
Certainly Rhodes reads quite a lot into the terms greater and better, but, more important, he again appears to misunderstand, or at least misapply, the nuances of LDS theology. In our system, to say that Jesus is subordinate to the Father in rank and glory implies absolutely nothing about his "essential nature." Mormons see gods, angels, and men as having the same "essential nature," as Rhodes appears to realize (p. 120). Since we do not equate "God" with some indivisible, eternally unchanging spirit essence, it makes perfect sense to call more than one person "God" and consider them to differ in rank and glory.
And in fact, the pre-Nicene church (excluding the Modalist heretics) universally held this view, even after the Greek concept of God was adopted. Kelly of Oxford University notes that even at the Council of Nicea, the majority party believed "that there are three divine hypostases [or persons], separate in rank and glory but united in harmony of will."42 Richard Hansen writes, "Indeed, until Athanasius began writing, every single theologian, East and West, had postulated some form of Subordinationism. It could, about the year 300, have been described as a fixed part of catholic theology."43 Henry Bettenson writes that "'Subordinationism' . . . was pre-Nicene orthodoxy."44
This doctrine took various forms, depending on the particular concept of God involved. Within Jewish Christianity, where God was often conceived of as having a body in human form, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were described both as gods, worthy of worship, and the chief among the archangels.45 (For instance, see the passage from the Clementine Recognitions quoted above.) While Latter-day Saints generally do not refer to the Son and Spirit as "angels," such a designation is consistent with our belief that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and all angels and men are "sons of God" (Job 38:7), differing in degree and power, but not in essential nature.
An early second-century Jewish Christian document, the Shepherd of Hermas, speaks of "the angel of the prophetic Spirit"46 and of Jesus as the "'glorious . . . angel' or 'most venerable . . . angel.'"47 Justin Martyr (ca. A.D. 150) wrote that Jesus is "another God [Gk deuteros theos = 'second God'] subject to the Maker of all things . . . who is . . . distinct from Him who made all things—numerically, I mean, not [distinct] in will."48 He designated the Son as "this power which the prophetic word calls God . . . and Angel"49 and followed in the same vein: "We reverence and worship Him and the Son who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the host of other good angels who are about Him and are made quite like Him, and the Prophetic Spirit."50 Justin Martyr also maintained that the Son is "in the second place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third."51
Many other examples could be cited, but it is important to note that this "angel Christology" was not some aberration but was derived from various Bible passages that refer to "the Angel of Yahweh," who is in fact Yahweh himself.52 For example, in Judges 13 the "angel of Yahweh" appears to Manoah and his wife. When he disappears, Manoah says, "We are doomed to die, we have seen God" (Judges 13:22 NEB). Even more interesting is the frequency with which Yahweh and the two angels who appeared to Abraham (see Genesis 18–19) are called "men."53
Rhodes also objects to the LDS understanding of the divine unity on the basis of his idiosyncratic interpretation of the "oneness" passages in John's Gospel (see pp. 132-33). He asserts that John's claim that Jesus and the Father are "one" (John 10:30-33; 17:21-24) clearly means a oneness of nature: the Jews were prepared to stone Jesus for saying this because he was "claiming to be God" (p. 132). "But the context of John 17:21—where Jesus prayed that the disciples may be one 'just as you [Father] are in me and I am in you'—is entirely different. In this context, the Greek word for 'one' refers to unity among people in the midst of their diversity" (p. 133, emphasis and brackets in original). On the contrary, Jesus' statement that the oneness of his disciples was ideally to be "just as you [Father] are in me and I am in you" is the only clear comparison of anything in the Bible with the divine unity. The "context" in which we are supposed to understand the ideal unity of Jesus' disciples is directly supplied by Jesus. It is the divine unity itself!
Rhodes's discussion of Matthew 28:19 is equally mistaken. Is it really so significant that Jesus is said to baptize in "the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (NEB)? Does the fact that the Godhead is referred to as having a single "name" really mean they are a single being? Equating oneness of name with oneness of being overlooks the common ancient and modern usage where someone's "name" is equated with his or her "authority." Someone could say, "I come in the name of the King," just as Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:43). So also, Christ's ministers baptize by the authority of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is a single authority and power.
If nothing else, it should be clear that the LDS interpretation of the divine unity is quite possible, given the information in the Bible, and in fact this interpretation receives significantly more historical support from the earliest Christian documents than does the alternative Rhodes supports.
The "Two Natures" of Christ
The foregoing discussion of the "nature" of Christ relative to God, angels, and men brings up another of Rhodes's objections. He complains:
Stephen Robinson in the book How Wide the Divide? [p. 83] makes reference to the "unbiblical doctrine of the two natures in Christ, which was added to historic Christianity by the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451." While the Chalcedon Creed does teach the doctrine of the two natures of Christ, this creed does not constitute the origin of the doctrine. Contrary to Mormons, this doctrine is not something that is foreign to Scripture; it is derived directly from its pages. (p. 134, emphasis in original)
He goes on to argue that "Throughout Scripture we find constant witness to the fact that the incarnate Christ possessed both a human and a divine nature" (p. 134). Here he apparently misunderstands what Robinson was asserting and uses this distorted interpretation to perpetuate the falsehood that Mormons do not think of Christ as truly divine.
Of course, the Council of Chalcedon wasn't the origin of the doctrine of two natures—the councils did not bring doctrines into existence ex nihilo. The doctrine of two natures was that Jesus' divine nature is the omnipresent "spirit essence" the Hellenized Christians defined as God, and since this essence is "without body, parts, or passions," it cannot have been the part of Jesus that underwent suffering, emotion, and death. Thus Jesus must have possessed a human body and soul in addition to his divine nature. The original doctrine, on the other hand, was what Kelly discusses as a spirit Christology.54 That is, the Word entered a human body, just as other men's spirits do. As Ignatius of Antioch (ca. A.D. 110) put it, "God the Word did dwell in a human body, being within it as the Word, even as the soul also is in the body."55
Clearly the original formulation could not last once the Hellenistic view of God was universally adopted. Evangelical scholar John Sanders explains how the change was accomplished:
In the East the Cappadocian fathers (Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus) [late fourth century] helped to shape the orthodox belief on the incarnation. They agreed with the Arians that the divine nature was impassible, immutable, illimitable and transcended all characteristics. However, using the newly developed doctrine of the two natures of Christ (human and divine), they were able to rebut the charge that the suffering of Christ implied that the Son was not of the same substance as the Father. The Son, sharing the divine substance, was incapable of change. Since Jesus is both the Son of God and human, and since only the human nature of Christ underwent change, it could be argued that the Son was fully God. This became the orthodox answer to the Arian challenge.56
The Atonement of Jesus Christ
Rhodes's final significant attack on LDS doctrine is a travesty. He actually contends that Latter-day Saints believe Jesus atoned only for the effects of Adam's transgression but not for our personal sins (see pp. 135-36). An exchange of several e-mails with Ron Rhodes57 did not clarify matters, and he still claims, "Having read many Mormon resources, I believe that what is in our book is an accurate representation and summary of Mormon belief on the atonement."
He supports his contention by appealing to a few passages from LDS literature which say that because of Christ's atonement, we are only responsible for our own sins and not Adam's. For instance, Rhodes quotes (see p. 135) LeGrand Richards, who says that Jesus "atoned for Adam's sin, leaving us responsible only for our own sins."58 But doesn't Rhodes believe we are responsible for our personal sins? Otherwise, why do countercultists such as Rhodes spend so much of their time and effort announcing that everyone else is going to hell? In addition, mainstream Christians have traditionally believed that we are all responsible for Adam's sin as well, so I fail to see how the LDS view denies the efficacy of the atonement. The truth is that both evangelicals and Mormons believe we are responsible for our personal sins but that through the atonement of Christ, we can be cleansed from sin (see 2 Nephi 25:23; Omni 1:26; Mosiah 3:11; 13:28; 16:13; Alma 22:14; 24:13; 33:22; 34:8, 10-12; 36:17; 42:15; Moroni 7:26, 38; 10:26; D&C 3:20; 18:22-23; 20:29; 29:1; and Articles of Faith 3-4). This cleansing is conditioned upon individual faith, although evangelicals and Mormons may have some disagreements over what true faith entails.
How could Rhodes make such a palpably false claim? He writes, "The official Gospel Principles manual tells us that Jesus 'became our savior and he did his part to help us return to our heavenly home. It is now up to each of us to do our part and to become worthy of exaltation'" (p. 135). And yet, if Rhodes had bothered to flip through chapter 12, "The Atonement," in the same book, he might have noticed section headings like "Christ Was the Only One Who Could Atone for Our Sins" and "The Atonement Makes It Possible for Those Who Repent to Be Saved from Their Sins."
Daniel Peterson recently exposed an obvious instance of plagiarism by Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine,59 so I decided to spot-check a few of Rhodes's LDS sources that I happened to have on my bookshelf. While I found no obvious evidence of plagiarism in my check, I did find clear evidence that Rhodes lifted some of his quotations from other secondary anti-LDS writings without bothering to consult the original sources for accuracy or even to cite his secondary sources.60 For instance, he twice (supposedly) quotes Doctrine and Covenants 93:21-23 in the following manner. "Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father" (p. 120). A few pages later, he again claims to be quoting those verses: "the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father" (p. 125). While he has perhaps given an adequate paraphrase of those verses, he has not even come close to a direct quotation. The same phenomenon appears in his supposed quotation of a passage from page 193 of Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine (1966 ed.). "The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind" (p. 120). Now, on page 193 of Mormon Doctrine we do indeed find part of an article on "the Devil," and Rhodes's "quotation" is actually a reasonable paraphrase of some of the information there. However, it is not a quotation of anything on that page, nor even in the same article, and in fact comes from a book by Milton R. Hunter.61 Similarly, he quotes (see p. 123) Bruce R. McConkie: "Our Lord is the only mortal person ever born to a virgin, because he is the only person who ever had an immortal Father" and cites page 745 of Mormon Doctrine (1966 ed.). While there is an article on "Sons of God" on that page, the quotation actually comes from the "Virgin Birth" article on page 822.
I could add other examples,62 but what makes Rhodes's carelessness even more baffling is that in at least one instance (see p. 122) he cites a secondary, anti-Mormon book for a quotation of an obscure LDS source, a comment by Brigham Young in an 1866 edition of the Deseret News. But the above examples are taken from sources one would find in any LDS bookstore, LDS bookshelf, or even in most public libraries! Are we to believe that Rhodes, a professional critic of the church, does not even have a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants on his bookshelf? If not, he could have looked up a copy on the Internet. And yet, in an e-mail to me Rhodes adamantly claimed, "Of course I read Robinson's book and the other sources mentioned in our book."
To clarify, what bothers me so much about Rhodes's research is not that he lifted quotations from secondary sources without attribution. My problem is that those secondary sources were apparently unreliable and have given Ron Rhodes a distorted view of LDS belief. And although he may have personally consulted reliable sources—for example, the Gospel Principles manual—he evidently did so only in search of quotations to support his distorted views. Otherwise, why would Rhodes have quoted Gospel Principles in his section on "The Atonement of Jesus Christ" to support a point that directly contradicts the chapter called "The Atonement" in the same book?
The foregoing discussion illustrates why anti-Mormon writers like Rhodes have never gained, and will never gain, a significant audience among the Latter-day Saints. He criticizes before trying to understand and in fact makes it abundantly clear that he does not understand what he criticizes. His methods are so careless that it takes only ten minutes of flipping through readily available books to expose them. He reproduces many of the same arguments that have been answered over and over by the Latter-day Saints and acts as if there can be no counterarguments. In short, he thinks we are so amazingly dense as to believe in a system of theology that can be brought tumbling down by a few biblical proof texts and quotations lifted from other such countercult literary gems.
This also serves to illustrate why Latter-day Saints have received How Wide the Divide? so well. It is not that we all agree with everything Stephen Robinson said or that we think he "won" the debate with Craig Blomberg. We have simply been starving for some resource that can serve as a catalyst for meaningful conversations with our evangelical neighbors. We are tired of having to clear up dozens of bizarre misconceptions (like Rhodes's version of the LDS atonement) at the outset of every single conversation with these people. In addition, I believe the book has done quite a bit to clear up several misconceptions Mormons typically have about evangelicals.
As I stated in my introduction, Rhodes's chapter does have some redeeming features in that he produces a few cogent arguments for the evangelical position that were not stated by Craig Blomberg. Therefore, although not very useful for the Latter-day Saint, this work is not completely worthless.
1.According to his Web page, home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/RonRhodes.html, Rhodes is the president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries and an adjunct professor of theology at Biola University, Southern Evangelical Seminary, and Golden Gate Seminary. He has a Th.D. in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and has been an associate editor of the Christian Research Journal.
2. See, for example, Edwin Hatch, The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church (1914; reprint, Gloucester, Mass.: Smith, 1970); Jean Daniélou, The Theology of Jewish Christianity, trans. John A. Baker (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964); Jean Daniélou, Gospel Message and Hellenistic Culture, trans. John A. Baker (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1973); Adolf von Harnack, History of Dogma, trans. Neil Buchanan, 7 vols. (New York: Dover, 1961); Harry A. Wolfson, The Philosophy of the Church Fathers, vol. 1, rev. 3rd ed. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970); James Shiel, Greek Thought and the Rise of Christianity (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1968); Christopher Stead, Philosophy in Christian Antiquity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
3. John Sanders, "Historical Considerations," in Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, John Sanders, William Hasker, and David Basinger, The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994), 60.
5. For recent discussions of this phenomenon from an LDS perspective, see Barry R. Bickmore, Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity (Ben Lomond, Calif.: Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 1999); Richard R. Hopkins, How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian Concept of God (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon, 1998).
10. For instance, Sanders, "Historical Considerations," 72, writes, "Despite different attitudes taken by the fathers toward philosophy, the influence of Greek philosophical notions of God is universal, even among those who 'repudiate' philosophy."
17. See the following from Jewish Christian documents: Clementine Homilies 16.19 and 17.7, in ANF, 8:316, 319-20; Apocalypse of Abraham 19, in H. F. D. Sparks, The Apocryphal Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1984), 382.
20. Rhodes quotes Brigham Young (see p. 119), saying that any of his sermons are as good as any scripture in the Bible. However, he fails to recognize that Latter-day Saints have an extremely broad view of "scripture." For instance, Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 says in relation to any priesthood holder, "And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture." In fact, in our view even our canonized scriptures are not free from the "mistakes of men" (see the title page of the Book of Mormon). Especially relevant is the following comment by Brigham Young: "I am so far from believing that any government upon this earth has constitutions and laws that are perfect, that I do not even believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church, that is perfect in its fulness. The revelations of God contain correct doctrine and principle, so far as they go; but it is impossible for the poor, weak, low, grovelling, sinful inhabitants of the earth to receive a revelation from the Almighty in all its perfections." Journal of Discourses, 2:314.
In fact, one of the passages Rhodes quotes is the following, excluding the last sentence: "I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture. Let me have the privilege of correcting a sermon, and it is as good Scripture as they deserve." Journal of Discourses, 13:95. Clearly President Young did not mean that his sermons were "inerrant" in the fundamentalist sense. Therefore, although we believe the inspired words of our prophets are "scripture," we do not believe that all "scripture" is inerrant or that everything our leaders say is perfectly inspired. This is why we have a process of canonization in place to distinguish official doctrine and practice from what is not. The church as a body recognizes what is spoken by inspiration when we are "moved upon by the Holy Ghost" ourselves, and we canonize the most important and universally applicable of these statements. For an excellent discussion of this principle, see J. Reuben Clark Jr., "When Are Church Leaders' Words Entitled to Claim of Scripture?" in Brent L. Top, Larry E. Dahl, and Walter D. Bowen, Follow the Living Prophets (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1993), 225-42. Personally, I see no problem with critics of the church critiquing unofficial statements of LDS leaders. However, they cannot expect to get away with passing them off as something that they are not and that we never claimed them to be.
23. Rhodes also quotes Orson Pratt and Brigham Young, who say that the Father must have been married to Mary at the time of Jesus' conception (pp. 121-22). Certainly these are more suggestive (and speculative) than any of the other quotations Rhodes provides, but they still do not necessarily enlighten us about how Pratt and Young thought the conception of Jesus physically occurred. Furthermore, Rhodes cites Brigham Young's statement from an 1866 edition of the Deseret News and Pratt's from The Seer. By what stretch of the imagination does he characterize these as "official" teachings?
29. Peter Hayman, "Monotheism—A Misused Word in Jewish Studies?" Journal of Jewish Studies 42 (1991): 3. See Jonathan A. Goldstein, "The Origins of the Doctrine of Creation Ex Nihilo," Journal of Jewish Studies 35 (1984): 127-35; Jonathan A. Goldstein, "Creation Ex Nihilo: Recantations and Restatements," Journal of Jewish Studies 38 (1987): 187-94; David Winston, "Creation Ex Nihilo Revisited: A Reply to Jonathan Goldstein," Journal of Jewish Studies 37 (1986): 88-91.
33. See Frances Young, "'Creatio Ex Nihilo': A Context for the Emergence of the Christian Doctrine of Creation," Scottish Journal of Theology 44 (1991): 141. Even as late as the turn of the third century, Tertullian had to take the more ancient usage into account when arguing for the new doctrine. "And even if they were made out of some (previous) matter, as some will have it, they are even thus out of nothing, because they were not what they are." Tertullian, Against Marcion 2.5, in ANF, 3:301.
The only evangelical response to this work I have seen is by a graduate student at Marquette University, Paul Copan. Copan challenges May's assertion that creatio ex nihilo is a postbiblical invention, but in fact does not deal with May's primary evidence—the description by ancient authors of creation as "out of nothing" where preexistent matter is clearly presupposed. Paul Copan, "Is Creatio Ex Nihilo a Post-Biblical Invention? An Examination of Gerhard May's Proposal," Trinity Journal 17NS (1996): 77-93.
35. History of the Church, 5:94. Likewise, Brigham Young spoke the following with reference to the Father: "We obey the Lord, Him who is called Jehovah, the Great I AM, I am a man of war, Elohim, etc." Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 12:99.
38. See, for example, Otto Eissfeldt, "El and Yahweh," Journal of Semitic Studies 1 (1956): 25-30; Margaret Barker, The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster, 1992). For a good summary of the current scholarly debate, see Larry W. Hurtado, "What Do We Mean by 'First-Century Jewish Monotheism'?" in Society of Biblical Literature 1993 Seminar Papers, ed. E. H. Lovering Jr. (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993), 348-68.
43. Richard Hansen, "The Achievement of Orthodoxy in the Fourth Century A.D.," in The Making of Orthodoxy: Essays in Honour of Henry Chadwick, ed. Rowan Williams (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 153.
50. Justin Martyr, First Apology 6, in William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1970), 1:51. Father Jurgens insists that this is the correct translation of Justin's statement and admits that here Justin "apparently [made] insufficient distinction between Christ and the created angels." Father Jurgens continues, "There are theological difficulties in the above passage, no doubt. But we wonder if those who make a great deal of these difficulties do not demand of Justin a theological sophistication which a man of his time and background could not rightly be expected to have." Jurgens, Faith of the Early Fathers, 1:56 n. 1. "This passage presents us with considerable difficulties. The word 'other,' used in relation to the angels, suggests that Jesus himself is an angel." Robert M. Grant, The Early Christian Doctrine of God (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1966), 81.
59. See appendix 1 in Daniel C. Peterson, "Constancy amid Change," review of Behind the Mask of Mormonism, by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, in FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 60-98. The example of plagiarism occurs in Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1995).
60. An instance of this sort of thing in Rhodes and Bodine's book was exposed in Daniel C. Peterson, "Editor's Introduction: Triptych (Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch)," FARMS Review of Books 8/1 (1996): v-xlv.
61. Since the book Daniel Peterson caught Rhodes and Bodine plagiarizing was Marvin W. Cowan's Mormon Claims Answered, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: Cowan, 1989), I decided to look through the online version of this book at Jerald and Sandra Tanner's Utah Lighthouse Ministry Web site, www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/mclaimscontents.htm. I found this exact quotation in chapter 2, in the section on Jesus Christ. However, Cowan cites Milton R. Hunter's Gospel through the Ages, 15. Indeed, I found the same quotation scattered through quite a number of anti-Mormon documents, but always attributed to Milton Hunter. We may never know the exact path this quotation took to reach Rhodes, but it seems clear that there has been some judicious "borrowing" of quotations, along with some garbling en route, among the anti-Mormon community.
62. For instance, on page 123 Rhodes quotes Orson Hyde as saying that Jesus was likely married to Mary, Martha, and "the other Mary"; he gives Journal of Discourses, 13:259, as his source. His quotation is accurate, but in fact is taken from Journal of Discourses, 4:259. Similarly, he quotes Brigham Young on page 119, citing Journal of Discourses, 13:254, but the correct reference is Journal of Discourses, 13:264. In another instance (p. 121), he cites Mosiah 4:3 as a reference for LDS beliefs about the "war in heaven," although the passage has nothing whatever to do with the subject. Rhodes likely lifted this from a secondary source and mistook an abbreviation for Moses 4:3 (Mos. 4:3) as referring to Mosiah. Either he has been lifting quotations without checking or attributing them, or he is extremely careless about copying down references. | <urn:uuid:855905a0-dd33-48b5-b3fc-dde2967ea22e> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1451&index=14 | 2015-03-31T09:45:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00144-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956738 | 12,814 |
Welcome Comrades to the 25th Edition of the ConquerClub Dispatch!
Well it's been 1 year since the newsletter started and 25 editions of the newsletter have been pumped out. It's been interesting watching the newsletter evolve as it has, we started with 5 or 6 people, and now we have more than 20 people and going stronger than ever before. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the newsletter in the past year and thanks to all who will contribute this year, the newsletter would not be where it is today without your commitment and dedication. Also i'd like to thank our readers, you are the reason we keep publishing the newsletter so thanks for your support over the past year.
Tell all your friends to subscribe!
Editor in Chief
Welcome to the 25th edition of this newsletter and it is another jam packed edition for the mess hall. This fortnight we are providing you with have the latest hot topics with
ARMY of GOD
, an analysis of the assault odds calculator plugin by
, more about the nuclear spoils feature by
and some valentines day advice, CC style from
. If that isn't enough, we also have an interview with everyones favourite off-topic poster
, another tale from the elf and a story for all those who have suffered from bad dice by
. Hope you enjoy it!
Nagerous Hot Topics by ARMY of GOD
Hot Topics: 1. Huzzah! The longest thread, thread is FINALLY the longest thread on Conquer Club! 2. Qwert is advertising for some advertising! 3. Hurry! Some people think "New Moon" is the best movie of 2009! 4. Congrats to myself for advertising the General Congratulations thread! 5. Talking about McGill University's social usergroup in the Newsletter was invented by Army of GOD on February 8th, 2010. Plug-ins and Addons: Assault Odds by Minister Masket
So you've come round to the fact that you're not being cheated by the dice. Excellent. Now you want to get down to the business of winning all those games you joined. Unfortunately, the luck factor means you can't win every game, but there are things you can do to increase your chances. Take the " Assault Odds" calculator for example. Now before I start (and if you're interested), do open up the link at the bottom in a new tab or window, because - like the Dice Analyser - it's fairly visual based, so you'll understand the description better if you're looking at the thing. Done? Good. For starters, ignore everything but the top three rows. This is the "Quick Calculator" part, and it very handily calculates the odds of success against your opponent(s), as opposed to you doing a quick number-crunch in your head and then subsequentially wondering where it all went wrong. Take the example already there on the calculator. An attacking army of 5 against a defending one of 3 has a 64.2% chance of success. The calculator automatically saves your entries to save you typing them out again, and if you need more, you can click the "Add Calc" button just underneath to add more blank rows. You even get a grand total percentage of winning all the battles you add in. Now what is that comma doing seperating the 8 and the 4 in the second row? Well that's how you add armies from different territories to the calculation, and it works with defenders too. Below this we have the "Pathfinder" section. Whereas the QC works best for single battles, the Pathfinder calculates your odds of successfully attacking a sequence of territories in the same turn. So firstly you choose the territory you're attacking from from the dropdown menu, then add your army number in brackets. Then you choose the valid bordering territory and add it's defenders. This one step will calculate the odds anyway, and you can add your next moves in the rows below. When you're done, you'll be presented with a total percentage of your chance of winning the lot. Finally, at the bottom we have the "Statistics" part. This will use your calculation from the QC part to tell you how many of your attackers are likely to survive, both in "minimum" and "exactly" columns. Don't get too attached to this part though. They are just numbers after all, not real soldiers. And that's it. For tips and the option to download this, here's the link I really hope you clicked on when I told you to: http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83451 A word of warning however. At the time of writing you can only use this if you are using either Firefox with Greasemonkey or Google Chrome. So if you use IE or another browser, you're buggered. Next time - Clickable Maps! Valentine's Day Advice CC Style by FoxMists
Early last year
a.sub started a thread in General Discussion to work on his pick up lines. (Don’t lie, we all know you were really just looking for tips!) I found this to be an interesting idea and delved into what I thought would be moderately amusing and at least give me a heads up for the real desperate sorts that need this sort of help. Well, I was wrong. I was so very wrong. It was not moderately amusing. It was bloody hilarious and as lame as a one legged rabbit (hey! Not that kind of leg, you pervert!). And you know, it’s that time of year! Valentine’s Day! So I now present to you some of the more memorable pickup lines I came across. ( This will also help you avoid certain… people… if you know what I mean) It turned out that some keywords (and names) were practically required usage. "Want to go back to my place and auto-assault?" AndyDufresne “Hi there, I'm KingHerpes Free.” Jpcloet (Honestly “freestyle” was probably the most common. So common that I couldn’t force myself to add them here… Seriously. Painful.) And then there were the creative sorts: “Map Edition Sweetie, I know you are wondering where our relation is headed, and I've had 8 Thoughts about it. I would like to enter your Forbidden City, but don't want to move too fast causing you to Duck and Cover. This may sound like Madness, but please let me Land, and Sea where it takes us. You have shown me a New World of romance, I used to always just Battle for a rack. We've already tried a manage a trois, so maybe we can Conquer 4 and listen to the Wales. And if you were my Spanish buddy, I would want to Rail you, ese. What? I've been too vulgar? Baby don't go! Okay, well I will CCU later...” sully800 (We are now taking donations for the “Hobbies 4 Sully” fund!) Some people were kinda cute with their lameness. This was much appreciated. “How would you like to travel world together? I was thinking maybe E2, S3 or A12, as they are all so beautiful this time of year.” Jpcloet “It'll be worth the 72 hour ban for the things I want to say and do to you.” GENERAL STONEHAM "Babe, I'm not like the other guys. I don't nuke all over myself." AndyDufresne “You're the rainbow in my spoils...” MrBenn “my cards arent the only things that are escalating right now ” a.sub And we can’t forget the ladies! Top two from the girls? “ whoops, sorry baby, was a slip of the finger on the button" clapper011 (We’re guessing she has heard this line before ) AND, “Hey big guy, if you're UP for it, come over here and show me how good you are at Escalating..” Robinette Well. You gotta love a girl that knows what she wants, huh? If y’all are into self-torture, are ridiculously bored, or just plain sadistic, jump over to the thread and share the wealth! Your lameness will be noted and appreciated by others just like you! A Newt's Tale by elfish_lad
The Attack of the Clicky-Spiders A couple of months ago I wrote about wanting to expand my horizons from 1v1 Speed Crack (Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!) to team games and game variants. Some call them mutants. The game variants even. It's been an interesting couple of months. Here is an example: I am 8 unique wins away from my first freestyle medal. Which doesn't sound that hard... except that I really, really suck at freestyle and haven't gotten the hang of clickies. At all. Cause I suck. Especially on my laptop. With the small screen. And the stupid mouse pad. And the adrenaline kicks in and then I attack a neutral by mistake after deploying my troops 450 kilometers from where I intended and then I fort 3 senior citizens to their Retirement Villa on an island on the other side of the world, well away from any possible danger. At least with clickies I suck really, really quickly. The Elf's First Date But there was another interesting development recently - I was invited to join a clan. Here is how I think that transpired: I was in a late night speed dubs game with some random dude (another aspect of expanding my horizons) and we were getting smoked. Badly. You know those games. Nothing goes right. Oh, you can blame the dice or whatever, but you just know, deep down, at the back of your primordial cortex, no matter what you do, the fates are against you and soon that big dinosaur is going to be using your femur as a tooth pick. Or your primordial spouse is going to bash your head in with that special pointy rock you found. Either way. End of story. But then The Elf is smacked with the inspiration stick. It doesn't usually work that way. Usually I'm in charge of the stupid stick. That night, even after my random partner was removed from the field of battle, we hammered the other team back and won. Thrilling. Seriously. Here was the other team's response to our come-from-behind victory: "fuuuu...dge" It was brief but heart felt I'm sure. Right on suckers! Coming out of that game I think my random partner from that night figured I was good. And handed my name over to a clan leader looking for a good player. Instead they got me. The guy with the stupid stick. But since I didn't have any other invites to the prom I said sure. I hope they don't think I'm a cheap lay! 'Cause I'm not cheap. Kindergarten Zombies Now, this is no reflection on my clan-mates. At all. There are some great players in our clan, including our leader, but I would not be surprised if, in my brief tenure with them, I have recorded only a couple of wins in clan games. But as our clan has been rebuilding and adding a number of mid-ranked players like me here is what I think was happening in our first few games together: we were all reliving the first week of Kindergarten. Your mom drops you off. Another woman with those breast things is there but she doesn't even remotely smell like your mom. You cry for 25 minutes. You realize suddenly that you have just peed your pants. You punch another little boy in the head who just peed himself and won't stop crying. You take a nap. Eat some paint. And as Post My-Parents-Are-Never-Coming-Back Syndrome sets in, you sit on the carpet with 22 other traumatized youngsters, as if you are bit players in a "Dawn of the CC Dead" movie. Moaning, gnawing and drooling ensue. Then you break for lunch. I figure our clan will get better. We just need to eat more finger paint together. Not An Intergalactic Kegger?!?! And all of this leads me to my closing observation: there really are no short-cuts here at CC to being a good clan, or a good team, or a well rounded gamer. Just a lot of games and a lot of working things out. This was brought home to be by a partner in a dubs tournament recently. I made some initial moves and my partner sent me a very helpful PM afterward. In the message he/she laid out some different strategies critiquing some of my early moves. Pretty helpful stuff and in hindsight I realized that I should have seen this myself. But more importantly it was his/her closing words that really struck me: Five. Percent. When I first got here I would have figured that was nothing. After being in The Pit for six months now? Five Percent? Man. That is the world. doing it this way could increase your win % on this map by 5%. Huh. Maybe, just maybe, someday The Elf will give up the stupid stick for good! ~sees the skeptical stares~ Well. An Elf and dream can't he?!?! That's it for me. Off to eat some more finger paint! E. More Nukes by stahrgazer
About those nukes... I mean,
Nuclear Spoils. As players investigate the option, some find the setting disturbingly luck based, some find it requires strategy, and others are still choosing to avoid them as though they're afraid of radioactive fallout. For example, the Conqueror's Cup inter-clan tournament is disallowing nuclear spoils, the same as freestyle and speed settings have been disallowed for previous Clan Ladders. Please do not be confused; the Cup is not part of the Clan Ladder, although there exists a potential that the games will count in the ladder. But back to Nuclear Spoils and a few more facts. With this setting, it becomes more apparent that random deals cards like it does the dice: sometimes a terr comes in batches. Whatever terrs are on the map are part of the entire pool, so it is possible for one terr to show up several times in a game, and even possible for the same terr to show up in several or all players' hands; the odds are the same for any card at any time in the game, although I have yet to hear of one player getting the same card twice in one hand. Another interesting point about Nuclear Spoils is that the in-game statistics reveal more than the log will tell you immediately upon blasting an opponent (or oneself) off the map. The log will merely indicate that a territory was nuked, but the stats display immediately shows the number of territories, now reduced by one because of the nuke. The log will not indicate the terr-count change until the player takes the next turn. There are those who believe this is unfair, or untrue to the intention of the stats, which were placed, prior to the Nuclear Spoils setting, with the intention of revealing no more than the log will indicate. Now, the log may be behind the stats for as much as a full round (if you have unfortunately had to nuke yourself); but eventually the log will catch up to the stats display, indicating that the player who had 12 terrs at the start of his previous turn has 11 terrs at the start of the current turn. Is a one-round (maximum) difference enough to make you wish to change something? If so, you can visit the Nuclear Spoils thread and make your point known. I, on the other hand, believe this to be not much different than the ability to read an "owned" terr being cashed in a fog game; because of the +2 extra deploy, the log reveals information the ?? leaves in..errrr...question: which terrs does an opponent own? While the stats will display the terrcount, the stats do not indicate which terrs, but that bonus recipient lets one say, "Aha! Now I know where you are!" Granted, in that instance, the information is immediate upon the cash but.. well.. the stats info on nuclear spoils is equally immediate upon the cash. The stats were not intended to reveal more than the log; fog setting was intended to make only the number of terrs readable by the log. In both instances, cashing a card can reveal a little more information than was originally intended. And? So? To Nuke or not to Nuke, that is the question. Only you can answer it, for yourself. Bon Bombarding! The Invasion by Deathcomesrippin
For those of us who have suffered through bad dice, this one's for you....
The Invasion Day 7, Dakar Blue looked out over the shoreline. For the last two days, he had been camped here, with five other blues, awaiting instructions. Africa had been secured a few days ago, and the borders set. Across the stretch of ocean, an entire army of red sat at Sao Paulo, unaware of the plans of the warlords who ran the Great Blue War Machine. On day 5, Blue had been a part of the final push to move Green out of the African mainland completely, although word was they had secured Australia, which could prove to be a thorn in their side for the rest of this damned war. His commanding officer, Blue, had mentioned something to the effect of Flaming going on in some chat between Red and Green. Blue Command was looking to capitalize on this, and hoped to be able to place small amounts of reinforcements on Dakar until the time was right. Then, if all went according to plan, there would be a large influx of six, possibly SEVEN, reinforcements, and the true assault on the bastion of Red would begin. A squawk came over the loudspeakers set up over camp, informing all of the troops that it was time to change the watch. Blue looked one last time towards the ocean, wondering what was in store for him in the next few days. Day 10, Dakar: invasion of Sao Paulo The rumble of the motor came from all around him, causing Blue to think for a moment he was in some sort of living hell. The sides of the plane reverberated with rattling of the stores of ammo, foodstuffs, and other such items, creating a cacophony of clanging and banging. Blue Sergeant stood tall, and told the men about him that this moment would be the turning point, the first of many defeats for their enemies across the water, Red. All told, there were 14 blues on board, a frightening army considering Red's defences was a paltry 6. They were caught completely off guard by this assault. Whispers ran through the ranks of Red being led by a n00b general, a Cook maybe. Blue Command, of course, would never verify those rumours, but a refusal to answer was good enough for the troops. Blue gathered his gear. The final light went off, and the rear door of the plane opened. Below them, there was a field of green, the jungles of South America flowing past. Sao Paulo was lit up like a gigantic casino, flood lights crowding the air searching for the first signs of the enemy incursion. Then, all of a sudden (or so it seemed to Blue), the city was below them, and the order was given. Without another thought, Blue leapt clear of the plane, and freefell into his glory. Combat Results (14 v 6)- RED VICTORIOUS 4, 3, 3 - 6, 4- 2 Blue losses (The screams of the dying will be a sound Blue always remembers…..) 2, 1, 1 - 4, 4- 2 Blue losses (“Dear god, more of them….WHY WON’T THEY JUST DIE?”) 5, 3, 3 - 3, 3- 1 Blue loss, 1 Red loss (“Finally, the turning point. I hope this is where it ends...”) 1, 1, 1 - 6, 2- 2 Blue losses (“Blue’s dead, and Blue, and I saw Blue go down earlier….”) 6, 6, 5 - 6, 5- 1 Blue loss, 1 Red loss (“FALL BACK!!! FALL BACK TO THE BEACH!!!”) 5, 5, 2 - 6, 6- 2 Blue losses (“Blue and Blue were killed in the retreat, sir. Final casualties are still coming in.”) Blue was covered in blue gore. All about him, the bodies of his comrades, blues he had known for his entire life, were scattered like so many dice across a game board. The few left had been lead back to the shore, where they awaited the rescue ship. The fighting had been fierce, but even with overwhelming numbers, It was a lost cause. Out of the 14 who had travelled with Blue, he saw only three and himself. Red, on the other hand, now had an equal number, having only lost two. The first thought for Blue was frustration. The frustration of knowing you had lost, and also, that it might be a loss that you might not come back from. Blue Command was compromised, their troops for the front and borders spent of this assault. Already Green had been making overtures into Europe, and Red was crawling across North America. A bullet snapped sand into Blues' face, waking him out of his daydreaming. He raised his weapon and returned fire, the small sandbar he was by providing meagre cover. The other blues all had the same forlorn look on their faces, like dogs which had lost their masters. Blue hoped his didn't look like that, too. More bullets flew past, and Blue realized Red was making a push. This was it, his final moment. Blue prepared himself, shook the cobwebs out of his head, and tensed his legs for a spring over the sandbar. As he lifted himself up, a blue grabbed his shoulder and pointed out over the ocean. The rescue ship was approaching, slowly yet surely. Day 14, Nairobi Blue stood aside four other blues, the last of his men. Blue Command had given up long ago, and there was talk from the others about going rogue, or "neutral" as it was called by some. Blue didn't think less of them for this. After the epic failure of the invasion of Sao Paulo, Red followed through with an assault that pushed aside the meagre defences left in place at Dakar. Slowly, Red pushed further into Africa, taking Cape Town and Johannesburg, then Cairo. Now, only one area stood, Nairobi. The last word heard from the Blue General was "Red’s Foed". To the east, in Dubai, a sizable army of Green camped, awaiting orders from their enigmatic leader. To the west, the deadly west, a large force of Red sat at Cairo, looking on with a bit of pity on what was left of the once great Blue Empire. Blue looked back at his men, and at the approaching horde. End game.
During the last couple weeks of 2009,
collected nominations for the
Best Tournament of 2009
. After examining the list, 10 tournaments were chosen for a final vote. The Top 3 winners were all very close in the voting, with each officially 1 vote apart. Each winner has received a Contest Medal.
The Winning Tournaments: 1.- (14 votes) Tournament: 2008 College Basketball Season Tournament Organizer: flexmaster33 Nominator: denominator Keywords for nomination: Fun, keeping players involved. 2.- (13 votes) Tournament: Around the World in 80 Days Tournament Organizer: stahrgazer Nominator: Lindax Keywords for nomination: Different concept with unknown team mates. 3.- (12 votes) Tournament: Battle for Supremacy Tournament Organizer: barterer2002 Nominator: amazzony Keywords for nomination: Huge tournament and well run.
Congratulations to the winners and everyone who hosted a tournament in 2009. Hopefully there will be many exciting ones during 2010.
This issue features a pop-quiz that
pulled on 5 tournament organizers along with some of the tournaments currently taking sign-ups. Enjoy!
Tournament Pop-Quiz by amazzony
They have had their battles in numerous tournaments; now I decided to test their skill in a quiz. We have 5 participants who agreed to be part of the friendly battle: Tournament Legend
[OP], unique tournament titan Optimus Prime [Bart], excellent Tournament Director barterer2002 [Lx], top tournament organizers/winners Lindax [HA] and HighlanderAttack [Blitz]. Don't take the results too seriously, it's just a fun quiz where I asked everybody to answer honestly and not use help of forums/friends. If it was done, stays on their conscience and following data is also added just for statistics (which is also considered the biggest lie by some) and not for serious conclusions. What I know is that HA answered me 3 minutes after opening his message, OP Blitzaholic maximum 10 minutes after opening it, Lx took about 25 minutes to answer, Bart maximum 30 minutes and Blitz a bit under 4 hours. These are the questions that I asked and in the brackets is the amount of points received for correct answer(s). Who is the Head Tournament Director? How many different tournament tags are currently used? Name Top 3 of Multiple Tournament Winners! [max. 3 - 1 for each name] Name Top 3 of Most Tournament Games Created! [max. 3 - 1 for each name] Name Top 3 of Most Tournaments Completed! [max. 3 - 1 for each name] Name Top 3 of Most Tournament Games Played! [max. 3 - 1 for each name] What type of tournaments have been organised the most besides Standard? What is the date (month+year) when first 2 tournaments were completed? What is the date (month+year) when most tournaments were completed? What was the number of tournament completed? [2 - 1 for date, 1 for number of tournaments] Here are the correct answers which are taken from Tournament Hall of Fame [HoF], this topic and Blitz's Tourney LOVERS - most games. Maximum points that can be collected is 18. Night Strike 11 or 3 (as I formed the question badly then there can be 2 answers to this questions: either 11 tags from HoF or 3 tags for joining games: to/tot/game) Blitzaholic, HighlanderAttack, killmanic barterer2002, JoJo123, Optimus Prime barterer2002, HighlanderAttack, Blitzaholic HighlanderAttack, acores2005, amazzony Doubles March 2006 November 2009; 99 (December 2009 is also counted correct because it was mentioned in Issue 23 of the Newsletter that most likely December will beat all previous months). Now to the most interesting part - how did the participants answer! Optimus Prime [6 points] Code: Select all
(1) Night Strike
(2) 11 (3) Blitzaholic... JOHNNYROCKET24... Godd (4) Optimus Prime... amazzony... Gilligan (5) barterer2002... Blitzaholic... (6) Gilligan... Godd... vykingsfan64 (7) 1 vs 1 (8) June 2006 (9) April 2009... 79 HighlanderAttack [9 points] Code: Select all
(1) Night Strike
(2) I am not sure what this is asking so I will say 2 (3) Blitzaholic, HighlanderAttack and killimanic (4) Gilligan, Barterer, HighlanderAttack (5) HighlanderAttack, acores2005, Gilligan-not sure of third place (6) HighlanderAttack, acores2005, Gilligan-not sure of third place (7) Assassin (8) 12/2006 (9) 12/2009 Lindax [10 points] Code: Select all
(1) Night Strike
(2) Not sure I understand the question, but I'll say: 6 (3) Blitzaholic, HighlanderAttack, killmanic (4) Barterer2002, HighlanderAttack, Blitzaholic (5) Barterer2002, HighlanderAttack, Blitzaholic (6) HighlanderAttack, Blitzaholic, JOHNNYROCKET (7) Doubles/Team (8) December, 2006 (9) January, 2010, 75 tournaments barterer2002 [13 points] Code: Select all
(1) Night Strike
(2) 3 (game, to and tot) (3) Blitz, Killmanic, Highlanderattack (4) Bart, OP and HA (5) Bart OP and HA (6) HA, killmanic, and diminjarstef (7) doubles (8) October 06 (9) November 09 99 tournaments Blitzaholic [13 points] Code: Select all
(1) Night Strike
(2) Not sure, maybe 10? (3) Blitzaholic, Highlanderattack, Killmanic (4) If there was a recent update I would guess Optimus Prime, Amazzony, Barterer2002 (5) If there was a recent update I would guess Highlanderattack, Barterer2002, Blitzaholic (6) Highlanderattack, Acores2005, Amazzony (7) Not sure, I would guess doubles (8) Hmmm, maybe around May 2006 for both. (9) December 2008 and 78 completed, however, I would guess somewhere in 2009, maybe the Fall of 2009 this was broken due to an explosion of tourneys created So, here they are - results! All participants did well and I want to thank everybody so much for being my guinea pigs! Currently Taking Sign-ups by superkeener
Currently Taking Sign-ups
Here is a list of tournaments that still have open spots. Click on the link to sign up or to find more information on the tournament. Haiti Benefit Tournament viewtopic.php?f=90&t=106575 Coordinator: Industrial Helix This tournament aims to raise awareness for the earthquake disaster in Haiti. All games are played on the Haiti map with 8-players in each match. The 8 winners of the first round will battle for the tournament trophy. European Timeline Bracket viewtopic.php?f=90&t=107850 Coordinator: kawe85 A big Doubles tournament that that includes the maps of: Imperium Romanum, Europe 1914, and WWII Europe Darin’s 30th Tournament viewtopic.php?f=90&t=107706 Coordinator: Darin44 Darin is celebrating his 30th tournament with style - a tournament with 10 terminator games in each round on random maps. Only open to premium players. Indoor Athletics viewtopic.php?f=90&t=108132 Coordinator: Tupence Inspired by the Indoor Athletics International Match, this 125-player tournament is almost full, so go grab your spot now. The tournament will use a variety of maps. Only open to premium players. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades viewtopic.php?f=90&t=107936 Coordinator: YoursFalsey This tournament will focus on the new Nuclear Spoils, but players will be faced with 1v1 matches, Doubles, Terminator, and Assassin. This tournament has many open spots, and is only open to premium players. Family Game Night Tournament viewtopic.php?f=90&t=108780 Coordinator: ask me2 A tournament that stays true to the theme of its name. Maps featured are: Chinese Checkers, Conquer Four, Conquer Man, and Crossword. Circus Maximus Royal Rumble viewtopic.php?f=90&t=107549 Coordinator: kuma32478 Based on the WWE Royal Rumble, this tournament will feature 3-player terminator games on the Circus Maximus map. Doodle Earth Tourny viewtopic.php?f=90&t=108096 Coordinator: iamkoolerthanu This 64-player tournament on Doodle Earth will consist of 4-player games with the winner advancing to the next round. It’s filling up fast, so go and claim your spot now.
During the last two weeks there has been much activity in the Foundry, the Germany revamp competition has just ended, but there's already a new competition running. The melting pot seems more active than ever and the first maps begin to advance through the new process.
Talking about the process, in this issue, the second part of the Foundry special about the gameplay workshop. Then, we travel again through the History to discover the "hidden story" behind one of the maps on Conquer Club. Finally, as always, the maps currently in development.
Vancouver Competition The Winter Olympics come every four years and are a showcase of athleticism. They bring out the best in athletes striving for a bit of gold. In just a few short days, the torch will arrive in Vancouver and the games will begin. From Cyprus mountain to the Pacific Coliseum, the Olympics will also showcase the best of Vancouver, a fine city, worthy of hosting such an event. In order to celebrate this event, the CC foundry is having an contest of its own. Recently, the Vancouver map was put into live play, but now it is having a bit of a revamp. While the original map is a beautiful piece of artwork, the boys in blue thought that it should be spiced up for the games. A contest is being held where mapmakers can take the original Vancouver map, and make it Olympic themed. The winning map will temporarily replace the current Vancouver map in order to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympics. You can find more information about the contest here. You can find info about the Olympics here. Foundry Twitter feed Are you always seeking the latest news about the foundry? Don't you want to miss anything foundry related? Don't worry the solution is within reach. Start following the Foundry Twitter feed and you will get the scoop on up and coming maps! http://twitter.com/CCFoundry Beta Maps Fractured America by isaiah40 is available for Beta testing. Atlantis by NemesisChild and Premier2k is waiting to be uploaded. Quenched Maps Our dear chief editor has got his first quenched map. , due to its superb gameplay, is already one of the most popular maps on Conquer Club. WWII Poland After a few small tweaks, the map is now perfect. Congratulations to samuelc812 After a long and careful examination, the was quenched. Third Crusade Map The last update was well received by the community and the new bonuses seem well balanced. With already more than 3000 finished games, the map was finally moved into the viewing gallery. Congratulations to Kabanellas and AndrewB Foundry Special - The Gameplay Workshop by natty_dread
Introduction In my last article, I went through the Melting Pot forum where maps are born. In this article we will be focusing on the next step of a map's journey from idea to live play, which is the Gameplay Workshop. Gameplay is probably the most important aspect of a map. A map with balanced and interesting gameplay, even if it is not so interesting graphically, can be a success. But a map with stunning graphics and inferior gameplay will probably be a lot less popular. Of course, the Foundry tries to focus on both aspects of every map. How to start When a map moves from the Melting pot into the Gameplay Workshop, the real development of the map begins. In this phase, most maps already have a clear idea of the direction of development the map is going to take, and a version of the map with all major gameplay features included: territories, bonus areas, legend... In the Gameplay workshop, the whole structure of the map may change several times. This is where the details are honed into perfection. For a beginner mapmaker, the concept may seem frustrating, but it is a necessary part of the Foundry process. First things to consider when designing gameplay for a map are: the number of territories, bonus values, size and amount of bonus areas... which all amount to one thing really: balanced gameplay. Balancing gameplay Balanced gameplay means that games should not be decided by the drop. For example, if you have 48 territories on a map and play a 4 player game, the first one to play his turn will have a clear advantage, as everyone starts with 12 territories, and the first to go can knock one or more players below the limit. But there is more to balancing the gameplay than just deciding the amount of territories on a map. The bonus values need to be considered, and for this several bonus calculators have been developed. Of course the bonus calculator does not give you the absolute truth, and common sense should be used. But it gives the mapmaker an idea where to start. The structure of the map also needs to be considered. Too many bottlenecks for example are not good, but neither is a too open playing field. What can I do to help When it comes to leaving feedback to maps in the Gameplay workshop, mapmakers of course appreciate when you keep your comments to the gameplay side, and ignore the graphics for now. It is not exactly wrong to give comments on the graphics, but gameplay feedback will surely be a lot more appreciated at this point. When giving feedback, think of the map as it would already be in live play. Try to imagine how the gameplay would work on the current version of the map. If you can see any flaws, the mapmaker will surely appreciate you pointing them out, as long as it is done in a polite manner. Iancanton, a moderator in charge of the Gameplay Workshop, has the following to say about leaving gameplay feedback: iancanton wrote:
All foundrygoers will have noticed that the main foundry has been split into two workshops: gameplay and graphics. There hasn't been much change of policy, since most maps needed to have the gameplay approved already before the graphics evaluations took place. The split simply makes clearer the current focus of the map: if a map's in the gameplay workshop, then comments on gameplay are most helpful.
What's good gameplay feedback? If you're unsure, then have a look first at the guide to giving feedback that's in the
tutorials and guides
section of the foundry.
Early feedback is welcomed by every mapmaker, to prevent him from wasting his time developing something along the wrong lines.
If something is wrong with the gameplay, then try to be helpful by suggesting a solution, if you can. The earlier this type of comment comes, the better!
gameplayfeedback wrote:i live in ruritania. there are no mountains in the western part of the map gameplayfeedback wrote:48 regions is a bad number for 4-player games. can u merge this and that? gameplayfeedback wrote:let the ship bombard all of the ports, which are too powerful gameplayfeedback wrote:make the auto-deploys start neutral gameplayfeedback wrote:the bonuses are unbalanced. there are too many small bonus zones in the north
Not so useful in the gameplay workshop are comments on things that don't relate so much to gameplay. It might sound obvious, but graphics adjustments are best made in the graphics workshop, after the mapmaker knows that the gameplay won't be changing much. Graphics ideas are still welcome, but be aware that the mapmaker may choose to do difficult or substantial graphics changes after he has the gameplay stamp, so that he doesn't have to redraw a fantastic work of art several times just because of gameplay fixes.
notgameplay wrote:the borders are pixellated notgameplay wrote:try using a font which looks more medieval notgameplay wrote:put the legend in a wooden frame Now, with all this, you should have a pretty good idea how to help mapmakers who are working on the gameplay of their map. I'd like to urge every one of my readers to visit the Gameplay Workshop, and browse the map threads. See maps that you like? See maps that you don't like? Give them feedback! The Foundry needs your help to produce more quality maps for you to play! That's it for this issue. Stay tuned for the next episode, the Graphics Workshop. History 101 - Route 66 by dolomite13
Route 66 - by oaktown Welcome to Route 66, America's Main Street. This fun map by veteran mapmaker oaktown utilizes an alternate bonus structure of 1 army for every 2 territories held as well as the ability to score a victory by holding the eleven cities along Route 66, from L.A. to Chicago. The visual style of the map takes you back in time to the golden days of Route 66 and makes you feel like your sitting at a diner along that famous road. Be sure to check out this map and get your kicks on Route 66. ROUTE 66 - ROLLING STONES LYRICS wrote:e Well if you ever plan to motor west Just take my way that's the highway that's the best Get your kicks on Route 66 U.S. Route 66 (also known as the Will Rogers Highway, and as "Main Street of America" or the "Mother Road") was one of the original U.S. highways, Route 66, US Highway 66, was established on November 11, 1926. The famous highway originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, encompassing a total of 2,448 miles. It was recognized in popular culture by both a hit song (written by Bobby Troup and performed by the Nat King Cole Trio and The Rolling Stones, among others) and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s. More recently, the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars featured U.S. 66. Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, changing its path and overall length. Many of the realignments gave travelers faster or safer routes, or detoured around city congestion. One realignment moved the western endpoint farther west from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. US 66 was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66". It has begun to return to maps in this form. Some portions of the road in southern California have been re-designated "State Route 66", and others bear "Historic Route 66" signs and relevant historic information. Over the years, U.S. Route 66 received many nicknames. Right after Route 66 was commissioned, it was known as "The Great Diagonal Way" because the Chicago-to-Oklahoma City stretch ran northeast to southwest. Later, Route 66 was advertised by the U.S. Highway 66 Association as "The Main Street of America". The title had also been claimed by supporters of U.S. Route 40, but the Route 66 group was more successful. In the John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath, the highway is called "The Mother Road", its prevailing title today. Lastly, Route 66 was unofficially named "The Will Rogers Highway" by the U.S. Highway 66 Association in 1952, although a sign along the road with that name appeared in the John Ford film, The Grapes of Wrath, which was released in 1940, twelve years before the association gave the road that name. A plaque dedicating the highway to Will Rogers is still located in Santa Monica, California. Map of Route Route 66 overlaid on Google Maps Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma The Birth and Death of Route 66 In 1857, Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a Naval officer in the service of the U.S. Army Topographical Corps, was ordered by the War Department to build a government-funded wagon road across the 35th Parallel. This road became part of U.S. Route 66. Officially, the numerical designation 66 was assigned to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route in the summer of 1926. With that designation came its acknowledgment as one of the nation's principal east–west arteries. From the outset, public road planners intended U.S. 66 to connect the main streets of rural and urban communities along its course for the most practical of reasons: most small towns had no prior access to a major national thoroughfare. Wigwam motel #6 in Holbrook, AZ. Championed by Tulsa, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery when the first talks about a national highway system began, US 66 was first signed into law in 1927 as one of the original U.S. Highways, although it was not completely paved until 1938. Avery was adamant that the highway have a round number and had proposed number 60 to identify it. A controversy erupted over the number 60. Ultimately Avery settled on "66" (which was unassigned) because he thought the double-digit number would be easy to remember as well as pleasant to say and hear. After the new federal highway system was officially created, Avery called for the establishment of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to promote the complete paving of the highway from end to end and to promote travel down the highway. Traffic grew on the highway because of the geography through which it passed. Much of the highway was essentially flat and this made the highway a popular truck route. The route passed through numerous small towns, and with the growing traffic on the highway, helped create the rise of mom-and-pop businesses, such as service stations, restaurants, and motor courts, all readily accessible to passing motorists. Due to the efforts of the US Highway 66 Association, Route 66 became the first highway to be completely paved in 1938. Several places were dangerous: more than one part of the highway was nicknamed "Bloody 66" and gradually work was done to realign these segments to remove dangerous curves. However, one section just outside Oatman, Arizona was fraught with hairpin turns and was the steepest along the entire route remained as part of Route 66 until 1953. Despite such hazards in some areas, Route 66 continued to be a popular route. During World War II, Route 66, already popular and fully paved, became one of the main routes and also served for moving military equipment. Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri was located near the highway. During its nearly 60-year existence, Route 66 was under constant change. As highway engineering became more sophisticated, engineers constantly sought more direct routes between cities and towns. Increased traffic led to a number of major and minor realignments of US 66 through the years, particularly in the years immediately following World War II when Illinois began widening US 66 to four lanes through virtually the entire state from Chicago to the Mississippi River just east of St. Louis, Missouri, and included bypasses around virtually all of the towns. By the early-to-mid 1950s, Missouri also upgraded its sections of US 66 to four lanes complete with bypasses. Most of the newer four-lane 66 paving in both states was upgraded to freeway status in later years. In 1953, the first major bypassing of US 66 occurred in Oklahoma with the opening of the Turner Turnpike between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The new 88-mile toll road paralleled US 66 for its entire length and bypassed each of the towns along 66. In some cases the new interstate highway not only paralleled the old Route 66, it actually incorporated much of it. In New Mexico, as in most other states, rural sections of I-40 were to be constructed first with bypasses around cities to come later. However, some business and civic leaders in cities along US 66 were completely opposed to bypassing fearing loss of business and tax revenues. In 1963, the New Mexico Legislature enacted legislation that banned the construction of interstate bypasses around cities by local request. This legislation was short-lived, however, due to pressures from Washington and threat of loss of federal highway funds so it was rescinded by 1965. Originally, highway officials planned for the last section of US 66 to be bypassed by interstates in Texas, but as was the case in many places, lawsuits held up construction of the new interstates. The state of Missouri officially requesting the designation "Interstate 66" for the St. Louis to Oklahoma City section of the route, but it was denied. In 1984, Arizona also saw its final stretch of highway decommissioned with the completion of Interstate 40 just north of Williams, Arizona. Finally, with desertification of the highway by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials the following year, U.S. Route 66 officially ceased to exist. Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In Life After Death Some states have kept the 66 designation for parts of the highway, albeit as state roads. In Missouri, Routes 366, 266, and 66 are all original sections of the highway. State Highway 66 in Oklahoma remains as the alternate "free" route near its turnpikes. "Historic Route 66" runs for a significant distance in and near Flagstaff, Arizona. A surface street stretch between San Bernardino and La Verne to the east of Los Angeles retains its number as State Route 66. The First Route 66 associations were founded in Arizona in 1987 and Missouri in 1989. Other groups in the other Route 66 states soon followed. In 1990, the state of Missouri declared Route 66 in that state a "State Historic Route". The first "Historic Route 66" marker in Missouri was erected on Kearney Street at Glenstone Avenue in Springfield, Missouri. Other historic markers now line the entire 2,400 mile length of road. Many preservation groups have also tried to save and even tried to landmark the old motels and neon signs along the road in different states. In 1999 the National Route 66 Preservation Bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, which provided for $10 mln in matching fund grants for preserving and restoring the historic features along the route. In 2008, The World Monuments Fund added Route 66 to its World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites. Sites along the route, such as gas stations, motels, cafes, trading posts, and drive-in movie theaters are threatened by development in urban areas, and by abandonment and decay in rural areas. As the popularity and mythical stature of Route 66 has continued to grow, demands have begun to mount to improve signage, return Route 66 to road atlases and revive its status as a continuous routing. Along these lines Route 66 has been established as a National Scenic Byway in Illinois, Arizona and New Mexico with National Scenic Byway status pending in Oklahoma and Missouri as of 2007. More Information Wikipedia.org Route 66 Video 4 Minute Tour of Route 66 Maps in Development
To see the full sized preview of the following maps just click on the title of the map, to visit the map development thread
Melting Pot Recently Design Brief Submissions: Gameplay Workshop Research & Conquer Mapmakers: OliverFA
Maybe the most innovative map currently in development. The map premise revolves about adding the Research concept to "normal" CC gameplay.
Some initial discussion about the gameplay, but for now is a rather quiet thread.
Macedonia Mapmaker: n.n. Description:
42 regions and a standard gameplay for this representation of the small Republic of Macedonia.
First Nations of South America Mapmaker: Tisha Description:
After the great success of First Nations of North America, tisha is back with the same graphics to represent the southern part of Americas.
The discussion is about the regions number.
Graphics Workshop Flanders 1302 Mapmaker: DubWarrior Description:
Set in the year 1302, when an army of Flemish peasants defeated the knights of the french army, this map has a standard gameplay and a nice graphics.
Few nitpicks for the legend and the signature and the map is ready for the Final Forge
CRICKET: Silly Mid On Mapmaker: cairnswk Description:
A map about cricket, the first map about a sport which is going through the foundry.
Recently stamped for gameplay, there's still some discussion about it.
German/Italian Unification Mapmaker: Industrial Helix Description:
Two maps about the wars of unification that took place int the last half of the 19th century and saw the rise of the united kingdoms of Italy and Germany.
Working on mountains
Final Forge Monsters! Mapmaker: dolomite13 Description:
As a honored wizard you have volunteered to explore the Caverns of Power and retrieve the Powerstones.
Recently stamped for graphics. Xml not yet checked.
Japan Mapmaker: RedBaron0 Description:
Modern Japan with an ancient graphics styleand a standard gameplay. A nice addition for ConquerClub, when quenched.
It looks ready.
Germany Revamp Mapmaker: WidowMakers Description:
The winner map of the germany revamp competition is now in the final forge. The old Germany map with a new look.
Power Rankings: Top 10 Clans by Georgerx7di (TSM)
Top Clans on CC By Georgerx7di (TSM) In lieu of the up coming Conqueror’s Cup and the controversy over the ladders, I have decided to do a opinion piece on the top clans on CC and personally rank them. As I write about clan wars, I find myself spending more and more time in the “completed challenges” forum, where I have learned a good deal about our clans. In preparing my rankings, I found that the first two spots were easy to fill based on available information. Spots 3-7 seemed to meld together at first and so I had to add more criteria to help me order them. Spots 8-10 were the hardest to fill, there were at least two or three clans that I had to leave off, who perhaps should have made it. So here are the criteria I used to decide who the best clans on CC are: 1. Clan war record. This gives a good indication of how good a clan has been over the life of the clan. 2. Current CLA Season 2 record for the league. This is a good indicator of how good a clan is at the moment, albeit not a perfect indicator. Most of my top 10 list was derived from these two factors and from my own experiences playing these clans. 3. Who the clans won or lost to in clan challenges. 4. Input from experienced clan players. This is important because there are things that I will not have gotten around to looking at, for example people leaving or joining a clan. 5. Win percentage in clan wars. This becomes important when you have two clans who seem very equal. AOD for example lost a clan war to IA by a score of 11-9, that is a lot different then loosing 16-4 and so should not count so strongly against them. Now without further ado, here is (in my opinion) the top ten clans on CC. Top 10 Clans on CC: 1. THOTA THOTA has a 7-0 record in clan wars, by far the best of anyone. Three of their wins were against top ranked opponents. 32-28 over LOW, 53-47 over Imperial Dragoons and 41-19 over Generation 1. The rest are lesser known clans, but its worth noting that their victory over Death by committee was by a score of 35-5. THOTA is also the champion in the first season of the CLA League. 2. TSM The Spanking Monkeys have a 3-0 record, all against top clans. They have defeated The Legion 25-15, Immortal Assassins 22-18 and LOW 34-26. LOW has kind of been the gateway to the top spots, if one could defeat them, then that clan would be ranked in the top 2 or 3 spots. All three of these have been traditionally considered top 10 clans, although The Legion has lost some good players very recently and will not make this top 10 list. The Spanking Monkeys are also leading division 1B in CLA Season 2 at the time of printing. 3. The Odd Fellows Union TOFU has a 3-0 record over some very good clans. They have defeated The Imperial Dragoons 24-16 and Generation 1 25-15. Their third win came over Mythology by a margin of 30-10. I was hesitant to place TOFU so high on the list however because of the fact that they were placed in Division 2 in CLA League. However they have absolutely dominated division 2A (winning 83% of their games!), in a division that includes O&H, EE, and Divine Domination (more on DD below). 4. Immortal Assassins The Immortal Assassins have a 3-1 record in clan wars, including defeats over AOD and BPB. Their only loss is to TSM (above). IA is also in second place in division 1A in this season’s CLA League, ahead of THOTA who is in third place and behind KORT. 5. Legends of War Their 5 wins are pretty impressive. They won a 36-24 match over Empire (ranked 6th on this list) and a 16-8 win over The Untouchables, who would have been considered for the top 10 if the clan were still in existence. LOW also defeated G1 28-12, and crushed PE 25-5. LOW had a record of 5-2 up till recently. Their only losses had come at the hands of the top 2 clans on this list; THOTA 32-28 and TSM 34-26 and are in second place in division 1B, only a half game behind TSM. With all this they might have been 3rd or 4th out of the top 10, however they were recently defeated, and quite soundly, by O&H (see issue 24 of The CC dispatch). With this 3rd loss, many no longer consider LOW to be at the very top. However, as their defeat of Empire, and their cla performance shows, LOW is still a clan to be taken seriously and that is why they earned my number 5 spot. 6. Empire Empire has an impressive 7-1 record including wins over The Legion, The Imperial Dragoons, Nemesis, BSS and a somewhat underrated Agents of Chaos. Empire blasted Nemesis 41-23 handing them their first loss. There are a few other blowout wins, AOC 38-22, The Worlds of the Wort 15-5, however other wins were not so impressive. Empire defeated Black Sheep Squadron 21-19 and The Legion by an even smaller margin 16-15. None the less, had it not been for their loss to LOW, Empire might be ranked in the top 3. Empire has also not been that impressive in CLA League, they currently have a 34-35 record and are 4th place in division 1A. Not an embarrassment by any means, considering that the clan above them in 3rd place is THOTA. Divisions 1A and 1B are filled with most of the best clans on CC, however to be ranked in the top 5 a clan has to be able to shine against this top competition. Empire gets 6th place for me. 7. Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table seemed to be an all-star team in the making. They recruited many top players and were expected to take the clan world by storm (much in the way that TOFU has). They are leading division 1A, an impressive feat, above IA, THOTA and Empire, however their clan wars have not been as impressive. KORT has a record of 1-0-1. Their first clan war ended in a 15-15 tie against Generation 1, a 3-5-1 clan with most of its losses coming to top clans. KORT came back to win their next clan war over The Brethren of the Fat Mermaid, (see issue 23 of The CC Dispatch) with a score that is currently listed at 38-17 with 5 games still not recorded. The Brethren are a good clan, with players like BoganGod and Draq, however with an 0-3 record it is hard to gauge the value of KORT’s victory over them. For these reasons KORT gets 7th place. Cla aside, they still have not proven themselves to be top 5 quality. 8. Nemesis After jotting down my top 7 clans, it became more difficult to decide who would get the last three spots. So I made a spreadsheet with a few columns. I put a check in one column for every clan that had a winning record in clan wars. Next I put a check next to every clan that had a winning record in CLA. One thing jumped out at me. There were only two clans who were not already on my top 10 list, who had both winning clan records and winning records in the current season of CLA. One was Nemesis, the other was Agents of Chaos (more on them below). Nemesis has a 3-1 record with wins over Mythology, Imperial Britain and Left4Dead; their only loss coming to Empire (above). They also have a 36-28 record in CLA League, good for 4th place in division 1B. 9. Angels of Death Angels of Death (formerly LOD) has an 9-4 record. Their 9 wins are all over mid-level clans, The Brethren or Mythology perhaps being the best of the bunch. Their losses however are mostly to good clans. They were beaten handily 37-23 by The Imperial Dragoons, however their other losses were all nail biters. They lost 23-22 against G1 and 11-9 against IA! Not a bad showing. Their other loss was a 5-4 loss to Freemium Forces in a 9 game clan war which probably should not count. AOD clearly deserves a spot in the top 10 with this record. However their CLA League performance has been less than stellar, 31-33 in division 1A. For this reason, and the absence of any victories over top ranked clans, AOD gets a 9th place rank from me. 10. Imperial Dragoons This was the toughest clan to place on this list. The Imperial Dragoons have a 3-3 record, the only clan on this list that isn't over .500. Surely I couldn’t put ID above Empire (6-1) who defeated ID. Perhaps I could have put them above AOD, who ID had defeated. ID’s losses were all to top clans, THOTA, TOFU and Empire. Their wins were over AOD, Skyforce and a 13 game win over Murder Inc. Overall not bad, and they beat AOD by a margin of 37-23. They also lost to THOTA 53-47, a pretty good showing. However to be considered a top clan one has to win. It’s hard to put a 3-3 clan above a 9-4 clan. Also, ID has a 32-37 record in CLA division 1A, good for 5th place in that division. This tells me that perhaps ID is not as good as they have been in the past. However should they win their current challenge against IA (it's tied at 15-15), I would have to bump them up a couple of spots on the list, perhaps even above KORT. Honorable Mentions: BPB The Bullet Proof Bandits have had an impressive showing in the CLA League, currently 39-25 and in 3rd place in division 1B. On the other hand, their clan war record is a pedestrian 1-1. They have a win over BSS, nothing to sneeze at, but only by a margin of 21-19. Their loss came at the hands of IA, a clan that I think very highly of. In the end two clan challenges just weren't enough to put them above AOD or ID. O&H The Outlaws and Highwaymen officially show a record of 2-2, however their two most recent victories have not been recorded. They will be at 4-2 when their two clan wars finish, including an impressive win over LOW (see issue 24). On the other hand their CLA League performance is a poultry 16-24 in division 2B. Another problem is their two losses. They lost to BSS (a good clan, but not in my top 10) and Divine Domination, a clan playing in their first clan war. O&H would have to be ranked around 11 or 12 at the moment for me. On the other hand, should they win their next clan war against G1 (they currently lead 5-4), this could solidify them as a top 10 contender. AOC I actually consulted some experts on this one. My final two spots had come down to AOD, ID, BPB, O&H, and AOC, and I was seriously considering putting Agents of Chaos in the 9 or 10 spot on the list. They have a 3-1-1 record and are leading their division in CLA League. So why didn’t they make the top 10. For one thing, their three wins all came against very low ranked clans. They had a tie against Mythology, not bad, but Mythology didn’t make the top 10 either. The only top clan that they played was Empire, and they lost that war 38-22. Finally, although they are crushing their division in CLA League (27-13), it is division 2B. For AOC to move up to the top 10, they have to beat a top clan and/or win in division 1 CLA. So although they are a good clan, they still have not proven themselves to be at the very to of CC clan competition. A win against an AOD or Nemesis is probably what it would take to vault them up to the top 10. Rising Star Divine Domination I will end with an up and coming clan to watch for in the future. Divine domination has completed 1 clan war, defeating O&H by a score of 33-27, not bad for a clan’s first challenge. Don’t forget that O&H is the clan that just defeated LOW by a good margin. DD is also in second place in division 2A, with a loosing record albeit (19-21), but every clan in that division has a losing record. TOFU is rolling 2A with an 83% win percentage. However, to be in second place behind TOFU is not a bad spot for a new clan, and they are just a few games shy of being over .500. I suspect that this will be a clan to keep an eye on. Final comments It’s unlikely that anyone will agree on the exact ranking of every clan. Some will place more value on players they know in the clan, or how they think the clan will perform in the future. I went with a system that weighed more on the past and more on winning and loosing clan wars because I felt that one cannot guess how a clan will do in the future. A record on the other hand is something that a clan has proven. And after all, winning clan wars is what we all strive for, not winning percentage. I personally would much rather my clan win 3 wars 21-19 then win 1 war 34-16 and loose 2 wars 19-21. So this is how I graded clans, how many wars did they win and how many they lost. As Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots once said, “Stats are for losers, final scores are for winners”. Conqueror's Cup by laughingcavalier (AoD)
COME SHOW WHAT YOUR CLAN IS REALLY MADE OF!! demanded Chuuuuck as he launched the first annual Conqueror's Cup, and within hours he had been joined by CC’s finest, keen to take part in the first knockout inter-clan competition. The contest is on an epic scale with 19 clans competing in a bracket competition. Each contest will constitute a clan war in itself, with 48 games played between clans in the early rounds, and 68 games in each semi and the finals – not to mention games to be played in pre-season qualifiers. Adding all that up, you see the size of Chuuuuck’s vision, and what has got so many clans excited. If all goes to plan, by December over 800 games will have been played. The winners might enjoy a similar status to those who take home the much-coveted title of winner of the only comparable competition, the Clan League. Chuuuuck wrote:One thing is constant in the clan forums, people are arguing over the rankings, who is better than who, and how "Clan A" hasn't really played anyone. Everyone seems to agree that the bigger clan wars that most clans participate in are a good way of judging who is better. So I decided a bracket style tournament where clans don't get to choose who they play, and they play each other in larger clans wars might be the best way to settle "who is the best". Chuuuuck’s own Empire were the first clan in, soon joined by all but a handful of the top clans. The Cup thread quickly made its’ way to the top of the clan forum, as CC heavyweights, notably Incandenza and Foxglove, helped out with planning, and others (you know who you are) began the all-important trash talk. Chuuuuck appreciates the enthusiasm and the help he has received from those in his own clan and beyond, especially TheSpaceCowboy who came up with the name the "Conqueror's Cup" and will be helping with the admin once the tourney gets going. Seeding was decided by vote. Clan leaders ranked the participants, with the results counted together to give each clan their position in the draw. THOTA sit at the top, followed by TOFU, Empire and Immortal Assassins. There were enough surprises to launch a heated debate on where each clan will finish ( Conqueror's Cup Predictions), but all agree they will prove their case where it counts, on the field of battle. Chuuuuck himself is quietly confident about the strengths of his own clan: Chuuuuck wrote:Obviously, I am biased. I think some players feel we are over-rated, but I feel Empire has gotten a lot better over the past year and I personally believe we are under-rated. I feel we will make a strong showing and at least make it to the semi-finals. The first round offers some great match-ups. Legends of War are looking to avenge their recent defeat at the hands of the Outlaws and Highwaymen, while Knights of the Round Table and Generation 1 will play it out for a win after their draw last time up. The pre-season qualifiers kick off on February 17th, as the lower ranked teams duke it out to make the first round proper which is scheduled to start in March. We will be covering the games here. A final comment from the tourney organiser: Chuuuuck wrote:
A very big thanks to
for everything they do for the clan scene, and a big thanks to the clan community as a whole. Their participation and excitement is what makes this tournament truly exciting.
show: Interrogation of pimpdave
Q. Hey there Pimpdave
A. Hey, thanks for doing this, nagerous. You're one of the coolest people here. Also, thanks for all the work you newsletter folks do. It's a real testament to the strength of the community we've all come to value that this thing happens. Q. What's your favourite colour? A. Green Q. Is your first name Dave or Pimp? A. It is actually neither. My first name is Dr. Octavious Pimpdave McAwesomeFace Q. What does Dave think about you pimping him? A. He actually thinks I've done a really good job. Q. What is the best book you have ever read, and why? A. Catch-22. It breaks my heart and fills it back up. Human nature on parade. Q. Did you manage to get Sergei hooked up? A. Fortunately for you, I'm pretty sure Sergei is still single, so you should drop him a line. I'll tell him you are in love with him for you. Because I'm a good friend like that. You can call him at 867-5309. He'd love to hear from you. Q. How many accounts have you had on Conquer Club? A. Current estimates place the number over 9000. Q. By what was your tenure at McGill University marked? A. Inventions, primarily. Q. Why is it the most powerful Uni ever? A. Because power was invented there in 1863. Q.When did McGill University invent you? A. Immediately after inventing the concept of being completely awesome which then was transmuted to me because it had to manifest as something. Q. What is your favourite song? You can tell a suprising amount about a person with just that one question! A. Well, if that's the case, you'll have to let me throw down like, 5, if you're going to read into it so much. That sort of thing changes often, but I can list 5 songs that have resonated with me over the years and that I can sing along to flawlessly. Let Down- Radiohead Big Time- Peter Gabriel Eulogy- tool Geek U.S.A.- Smashing Pumpkins The First Time- U2 Q. What year(s) did you attend McGill? A. Yes Q. In what faculty? A. Executive Vice President of Determining Inventions Q. How many babes did you make while there? A. What does make "babes mean"? Is that illegal? How did you hear about that? I mean, I'm not at liberty to discuss any top secret synthetic babe manufacturing that may or may not have been invented at McGill University during my tenure. Q. Is Canadian beer as good as they say it is? A. It's okay. Q. Who invented hockey? A. Some dudes on Long Island. SUCKERS. Q. Did you know that everything was invented at McGill University, including McGill University? A. Except for hockey and football, you jackasses, yes. Q. Do you think the space-time continuum would be torn asunder because everything was invented at McGill University? A. No, why would it be? Q. Where's Waldo? A. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sll=5 ... 0000000024 Q. You're a GH member now, so I must ask: do you feel lucky punk? A. Not in general. Q. Do you have any diseases or physical traits that hinder you in any way? A. Yes, I suffer from the condition known as "the much too sexy". This presents many beautiful women hindering my path with their pleas for my attention. Q. What are your favorite parts of your body and personality? What are your least favorites? A. All of them. Q. If you HAD to commit suicide, how would you do it? A. If I HAD to commit suicide, it would be because I am a spy who has been captured, so I'd pop a cyanide pill to prevent my breaking under interrogation (everybody breaks). Q. Do you have any deeply disturbing memories? A. Everyone does. Q. What is the purpose/meaning of your life? A. … Q. Have you ever had any thoughts about being a woman? A. Not really. Not like I ever wanted to be one, but I've tried to put myself in their shoes on occasion. Q. What is your favorite song? Band? Singer/songwriter? A. The Roots Q.What is your favorite fast food? Favorite item? A. In N' Out Burger, but that might just be because I only have it when I go out to the West Coast, so it seems more special. As for stuff near me, I like Wendy's, if I have to have fast food, because of the (probably incorrect) perception that it's the most healthful one. I like California style burgers. Q. What is your favorite sit-in restaurant, and item? A. It's not a chain. I eat too much red meat, but my favorite is buffalo, be it burgers, steak or whatever. Buffalo meat is so good and lean. I'm also a big fan of any kind of food I've never tried before. I like trying food from all different cultures and locations. Q. What is your favorite movie? Genre? Director? Actor? A. Heat, Gone Baby Gone, Yojimbo, Three Kings, The Departed. Director: Michael Mann; Actor: They're all cattle, but I have a huge crush Christina Hendricks Q. What is your favorite TV show? Writer? Actor? A. The Wire; David Simon and Ed Burns, especially when Dennis Lehane does an episode. Q. What is your favorite book? Writer? A. Catch-22, as I said. Favorite writer right now is Dennis Lehane. Q. What is your favorite game? Format? A. Memoir '44. Q. If you could choose, what would be your last words? A. I'm going home. Q. If you have one, who is/was your favorite American president? A. Abraham Lincoln. For reasons too personal to post here. Q. What is your favorite war of all time? A. Star Wars. Q. Do you think that you enjoy answering questions more, less, or about as much as Juan_Bottom or Snorri1234? A. Caring about this question was invented at McGill University in the year shut up. Q. Would you trade a blastoise for a pikachu? A. WAT. Would this be before or after I gave you a super-mega-nuclear noogie for being such a huge dork? J/K LOL! SAX ATTAK! Q. What is the average wing-speed velocity of a swallow, either African or European? A. Depends on whether that swallow is above, below, or at the equator, but it's at least 9,000 miles per second. Q. What is your favorite past time altogether? A. Informing the world of all the glorious achievements of McGill University. Q. If you were able to choose exactly, how would you prefer to die? A. Saving someone else's life. And yes, there is someone in particular I wish I could go back and save in my place. Q. If you had to part with a piece of your body, what would it be? A. Wisdom teeth. Oops too late. Q. If you had to live out the plot of a horror movie, what would it be? A. 28 Days Later Q. What is your favorite car? Make, model, and/or year? A. '68 Mustang Boss in Bullitt Green. Since those are hard to come by, I'll settle for a BMW 5 series in black. Q. Do you think MaleAlphaThree's list of question is the list he submits to babes on dating sites? A. I don't know, but I do think it's copypasta. Q. What is your favorite map and why? A. I like New World because it's a cool concept, and I've never won on it yet. I also like Battle of Actium. I don't know why, I just think it's cool. Oh, and the Prison one is pretty cool too, but that's just because Juan_Bottom is a great teammate to have on that map, and I remember the games I've played with him there very fondly. In conclusion, DBC IS GREATEST CLAN IN ALL OF CONQUER CLUB, ALL OTHER CLANS HAVE INFERIOR FUN. Q. If you got randomly selected to go to Mars would you? A. If it meant my name went down in history as a hero like Neil Armstrong, then absolutely. Otherwise, I'd have to think about it. Q. Will you be attending a Muse show during their current North American tour? A. Not this time, but I've seen them live before, and they are awesome. Q. What level is your Blastoise? A. Seriously, I'm gonna give you a wedgie. Q. How many bitches are you pimping currently? A. None. I don't pimp bitches. That is disrespectful to women and I do not do that. (psst, bitches, get at me if you wanna make some money!) Q. What is the nature of your relationship with #1_stunna? A. He's one of my multis. Along with the other obvious ones, like Snorri, killing.44, saxitoxin, and Twill. Q. What are your complete thoughts on the #1_stunna and Beckytheblondie scandal? A. Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old. Q. How many dogs do you own? Cats? Walruses? TVs? Microwaves? Women? J/K LOL! SAX ATTAK! A. One. One. None. One. Nine thousand. Forty two. LOL, I LOVE YOU. Q. Thanks for your time pimpdave! A. Well, I hope I've made you regret spending it reading this!
Stay Tuned for the next issue of the ConquerClub Dispatch for an interrogation of
. Post any questions you may have for them here -->
Interrogation with thegreekdog Submitting Your Own Articles
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Revolutionary History, Vol.1 No.2, Summer 1988. Used by permission.
Commencing with a slander campaign the Stalinists did not hesitate to move into action for the physical destruction of the revolutionaries.
We wish to tell here how they set about executing the direct orders of Moscow. Until now the arrest and murder of the best militants of the revolutionary movement has been the prerogative of fascism. Stalinism, a political tendency that calls itself anti-fascist and socialist, and recruits a large part of its supporters from the ranks of the proletariat, is today committing the same crimes as fascism.
No-one knows what has become of him, what has become of one of the most passionate advocates of the proletariat of Spain. (Victor Serge, Farewell to Andrés Nin).
The story of Nin is one that requires no comment. We will therefore sketch out the salient features of his life, and recall his mysterious end.
As a young pioneer attached to the Socialist Party in 1919, Nin announced to the congress of the CNT that he had passed syndicalism. The dictatorship of Martinez Anido forced him underground. His comrade Cornella was slain alongside him by the gunmen of the ‘Free Trade Union’.
We now reproduce the account of our comrade Victor Serge, an intimate and faithful friend of Andrés Nin.
Nin was more than an old friend to me, more a sort of brother – by his ideals, the paths he trod, the trials he underwent, and all that there could be of what cannot be expressed in the contact between one man and another. I knew him, I know what he is, and what he meant to all of us. This is not the first time that I have written “For Andrés Nin” at the head of an article. It was necessary to carry on a tenacious campaign to get him out of prison in 1922 in Correspondance Internationale, L’Humanité and all the Communist papers.
As a young militant of the CNT, he lived a while in Egypt, and then was a delegate to the third Congress of the Communist International. At the same time he met there Joaquin Maurin, his companion along the road, Francesco Ghezzi , and several others who since have not betrayed, who never will betray. In the meantime Edouardo Dato, the President of Alfonso XIII’s Council, was killed in the open Madrid Street by Ramon Casanellas who took refuge in Moscow. The Madrid government wished to find the hand of Moscow in this attempt, and blamed Nin – in defiance of common sense, but that wasn’t the point. He was arrested by accident in Berlin. With the support of the Soviet legation we succeeded in wrecking the extradition procedure, and he returned to Moscow. Elected by a Congress to be the second secretary of the Red International of Labour Unions, he carried out these functions for some years, working with Lozovsky, when he was becoming more and more flabby and weak. He told me about its deceit in all our meetings. The RILU, instead of becoming a living and healthy international focus, became more bureaucratic month by month, ending up by becoming no more than a vast machine for mounting intrigues and disseminating occasional aberrant slogans. In 1923 Andrés Nin joined the first Left Opposition of Preobrazhensky, Piatakov and Trotsky. But he was not as yet entirely ready for these struggles; he suffocated in the offices of the Profintern and it should be said that the very atmosphere of these offices suffocated him. He gave way. He gained all the more credit when, three years later, he took up completely the decisive struggle amongst those who, at great personal sacrifice, wanted to make one last attempt to reform the Bolshevik party, and the Stalinist bureaucracy that was confidently holding onto power. Then he gained even more credit by sending a short but categorical letter to the Central Committee, more to the point than most that the CC received: “The Opposition is right. I am with it without reservations”, declared the secretary of the RILU. I do not know what the statutes of the International made of it, but he was no longer secretary of the RILU the next day. And he continued to joke, for he was a comrade of rare good humour, while he waited for them to come to arrest him along with the others. For my part, I was waiting for the same thing, for the same reasons. We would bump into one another either at my place or his, in Leningrad or in Moscow, somewhat amazed to be still at (relative) liberty. We had to do various jobs in order to survive. Nin set about translating, Dostoyevsky first of all, and then Boris Pilnyak, into Catalan. He wrote a book defending the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat against Monsieur Cambo, the Catalan theoretician of the dictatorship. He collected texts and memoranda. A hard worker, and rather home-loving, he lived only for his work, along with his companion, Olga Kareva, and their little daughters. We lost a mutual friend, George Andreychin, from the American IWW, who “capitulated”, and told us, with his face turned away, “I am a coward”. (in which USSR prison is George Andreychin now?) While surveying the Spanish Revolution, Nin sent the CC another really extraordinary letter, with a view to forcing them to let him leave or imprisoning him – and took a great risk. There was a strong chance of his being deported to some Siberian place. But finally they decided to deport him. He found himself in a street in Riga, with his wife and kids, utterly penniless.
Back in Spain, Andrés Nin threw himself into activity. Although free, he was several times imprisoned again. He edited the press of the Communist Left, the Trotskyist Opposition, translated books, wrote leaflets and gathered people together without sparing himself, refusing careers both easy and advantageous. He broke finally with Leon Davidovich Trotsky over theoretical and tactical matters, though he remained attached to him by an old and lasting friendship. He drew closer to Joaquin Maurin, and it was from the fusion of their two groupings that the Workers Party of Marxist Unification was born in 1935. In 1933, when the star of Señor Lerroux and Gil Robles was rising, the Republican police attempted a quite serious blow against Nin. Arrested in Barcelona and conducted to an unknown destination, he arrived, no one knows how, in a prison in Algeciras. Events were to save him.
A minister, or rather, councillor of justice in the Taradellas cabinet that had been formed the day after the workers’ victory of 19 July 1936, Andrés Nin tried to push this government in the direction of the revolutionary gains, and for his part proceeded to the most radical conceivable reform of the apparatus of justice. He was the creator of the new Popular Tribunals.
He was only 45 years old, but he had already lived more than twenty years of activist life. For six years he quietly risked his life and liberty every day, with a healthy optimism, though without any illusions, as I know well. His conversation and writings reveal an active and far-sighted revolutionary thought. His entire life was a straight path.
Andrés Nin was arrested on 16 June 1937, two days before the date set for the POUM congress. It was an isolated arrest, and it was only later that we understood why the police, who had come to arrest the entire EC of the POUM, had been so little ‘demanding’. The Stalinists understood better than anyone what the loss of Nin would mean to the POUM. Nin had not only dared to tell the truth about the role of Stalinism in the Spanish Revolution and within the international revolutionary movement; he had committed the unpardonable crime of counterposing to Stalin in Spain a party, doubtless not very large, but growing more and more because of its ideological solidity. The leader of this party, Nin, the old ‘renegade’ of the Communist International, had to disappear. Olga Nin saw her husband in the police prefecture in Barcelona on the afternoon of 16 June. When she came back to bring him food and blankets an hour later he could no longer be found, and no one could inform her what had become of him.
The Stalinist press was not lacking in cynicism on this subject. Let us look at the facts.
Some days after his arrest the famous Agence Espagne (Spain Agency), and then all the Stalinist journals in the peninsula and in other countries, announced the discovery of a document devastating for the POUM. It was a question of a plan of Madrid found upon a fascist by the name of Golfin, and on the other side a message to Franco was written in invisible ink, in which it was a matter of a certain N, deemed to be an active agent in Republican territory. The journals in question allowed it to be understood that the initial stood for Nin.
The inquiry carried out by the first International Delegation consisting of Fenner Brockway, the secretary of the ILP [Independent Labour Party], Louzon and Charles Wolff came to the conclusion that the document had been stolen (we can well imagine by whom) by a police chief and that the part written in invisible ink had been added afterwards.
To become better informed about Nin’s destination, the above-named inquirers made their way to Valencia, where they were able to talk with several members of the government. M. Irujo then made the following declaration, which referred not only to Nin but also to the other members of the EC of the POUM: ‘I can assure you that none of the detainees has suffered either a scratch or bad treatment, nor any pressure other than that of their own consciences’.
About 25 July it became known beyond the borders of Spain with some astonishment from a speech by Frederica Montseny, who had previously been a minister in the government of Largo Caballero, in which she represented the CNT. Word for word she said: ‘But it has ended by us being told that the corpses of Nin and two other comrades have been found in Madrid’.
In the face of the indignation arising inside and outside Spain, on 29 July the minister of justice addressed a note to the newspapers listing the activists of the EC of the POUM held in official governmental prisons.
The name of Andrés Nin did not figure there.
Some days later, the Spain Agency recorded the disappearance of Nin ... and concluded that he had escaped! This reminds us of the shameless rumours about Joaquin Maurin, whom the Stalinists claim to have seen arm-in-arm with Queipo de Llano in Seville!
A second commission of inquiry on which were represented in particular James Maxton, president of the Independent Labour Party and a member of parliament, and Andre Weil-Cariel, a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Federation of the Seine (SFIO) left for Spain on 19 August and returned on 26 August. It reported:
1. Confirmation that the N document was worthless.
2. A certain number of declarations about the fate of Andrés Nin. Indalecio Prieto, the war minister, admitted that the arrest of Nin and the POUM leaders had not been decided by the government.
M. Irujo, the Minister of Justice, asserted that ‘Nin has never been in a governmental prison’.
M. Zugazagoitia, the Minister of the Interior, affirmed that the disappearance of Nin had occurred against the will of the government.
From a certain number of indications provided, whether by the second delegation, the Spanish anarchists, or imprisoned POUM comrades, it emerged that before the disappearance of Nin, he had been transported from one prison to another, all of them secret, and all GPU!
When he had come from Barcelona he was first of all imprisoned in the building of the Special Brigade, Paseo de la Castillana in Valencia, then in the Cheka of Atocha in Madrid, and then in the Cheka of the Pardo, again in Madrid. Then he was taken to its isolated villa at Alcala de Henares, where all trace of him is lost.
The names of the three policemen who arrested Nin are known (Ramallo, Valentin and Rosell). According to the comrades of the CNT the man who brought about his disappearance was a Russian commander from the General Staff of the International Brigade, Orlov.
The police chief, Ortega, who was under suspicion of complicity, and who in any case could not find Nin again, was dismissed. But he was replaced by a Stalinist called Moron, who once the investigation opened, set at liberty the police who had been arrested on the order of the investigating judge.
This question can only be answered by guessing. Two things, however, seem to be definite.
The first is that this act of calculated terror is marked by the hand of Stalinism. The extent of the communist attacks against the POUM in the month preceding, the origin of the accusations of espionage, the transport of prisoners to the headquarters of the GPU, the assassination and disappearance of other revolutionary comrades (Berneri, Barbieri, Erwin Wolf, Marc Rhein, Kurt Landau), and finally the more or less veiled confessions of the ministers to the Second Delegation, all incriminate the gentlemen of the Third International.
The second is that Nin has not been found. If he did appear, he would have far too much to say, and we know that he would not keep silent.
In the period that extends from the month of August 1936 (the first Moscow Trial) to the days we live in now, a time that has witnessed the extermination of all the Old Bolsheviks, all those who had taken part in the October Revolution or the building of the Third International, a militant like Nin, who had been a witness and participant in the struggles of old, had lived through the Moscow years, and had an international reputation, could not have been spared.
The ‘isolated villa’ at Alcala de Henares is close to a Soviet aerodrome. Was Nin taken to be questioned by the Russian officers who were to be found there? Was he taken off and transported to Russia? Was he killed where he was? No one knows.
Andrés Nin was one of those who compel respect by the whole assemblage of their human and intellectual qualities. He is one of the greatest victims of this new tyranny which is called Stalinism.
In the extent to which eyes are opened and illusions fall, the degenerate leaders of the Third International are obliged to resort to ever more violent, ever more cynical, and ever more odious practices to maintain their domination and to rid themselves of those who stand in their way.
But the time will come when blood cries out for justice, and when one of those changes of opinion will happen that stays the hand of the assassins. Slowly, but surely, one such movement is in the process of happening. Coming in the middle of a series of atrocities, the disappearance of Nin and so many other revolutionaries has aroused an immense movement of indignation both in Spain and in the entire world. The death of Nin will prove unfortunate for those who perpetrated it.
Kurt Landau was arrested on 23 September by two persons claiming to be policemen, accompanied by a guard. We soon understood that this time as well it was not a matter of an arrest, but of a kidnapping. On this subject the comrades of the Der Funke group in Paris wrote:
Thursday 23 September 1937. Kurt Landau, known under the pseudonym of Wolf Bertram, was kidnapped from a small building in the neighbourhood of Barcelona. From the circumstances of his disappearance it is evident that it can only be a question of kidnapping by Stalinist agents. It was in this way that Nin, Marc Rhein, Wolf, and many others had disappeared. Neither the official police, nor the government, can give any information with regard to their case. For months the Stalinists had been accusing Wolf Bertram of being “the leader of a band of terrorists” and the liaison agent between the Gestapo and the POUM. With reference to his revolutionary past and his activity in the immediate present, the accusation of being an agent of the Gestapo only appears to be a delirious invention.
As secretary of the Der Funke communist group, Wolf Bertram had to flee Germany before the agents of the Gestapo in March 1933. All the supporters of his group Der Funke before 1933, with the exception of Bertram, his wife, and one comrade alone, have been arrested, tortured, and thrown into solitary confinement and concentration camps. And it is against Bertram, himself pursued by the Gestapo, that the Stalinists have launched the accusation of being an agent of the Gestapo!
The hatred of the Stalinists concerns the theoretician of the Communist opposition. It concerns the author of the pamphlet Spain 1936, Germany 1918, in which he had already shown that the crushing of the revolutionary workers in Spain by the Stalinists ... to which since May they had contributed ... was an inevitable consequence of their policy.
Their hatred concerns a man who dedicated his life exclusively to the revolutionary movement, in the ranks of the Austrian Communist Party since 1923, a member of the Editorial Board of Rote Fahne of Vienna and of the Propaganda and Agitation Section of the Central Committee of the Austrian Communist Party and who joined with Trotsky in his struggle against Stalin since 1923.
The hostility of the Stalinists took in more nourishment when he formed the Bureau of the International Left Opposition with Alfred Rosmer and Trotsky in 1930. It in no way diminished when he broke with Trotsky in 1931 on account of differences over organisational questions, nor in 1933 when he energetically opposed Trotsky on the subject of the founding of the Fourth International.
The hatred of the Stalinists continually followed him, rightly on account of his international activity, which whether in Austria, in Germany, in the emigration, or in Spain, drew upon the foundation of Marxism to combat the policy of Stalinism.
In the emigration he dealt with the problems of the international working class movement in numerous conferences and articles. In November 1936 he left for Spain and placed himself at the disposal of the POUM to offer his strength to the Spanish Revolution.
Incapable of competing with their antagonists on the political plane, and from fear of seeing their criminal policy revealed, the present leaders of the Communist International are substituting murder and terror for discussion.
On 9 October Comrade CD [Carlotta Duran] passed in front of the tribunal and made the following declaration:
I had staying in my apartment in Barcelona a man called Kurt Landau, an Austrian by nationality, and a well-known Marxist writer.
On 23 September about seven o’clock at night two police agents along with an Assault Guard came to arrest Kurt Landau. No search was carried out, but the prisoner was taken off rapidly.
Investigations made in the General Commissariat of Public Order as well as in all the official prisons have produced no result. Since his arrest it is no longer known to where Kurt Landau has been taken nor where he is to be found now. Even the Deputy General of Public Order, Paulino Gomez, told those who took an interest in the disappearance of Kurt Landau that he had not been able to obtain any information from Valencia in response to his intervention. All these facts permit us to suppose that Kurt Landau was arrested under the very eyes of the responsible authorities without informing the Deputy General of Public Order. Were these policemen working on their own account? Were they obeying the orders of their superior, the Police Chief, M. Burillo? Where was Kurt Landau taken after his arrest? What has become of him?
On the assumption that the facts as stated show the following offences: illegal kidnapping, deprivation of liberty and perhaps murder, the undersigned informs the authorities.
She requested the court to take action on it and open an investigation with the object of finding out what has become of Kurt Landau, and to punish those guilty of it.
Now we provide the statement of Katia Landau:
When I was told that Kurt Landau had been arrested by two policemen and an Assault Guard, to begin with I thought that it was a normal arrest. But later, when I myself was taken to the seat of the GPU at 104 Paseo San Juan, I understood that the GPU had been able to proceed “legally” using the state apparatus, and into the bargain using a certain number of “especialemente elegidos” (specially chosen) guards, as they called them, from amongst the most trustworthy of the Young Communists.
“No one knows where, or for whom we are working. And when our term is finished we have seen nothing and heard nothing. Yes, that’s blind obedience if you like, but that is fitting for whoever agrees to become a convinced militant”, they told me.
Yes, I do know them, these young “idealists”, who go for a few hundred pesetas or more a month are willing to lend themselves to anything, and gave quite disgusted us with their “pride” at being militants of the “first rank”. There was never the slightest doubt about who arrested Landau. We know that the house had already been watched for some days before by a couple, a man and a young blonde, at first sight strangers. The description of the young woman leads us to suspect that it is a matter of SK , an agent of the GPU in Barcelona. Moreover, the time had been chosen when Kurt Landau was alone in the house. Witnesses say that he was given at the most three to five minutes to change his clothing, and then the waiting car, a grand and elegant Rolls Royce, disappeared in the direction of Barcelona. There has since been no trace, and no news.
Of what did the Stalinists accuse Kurt Landau? I will only quote the main accusations, repeated in all the interrogations of the foreign comrades who were POUM members. The most serious accusation, the one to which they ascribed the most importance, was that Kurt Landau had been a member of the Executive Committee of the POUM. It goes without saying that this was an invention pure and simple, since the EC of the POUM only contained Spanish comrades. Afterwards the international Stalinist press even made him the “theoretical head” of the POUM (special number of L’Internationale for the month of September 1937). During the questioning of Comrade P , Landau was accused of setting up the POUM German group, a real terrorist organisation, to prepare for the May events. Political letters were transformed into documents proving the preparation of terrorist acts, not only against Stalin, but against all the leaders of the Third International! The Stalinist leaders really had no chance here, accusing an activist of terrorism who had always opposed individual terror with all his ability...but the truth means little to them.
One of the foulest agents of the GPU, Moritz Bressler, alias von Ranke, brought the whole accusation down to rock bottom. He and his wife, Seppl Kapalanz, arrested a comrade and accused him of knowing where Kurt Landau was to be found. “If you do not give us his address”, they said, “you will never get out of prison. He is an enemy of the Popular Front and of Stalin. As soon as we know where he has gone, we are going to kill him.”
The kidnapping took place on 23 September. The Spanish comrades and their foreign friends undertook all the appropriate steps and interventions as in the case of a normal arrest. None of this produced any result. And on behalf of us, who had been imprisoned for months and months without being examined and without any formal charges, our comrades asked themselves: ‘Is it possible that we can keep silent in view of the fact that yesterday they made Andrés Nin disappear, and today Kurt Landau; whose turn is it to be tomorrow? Do we have to give up in the face of such methods of political gangsterism?’ There is no other means of protest for the political prisoner than the hunger strike. I have to say that my comrades did not support me out of pity, but from political conviction, to shout at the tops of our voices that we, although being prisoners condemned to political inactivity, could not and would not keep silent. We spoke up, and we were heard where we wanted to be heard – in the factories, wherever our comrades were working, the workers understood the political message of our hunger strike.
And the Minister of Justice, a ‘worthy’ Catholic, M. Irujo, also understood it; he understood that this strike was going to spread, and that by Sunday 22 November hundreds of anti-fascist prisoners were going to support it to protest vigorously against the methods of the Stalinists. M. Irujo’s sole intention was to put an end to this annoying tale at all costs, if possible in a conciliatory fashion. On 22 November the minister came in person to pay a woman prisoner a visit. For this reason he spoke of the murderers of Nin and Landau. He spoke without any proof, to put an end to the strike and to give a sharp slap to the Stalinists, who had been making themselves utterly ridiculous by accusing me formally of being implicated in the disappearance of Andrés Nin, to punish me for having talked about another disappearance.
A week after the hunger strike I was set at liberty. But a week after my release the ‘Grupo de Informacion’ arrested me again. It was a classic arrest, that is to say without a warrant and by sheer brute force. Along with me Comrade EH was also arrested. Before climbing into the car I wanted to call out to someone to note down its number; but then I perceived that there was none. Some days earlier, on 2 December, the Director of the Police, M. de Juan had told me: ‘Unfortunately, you are right. There have been kidnappings, and there are motor cars without a number, but I can assure you that there will be no more of them.’ And after my arrest carried out by the ‘Grupo de Informacion’, the Minister of the Interior, M. Zugazagoitia, replying to numerous interventions in my favour, declared that he was powerless in the face of the GPU, a part of his own ministry!
If I dwell upon my second arrest, it is to show on what the accusations against the revolutionaries are based, and who these ‘men’ are who came to Spain to ‘judge’ us.
We finally arrived at 104 Paseo San Juan, the GPU building in Barcelona. We quickly entered an office, and the first interrogation began immediately, the first, moreover, that was carried out by a Spaniard. He asked about the May Events, and my participation in them. Afterwards, he asked me at least three times if I was Jewish. Given his insistence, I asked him why it interested him so much. He told me, ‘For us it is question of race’. I replied that for us Communists and Socialists the question of race does not come up. But it did remind me of the language of the German fascists. He wanted me to believe that we were in the Ministry of the Interior. I asked to see the Minister of the Interior who, I said, had set me at liberty only a week earlier. Then he admitted that it wasn’t the Ministry, but a ‘departamento’(a department), which amounted to the same thing according to him.
The director of the ‘departamento’ arrived at six o’clock at night, accompanied by a foreigner. This foreigner was shut up in an office with me. As I complained about being arrested by force, without a warrant, he told us: ‘We are the Ministry of the Interior, we arrest whoever we wish and we absorb our arrest warrants from the prefectures’. And referring to the recent arrest of Gaston Ladmiral, he said: ‘We have arrested – and without a warrant – men who have been freed on the direct intervention of the French government. We are working independently of everyone.’
He told me that I was not being detained, but only held, because I knew a great many people. What they were waiting for was for me to supply them with some precious information. I answered firstly that I knew very little in general, and secondly that I was not disposed to supply information to the ‘Grupo de Informacion’. After this statement the atmosphere changed. He very quietly told me that I would never come out of this building alive, and that in eight days time I would be shot. I replied that it was more likely that they would allow me to starve slowly. As he spoke with an Austrian accent I asked him some questions, from which it emerged that we must have known each other from the Austrian Communist Party. Finally, I remembered having seen him at the ACP centre in Vienna 10 or 12 years ago, and at last I remembered his name, Leopold Kulcsar.
After an hour of conversation with him, his secretary, a little Hungarian guttersnipe called Harry , and the director of the ‘departamento’, I went up to the first floor. I was admitted into a luxurious apartment with its own morning room, bedroom, toilet and bathroom. It was the director’s apartment. The same night I asked for information about the other comrades. I was told that everyone was alright, and that all had beds and blankets. Afterwards I found out that these brutes had left Else in a lumber room without either light or blankets for five days, and that another prisoner, a shop assistant who moreover had a weak heart, had been left for 10 days and nights on a chair, without a bed, mattress or covers. She fell gravely ill. She was taken from the Calle Vallmajor to hospital through the intervention of the Director of the Prison. She had been quietly left to die in the Paseo San Juan. I was often told: ‘If you want to start up the hunger strike again, go ahead. These Spanish idiots don’t know how to work, so we will let you quietly starve.’ In all these altercations this individual spoke of the Spaniards with great contempt, as imbeciles to whom it was necessary to give lessons. Other comrades questioned by the foreigners told me the same thing. Adventurers who had come from every corner of the world thought they were masters of Spain.
When, in the course of an interrogation, I talked about the Police Chief, Paulino Romero, or of the Security Director who had received us and given us our provisional identity papers, he threatened to punish them. ‘We will drive out all these people. Now we have taken charge of everything.’
On the second day of my arrest, Thursday 9 December 1937, Leopold Kulscar dashed into my room at seven o’clock in the morning with a few scraps of paper in his hand. He pretended that these bits of paper were plans, drawn up by me, that he had found in my room. He said that he had known that I was a spy beforehand, but that he did not expect to find such striking proof of it.
As I had not been present during the search of the apartment where I lived, I supposed that these papers had been introduced after that event, and were perhaps real plans. But it was not even a question of that. The room I had lived in with EH for a week belonged to a leading young designer of the time. The so-called plans were designs drawn up by him to participate in a conference. But that didn’t help me at all. When it emerged clearly that I had never seen these scraps, I was told. “So much the worse for you. There is a fresh proof. In addition you were carrying on espionage even in the women’s prison’, supported, apparently, by the Director whom he had promised to drive out, as well as by M. Tassis, the Director General of the Prisons, who, it seems, was too indulgent. ‘We know’, he told me, ‘that you wrote illegal letters to your friend M, the editor of the Journal des Nations in Geneva.’ ‘How could it be to my friend M, as I do not know him?’ The man broke out laughing. ‘That’s ludicrous; are you going to deny that for years you lived with him, in a menage à trois? Proof is not lacking’, he told me.
M was known to me as a 100 per cent Stalinist. Was he no longer as faithful to the Stalinist line as formerly? I do not know. He was ill-chosen in any case, as I did not know him personally. But when I insisted that I should be shown a single illegal letter written by me to M, Leopold Kulscar very quickly subsided. He said that it was ‘not me but Kurt who had carried on this correspondence with M, a character who would be particularly suspect as he was directly maintained by the English government in the capacity of an agent of the Intelligence Service’. But as Kurt could not be found, they had to content themselves with me, and make me the principal defendant in a future trial for military espionage.
I was threatened with being transferred to a military prison to effect the quickest trial possible and have me shot in eight days.
Leopold Kulcsar told me word for word:
I have come on a special assignment for the Landau case. My historic mission is to furnish proof that out of twenty Trotskyists, eighteen are fascists, agents of Hitler and Franco. Perhaps subjectively you are a good revolutionary, but you are convinced that the victory of Franco would be more favourable to the realisation of your Trotskyist ideas than the victory of Stalinism.
He spoke about Kurt with a particular personal hatred. The phrase, ‘I can take a bloody revenge on Landau’ came up on every occasion: ‘If he falls into my hands one day, I will make him pay dearly for it’. He never told me, however, what it was he wanted to avenge. I often had the impression in this man’s presence of being in front of a pathological case. The man no longer appeared to know what he was saying. I will always remember certain phrases, for example such as: ‘I am a deeply religious man. Your blood will be on my head. I am convinced that you are a spy, but if I am mistaken, what does it matter? I will take responsibility myself.’
‘If Kurt has escaped from Spain’, he said, ‘all has already been prepared to denounce him to the French police for espionage in the South of France in alliance with fascist elements.’ He also threatened to denounce to the French police other comrades who figured in my correspondence in order to make it impossible for them to stay in France.
I was accused in the first place of having sold plans to France, whereas Kurt had been organising the transport of weapons for the FAI and the POUM. My visit to the Austrian Consulate on the night of my arrest was above all emphasised; I was charged with carrying on espionage with the Austrian Ambassador in Paris. And the proof: that my passport had been extended for five years.
Occasionally Spaniards, functionaries of the ‘departamento’ like Alfonso Martinez, assisted at the interrogations. They came to see me afterwards to make fun of the foreigner who could not make me talk, or so they said.
On 18 December I was transferred to Calle Vallmajor 5, a semi-secret prison directly and solely responsible to the ‘departamento’. Three weeks before my release the real head of the ‘departamento’ came to see me in prison, and asked me: ‘Tell me really, Madame Landau, why are you here? This question was being put to me by the same Señor Ordonez (a socialist who had called openly for the fusion of his party with the Communist Party) who on 9 December had signed the self-styled warrant for my arrest (arrested on strong suspicion of military espionage). I asked him who had authorised the coming of Leopold Kulcsar, as he himself said, on a special mission to take bloody revenge upon Landau. Unfortunately, Ordonez did not reply.
During the night of 29-30 December 1937, at two o’clock in the morning, my cell was abruptly opened. ‘Corre, corre, en libertad’ (‘Run, run, you are free’). I was given barely two minutes to dress. As everything had been taken from me, right down to the last chemise, I had no case to pack. Some hope!
I was taken along with EH to the Calle Corcega 299 (the Foreign police). Was it to be deportation, then? When I refused to accept it point blank, I was threatened with being thrown into the dirtiest and most wretched jails. ‘Are there any more wretched, then, than those of your own secret prison? No one answered this indiscreet question.
Then there was a resort to moral blackmail. If I refused deportation, none of my friends would leave. After speaking with VS, the director of the building, I gave in. He assured me in the presence of other comrades on his word of honour that Kurt was still alive, that he was in a Spanish prison, and that he would shortly be deported. When I straightaway asked him not to deceive me in order to get me to go, and that I would go if he had told me the truth, he said: ‘That would be a shameful game to play with you. I would never lend myself to playing such a part.’
And to give me more confidence, he told me of his past as a militant, and ended with these words: ‘Kurt will be deported, I promise you that, and in exactly the same way as yourself. Go quietly. Perhaps happiness is already awaiting you in Paris.’
A few more words about Leopold Kulcsar (Maresch), who had come to Barcelona in the capacity of an ‘examining magistrate’ in the Landau case. I always had the impression that he did not belong to the apparatus, but that he wanted to make his career out of the Landau case. I rather think that someone in the GPU had something on him, but that he had been allowed through because he had come from high up.
He and his wife, Ilse Kulcsar, had been expelled from the Austrian Communist Party in 1927 under suspicion of being police informers. Their moral reputation in the working class movement was most deplorable. Whereas she was a completely unscrupulous careerist, Leopold Kulcsar was accused of stealing money from the Social Democratic Party, a party he had joined after his expulsion from the Communist Party. Both of them, moreover, had belonged to the Neubeginnen Group in the same manner as Marc Rhein.
Having left Austria after the insurrection of February 1934, they made their way to Prague. Finally, Leopold Kulcsar worked for the Spanish embassy in Prague as head, so he said, of the News Service, but in fact as a military attache.
To get an idea about this Prague embassy we will quote the following case: The mother of a foreign member of the POUM who had been arrested along with us in Barcelona applied to the embassy to request an intervention on behalf of her son. ‘Your son is a brave lad,’ she was told. ‘But his friends are all agents of the Gestapo. Give us the names of two or three of them, and your son will be released. To prevent the worst happening we could even send a telegram today.’
Leopold Kulcsar died in Prague on 28 January 1938. M. Asua, the Spanish Ambassador in Prague, did not fail to render warm tributes to the deceased and to speak of the great services of LK during the Spanish Revolution. ‘Overwork’, he said, brought on the death of this brave man.’ The truth is that LK wore himself out questioning us for whole nights; he had overworked himself by continually inventing new methods of physical and moral torture.
M. Asua knew better than anyone, so it seems, how to estimate such services and sacrifices.
So perhaps he could tell us who authorised Leopold Kulcsar to go to Spain, who gave him absolute powers, and who opened for him the generally hermetically sealed doors of the Paseo San Juan.
Leopold Kulcsar is dead. But Ilse Kulcsar is ‘happily’ still alive and continuing the good traditions of her family. We saw her twice in the Paseo San Juan, assisting in the interrogations. She is at the moment in Paris, married again to a Spanish student. Ilse Kulcsar-Barea is spreading the story here that the Spanish government committed a grave error in releasing me, since I am very deceitful and I should have been made to talk (with the methods of Santa Ursula, isn’t that so, Ilse Kulcsar?) because it appears that I know very well where Kurt is, in Rio de Janeiro!
You can indeed spread the fabrications of the GPU when you are directly involved with it, but you should put a bit more spirit and intelligence into it.
However, Ilse Kulcsar, like Moritz Bressler and a number of others, are showing their devotion to the cause of Republican Spain in the course of the tragic hours that they are now quietly passing taking coffee in the ‘Dome’ in Paris.
We will end with the account of comrade EH, whom they wanted to make into a hostile witness against Katia Landau.
I was under arrest from 17 June 1937 to 29 November 1937 and placed at the disposal of the Special Tribunal of Espionage in Madrid. Having been released following the direct intervention of the Minister of Justice, then Irujo, I was again arrested along with Katia on the 8 December 1937, when I had gone to visit some female comrades in prison. The agent gave as an explanation that Katia had had to provide some details on a document issued by her Consul; I was only to be taken as security for Katia.
When we got to the building where the offices of the “departamento” were, our immediate separation was effected and I was locked up in the WC. Along with me in this strange cell was put a brutal-looking policeman, who incessantly threatened me with his revolver.
It was announced that I had been arrested on the order of the Minister of the Interior. I protested immediately against an action taken without a warrant of arrest.
I was led into an antechamber, where I found the same policeman who arrested us. He told me in conversation, “A fortnight ago I saw Landau in a cafe in Paris.”
All the policemen left the building during the dinner hour, and for three hours, in spite of our rigorous “isolation”. I had the opportunity of exchanging impressions with Katia.
When taken next up to the second floor, I recognised that apart from offices the building contained an entire prison. During the five hours that I had to spend on a chair, guarded by a policeman, I had occasion to see one prisoner in handcuffs and another shut up in a sort of cubicle with a double door.
At 23 hours I was led into another building in the block, where a foreigner, Leopold Kulcsar, who was later to interrogate me, looked at me for 10 minutes. Then he took my date of birth, and asked me for my handbag which had already been searched, which, however, he handed back to me. He sent every piece of a book of cigarette papers for them to examine in the laboratory. With reference to a piece of writing paper, he pretended to be able to disclose writing in invisible ink without a quartz lamp. Then he pretended that a simple case key was that of a strong box. Then he showed the extent of his imagination by a sensational discovery; a bead necklace of wax worth a hundred francs was made of real pearls. He took no notice of my observation that no one carries treasure in a handbag, pretending that this was really an old trick to disguise the value. He maintained that five photos of my husband represented five different men. Suddenly, placing one of these photos in front of my eyes, he exclaimed: “That’s Landau!” Then his secretary called Harry” who understood Spanish appeared, whereas his chief was almost totally ignorant of the language.
At dawn I was taken into a luxurious apartment to which Katia had been taken under the pretext that she had to identify me. Whilst leaving the chamber I was asked if the surroundings where Katia was staying did not lead me to think again, and when I replied “No”, I was told, “Well, she has confessed everything”. I was taken back to my cell after eight hours of questioning. This was a little room filled like a junk shop, with lamps, tables, etc. A metal bedstead without a mattress had to serve me for a bed, and a music stand for a pillow. There was no coverlet, and the shutters were hermetically sealed. There was no electricity, no air, and no light. At this time the cold was severe. Thanks only to continuous massaging was I able to prevent my legs and hands from freezing; and I was not able to get to sleep all night. The police had orders not to allow me to open the doors other than for going to the WC three times a day. All complaints on the subject of soap or towels were rebuffed. Thus I was not able to wash for 10 days.
During the nights they came to look for me for short interrogations and confrontations; and one day the Commissar came. He brought me the warrant of arrest forwarded by the same department, saying that I had been arrested on suspicion of military espionage. He took advantage of this visit to certify the “perfect” state of my accommodation.
Confrontations took place with comrades and also with unknown persons, among them Ilse K, the wife of LK.
When after 10 days I was given back my case, I quickly noticed that a box of films and photographs had been taken from it; and immediately I protested.
All the questions of the interrogation dealt with the activity of Katia and myself during our brief spell of liberty.
As I took care not to give the names of comrades, I was unceasingly accused of protecting fascists. When I spoke of a visit to the Austrian Consul the Commissar ascribed a tremendous importance to this interview, and talked about arms traffic that Landau had organised with the Consul. The main point of the interrogation turned upon the following question: “With what personage did Katia Landau make an appointment after coming out of hospital?” This question was repeated in a monotonous tone for half an hour, and when the Commissar lost his voice he passed over the talking to his secretary, who went on, and then they all questioned me in turn.
During this half hour in front of the desk I was made to remain upright. Even though all movement was forbidden me, in spite of the terrible cold I was forced to leave my coat. The question was always repeated in the same rhythm by tapping the measure with a comb upon the table.
‘ During the course of the questioning I was shown plans, illustrations, etc, that had been found in my room; these were designs drawn up by a young designer for an official conference, and no more than that. I was informed that I was to be judged in eight days. The Commissar, however, declared that he was prepared to save me the shame of being shot as a fascist on condition that I finally name my accomplices. Even though he was convinced of my innocence, he could not help me, because I had rendered this impossible. He pretended that all the correspondence (that reached me in the prison after being passed by the double censorship at the frontier and,the prison) had been sent by very suspect persons. He identified some English friends who owned a hotel in a little seaside resort near Barcelona (News Chronicle correspondents) as agents of the Intelligence Service. But as I had seen GPU agent — and — at their place in the March of the same year, both employed in the same “departamento”, I cited them as witnesses.
The declaration of the Commissar was always repeated, that he had no interest in pursuing the POUM comrades, but only fascists and the leaders of the conspiracy, whom he wanted to call Landau and his wife.
The final interrogation unfolded as follows: the Commissar was alone, and in a mysterious tone he asked me to confess everything now. He pretended that he wished to profit from the time that his secretary was absent to give me one last chance to acquit myself, to give him the possibility of saving me. He even held out the hope of an impending journey to Paris along with him. Finally, he announced to me that the following day would be the final interrogation and the presentation of the final transcript for my signature, but he produced neither the one nor the other. On 18 December l was transferred to the remand prison, Calle Vallmajor 5. I was placed in a small cell where there were already three Spanish women. There was no ventilation, as in my former cell. Three days before my release “Harry” appeared once more in my cell and gave me an unknown photo.” As I said that I did not recognise the figure, he insisted: “This is Landau”.
About two o’clock in the morning on the night of the 29-30 of January I was informed that I was released.
During the night of 9-10 April 1937, the journalist Marc Rhein disappeared from the Hotel Continental in Barcelona where he was staying. Marc Rhein was a member of the French Young Socialists. Politically he was not a direct antagonist of Stalinism. He had defended the Popular Front and had collaborated with the Stalinists in France. Despite the desperate efforts of his father to find him, even with the help of the Spanish authorities, he did not succeed.
Marc Rhein was the son of the Russian Socialist Abramovitch, who played an important part in the emigration. He was a member of the editorial board of Courrier Socialiste the bimonthly of the Russian Socialist Party [Mensheviks], which is in touch with militants living in Russia.
The interest shown by the GPU in regard to people linked with it can well be understood. Was it only because of his family connections with the leaders of the Courrier Socialiste?
The visit of Marc Rhein to Barcelona was no secret to the GPU. Either its agents hoped to draw out of Marc Rhein some information that interested them, or they hoped to operate a blackmail on his father. It is not impossible that they wanted to extract the name of the ‘Old Bolshevik’ who a year ago published a long letter exposing the crimes of Stalin in the USSR.
He was a tempting possibility for the GPU. Marc Rhein, no supporter of the political ideas of his father, became a victim of the manipulations of the GPU. He was kidnapped from Barcelona and many of those who know Stalinist methods believe that he was taken back to Russia, either to make him accuse his father, or as a hostage.
Marc Rhein left his hotel on 9 April without either his coat or hat. Nobody has seen him since. After his disappearance only one letter arrived, coming from Madrid, addressed to his friend Nicolas Sundelevicz (since July 1937 under arrest on the scarcely original accusation of wanting to kill Stalin). The handwriting was recognised by Abramovitch as being that of his son, the date of 12 May being doubtless added by an unknown hand. We might add that Leopold Kulcsar, the individual who came to Barcelona on a ‘special mission’ for the Landau case, and who arrested comrades Katia Landau, EH and others under the accusation of military espionage, belonged not only to the Austrian Socialist Party but at the same time to the Neubeginnen (Miles) group, of which Marc Rhein was part. Can we exclude the possibility that the wife of Leopold Kulcsar, Ilse Kulcsar, who was in Spain from October 1936 onwards, could especially inform us about the disappearance of Marc Rhein?
Erwin Wolf, a Czechoslovak citizen, came to Barcelona at the end of the month of May 1937 as the correspondent for an English journal supporting the Popular Front, Spanish News. Immediately after his arrival he presented himself to the Spanish authorities and joined the official organisation of foreign journalists in Barcelona.
Towards evening on 27 July 1937 Erwin Wolf was arrested for the first time. He was taken to the Puerta del Angel 24 along with another journalist, and it was there that P and KTh saw him for the last time. Wolf was released the following day. It is extremely interesting to note that whereas the Spanish press published nothing about the arrest of Wolf and the other journalist, the Italian fascist journal Corriere della Serra of 29 July published the following note: ‘On the 27 July 1937 the Spanish Secret State Police proceeded to arrest journalists Erwin Wolf and RSt. They were taken to the Puerta del Angel 24, to open a preliminary investigation into their political activity.’
The arrest of these two journalists was only known to ‘insiders’ – yet another proof that the Italian fascists have placed their agents as well in the midst of the GPU.
After being set at liberty, Wolf returned to his habitual domicile. Learning that his journal had ceased to appear, he decided to leave Spain. He had no difficulty in obtaining his exit visa. On the day of his departure his friend Tioli asked him on the telephone to pass by his place to pick up his letters. Wolf promised his wife that he would not be longer than an hour. An hour later he notified his wife that he would be coming a little later on.
Since that day Wolf and Tioli have disappeared. Tioli’s room at the Hotel Victoria was watched by the police for several weeks, and all those who asked for him were arrested.
Wolfs wife, a Norwegian, the daughter of a socialist deputy with whom Trotsky stayed in Norway, searched for her husband in all the prisons of Barcelona. Finally, she was advised to leave as quickly as possible so as not to share the fate of her husband. It was only thanks to the energetic intervention of the Norwegian Consul that she escaped arrest at the time she was due to leave.
The sister of Wolf intervened in favour of her brother at the Spanish embassy in Prague. On 10 October 1937 she received the following reply:
I have the honour to communicate to you that according to an official investigation of the General Management of Security, of which the Ministry of the Interior has informed us, your brother, Erwin Wolf, was in prison, arrested for subversive activity. He was set at liberty on 13 September 1937.
The Secretary of the Spanish Embassy in Prague
Let them dare to pretend that Wolf was arrested for ‘subversive activity’! We know only too well why Wolf was arrested, and why the GPU caused him to disappear. Wolf was Trotsky’s personal secretary, and it seems that he had to pay dearly for it.
In February 1937 Le Matin published a note saying that Wolf and Antonov-Ovseyenko had been shot in the USSR. That confirms the supposition that Wolf was kidnapped and taken to the USSR.
At the same time, Wolfs lawyer officially received the news that Wolf was in a state prison in Spain, at the disposal of the courts. But he was not permitted to see his client, and with good reason!
Hans Freund, known under the name of Moulin , was one of the most active members of the Spanish Trotskyist group. A German emigré, he pursued his studies in Geneva. Immediately after 19 July 1936 he left for Spain to place himself at the disposal of the Spanish revolutionary movement.
In August he was working politically in Madrid. He went as a journalist to the Guadarrama front, where the Stalinist Galan threatened to shoot him for his propaganda work among the militiamen.
Since the month of December 1936 he was in Barcelona, working with all his strength. But the GPU did not lose sight of him in Barcelona. An agent of the GPU, a Pole called Mink, was specially ordered to watch him.
After the May Days, Moulin was able to hide in a Barcelona street. It was only on 2 August 1937 that ‘unknown men’ arrested him in that town. There has been no news since.
Moulin was a dedicated Trotskyist, a passionate defender of the Fourth International. In spite of the political differences that separated them, the POUM comrades always regarded him as a pure and devoted militant.
The real leaders of the GPU in Spain are some old agents of the Russian GPU – Specialists. The huge number of agents are Stalinists from all the sections of the Communist International, Germans, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Austrians, French, etc. The greater part of them came to Spain after 19 July 1936. Instead of going to the front they preferred to stow away in the apparatus of the GPU.
With the exception of the names of Feldmann, Herz , Kindermann, — and Kulcsar, the other names are generally pseudonyms.
The names erased are those of a GPU agent and his wife. Dedicated Stalinists, they understood that they were questioning revolutionaries and not traitors. They succeeded in escaping and reached France, where they fought in the resistance against the Nazis.
8. Francesco Ghezzi is described by Serge as ‘the only syndicalist still at liberty in Russia’ (Memoirs of a Revolutionary, Oxford, 1963, p.322).
9. When the Civil War broke out Maurin was attending a conference of the Galician federation of the POUM in Santiago de Compostella, and was caught behind the generals’ side of the lines. For a while he went unrecognised, and the POUM and its international supporters tried to help him by claiming that he had been killed. He was subsequently recognised and arrested. A plan to exchange him and other prisoners for fascists held by the Republicans was blocked by the Stalinists (R. Dazy, Fusilez ces Chiees enrages, Paris 1981, p.170; Gorkin, op. cit., n3 above, p.110).
10. Apparently not the same as the Orlov who later defected to the USA, according to Elizabeth Poretsky, Our Own People, Oxford 1969, p.259, n1 (Nikolsky/Orlov).
11. There is some evidence that Nin, like Erwin Wolf and perhaps Marc Rhein, was taken back to the Soviet Union via the port of Alicante to be finished off there (Burnett Bolloten, The Spanish Revolution, 1979, pp.457-8).
12. Seppl Kappalanz, the wife of GPU agent Moritz Bressler (Gorkin, op. cit., n3 above, p.201).
13. Perhaps POUM leader Luis Portela.
14. From the age indicated it appears that it is not impossible that this lightweight is, in fact, Laszio Rajk (1909-49), the chief victim of the postwar East European purge trials at the time Stalin completed the drive he began before the war to eliminate the agents who worked for him in Spain. If this is indeed the case, the sympathy of the Hungarian people at the time of his rehabilitation and reburial (1956) was greatly misplaced.
15. This and the following name were deleted from the original pamphlet during the Second World War, for the reason explained at the end. Thanks to the work of Pouvoir Ouvrier, French section of the MRCI, we are able to identify them with Moritz Bressler, alias von Rank, and his wife.
16. Seppl Kappalanz.
17. Victor Serge was always of the opinion that this was the reason for Rhein’s kidnapping. (Gorkin, op. cit., n3 above, p.57, n4)
18. The Letter of an Old Bolshevik was put together by the Menshevik emigré Boris Nikolayevsky on the basis of conversations with Bukharin denouncing Stalin’s crimes, and published outside the USSR under this title (S.P. Cohen, Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution, Oxford 1980, p.366.)
19. Nicolas Sundelevicz was the son of a famous Menshevik who had spent much of his life in Siberia, and was a Trotskyist. He was arrested carrying POUM stickers and accused of preparing an attempt on Stalin’s life (Gorkin, ibid.; R. Dazy, op. cit., p.194).
20. The newspaper for which Wolf secured his press credentials is identified by Pierre Broué with the News Chronicle (Quelques proches collaborateurs de Trotsky, in Cahiers Leon Trotsky, no.1, January 1979, p.7.
21. Some of the personnel of the Secret State police were double Stalinist/Fascist agents. This was certainly the case with the later head of the ‘Foreign Section’ of the SIM, Maxim Sheller, who later fled to France (H. Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, Harmondsworth, 3rd ed., 1977, p.809, n1). Perhaps he was the source of this information fed to the Italians.
22. On 8 February 1938, the Fournier Agency released a statement that he had been transported to the USSR and shot at the same time as Antonov-Ovseyenko (R Dazy, op. cit., n9 above, p.198).
23. Hans David Freund (1912-1937), also known as Winter, was born into a family of German Jews, and became disillusioned with Stalinism after a visit to the Soviet Union. Whilst in Spain he worked for the German language propaganda division of the POUM, and tried to unite the two Trotskyist groups there, the Voz Leninista (Munis) and El Soviet (Bartolomeo) groups. (Cahiers Leon Trotsky, no.3, July/September 1979, p.135.)
24. Nikolsky/Orlov cf. n10 above.
25. The gap here should be filled with ‘Moritz Bressler, alias von Rank’. We owe this research to Pouvoir Ouvrier (cf. note 15 above).
26. Here again the gap should be filled by ‘von Rank’. cf. the last paragraph for the reason for these deletions.
27. Franz Feldman: without doubt the sinister Stalinist hatchetman Erno Gero, placed by Stalin as one of the post-war dictators of Hungary. Born in 1898, the age would be about right.
28. Katia Landau is mistaken about the names of Feldman and Herz, both being pseudonyms. Feldman is probably Gero, Herz is another name for the Lithuanian Stalinist George Mink, called a ‘Pole’ in Katia Landau’s text (cf. Cahiers Leon Trotsky, no.3, July/September 1979, p.179).
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Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances. It did not achieve the success of most of their earlier productions.
Gilbert's libretto satirises limited liability companies, and particularly the idea that a bankrupt company could leave creditors unpaid without any liability on the part of its owners. It also lampoons the Joint Stock Company Act by imagining the absurd convergence of natural persons (or sovereign nations) with legal commercial entities under the limited companies laws. In addition, it mocks the conceits of the late 19th-century British Empire and several of the nation's beloved institutions. In mocking the adoption by a "barbaric" country of the cultural values of an "advanced" nation, it takes a tilt at the cultural aspects of imperialism. The libretto was criticised as too long and rambling by some critics and later commentators, and several subplots introduced in Act I are never resolved.
Utopia is performed much less frequently than most other Gilbert and Sullivan operas. It can be expensive to produce, requiring a large principal cast and two costumes ("native" and "drawing room") for most of the performers. The subject-matter and characters, including the specific government offices, are obscure for modern audiences, although its themes of corporatisation of public institutions and scandal in the British Royal family are evergreen. And although it contains some fine music, it perhaps has less than Sullivan's usual quota of unforgettable tunes. Bernard Shaw, however, wrote in his highly favourable October 1893 review of the show in The World, "I enjoyed the score of Utopia more than that of any of the previous Savoy operas."
In 1890, during the production of Gilbert and Sullivan's previous opera, The Gondoliers, Gilbert became embroiled in a legal dispute with their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, over the cost of a new carpet for the Savoy Theatre – and, more generally, over the accounting for expenses over the course of their long partnership. Sullivan sided with Carte and was made a defendant in the case, and the partnership disbanded. Gilbert vowed to write no more operas for the Savoy, and after The Gondoliers closed in 1891, Gilbert withdrew the performance rights to his libretti. It was not until October 1891, after conversations with their publisher Tom Chappell, that Gilbert and Sullivan reconciled. After fulfilling their respective open commitments Gilbert and Sullivan were able to plan to renew their collaboration on a new opera, Utopia, Limited. The lawsuit, however, had left Gilbert and Sullivan somewhat embittered, and their last two works together suffered from a less collegial working relationship than the two men had typically enjoyed while writing earlier operas.
Genesis of the opera
In November 1892, after lengthy and delicate discussions over the financial arrangements for a new opera, Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte were able to reach an agreement and set to work on the new opera. On 27 January 1893, Gilbert read the plot outline for the libretto to Sullivan, and by July, he was finished with the libretto. Gilbert suffered from bad gout throughout the summer and autumn of 1893 and had to attend rehearsals in a wheelchair. Gilbert and Sullivan disagreed on several matters, including the character of Lady Sophy, and Sullivan found some of Gilbert's lyrics difficult to set. Their lack of the cohesion during the writing and editing of Utopia was in marked contrast with what Sullivan called the "oneness" of their previous collaborations since Trial by Jury in 1875. Nonetheless, Sullivan completed the setting of Gilbert's first act within a month, and received particular congratulations from his collaborator for the finale, which Gilbert considered the best Sullivan had composed. For Utopia, the creators engaged Hawes Craven to design the sets, which were much praised. Craven was the designer for Henry Irving's spectacular Shakespeare productions at the Lyceum Theatre. Percy Anderson designed the costumes. The scenery, properties and costumes cost an unprecedented total of £7,200.
In 1893, the year Utopia, Limited was produced, Princess Kaiulani of the independent monarchy of Hawaii attended a private school in England. She was the talk of the society pages, with much speculation as to the influence English "civilization" would have on the Princess and eventually her homeland. Two decades earlier, in 1870, Anna Leonowens first wrote about her six-year stint as governess to the children of the king of Siam (Thailand) in The English Governess at the Siamese Court. The two ladies and their stories are likely to have influenced the characters of Princess Zara and Lady Sophy, respectively. Another impetus for Gilbert in the genesis of the work was his disdain for England's Limited Liability Act of 1862, which he had begun to explore in the previous opera with Sullivan, The Gondoliers.
By using an imaginary setting, Gilbert was emboldened to level some sharp satire at British imperialism, jingoism, the monarchy, party politics and other institutions that might have touched a more sensitive nerve if the opera had a British setting. In this work, Gilbert returns to the idea of an anti-Utopia, which he had explored, in various ways, in his early one-act operas, Happy Arcadia, Our Island Home, Topsyturveydom, and some of his other early works, especially The Happy Land. The previous Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Gondoliers, also concerns an imaginary island kingdom where the rules of court are considerably different from those in Britain. In Utopia, the island begins as a virtual paradise, is thrown into chaos by the importation of "English" influences, and is eventually saved by an English political expedience. Gilbert's biographer Jane Stedman calls this a "Gilbertian invasion plot".
The opera's satiric treatment of limited liability entities that are not required to honour their obligations and scandal in the monarchy was effective in 1893 and still resonate today. In addition, the show satirises "practically everything English – English prudery, English conversation, English company promoting, the English party system, the English War Office and Admiralty, the County Council, and the English Cabinet." Apart from satirical elements, in Utopia, Gilbert indulges in some small topical touches throughout the libretto. For instance, he was up-to-date in his technological references (as he had been in H.M.S. Pinafore with the mention of the telephone), by mentioning George Eastman's new product, the Kodak camera, and its slogan. Gilbert also throws some barbs at the Lord Chamberlain's office, as he loved to do. In addition, The Court of St. James's is mockingly confused with St James's Hall and its minstrel shows. Sullivan joins in the parody, underlining the mock praise of all things English with a repeated motif throughout the score based on the melody of "Rule Britannia!".
Reception and aftermath
The Savoy audiences were glad to see Gilbert and Sullivan back together, and the first-night reception was rapturous. Sullivan wrote in his diary, "Went into the orchestra at 8.15 sharp. My ovation lasted 65 seconds! Piece went wonderfully well – not a hitch of any kind, and afterwards G. and I had a double call." The critics were divided on the merits of the piece. Punch, habitually hostile to Gilbert, commented, "'Limited' it is, in more senses than one." The Standard, by contrast, said, "Mr. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan are here at their very best … The wit, humour and satire of the book have not been surpassed in any of the author's previous operas, the composer's fascinating vein of melody flows as freshly as ever, and the orchestration is full of characteristically happy fancies … A more complete success has never been achieved in comic opera, even at the Savoy." The Pall Mall Gazette also praised Sullivan's contribution, but disparaged Gilbert's: in its view the music "has not its equal in the whole Sullivan and Gilbert series", but the book had "not merely a sense of cheapness but the sense of weariness even to exhaustion." The Era commented that Gilbert's "wit was as sparkling and his satire as keen as ever," and thought the council scene "screamingly funny". The Observer judged that Gilbert had lost none of his merits, and that "wit abounds" and "is as spontaneous as ever: not forced or vulgarised, and his rhymes are always faultless."
Some critics thought it a weakness that the work contained references to the earlier Gilbert and Sullivan operas, for example in the re-use of the character Captain Corcoran, and communications between King Paramount and the Mikado of Japan. The Pall Mall Gazette observed, "It is always a melancholy business when a writer is driven to imitate himself. Utopia (limited) is a mirthless travesty of the work with which his name is most generally associated. ... Mr. Gilbert has failed to make the old seem new". The Musical Times reported the theatregoing public's rejoicing that the partners were reunited, but added:
[A]ll would have indulged in renewed jubilations had Utopia (Limited) proved equal in humour and general freshness to the most successful of the companion works. This, unfortunately, cannot be said, although, of course, as compared with ordinary productions of the opéra bouffe class it stands out sufficiently clear. Mr. Gilbert could not put forward a silly or inane book, and Sir Arthur Sullivan could not pen music otherwise than refined, tuneful, and characterised by musicianly touches. It is only in comparison with such masterpieces of humour and dramatic and musical satire as Patience, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard, and The Gondoliers that the libretto of Utopia (Limited) seems a trifle dull, particularly in the first Act, and the music for the most part reminiscent rather than fresh.
The Daily News and The Globe both noted that Act I ran longer than any previous Savoy Opera and needed pruning. The Manchester Guardian praised the work, but commented that there was "much (sometimes too much) Gilbertian dialogue". However, Gilbert and Sullivan's choices for what to cut are suspect. The soprano's aria, "Youth is a boon avowed" got some of the most enthusiastic reviews from the press but was cut after the opening night. The Globe called it "one of Sir Arthur Sullivan's best works". Also, the pre-production cuts left subplots that were introduced in Act I unresolved. For example, Sullivan refused to set one of Gilbert's scenes for Nancy McIntosh, which left the Scaphio–Phantis–Zara subplot unresolved. Rutland Barrington, in his memoirs, felt that the "second act... was not as full of fun as usual" in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
The show made a modest profit, despite the unusually high cost of staging it. In competition with the musical comedies' fashion pageantry, the drawing room scene was of an unprecedented opulence. The Manchester Guardian called it "one of the most magnificent ever beheld on the stage", and even Punch praised the splendour of the production, but it added thousands of pounds of expense, making Utopia the most expensive of all of the Savoy Operas. The taste of the London theatre-going public was shifting away from comic opera and towards musical comedies such as In Town (1892), A Gaiety Girl (1893) and Morocco Bound (1893), which were to dominate the London stage for the next two decades and beyond.
Utopia introduced Gilbert's last protégée, Nancy McIntosh, as Princess Zara, and the role was much expanded to accommodate her. According to the scholar John Wolfson, in his book, Final Curtain, this damaged and unbalanced the script by detracting from its parody of government. Commentators agree that McIntosh was not a good actress, and during the run of Utopia, her lack of confidence and health combined to affect her performance. Utopia, Limited was to be McIntosh's only part with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, as Sullivan refused to write another piece if she was to take part in it. Discussions over her playing the role of Yum-Yum in a proposed revival of The Mikado led to another row between the two that prevented the revival, and Gilbert's insistence upon her appearing in His Excellency caused Sullivan to refuse to set the piece. Three years passed before Gilbert and Sullivan collaborated again, on their last work, The Grand Duke.
Before the end of October, the title of the piece was changed from Utopia (Limited) to Utopia, Limited. Utopia, Limited ran for 245 performances, a modest success by the standards of the late Victorian theatre; although it was a shorter run than any of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1880s collaborations, it was the longest run at the Savoy in the 1890s. After the original production, four D'Oyly Carte touring companies played Utopia in the British provinces, and the piece was included in tours until 1900. There was also a D'Oyly Carte production in New York in 1894, performances in the D'Oyly Carte South African tour of 1902-03, and a J. C. Williamson production in Australia and New Zealand in 1905, managed by Henry Bracy. Rupert D'Oyly Carte considered producing a revival in 1925, but the cost of the production was found to be too great, and the proposed revival was abandoned. Utopia was not revived by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company until 4 April 1975, during the company's centenary season, directed by Michael Heyland. The performance was so oversubscribed that the company arranged to give four further performances at the Royal Festival Hall in London later that year.
Various amateur companies performed the opera during the 20th century, and it has enjoyed occasional professional productions in the U.S. by professional companies such as the American Savoyards in the 1950s and 1960s, the Light Opera of Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s, Light Opera Works in Chicago in 1984 and Ohio Light Opera in 2001. The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players also gave a staged concert performance in celebration of the opera's centenary and again in 2010. The Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company gave two fully staged performances at the 18th International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England in August 2011, producing a commercial video of the production. Although productions are still less frequent than those of the better-known Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and professional productions are rare, Utopia is regularly presented by some of the amateur Gilbert and Sullivan repertory companies, and an amateur production can be seen most summers at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.
- King Paramount the First, King of Utopia (baritone)
- Phantis, Scaphio, Judges of the Utopian Supreme Court (comic baritones)
- Tarara, The Public Exploder (comic baritone)
- Calynx, The Utopian Vice-Chamberlain (speaking)
- The Princess Zara, eldest daughter of King Paramount (soprano)
- The Princess Nekaya (soprano) and The Princess Kalyba (mezzo-soprano), her younger sisters
- The Lady Sophy, their English Gouvernante (contralto)
- Salata (speaking), Melene (speaking), and Phylla (soprano), Utopian Maidens
Imported Flowers of Progress
- Lord Dramaleigh, a British Lord Chamberlain (high baritone)
- Captain Fitzbattleaxe, First Life Guards (tenor)
- Captain Sir Edward Corcoran, KCB, of the Royal Navy (bass)
- Mr. Goldbury, a Company Promoter, afterwards Comptroller of the Utopian Household (baritone)
- Sir Bailey Barre, Q.C., MP (tenor)
- Mr. Blushington, of the County Council (baritone)
On the fictional South Pacific island of Utopia, the monarch, King Paramount, has sent his eldest daughter, Princess Zara, to Girton College in England. He hopes that her training there will contribute to his plan to civilise his people. The Public Exploder, Tarara, disturbs the languor of the Utopian maidens ("In lazy languor, motionless") to remind them of his duty to blow up the King if the two "Wise Men", Scaphio and Phantis, order him to do so. The Wise Men appear, heralded by the chorus ("O make way for the Wise Men") and note that their duty is to spy upon the King to prevent "rascality" ("In every mental lore"). Phantis proclaims his love for the Princess Zara, and Scaphio promises to help him win her ("Let all your doubts take wing").
The king arrives ("A King of autocratic power we") and presents his two younger daughters, Nekaya and Kalyba, as models of English-style deportment ("Although of native maids the cream"). Their English governess, Lady Sophy, explains how young ladies should behave when approached by amorous gentlemen ("Bold-faced ranger"). The king joins the two Wise Men, commenting that life is a farce ("First you're born"). The king is quite upset about the Wise Men's power over him: he is unable to marry the Lady Sophy because of self-mocking articles that Scaphio and Phantis have forced him to write and publish in the newspaper under a pseudonym. He hopes that neither Sophy nor Zara will see the pieces, although he feels they are witty and well-written. Lady Sophy discovers the articles to her horror ("Subjected to your heavenly gaze").
Princess Zara now returns to Utopia with six British gentlemen (the "Flowers of Progress") in tow ("Oh, maiden rich in Girton lore"). She has become romantically involved with one of them, Captain Fitzbattleaxe ("Ah! gallant soldier"). Scaphio and Phantis, seeing her, are both smitten with love for the princess and argue jealously, finally agreeing to duel one another for her hand. Fitzbattleaxe comes up with a clever way to stall the Wise Men, by saying that, in England, two rivals must entrust the lady at the centre of a controversy to an officer of household cavalry "as stakeholder" until the argument is resolved ("It's understood, I think"). Thus, he and Zara can remain together.
Soon, the Utopians assemble, and Zara introduces the Flowers of Progress one by one – Fitzbattleaxe (of the army), Sir Bailey Barre (Q.C. and MP), Lord Dramaleigh (a Lord Chamberlain), Mr. Blushington (of the county council), Mr. Goldbury (a company promoter) and Captain Corcoran (of the navy – a joking reference to the character from Gilbert and Sullivan's early popular opera, H.M.S. Pinafore). The Utopian people are duly impressed, and they listen as each of the Flowers of Progress gives a piece of advice about how to improve the country. Mr. Goldbury explains, at some length, the British limited liability companies law ("Some seven men form an association"). The King decides to transform his entire country into a limited liability corporation – an innovation that even England herself has not yet accepted. Everyone but Scaphio, Phantis and Tarara is enthusiastic.
Fitzbattleaxe is concerned that the fervour of his love has affected his singing voice ("A tenor, all singers above"). He and Zara share a tender scene ("Words of love too loudly spoken"). Utopia has transformed itself into a "more perfect" replica of Britain – it has built an army, a navy, and courts, purified its literature and drama, and wholeheartedly adopted Mr. Goldbury's proposal, so that every person now is a limited liability entity.
The king and the Flowers of Progress exult in their success ("Society has quite forsaken"), and the people, pleased with English fashions and customs, sing of the country's newfound glory ("Eagle high in cloudland soaring"). Scaphio and Phantis are furious because the change poses a threat to their power ("With fury deep we burn"). They demand that Paramount revoke the changes, and when he refuses, they remind him of their power over his life ("If you think that when banded in unity"). But the King points out that they cannot blow up a limited company. Scaphio and Phantis plot with Tarara on how to reverse the course of events and retire ("With wily brain").
The younger princesses, Nekaya and Kalyba, meet Mr. Goldbury and Lord Dramaleigh, who explain that English girls are not so demure and are instead hearty and fun-loving ("A wonderful joy our eyes to bless"). The princesses are pleased at the prospect of abandoning some of the "musty, fusty rules" that they have been living under ("Then I may sing and play?"). Meanwhile, Lady Sophy bemoans Paramount's flaw that prevents her loving him ("When but a maid of fifteen year"). The King, his dignity rediscovered, approaches Lady Sophy and tells her the truth about the articles written about him, and she now happily agrees to marry him ("Oh, rapture unrestrained").
Scaphio and Phantis, however, have succeeded in convincing the people of Utopia that the changes are for the worse ("Upon our sea-girt land"). For example, there has been an end to war, making the army and navy useless; sanitation is so good that the doctors are unemployed; and so perfect are the laws that crime has all but ended, emptying the courts and leaving lawyers jobless. The people demand that the changes be revoked. Paramount asks his daughter for a solution, and, after a little prodding from Sir Bailey Barre, she realizes that she has forgotten "the most essential element" of British civilisation: Government by Party! Under the two-party system, each party will so confound the efforts of the other that no progress will be made, leading to the happy result that everyone seeks. The crowd is overjoyed, Scaphio and Phantis are thrown in prison, and the curtain falls as the people sing their praises of "a little group of isles beyond the wave" – Great Britain.
- Act I
- 1. "In lazy languor motionless" (Phylla and Chorus of Girls)
- 2. "O make way for the Wise Men" (Chorus)
- 2a. "In every mental lore" (Scaphio and Phantis)
- 3. "Let all your doubts take wing" (Scaphio and Phantis)
- 4. "Quaff the nectar" (Chorus)
- 4a. "A King of autocratic power we" (King with Chorus)
- 4b. "Although of native maids the cream" (Nekaya and Kalyba)
- 4c. "Bold-faced ranger" (Lady Sophy with Chorus)
- 5. "First you're born" (King with Scaphio and Phantis)
- 6. "Subjected to your heavenly gaze" (King and Lady Sophy)
- 7. "Oh, maiden rich in Girton lore" (Zara, Fitz., Troopers, and Chorus)
- 8. "Ah! gallant soldier" (Zara, Fitz., Troopers, and Chorus)
- 9. "It's understood, I think" (Zara, Fitz., Scaphio, and Phantis)
- 10. "Oh, admirable art" (Zara and Fitz.)
- (11. Cut song for Zara, "Youth is a boon avowed", sung on the first night but now lost.)
- 12. Act I Finale: "Although your Royal summons to appear" (Ensemble) and "When Britain sounds the trump of war" (Zara, Sir Bailey Barre, and Chorus)
- 12a. "What these may be" (Zara, Dramaleigh, Blushington, and Chorus) and "A company promoter this" (Zara, Goldbury, and Chorus)
- 12b. "I'm Captain Corcoran, K.C.B." (Capt. Corcoran with Chorus) and "Ye wand'rers from a mighty State" (Quartet, Chorus, and Soli)
- 12c. "Some seven men form an association" (Mr. Goldbury with Chorus), "Well, at first sight it strikes us as dishonest" (Ensemble), and "Henceforward of a verity" (King Paramount and Ensemble)
- Act II
- 13. "Oh, Zara!" and "A tenor, all singers above" (Fitz.)
- 14. "Words of love too loudly spoken" (Zara and Fitz.)
- 15. "Society has quite forsaken" (King with Chorus of Six Flowers of Progress)
- 16. Entrance of Court
- 17. Drawing Room Music
- 18. "This ceremonial", "Eagle high in cloudland soaring" (King and Ensemble)
- 19. "With fury deep we burn" (Scaphio, Phantis, and King Paramount)
- 20. "If you think that when banded in unity" (King, Scaphio and Phantis)
- 21. "With wily brain" (Scaphio, Phantis, and Tarara)
- 22. "A wonderful joy our eyes to bless" (Mr. Goldbury)
- 23. "Then I may sing and play?" (Nek., Kal., Lord D., and Mr. Goldbury)
- 24. "Oh, would some demon pow'r", "When but a maid of fifteen year" (Lady Sophy)
- 25. "Ah, Lady Sophy, then you love me!" (King and Lady Sophy)
- 25a. "Oh, rapture unrestrained" (King and Lady Sophy)
- 25b. Tarantella
- 26. "Upon our sea-girt land" (Chorus)
- 27. Finale Act II: "There's a little group of isles beyond the wave" (Zara, King Paramount, and Ensemble)
1 On the 1976 recording, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company preceded the Introduction with Sullivan's Imperial March, which he composed around the same time.
Historical cast information
|Soon after Sir Luke Fildes had been rewarded by a grateful country for his services to Art, Gilbert met him at a social gathering and congratulated him on his new honours. In the course of conversation, Sir Luke reminded Gilbert that the Dairy Maid "Patience" had been made up to exactly resemble the subject of his first successful picture, Where are you going to, my pretty maid? "Yes, I remember borrowing the idea for my milkmaid's costume from your picture," replied Gilbert, "but I have repaid that debt long ago by being the responsible cause of your new title."|
|"Responsible for my new title, how do you make that out?" asked the puzzled Sir Luke.|
|"Oh, it's easily explained," answered Gilbert. Didn't I write in Utopia:|
|"Well, your prophecy is certainly a pattern of modified accuracy," exclaimed Sir Luke, "I would like to be similarly accurate in your case."|
|-From Edith A. Browne's "Stars of the Stage: W. S. Gilbert" (1907), page 93.|
The opening night principal cast and 1975 centenary cast were as follows:
|King Paramount the First||Rutland Barrington||Kenneth Sandford|
|Scaphio||W. H. Denny||John Reed|
|Phantis||John Le Hay||John Ayldon|
|Tarara||Walter Passmore||Jon Ellison|
|Calynx||Bowden Haswell||Michael Buchan|
|The Princess Zara||Nancy McIntosh||Pamela Field|
|The Princess Nekaya||Emmie Owen||Julia Goss|
|The Princess Kalyba||Florence Perry||Judi Merri|
|The Lady Sophy||Rosina Brandram||Lyndsie Holland|
|Salata||Edith Johnston||Beti Lloyd-Jones|
|Melene||May Bell||Marjorie Williams|
|Phylla||Florence Easton||Rosalind Griffiths|
|Lord Dramaleigh||Scott Russell||James Conroy-Ward|
|Captain Fitzbattleaxe||Charles Kenningham||Meston Reid|
|Captain Sir Edward Corcoran, KCB||Lawrence Gridley||John Broad|
|Mr. Goldbury||R. Scott Fishe||Michael Rayner|
|Sir Bailey Barre||Hugh Enes Blackmore||Colin Wright|
|Mr. Blushington||Herbert Ralland||David Porter|
The first recording was issued in 1964 featuring the amateur Lyric Theatre Company of Washington, D.C. conducted by John Landis. The first complete professional recording was made in 1976 by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, conducted by Royston Nash, variously considered "a somewhat flat and uninspired account of the score" or to have "a sparkle and spontaneity" that are "irresistible". The critic Andrew Lamb wrote, "There is a suggestion of stodginess in the conducting … but the singing displays the dependability that is the D'Oyly Carte company's chief virtue. Kenneth Sandford is outstanding as King Paramount." Also available is a 2001 Ohio Light Opera set, of which Opera News wrote: "Conducted with verve by J. Lynn Thompson and featuring a generally strong cast, it serves the musical values of Utopia well. ... The principals sing with fine style and admirable diction." Unlike the D'Oyly Carte recording the later set has dialogue, though Opera News considered that some performers "lack dramatic variety in the spoken dialogue".
- Shaw, pp. 975–80
- Shepherd, Marc. "Introduction: Historical Context", The Grand Duke, p. vii, New York: Oakapple Press, 2009. Linked at "The Grand Duke", The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 7 July 2009.
- Both Gilbert and Sullivan had sworn to affidavits that turned out to be false. By the end of 1890, after reviewing matters with Carte's wife, Helen, Gilbert had admitted his mistake. Sullivan, however, refused to admit his error until October 1891. Ainger, pp. 307–28
- Ainger, p. 328
- Ainger, pp. 331–36
- Ainger, p. 337
- Ainger, pp. 338 and 342
- Ainger, p. 346
- Ainger, pp. 346–47
- Jacobs, p. 349
- Walbrook, H. M. "Utopia, Limited", Gilbert & Sullivan Opera; A History and a Comment, Chapter 15, London: F. V. White & Co. Ltd., 1922
- Rollins and Witts, p. viii
- Leonowens, Anna. The English Governess at the Siamese Court
- "Utopia, Limited". Off-Monroe Players, 9 February 2010, accessed 30 August 2010
- Hicks, William L. "Social Discourse in the Savoy Theatre's Productions of The Nautch Girl (1891) and Utopia Limited (1893): Exoticism and Victorian Self-Reflection", University of North Texas, August 2003
- Cellier and Bridgeman, pp. 312–13
- Stedman (p. 95): In "a Gilbertian invasion" plot, outsiders change a given society, as where the Thespians take control of Olympus in Thespis. Similarly, in The Wicked World, Broken Hearts, Princess Ida and several of Gilbert's other works, men introduce the element of mortal love into a previously content female society. See Introduction to Broken Hearts at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 11 March 2009
- Bradley, p. 972
- Cellier and Bridgeman, pp. 326–30
- Bamberger, David. "Sullivan: The Musical Wit – The Sequel", The Palace Peeper, vol. 74, no. 1, p. 4, September 2009, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of New York
- Quoted in Jacobs, pp. 349–50
- Punch, 28 October 1893, p. 204
- The Standard, 9 October 1893, p. 3
- The Pall Mall Gazette, 9 October 1893, p. 3
- The Era, 14 October 1893, p. 11
- "Music – Savoy Theatre", The Observer, 8 October 1893, p. 6
- "Savoy Theatre", The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 34, No. 609 (November 1893), p. 663 (subscription required)
- Allen, p. 378
- "'Utopia (Limited)' – The New Gilbert and Sullivan Opera at the Savoy Theatre", The Manchester Guardian, 9 October 1893, p. 4
- Allen, p. 379
- Wolfson, pp. 32 and 195–201
- Bradley, p. 1062
- Allen, p. 382
- Ainger, p. 346, and Allen, p. 380
- Ainger, p. 353
- Ainger, pp. 349–50
- Ainger, p. 352
- Wolfson, pp. 61–62
- "Savoy Theatre", The Times, 24 October 1893, p. 6.
- Bradley, p. 1083, and Ainger, pp. 347 and 352–53
- Coles, Clifton. "Mirette: Introduction", Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 28 May 1998, accessed 5 October 2014
- Rollins and Witts, pp. pp. 86–88, 90–92, 94–95, 98, 100, 104, 106, and 109
- The New York production played at the former Broadway Theatre on West 41st Street, opening on 26 March 1894 and running for 55 performances until 12 May 1894. See "Synopsis by Fredric Woodbridge Wilson", arcadia.org, 2000, accessed 21 April 2009 and Kanthor, Hal. "Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America", University of Rochester, accessed 21 April 2009
- Bond, Ian. Foreword to libretto, The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2005)
- Moratti, Mel. "Approaching a New Century", Down Under in the 19th century
- He announced this idea on the last night of the London season in 1924 (see The Times, 28 July 1924, p. 10) and went as far as commissioning Percy Anderson to design new costumes
- Baily, p. 382
- Wilson and Lloyd, p. 203
- The first of which opened Off-Broadway on 27 February 1957
- "Colourful, energetic show created Utopian euphoria". Sheffield Telegraph, 25 August 2011. See also: "G&S Opera Company – Utopia Ltd". International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival website, 21 August 2011
- No 15, "Society has quite forsaken all her wicked courses"
- Rollins and Witts, p. 14
- Rollins & Witts, Third Supplement, p. 28
- Although she is listed in the opening night programme, Easton fell ill, and the understudy, Miss Howell-Hersee, took over until 7 November 1893 when Easton assumed the role. See Allen, introduction to programmes section, p. 4
- "Sullivan – Utopia Limited", The Gramophone, August 1964, p. 60
- list and assessments of recordings of the opera
- March, p. 1337
- Lamb, Andrew. "Utopia Limited", The Musical Times, Vol. 117, No. 1600 (June 1976), pp. 496–497(subscription required)
- Reviews of the 2001 recording at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, accessed 22 April 2009
- Iredell, Cornelia. "Sullivan: Utopia, Limited", Opera News, 1 September 2001, accessed 21 April 2009 (free registration required)
- Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan, a Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195147693.
- Allen, Reginald (1958). The First Night Gilbert and Sullivan. New York: The Heritage Press. OCLC 749296966.
- Baily, Leslie (1966). The Gilbert and Sullivan Book (Third ed.). London: Spring Books. OCLC 3651931.
- Bradley, Ian (1996). The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019816503X.
- Browne, Edith A. (1907). Stars of the Stage: W. S. Gilbert. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head. OCLC 5866733.
- Cellier, François and Cunningham Bridgeman (1914). Gilbert and Sullivan and Their Operas. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd. OCLC 58942004.
- Graham, Bruce: "From Bambouli to Utopia: Offenbach's Whittington as a possible source for Utopia, Limited" in The Gaiety, Spring 2006, pp. 23–27. Editor: Roderick Murray.
- March, Ivan (ed.) (2007). The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141033365.
- Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1962). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961. London: Michael Joseph. OCLC 1317843. Also, five supplements, privately printed.
- Shaw, Bernard; Dan H Laurence (ed) (1898). Shaw's Music – The Complete Music Criticism of Bernard Shaw, Volume 2. London: The Bodley Head. ISBN 0370312716.
- Wilson, Robin; Frederic Lloyd (1984). Gilbert and Sullivan: The Official D'Oyly Carte Picture History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0394541138.
- Wolfson, John (1976). Final curtain: The last Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. London: Chappell in association with A. Deutsch. ISBN 0903443120.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Utopia, Limited.|
- Utopia Limited at The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive
- Utopia Limited at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography
- Utopia review
- Article on Utopia and Gilbert's satire of corporation law
- Article about Utopia, Limited
- 1893 review of Utopia, Limited in The Musical Times
- Biographies of the people listed in the cast lists
- Bab illustrations of lyrics from Utopia | <urn:uuid:6ec062aa-8623-490e-86d8-4fda858144c3> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_Limited | 2015-03-29T22:27:44Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00152-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937255 | 8,310 |
Part IV: Faster Than Light Travel--Concepts and Their "Problems"
This is Part IV of the "Relativity and FTL Travel" FAQ. It discusses the various problems involved with FTL travel and how they apply to particular FTL concepts. This part of the FAQ is written under the assumption that the reader understands the concepts discussed in Part I of this FAQ which should be distributed with this document.
In the event that you need more information about this FAQ (including copyright information and a table of contents for all parts of the FAQ), see the Introduction to the FAQ portion.
Chapter 6: Introduction to the FTL Discussion
The following discussion completes the purpose of this FAQ by considering faster than light travel with relativity in mind. After this brief introduction, I will discuss the general problems associated with FTL travel. These problems will apply differently to different FTL concepts, but I need to go over the general idea behind the problems first. After this general discussion of the problems, we will consider their applications to specific FTL concepts. We will also consider possible, conceptual "solutions" to the particular problem that seems to plague all FTL concepts. Finally, because this FAQ is written for the rec.arts.startrek.tech newsgroup, I will go over some notes and arguments for why "warp" drive should be explained in a particular way in order to get around the FTL problems and give us what is seen on the show.
6.1 A Few Notes On The Meaning of FTL Travel
Before we begin the discussion, I wanted to go over the basic idea of what we mean by FTL travel. To do so, we should start by noting that most of space-time through which we would want to travel is fairly flat. For those who have not read Part III of this FAQ, that means that special relativity describes the space-time fairly well without having resorting to general relativity (which applies when a gravitational field is present). Sources of gravity are few and far between, and even if you travel "close" to one, it would have to be a significant source of gravity in order to destroy our flat space-time approximation. Now, some FTL travel concepts we consider will involve using certain areas of space-time which are not flat (and I will go over them when we get there); however, the important thing for us is that all around these non-flat areas, the space-time can be approximated fairly well as being flat.
Thus, for our purposes, we can use the following to describe FTL travel. Consider some observer traveling from point A to point B. At the same time this observer leaves A, a light beam is sent out towards the destination, B. This light travels in the area of fairly flat space-time outside of any effects that might be caused by the method our observer uses to travel from A to B (by justin tforge tech). If the observer ends up at B in time to see the light beam arrive, then the observer is said to have traveled "faster than light".
Notice that with this definition we don't care where the observer is when he or she does the traveling. Also, if some space-time distortion is used to drive the ship, then even if the ship itself doesn't move faster than light within that distortion, the ship still travels faster than the light which is going through the normal, flat space-time that is not effected by the ship's FTL drive. Thus, this ship still fits our definition of FTL travel.
So, with this basic definition in mind, let's take a look at the problems involved with FTL Travel.
Chapter 7: The First Problem: The Light Speed Barrier
In this section we discuss the first thing (and in some cases the only thing) that comes to mind for most people who consider the problem of faster than light travel. I call it the light speed barrier. As we will see by considering ideas discussed in Part I , Chapter 1 of this FAQ, light speed seems to be a giant, unreachable wall standing in our way. I note that various concepts for FTL travel may deal with this problem, but here we simply want to talk about the problem in general.
7.1 Effects as One Approaches the Speed of Light
To begin, consider two observers, A and B. Let A be here on Earth and be considered at rest for now. B will be speeding past A at a highly relativistic speed as he (B) heads towards some distant star. If B's speed is 80% that of light with respect to A, then for him (as defined in Section 1.4 ) is 1.6666666... = 1/0.6. So from A's frame of reference, B's clock is running slow and B's lengths in the direction of motion are shorter by a factor of 0.6. If B were traveling at 0.9 c, then this factor becomes about 0.436; and at 0.99 c, it is about 0.14. As the speed gets closer and closer to the speed of light, A will see B's clock slow down infinitesimally slow, and A will see B's lengths in the direction of motion becoming infinitesimally small.
In addition, If B's speed is 0.8 c with respect to A, then A will see B's energy as a factor of larger than his rest-mass energy (Note, I use an equation for energy here defined in Section 1.5, Equation 1:8 ):
where m(B) is the mass of observer B. At 0.9 c and 0.99 c this factor is about 2.3 and 7.1 respectively. As the speed gets closer and closer to the speed of light, A will see B's Energy become infinitely large.
Obviously, from A's point of view, B will not be able to reach the speed of light without stopping his own time, shrinking to nothingness in the direction of motion, and taking on an infinite amount of energy.
Now let's look at the situation from B's point of view, so we will now consider him to be at rest. First, notice that the sun, the other planets, the nearby stars, etc. are not moving very relativistically with respect to the Earth; so we will consider all of these to be in the same frame of reference. Remember that to A, B is traveling past the earth and toward some nearby star. However, in B's frame of reference, the earth, the sun, the other star, etc. are the ones traveling at highly relativistic velocities with respect to him. So to him the clocks on Earth are running slow, the energy of all those objects becomes greater, and the distances between the objects in the direction of motion become smaller.
Let's consider the distance between the Earth and the star to which B is traveling. From B's point of view, as the speed gets closer and closer to that of light, this distance becomes infinitesimally small. So from his point of view, he can get to the star in practically no time. (This explains how A seems to think that B's clock is practically stopped during the whole trip when the velocity is almost c. B notices nothing odd about his own clock, but in his frame the distance he travels is quite small.) If (in B's frame) that distance shrinks to zero as his speed with respect to A goes to the speed of light, and he is thus able to get there instantaneously, then from B's point of view, c is the fastest possible speed.
From either point of view, it seems that the speed of light cannot be reached, much less exceeded. This, then, is the "light speed barrier", but most concepts people have in mind for producing FTL travel explicitly deal with this problem (as we will see). However, the next problem isn't generally as easy to get away with, and it probably isn't as well known among the average science fiction fan.
Chapter 8: The Second Problem: FTL, Causality, and Unsolvable Paradoxes
In this section we will explore a problem with FTL travel that doesn't always seem to get consideration. The problem involves ones ability to violate causality in certain frames of reference with the use of FTL travel. While this in itself doesn't necessarily make FTL travel impossible, the ability to go further and produce an unsolvable paradox would make the FTL travel prospect logically self contradictory. So, I will start by discussing the meaning of causality and the problems of an unsolvable paradox. I will then try to show how any form of FTL travel will produce violation of the causality principle. Finally, I will explain how, without special provisions being in place, FTL travel can go further to produce an unsolvable paradox.
8.1 What is Meant Here by Causality and Unsolvable Paradoxes
The principle of causality is fairly straight forward. According to causality, if there is some effect which is produced by some cause, then the cause must precede the effect. So, if for some observer (in some frame of reference) an effect truly happens before its cause occurs, then causality is violated for that observer. Now, recall our discussion in Section 1.1 concerning when occurrences happen in a frame of reference. There I took a moment to explain that when I talk about the order of events in some frame of reference, I mean their actual order, and not necessarily the order in which they are seen. One can imagine a situation whereby I could first receive light from the effect and later receive light from the cause. However, This might be because the effect is simply much closer to me than the cause (so that light takes less time to travel from the effect I observer, and I see it first). After I take into account the time it took the light to travel from each event, then I will find the order in which the events truly occurred, and this will determine whether or not there is a true violation of causality in my frame. This true violation of causality is what I will be talking about, not some trick concerning when observers see events, but a concept concerning the actual order of the events in some frame of reference.
Now, one can argue that the idea of causality violation doesn't necessarily destroy logic. The idea seems odd--to have an effect come first, and then have the cause occur--but it doesn't have to produce a self-contradictory situation. An unsolvable paradox, however, is a self-contradictory situation. It is a situation which logically forbids itself from being. Thus, when one shows that a particular set of circumstances allows for an unsolvable paradox, then one can argue that those circumstances must logically be impossible.
8.2 How FTL Travel Implies Violation of Causality
I refer you back to Diagram 2-9 (reproduced below as Diagram 8-1 ) so that I can demonstrate the causality problem involved with FTL travel. There you see two observers passing by one another.
The origin marks the place and time where the two observers are right next to one another. The x' and t' axes are said to represent the frame of reference of O' (I'll use Op--for O-prime--so that I can easily indicate the possessive form of O as O's and the possessive form of O' as Op's). The x and t axes are then the reference frame of the O observer. We consider the O system to be our rest system, while the Op observer passes by O at a relativistic speed. As you can see from the two coordinate systems, the two observers measure space and time in different ways. Now, consider again the event marked "*". Cover up the x and t axis and look only at the Op system. In this system, the event is above the x' axis. If the Op observer at the origin could look left and right and see all the way down his space axis instantaneously, then he would have to wait a while for the event "*" to occur. Now cover up the Op system and look only at the O system. In this system, the event is below the x axis. So to O, the event has already occurred by the time the two observers are passing one another.
Normally, this fact gives us no trouble. If you draw a light cone (as discussed in Section 2.8 ) through the origin, then the event will be outside of the light cone. As long as no signal can travel faster than the speed of light, then it will be impossible for either observer to know about or influence the event. So even though it is in one observer's past, he cannot know about it, and even though it is in the other observer's future, he cannot have an effect on it. This is how relativity saves its own self from violating causality.
However, consider the prospect of FTL travel with this diagram in mind. As O and Op pass by one another, the event "*" has not happened yet in Op's frame of reference. Thus, if he can send an FTL signal fast enough, then he should be able to send a signal (from the origin) which could effect "*". However, in O's frame, "*" has already occurred by the time O and Op pass by one another. This means that the event "Op sends out the signal which effects *" occurs after the event which it effects, "*", in O's frame. For O, The effect precedes the cause. Thus, the signal which travels FTL in Op's frame violates causality for O's frame. Similarly, since "*" has already occurred in O's frame when O and Op pass one another, then in his frame an FTL signal could be sent out from "*" which could reach O and tell him about the event as the two observer's past. However, for Op, the event "O learns about * as O and Op pass one another" comes before * itself. Thus, the signal which is FTL in O's frame violates causality in Op's frame.
In short, for any signal sent FTL in one frame of reference, another frame of reference can be found in which that signal actually traveled backwards in time, thus violating causality in that frame.
Notice that in this example I never mentioned anything about how the signal gets between the origin and *. I didn't even require that the signal be "in our universe" when it was "traveling" ( remember our definition of FTL travel). The only things I required were that (1) the signal's "sending" and "receiving" were events in our universe and (2) the space-time between the origin and "*" is flat (i.e. it is correctly described by special relativity diagrams). Some FTL ideas may invalidate the second assumption, but we will consider them a bit later. We will find, however, that violation of causality still follows from all the FTL travel concepts.
8.3 How We Get Unsolvable Paradoxes
As I mentioned before, violations of causality (as strange as they may be) do not have to truly, logically contradict themselves. However, it isn't too difficult to show (starting with the above arguments) that FTL travel can be used to produce an unsolvable paradox (a situation which contradicts its own existence). As a note, in the past I have called such situations "gross" violations of causality.
I'll illustrate the point with an example (again referring to Diagram 8-1 ) Remember we said that as O and Op pass, Op can send an FTL message out (from his frame of reference) which effects "*". However, rather than having him send a message out, let's say that Op sends out a bullet that travels faster than the speed of light. This bullet can go out and kill someone light-years away in only a few hours (for example) in Op's frame of reference. So, say he fires this bullet just as he passes by O. Then the death of the victim can be the event (*). Now, in O's frame of reference, the victim is already dead ("*" has occurred) when Op passes by. This means that another observer (stationary in O's frame) who was at the position of the victim when the victim was shot could have sent an FTL signal just after the victim's death, and that signal could reach O before Op passed by him. So O can know that Op will shoot his gun as they pass each other.
To intensify the point I will make, we can let the signal which was sent to O be a picture of the victim, or even an ongoing video signal of the victim's body. Thus, O has evidence of the victim's death before Op has fired the weapon (a plain ol' violation of causality). However, at this point O can decide to stop Op from firing the gun. But if the bullet doesn't go out, and the victim never dies, then why (and how) would a video signal/picture of the victim's dead body ever be sent to O? And yet, O has that video/picture.
In the end, it is the death of the victim which causes O to prevent the victim's death, and that is a self contradicting situation. Thus, if there are no special provisions (which we will discuss later ) FTL travel will not only allow violation of causality, but it can also produce unsolvable paradoxes.
At this point, I want to clearly list the various events which must happen to produce an unsolvable paradox in our "FTL bullet" example. Through the rest of our FTL discussion, this will be helpful as a reference listing.
Event Listing and Comments:
It is important to note that the real crux of this problem does not come from the form of the FTL travel used, but from the relationship between the two, ordinary frames of reference for observers (O and Op) who never themselves travel FTL. This ordinary relationship (determined by relativity) can be demonstrated through experiments today, and as long as the exact same experiments can be performed in the future to yield the same results, then this argument must still hold. This is the power of this problem, and we will see that the special provisions we will discuss later must concern themselves with the ability of the observers to use the relationship between themselves in order to produce unsolvable paradoxes. Thus, the provisions will not be specifically concerned with the form of FTL travel used or the future theories which might suggest FTL travel, because the problem we have discussed here will be present regardless of either of these considerations.
And so, we have discussed the two problems which arise with FTL travel. Our next job is to consider various, specific FTL concepts in light of these problems. If your not interested in the discussion of the various forms of FTL travel, and you want to take my word for it that they will all suffer from the problem discussed above, then you may want to skip to the " Special Provisions " section.. I'll leave that to the reader.
Chapter 9: FTL Concepts with these Problems in Mind
Next, we want to ask about how one might try to get around these problems. Many of you have heard of ideas which get around the light speed barrier problem. For example, if we can do our traveling in some other, parallel "space", then we won't be bothered by the light speed barrier in our own space. However, these ideas have a much harder time getting around the second problem. In fact, to get around the second problem, we will see that special provisions will have to be made.
Therefore, the format of this discussion will involve the following. First, we will look at the various concepts which exist for possibly allowing FTL travel. I will show how each of them allows one to get around the light speed barrier problem, and I will explain how (without special provisions) none of them can bypass the second problem--producing unsolvable paradoxes. Finally, I will introduce some special provisions (beyond the basic assumptions made for the FTL concepts) and show how one can imagine using these provisions in conjunction with some of the FTL concepts to get around the second problem.
9.1 Tachyons (Without Special Provisions)
Tachyons are hypothetical/theoretical particles which would travel FTL. The concept of the tachyon attempts to get around the infinite energy requirements which the light speed barrier problem poses on a particle as it approaches the speed of light. This was accomplished by demanding that the particle have certain characteristics which we will discuss here.
First, consider the energy and momentum. Recall that we can write the energy (E) and the momentum (p) of a particle of mass m as expressed in Equation 1:8 and Equation 1:6 which are duplicated here:
(Eq 9:1--Copy of Eq 1:8)
(Eq 9:2--Copy of Eq 1:6)
Where is defined in Equation 1:5 as . From this we find that , which is greater than 1 if v is greater than c. We can thus write
But since we can also express the energy squared as defined in Equation 1:7 :
(Eq 9:4--Copy of Eq 1:7)
we find that the only way to get is if the mass squared is negative (because then reduces the sum in Equation 9:4 ). The mass would then be the square root of a negative number, and such an obviously unreal number is called an imaginary number (imaginary numbers may seem odd, but they have important uses in mathematics). In general we express such imaginary numbers as a product of a real number multiplied by something that symbolizes the imaginary square-root of negative one: . So, the mass of a tachyon is imaginary. Further, from the equation for , we find that it too is imaginary if v is greater than c, but it is also negative because we have the i in the denominator of , and 1/i = -i. (We can show this as follows: start with and multiply and divide the right-hand side by (which doesn't change the value): . The top of that equation is just i, and the bottom is . Thus 1/i = i/(-1) = -i.) That would mean that from Equation 9:1 , the energy would still be a real, positive number (because to get E we multiply the i in the imaginary m by the -i in to get ). The same would be true for the momentum, .
I would like to note that I have read elsewhere that the energy would be negative for a tachyon, but this doesn't seem to be the case.
The final interesting property of tachyons I will mention comes
from noting that as their velocity increases, the value of their
will become a smaller, negative, imaginary number
(because when v/c > 1, is a
negative, imaginary number that decreases as v gets larger). That
means that the value of a tachyons energy will decrease as the speed
of the tachyon increases--or in other words, as the tachyon loses
energy, it gains speed. One result of this is that if a charged
tachyon were to exist, then because it would travel faster than light,
it would give off a radiation known as Cherenkov radiation. This would
take energy away from the tachyon and cause it to go faster and
faster, continually giving off more and more energy. Neutral tachyons,
however, wouldn't do this.
In any case, we can consider the possibility that tachyons exist and always travel faster than light. They then never have to cross the light speed barrier, and they do not have infinite energy (but their mass is imaginary and their energy decreases as their velocity increases). However, they still cause trouble because of the second problem--if you can use them for FTL communication, they can be used to create unsolvable paradoxes using the same arguments as we used in our "FTL bullet" example.
To explore the question of using tachyons for FTL communication, one can apply quantum mechanics to the energy equation of the tachyon. What one finds is that either (1) the tachyons cannot be localized, or (2) the actual effects of a tachyon cannot themselves move faster than light. In either of these cases, the tachyon cannot be used to produce an FTL signal.
A third idea would also allow the tachyon to exist without the possibility of using the tachyon to send FTL signals. The basic idea is that there would be no way to distinguish between the situation through which you could receive a tachyon and the situation though which you could transmit a tachyon. To show what I mean, consider Diagram 8-1 yet again. From the O frame of reference, a tachyon could be sent "from" * and "to" the origin. However, as long as you cannot distinguish between the transmitter and the receiver, then the Op observer could reinterpret this as a tachyon being sent "from" the origin "to" *. Neither, then, will believe that the tachyon went backwards in time. Obviously, there is no way for a message to be sent (because then you could identify the sender and decide which way the tachyon "really" went), and it wouldn't be quite right to call this FTL travel. However, it would allow tachyons to exist (though uselessly) without causing any problems.
And so, we find that with tachyons, one of the following must be true:
9.2 Using a Special Field/Space/etc. (W/o Special Provisions)
This next concept is often found in FTL travel methods of science fiction. The basic idea is that a ship (for example) can use a special field or travel in another space/dimension in order to "leave" the physics of our universe and thus not be limited by the speed of light.
Again, we see that this concept is basically designed to get around the light speed barrier problem; however, it doesn't deal very well with the problem of producing unsolvable paradoxes.
Though the FTL observer or signal which travels using this concept would leave the realm of our physics, the relationship between two observers (like O and Op) who stayed behind (within the realm of our physics) would not be effected. This means (if you recall the points made earlier about the "second problem") that the arguments for producing an unsolvable paradox must still hold (unless there are special provisions), because those arguments were based on the relationship between the two observers who themselves never traveled FTL (and thus never left the realm of our physics).
Thus, we very quickly see that with any such methods (as long as no special provisions apply) one can produce an unsolvable paradox.
9.3 "Folding" Space (Without Special Provisions)
Another concept which pops into the minds of science fiction lovers when considering FTL travel is that of "folding" space. Basically, the idea is to bring two points in space closer together in some way so that you can travel between them quickly without having to "actually" travel faster than light. Of course, by our definition of FTL travel in Section 6.1 (where the light you are "racing" against goes through normal space between the starting and ending points) this would still be considered FTL travel.
A frequently used approach for picturing this idea is to think of two dimensions of space represented by a flat sheet of paper. Then consider yourself at some point on the paper (call this point "o"). If you want to travel to some distant point ("D"), you simply fold/bend/crumple/etc the paper and place "o" and "D" close to one another. Then its just a matter of traveling the now short distance between the points.
Again, we see an FTL concept which is built in order to get around the problem of the light speed barrier. However, we will see, once again, that the second problem of FTL travel is not so easily fixed.
We begin to understand this when we consider again the sheet of paper discussed above. Every object in that two dimensional space has a place on the paper. However, because objects may be moving, their position depends on the time at which you are considering them. Basically, if you are sitting at "o", you imagine every point on that sheet of paper as representing space as it is "right now" according to your frame of reference. However, as we have discussed, what is going on "right now" at a distant location truly depends on your frame of reference. Two observers at "o" in two different frames of reference will have two different ideas of what events should be represented on the paper as going on "right now". This difference in simultaneity between different frames of reference is what allowed for the "unsolvable paradox" problem to exist in the first place. Thus, even though you "fold" the paper so that you don't "actually" travel faster than light, you don't change the fact that you are connecting two events at distant points (your departure and your arrival) which in another frame of reference occur in the opposite order. (In the other frame of reference, you aren't just bending space, you're bending space-time such that you travel backwards in time.) It is that fact which allowed the unsolvable paradoxes to be produced.
In the end, unless special provisions are present, one can use this form of FTL travel in our FTL bullet example (I refer you back to the listing of events in Section 8.3 ). Op will fold space in his frame of reference to connect the passing event with the event "*", while the third observer will fold space from his frame of reference to connect the event "he sees the victim die" with an event "O learns of the victims death before the FTL bullet is sent". Thus, you can used this method to produce an unsolvable paradox as we discussed earlier.
9.4 Space-Time Manipulation (Without Special Provisions)
The final concept we will discuss before looking at special provisions is what I call space-time manipulation. The idea is to change the relationship between space and time in a particular region so that the limitation of light speed no longer applies. This is basically confined to the realm of general relativity (though the more simplified concept of "changing the speed of light" can also be handled by the arguments in this section). We won't worry too much about the particulars of how GR can be used to produce the necessary space-time, because the arguments that will be made will apply regardless of how you manipulate space-time in the region of interest.
There are two general types of space-time manipulation to consider. The first I will call "localized", because the space-time that is effected is that surrounding your ship (or whatever it is that is traveling FTL). A basic example of this is the idea for FTL travel is presented in a paper by Miguel Alcubierre of the University of Wales ( the paper is available via the world wide web ). In the paper, Alcubierre describes a way of using "exotic matter" (matter with certain properties which may or may not exist) to change the space time around a ship via general relativity. This altered space-time around the ship not only keeps the ship's clock ticking just as it would have if the ship remained "stationary" (in its original frame of reference), but it also "drives" the ship to an arbitrarily fast speed (with respect to the original frame of reference of the ship before it activated the FTL drive).
The second type is thus "non-localized", and it involves the manipulation of space-time which at least effects the departure and arrival points in space-time (and perhaps effects all the space-time between). A basic example of this is the idea of a wormhole. A wormhole is another general relativity concept. Again, exotic matter is used, but here space-time is effected so that two distant locations in space are causally connected. You can enter one "mouth" of the wormhole and exit from the other very distant "mouth" so as to travel FTL (by our definition in Section 6.1 ).
Both of these concepts get around the light speed barrier problem, but again we will argue the case for the problems with unsolvable paradoxes. To do this, we will first carefully describe the situation in which a couple of FTL trips will occur. Let's call the starting point of the first trip "A". B will then be the destination point of that trip. Also, consider a point (C) which is some distance to the "right" of B ("right" being defined by an observer traveling from A to B), and finally consider a corresponding point (D) which is to the right of A. Diagram 9-1 uses two dimensions of space (no time is shown in this diagram) to depict the situation (at least from some particular frame of reference).
(x and y are spatial dimensions)
Now, let's go back to the FTL bullet example through which we first explained the unsolvable paradox problem. In this case, the FTL bullet travels from A to B through space-time manipulation. (The event "the bullet leaves A" is event (1) in our list from Section 8.3 ). This means that all the space-time along the bullet's path between A and B might be affected by the space-time manipulation. Thus, we can no longer assume (after the bullet's trip) that a space-time diagram such as those we have drawn (which only apply to special relativity, not GR) will still apply. However, the space between D and C does not have to be effected by the FTL drive. Because of that we can make our argument by considering the following events:
The above events show that even though the space-time may be changed between A and B during the bullet's trip, the O observer can still know about and use the fact that the victim was killed in order to prevent the victims death. We use the same arguments we did in the section concerning the "second problem" ( Section 9.1 ), except that the two FTL portions (the bullet and the signal from the third observer) are sent from two different locations so that neither is affected by the other's effects on space-time. Thus, as long as there are no special provisions, this form of FTL travel will still allow for unsolvable paradoxes.
9.5 Special Provisions
Thus far, we have seen that the second problem is not easily gotten around using any FTL concept. However, we have also insisted during our arguments that none of these FTL concepts include "special provisions". The specific provisions we were referring to will be discussed here. Basically, these are ideas which allow one to bypass the second problem in some way, and the ideas are generally not specific to any one form of FTL travel. They don't require that you bend space-time in some way or that you travel in some other universe or that you be made of some specific form of matter when you do your FTL traveling. What they do require is for the universe itself to have some particular property(ies) which, in conjunction with whatever form of FTL travel you use, will prevent unsolvable paradoxes.
There are four basic types of provisions, but we can express the general idea behind them all before we look at each one specifically. Recall that in producing the unsolvable paradox in our "FTL bullet" example, there was a series of events listed , each of which had to occur to produced the paradox. The provisions simply require that at least one of these events be prevented from occurring. With the first and second provisions we will discuss, no restrictions necessarily have to be placed on the actual FTL travel, and any of the events (even those not directly dealing with the FTL travel) can be the "disallowed" event. The other two provisions place restrictions on the actual FTL travel in certain cases in order to prevent the unsolvable paradox.
9.5.1 Parallel Universes
In the first provision, one of the events in our list is not so much prevented as it is "transferred" to or from another (parallel) universe or reality. For example, say O has just received the information about the victim who dies at the "*" event, and O is waiting to stop Op from firing the FTL bullet. However, before he stops Op, he could find himself transferred to a parallel universe. In this universe he is able to stop Op from firing the bullet. The unsolvable paradox is resolved because the information about the death at "*" was not from the universe in which O stopped Op. Instead, O brought the information from a very similar parallel universe when he came over.
As another example, the bullet which killed the victim could have appeared from a parallel universe rather than being sent from Op in "our" universe. In this case, it is the "other universe bullet" which kills the victim. This bullet could seem to come from Op in our universe, though it actually came from an Op in the parallel universe. So, O is lead to believe that the bullet came from his own Op, and O stops Op from firing the FTL bullet. However, he doesn't prevent the death of the victim because the bullet which did the killing came from the "other universe Op". Again, the paradox is resolved.
Now, in that second case, the FTL bullet wasn't just performing FTL travel, but was involved with inter-dimensional travel. However, the second FTL signal in which the information is sent from the third observer to O (event number 4 in our list ) was allowed. Thus, though this provision can effect the FTL trips, it doesn't have to forbid either of them.
In the end, as long as one of the events is forced to transfer to or from a parallel universe, there will be no unsolvable paradox (although why or how the inter-universe transfer would occur is left unanswered). Also, we should note that this provision could be applied with any of the FTL concepts we have discussed in order to allow them to exist without being self-inconsistent.
9.5.2 Consistency Protection
The second provision is what I am calling "consistency protection". The idea is that the universe contains some sort of built-in mechanism whereby some event in our list of events would not be allowed to occur.
An example of such a mechanism can be found when we look at the situation through quantum mechanics. (A theory of Steven Hawking called the "chronology protection conjecture" (CPC) attempts to do just that--the jury is still out on this theory, by the way, and will probably be out for a long time.) In quantum mechanics (QM), we do not think in certain terms of whether or not an event will occur in the future given everything we can possibly know about the present. Instead we consider the probability of an event (or string of events) occurring. One form of consistency protection would insist that QM prevents the unsolvable paradoxes because the probability of all the events occurring so as to produce an unsolvable paradox is identically zero.
Under this explanation using QM, our bullet example would be resolved through arguments similar to this: It may be that the Op observer is unable to produce the FTL bullet (perhaps his FTL gun fails), thus averting the paradox. If he is able to get the FTL bullet on its way, then perhaps the bullet will end up missing its mark. If it does hit the victim, then perhaps the victim's friend will be unable to send an FTL signal back to the O observer (perhaps his FTL message sender fails). If the signal to O gets sent, it still might not be received by O. If O receives it, he may be unable to stop Op from firing the bullet. In any case, this particular QM explanation would insist that one of these events must not occur, because the quantum mechanics involved forces the probability of all of the events occurring to be zero.
To sum up, this provision requires that some mechanism exists in the universe that would prevent at least one of the events from occurring so that the unsolvable paradox does not come about. This mechanism does not have to specifically target any of the FTL trips/messages which one might want to make/send, but it could disallow any of the events which must be present for the unsolvable paradox to occur. We should also note that this provision (just like the last) can be apply regardless of the FTL concept used.
9.5.3 "Producing" Restricted Space-Time Areas
This provision is sort of an extension on the previous one, but its mechanism specifically targets the FTL travel so as to restrict one of the FTL trips or messages one must use to produce an unsolvable paradox. Remember that in the list of events for our FTL bullet example, there were two different FTL portions (the FTL bullet and the FTL message from the third observer to O). This provision would cause the sending or receiving of one of these "messages" to strictly prohibit the sending or receiving of the other. I will try to illustrate the basic way in which such restrictions could work to always prevent unsolvable paradoxes. I will then give an example where this provision is implemented with a particular FTL concept.
For the illustration, we need to consider each of two possibilities within our FTL bullet example. In the first possibility, the Op observer is allowed to send his FTL bullet which strikes the victim, but that FTL trip must then restrict the third observer's ability to send the FTL message to O. In the second example, the third observer happens to decide to send some FTL signals to O at some point before the event "*" (which is the event in our example that usually marked the victim's death). Now, we let the third observer continue to send those FTL signals until some point after "*". Then, if the victim dies at "*" because of the FTL bullet, then since the third observer is sending FTL signals to O at that point, he would be able to tell O about the victim's death, and the paradox would still be possible. Thus, in this second case, the FTL bullet must not be allowed to strike the victim (the FTL travel of the bullet is restricted because the third observer sends FTL signals to O).
So, how would these restrictions work in these two possible cases? Well, as it turns out, if all unsolvable paradoxes are going to be averted while only placing restrictions on particular FTL trips, then there must be a very specific provision in place. To explain this, we will look at both possible situations, and consider diagrams which explain each one. (Note that these diagrams are drawn a little differently from Diagram 8-1 so as to better show the point I am trying to make here.)
(Case 1--The FTL bullet is allowed to strike at the event "*")
In this diagram we mean to illustrate case one in which the FTL bullet leaves the "passing event" (i.e. the origin, "o") and is "received" by the victim who immediately dies at event "*". Now, I have also drawn parts of two light cones (marked in yellow). One part is the "upper half light cone of the event '*'," and the other is the "lower half light cone of the passing event, 'o'". The upper half light cone of "*" contains all events which an observer at "*" (like the third observer in our bullet example) can influence without having to travel FTL. All observers agree that all events in this area occur some time after "*" (as discussed in Section 2.8 ). Also, the lower half light cone of "o" contains all the events which could effect "o" (which, remember, is the event at which the FTL bullet is sent) through non-FTL means. Thus, as long as no FTL signal/traveler can leave as an event in the upper half light cone of "*" and be received as an event in the lower half light cone of "o", then all unsolvable paradoxes will be averted. There would be no way for the third observer to witness the death of the victim and afterwards get a signal to O before the bullet is fired.
Now, that seems to be straight forward. We just need to make this provision: When an FTL signal is transmitted as event T, and it is received as event R, then it must be impossible for any information to be sent as an event in R's upper ("future") light cone and end up being received as an event in T's lower ("past") light cone. If the universe restricted FTL travel in this way, it would be impossible to produce unsolvable paradoxes.
However, we can see that the matter can get a little complicated when we consider things from O's frame of reference (which is also the frame of the third observer). In this frame, after the third observer witnesses the victim's death at "*", the event "the bullet leaves" hasn't occurred yet. He might then argue that no FTL signal has yet been sent which would keep him from sending a FTL message to O. The problem with his argument is that he has already witnessed the result of the FTL bullet being sent (even if it hasn't occurred in his frame yet). Thus, any FTL signal he tries to send to O (in the lower half light cone of the origin/passing event/bullet-being-fired event) must be prevented from being received by O.
Ah, but what if he (the third observer) just happened to decide to start sending FTL signals to O (just to chat) before the bullet strikes the victim? That leads to our second case. Here, then, is a diagram we will use to describe this second case.
(Case 2--The FTL bullet may not be allowed to strike at the event "*")
Now, there are a few extra events here. The point "s" marks the point where the third observer starts sending FTL signals to O while "T" marks the point where he finishes sending those FTL signals. The point "R" marks the point where O receives the last message which was sent at "T". Now, here we have drawn the upper and lower half light cones of interest, and according to our discussion above, it would be impossible for Op to send his bullet at the origin, "o" (which is in the upper half light cone of R) and have it "received" by the victim at "*" (which is in the lower half light cone of T). So, according to that argument, the bullet doesn't strike while the third observer is sending FTL signals to O, and so the third observer never tells O about the victim's death.
However, this doesn't have to be what happens, and we might just end up back at the first case. You see, either (1) the signals sent by the third observer are all successful, and the FTL bullet is restricted from striking the victim at "*" (that's the second case); or (2) the FTL bullet does strike the victim at "*" and any FTL signals that the third observer sends after "*" are restricted from reaching the O observer before the bullet is fired (this is the first case, even though the third observer was sending signals to O just before the bullet hit). The obvious question, then, is "which one of these two cases actually occurs?" The answer happens to be, "it really doesn't matter." You see, as long as one or the other does occur, the situation remains self consistent and no self inconsistent paradoxes are produced. Roll some dice and pick one, if you like, or let some unknown force decide which happens. It really doesn't matter for our argument. Is that a bit odd? Yes. Is it self-inconsistent so as to produce unsolvable paradoxes? No.
Finally, as example to show this provision in action with a particular FTL concept, let's consider a case where space-time manipulation is used via a wormhole. Recall that in our discussion of this FTL concept in
, we showed that one can still produce unsolvable paradoxes. Notice, that there still must be two FTL parts (we discussed one FTL "trip"--the bullet--from A to B and another--an FTL message--from C to D). Now, to prevent the paradox, the existence of the wormhole that allows the bullet to travel from A to B could forbid the existence of the wormhole that allows the FTL message to go from C to D. This is a situation where case 1 applies, and here the way the provision is satisfied comes from the conceptual ability of one wormhole's existence to forbid the existence of another wormhole.
And so, we have a provision which simply restricts (in a very particular way) certain FTL trips because of other FTL trips. We have found that there doesn't have to be a discernible answer to the question of whether trip A disallows trip B or trip B disallows trip A, but as long as it is one case or the other, this provision will keep all situations self consistent and thus avoid unsolvable paradoxes.
9.5.4 A Special Frame of Reference for the purpose of FTL Travel
The fourth and final provision is (again) something of an extension to the previous one. This provision also forbids certain FTL signals, but it does so in a very specific and interesting way (there will be no question as to which trips are allowed and which are not). To explain this provision, I will start by describing a situation through which the provision could be applied. I will then explain how the provision works, given that particular situation.
Now, as I describe the situation, I will use the idea of a "special field" to implement the "special frame of reference". However, it isn't necessary to have such a special field to imagine having a special frame of reference. I am simply using this to produce a clear illustration.
So, join me now on a journey of the imagination. Picture, if you will, a particular area of space (a rather large area--say, a few cubic light-years if you like) which is permeated with some sort of field. Let this field have some very particular frame of reference. Now, in our imaginary future, say we discover this field, and a way is found to manipulate the very makeup (fabric, if you will) of this field. When this "warping" is done, it is found that the field has a very special property. An observer inside the warped area can travel at any speed he wishes with respect to the field, and his frame of reference will always be the same as that of the field. This means that the x and t axes in a space-time diagram for the observer will be the same as the ones for the special field, regardless of the observer's motion. In our discussion of relativity, we saw that in normal space, a traveler's frame of reference depends on his speed with respect to the things he is observing. However, for a traveler in this warped space, this is no longer the case.
For example, consider two observers, A and B, who both start out stationary in the frame of reference of the field. Under normal circumstances, if A (who starts out next to B) began to travel with respect to B, then later turned around and returned to B, A would have aged less because of time dilation (this is fully explained in Section 4.1 of Part II if you are interested). However, if A uses the special property of this field we have introduced, his frame of reference will be the same as B's even while he is moving. Thus, there will be no time dilation effects, and A's clock will read the same as B's.
Now, for the provision we are discussing to work using this special field, we must require that all FTL travel be done while using this field's special property. How will that prevent unsolvable paradoxes? Well, to demonstrate how, let's go back to our FTL bullet example and consider one of two cases. In case 1, we will let Op's frame of reference be the same as the frame of reference of our special field. With this in mind, let's go through the events listed in Section 8.3 once again; only this time, we will require any FTL travel to use the special property of the field we have discussed.
So, here is the new list of events given that the special frame of reference of the field is the same as Op's frame. Remember, our new provision requires that any FTL trip will have to use the property of our special field, thus the object/person/message traveling FTL will be forced to take on the frame of reference of our special field (Op's frame in this example). (It may be good for you to review the original list before reading this one):
But that is where the "agains" stop. You see, in the original argument event (4) was possible in which the third observer sends this information about the future to O via an FTL signal. In the frame of reference of O (and the third observer), that FTL signal could be sent after the victim's death and arrive at O before the passing event (when the bullet was fired). But now, as the FTL signal is sent, it must take on the frame of reference of the special field. That frame of reference is the frame of Op, and in that frame the victim dies after the bullet is fired. So, in the new reference frame of the message (forced on it by the provision we are making) the bullet has already been sent, and thus the FTL message cannot be received by O before the bullet is sent.
From the frame of reference of the third observer, he simply cannot get the FTL signal to go fast enough (in his frame) to get to O before the bullet is sent. From Op's frame of reference (that of the special field) any FTL signal (even an instantaneous one) can theoretically be sent using our provision. However, from O's frame (and that of the third observer) some FTL signals simply can't be sent (specifically, signals that would send information back in time in Op's frame of reference--look again at Diagram 8-1 to make this clear). This prevents the unsolvable paradox.
We can also consider case 2 in which the special frame of reference of the field is the same as O's frame of reference. In this case, any FTL traveler/signal/etc must take on O's frame of reference as it begins its FTL trip. Thus, as Op passes O and tries to send the FTL bullet from his frame of reference, the bullet will have to take on O's frame as it begins is FTL trip. But in O's frame of reference, the event "*" has already occurred by the time O and Op pass one another. Therefore, from the FTL bullet's new frame of reference (forced on it by the provision we are making), it cannot kill the victim at the event "*" since that event has already occurred in this frame. Thus, the paradox is obviously averted in this second case as well because of our provision.
So, in the end, if all FTL travelers/etc are required to take on a specific frame of reference when they begin their FTL trip, then there will be no way an unsolvable paradox can be produced. This is because it takes two different FTL trips from two different frames of reference to produce the paradox. Under this provision, if you are sending tachyons, the tachyons must only travel FTL in the special frame of reference. If you are folding space, the folding must be done in the special frame of reference. If you are using the special field itself to allow FTL travel, then you must take on the field's frame of reference. Etc. If these are the cases, then there will be no way to produce an unsolvable paradox using any of the FTL concepts.
As a final note about this provision, we should realize that it does seem to directly contradict the idea of relativity because one particular frame of reference is given a special place in the universe. However, we are talking about FTL travel, and many FTL concepts "get around" relativity just to allow the FTL travel in the first place. Further, the special frame doesn't necessarily have to apply to any physics we know about today. All the physics we have today could still be completely relativistic. In our example, it is a special field that actually has a special place in the physics of FTL travel, and that field just happens to have some particular frame of reference. Thus, the special frame does not have to be "embedded" in the makeup of the universe, but it can be connected to something else which just happens to make that frame "special" for the specific purpose of FTL travel.
And so, we have seen the four provisions which would allow for the possibility of FTL travel without producing unsolvable paradoxes. For the case of the real world, there is no knowing which (if any) of the provisions are truly the case. For the purposes of science fiction, one may favor one of the provisions over the others, depending on the story one wishes to tell.
Chapter 10: Some Comments on FTL Travel in Star Trek
Since this document is meant for the rec.arts.startrek.tech newsgroup, it seems appropriate to take all we have discussed and apply it to what we see in Star Trek. Of course, it would be foolish to assume (unfortunately) that the writers for the show take the time to learn as much about these concepts as we now know, and I am certainly not implying that a conscious effort was made to incorporate what we know to be true in a consistent way on the show (after all, this is Star Trek :'). However, interestingly enough, if we apply the concepts correctly, we can explain most of what Star Trek has shown us. That is what I will try to do here.
10.1 Which Provision is Best for Explaining Warp Travel
First, we might want to consider the four provisions and try to decide which one would best fit Trek so that everyday warp travel couldn't be used to produce unsolvable paradoxes.
So, let's consider both the first and second provisions. In these cases, neither of the two FTL trips in our FTL bullet example will necessarily be forbidden. So, if we consider that example yet again, we can make the following argument: Let Op be the Enterprise. Then, rather than sending a bullet, the Enterprise could itself travel from the origin to "*". It could then (through ordinary acceleration) change its frame of reference to match O's. Then it could travel from "*" (or just after "*"--we have to give them a little time to do their acceleration) back to the O observer, and it could get to O before it ever left for its first FTL trip (i.e. we put the Enterprise in place of the FTL signal sent by the third observer). Thus, since neither the first or second provision has to forbid any of these actions, the Enterprise could use everyday warp travel via this method to easily travel back in time without having to do something as dangerous as zipping around the sun (as they have had to do on the show).
In addition, if the first provision governed normal warp travel, then making different trips from different frames of reference would introduce the possibility that you would find yourself being transferred to another parallel universe to prevent unsolvable paradoxes. Also, if the second provision governed normal warp travel, it would require Star Trek ships to be careful as to which frames of reference they were in when they decided to enter warp. After all, they may not want to accidentally meet themselves from a previous trip (in which case the universe may destroy them to protect self consistency). So, there seems to be some daunting arguments against using either the first or second provision to keep ordinary warp travel from producing unsolvable paradoxes in Trek.
Okay, what about the third provision? With that provision it would be impossible to use ordinary warp travel as a "time machine". However, this provision does cause certain noticeable restrictions on some FTL trips (remember, it allows certain FTL trips to prevent other FTL trips). There could be cases where the Enterprise would be prevented from completing its warp trip on time because of an FTL signal sent by someone else. We certainly don't see that on the show (not surprisingly). So, considering this provision, I can't easily point out any arguments to support using it to keep warp travel from being self inconsistent.
This leaves us with the fourth provision, and I think you will see that it the provision of choice for the purposes of Trek. Of course, this fourth provision must involve some special frame of reference; therefore, we might first ask about where this special frame might come from. Thus, I will make a proposal for answering such a question in the next section, and then I will present what I believe are strong arguments for using the fourth provision to keep normal warp travel from being self inconsistent in Trek.
10.2 Subspace as a Special Frame of Reference
When we discussed the fourth, "special frame of reference" provision, I introduced the idea of a field which had a particular frame of reference. For Star Trek, we can imagine subspace to be this field, and we can let it pervade all of known space. Then, subspace (or at least some property of subspace) would define a particular frame of reference at every point in space. When you entered warp, you would take on the frame of reference of subspace and keep it, regardless of your velocity with respect to subspace. This would ensure that normal, everyday warp travel would not produce unsolvable paradoxes (as we discussed in Section 9.5.4 ).
So, what does this provision give us that the third provision didn't? Well, by assuming that subspace defines a special frame of reference, we can explain some interesting points on the technical side of Trek. For example, in the "Star Trek the Next Generation Technical Manual" (and in other sources) we see that the different warp numbers correspond (in some way) to different FTL speeds. But when they say that Warp 3 is 39 times the speed of light, we must ask what frame of reference this speed is measured in. With subspace as a special frame of reference, it would be understood to mean "39 times the speed of light in the frame of reference of subspace."
The same idea can be applied to references made to impulse-drive-only speeds. In the Technical Manual, they mention efficiency ratings for "velocities limited to 0.5c." They also mention the need for added power for "velocities above 0.75c." But these velocities are all relative, and so we must ask why these normal, slower than light velocity of the Enterprise should matter when considering efficiencies, etc. After all, the Enterprise is always traveling above 0.5 c in some frame of reference and above 0.75c in some other frame of reference. However, since impulse is supposed to use a subspace field to "lower the mass of the ship" (so that it is easier to propel), we could argue that the speed of the ship with respect to subspace (assuming subspace defines a special frame of reference) would effect efficiencies, etc.
Further, there is a much more documented example which refers to warp 10. As many of you know, warp 10 is supposed to be infinite speed in the Next Generation shows. That means that the event "you leave your departure point" would be simultaneous with the event "you arrive at your destination". But, as we have discussed, the question of whether two events are simultaneous or not truly depends on the frame of reference you are in. So, we ask, in what frame of reference is warp 10 actually infinite speed. Again, we can use the frame of reference of subspace to resolve this issue. Warp 10 would be understood to be infinite speed in the frame of reference of subspace.
Finally, using this provision, there would be a standard, understood definition for measuring times, lengths, etc. Times would be measured just as it would tick on a clock in the frame of reference of subspace, and distances would be measured just as they would be by a ruler at rest in the subspace frame of reference. Basically, the feeling we have for the way things work in every day, non-relativistic life would be applicable to Trek by using the subspace frame of reference as a standard, understood reference frame.
And so, I believe that the fourth provision gives us the best explanation for how normal, everyday warp travel in Trek could be self consistent.
10.3 The "Picture" this Gives Us of Warp Travel
Given the previous discussion, we see that the fourth provision seems to fit Star Trek like a glove. Thus, it may be best for us to view warp travel in Star Trek like this: Subspace is a field which defines a particular frame of reference at all points in known space. When you enter warp, you are using subspace such that you keep its frame of reference regardless of your speed. Not only does this mean that normal warp travel cannot be used to produce unsolvable paradoxes, but since in warp your frame of reference would no longer depend on your speed as it does in relativity, relativistic effects in general do not apply to travelers using warp. Since relativistic effects don't apply, you also have a general explanation as to why you can exceed the speed of light in the first place.
(As a note, this is similar to Alcubierre's idea for "warp" travel (mentioned earlier), but in his idea the traveler did not take on a "special" frame. Instead, he took on the frame he had before entering warp, but that allows two trips from two different frames of reference to produce an unsolvable paradox. If we add subspace as a special frame of reference to Alcubierre's idea, we could get a self consistent situation which would be very similar to what we see in Trek.)
For more information on how this might conceptually work in the science fiction world of Trek (at least one way I imagine it) you may want to read my other regular post, "Subspace Physics". Here, however, we can at least use this "picture" of warp to consider how the outside universe might appear to someone traveling at warp speed. Remember, at any point the warp traveler's frame of reference it is as if he is sitting still in subspace's reference frame. We could illustrate the way such an observer would picture a particular event by using the following idea: Picture a string of cameras, each a distance (d) away from the one before it. Let these cameras all be stationary in the frame of reference of subspace, and let them all be pointed at the event of interest. Further, let each camera have a clock on it, and let all the clocks be synchronized in the subspace frame. Then, we can set each camera to go off with the time between one camera flash and the next being d/v (where v is the FTL velocity of the observer we want to illustrate). Then, each picture is taken in the subspace frame of reference, but the string of pictures (one from each camera) would form a movie in which each frame was taken from a different place in space from the previous frame. Thus, we can use this to produce a film of how an event would look to a warp traveler.
Of course, in Trek they have subspace sensors which do all their seeing for them (faster than light, of course). However, the above does illustrate one's ability to use this view of warp travel to answer various technical questions.
10.4 Some Notes on Non-Warp FTL Travel and Time Travel in Trek
Now, there are cases in Trek where FTL travel exists without necessarily using subspace (and thus the subspace frame of reference would not apply and would not prevent unsolvable paradoxes). For example, if the wormhole in Deep Space Nine is assumed to be the same as a wormhole we theorize about today, then it wouldn't need to deal with subspace to allow FTL travel. (Now, what they call a wormhole doesn't necessarily have to be what we call a wormhole, but for this illustration, let's assume it is). So, if the wormholes in Trek aren't bounded by the subspace frame of reference, we could imagine a situation whereby they could be used to cause unsolvable paradoxes. This is true for any form of FTL travel in Trek which might not use subspace. However, I propose that in cases where subspace isn't used (so that its special frame of reference could not prevent unsolvable paradoxes) then the first or second provision, "parallel universes" or "consistency protection", would apply. In that way, we can allow for non-warp/non-subspace-using FTL travel in Trek while still preventing unsolvable paradoxes.
Further, consider time travel in Trek. Actual time travel couldn't be accomplished by using subspace alone (the subspace frame along with the fourth provision would prevent it). However, I propose again that such travels in time should not be able to produce unsolvable paradoxes because the "parallel universes" or "consistency protection" provisions would apply (since subspace alone couldn't be in use to produce the time travel).
For example, consider the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Time's Arrow" (in which Data's severed head is found on 24th century Earth, and Data eventually travels back in time to (unintentionally) leave his head behind to be found). Now, after the head was found, one of the crew (let's say Riker, just to use an example) could decide to try to produce an unsolvable paradox. Riker may decide to do everything in his power so as to keep Data from going back in time. He may even try to destroy Data and his head to accomplish this task. Of course, Riker isn't the type of person to do this, but what if he was? Well, in that case, he would be trying to produce an unsolvable paradox, and the first or second provision would prevent it. For the first provision, the head found in the 24th century might have actually come from a parallel universe. For the second provision, we could imagine various ways in which Riker might fail in his task of trying to keep data from going back in time. Further, we could consider the case in which he would succeed in producing an unsolvable paradox and we could insist that such situations would destroy themselves or prevent themselves from ever happening.
Such a situation is seen in a particular Voyager episode. In this episode, members of the crew are caught in a "subspace fissure", and they travel back in time. By the end of the episode their trip back in time has produced a self-inconsistent situation. That series of events then becomes impossible and ceases to exist by the closing credits. This could be seen as a result of having the "consistency protection provision" apply to a case where the subspace frame of reference is bypassed via "subspace fissures".
So, even though we can be relatively sure that this was not the intention of the writers, the situations shown do seem to comply with the concepts we have developed. If you are a sci-fi writer, understanding these concepts may help you in the future.
10.5 To sum up...
To sum up, we have found that by introducing a special frame of reference which would be "attached" to subspace, and by further insisting that any type of FTL/time travel done without using subspace be governed by the "parallel universe" or "consistency protection" provisions, we will not only have a self consistent universe for our Star Trek stories, but we can also (coincidentally) explain many of the "but how come...?" questions which some Star Trek episodes produce.
Chapter 11: Conclusion
In Part I of this FAQ, I presented some of major concepts of special relativity, and here in Part IV , we have discussed the considerable havoc they play with the possibility of faster than light travel. I have argued that the possibility of producing unsolvable paradox is a very powerful deterrent to all FTL concepts. Further, we have introduced four basic provisions, at least one of which must be in place so that FTL trips/signals (sent using any of the FTL concepts) cannot be used to produce unsolvable paradoxes. Finally, we looked at the science fiction of Star Trek while considering all that we had discussed. We concluded that warp travel could be governed by the fourth provision (via subspace defining a special frame of reference) while all other FTL travel (or time travel) could be governed by the first or second provisions. This, I believe, best explains what we see on Star Trek.
If you have not read Part II or Part III of this FAQ, and you are interested in learning more about relativity (special and general), then you may want to give them a look.
As the end result of producing this FAQ, I hope that I have at least informed you to some extent (or perhaps just helped to clarified your own knowledge) concerning relativity and the problems it poses for FTL travel. | <urn:uuid:9ef81656-b130-47d2-b47e-2db80496fd4f> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.physicsguy.com/ftl/html/FTL_part4.html | 2015-04-02T09:40:48Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00092-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960104 | 15,493 |
Brette Barrouquere (AP) reports the latest on Steven D. Green accused of being the ringleader, murderer and gang-rapist in the slaying of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.
The prosecution and the defense will do their opening arguments April 27th and jury selection has already concluded. Barrouquere notes that the prosecution's witnesses: "Prosecutors listed nearly a half-dozen members of the al-Janabi family as potential witnesses. They will have a court-certified interpreter who will also be available to the defense for witness interviews, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford said."
Meanwhile, this is from On Top Magazine's "Fresh Anti-Gay Death Threats In Iraq:"
Men who adopt the more Western values of short hair and a clean-shaven face are often accused of being gay in the Middle East.
“This [homosexuality] has spread because of the absence of the Mehdi Army, the spread of sexual films and satellite television and a lack of government surveillance,” the office's of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Gharawi, a Shiite cleric, told the news agency.
Ali Hili, of Iraqi LGBT, gave gay weekly Gay City News a grim assessment of the situation. According to Hili, the group has confirmed more than 23 murders of gay people in Iraq since December.
Openly gay Congressman Jared Polis, who recently toured Iraq, has called upon the State Department to act.
“We asked the embassy and the State Department to investigate the reports of killings of gay men, and turned over to the charge d'affaires the names and phone numbers of all the gay Iraqi contacts we had and a letter detailing our concerns,” Polis said.
Polis told the paper that the letter included allegations that the Iraqi government was involved in the killings.
Time magazine's Mark Kukis offers "Report Shows Torture Is Widespread in Iraq" which includes this:
Published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report examined the causes of death for 60,481 Iraqi civilians killed violently during the first five years of the war, using statistics compiled by Iraq Body Count. The findings are surprising to anyone familiar with the regular headlines from Iraq blaring explosions around the country. Executions with firearms, not bomb blasts, have killed most civilians in Iraq. Researchers say 33% of the victims examined in the study died by execution after abduction or capture. And 29% of those victims had signs of torture on their bodies such as bruises, drill holes or burns. Suicide bombers in cars or on foot were responsible for 14% of the victims in the study, while U.S. airstrikes killed 4%. (See pictures of the aftershock in Iraq and the U.S. from torture allegations at Abu Ghraib.)
And that is all I could find that C.I. did not have room for or time for in the snapshot. This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today:
Friday, April 17, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces a death, the US State Dept fudges in a new report, Matthis Chiroux prepares for a court date, and more.
Starting with war resistance, Matthis Chiroux was supposed to stand before a military body last month but that changed. He explained to Digital Journal's Stephen Dohnberg why the date was changed to April 21st, "My former JAG attorney volunteered for Iraq service and was deployed a number of weeks ago. Thus, I had to get a new lawyer and a new court date. I think the Army may have been hoping I'd already bought tickets for people to be in attendance and it would have wiped out my finances. Lucky for me, I'm a last minute kinda guy. My replacement is a JAG attorney. Thomas M. Roughneen." This is "Resistance to an Abhorrent Occupation: Press Release of Matthis Chiroux" (World Can't Wait):(ST. LOUIS, MO) The U.S. Army will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist who last summer publicly refused activation and deployment orders to Iraq, on April 21 at 1 Reserve Way in Overland, St. Louis, MO, at 9 a.m. Chiroux, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, refused to participate in what he described as "an illegal and immoral occupation" May 15th, 2008, in Washington D.C., after nine other veterans testified to Members of the U.S. Congress about atrocities they experienced during deployments to Iraq. Chiroux also vowed to remain public in the U.S. to defend himself from any charges brought against him by the military. (see matthisresists.us for a record of that speech and others by Chiroux) "My resistance as a noncommissioned officer to this abhorrent occupation is just as legitimate now as it was last year," said Chiroux, adding, "Soldiers have a duty to adhere to the international laws of war described as supreme in Art. 6 Para. 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which we swear to abide by before the orders of any superior, including our former or current president." Following Chiroux's refusal to deploy, the military did not contact him until after he and 10 other IVAW members marched on the final presidential debate Oct. 15, 2008, in Hempstead, N.Y. demanding to question then Senators Obama and McCain regarding their war policies and plans to care for returning veterans. After the veterans were brutalized and arrested by police, (one suffered a fractured skull and is currently suing the police for damages) the Army charged Chiroux with "misconduct" for refusing to deploy, announcing their intentions to discharge him from the reserves as a result. "I go now to St. Louis to honor my promises and convictions," said Chiroux. "Obama or No-Bama, the military must cease prosecuting Soldiers of conscience, and we will demonstrate to them why." Following the hearing, Chiroux and other IVAW members will testify about their military experiences which led them all to resist in different capacities the U.S.'s Overseas Contingency Operation (formerly the Global War on Terror). For more information, see matthisresists.us and ivaw.org.
Betty covered Mathis last night in "April 21st, St Louis, Matthis needs your support." June 15, 2008, Matthis explained his reasoning which includes:
I believe that this nation and this military may come to know the same truth: That the rule of law has been forsaken and we must return to it or be doomed to continue disaster. I believe in the goodness of the American people and I believe that justice is not dead because we as a people believe that it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government in our names. We know this truth to be self-evident that our nation can unite to oppose an illegal occupation which is killing and scarring and shattering the lives of our youth and the Iraqi people. On this Fathers Day, know, America, that your children need you. We need you to care for us and to care for our country which we will inherit when you are finished with her. We need you to end this occupation of Iraq which has destroyed a country and scattered its people to the wind like ashes in the tempest -- a tempest that has engulfed the nation of Iraq and scrubbed any sign of peace and prosperity from the surface of a civilization older than even history itself. Fathers, we need you to care for your children and the children of Iraq for they know not why you fight and carry no fault in the conflict. Fathers, your sons and daughters need you now to embrace peace for though we were attacked, we have dealt in retaliation that same suffering one-thousand times over to a people who never wronged us. The nation will know little healing until first we stem off the flow of blood and human life for justice and healing will never be done by a blade or a bullet or a bomb or a torture cell. By continuing to participate in the unjust occupation of Iraq, we, as service members, are contributing to that flow of human life and we cannot now -- nor could we ever -- call the Iraqi people an enemy in the fight against the use of terror. But terror is all we now know. We are terrified of the prospect that we have been lied to. We are terrified by the idea that we have killed for nothing. We are terrified to break the silence. We are terrified to do what we know is right. But never again will I allow terror to silence me. Nor will I allow it to govern my actions. I refuse terror as a tactic for uniting a people around an unjust cause. I refuse to allow terror to motivate me to do violence on my fellow man especially those who never wronged me in the first place. I refuse to be terrified to stand in defense of my Constitution. And I refuse to be terrified of doing so in great adversity. As a resister to the Iraq Occupation, I refuse to be terrified by what may come for I know those who stand against me are in terror of the truth. But I will speak my truth, and I will stand by it firmly and forever will my soul know peace. Thank you.
Matthis Chiroux's entire speech is in the June 16, 2008 snapshot. Iraq Veterans Against the War notes:
On Tuesday April 21st an Army administrative discharge board will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist (IRR) who last summer publicly refused activation orders in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The board will convene at 9am at the Army Human Resources Command, 1 Reserve Way in Overland, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. IVAW members and supporters will rally outside the hearing starting at 8:30am.
Although Chiroux is voluntary attending this hearing, all other IRR members who have refused activation have not had any disciplinary actions taken against them by the military other then receiving a General or Other Than Honorable discharge from the IRR. This discharge has no effect on benefits like the GI Bill that IRR members earned through their service while on active duty. Service members who have questions about the IRR can click here or contact the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487.
So that's this coming Tuesday. Wednesday the 15th, the latest 'progress' report on Iraq was released. The US State Dept report is entitled [PDF format warning] "Iraq Status Report." Page 3 offers an overview of the report entitled "Highlights" which includes:
* Amnesty International Calls on PM Maliki to Protect Homosexuals in Iraq (POLITICAL, page 4).
* Iraqi Vice President to Meet with Executives from Total (ECONOMIC, page 10).
* Prime Minister Maliki Visits Moscow for High-Level Talks (DIPLOMATIC, page 20).
* High-Profile Attacks Fail to Re-Ignite Sectarian Violence (SECURITY, page 22).
We'll dive into security and move to page 23 where the following appears -- see if you can catch the distortion:
MNF-I COMMANDER Says U.S. on Track to Meet Withdrawal Deadlines:
* General Odierno said he believes the United States is on track to withdraw from major Iraqi cities by the end of June and all combat troops to depart Iraq by the end of 2011. Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," General Odierno said "We continue to work with the Government of Iraq so they can meet that timeline so that they are able to maintain stability after we leave. . . I still believe we're on track with that."
It continues but that quote had NOTHING to do with the June deadline. John King never combined the two -- the June deadline and end of 2011 one -- into one question asking
Gen Ray Odierno's thoughts. Here's the section they've pulled the quote from and the quoted section above will be in italics:
KING: Let me -- let me ask you -- let me move back to a more serious question, and the idea that, in the previous administration and in your service prior to this administration, you were very clear that you thought these decisions should not be based on political timelines; they should be based on conditions on the ground. I understand you're executing the orders of the commander in chief. I just want to get a sense of, are you concerned at all that the bad guys, the enemy, knows the timeline, too, and they are simply going into hiding, hoarding their resources, gathering their weapons and waiting for you to leave? ODIERNO: There is always that potential. But, again, let me remind everyone what change was in December when the United States and the government of Iraq signed an agreement, a bilateral agreement that put the timeline in place, that said we would withdraw all our forces by 31 December, 2011. In my mind, that was historic. It allowed Iraq to prove that it has its own sovereignty. It allows them, now, to move forward and take control, which was always -- it's always been our goal, is that they can control the stability in their country. So I think I feel comfortable with that timeline. I did back in December. I do now. We continue to work with the government of Iraq so they can meet that timeline, so that they are able to maintain stability once we leave. I still believe we're on track with that, as we talk about this today.
First note that the State Dept did not even get the words correct ("once we leave," not "after we leave" -- and, yes, in a government report, quotes should be correct). Second, notice that entire quote is to King's question about 2011. Click here for full transcript and here for report and video option (all links are CNN). In that interview, Odierno was not stating that the June deadline was on track. He has, publicly, with other outlets, raised the possibility of remaining in Iraqi cities past June 30th and did in that interview. The paragraph as written is a deliberate distortion and including his qualifiers somewhat (as the report finally does) comes after the report has already established a contrary message and it distorts what Odierno said. That's unacceptable. It is not accurate to take comments Odierno makes about a 2011 deadline and pass them off as remarks regarding a June 30, 2009 deadline. It's also bad p.r. because the rumors already that Gen Ray Odierno is being "censored" and that he was balled out for some of his public statements two days before that CNN interview. The State Dept misrepresenting Odierno's words only appears to confirm those rumors since they indicate an urge to put words into the general's mouth. Moving on, page 7 is "Key Legislative Issues" and we'll note that in full.
* Hydrocarbons Package: The Framework Law was resubmitted to the Oil and Gas Committee on October 26 and then returned to the Council of Ministers. There has been no progress on the other three laws in the package.
* Budget: The Council of Representatives (COR) passed a budget on March 5. The Presidency Council approved the 2009 budget on April 2.
* COR Speaker: The COR has yet to reach a consensus on appointing a new Speaker since Mahmoud Mashadani was ousted on December 23, 2008. The COR concluded spring recess and resumed on April 14.
Credit to whomever wrote the report for at least getting it correct that the Speaker was ousted. Very few press reports -- including the New York Times -- get that correct. We'll note the LGBT section in full:
Amnesty International issued a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urging the Iraqi government to take "urgent and concerted action" against the recent rise in violence against the gay community in Iraq, including by condemning the killing of six men found dead in Sadr City in past weeks, and bringing the murderers to justice. Congressman Jared Polis also brought the issue to the attention of Iraqi officials during his delegation's recent visit to Iraq.
We noted the letter earlier this week. Amnesty International has not posted it online but they have posted this:
Amnesty International has written to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki expressing grave concern about a reported spate of killing of young men solely because of their sexual orientation and calling for urgent and concerted action by the government to bring those responsible to justice and to afford effective protection to the gay community in Iraq.
Over the last few weeks at least 25 boys and men are reported to have been killed in Baghdad because theyw ere, or were pereceived to be, gay. The killings are said to have been carried out by armed Shi'a militamen as well as by members of the tribes and families of the victims. Certain religious leaders, especially in al-Sadr City neighbourhood, are also reported in recent weeks to have urged their followers to take action to eradicate homosexuality in Iraqi society, in terms which appear effectively to constitute at least an implicit, if not explicit, incitement to violence against members of the gay community. Three corpses of gay men are reported to have been found in al-Sadr City on 2 and 3 April 2009; two of the bodies are said to have had pieces of paper bearing the word "pervert" attached to them, suggetsting that the victims had been murdered on account of their sexual identitiy.
In the letter sent to the Prime Minister Amnesty International expressed concern at the government's failure to publicly condemn the killings and ensure that they are promptly and effective investigated, and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The letter also drew attention to reported statements by one senior police officer that appear to condone or even encourage the targeting of members of the gay community in Baghdad, in gross breach of the law and international human rights standards.
Amnesty International reminded the Iraqi government that it is a fundamental principle of international human rights law, including international treaties that have been ratified by and are binding on Iraq, that "All human beings are equal in dignity and rights" and are entitled to all rights and freedom set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without distinction of any kind, such as on grounds of race, sex, religion, political, or other status, including sexual orientation and gender identity. The organization called on Prime Minister al-Maliki [to] take immediate and concrete steps to address this sitatuion, including to publicly condemn, unreservedly and in the strongest terms, all attacks on members of the gay community or others on account of their sexual, gender, ethnic or other identity, and to commit to ensuring that those responsible for such abuses are identified and brought to justice. Further, police officers or other officials who encourage, condone or acquiesce in such attacks must also be held to account and either prosecuted or disciplined and removed from office.
This morning AFP is reported that signs are going up around the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad threatening to kill a list of people alleged to be gay. The posters are put out by the Brigades of the Righteous and AFP translates the posters as stating, "We will punish you, perverts" and "We will get you, puppies" has been scrawled on some posters -- "puppies" being slang for gay males in Iraq. The Australian carries the AFP report here. Liz Sly and Caesar Ahmed (LAT's Babylon & Beyond) report the message on the posters included, "If you don't cease your perverted acts, you will get your fair punishment." The reporters also noted that a Sadr City resident saw a poster with approximately 15 names (of people who would be killed) written on it. These posters are going up around Sadr City. Where is the United Nations condemnation? Where is the White House, where is the US State Dept? Chris Johnson (Washington Blade) notes the only member of the US Congress to condemn the targeting of Iraq's LGBT community, US House Rep Jared Polis and reports:
Noel Clay, a State Department spokesperson, said U.S. officials "condemn the persecution of LGBTs in Iraq," but he couldn't confirm whether the violence they're facing in Iraq is because of their sexual orientation. Clay noted that while homosexuality is against the law in Iraq, the death penalty is not the punishment for homosexual acts.
And yet at the start of this month the State Dept's Iraqi Desk John Fleming was telling Kilian Melloy (The Edge) that, "Homosexuality not a crime in Iraq." He was also stating that same-sex relations were of no conern to Iraqis ("immaterial"). That is laughable. Noel Clay has stated that same-sex relations have been criminalized in Iraq so unless or until the State Dept issues a public clarification, we will operate under the belief that Clay is correct. Attempts by the press to figure this out has been stonewalled.
Stonewalling? That brings us to yesterday's attack in Anbar Province on the Tamouz Air Base. How many died? No one can find out. Liz Sly and Usama Redha (Los Angeles Times) explain, "It is common in Iraq to receive contradictory information about casualties in the initial hours after an attack, though such a major discrepancy is unusual. A spokesman for U.S. Marines in Anbar declined to comment." Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) quotes Iraqi Maj Yassen al-Dulaimi stating, "We are shocked by the fact that a suicide bomber was able to infiltrate the guarded camp and passed through the gate to carry out this terrible attack." "Confusion often clouds accounts of attacks here, but rarely have senior officials offered such divergent reports about a death toll," observes Steven Lee Myers in this morning's New York Times. But the key note by Myers is this one: "Journalists were prohibited from entering the base and the hospital, which Iraqi and American officers visited after the wounded arrived." That's what this is, an attack on a free press. A bombing took place. A death toll is known and should not be in dispute. The puppet government (and possibly the US as well) is worried about 'embarrassment' and that apparently trumps facts and the right-to-know. This is appalling and would be similar to the US hiding an attack (example, 9-11) and barring the press from the area and from hospitals. It is an attack on the press and it is an attack on the historical record. Staying with attacks on the press, Wednesday Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy) weighed in on the efforts of the Iraqi military to close the newspaper Al-Hayat: "That's not a good sign. Reminds me of the bad old days of 2004-2005 when the Iraqi government and MNF-I were routinely attacking the Arab media for fueling the insurgency and the offices of al-Jazeera and other satellite television stations were shuttered. You would think that they would have learned form the experience of banning al-Jazeera, which didn't prevent it from covering Iraq politics but did reduce the access that officials had to its airtime."
Iraq got some airtime on the second hour of The Diane Rehm Show today when guest host Susan Page (USA Today) spoke with Barbara Slavin (Washington Times), Warren Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) and Kevin Whitelaw (US News & World Reports).
Susan Page: Barbara, we saw some bombings -- some uptake in violence there.
Barbara Slavin: Yeah, there've been a number of bombings there in Baghdad, in Kirkuk, in Mosul. There was a suicide bomber who went into an Iraqi army installation which was supposed to be secure in western Iraq so this is worrisome. The US is beginning to draw down, it's moving its soldiers out of the cities and the question is: Can Iraqis cope? We had a guest yesterday, we had an advisor to the president of the Kurdish Region of Iraq who said he was, frankly, very, very worried that if Iraqis could not make some important decisions in terms of political reconciliation -- I mean they still don't have an oil law, they still haven't figured out what to do about the status of Kirkuk which is a city claimed by many, you know there are still problems between Sunni and Shia -- that if they couldn't have these political reconciliations within the next years, this Kurdish leader said he didn't want the Americans to withdraw. Now I don't think there's much of a stomach frankly to stay but it is worrisome in terms of the continued violence in their country.
Susan Page: Could it complicate the timetable that President Obama laid out for pulling out US troops?
Warren Strobel: I think it absolutely could. You know I think there's a minset, Susan, in this country that, certainly, the American people and officialdom that "Iraq is over, it's getting better, we're getting out, problem done, let's move on to Afghanistan, Pakistan." But that's not necessarily so. And I think what you're seeing in Kirkuk and elsewhere is various ethnic groups, they're positioning themselves for post-US Iraq. And that's uh -- it could complicate Obama's withdrawal timeline.
Slavin was referring to tensions between the Kurds and the central government. Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) reports that "some Iraqi and U.S. officials believe [tension over Kirkuk] could escalate into armed conflict" and that this has "prompted the U.S. military in January to increase its troop level in Kirkuk from a battalion, roughly 900 troops, to a combat brigade of about 3,200 soldiers."
Today the US military announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - A Multi National Force -West Marine died as the result of a non-combat related incident here April 16. The Marine's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." This brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4274. In other violence,
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) notes a Baghdad mortar attack which left 4 dead and either more injured.
Meanwhile in the US, Jo Freeman examines the state of the peace movement at Senior Women Web and notes the March 21st march on the Pentagon staged by A.N.S.W.E.R. and others turned out "[b]etween one and two thousand people" (it was at least 10,000) while UPFJ saw "a few hundred" on April 4th (that tally is correct). Freeman's biggest contribution is in explaining that the Friday April 3rd action (which had a few thousand) was by the Bail Out the People Movement. Freeman also provides the background on several organization but is sketchy on UPFJ. Jo is incorrect that the Iraq War is ending and, for the record, during Nixon's time she was far less likely to present an assertion as a fact. But in good news for the peace movement, some realities about Barack are beginning to stick. The issue of torture was covered last night by Mike ("Barack's latest disgrace"), Marcia ("Ray McGovern"), Ruth ("Ray McGovern"), Kat ("It's called 'justice,' Barack") and Cedric ("Barack needs a Constitutional tutor") and Wally ("THIS JUST IN! HE DOESN'T KNOW JUSTICE!"). Amnesty International notes:
US President Barack Obama has been accused of "condoning torture" following his announcement that CIA agents who used harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects will not be prosecuted. Amnesty International has called on the US administration to initiate criminal investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for carrying out acts of torture, including waterboarding, in its "war on terror". "President Obama's statements in the last days have been very disappointing. In saying that no one will be held to account for committing acts of torture, the US administration is in effect condoning torture," said Daniel Gorevan, of Amnesty International's Counter Terror with Justice campaign. "It's saying that US personnel can commit acts of torture and the authorities will not take any action against them. Memos were released this week detailing the range of techniques the CIA was allowed to use during the Bush administration, including sleep deprivation and simulated drowning (otherwise known as waterboarding). "The memos, in effect, justified torture techniques," said Daniel Gorevan. "We want to see prompt movement on behalf of the US administration on this to prosecute those responsible for the acts of torture, as well as those who authorised and justified these acts."
National Lawyers Guild member and GI Rights attorney James Branum observes, "President Obama and AG Holder are in my opinion now complicit in these crimes. Their argument that the CIA agents were relying on legal advice is a crock of ****. I'm sure Nazi lawyers said the holocaust was 'legal' too." Chris Floyd (Empire Burlesque) explains, "Barack Obama is being given great credit for releasing the memos, although as the president himself points out in his statement, their release was actually required by law. I suppose it's true that the United States government has become so degraded that we must be surprised and glad when a president actually obeys the law when it suits him, but I must say that I can't find any great cause for rejoicing -- especially as Obama's statement immediately and definitely ruled out prosecuting any of the direct perpetrators of these criminal actions." At Just Left, Michael Ratner (Center for Constituational Rights president) explains, "In making the decision not to prosecute, President Obama is acting as jury, judge and prosecutor. It is not his decision to make. Whether or not to prosecute law breakers is not a political decision. Laws were broken and crimes were committed. If we are truly a nation of laws as he is fond of saying, a prosecutor needs to be appointed and the decisions regarding the guilt of those involved in the torture program should be decided in a court of law." With Dalia Hashad, Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith, Michael Ratner also co-hosts WBAI's Law and Disorder. The American Civil Liberties Union encourages people to "demand accountability for torture" and makes it simple to send a message to the US Attorney General's office with a form at the previous link. World Can't Wait's Debra Sweet states it clearly, "And, given that Obama is releasing these memos AT THE SAME TIME as he is officially announcing he won't prosecute those who carried all of this out means --in my view - - that nobody familiar with the release of these memos can any longer claim honest confusion about whether or not Obama represents 'change'." World Can't Wait is staging a forum on torture tomorrow in Orange, California (near Santa Ana and Anaheim):
Bush's Department of Justice legalized torture. Now Obama's Department of Justice won't prosecute and will even provide free legal representation to torturers. Your government refuses to bring war criminals and torturers to account. Will you remain silent or get informed, take a stand and build a movement to stop torture and demand accountability for war crimes?
WHAT: Forum on National Security, Rule of Law & Torture: The Torture Memos of John Yoo
WHEN: Saturday, April 18th, 2009 10 AM - 2 PM
WHERE: Chapman University Law School, Kennedy Hall, Rms. 237 A&B, 370 N. Glassell (at Sycamore), Orange, CA 92866
WHY: John Yoo, while working for the Bush administration's Office of Legal Counsel, drafted legal memos which, some say, influenced the U.S.'s decision to legalize torture. John Yoo is currently a visiting professor at Chapman University School of Law, where the controversy continues.
"John Yoo's complicity in establishing the policy that led to the torture of prisoners constitutes a war crime under the US War Crimes Act". Cited from testimony provided to U.S. Congress on May 6, 2008 by Marjorie Cohn, National Lawyers Guild President.
WHO: Concerned residents and students from the Chapman community and surrounding area came together and formed Stop Torture Coalition to voice opposition to legalization of torture, inform people about torture, and call on people to stand against this assault on human rights and civil liberties. This forum is hosted by the National Lawyers Guild, Chapman Student Chapter.CONTENT: A public forum with Question and Answer session to examine• Whether Yoo is complicit in the commission of war crimes.• Whether torture is necessary for national security.• What is the impact on our basic human and civil rights.
M. Katherine B. Darmer, Professor of Law, Chapman University Law School
Larry Everest, author of "Oil, Power & Empire", writer for Revolution newspaper
Ann Fagan Ginger, President of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans Against the War
Ameena Qazi, staff attorney for Council on American-Islamic Relations
Moderated by Michael Slate, host of KPFK's Tuesday edition of Beneath the Surface
ENDORSED BY: Answer-LA, California Teachers for Academic Excellence; Code Pink- OC; David Swanson / AfterDowningStreet.org; Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute; Military Families Speak Out- OC; National Lawyers Guild Chapman Students Chapter; National Lawyers Guild –LA; Orange County Peace Coalition; Patrick Henry Democratic Club; Peace and Freedom – OC; Progressive Democrats of America; Scientists Without Borders; Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Anaheim; US Federation of Scholars and Scientists; Westside Progressives; Women For: Orange County; and World Can't Wait.
TV notes. NOW on PBS begins airing Fridays on most PBS stations (check local listings) and this week:Americans are addicted to coal--it powers half of all our electricity, and is both plentiful and cheap. In fact, some call America the "Saudi Arabia of Coal." But are we paying too high an environmental price for all this cheap energy?With carbon emissions caps high on the Obama Administration's agenda, coal is in the crosshairs of the energy debate. This week, NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Wyoming to take a hard look at the coal industry there and its case that it can produce "clean coal"--coal that can be burned without releasing carbon into the atmosphere. President Obama has been outspoken in his support for "clean coal" technology, but some say the whole concept is more of a public relations campaign than an energy solution.As part of the report, Hinojosa talks with Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and Jeff Goodell, the author of "Big Coal," who says that carbon dioxide emissions generated from coal contribute to global warming.Our investigation is part of a PBS-wide series on the country's infrastructure called "Blueprint America."Washington Week also begins airing tonight on most PBS stations and sitting down with Gwen this week are Tom Gjelten (NPR), Spencer Hsu (Washington Post), Eamon Javers (publication which shall not be named) and Martha Raddatz (ABC News). Also on PBS (and begins airing tonight, check local listings) Bonnie Erbe sits down with Eleanor Holmes Norton, Genevieve Wood, Linda Chavez and Melinda Henneberger to discuss this week's news on To The Contrary. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:401K RecessionNever created to be a mainstay of workers' retirement funds, 401ks became just that to millions of Americans who are now facing uncertain futures because of the devastating losses in the stock market. Steve Kroft reports.
Cold Fusion Is Hot AgainPresented in 1989 as a revolutionary new source of energy, cold fusion was quickly dismissed as junk science. But today, the buzz among scientists is that these experiments produce a real physical effect that could lead to monumental breakthroughs in energy production. Scott Pelley reports. Watch Video
Blood BrothersMatador Cayetano Ordonez nearly dies during this segment when he's battered by a bull in a Bob Simon report about him and his brother Francisco – Spain's remarkable bullfighting family – who these days are creating just as much drama outside the ring as in it. Watch Video
60 Minutes, Sunday, April 19, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
iraq veterans against the war
the los angeles timesliz slyusama redhathe new york timessteven lee myers
chris johnsonthe washington bladekilian melloydoug irelandernesto londonothe washington post
nprthe diane rehm show
60 minutescbs newsnow on pbspbsto the contrarybonnie erbe
law and disordermichael ratnermichael smithdalia hashadheidi boghosian
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You only see what your eyes want to see
How can life be what you want it to be?
You’re frozen, when your heart’s not open…
- Madonna (Frozen)
/In other news, police are now investigating the shooting that took place on Marigold highway two weeks ago. According to reports, the only victim at the scene was Heero Yuy, only son to billionaire businessman and socialite, Odin Yuy. Two men, suspected to be his attackers, were apprehended and taken into police custody. They are both believed to be responsible for many cases of stolen vehicles around the city for the past few months. Heero Yuy has been confirmed as being in stable condition and doctors believe he will be released soon from the single gunshot wound on his left shoulder. The seventeen year-old Yuy heir…/
The remote control fell out of his hand and amongst the pillows as he lay back with a soft sigh. Long lashes fluttered closed as the boy felt the drowsiness from the drugs he had been given earlier finally take effect. He tried to fight it as he forced his eyes open again. He blinked slowly, and took notice of his surroundings with a low groan. He was still in the hospital even though he had been promised he would be sent home a day or two earlier. He didn’t like being cooped up in a single place for a long time. The feeling of claustrophobia and the sense of being held prisoner were making him feel even more paranoid than ever before.
He kept having the feeling that they were keeping something from him…again.
For two weeks, he had been drifting in and out of consciousness. The pain in his shoulder had been numbed the first night he had been brought in and the surgery performed just as quickly. He should have been out by now, he kept telling himself. But no, they had to keep him here for monitoring purposes.
His lashes fell closed again and with a light grunt, he forced them open to glare at the vase of brightly colored flowers of which species he knew nothing about. The smell was a bit maddening and Heero could remember trying to get the nurse to take them out of the room. Everyday a fresh batch of flowers were sent to his room from well wishers, family members and even strangers he had never heard of. What a pain.
His parents had, of course, spent the first night and consecutive days afterwards with him. They had naturally been worried and fussed over him like he was a child all over again. A bit aggravating, but quite thoughtful and nice of them, he thought with a small smile. But beneath all of that, Heero sensed that all was not as it seemed. They had come together, yes…but they had been apart as well. Hikari would usually sit inches away from him, talking about everything going on at the house. She had been forced to cancel the party she had planned for Milliardo, but she was going to throw an even bigger one once he got out of the hospital. This time it would be in celebration of his recovery and for Milliardo’s welcome. Just like killing two birds with one stone.
Heero had smiled dutifully at his mother’s enthusiasm, but had noticed from a quick glance at his father, that the dark-haired man was quite silent and had a thoughtful expression on his features. He had seen his father look like that before, so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to him at the time.
Sighing softly, Heero forced his gaze towards the large windowpanes on his left. It gave him the breathtaking view of the ocean just a few miles away and somehow, the thought of the blue waters looking so calm and serene had him feeling a bit better.
Relena and Milliardo had been there on the night of the attack. So, Heero knew he was right when he had guessed it was the girl’s scream of terror. Her brother had managed to find the highway, but that was only because of Trowa’s phone call. The Barton heir had called Relena to let her know the situation as it stood and had given them his and Duo’s whereabouts. Relena had then called the police for backup and that was how they had burst onto the scene. Everything that had happened on that night still seemed surreal to Heero and there were times when he could have sworn that it had all been one bad dream. Relena had of course, come in to visit as often as she was allowed. And although, she spent her time talking to him, Heero got the sense that she was finally beginning to realize that she had little to no chance of winning him back.
“I just want to be your friend,” he had told her quietly. “Can’t we just be good friends?”
Tears had welled up in her eyes and she had taken off the simple gold engagement ring and flung it in his face before running out of the room. She hadn’t come back to visit since then…but then again, that had been yesterday. Milliardo had only come by twice, not that it mattered much to Heero whether he showed his face to him again or not. But he had needed to know the whereabouts of the man he had saved and besides the enigmatic smile the blond gave him each time, Heero was beginning to get even more frustrated at Milliardo’s unwillingness to tell him anything.
Duo had not visited him…yet.
He felt the dull ache of misery sear through him as the thought came back to hit him with a vengeance.
That’s right. He hasn’t come. He won’t come. He didn’t go to David’s funeral…why should he come to see me now?
He raised a hand to scrub his eyes angrily, which had begun to burn with unshed tears before he allowed it to fall back to the bed heavily.
A light knock on the door had him glancing quickly at the clock. Visiting hours were no longer in effect. So who could it possibly be?
“Can I come in, Heero?”
A reluctant and small smile came to his lips as he heard the softly spoken Japanese words. Keiko only spoke in Japanese whenever she was extremely angry or in a particularly good mood. According to her, it would be a shame to let their native tongue go to waste if they didn’t continue speaking it whenever chance they got.
“Yeah…” he replied as he held up his hand in greeting, watching her step carefully into the room and close the door gently behind her. She was dressed in a white sweater and a long black skirt that fit her like a second skin. The bruises on her face had begun to heal nicely and in a few days they were bound to be gone completely. She was carrying a bouquet of orchids, which she dropped unceremoniously onto a table. Pulling a chair closer to his bed, she sat down with a heavy sigh escaping her lips.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked with a raised brow as she eyed his hospital gown-clad form. “I thought you were supposed to be out by now.”
Heero shrugged and shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. You tell them to get me out of here.”
“Wish I could, brother,” she replied with a small smile that made her look so much different and even more beautiful. Their eyes met and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment each knowing that they had so much to tell the other but not knowing where to begin.
“I’m glad you are okay, Keiko,” he finally said quietly. “You turned out…alright…”
She had the grace to blush at the intense look in his eyes as she waved her hand in dismissal. “Stop saying that. I haven’t done anything.” She got to her feet and stood beside the window, her gaze now pinned on the deceptively calm ocean.
“Has he come yet?” she asked suddenly, causing Heero to blush darkly at how direct the question had been.
“No…” he mumbled. “No, he…hasn’t…”
“That idiot!” Keiko barked out coldly as she spun around to face him again. “No one has seen him at the house for the past two weeks either! Where could he have gone?”
Heero lowered his lashes and tried hard to squash down the growing worry. Duo couldn’t have…
“I mean, his things are still there,” Keiko continued, unaware of the huge sigh of relief that escaped her cousin at that little piece of good news. “He just hasn’t been sleeping in the house, that’s all. I’m…”
“Worried?” Heero finished with a teasing smile.
“Like hell I am! That…that…that…he almost killed me!”
Heero chuckled weakly at the memory of Duo’s horrible driving on that night. But the laughter died down as he felt the claws of loneliness bury themselves into his heart again. For one brief moment on that night, he had touched the teacher again. Had Duo had an inkling that this might happen? Was that kiss a sort of…goodbye?
No…I can’t…I don’t want it to be…
“Yuzuki said she might drop by again later on tonight,” Keiko said around a yawn. “She seems to be doing well again.”
Heero gave a small nod. “You never did tell us why you went looking for her, Keiko,” he said with a puzzled look on his face as he noticed the dull red hue on her cheeks.
And sounding a bit too defensive, she replied curtly. “Is it so wrong to look for someone now? I was just trying to help out, that’s all.”
Heero didn’t buy it, but rather than worry too much about Keiko’s credibility, he focused his attention on the events that had surrounded the Japanese woman. Luckily, Yuzuki had been at home when Trowa and Quatre had arrived. They had both, naturally, wanted to know her reason for leaving, but all she had told them was something along the lines of people changing and people needing to move on with their lives. She had served the Yuy family for so long now that she thought it was time for her to depend on herself. She would still love and cherish Heero and would do her best to visit him at any and all times possible.
People change. People need to move on…
Keiko sat down on the chair again and stared into her cousin’s rather sad countenance. “Kami-sama, you’re both so clueless sometimes,” she muttered with irritation. “After all you have both been through, he just chooses to disappear. And you saved his life too! The ungrateful bastard!”
“That’s why you love him, right?” Heero asked quietly.
“Lo…Love??” came the flustered stammer from the red-faced girl. “I am so over him! So don’t worry, I have no plans to steal your precious boy-friend from you…”
Heero lifted his lowered gaze to stare at the now silent girl in bemusement. “What is it?” he prodded gently.
Keiko shook her head and gave a surprisingly shy smile. “It’s nothing. It’s just that…”
A sudden knock on the door had both of them blinking in surprise before gaping at the head that stuck itself into the room. In a voice that was filled with complete boredom, Milliardo spoke up.
“You told me you were only going to be here for ten minutes, Keiko. It’s been almost half an hour.”
The flush on the girl’s cheeks did not lessen as she caught the bewildered look her cousin was giving her.
Milliardo was actually talking to Keiko…normally?!
The blond caught Heero’s look and stepped into the room with a light shrug. “She made me bring her here, so don’t look at me or her like that. There’s nothing going on between us.”
Keiko scowled. “Like I would want anything to do with a brainless loser like you.”
The Peacecraft heir tightened his jaw at the jab and gave a curt nod. “Well, you might as well find the bus to go home on. I’m out of here.”
“Wait!” the girl cried out quickly as she rose to her feet to place a soft but quick kiss on her cousin’s cheek. “Sorry, Heero, but I’ve got to go with him. I can’t take the bus. I…uh…I have no money with me.”
They both knew she was lying. Keiko would have rather walked the distance than use any public mode of transportation. Yes, she was that spoiled.
“Whatever makes you happy, Keiko,” Heero muttered around a small smile. “Take care now. And thank you for visiting me.”
Another light blush filled her cheeks as she gave a small nod. “No worries, Heero. What are cousins for?” And giving him a light wave, she made her way out of the room with a scowling Milliardo following, but Heero’s desperate cry had the blond stopping in his tracks.
“What is it now?” he asked lazily, not really looking at the teen on the bed. He already had an inkling of what the question was bound to be, but an inner perverted need to torture Heero a bit longer reared its ugly head again.
Heero grit his teeth at the smug look on Milliardo’s face, but forced himself to ask as politely as possible. “Have you heard anything yet?”
The blond shook his head. “No. Oh, I’m sorry, looks like the boyfriend isn’t hanging around you any more, is he?”
“Or maybe you should take his lead and move on, Heero. He seems to be doing that easily enough, why can’t you?”
But the blond wasn’t done yet. Luckily, Keiko was out of sight and he was free to do as he pleased. Retribution was a wonderful thing. Not that there was really any reason for Milliardo to feel a need for revenge, but he guessed that the very idea of Heero falling for someone he might have had a chance with was enough to fuel his jealous streak.
“What’s the matter, Heero? Where’s all that tough guy talk? Are you just going to sit there and let him go find another young man to tutor, hmm? Why don’t you…?”
“Go fuck yourself,” Heero growled out with barely contained fury. He would have loved to get off the bed to wipe that smug look off the blond’s face, but he knew that his legs would fail him at this point. He hadn’t moved in two weeks and his joints were bound to take some time to get into better working condition.
Instead of getting upset, the insult seemed to only tickle Milliardo’s funny bone as he gave a hearty chuckle in response. “Good one, friend. Good one.” He made a show of glancing at his watch before giving Heero a wink and a patronizing grin. “Looks like my time here in Loser’s Ward is over. Remember what I said, Heero. People change. They need to move on. Think about that, friend. See you around.”
And with a light mocking bow, the heir let himself out, leaving only an empty shell of a young man in his wake.
“I feel a bit weird doing this,” Quatre mumbled as he picked up the small statue of something that looked like a goat. It had been sitting among other similar looking statues on the wide mantel-piece that belonged to a certain teacher. Duo sure did have a lot of strange collectibles.
“What’s so weird about it?” came the muffled question from the taller boy, who was currently rummaging through a box of books that had been sitting in the corner of the living room. “We are just looking for things that could give us a clue as to where he might have gone. I hardly think it’s fair for him to just leave with no warning or explanation.”
Quatre pursed his lips in thought as he picked up a leather bound book that had been lying on one of the couches. “What if he ran away because he couldn’t face the thought of losing Heero,” he mused out loud. “Remember, Trowa? He couldn’t make himself attend David’s funeral…so maybe…”
“But Heero isn’t dead, Quatre,” Trowa reasoned with a sigh as he tossed yet another book to the side. “Damn…there’s got to be someone that knows about his whereabouts.”
Trowa blinked in confusion at the softly mumbled words before turning to face his blond companion. “What’s that?”
Quatre pointed to the book he was holding. “It’s written in here. ‘To the coolest reject I know, love Wufei’…”
“Let me see that.” Trowa walked up to pluck the book out of the Arabian’s hands, eager and excited green eyes reading the smooth calligraphy over and over again. “That’s him! Don’t you remember, Quatre? The guy we met at Duo’s pool party!”
“Oh yeah! I remember now,” the blond agreed with growing excitement. Things were looking up now. “Wufei…Wufei…” he wracked his brain for the last name, but Trowa beat him to the punch.
“Right. So, what do we do now? Call him? Visit him?”
“Get a phone directory,” Trowa suggested as he began to make his way towards Duo’s bedroom to search for any possible address books lying around. “The sooner we speak to him, the better for us…and Heero.”
Now, Wufei wasn’t one to question Fate and what it had in store for him, but in this case he had the feeling that he was about to make an exception.
The morning had started innocently enough. There was nothing out of the ordinary to complain about. He always woke up at about seven in the morning, had a quick jog around the block, came back in and got himself ready for work. Much to Meiran’s chagrin, he always had the tendency to skip breakfast and settled for getting only a doughnut and a cup of coffee from the small shop a few blocks away. He really didn’t know why she should complain. It wasn’t as if he was eating himself into the ground or anything.
After breakfast came work. Now that he was in the executive ranks, he didn’t really need to answer to anyone else but the big guy on the top floor, so he could come in at whatever time he liked. However, Wufei was punctual and never failed to miss his ten o’clock daily meetings with the members of his department.
The accounting division was bound to be a failure without him, he figured with a smirk as he punched the buttons on the elevator that was to take him to his office. Without his knowledge and expertise, all those bumbling fools would have made a wreck of an otherwise successful company.
The doors slid open and he gave absentminded nods of greeting to the ones that came his way. It was a luxurious place, if he did say so himself. Functional and tastefully furnished, the beige and tan colors muted and created a sense of professionalism that was sadly lacking in today’s business world.
“Good morning, Mr. Chang,” came the lithe sing-song voice from his secretary. She was a beautiful dark-skinned girl, who had just graduated from a well-known university with honors, which was a rarity in itself. Giving her a rare smile, he nodded and accepted the folder she handed to him.
“Thank you, Amy,” he responded as he made the turn towards his office, only to stop dead in his tracks as his gaze fell upon the headline that blared at him from a newspaper that had been left on a side table.
‘Billionaire’s son hospitalized…’
That shouldn’t have been enough to grab his attention, but it was the name beneath it that had Wufei snatching the paper off the table with trembling hands.
“Yuy…Heero Yuy…” he mumbled thickly as dark eyes scanned the report. “Shot…eye witnesses…girl…Peacecraft…Milliardo…Relena…”
Duo? Where was Duo in all of this?
The report had not mentioned anything about the young man on the scene, but Wufei had the feeling that the teacher must have been there. So what had happened? Why hadn’t Duo been mentioned?
/I can’t deal with it, Wufei…I can’t stand to see those I love suffering…because of me…/
Amy was startled at the vehemence of her boss’s cry but she wasn’t one to question him on matters that were on a personal level. She could clearly see that he was agitated and she wisely kept her distance.
“Amy,” Wufei began briskly as he began to make his way out of the office. “I want you to call Kohae and tell him to lead the meeting this morning. I will not be around for a while, so forward all my calls, okay?”
“No…don’t forward my calls,” he corrected after a few seconds of thought. “Just take down messages or tell them that I will call back later on.”
“Yes, sir,” she repeated quietly as she took down the notes. “Will that be all, sir?”
The Chinese man frowned in thought for a moment before shaking his head. “That will be all. Have a good day, Amy.”
With a light nod, he made his way out of the office and towards a place he knew a certain teacher would be.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one looking for Duo as he had just gotten a phone call from two of the unlikeliest of people. For a second, the names had not rung any bells in his mind, but once they had mentioned Duo and Heero in the same breath, he had recognized their voices on the spot.
And now, here he was in front of the apartment building that Duo had once called home, waiting for the two boys to make an appearance. They had all promised to meet here and even though Wufei was doubtful that his friend would be at home, there was no harm in trying, was there?
He glanced towards the windows, wondering if perhaps the man with the braid was watching from up above. But the eerie stillness was quite unnerving and for a moment, Wufei debated on whether barging in there unannounced was really a good idea in the first place. He was sure that Duo would be upset if he found out he was being ambushed like this.
He spun around quickly, surprised (and a bit upset at being caught off guard) at the presence of the two boys he had been waiting for. They must have grown a bit taller since the last time they met, but there was no denying who they were. Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner were actually standing before him. Wufei glanced at the lone black car that was parked by the curb with a wary smile. Not a good idea to park such an expensive looking car in such a neighborhood, but then again, it could end up being the safest place for it.
“Trowa? Quatre, I believe?” he responded with an outstretched hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you both again.”
The teens gave small sighs of relief, having wondered if they would have to reintroduce themselves all over again. They had been lucky to find one of Duo’s old address books in one of the boxes he kept in the basement. Well, actually they had found Meiran’s number and had called her first. She had been more than willing to share any and all information about her husband-to-be. That was the only way they had gotten access to his cell-phone number in the first place. But those matters were quite trivial compared with what they had to deal with at the moment.
“We are really sorry for taking you away from your business,” Trowa began quietly.
Wufei waved a hand in dismissal, although he had a friendly smile on his face. “It’s no problem at all. I would have taken a break anyway. I just saw the newspaper this morning.”
Both boys gave small but uneasy smiles, knowing full well that the older man was going to ask them a question. However, sensing their uneasiness, Wufei gave a small nod instead and began to lead the way into the building. There would be time to find out everything and this was not it.
“Watch your step,” he warned as he pushed open the door that led to the front lobby. Trowa and Quatre tried hard not to wrinkle their noses in distaste at the foul stench of rotten vegetables and wet feet that assailed their senses. A loud cry from a baby permeated the already noisy building as doors banged open and shut, added with noises from bickering neighbors or couples.
The two heirs exchanged wary glances with one another, wondering just how anyone could live in such a place and retain their sanity. But, not being one to judge, they followed Wufei’s sure and steady steps, hands stuck deep into their coats as they did not want to touch the dingy staircase rails or walls. Black with soot and covered with some rather obscene graffiti, they shuddered and unconsciously huddled closer to the older man.
Finally, they got to Duo’s floor and the boys were grateful that it was at least a bit quieter than the rest. Wufei’s strides took them towards Room 531, which was locked as evident from the small twist the Chinese man had given to the door knob. He pressed the doorbell and waited.
“I can’t…can’t believe he lives here,” Quatre muttered thickly as he moved closer to his partner. The sound of something like glass crashing on the floor above them had them both moving even closer to their guide.
“It’s okay, Quatre. It’s not as bad as it looks really,” Wufei replied softly, as he peered through the peephole. He couldn’t see a thing of course, but then again that didn’t mean anything, did it? Was Duo even home?
“How long have you known Duo?” Trowa asked in genuine curiosity. “You seem to know him better than…anyone.”
“And how would you know that?” Wufei asked in faint amusement. “I’ve only known him for three years. That’s hardly long enough to consider myself a ‘Duo’ expert.”
“But you’ve known him…and you know more about him than we do,” Trowa insisted with a light frown. “What is Duo like, really? Please tell us.”
The Chinese man’s brow creased lightly as he stepped away from the door. He eyed the two boys who had eager but serious expressions on their faces. They looked genuinely concerned for their friend and he could understand that. He felt the same way about Duo and he would be damned before he betrayed the American’s trust.
“Why should I tell you anything about him?” he asked with that same look of wariness in his eyes. “If Duo chose not to reveal too much about himself, then who am I to fill in the missing pieces?”
“Because those missing pieces are what we need to make Heero better, Wufei,” Quatre replied quietly. “Heero needs Duo and I am sure that Duo feels the same way. He just can’t keep running away from the truth whenever it hits him in the face.”
Wufei’s jaw tightened at the comment, but he refused to say anything.
“Please, Wufei…anything at all you can say to help us…” Trowa pleaded again. “We would greatly appreciate it.”
You have friends now, Duo, Wufei thought ruefully. People who actually give a damn now. So, friend? What do you have to say for yourself?
The nurse looked stricken as she tried desperately to get the boy back into his bed.
“Please, Mr. Yuy, you’ve been going at this for an hour now. You need to get some rest!”
But the Japanese boy paid her no attention. Drops of sweat rolled off his skin as he moved the crutches again. His arms were practically numb from the constant maneuvering he had been doing all afternoon. He grit his teeth and moved them forward again, biting back a cry as the pain shot up his spine. He was aggravating the wound on his shoulder, but anything was better than lying down and doing nothing.
He had to walk again. If not for his sake, then for Duo’s sake.
Bless me father, for I have sinned. It’s been….one year since my last confession.
/What is your sin, my son?/
I have…I have killed someone again, father. Someone I love very, very much…
She would have to call the doctor. This was getting too much for her to watch. It was as if the boy was punishing himself for something.
“Please, Mr. Yuy. You are bleeding again. Please stop this!”
One more…just one more step and my toes will move again.
He moved the crutches, having to swerve a little to avoid hitting his bed, but all he succeeded in doing was pulling the muscle of his left arm a bit tighter, hence causing his already blood-soaked bandages to darken a bit more. He could feel himself getting light-headed, but he also knew that he was almost there.
He could put his right foot down now.
Wait for me, Duo. I’m coming!
/And how did you kill him, my son?/
With my love. I think. I think it’s a sin to be in love with someone, don’t you agree? You hurt them without really wanting to. You just do and even though you tell yourself it will never happen again and you do all you can to avoid it ever happening again, it just does. It’s like a fucking avalanche…Forgive my language, father.
/It’s alright. In the heat of confession, we are hardly in control of our emotions. And what did you do next, my son?/
I ran away.
She left the room. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to get some help. The boy was going to die right in front of her and she had just been recruited for only a month.
My parents…are separated, Duo. Do you know that?
He placed his right foot down again, forcing…willing the lax muscles to work for him. A little twitch on his big toe. Progress at last!
They are getting a divorce, Duo. Do you know that?
His left foot was going to be the killer. It was as if it had decided not to work for him at all.
My mother is going to be on her own now, just like she wants to be. Shouldn’t I be happy for them, Duo?
He groaned and forced the wave of nausea to dissipate. He could feel the blood dripping down his arm now. He figured he must have overdone it a little.
The door burst open and the doctors rushed in. Voices filled with concern drifted in and out of his consciousness as he struggled not to pass out from his semi-delirious state. He forced his eyes open to stare out of the window, feeling the tears he so longed to fall continue to lock themselves away in his heart.
I love you, Duo. Don’t you know that?
He tightened the grocery bag against his chest as he made the turn towards his apartment. There was something always so soothing about being in a church and talking about your problems to someone who couldn’t really give a damn about you. Priests were a dime a dozen in this city. They were very good secret keepers. Everyone’s nasty business was kept behind their hollowed walls and if by any chance any of them got a conscience and reported to the police…then that was the parishioner’s problem to deal with.
He stopped as he noticed the black car parked on the curbside, amethyst depths narrowed in thought as he read the license plate. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, not really feeling anything much as he figured it was bound to happen sooner or later. He knew it couldn’t possibly be Heero, so it was all narrowed down to Trowa and Quatre.
Damn, but those boys were pretty nosey.
With another resigned sigh, he made his way into the building and towards his floor. Sure enough, standing like a group of tax-collectors were the two culprits and his best friend. He forced a warm smile on his face and waved lightly.
what do I owe the pleasure of having you fine gentlemen visit my home?”
He winced at the accusatory looks that were thrown at him, feeling his cheeks darken with color as he realized that neither of them were smiling much.
Wufei was the first to break the thick silence as he said quietly, “You know what we are here for, Duo. We don’t need to go into details, do we?”
The teacher frowned and shook his head lightly, hands reaching into his pockets to bring out his keys. “Sorry, boys but the lesson’s over,” he muttered thickly. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to go into my apartment now.”
“How can you do this to him?” Quatre asked in a voice filled with pain and disbelief. “How could you do this to…both of you?”
“It’s simple, Quatre,” came the cold retort. “We all have to grow up sometime and move on. It’s obvious that I’m not the one for Heero and never will be. I will only cause him trouble and I don’t want that in his life or mine, got it?”
“Bull shit, Duo,” Trowa interrupted just as coldly. “You just can’t deal with the fact that you’re going to be responsible for him, can you? He saved your goddamn life and you can’t even go to say thank you?!”
“I don’t remember asking him to do that for me, did I?” Duo asked with a cold smirk on his face. “It’s always the same fucking thing, isn’t it? Why? Why do they always feel like they have to save my goddamn life?! And what do I get in return? They die! That’s what!”
“Heero’s still alive, Duo,” Wufei said softly. There was a look in his eyes that Duo knew only too well. It was the same look he’d the first time they had actually had a real conversation together.
Back then, the teacher had hated it on sight but it had done wonders in the long run. He had opened up and bared his soul to the Chinese man. But now…things were different.
“I can’t go back, Wufei,” he muttered thickly, as if hoping that his friend would at least be on his side. “Can’t you see? I can’t go back. I can never go back.”
Resounding, sharp and loud, a shocked silence descended on the quartet as Duo’s gaze widened in surprise. For a moment, the pain didn’t register in his mind, as all that filled his vision was the teary-eyed blond standing before him.
He had been slapped and by Quatre no less.
What the fuck was the world coming to?
“You…” he began softly, still in disbelief as a hand slowly lifted to caress his reddened cheek.
The Arabian did not allow him to finish. “You can go back, Duo,” he said fervently, his voice thickened with the tears that had begun to cascade down his cheeks. “For Allah’s sake, you can! Why won’t you let him completely in, Duo? He has changed so much because of you! We have never seen Heero this happy before and it was all thanks to you! You can’t just leave him now, damn it! Give him one final lesson before you walk away at least!”
Trowa held on to the trembling shoulders of his partner, the same look of determination and plea in his eyes. “Just one more, Duo,” he added quietly. “As his teacher, you owe him that much.”
Duo’s eyes burned as he stared into their eyes. What are you two asking me to do? I am too…
A hand on his shoulder had him staring blindly into the smiling face of his best friend.
“Wu…fei…” he croaked out weakly. What do I do, friend? Tell me what to do.
And as Wufei wrapped his arms around his trembling friend’s body, offering him the warmth that he needed so badly, he whispered softly into the teacher’s ear in a voice that left no room for compromise.
“It’s time for one more lesson, Duo.” | <urn:uuid:bd8659a9-0ed5-421e-b335-0706b11f11c3> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.kiyasama.com/tutor/22.htm | 2015-03-28T05:11:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00160-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991437 | 8,492 |
Please, post suggestions and improvements only. "I can't understand line xxx could you improve it?" is acceptable and will be addressed if pointed out. Just don't turn this into a Q&A thread. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This guide is tailored for version 9.94+ since there have been many changes to RNG Reporter over the years and methods have become more efficient. I. [jump=intro]Introduction[/jump] II. [jump=startup]Getting started[/jump] -[jump=eonsetup]Setting up EonTimer[/jump] -[jump=eonuse]Using EonTimer[/jump] -[jump=clocksetup]Setting up DS clock/Hitting your seed using EonTimer[/jump] III. [jump=capture]Capturing [/jump] -[jump=seedsearch]Searching for a seed[/jump] -[jump=seedverify]Verifying your seed[/jump] [jump=verifyall]*All games[/jump] [jump=verifydp]*DPPt[/jump] [jump=verifyhg]*HGSS[/jump] -[jump=frameadvance]Advancing frames[/jump] [jump=findadvance]*Determining number of advances[/jump] [jump=frameverify]*Verifying frames[/jump] -[jump=specialcase]Special cases [/jump] [jump=wondercard]*Wondercards[/jump] [jump=roamerdp]*DPPt Roamers[/jump] [jump=roamerhg]*HGSS Roamers[/jump] [jump=swarm]*Swarm Pokemon[/jump] [jump=gira]*Distortion World Giratina[/jump] [jump=starter]*Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh Starters[/jump] [jump=sinjoh]*Sinjoh Ruins Dragon Event[/jump] [jump=egggift]*Egg Gifts[/jump] [jump=honey]*Honey Trees[/jump] [jump=fossil]*Fossils[/jump] [jump=rocksmash] *Rock Smash[/jump] [jump=safari]*Safari Zone[/jump] [jump=marsh]*Great Marsh[/jump] [jump=surf]*Surfing/Fishing[/jump] [jump=headbutt]*Headbutt Trees[/jump] [jump=redgyara]*Lake of Rage Red Gyarados[/jump] [jump=trophy]*Trophy Garden[/jump] [jump=manaphy]*Manaphy Egg[/jump] IV. [jump=breed]Breeding[/jump] -[jump=seedfind]Finding a seed for IVs[/jump] -[jump=eggfind]Finding a seed for shiny Egg[/jump] DPPt -[jump=egggetdp]Getting your shiny Egg[/jump] -[jump=getivsdp]Getting the correct IVs[/jump] HGSS -[jump=egggethg]Getting your shiny Egg[/jump] -[jump=getivshg]Getting the correct IVs[/jump] V. [jump=id]ID/SID[/jump] -[jump=findpid]Finding a PID[/jump] -[jump=findid]Finding an ID[/jump] -[jump=getid]Getting your ID[/jump] -[jump=confirmid]Checking your Delay[/jump] VI. [jump=misc]Miscellaneous[/jump] -[jump=chain]Chained Shinies[/jump] -[jump=cc]Cute Charm[/jump] [a]intro[/a] I: Introduction So you've encountered all these people with shiny Pokemon with perfect IVs, and now you want to know how to get some for yourself? Look no further, for this guide will show you every step of getting your dream Pokemon. This guide's purpose is to walk you through the basics of RNG manipulation in the 4th Generation Pokemon games. It is written with the layman in mind and is intended to be simple and easy to follow, without overwhelming the user with complex computer lingo. At every opportunity given there will be a picture or two that spells out exactly what to do. If you're reading this, it's assumed that you are already familiar with the concept of natures and IVs and have at least unlocked a majority of the content in the Pokemon game you wish to do this in. You must also be using an actual DS and game carts if you wish to follow along. Here are a few terms you must be familiar with before beginning: Seed - A value determined based on the current date, time, and delay Delay - A value determined based on the time spent from the moment the game is booted up to the moment the game file is loaded Frame - A value that increases based on actions that happen in-game. If you don't really understand what these terms are, don't worry about it. It's enough to know that frame, delay, and seed are three things that we are trying to control for our purpose and that manipulating your seed is almost the same thing as manipulating your delay, so there are really only 2 things to keep track of. Occasionally this guide will split up into two sections: one for Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and another for HeartGold and SoulSilver. This is because some methods differ between the games. Below are the things you'd want to get in order to prepare for this endeavor: Requirements RNG Reporter (latest version is 9.96) Two-stage timer (EonTimer recommended) DPPt Coin Flip Pokétch App HGSS (Optional) All 3 roamers released and NOT caught. Must have one of the following people registered in your Pokégear: ***Professor Elm: you should have his number, but you must do all three of the following: -Show him a hatched Togepi or any of its evolutions -Have a Pokemon withPokérus -Have reached Kanto ***Juggler Irwin (North of Goldenrod City) Recommended for all games Chatot with Chatter (2 recommended) A Pokemon with Synchronize and the nature you're interested in getting A Pokemon with Sweet Scent, or the Honey item Pokemon to help catch other Pokemon (Spore, False Swipe, Thunder Wave, etc) A GBA non-spinoff Pokemon game (basically any game that allows use of the PalPark feature), only for those who have a DS or DS lite. Knowing your SID (Secret ID) for obtaining shiny Pokemon. The easiest way to find this is to use Pokecheck, but if you have no other options then for DPPt you'll need to have multiple Chained shinies and for HGSS you'll need to not have caught the Red Gyarados yet. To find your SID, in RNG Reporter, head to "Find SID from Chained Shinies" under 4th Gen Tools. If using HGSS and the Red Gyarados method, you'll have to capture it but not save, write down the IVs/nature/gender then restart and repeat. In the Chain to SID window, all you have to do is enter your Trainer ID and the data for your Chained Shiny/Red Gyarados then hit Calculate. Keep repeating this using different shinies/Red Gyarados until the "Possibilities" is 1. [a]startup[/a] II: Getting Started Read this first! To start off, download RNG Reporter and EonTimer Pretty much all RNG manipulation processes can be summarized by a few steps, so if you focus on perfecting each step, you should have no trouble cranking out perfect Pokemon. The steps are: -Searching for a seed -Hitting your seed -Verifying your seed -Advancing to the correct frame But first there are some setups that need to be done, starting with our timer. [a]eonsetup[/a] Setting up EonTimer Once you finish this section, you won't have to do this again. First select the button that's circled in green below. Let's take a look at the window below. You'll want to change Countdown Mode to A/V. The only other thing you'll need to change is Action Count, which is basically how many beeps you want EonTimer to make as the timer counts down to 00:00. Next go to the Application tab Select Auto-Save for "On Exit", and it's up to you whether you want the program to check for updates on startup. Once you've done that, you're done and no longer have to do this again. At this point, you'll want to determine your desired method of RNG manipulation so skip to the appropriate section. It's recommended to go to section III first because it's the easiest one to start with. [a]eonuse[/a] Using EonTimer Now we'll show you how to set up EonTimer for a 4th Generation Game. If using DPPt, set Calibrated Delay to 600 and Calibrated Sec. to 14. If using HGSS, set Calibrated Delay to 490 and Calibrated Sec. to 14. Once set, do not touch either value unless you're switching to a game that requires the change. The only thing left to worry about is Target Delay and Target Sec., which can be found in the Seed to Time window, as shown below. Here the Seconds value is 23 and the delay value is 4357, so in EonTimer Target Delay would be 4357 and Target Sec. would be 23. We'll be showing how to set up the Seed to Time window in later sections so don't worry about it for now. Just don't forget to change Target Delay and Target Sec. whenever you're attempting a different seed. [a]clocksetup[/a] Setting up your DS clock and hitting your seed For this section we will be trying to hit seed 0x11111111 using the date 7/28/12 and time 17:54:23 (See the highlighted option in the above picture) If you are attempting to hit another seed, know that you will only need the DATE and TIME for this part. On your DS, click the icon circled above and go to the blue option shown below, and select the calendar. Change the date to the desired date Now we look at EonTimer again; if you're using DPPt, it should be set up as follows: Take note of the Minutes Before Target option; see how it's 2? We'll have to take that into account when we change our time. Our target time is 17:54:23, so simply subtract 2 MINUTES from the time (remember, the format is hours:minutes:seconds) to give us a time of 17:52 and change the DS clock as follows. Do not exit from this screen at this time. Also keep in mind that the subtraction of 2 minutes does not apply all the time. If Minutes Before Target said 0 instead of 2, you should input 17:54 as the time in your DS clock. Now the moment you've been waiting for. With your DS still at the screen above, hover your mouse cursor on the Start button in EonTimer and prepare to press A on your DS at the above screen. Then simultaneously press Start on EonTimer and press A on your DS. Restart your DS and wait at the screen below. When EonTimer reaches 00:00 (And you'll know it's about to if you have it set to Audio or A/V mode since you can hear beeps), press A. The timer should be counting down to 00:00 again. Head to the screen shown below and wait there. Once the second timer reaches 00:00, press A and hope for the best. This approach applies to all 4th generation games. Once you're in-game, head to the section on Seed Verification to see what to do next. [a]capture[/a] III: Capturing a Perfect Pokemon Let's start off with the simplest form of RNG manipulation, the capture. First, we need to choose a target. Either a legendary or a wild Pokemon will work. To make life easier, bring a Pokemon with the Synchronize ability and the nature you wish to get. If you want a wild Pokemon, you'll have to find a Pokemon with Sweet Scent and bring it along as well. If you don't want to go through the trouble of finding a Pokemon with Sweet Scent, then you can use the item Honey, which gives you the same effect. General info for both games [a]seedsearch[/a] Step 1: Searching for a Seed The first thing we need to do is find an IV spread we're content with getting. To do that we need to go to the 4th Generation Time Finder as seen below. Now that we're in Time Finder, we need to fill in some information before we search. Say we want to search for a pure specially based Pokemon. Such a Pokemon would use the IVs 31/x/31/31/31/31 and is typically either Modest, Calm, Bold, or Timid. You'd fill in the Time Finder similar to what's shown in the picture below. Before rushing in, let's take a moment to explain a few entries in Time Finder. Note about the dropboxes next to IVs: == means you want an exact IV. >= means you want an IV greater than or equal to the selected IV. <= means you want an IV less than or equal to the selected IV. != means you want an IV not equal to the selected IV. E means you want an even IV. Useful if you want a certain Hidden Power but don't care too much about an imperfect Base Power. O means you want an odd IV. Useful if you want a certain Hidden Power but don't care too much about an imperfect Base Power. HP means you want an IV that keeps the Hidden Power's Base Power from being lowered. Useful if you want to search for a Hidden Power of 70 Base Power. If you're curious, the IVs that satisfy this are 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, and 31. HP_E is the same idea as HP, but restricts the search to even IVs. It's useful if you're looking for a specific Hidden Power of 70 Base Power. HP_O is the same idea as HP, but restricts the search to odd IVs. It's useful if you're looking for a specific Hidden Power of 70 Base Power. For DPPt minimum delay should be around 650. For HGSS minimum delay should be around 550. For HGSS it's recommended to set the minimum frame around 10-15. Method Regarding method, for all 4th generation games Method 1 is used only if you're going for the following: Method 1 Pokemon Manaphy Egg Wondercards have their own method, which is just a modified Method 1 DPPt Riolu Egg from Riley Starter Pokemon (NOT recommended) Cynthia's Togepi Egg Fossils from Mining Museum Cresselia, Mesprit, and Kanto bird trio Eevee from Bebe Porygon from Veilstone HGSS Raikou, Entei, and Latios/Latias roamer; the Latios/Latias from the Enigma Stone event is NOT Method 1 Sinjoh Ruins Dragon event where you need Arceus Togepi Egg Bill's Eevee ExtremeSpeed Dratini received from Dragon's Den Kanto/Hoenn/Johto starters (Johto starters NOT recommended) Goldenrod/Celadon Game Corner prizes Tyrogue from Mt. Mortar Pewter City Museum fossils Note: Any Pokemon received from a trade or as a gift that has a fixed nickname and OT (Kenya the Spearow, Gaspar the Haunter, etc.) will have set IVs and nature so RNG manipulation techniques will never work on them. If the Pokemon you seek does not fall into the Method 1 category, select Method J if using Diamond/Pearl/Platinum and Method K if using HeartGold/SoulSilver. Please refer to the [jump=capture]special cases[/jump] section and check if your Pokemon falls under this category Encounter Type As for Encounter Type, if you're going for a Pokemon that has an overworld sprite that isn't the Red Gyarados (Sudowoodo, Snorlax, Heatran, Giratina, Azelf, etc.) select Stationary Pokemon. The rest are self-explanatory. Most of the time you'll be picking Wild Pokemon as your method unless you're only going to capture legendaries, in which case you'd pick Stationary Pokemon. Encounter Slot If you're looking for a specific Pokemon, like a wild Bronzong in Mt. Coronet, you'll need to pay attention to what's called Encounter Slots. An Encounter Slot is what determines the species of Pokemon you'll get. How do we know what's what for the Encounter Slots? On the main window of RNG Reporter, under 4th Gen tools, you'll find tables for this. If using Platinum, select Platinum Encounter Table and ctrl+F "Bronzong" in the page that opens. You'll find that Bronzong is in slot 0, so you'll have to select slot 0 for Encounter Slot. If you don't care about getting a specific Pokemon at the moment leave it as Any. Ability For a list of which abilities are 0 or 1 see here. Now that we've explained the Time Finder, let's see what comes up. Click the Generate button to start searching. If you want to capture a wild shiny, that's also possible. To search for possible wild shiny IVs in your current file, input your ID and SID and check the shiny only box. If you are willing to start a new game to get better IV spreads on your shiny captures it is NOT recommended to search for shinies now, but you can still find out what shiny spreads your current game has. Select an IV range you are satisfied with (usually >=25 in the stats that matter) and whatever natures you're interested in and hit Search. See the picture below for an example layout. Whichever path you choose, the end steps are the same. Once you've found an IV spread, nature, encounter slot, and ability you're satisfied with, right click it and select "Copy Seed to Clipboard". As an example, we'll be using the Modest 31/4/31/31/31/31 spread with seed C1070A66. Head to the 4th Gen Seed To Time window and input your seed and desired year and seconds. It does not matter what you put for year and seconds as long as seconds isn't close to 0 or 60. Once done, hit Generate. The picture below has DPPt selected so if you're playing HGSS, be sure to select that instead! In addition, change the entries next to "Delays" from 10 to 50 and the entries next to "Seconds" from 1 to 2. It's not necessary, but it's important if you actually want to find what delay you've hit. [a]timersetup[/a] Step 2: Timer and clock Setup, hitting your seed Now you can start hunting down your Pokemon! Do NOT close the Seed To Time window as you will need it open for the next 90% of this process. Go back to Section II [jump=eonuse]"Using EonTimer"[/jump] and [jump=clocksetup]"Setting up your DS clock"[/jump] and follow those instructions. Once you're in-game, see the next section on seed verification. [a]seedverify[/a] Step 3: Delay/Seed verification IMPORTANT: For both games, once you have confirmed your delay and if it is odd but your desired delay is even and vice versa, insert either a FRLG or RSE cart into your DS to change this. It's important to note this because if you hit an even delay once you will always hit even delays. Likewise with odd delays, and inserting a GBA Pokemon game in your DS is the only way to flip the delays from even to odd and vice versa. If you do not have a DS that has a second slot for GBA games, change your year in the Seed to Time window by 1. Make sure that you also change the year in your DS clock. [a]verifyall[/a]All games Chatot's Chatter will have varying pitches every time you play it. This is useful if operating in an area with random NPCs or if you have caught all roamers in HGSS. To use this, record a custom Chatter loud enough so that you can distinguish between high and low pitches. Once in-game listen to Chatot's cry and note the pitches. See if the pattern matches that of your seed's. If a match is not found, use coin flips or Elm/Irwin calls to determine what seed you did hit. You'd probably want to copy the seed you hit in the main window and see how the pitches correspond to what you perceived them to be. It may take multiple tries until you can match the pitches with their categories, and even then there's room for error, so only use this if you absolutely have no other viable options. Also keep in mind that doing this will advance your frame by 1 for every Chatter you listen to, so make sure to account for this. [a]verifydp[/a]DPPt To reliably confirm your seed, you'll need the Coin Flip Pokétch application. But first, in Seed to Time, hit the Generate button that's next to the Search Coin Flips button, and change the Delays and Seconds +/- entries to match what's shown below. Now click "Search Coin Flips" and you should see the window below. Flip the coin in the in-game app 10 times and input the coin flips in this window. The top row corresponds to the first 5 coin flips and the bottom row corresponds to flips 6-10. Once done, click OK. Say we got the following for the first 10 flips: T, T, T, T, H, T, T, H, H, T; the input should look like And we would get the following output: So in this case we have hit a delay of 2642. If your delay is 2643 or another odd number, then as mentioned earlier insert a GBA Pokemon game into slot 2 if using a DS/DS Lite or just change the year in Seed to Time by 1 and redo this process. [a]verifyhg[/a]HGSS Seed verification in HGSS is much less tedious than in DPPt, as there are many ways to do this. The easiest way to verify your seed is through roamers. As soon as you start your game open the Pokégear map and look for the roamer heads that represent what route they're currently on. In Seed To Time select HGSS and check the boxes to the right for whichever roamer is still active (R for Raikou, E for Entei, and L for Latias/Latios). Naturally if there are no active roamers you'd leave the R, E, L boxes unchecked. If you're saving at your destination, you will want to take note of where your roamers currently are and fill in their current locations next to the check box. See the note in the picture below. You don't have to do this, but very rarely some extra frames will be skipped or the roamer locations will be different, and doing that accounts for those irregularities. Click the first Generate button on top, then highlight a Date and time you're satisfied with and click the second Generate button. Take note of all your roamer locations, either through the in-game map, or this window in RNG Reporter that already has all routes marked. Once that's done, click the Search Roamers button and enter the routes your roamers are currently on. Another way to confirm your seed is to resort to either calling Elm or Juggler Irwin, who is found on Route 35. Both NPCs have 3 different responses depending on the frame, and each response from Elm will have a counterpart response from Irwin. These 3 responses are denoted in RNG Reporter by E, P, or K. In other words, if you call Elm and he is going to say his E response, if you had called Irwin instead of Elm, he will say his corresponding E response. Which responses are which are shown below. E responses K responses P responses Do note that getting all of Elm's possible calls requires some work. You need to have gotten a Pokemon with Pokérus at some point to unlock his P option, and have been to Kanto to unlock his K option. Thus, Irwin is a much better choice to call as he is accessible when you get to Goldenrod and it takes no extra effort to unlock all his possible responses. Since roamer verification is much quicker than this, you should only resort to this method if you've already caught all your roamers or have only one active roamer left. To use Elm/Irwin calls effectively, click the Search Calls button, then call Elm/Irwin in-game and take note of what their responses are. Select K, E, or P as appropriate and note the Possible Results under the output. This updates as you enter your calls, and once you get 1 for it, you can stop calling. Make sure your Seed To Time window has the correct active roamers checked off as not doing so will mess up the search. For the examples shown, both the roamer and Elm/Irwin calls method will give us a delay of 2644 which is 6 off from our target delay of 2650. Making sure that the date and time matches with the original date and time as well as getting a correct delay is only part of the equation of getting the right seed. If your delay is 2643 or another odd number, then as mentioned earlier insert a GBA Pokemon game into slot 2 if using a DS/DS Lite or just change the year in Seed to Time by 1 and redo this process. As a general rule, if your delay is around +/- 6 off from your target, you do not have to make any changes to EonTimer. If it's more than +/- 6 off, in EonTimer simply enter the delay you hit in the Delay Hit section and click update. You can still update EonTimer even if your delay is within the +/- 6 range, but it generally won't affect the results too much. Now try again and confirm your delay is consistently within the appropriate range. Once you have verified your seed, head to the next section on frame advancement. [a]frameadvance[/a] Step 4: Frame advancement All games Any NPC that randomly moves will advance frames by 1 for each random movement. This can include turning or walking. If an NPC does both at once, then the frame advances by 2. Note that NPCs who are off-screen can advance the frame still, as long as they are within the same area. Because of this, it is advisable to attempt your captures in areas with little or no NPCs. In DPPt you can stop some NPCs from randomly moving through the Vs Seeker. If this cannot be avoided you must press X to bring up the menu the moment you enter the in-game world. This freezes all NPCs in place and stops them from making any unnecessary advancements. Chatter - to do this you must have a Chatot with the move and you MUST record a custom Chatter to advance frames with this method. Once you do, accessing Chatot's summary window like the one below will advance the frame by 1. To make things quicker, you can have two Chatot next to each other in your party and just keep flipping between their summaries. You do not have to listen to the whole Chatter sound, simply accessing their summary is enough. Taking a step or turning in areas where you can encounter wild Pokemon (grass, water, or caves) advances the frame by 1 for each step/turn made. Walking at least 128 steps will advance the frames by the number of Pokemon in your party. Do know that the games have an internal step counter that starts at 0 and resets to 0 when it reaches 128 and is always saved. This means that if you load your game and the step counter is at 127, taking one step will advance your frames. As a result, don't resort to this method unless it's absolutely necessary, which it won't be a majority of the time. Having an active roamer in your game advances your initial frame by 1 for each active roamer. If you have Raikou, Entei, and Latios all roaming in your SoulSilver game, you would start off at frame 4. Exclusive to DPPt Journal flipping Whenever your Journal is on a page that displays (insert Pokemon's name) was caught (Time) like the one below, frames are advanced by 2. Flipping your Journal to another page with a similar entry will also advance it by 2. It doesn't matter how many entries there are, as long it has at least one (Pokemon) was caught (Time) entry, the frame advances by 2. Exclusive to HGSS Calling either Elm or Irwin will advance frames by 1 per call. By using this you can also tell what frame you are on. Let's say you're currently on seed 3F02A923, have 3 roamers out, and want to encounter a wild Pokemon. If you want to get to frame 12 your Elm/Irwin calls should be PEEKKEEE, then Sweet Scent/use Honey. It's important to get to the call that's on the frame before your target frame and stop there because going over means you can't get it anymore and will have to start over. Radio This method is recommended only for very high (200+) frames. To advance frames with the radio, drag the cursor in the middle to an appropriate station which will advance frames by a certain amount. To advance again, move the cursor so that there is no station currently playing, like in the picture below, then drag it back to the station. Repeat as necessary. There are only two stations of interest, the first being the bottom right one, which advances by 1 unless Buena's Password is playing, in which case it advances by 0. The other one is Oak's Pokemon Talk, in the upper right. This one advances up to 14-18 frames, and is what you should use if you want to hit very large frames. Because of the inconsistent frame advances with Oak's show, it's recommended to play it safe. If you were going for frame 210, you'd do 210/18 = 11 toggles to that station (always divide by 18). At this point we don't know what frame we're on but we're on at least frame 11x14=154. So do 5-10 Elm/Irwin calls and see if you can find a match. Once you do, do not advance through Pokemon Talk again, but instead use Chatters/the Drama station. [a]findadvance[/a] Step 4a: Determining the number of advances (both games) Now that you've seen the possible methods of advancement, the next question you might have is how many should I do? To answer this, we'll have to go to the main window of RNG Reporter. Copy your seed into Seed (Hex) and fill in your encounter type and method. Don't forget this step! Unless otherwise noted, method should be J for DPPt and K for HGSS. Encounter type should also be left at Wild Pokemon unless you're fishing or doing a legendary or a Pokemon with an overworld sprite, in which case you'd select Stationary Pokemon. See the section "Special Cases" for more details. If you're going for a specific species of Pokemon (i.e. Bronzong in Mt. Coronet in Platinum), you'll need to take the encounter slot into account. As previously mentioned, Bronzong is in slot 0, so you'll need to find the frame that's slot 0. Make sure the slots match up, otherwise you'll get a different Pokemon. See the picture below for an example. If you want Bronzong you'll have to use frame 230, not frame 224 or 226, despite those frames having the same IVs. You also need to check if you're using a Pokemon with Synchronize. If so, select the nature of your Synchronizer. Once that's done, hit Generate. Find your desired IV spread. It should be easy to spot the IVs because 30 and 31 IVs are bolded by RNG Reporter. Shown below is what a search for our Modest 31/4/31/31/31/31 spread in DPPt would look like. If you are doing this in a "quiet" area (with no NPCs that will advance your frame) then you will start on frame 1 assuming no active roamers. If you are using the roamer verification method in HGSS, then your starting frame will be 1+ (# of active roamers), meaning if all three roamers are currently roaming you start on frame 4. For this case we want to get Modest 31/4/31/31/31/31, which is on frame 145 or 147. If there are no roamers active, simply do 145-1 = 144 OR 147-1 = 146 frame advances then encounter your Pokemon (either through Sweet Scent/Honey or talking to it). Once you capture it check its nature and IVs and it should be the Modest 31/4/31/31/31/31 Pokemon we seek. If there are active roamers, you'd be doing 145-(starting frame) or 147-(starting frame) advances where starting frame is 1+(# of active roamers). The (target frame)-(starting frame)=(# of advances) formula is virtually the same for any attempt at RNG manipulation, unless there are random NPCs in the area. (NOTE TO USERS OF RNG REPORTER PRE 9.94: The frames are automatically adjusted to account for Sweet Scent/Honey in later versions. In the above example, if you were trying to get this Pokemon you DO NOT have to make any further adjustments if using the most current RNG Reporter. Simply do 144 or 146 advances before Sweet Scenting/using Honey and you should get it.) For areas with randomly moving NPCs, it's going to be a little harder. Still using the above example, as soon as you enter the game world mash X to bring up the in-game menu ASAP. If you're using HGSS, then confirm your seed first through Elm/Irwin calls or roamers. If using DPPt, then you should use Vs Seeker to stop any NPCs from moving first before even attempting this, then if you're sure that the area has no randomly moving NPCs, verify your seed with coin flips. After that, do your frame advancements as if you're on frame 1 (that means 144 or 146 advancements still) then use Sweet Scent/Honey or talk to the Pokemon to start battle. If all goes well you should get your desired Pokemon. If you didn't, and say you got Quirky with IVs of 23/20/22/13/22/12 (frame 150), if you did 144 advances, you're aiming for frame 145 and had 5 random advances, so the next attempt should be 144-5 = 139 frame advances instead. By the same logic, doing 146 advances means you were aiming for frame 147, so you had 3 random advances, and thus should advance by 146-3 = 143 frames. If using DPPt and you still have randomly moving NPCs you can't stop (due to not being able to battle them), you'll have to give up trying to verify your seed through coin flips and resort to Chatot pitches. Going back to the above picture, see how there's a column called "Chatot Pitch"? Each frame will generate a different pitch for Chatter whenever you listen to it, which also advances the frame by 1. You'll want to record a Chatter that makes it easy to identify the pitch upon listening to it. Once you've done this you should practice by first hitting a delay in an area with no NPCs but with wild Pokemon, finding the seed, copying the seed to RNG Reporter's main window, and listening to the Chatter pitches to try to get a feel for what's low, mid-low, high, etc. Once you've got the hang of it, your RNG manipulations should go a lot smoother, especially in DPPt. If this method is too hard for you, you'll have to resort to bringing up the menu ASAP, doing your advances, and catching your Pokemon while hoping your seed is correct. [a]frameverify[/a] Step 5: Verifying your frame DPPt does not have many methods to verify that you hit your correct frame. The best way to know this is after you've caught your Pokemon and check its IVs. Platinum has two useful NPCs that can help with this. One lies in Veilstone City's Game Corner exchange booth and can verify its Hidden Power type and the other lies in the Battle Tower (called "The Judge" in-game) and can tell you some nice information about your Pokemon's IVs. Using The Judge The first thing he will tell you about your Pokemon relates to the sum of its IVs. He will say one of 4 options, depending on the sum of the Pokemon's IVs (ranges from 0 to 186): Decent - 0-90 Above Average - 91-120 Relatively Superior - 121-150 Outstanding - 151-186 Obviously, you'll want Outstanding, as shown below. The next thing he'll tell you is the stat that has the highest IV. If your Pokemon has multiple highest IVs the Judge will tell you which stat is the highest at random, with a tendency to say Special Defense if that is one of the Pokemon's highest IVs. The last thing he tells you is related to the value of the highest IV. He will say one of the following, depending on the value of the highest IV: Rather Decent - 0-15 Very Good - 16-25 Fantastic - 26-30 Can't be better - 31 Unless you're going for a specific Hidden Power, you'll want 31 most of the time, which results in "Can't be better", as shown below. On Characteristics Circled in the picture below, a Pokemon's characteristic gives a hint on what one of the highest IVs is. Because you will be aiming for at least one 31 IV for virtually all your RNG manipulation time, only the characteristics that show up when your Pokemon has a 31 IV will be listed. They are as follows: Often dozes off - HP Likes to thrash about - Atk Capable of taking hits - Def Mischievous - SpAtk Somewhat vain - SpDef Alert to Sounds - Speed Because of the Judge's bias towards Special Defense in Platinum, it is not recommended to use him to confirm how many 31 IVs you have, as it can take over 30 conversations with him to confirm your Pokemon's IVs if you have a 31/31/31/31/31/31 Pokemon. To save time you'll instead want to determine this by using your Pokemon's characteristic and his overall assessment of your Pokemon's IVs. HGSS on the other hand has Elm/Irwin calls to verify your frame. If you're verifying your seed, you will either have roamers active or have to make a few Elm/Irwin calls, both of which advance frames. Your last calls should have the pattern EKKEEEEP, as shown below. To reiterate, it is important that you reach the call that's ONE FRAME BEFORE YOUR TARGET and no more. Once you've done that, acquire your Pokemon or engage it in battle. If encountering a wild Pokemon, use Sweet Scent/Honey to force an encounter. The two aforementioned NPCs are also present in HGSS, with the Hidden Power NPC located at the Celadon Game Corner and the IV NPC still residing in the Battle Tower. The IV NPC has been dramatically improved in HGSS. If you have a 31/31/31/31/31/31 Pokemon, he will now say which stat is the highest in sequence, in the order of HP, Atk, Def, Speed, SpAtk, SpDef. Therefore, it will only take at most 6 conversations with him to determine your Pokemon's IVs. [a]specialcase[/a] Other special cases To reiterate, if something does not appear here, use Method J if using DPPt or Method K if using HGSS. For all cases, the given starting frame assumes that no roamers are active. If you have roamers, your starting frame will increase by the number of currently active roamers. [a]wondercard[/a] Wondercards Fundamentally, a Wondercard is not that much different from a regular capture, but there are some key differences. The first difference is the method of generation. It isn't going to affect too much when it comes to the Time Finder, just make sure you select Wondercard IVs as your method, as shown below. All Wondercards are obtained from a delivery man wearing green in any Poké Mart. Start off by saving in front of him. For DPPt, you'll want to save in the Pastoria City Mart, as that has the least number of randomly moving NPCs. For HGSS, save in either Fuchsia or Cerulean City's Mart, as there are no randomly moving NPCs in either location. It's also important to save while no NPCs are currently moving. Once that's done, you'll have to do the usual steps of finding a date and time, delay, and advancing your frames to get to your desired Pokemon. See the section on capturing a perfect Pokemon for more details. The biggest difference is the method used is Wondercard IVs, so make sure that's what you set it to when trying to hit your frame. In addition, when doing this in DPPt make sure you bring up the menu the moment you enter your game to prevent any unnecessary advances by NPCs. The most painful part of this process is getting the correct nature. Whether you get it or not will come down to luck. Unlike other methods of RNG manipulation there is no known way to reliably control what nature you'll get without cheating, so it comes down to perseverance. [a]roamerdp[/a] DPPt Roamers Cresselia and Mesprit Cresselia and Mesprit are generated by Method 1 and have a starting frame of 5. Their data is generated once you talk to them and they fly off, so save in front of them and do your frame advances once you've confirmed your seed then talk to them to release them. If aiming for a frame of 100 you'd need to do 100-5=95 advances through either Journal flips or Chatters before talking to them to release them. Kanto Birds (Does not apply in HGSS) The birds are Method 1 Pokemon. Their data is generated after talking to Professor Oak and releasing them. Each bird has a different starting frame Moltres - 1 Zapdos - 6 Articuno- 11 Choose one bird (preferably Moltres) and do your seed verification and frame advancements before releasing it. Once that's done, capture your target bird and KO the other two. Defeat the Pokemon League and head back to Oak. The remaining two birds will be generated in the same order and will have starting frames of 1 and 6, so if Moltres was caught Zapdos would now be on frame 1 and Articuno would be on frame 6. Do the usual delay hitting and frame advancements before talking to Oak to get the next bird, catch it and KO the bird you weren't going for and do the same thing you did to revive and capture the last bird. [a]roamerhg[/a] HGSS Roamers All HGSS roamers are generated by Method 1 and have a starting frame of 1. It is recommended to release all roamers first. To get your dream roamer you need to KO the roamer you want to get, and leave the other two alive. Then you need to head to the Elite 4 and save one step before entering the battle with Lance. At this point you will need to hit your seed (verify it using the two roamers that are still alive, as you cannot call anybody here) and advance using Chatot or the radio. If you are using 2 roamers to verify delay, which you should be, and you are aiming for a frame of 100, you'd start on frame 3 and thus need to do 100-3 = 97 advances before battling Lance. Once the advances are done, defeat Lance and wait until the game saves. The KOed roamer will have respawned and all you need to do is catch it to verify it's the one you were after. As a side note, either Raikou or Entei can be easily done when you first meet them in the Burned Tower. If you manipulate their IVs upon first releasing Raikou and Entei, Raikou will have a starting frame of 1 and Entei will have a starting frame of 6. [a]swarm[/a] Swarm Pokemon Swarm Pokemon are treated as Method J or K Pokemon depending on what game you're playing. Starting frame is normally 1 but could be higher due to random NPCs. The encounter type is Wild Pokemon. Once you've confirmed what Pokemon is currently swarming and what route it's on, simply head to the Encounter Slot tables and ctrl+F the swarming Pokemon. Once you know what encounter slot it's on, the steps are the same as a wild Pokemon capture. [a]gira[/a] Distortion World Giratina (NOT Turnback Cave Giratina) Giratina is a Method J Pokemon. Every time the Distortion World is loaded the frame advances by 11. If you're doing advances through the Journal or Chatter your starting frame will be 23 (It will be 12 if you're advancing the frame through the Journal without accessing it from the menu, i.e. when it first appears when starting the game). The recommended procedure would be to start the game (loading the Distortion World map once), open the menu, and do either Chatters or Journal flips as if the starting frame is 23, then engage in battle (loading the Distortion World map a second time). [a]starter[/a] Kanto/Hoenn Starters The starters are generated by Method 1. Each starter has a different starting frame however. Kanto Bulbasaur - 1 Charmander - 5 Squirtle - 9 Hoenn starters all have a starting frame of 1. The Johto and Sinnoh starters also operate similarly, but it is NOT recommended to get perfect starters this way as you have no reliable method of confirming your seed or advancing your frames and will have to rely on luck from randomly moving NPCs. Johto Chikorita - 1 Cyndaquil - 5 Totodile - 9 Sinnoh starters all have a starting frame of 1. [a]sinjoh[/a] Sinjoh Ruins Dragon Event The dragons are generated by Method 1 and have a starting frame of 1. Simply save one step away from the center of the circle of your desired dragon, as shown below, hit your seed, and do your Elm/Irwin calls to verify/advance your frame, then step into it to begin the event once you're done. [a]egggift[/a] Egg Gifts All Egg gifts are generated by Method 1 and have a starting frame of 1. There may be NPCs that will interfere throughout this process, so it's up to you to decide whether they're worth it or not. [a]honey[/a] Honey Trees Honey tree Pokemon use Method J, use method Wild Pokemon, and have a starting frame of 1. It's recommended to do this in a route with NPCs that can all be frozen through Vs Seeker. The hardest part of this is finding the desired Pokemon in your tree, so you'll need to place Honey in as many trees as possible and wait a day for Pokemon to appear, then check if the trees have your desired Pokemon. [a]fossil[/a] Mining Museum/Pewter Museum fossils The fossils are generated by Method 1 and have a starting frame of 1. Do note there are random NPCs in both facilities which may disrupt progress so keep the menu open as much as possible. [a]rocksmash[/a] Rock Smash There are encounter slots for Rock Smash Pokemon. However, there is no implementation for the frames where you get an encounter, so avoid this method for now. [a]safari[/a] Safari Zone (HGSS) Compared to the Great Marsh, the Safari Zone is relatively tame due to the lack of NPCs. The search procedure is exactly the same as a regular wild capture in HGSS (Method K). The only tricky part is manipulating the encounter slots. All information below is courtesy of Princess of Johto. Safari Zone: Encounter slots - How to find out the slot for each frame! First thing, open up the Safari Zone encounter slot tables. Now, while it's true that the encounter slots have been mapped out, there is no way to calculate the encounter slot of a specific frame. So, the first step of using the encounter slots is to figure out the encounter slot of your target frame(s). Go to the Safari Zone encounter slots and choose "Plains" as the area. Ignore the Priority Table part for now. Notice how every encounter slot for the Plains area has a different Pokemon + Level combination. What you're going to do is change your Safari Zone so that the Plains is the first area you walk into. Bring your Synchronizer and Sweet Scent user, and save in front of the man who you pay. Hit your seed, get into the Safari Zone, go into a patch of grass, and start calling Elm to figure out what frame you're on. Advance to the frame you need to be at and then use Sweet Scent. Do your best to catch the Pokemon and verify that you hit your frame. Take note of what level and species of Pokemon you got. Now, look at the encounter slot table. What Pokemon did you get? Was it a level 16 Rattata? Then the encounter slot for your target frame is 3! Was it a level 17 Abra? Then your encounter slot for your target frame is 7! Pretty self-explanatory. As a side note, you will get Raticate instead of Rattata at night. I recommend finding the encounter slot for all of your possible target frames (some seeds have PIDs and IVs that repeat on different frames but have different encounter slots) so you have a wide variety of options. If you're not planning to catch block Pokemon, then you basically have everything you need to know. That's because once you find your slots for each frame, the slots will stay the same for every Safari Zone area. That means that if you have slot 8 on frame 13, and you go to the Savannah area at daytime and hit frame 13, you'll get a Tauros! But what if you do want block Pokemon? That's where the priority tables come in! Safari Zone: Encounter slots - How to use the priority tables! On the encounter slot tables is a list of Pokemon that appear after placing x amount of blocks. To get a certain Pokemon to appear you must place the appropriate number of blocks in that area, and if there are any that require a certain amount of days you must leave them for that many days. Changing the date on the DS apparently does not make this process faster so if you want a Gible or Bagon you'll have to wait months to get it. You have your blocks set in the right area, you've waited the required amount of days, yet you don't know how to use the priority table, right? Well let's fix that! In this example, let's say I'm using a seed that has an encounter slot of 2 on frame 23. And I want a Gible from the Rocky Beach area. Let's go to the Rocky Beach area on the encounter slot tables. Look at the priority table, and notice that Gible is listed as "3". What does this mean? There are 4 different types of blocks, and each Pokemon requires a different type and number of each. When you place the blocks for a single Pokemon, that Pokemon takes up Slot 0. But once you place blocks that yield more than one Pokemon, then priority comes into play and determines which Pokemon takes slot 0, which Pokemon takes slot 1, and so on. Here's the priority: Plains blocks -> Forest blocks -> Peak blocks -> Water blocks. Looking at the priority table for Rocky Beach, Dodrio and Electrike are listed before Gible. Both Dodrio and Electrike require Plains objects, but since Dodrio needs less, it is the first priority. So if you placed 10 Plains blocks, Dodrio would take up Slot 0 and Electrike would be Slot 1. Now if we take a look at Gible, it needs 13 Plains and 17 Peak. So how come he's listed before Mareep? It has something to do with the fact that Gible requires Plains objects, and Plains are always first. With Pokemon that require two different block types, it's kind of hard to explain their priority. For example, Bagon needs 9 Forest objects and 19 Peak objects, but it is listed after all the Pokemon that require Peak objects, even though Forest comes before Peak. So when in doubt, just look at the priority table. If we placed 13 Plains objects and 17 Peak objects, then Gible would end up on Slot 2. This is because Dodrio and Electrike will be present because of the Plains blocks that Gible requires. Dodrio takes slot 0 because it's 1st priority, Electrike takes slot 1 because it's 2nd priority, and Gible would become slot 2 because it's 3rd priority. The rest of the Pokemon that appear because of Gible's Peak objects don't really matter, because they're all on encounter slots after Gible. So then I would advance to my target frame that has the encounter slot of 2, and Gible will appear! Usually, you would be able to manipulate the slot of the block Pokemon you wanted, but with Gible that's not the case. Let's try another one so I can show you how to manipulate the slots of a block Pokemon. We'll use the same area, Rocky Beach. This time I'll have an encounter slot of 4 instead of 2. My target Pokemon will be Manectric. Manectric needs 10 Forest blocks. How will I get it all the way to slot 4?! OK, so you place the 10 Forest blocks. You end up with Mareep in slot 0 (since it needs 5 Forest blocks) and Manectric in slot 1. So, let's manipulate these slots! If you place 10 Plains objects, you get Dodrio and Electrike involved. Dodrio will always take up slot 0 because it's 1st priority. Electrike becomes slot 1, Mareep becomes slot 2, and Manectric becomes slot 3. In order to push Manectric up one more slot, you need to place Gible's objects (and wait the required amount of days). So then Dodrio would be slot 0, Electrike will be 1, Gible will be 2, Mareep will be 3, and Manectric will be 4! Then I'd just advance to my target frame and Manectric will appear. You can't push Manectric up anymore slots because you've already made all the Pokemon before Manectric on the priority table appear. But Pokemon that need Peak or Water objects are generally easier to get onto the slot you want, because there are more Pokemon before them on the priority table so you can push them up more. But those Pokemon are harder to get on lower slots because they usually cause some other Pokemon to appear when you place their required blocks. For example, Gible. When you put down Gible's required blocks, Dodrio and Electrike would appear all the time no matter what. So Gible cannot be on a slot lower than 2. Safari Zone: How to hit your seed and target frame! You should know how to hit your seed and advance your frame, but the Safari Zone is a bit different. You still hit your delay and advance your frame the same way, but since you can't save inside the Safari Zone, you have to save before you enter the Safari Zone. So make sure you have your areas all set up where you want them and all your blocks laid out. Also bring a Synchronizer if you need it. Then go up to the man you pay to get inside, and save. Next, just keep attempting to hit your seed and verify with Elm calls. Once you hit your seed and verified it talk to the man and pay him. The beautiful thing about the Safari Zone is that there are no NPCs, so you won't experience any erratic frame advancements! The only frame advancements that won't happen on purpose is if you trigger the 128 step counter. That will advance the frame by however many Pokemon you have in your party. Anyways, once you're in the Safari Zone walk over to the grass patch or tiny pond and advance your frame like usual. To reduce your odds of hitting the wrong frame due to the 128 step advancement, you should resort to using Elm/Irwin calls. Once you get to the correct frame, Sweet Scent and you should have hit your frame! And that's it! Very easy, really. The hardest part is catching the Pokemon or waiting the amount of days. [a]marsh[/a] Great Marsh (DPPt) In order to successfully get perfect Pokemon from the Great Marsh we will need to introduce the occidentary. After encountering a Pokemon, your frame will advance to the frame of "occidentary +6". Searching for Great Marsh encounters is the same as a capture in DPPt (Use Method J). Be sure to search for frames around 200-300 for this method. "Swarm" Pokemon such as Skorupi will replace encounter slots 6 or 7 so make sure you include that information in your search. To begin a Great Marsh capture, you'll first need to hit your seed and confirm it using coin flips before entering the Marsh. You'll also need to make sure you have at least 2 empty spaces in your party. Then enter the Marsh and go to the area where your desired Pokemon resides and head to a grass spot. Use Sweet Scent/Honey and capture the resulting Pokemon. After this, quickly open the menu and note the IVs/nature and try to find the resulting frame. Once you do, note the occidentary and add 6 to that number. This should be the frame you are now on. From this point you should do whatever frame advances are necessary to get to your target frame, then use Sweet Scent/Honey. Hopefully no NPCs will have made any unnecessary advances. [a]surf[/a] Surfing/Fishing Surfing/Fishing Pokemon are generated through Method J/K and have a starting frame of 1. The main differences between them and a regular capture are: -Surfing/Fishing have their own encounter slots. -The encounter slots for Fishing vary based on the type of Rod you're using. In the Encounter Tables you can access the encounter slots for Fishing/Surfing methods at the bottom left. -Surfing/Fishing Pokemon have their own method. The procedure for Surfing/Fishing is exactly the same as a capture. Make sure to save while already in the water and do not move until you're done. You'd encounter a Surfing Pokemon through Sweet Scent/Honey, while for Fishing you'd naturally use the appropriate Rod. Don't forget to also select the appropriate encounter type when doing your search and when trying to hit your frame. [a]headbutt[/a] Headbutt trees Unfortunately the encounter slots vary each save file, so there is no reliable way to get your desired Pokemon from a Headbutt tree. Your best course of action would be to stick with one tree and determine what encounter slot your Pokemon resides by figuring out your seed then encountering Pokemon until you meet the one you want. You can use the main window of RNG Reporter to figure out what encounter slot the Pokemon occupies. Once that's done then do a search using the appropriate slot. From here the procedures are the same as a capture. Other than this obstacle it's the same as a capture in HGSS. Also try to do this in areas that don't have random NPCs. [a]redgyara[/a] Lake of Rage Red Gyarados The Red Gyarados is generated through the Chained Shiny method. Simply conduct a search using Chained Shiny as the method and go through the same steps you would for a regular capture. [a]trophy[/a] Trophy Garden In order to do Trophy Garden Pokemon you will need to do a search for Encounter Slots 6 or 7. Slot 6 contains today's special Pokemon while Slot 7 contains yesterday's special Pokemon. Other than being limited to those two encounter slots the procedures are exactly the same as a regular wild capture in DPPt. [a]manaphy[/a] Manaphy Egg The Manaphy Egg is received like a Wondercard Pokemon, but it uses the Method 1 generation. The Wondercard follows the usual initial frames. It has a shiny check on it that prevents the hatched Manaphy from being shiny normally, but there is a way to bypass this check and get a shiny Manaphy. You'll need to know the PID of the IV spread you're going for. Once you have it, you'll need a save file that isn't the one your Manaphy Wondercard is on, and has this PID shiny. Do the RNG manipulation and receive the Egg, and trade it to this game. Hatch it in the other game and if you did it correctly, you should now have a shiny Manaphy. Because trading requires saving, you'll want to attempt this in HGSS since there's almost no room for error there. To summarize, if you want a shiny Manaphy in game A: 1. Find out what shiny PID you have in game A. 2. Get the Egg with the same PID in game B. 3. Trade the Egg from game B to game A. 4. Hatch the Egg in game A. 5. Congratulations, you now have a shiny Manaphy! [a]breed[/a] IV: Breeding Perfect Pokemon Note: For a much easier experience, do your breeding in an HGSS cart. It also has the most exclusive Egg moves which is never a bad thing! This section assumes you've attempted capturing a Pokemon. You can still proceed if you haven't, but you may have to go back to that section to get a good understanding of some things. [a]seedfind[/a] Step 1: Setting up and finding a seed for IVs Breeding your ideal Pokemon is more involved than capturing one, especially if you want to hatch a shiny Pokemon. Hatching a shiny involves hitting two seeds instead of one, while getting a nonshiny Pokemon only requires hitting one seed. Whenever the Daycare Man has an Egg to receive, the nature, shininess, ability, and gender of the Pokemon are fixed and will not change until another Egg is generated. This is what hitting the first seed is for. The IVs of the Egg are generated upon receiving the Egg, and this is what hitting the second seed is for. The main things you need to know for this process are the IVs of your parents. Let's say we want to breed a shiny Jolly Scrappy Miltank. We'll be using a Smeargle and another Miltank as parents. The Smeargle has IVs of 31/31/31/31/31/31 and the Miltank has IVs of 31/31/31/10/31/31. Now in RNG Reporter head to the 4th Generation Time Finder. Our first step is to figure out what order to deposit our parents in. If you are using parents each with 3-6 of the desired IVs, then you won't have to worry about this step and can deposit them in any order. If not, and say you are using IVs of 4/18/31/5/16/20 on Smeargle and 25/31/6/8/31/31 on Miltank, you will want to head to the 4th Generation Time Finder and on the Egg IVs tab set it up like this for DPPt , and this for HGSS. You can stop searching once you find a delay and frame you're comfortable with. A frame of over 10 is recommended but you can go lower if you don't like doing advances. Once that's done, if you are going for a shiny Egg you should take off any held items and deposit the parents in the order listed, otherwise if the female or Ditto parent has the nature you're going for have them hold an Everstone before depositing. "Parent A" should be the first parent you deposit and "Parent B" should be the second. Save your game at this time. Do NOT bike around until an Egg is generated at this time. [a]eggfind[/a] Step 2: Finding a Seed for a Shiny Egg The next step is going to be getting that shiny Egg. If you don't care about that skip this step and simply bike around until the daycare man has an Egg, save in front of him, and take the Egg and hatch it. If it has the ability and nature you want you should reset your game and move on to the next section on getting IVs. If you don't mind hitting another delay/seed you can still use this to get a nonshiny Egg with the appropriate nature/ability/gender so read on. Still in 4th Generation Time Finder, check out the Shiny Egg tab. First input your ID and SID and check the shiny only box if you want a shiny, leave it alone if you don't. Then select the nature/gender/ability you want. If you're using International parents (both parents do not have the same country of origin) check that box as well. Still using Miltank as an example: DPPt [a]egggetdp[/a] Step 3 (DPPt): Getting your shiny Egg (DPPt) Set it up similar to the screen below and hit Generate. Now that we have our results, select one you'd like to use, preferably with the lowest number of additional flips. Then right click it and select "Copy Seed to Clipboard". And we're off to the Seed to Time window. We'll be using seed 0F0402F2 for this. Do the usual Seed to Time stuff and you should get something like this: Attempt to hit your seed (See Section II [jump=eonuse]Using EonTimer[/jump] for more details.) and do 10 coin flips to confirm your seed (see Section III [jump=verifydp]Verifying your seed (HGSS)[/jump] for more details). Once that's done, do another coin flip (or if doing another seed, flip whatever the number in the Additional Flips column is after doing your first 10 flips) and bike around until the Daycare Man has an Egg for you. You should be doing a number of "10 + Additional Flips" coin flips if you did this right. Save in front of him, pick up the Egg, hatch it, and confirm your shiny. [a]getivsdp[/a] Step 4 (DPPt): Getting the correct IVs (DPPt) Solaceon Town is infested with randomly moving NPCs and will make getting the desired IVs difficult. The best way to remedy this is to breed in HGSS, but if you have absolutely no other choice, prepare for a lot of trial and error for each breed. Attempt to hit your delay, and when the game starts, mash X to bring up the menu ASAP, then close it and immediately take the Egg. Do ten coin flips to determine what seed/delay you hit and hatch the Egg. It doesn't matter whether or not you have the correct seed right now, as we are interested in figuring out our initial frame. Once the egg is hatched, check the IVs. If you're using Diamond or Pearl you either have to use Rare Candies, or fight one high level Pokemon to level them high enough without gaining more than 4 EVs. Platinum has the IV judge in the Battle Tower who can give you a good idea of how good the Pokemon's IVs are. For example, if you're going for seed 0B000799 but you got seed 0B00079F instead, say you hatch the Pokemon, check the IVs and get 3/18/31/5/16/12. This corresponds to frame 8, which means your initial frame is probably 8. The target frame is 13, so every time you start your game up, you would have to do 5 frame advances, most likely through Chatter, before taking the Egg. After taking it, do your coin flips to verify your seed. If it isn't correct, retry until it is. Once you get it, hatch the Egg and confirm the IVs. If for some reason the IVs are not what you wanted, find the exact IVs and find out what frame you actually hit. You'll probably be 1-2 frames off, so if your frame is 15 instead of 13, compensate for this next attempt by doing 3 Chatters instead of 5. HGSS [a]egggethg[/a] Step 3 (HGSS): Getting your shiny Egg (HGSS) Set it up similar to the screen below and hit Generate. Now look at the frame column and select an entry with a frame of 1. You can pick other entries that don't have a frame of 1 but it is not recommended. It also doesn't matter whether you have roamers active in your game or not as they do not affect this frame. This frame is completely different from the usual frame you hit to get IVs, so we'll be calling this the "Egg frame". Once a suitable entry is found, right click it and select "Copy Seed to Clipboard". We'll be using seed 07050660 for this. Go to Seed to Time and do the usual stuff. Now hit the seed (see section II starting from [jump=eonuse]"Using EonTimer"[/jump] for details) and confirm your seed through either Elm/Irwin calls or roamers (See section III [jump=verifyhg]"Delay/Seed Verification"[/jump] for more details. For this scenario calls of EEEKEPEPK means you've hit your seed, as the above picture implies). Once you're certain you have the right seed, bike around until the Daycare Man has an Egg. Save in front of him, take the Egg, and hatch it to confirm your shiny. If you chose a seed that has an Egg frame greater than one you'll have to do a few extra things. Calling Joey advances the Egg frame by 2 and the Daycare Man generating an Egg will advance it by 1. So if your Egg frame is 6, you'd have to call Joey twice (moves the Egg frame to 4), reject the first Egg when the Daycare Man has one (moves it to 5) and save when the Daycare Man has another Egg (at Egg frame 6). This Egg should contain your shiny. For simplicity's sake you'll want to stick with Egg frames of 1 to avoid the extra steps. Once you've confirmed your Egg contains a shiny, you can reset your game, as long as you saved beforehand. Whenever you take that Egg, it will always contain a shiny. [a]getivshg[/a] Step 4 (HGSS): Getting the correct IVs (HGSS) Now that you've got a shiny Egg locked and loaded, it's time to get the IVs you want and hatch a perfect shiny. The biggest thing to worry about is a randomly moving NPC on the Daycare route, which is easily fixed by sticking to frames over 10. For this example we'll be using the seed 0B000799. Using the seed 0B000799, we want to hit frame 13. The corresponding Elm/Irwin calls are EPPPKPPEKPPE. As usual, attempt to hit your seed and as soon as the game world is loaded mash X to bring up the menu ASAP so the NPC doesn't make too many unwanted advancements. On RNG Reporter you can look up where your current frame is and see what Elm/Irwin calls are needed by setting up the main window similarly to the picture below. Make sure you get to the call that's on the frame before your target and stop there. This cannot be stressed enough. If using the roamer method for verifying seed you will start on frame 4, and if the NPC hasn't advanced the frames, you will get calls of PKPPEKPPE. There is a chance he might have advanced some frames so do around 3-4 Elm/Irwin calls and see if you can identify what frame you're on. Once you have that, the rest of the calls are trivial. After all the necessary calls are made, close the menu and mash A to claim your Egg. Hatch it and visit the IV judge at the Battle Tower to confirm the IVs. If your IVs do not match your target, you'll need to find the exact IVs of the offspring. If you got IVs of 10/31/21/8/16/15, then you've hit frame 11, and thus on the next attempt you'll need to do two more calls/Chatters (although if you're using Elm/Irwin calls, you should never be under your target frame, this is just an example so you can see how to use the picture above to find out what frame you really hit). | <urn:uuid:5da24bbd-4333-4da8-9a02-92efbb5dc25e> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/revised-4th-generation-rng-manipulation-guide-gp-2-2.3467154/ | 2015-03-28T05:24:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00160-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933646 | 15,497 |
Newspaper Page Text
THE DAILY ARGUS I
JOHN W. POTTER.
Satcrdat. Jahcary 25, 18IK).
The system of ballot reform advocated
tj Got. Abbett. of New Jersey, provides
for the registration of every voter; abso
lute secrecy of the ballot, en exclusively
official ballot with a prohibition of the
use of any other the setting aside of an
election In any precinct wherever the
courts shall be satisfied that the electors
for any reason have been deprived of a
fair opportunity to express their choice
at the ballot box; the right of nomination
by petition: a limitation of the amount
which may be legally spent In or for any
election, and declaring the election void
should this mount be exceeded by any
candidate or any person acting for or In
his behalf; the publication by every can
didate of an itemized statement, under
oath, of all moneys expended at such
election by him or with his knowledge,
and a failure to do so rendering the elec
How lew was Carried.
lie satin the duor at noonday, lonely and
glum and sad; brooding over the price of
his corn crop, and figuring how much he
had. lie had worked from early spring
- time early and late and hard; and now
be was counting his assets and figuring
ous bis reward. He figured that it took
two acres to buy hi two boys new boots.
and ten acres more on top or this to fit
tbem out with new suits. To buy bis
wife a protected dress took 100 bushels
more; while five acres went in a solid
lump for the carpet on the floor. His
taxes and his grocery bill absorbed els
crop of oats, while the Interest on his
farm mortgage took all his fattened shoals
The shingles for his new cow sheds, and
' the lumber for his barn, had eaten up his
Deer steers and the balance of his corn.
So he sat In his door at noonday, lonely,
and glum, and sore; as he figures up his
' wealth a little less than It was the year
before. By gum! they say I m protected.
but I know tbere is something wrong;
l ve been deceived, and gulled, and hood
wiQxea, dt mis uua protection song.
They told of rebellious traitors, and held
up the bloody rag. and I followed along
uae a pumpkin ana now i m Holding the
nag. uut from this time on 1 11 Invest!'
gate and get to the bottom of facts: and
MI bet 4 to begin with that the tariff it
a tax. Aledo Democrat
X EC EMM IT V m. LCXl'RT.
Tbe following list of articles with tar.
IS duties on tbe same shows bow tbe
government discriminates against tbe
necessities and In favor of the luxuries:
DUTIES OH ARTICLES OF 5ECE88ITIKS.
Castor oil, 180 per cent. Linseed oil.
02 per cent. Common window glass. 86
per Cent. Raw wool, 45 per cent. Steel
rails, 85 per cent. Horseshoe nails, 118
per cent. Cheapest mixed woolen goods,
coatiog 24c. per vard abroad. 77 per cent.
Spool tnread, 61 per cent. Common
woolen shawls costing abroad 68c. a
pound, 86 per cent. Common worsted
stockings, costing 26c. a pound abroad,
.73 per cent. Rice, l(Jfl percent. Corn
starch, 85, per ceot. Salt, 80 per cent,
DUTY OX ARTICLES OF LCXCBT.
Oltar of roses, free. .Neroli. or orange
nower oil, free. Diamonds, 10 per cent.
naw sua, rree. Jewelry. 85 per cent.
Hold studs, 25 per cent. Finest still
wines, In bottles, 29 per cent. Finest
thread lace, 80 per cent. Pate de foie
grss. 25 per cent. Musical Instruments
of all kinds. 25 per cent. Curry and
curry powder free. Olives, green or pre
pared, rree. Spices of all kinds, free.
A thousand other items might be treated
in use manner.
FiSH STORicS ARE EARLY THI3 YEAfl,
Irut tlie 4,non MtaritO.it with TCIiatMay
He Called a (orir.
rnirAro. Jan. M "That's rmo of the bact
nh t- i Ilmvw rnroiiiittfred," said C E,
.M'ir';'; h Uul ali'tnr on the counter
l. I' 'Jm; store ut Tfiirtyfirth street an1
(I'lti'." lifuv.) ai'i:nt:. ( tiifno, "and tha
U-t .nrt uf I- i Mint it U truf." Tbs lot.
li r a in in I.n fth -r, F. H Marshull, in
EMom. Ir mi l tvn . i i;,, n .Ian. VI.
B.igl.t a Wi.ll Kveit Flic.
it inn uU'iit ai in. I.. 1 "A week go last
rri'iav ju.,u "i'Imt itum ami tha two
Bii- I u 'hik ,.nt i" i id nrdin City, ton
mile, ii'tnli of Iitj. for Kim.t spearing
ti.r,-t. t!i t in t;i. I..wa riv.r Wetnter
t.l k !n sfwur Info a t .h, which be inun-
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:niCi It prove 1 tor a wall-eyed nlke
i( ordinary slrj. lint ratii-r thicker than
.iul an I of. K.i.-b extraordinary weight
tl.at it wa ltni rtim.'il to Investipate the
ialrl f..r Hnnkliw.
"Th tUti U-Imk cm fu a (jurn. wa found
tmlde rnnt.tininc ;V iu gnkl c1n, llfl.fio in
nfr. . , in (trp 'tiiw. t, ,iu.0t n railroad
douu., an'i ..,. Mtl( aj ertifloat of
upoir in a laTin,"! L of Johnntown. A
np nr pHp-T, a!o f mad In tUa pant, bore
r or.i won wrut -n 'Tiw l'Hjpartyof
rfonn j Juno Jhi-y hvo lipait( tbs
conTenm at t!. wmrt txuise in Eldora, with
afflduvitu vertifring that the finding tiwk
ymv ai jmcrilwl alifT.
Iul a Llkaly . the Hot f lc.
iTisiueiT, niM .Mr. MBrthall. "that tha
nn iwnllowe thnf j,urc at Johnntown ear
w.m. ........ ur, ,K.'i ti i,r M.vcrai vnr apo,
and r. arlil tl. pl,,-c l.ri. 1. wax caught
v rv,,,iirii.uv; .ion n in-' (.oi.,ntigti rVtr
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icaipVi to tha Iowa rivrr."
JOHN PLANKINTON DYING.
.nuimnairo Vuth Paahor at tha folnt
MiLWACKF.it WW , Jan 'A John I'lankln
vn, in tiilllioiiitim prk ptirker, and farmer
partner nf fhll Aruu.ur, of Chiinpo, la lying
i ma point of il.Mith ut big roaidriiM-e In tbia
J tlr "" t.Hlioirt attack Thu.day
anu inn in conueof i mi with the paralysis
Ih.t .....I. I ... ..... - 1 J.
- mm aiiiiom neipiHs iir weeks,
iuuiiiuiwiy ('rooirttU-.! Inn,.
Tho Iowa laai,,k.
T)a Xlnraru 1. T . m..
.--, ., tfnu. wj, inera aaeua
to ba a ehauea for the deadlock In the learii
uiture to be brokou that Is If the Democrats
will agree to a proposition tha RepubUoans
um in innr inia proposition la that
they will connont to hara Hotchkiaa, Demo
crat, for temporary speaker aad Wllrox,
Republican, for temporary clerk tf the Den
o craia win KiTetliam three of the lira on
sua creOuntmla committee and Eotcb-
sina win afcree not. to do anything to throw
ininoon contested Kupublicana.
" iremw tue jjrmncrata ww consent is
THE BOLD WESTERN ROBBER.
Ha Gag a roatofflce Clark aud ttmf Away
wim tna swag.
autoqckrqce, n. M., Jan. 25 Two
ouiscaci men bound and gagged 2? ijcht Clerk
L, L. Roy at tna poatoOlua hara early yeater
day morning, pouuded the combination knob
on the stir with a sledge hammer and robbed
tha vault of t.K In money, i,o 0 in stnmpa
and sereral hundred dollars worth or Jewel
ry. All tha register baga were cut open
and tba firt-claa packages tkcii. Tbe
"'""" m " in not known, but Poatmaa
tar Walker think the robbers aecured from
them severnl tliounnnd dollars more. Tha
roliliera were iu tha offloa eeveral hours.
After thy loft Roy fraad hiinaelf and nte
Iluby Valley, Cel.. boasts of tnowdrifU
uny teat deep.
Natural Gas Adds Many
tims to Its Roll.
HAVOC BY A DOUBLE EXPLOSION.
Horror Piled on Another at Col
ambus, O. The Leaky Pipe
Does Deadly Work.
A Carious Multitude. Attracted by tha
First Disaster, Stands on a Volcano Un
knowinglyThe Eiptoslon ttesntts In
Frightful Scene of Wreck end Mangled
t'afortanates Horse Attached to a
ladder Wagon Dash Madly Through
tho Crowd Several llooses Wrecked
Sis Corpses ReeoTered and Many I'oo
Colcmbih, O., Jan. 'A Tliere wat a
soeue of death and destruction in thin rity
laet night whose borrlble f.atur and sick
ening details sro not surpaiwe.1 in the hi-
tory of Ohio. A few moment' after 5 o'clock
an alarm of fire sounded, calling out the en
tire department The stiveta were thronged
with the thousands of toilers who were re
turning to tlnir homes from workshop and
factories, and quickly spread tbe
news that a frightful calamity had
happened in tho southern part of
the city. Tbe streets lea Jin to that
section were soon crowded with people go
ing to the scene, but their preeence there
heaped horror upon horror, as will ba seen
Moons of tha Catastrophe.
An explosion had occurred at the double
residence of Messrs. Michael Bowers and
John Harriot, at tbe corner ot Wall and
Noble allies. The cause of the calamity was
an accumulation of natural gas in the cellar
of the house referred to. The city has re
cently been supplied with natural gas, and
lending past the house occupied by Marriot
and Bowers Is one of the mains throuzh
which the commodity is furnished to the
public The pipes had leaked and tha explo
sive fuel had found its way through fissures
in the ground to the cellar which was the
seat ot the horror. It became ignited in
some unknown manner and exploded with
terrific foroe, wrecking the building and
Oiling tbe air with debris.
Tha Destroyer lay In Walt.
Mrs. Marriot was blown out of tbe bou
and a man named Qouldlng. who was stand
lug near the structure, was blown across the
Street. Mrs. Marriot was carried across the
street and into tbe residence of William
James, a bookkeeper for the book firm ot
Glock & Beck. Dr. Wlssinzer. a prominent
physician, was called to attend her injuries.
iru- i . . . .
ium uuuse wnere me injured Jay was soon
crowded with people attracted by the acci
dent, and it was soon necessary to close the
doors that no more might enter. Little
know those scores of spectators hudJled
around the sufferer that thcr were standing
in a death trap, which was then on tbe verce
carrying tnein into eternity.
THE SECOND EXPLOSION.
A r rightful Ipheaval That Creatoa Hor
Suddenly the air was rent bv a tremendous
explosion which made the earth quake and
flUed the air with flying timbers, bricks and
debris of all kinds. Darkmws ensued and
then a dead-like stillness reigned for a few
moments. It wss brokou bv shrieks and
death groans. The house in which lav the
powerless rorra or Mrs. Marriot had been
blown to atoms and it occupants burled be
neath the wreck. Hundreds of spectators
who lined the sidewalks were knocked vio
lently down by the shock and laid powerless.
Then to cap tbe climax a team of soirited
hones attached to one of the fire department
jaaaer trucks became rrenKied by the exolo-
sion ana oasnea awsy into the crowd, carry
mg ueam in ineir wage, j nev ran over
and Injured scores of people. A beautiful
little babe was knocked from its mother
arms ana teUlns beneath the men-ii
wheels of the vehicle, was cmhed to death.
Tho Mammons to tbe Rescue.
As soon as the maddened steeds had dis
appeared In the darkness many of tho spec
tator ana Bremen, wuo bad been uninjured
oy eiioer ot tne horrors, turned their aften
lion to digging out tha persons burled be-
naatn the ruins of the house. Guided by the
crwe ami moan or tha mangled and dying,
men gropou in tne darkness, pulling out
dead body here, a mangled, yet liviug. form
mere, ami couveying them to rostiug places.
wroups ot men, women and children iuth
a rot around tha prostrate forms, and blood
curdling shrieks made the awful scene more
revolting, as friends recognized frinujs, in
jureu or oeau parents round tliolr luuti
anu ciiiiuren, and vice vara. It rouuirml
several nours to remove all the dead si.. I
Injured from tbe ruins, and it is not vet
Known wnn or now many are tbe victims.
THE ROLL OF THE VICTIMS.
lb . ... b. ETUI a w- .
.-M.a.w ." " am..-u I. .1 , 11.1 II U 1 Ma
Far as Known.
following is the list of kill.tl and wonn.U
od so far as ascertained: Killed f!hori-
becht, Mrs, John Marriot. Infant son of
cnaries Worry, James Uoymour tuolored boy)
uuanown wuiie man, unknown uuImi.
lDjnrsd-rr T. K. WisHinger. bodlv and
probably fatally burned and bruised; Her
man liaker, badly burned; Daniel Cherry
burned painfully; Charles Woodruff, cut and
brulsod seriously; Mrs. Fully, burned and
injured internally, probably fatally fat
rick Hui-kie, cut on bead; Aaron Be.-un, cut
on race and band; benjamin Morgan,
gasuee on bead and internal iniu-
... . I w . . . .
rm; iimne ixiwrr. DUmeU and brni.
Albert Ticklidor, bruied and cut; '.
Brady, burned and cut; Edward Vienier
out aud burned ; Wolff, cut and burno1
aiiss u.'iie nmiiu, batiiy hurt; Mrs. Corn,
B" -.. -,.. 1 .
Dauiy l.urneil; Tot" Marriott, terrihlv
burned about the shoulders and neck; Tom
Doyle, hands burned partially off; Emma
Bowers, probably fatally burned; Marshall
auiDourne, norrible injuries on the neck and
hand; William Brady, probably fatally
suffocated; William James, hands and face
roasted and will die: Mrs, William
James, badly cut and bruised, blaukiu
ger, horribly burned and cut.
Elmer Gates, a young man. was standi HZ
opposite tha hoase when the second explo
sion ocourrea, ana was struck hy a missile
which broke bis leg.
A young man named Mssblider. who iaa
resident of Granville, n.. was aeverelv
burned and shocked.
Tom Doyle, a saloon porter was burned in
a most horrible mauner. When tne im
promptu bnndagns were removed from bis
hands, the flesh dropped off in muny places,
leaving the bones exposed.
ineodore Whoutlng was watching tbe firs
across the street, when the explosion oc
curred. The blaze and falhn? debris
frightened the horses ot a hose cart, which
wheeled and ran on to the pavement. The
gentleman was knocked down and had one
leg broken In two places. Police Officer
Lynsky was in tha house at tbe time it fell
aud was badly injured.
Many Others Badlv Bart.
Many others were badly injured, but were
carried away by friends aud their names
cannot be Warned. The houses for several
blocks around the sceua of tha einlosion
have been made into hospitals, where many
are being cared for. Miss Belie Smith, who
was badly Injured, had gone into tbe doomed
bouse just prior to the explosion. Her face
wet badly In-ukwd and siie was suffering
from many bruises about tbe body. She
was almost completely buried in tho debris
and had to lm dug out. Tbe doctors pro
nounce her Injuries serious, but think she
Dr. T. K. WiBsinavr Was In tha Jimv
bouse when be was hurt He was attending
.patient .injury at the othsrpbvje, when
the second explosion occurred. Those who
beard him talk say he said he suddenly saw
the flames creeping along the floor of the
room and immediately threw himself under
a table and placed his hands over his ey.-s to
shield them. Benjamin Morgan, also a ipec-
tator, was badly injure.!. He was knocked
down by one of tbe hoee carts in the geteral
rush for safety after the first explosion, and
then run over by the mad crowd. Mot gan
lives at Shawnee, and wss a delegate to the
miners' convention, which had been in ses
sion here. He is thought to be internall in
jured. Pet Marriott Is a 16 year-old girl. Wien
she reached the street she was almost nal:ed,
Her life was saved by turning a stream of
Drove Hlni a Raving Manlao.
The saddest case was that of Ed Pfef'er.
He was struck by the falling timbers ind
was terribly cut about the bead. Tbeshx:k
of the blows rendered the man a raving
maniao for the time being. It required tbe
united efforts of several men to hold him on
the seat of the patrol wagon as it dashed up
At midnight a half-dozen persona were un
accounted for, among whom were the widow
Tull and her son. who occupied part of 1 be
first house that exploded,
PECULIAR CASE OF INSANITY.
The Sufferer Has n Mad Mania for K 11
Baxoor, Me., Jan. ai Murtagh McLeod,
i . , , , ... .
m luiuuennan wuo nas ueen in tbe woods or
some time, was brought to this city in irons
Thursday night by a deputy shsrlff. The
cause of his arrest was the development of
insanity which led him to attack and try to
kill borsoe. He was sitting on a loir landinir
shsrpening a long knife some days ago.wten
a spienaia team or borses was driven uo bv
a teamster. At the sicht of them McLead
uttered a wild cry and jumped from his m at
to the borses and literally disembowe ed
one of the animals before he con 1.1 he
Slopped the Bloody Work.
The workmen around him secured him Just
aahe was about to make an attack on the
other horse. He only made a slicrbt
ance. The man was bound hand and fcot
and kept in camp until a team was ready to
start for civilisation, when he was load l
aboard and given to a deputy sheriff. He
seems to be particularly violent at the sig it
of animal, but since he has been confined
has acted in a perfectly rational mannfr.
Tbe physicians regard his case as an ex
ceedingly peculiar one and are watching it
Bound to Have an Extended Name.
Cleveland, O., Jan. 36. The convention
to organize a non-partisan temperance union
met again In Music hall yesterday mornin
The ladies decided that National Crusade -s
was not a good title, and changed the name
to Non-Parti san Women's Christian Temper
ance union, rretaucnt-eiect rnlnney notified
the convention of her acceptance of tie
fuee. Further officers were elected as fol
lows: General secretary. Miss F. Jenn e
Duty, of Cleveland; recording secretary,
Mrs. Florence MUller, Iowa; financial secrio
tary, Mrs. Shortledge, of Pennsylvania ;
treasurer, Mrs. C. Cornelia Alford, Brook
lyn. It wss decided to pay the presider t
and general secretary salaries of 1,300 eacl..
About 12,500 were raised at tbe afternoon
session to help maintain tbe expenses of thi
new organisation. After the transaction cf
further routine business a flual adjournment
"Old Hatch" Robbed.
CbicaOO, Jan. i5. Statements to tho
effect tbat B. P. Hutchinson had been swin
dled out of a big sum of money from $10
000 to fWO.OoO by his settling clerks, wer i
circulated on the board of trade yesterda"
morning. Mr. Hutchinson denied that ho
bad lost a large amount, but admitted ho
had lost some money, possibly $2,000 or
$3,000. The thieves are said to be Harry
Stoney, Hutchinson's settling clerk, ann
Henry B. King, settling clerk for W. P
Wanted a Tragedy and Was Accommodated
BlKJnsoHAM, Ala., Jan. 25. Thursday
evening John Carroll, a wealthy farmer
living a few miles north of here, was shot
dead by R. B. Barnes, a prominent lawyer,
in the small town of Opelika. A few days
ago they met in Opelika aud Carroll spat in
Barnes' fare, and also applied insulting epi
thets. Thursday Carroll came to town
armed, and meeting Barnes advanced upon
him with his revolver drawn. Barnes drew
bis revolver and fired, killing Carroll In
stantly. Most Mast Of His Time.
New York, Jan. 25. About tbe time or
tlie hanging of the Chicago Anarchists Jo-
haun Most, the New York 'Red," made a
sanguinary and incendiary speech. For this
he was arrested, tried and sentenced to stare's
prison tor a year and $000 fine. He appealed
the case, and has since been out on bail
Yesterday the case was decided against him.
ana ne win now nave to serve bis term.
Tba Man with the Clan-na-Gael-I'hobla.
SaK Antonio, Tex , Jan. 'A. Chester A
Baboock, the young attorney of Quincy. Ill
(not Chicago), who became demented under
tbe hallucination that be was pursued by
tbe Clan-na-Uael, has improved very rapidlv
and has been removed from the hnspital to
tha hotel, where he is now under the oar of
letting t'n on Coorelon in Inland.
DfBLLV, Jan. !. A proclamation by tha
viceroy or Ireland Is published In Tha On.
setts releasing from tbe operation of tha
coercion act thirteen counties, tnelndina
eegai, iverry, ana Limerick.
Fire nt Chicago.
IMCaoo, Jan. M. Fire last niaht dam-
apea tna eiotnmg stock of Austrian, Wise St
K.O. to we extent of 120, WW, and the build
ing, Adams street, $1,000.
Kerlous Accident at Champaign. Ills.
ChaMPaIun, His., Jan. Si. A very serious
accident occurred yesterday aftarnoou on
the Cbai'iHilgn and Urbana street railway
tuecar leaving mis city at lio p. ni. Was
crowded with pass!uirer. mostly woiuaii
w hen it left the track and rolled down a
wenty-five foot embankment. None were
killed, but thirteen were iulured. the mokt
serious being: Mrs. A. M. - Dawson, sboul-
U-r broken; Miss Angie Ireton. arm broken:
Miss Ixnn Friaon, bones of both lugs frac
tured; Miss I. N. Wade, severe injuries
about the head; Miss Sarah Bunuett, of Mat
toon, severe cut on neck and probable inter
F.a-Kenator Iliddlebarger llend.
WlxcHESTgR, Va.. Jan. S5. The death of
x-Henator Riddleberger was announced
yesterday morning. The event, which had
been imminent for aoiue days, took iiln.-n at
:30 o'clock. His end was painless. Mr
Biddleberger came into national prominence
during tbe Readjuster period in Virginia,
and was elected to the United States senate
by that party and tha Republicans. His life
shortened and his career ruined bv an
irresistible love for intoxicants. He was
born in 1844.
ttown on Oleomargarine.
Belvtoerk, Ilia, Jan. 23. At the session
of the Illinois Dairyman's association yester
reeolutious were adopted to the effect at that
the laws regulating tba manufacture and saia
of oleomargarine should be strictly and vigor
ously enforced, that the association is opposed
to tne adulteration or butter and cheese and
in favor of a state dairy and food commis
sion. Talmage Lunches with Gladstone.
Lokdok, Jan. 85. Rev. Dr. Talmage. of
Brooklyn, took lucbeon and spent tbe after
noon with bladstone at Hawarden castle
yesterday. To his guest Gladstone expressed
himself freely on religious and political
topics, and charged him with messages of rs
gnrd for President Harrison and sympathy
with Mr. Blaine in his recent affliction.
A BensltUe Jail Keeper.
Lajur, Mo., Jan. 25. Joseph Garrett.
dVputy sheriff and Jailer, shot himself
throngh the heart Thursday and death fol
lowed in a few momenta. He left a wife
and seven children. Tba only motive known
that of despondency caused bv an nn.
founded rnmnr that ho ho4 uu. I - i
recent escape of sonis prisoners.
ISLAKD ARGUS, SATURDAY JANUARY 25, 1890.
FUN IX PROSPECT.
Important Features of the Nev
A LIVELY TIGHT A SUKE THING.
Carlisle States the Changes lo a Demo
cratic Caucus and Its Voice Is for War
Cen. Filibuster Likely To Ba a Promi
nent Figure In tbe Near Future Mill
ions for a Navy Proceedings la the
Washwqto City, Jan. 2i Tbe caucus
of Democratic members of the house last night
lasted for over two hours, but at 10:80 o'clock
when an adjournment was taken, tho only
resolution adopted was one enjoining secresy
on tbe caucus proceeding). Tbe meeting was
well attended. Holman, the permanent
chairman, presided and after he had called
the caucus to order recognized Carlisle, who
proceeded to explain the principal features
of the new code prepared by the Republican
members of the committee on rules. Car
lisle said that the radical and dangerous
features of the new code proposed to abolish
the house calendar; to revive the morning
hour; to make 100 members constitute a
quorum; to abolish as motions of privilege
those for the taking of a reec or for the ad
journment of the bouse until a fixed date.
Another Important Innovation.
Another and very important innovation
provided tor by the new code, Carlisle ex
plained, provided for tbe transaction ot busi
ness during the morning hour. By this rule
a committee, on making a report, could de
maud immediate consideration of tbe bill on
which the report is made and could continue
to have it considered during the morning
hour day after day until disposed of. No
motion U consider another question, except
that of another committee, can, under this
rule, be enterJaimvl while the bill is undis
ood Prospect for Filibustering.
Considerable discussion followed Carlisle's
explanation all the speakers favoring fight
l.ig tbe new code on tbe fbxir of the house
until the end. Without coming to any action
on the matter the caucus proceeded to the
consideration of a plan of action on the con
tested election esses. Many different propo
sitions were brought forward, and a lively
and interesting discussion took place. All
agreed, however, that any attempt on the
part of tbe Ri-publicans to have any of
these cases considered tfore the new code
of rules are adopted should be opposed in
every possible way, even by filibustering of
the most radical character.
HALE'S BILL FOR THE NAVY.
A Proposition to Spend S349,OOO,O00 on
Washington City, Jan. 25. Yesterday
me senate committee on naval ansirs or
dered a favorable report on Senator Hale's
bill for tbe construction of 127 naval vessels
ot various kin.W at the cost, including $63,
000,000 already expended, of 349,W 5,000.
The decisiou, however, was not unanimous,
and l handler and McPherson will submit a
minority report, as they favor the construc
tion or fast cruisers, torpedo boats, etc., in'
stead of line of battle ships at the present
time, while tbe majority of tbe committee
desire the immediate construction of heavy
oawe snips, senator Stanford also is un
derstood to be only partly in accord with the
Dlscusstof Customs Administration.
Washington City, Jan. 25 The house
put in yesterday considering McKinley's cus
toms administration bilL The principal
ngbt was over the amendment requiring
gooas, against tue classification of which an
appeal has been taken, to remain in govern
ment custody until the appeal U decided.
Mills opposed it because, be said, if the im
porter got his goods and sold them he put
on the higher duty: then if he won the suit
be pocketed the difference, takinz money
from the taxpayer with one hand, and from
the government with the other. Carlisleop-
posea it oecause it was a hardship on the
nonest Importer only, as tbe dishonest im
porter did not go into court. The laws
should be made so plain as to prevait wrong
ciarancaii.m. i be amendment was defeated.
Some little progress was made with the bill,
Sim me nouse ajjoarned.
Reciprocity with Canada.
Washington Cjtt, Jan. as Representa
tive Bntterworth and S. J. Ritchie, of Ohio,
spoke to tbe ways and nutans committee
yesterday urging uurestricted reciprocity
with Canada. Butterworth's plain includes
me settlement of the fisheries dispute, In-
World's Fair Matters.
washinuton City, Jan. 23. The sub
committee of the World's fair committee ot
the bouse has decided against all the resolu
tions presented to it and will ask permission
or me run committee to proceed to frame a
iu emtiraonif the entire subject, except as
The Color Llna In tlie O. A. R.
A rGt'HT a, Ua., Jan. . Tba aVpart
tuental encampment, O. A. R., was held here
yesterday. Charleston, Havannah, Maoon,
A.uauu ana i aiinuoosa pools were repre-
wie.i. uoiorea aeiegates from Beaufort
and Savannah claimed admission as repre
senting colored posts. Tho majority of the
committee on credential reported against,
snu me minority in ravoror admitting them.
The minority rejort was adopted, 13 to 4,
whereupon I. I). Crawford, commander; h!
Burns, adjutant, and Philip Hiedingsfeler,
representing E. 8. Jones post No. 5, of Ma
xn, withdrew from the encampment under
nstructlons of their poet
The Dlorkade Ntill ( nbroken.
San Francisco, Jan. a. The blockade
n the Central Paciflu remains uubroken
aid snow is still falling in the mountains.
The storm is the greatest known since tbe
road was built Many mvuutain aud valley
1 1 reams in northern California are swolleu
nnd tbe Sacramento river is rising so rapidly
tbat another flood is feared. Heveral ava
Innchee are reported in the Siskiyou moun
t alns, adding to the blockade tbere.
One Benerlt of Cold Weathor.
Mount Carmel, Pa , Jau. 25 An hn-
ruvemeut iu tbe oual trade is noticed sinoe
tlie weather has become colder. Tha Bell
l lore and Morris Ridge colliers resumed
vork yesterday, and other operators an
t ounce their intention to start up Monday.
Might Have Gone to Canada.
New York, Jan. 29. Ueorga H. Louns
t erry, who resigned as cashier of the Ifew
York postofflce Thursday, shot himself dead
at Hackansack, K J., last evening. It is re
ported that there ia a deficiency of 125,000 in
Will Demand lnoroaeed Wngos.
WiLKXSBABlUE, Pa., Jan. ai At mass-
n .eeting of miners last night it was unaided
to demand a !U nor cent, inareaaa in wages
o i April L Oyur s,isj0 luiuers are interested
it tbe movement
Russia Taking Care of Natalia.
London, Jan. 25. It is stated that the
Brvian regents have received from St
Petersburg a hint that tbe exnnlsion of ss.
Veen Natalie from Berria, which it ia a4-
"jaa the regents had planned, would be n-
it la rumored tbat this "rriandlv tin"
wjl be beeded and tbat ail tba danger of
' italie's expulsion is removed.
A Handsome Rest dene VuraetL
SEW YORK. Jan. 35. The reddenca at
Pircy R. Pyne, tho well-known Wall etraat
m in, at Riverdale-on the-Hudson, was dan
aged by Ore at a late hour Thursday night.
Tl loss is estimated at from f 25,000 to $30.
00(. . '
La Grippe Losing It Grip.
Chicago, Jan. 28. There was a deckUd
de o-ease in the number of deaths westardaw.
In all there were seventy-four nmorted at
tb i health department, of which only six
wt re due to influenza.
All Quiet nt Appal nob loola.
U-PALACHICOLA, Fla.. Jan. 83. Every.
thing was quiet here yesterday and ttia
the ught the trouble with the colored strikers
is 1 1 an end.
ROUND WENT NELLY
With Only a Single Suit of
THE LADY GLOBE-QIKDLEE'8 FEAT.
Miss Nelly Biy Arrives at Chicago on s
Flying Trip Across tha Continent as
Wtnd-Cp ot Her Voyage Around the
World Jules Verne's Phineas Fogg
Knocked Ont of Time Lightning Run
ning on American Railways.
Chicago, Jan. 25. Miss Nellie Bly, the
young lady who is making a flying tour
around the world, reaoued Chicago on her
way home at 6:05 yesterday morning, and
left for New York at 10:30. She will make
the trip iu seventy-tlir days, barring
Borne two months ago Tlie Now York
World coucluded that it was time for some
great sensation, and castiug about for a sub
ject bethought it of tha fictitious trip of
Phineas Fogg arouud tbe world in eighty
days, as recounted in one of Jules Verne's
delightful works. A beaten record was al
ways a good new s item. Why would it not
do to try aud lsat the record of the famous
Fogg? Especially if a woman was the trav
eler. No sooner bald than dona. Miss "Nel
lie Bly, which name, so far as really being
the genuine all-wool and a yard wide cogno
men of the lady selected, is all in yoar eye,
it being her bom de plume, was willing to
undertake the trip as who wouldn't f and
so she started.
A Rival for Honors.
At tbe same time that Miss Bly took up
her journey east. Miss Elizabeth Bisland
was sent west by another New York paper,
her purpose being to beat The World corre
spondent This wasn't fair in one particular,
because Miss Bly had no knowledge that
she was running a race with a real live
woman instead of a flctictious man. Miss
Bisland would probably have put The
World in a""ho le""by prod uciug a bi gger sen
eation than The World's if she had not met
with bad luck. She expected to take a fast
Atlantic lines when she reached the Atlantic
ocean, but the said liner was taken off before
the lady reached port; and now she is
somewhere on the Atlantic aboard ot the
slow going Bothnia and undoubtedly hope
Novel but Not Extraordinary.
The trips these two young ladies took were
novel, inasmuch as they went alone with but
one suit of clothes each and that not like
McGinty's, their best and carrying small
handbags for baggage. To beat Phineas
Foggs' time, barring accidents, is not a
great feat as the facilities are undoubtedly
greater now than when he made his famous
voyage. The most exciting part of the trip
for Miss Bly was that across the American
continent, which was made in unprecedented
time by the help of special trains and with
tbe assistance otall the railways on the
The Arrival In Chicairo.
As stated in tbe first paragraph Miss Bly
arrived in Chicago yesterday. To meet her
a party of newspaper men left on the Atchi
son, Topeka and iSanta Fe road at 4 o'clock
yesterday morning for Joliet, whore the
special train tbat had borne her all the way
from San Francisco was due about 7 o'clock.
The trip was made all right, and Miss Bly's
train arrived in due time. It came on like
a cannon ball, and the Chicago reporters'
car was coupled on and tbe run to Chicago
begun, the newspaper men meantime invad
ing tbe parlor car in w hich the lady had
made the trip.
Miss Globe Glrdler Appear.
Tbe cheer of welcome bad awakened Miss
'"AT" f!W ,k Ud ?n P
the door of her state-room
tbe aisle stepped a young lady of medium
height, her slender, willowy figure clothed
in a perfect fitting nlster ot light check, but
toned lrora neck to toe. A jaunty, half
Jockey traveling cap sat gracefully on her
neaa. ner coai-DiacK nalr was coiled in be
coming fashion and her sparkling eyes and
her cheeks ricbly colored with the glow of
perfect health, showed bow keenly she was
enjoying ner battle with time. In one of
her hands, neatly gloved in Snede, she car
ried a dainty whip, which proved to be the
dned tad of a monkey, In tbe head of which
was imbedded a bright ruby from CoUn.
ice otner she extended to ber fellow news
paper workers as she called tbem, giving
each a cordial, hearty shake as Mr. O'Neill,
Tha World's Chicago corros pendent, made
Americans Scarce Abroad.
Miss Bly spoke with an English accent
and when this mentioned, -I did not know
it," she replied. "No, I am an American."
she continued, striking ber ulster with her
bejeweled whip, "and never more so than
since my retnm. I am not surprised, however,
that I have a little Engli-b accent, for from
the time 1 bade farewell to The World's
London correspon-lmt in Dover, I did not
see an Atnerhwu until I reached Yokohama
end 1 not see tbe stars and stripes until I saw
tnem waving over our consul's house at
Hong Kong. I tell you the old flag looked
Tho All-Pervading Rriton.
-nut tnougn Americans were scarce tha
English were plentiful, and from London to
Ban Francisco there were always a few of
tbat nation amonc my fellow-nasaenmrs
Bo I suppose I got my accent from them.
But I'll soon get over it
-Ami tirear .o, not a bit Whv. th
Journey has Iwen one gret delight If any-
oouy wants a vacation trip, l can think of
Do more pleasant way to take it than to fly
around the world."
The Inevitable Quoetton.
And what do you think of Americaf
queried a reporter who had been accustomed
to interviewing, in New York, fresh arrivals
Abt yon should have asked me that when
I landed." Miss Bly replied. ' But it is not
necessary for me to say it is the best coun
try of all. And especially for traveling."
Flying Across n Continent.
Why, see," she said, glancing at a Rus
sian bracelet In which was set a watch: "it
ia now 8 o'clock on tba morning of the 24th.
and but sixty-nine hours ago I was just start
ing from San Francisco. I have (wen in tbe
oar all tha way, except part of the time
when on the Atlantio and Pacific road, which
is pan or tne baata Ke system. I rode in the
engine. How we flew! Tho soenery in the
mountains was grand. I held the throt
tle and pulled it out as far as it would go.
Going down grade I managod the airbrake.
One of tbe surprising things along the lour-
nay was the crowds that gathered at the sta
tions to meet me.
Had to Please tho Populace.
I had to appear on the platform and bow
to tbem and answer lots ot questions The
women seemed particularly interested in my
dress and were very anxious to know if I
badfr-oaUy taken only one with me. That fact
Seemed more wonderful In their eyes
"At one of the stations a man yelled from
the crowd to know if I had ridden on an ele
phant during my trip. When I told him I
bad not, be looked disgusted and walked
Made Some Lightning time.
"Talking of fast time, though, we have
made plenty cf it The 250 miles the other
tide of Emporia, Kan., we covered in ex
actly 850 minutes, and a spurt of sixty -nine
miles near Dodga City we made in fifty-five
minueA I nave been ahead of my time at
every place. And now I am several
hour ahead. 1 am a little sorry the Santa
Fa has made such fast time, because now I
tnaJJ bava only two hours and a half in
Chicago, for I must take the 10:80 on tbe
Pennsylvania for home. Had we arrived
when wa expected I oould have scent fiva
hours, and several of thorn at the Press
Roeaptloa at tho Press Clob:
Miss Bly did go to tha Press club, how
ever j she had to. And there were a goodly
number of tho members present to offer
tbelr congratulations. After a stay of an
hour she was taken to Kinsley's, where,
attar dispatching a toothsome breakfast, tha
party drove to the board of trade.
Paralysed tha Board.
The visit bad not bsen foreknown on tba
board, bat as Miss Bly stepped to tha rail-
Latest Styles and the most
1 IMPROVE t
flLace Curtain Stretchers
cut of us nrnn mum.
Will Save you Monev, Time and Lstior.
Evasv lloussasaPEa Shoh.d IIavb Onij
any Isdy .uo operate them.
For Sale By
TKLEPHOIB NO. 10M.
ing of the private pillory a broker, with
mouth cpeu an.i arms uplifted preparatory
to hurling a bid iuto tlie man-tossing pit.
caught sight of her Iiuuitiveiy be guessed
her Meuttty and in placs of the bid be
"There's Nellie Bly."
Instantly trading ceased. The members
crowded into the middle of the floor, and
after gazin? a moment at the young lady
above broke forth into cheers and hurra hi
Miss Bly bowed, and as she turned to go, three
cheers and a tiger were given.
THE MINERS' AMALGAMATION.
A Plan for Pooling Their Issues Adopted
Also a Name as Is a Name.
Colcmbcs, O., Jan. 2. The ties that bind
ihe mine workers and KnighUof Labor have
at last amalgamated. Tho joint committee
of both organizations made its report yestsr
dsy. Tba constitution Dresented was taken
Ur. LV CMOtl..ia ar,A m.lA M.i . i.
amendments. It provides that the name of
, the n
organization shall be the "Cuited
Mine Workors of National Division Assem
bly 1S5, K. ot L., and the National IVores
lve Union;" thus the names of Iwth old or
ganizations are preserved. The National
officers witl consist of a president or master
workman, vice president or worthy foreman,
secretary-treasurer, and an executive board
somposed of seven memlters.
Membership and Officer.
The constitution further provides tbat any
member in good standing of either tbe Pro
gressive union or N. P. A. 13... K. of L.,
HhaU be eligible to office under the amalga
mation, providing lie becomes a member of
both organizations before qualifying. This
provision is occasioned by the fact that th
N. P. U. is an open organization aud N. D.
A 135 a secret one The time of the annual
conventions is fixed on the second Tuesday
In February of each year, tbe place to be
voted upon at each preceding convention.
This practically settles the whole matter
and tbe remainder of the session will be oc
cupied in routine business and fixing a na
tional scale of prions.
On tbe board of trs.le to-day quotations
ranged as follows: V huat No. t February,
opened , closed tB.'jc; March, opened ,
closed ; May, optmU sc, closed urs-tc.
Corn No. FebTuarr, opened av, closed'
March, opouej . -t closed 3ui$o; May,
opened ICV, closed 314c. Oats No. s Febru
ary. 0ned closed SiTr; March,
opened -IMk'. close.1 ; May. orviied fcisVc,
closed 2."H-4sc. Pork-rehmary. opened
J9.tc.t4. closed ttf.TT", March, ojiened and elsd
is.WHi: May. opened flu 2 , rlowd f M.17H.
Lard February. oK-ne,l .'.O.', closed 5.'J0
L.ve tt-k The fo low-inn Were tlie quota
tions at iha t'nion stork yards: Hut Market
active, and all parties buying with prices
lower: light irrades, fcJTuia.yO; rouuh pack
ing. f.S.Tiitf-l.T."); uiixe.1 lots. $..7i.,4.si; heavy
DArkiiiK and shipping lots. S3.Shct.uii. Cattlo
-Market null aii.t lower. Iieeves, ia.iMj.j.OO;
bulk. T:'i4 -O. eows, $l.at8i(t; stockers
soil feeders. Si.'iS Vi ,". Hheep - Higher; na
tive muttons, t3.7;:..s : western corn-fed,
S i.ill ib.HI; IhiuIm, i"..t' t 2T.
1'r.Rluee: Hutter Fancy EUfin creamery, 2d
ctz.c tiueat dairy. ltjAir: parkin stock,
436-. Ege eUrlctly treau. H.iNV V doz.;
ice house, lilillo. Live poultry-Hens,
t'. turkeys, ;r. rtu. ks, '..3.IU; geese, (t.nUrt
Potatoes -Beauty of Hebron, C5j
37c V hu. on track; couui.ou ami mixed loin, "
4l3-'c. Apples kod to faiirj , 51 CnjiV) y b'bL
t-'ranunriue-Wisconsin, s-s. u iti.7.per lm.
.Ns w 1 or L.
-NEW Yoiik. Jan. S!4
-No. ? red
winter. KHAo tash:
lo January, urtc; do February. "O'jc; do .March,
KTtc: do May, fr75jf. Corn -No. . iiui..i'
o-sitfcj. H ,h; do January. l"lc: do F.-b-
ranry, 7te; do Mar b, :jh'o. do iiay, iv"
Oats Quiet but ete idy; No. S; mixed. 2Wa
ixSic ciih: do January. 30V: do Minurr u
An March. 2wr.; do M;ik- !!. Hl i'..n
Barley-Nomiiih!. Pork-Firm: m.ws, 11. Ik
11.75 for new. Lard UuU. Fobrusrv. Sfl K
March. ': May, S3 47.
Live Moi k i'attle Market extremely dull
iteerH. W.W?4 .Hi V l s; oxen. 3 0A8..
bull-laud cows, H.iOv.ai. Hhewj. nud Lambs
-Ouiet: vheen. f tMinH. a U IM ihs: lumha.
$?.(JftT.li0. U'.is - Xoinio dly steady; live hogs,
yi.SM64.2l t lvKI It's.
Hay rpland prairie, $7 055.8 00. ,
ojl-niaiuij-n yvs 00.
Hsy Wild. 45 ai 5 uj.
This powder never varies. A marvel of parity,
rtranirth and wboiesomnees. Mors economics
thsa the ordinary kinas, and cannot ba sold in
competition wth tbe mnltitadeot low test, short
wslght alum or pr vhosphale powders . JSoULonlw
aseaas. Botal BAaixa Powdib Co., 10 Wall
8U, . T. .
attractive prices combined, make
A A R
A A U
No. 1623 Second Avenue.
the Best, and
1622 SECOITD AYElsTUB,
STOVES AND RANGES
IMPERIAL ALADDIN RANGE for Soft Coal
ALADDIN VENTILATOR for Hard Coal.
ilo Jbe UUt det,igD of, ,,be ,0Dg 8eriM ot ALADDIN Stoyes. This is beautiful in
its ornamentation, novel In many of its features-is bound to be a good seller Be
buy " mb"m'ne 8lVe ud ,earn ,U good poinl8 for after 8ce'"g ' I - S
I have of course a supply of the celebrated ROUND OAKS. This has been
dnnTC1 tb,at V UKbe,Dg CSPied M fBr M the dre V unscrupulous ?X. bu"
JOHN T. NOFTSKER,
Cor- Third avenue and Twentieth St., Rock Island.
Our establishment ia getting too small for our rapidly
growing business and we have decided to
give up our
to gain room, and will commence on Wednesday. Nov.
20th to sell out our entire stock of
BLANKETS and LAPROBES
at aud I low cost. This is not a sham-sale but a bona
tide sale, as we will not carry any more Blank
ets in the future. For particulars
see local page.
The Pioneer Clothier, Hatter and Gent's Furnisher,
115 and 117 West Second St., DAVENPORT, I A.
A. J. SMITH & SON,
TILES and GRATES.
A. J. SMITH & SON,
125 and 127 Weat Third Street, Opp. Masonic Temple, DAVENPORT.
trade a great success at the
ten. i rriTk,.. | <urn:uuid:2bc8d36f-eb95-4d97-b01c-ea29929d0d6a> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053945/1890-01-25/ed-1/seq-2/ | 2016-07-25T09:15:03Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00152-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899152 | 13,079 |
November 6, 1945
Information Bulletin, Embassy of the U.S.S.R.
Comrades! After several years of a hard war we are today celebrating the 28th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution under conditions of peace and a glorious victory over fascism. We have left behind four years of war against Hitlerite Germany, which had ravaged our country and the whole of Europe, and also the war in the East against aggressive Japan, in which we had to join in the autumn of this year.
In an heroic struggle, in which the Soviet people played a part of decisive importance, peace has been won for the peoples of the entire world, and the main hotbeds of world fascism and world aggression, both in the West and in the East, have been crushed. Now we have the opportunity of returning to peaceful labor so as to consolidate our victory.
As Comrade Stalin said: "Our Soviet people have given unstintingly of their strength and their labor for the sake of victory. We have lived through hard years. But now each one of us can say: We have won. From now on we can consider our country saved from the threat of German invasion in the West and of Japanese invasion in the East. The long-awaited peace has come for the nations of the world."
The Germans invaded our country in the belief that the suddenness of their bandit attack would guarantee them success. Not in Germany alone, but also in other countries many people thought that the Soviet Union would not hold out for long, and that in a few weeks, or at any rate in a few months, Germany would smash the U.S.S.R. and Hitler would celebrate victory. After the comparatively easy successes of the Hitlerites in western Europe many believed this to be inevitable.
This conclusion was reached, in the first place, by those who in general did not recognize the "legitimate nature" of the October Revolution in Russia, and also by those who proved incapable of understanding the truly popular nature of the Soviet State created by our Revolution.
The German invasion of the Soviet Union was also a great test for our friends abroad, who with sinking hearts followed the exceptional hardships experienced by our country in the first phase of the war.
Despite the suddenness of the attack, the Soviet Union stayed on its feet. The material damage and deep wounds inflicted on it in the early part of the war failed to undermine its physical and spiritual strength.
The Red Army proved capable of reorganizing and recovering from the first blows. The Soviet people strained its forces and ensured a shattering rebuff to the enemy. Everyone remembers the time when our Army switched from the defensive to the offensive, at first on isolated sectors and then all along the front.
The interests of self-defense necessitated the formation of a united anti-Hitler front of democratic states, big and small. It is universally known that the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition effectively accomplished its historical task of organizing the joint struggle of the democratic countries against Hitlerism. It is also well known that the opening of the Second Front in Western Europe, when Germany was caught in a vise between two fronts, made the position of German fascism hopeless. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the radical turn in the situation on the Soviet-German front occurred fully one year before the opening of the Second Front, when the Hitlerite troops started rolling back in disgrace before the Red Army's powerful and ever-growing onslaught.
Thus the State created by the October Revolution succeeded not only in defending itself from fascist attack, but also in launching an offensive in order to put an end to the principal hotbed of fascism and aggression. It then became plain to everyone that the Soviet system bears no resemblance to the decrepit Tsarist power of the times of the First World War. Thus it became evident that the Soviet State could defend itself with credit, and withstand the gravest trials ever known in the country's history.
Hitlerite Germany threatened not only the Soviet State. Even before they attacked the U.S.S.R., the German-fascists seized Norway, Belgium, Holland, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Among their allies were not only fascist Italy, but a number of other European countries which had concluded military alliances with Germany. Spain and certain other countries rendered Hitler semi-open support. The menace of Hitlerite attack loomed over Britain. Had the drive into the Soviet Union ended in success, the whole of Europe could have fallen under Hitler's heel.
Already the Hitlerites were praising to the skies the "new order" they proposed to institute in Europe. Fascist underlings, like the Quislings and Lavals of all varieties, had already harnessed themselves to their German master's cart. Everywhere the domination of Hitlerism was established by destroying all democratic institutions and abolishing all the political rights of the working classes, while at the same time the Hitlerites plundered and squeezed the enslaved countries of all their material resources, the better to supply and arm their bandit fascist hordes.
Their initial successes, when they invaded the Soviet Union, turned the Hitlerites' heads more than ever. They started talking even more frankly not only of their domination of Europe, but of their claim to dominate the world. Their dangerous plans-adventurist plans to establish the domination of the German race over the other nations of Europe, and not of Europe alone-were revealed to the whole world. The German-fascist theory of the domination of a "master race" over other nations classed as "inferior races" became a direct menace to the existence of European civilization.
In the countries invaded by the Hitlerite bands the peoples proved poorly prepared to offer a rebuff to the fascist invaders. Only gradually, thanks to the efforts of the finest patriot-democrats, did the democratic forces of resistance to the invaders begin to take shape and grow.
But even in those countries where, as in Yugoslavia, the entire people supported the uprising against the invaders, forces were lacking to break the military might of Hitlerism. It was not until our Army swung into the offensive and started battering the German troops, having divested them of their halo of invincibility, that broad opportunities opened for the liberation of the peoples enslaved by German imperialism. Advancing to the West, the Red Army brought liberation to neighboring countries and other European nations. The Soviet Armies, together with the Allied Armies, now acted as the liberators of the European countries, including those countries which had broken their alliance with Germany and joined the ranks of the nations fighting for the destruction of Hitlerism.
Thus the liberation of the European countries from Hitlerite oppression will go down in the history of our victorious Red Army as a glorious page.
Fascist Italy was the first to come in on Germany's side when she had unleashed war in Europe. At the time of the attack on the U.S.S.R., the governments of Rumania, Hungary and Finland, having concluded military alliances with Hitlerite Germany, plunged their countries into war against the Soviet Union. Bulgaria, with a government which at that time consisted of Hitlerite agents, also became Germany's ally. Thus, with some exceptions, those European countries where fascist regimes prevailed bound their destinies with those of Hitlerite Germany in the Second World War.
Germany's defeat, therefore, meant not only defeat for German fascism, it also resulted in the defeat of fascism in other European countries Consequently, the significance of our victory should be appraised not only in the light of the defeat of German fascism, but also in the light of the military, moral and political defeat of fascism throughout Europe.
After the termination of the war in Europe, the Allied powers were faced with the task of crushing Japanese aggression in the East in order to speed up restoration of world peace. The Soviet Union could not hold itself aloof from this task, both because of mutual obligations existing between the U.S.S.R. and its Allies, and because of the imperative demands of the interests of our security in the East.
All of us remember that in the past Japan more than once attacked our country, and that our State constantly faced the threat of Japanese invasion in the East. All this rendered inevitable the Soviet Union's entry into the war against Japan.
It is not difficult to see that, since the time when German fascism started suffering defeat after defeat on the Soviet-German front, the outcome of Japanese aggression in the East was also predetermined. Having finally come out against Japan, the Soviet Union accelerated her defeat and so hastened the end of the war in the East. Following in the footsteps of Hitlerite Germany, Japan surrendered to the Allies.
Both German imperialism's plan to dominate Europe, and the claims of Japanese imperialism to dominate Asia have crumbled, although but recently both western and eastern fascists regarded those plans only as a stepping stone to world domination-showing by their own example how short-sighted and adventurous aggressive intentions of this kind are in our times.
The defeat of Japanese imperialism, the main hotbed of fascism and aggression in the East, and the liberation of China from the Japanese invaders are of enormous positive significance for the democratic development of the countries of Asia, and not of Asia alone. The interests of all the democratic countries demand that this victory be consolidated.
It is therefore natural that the Soviet Union should attach such great significance to negotiations between the Allies on the establishment of proper control by the principal Allied powers over the execution of the terms of Japan's surrender. Difficulties arising out of this problem have not as yet been eliminated. But the Soviet Union expresses confidence that all the peace-loving powers fully realize the necessity of consolidating victory over aggressive Japan, and of creating proper conditions for the cooperation of the Allied powers for this purpose
Both Germany and Japan were forced to surrender unconditionally to the Allies. Thus the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition attained its goal. The people of our country realize with satisfaction that the Soviet Union has played a decisive part in bringing the Second World War to a victorious end in the interests of the democratic countries, and especially in crushing the most dangerous hotbed of fascism and aggression-Hitlerite Germany.
The Soviet people gave the name of Great Patriotic War to their war against Hitlerite Germany. Their example became a model for patriots in other lands in their fight for their countries' freedom and independence. It is also well known that the Soviet people not only liberated our own country, but also fought heroically for the re-establishment of peace and freedom throughout Europe.
One year ago Comrade Stalin said: "It is now universally acknowledged that by their selfless struggle the Soviet people have saved the civilization of Europe from the fascist vandals. That is the great service rendered by the Soviet people to the history of mankind."
The Second World War differed from the First World War in many respects, and in the first place in the scale on which the nations participated, and in the number of victims and the material damage caused by the war. Four-fifths of the population of the globe participated, in varying degrees, in this last world war. More than 110,000,000 persons were mobilized in both belligerent camps. It is practically impossible to name any country which was neutral in those years.
For allowing the Second World War to break out, that is, for failing to take timely measures against the aggressive forces of fascism, which unleashed this war of unparalleled scale, humanity paid an incalculable price in human lives and in the devastation of many states. War was imposed on our people, whose answer to invasion was the proclamation of a Great Patriotic War.
Hitlerite Germany attacked the Soviet Union not only with the aim of seizing our territory and destroying the Soviet State. Hitlerism proclaimed that its aim was the extermination of the Russian people and the Slavs in general. Until the time when the Russian people, as also the other peoples of the Soviet Union, completely re-formed their ranks in conformity with Stalin's call, "Everything for the front," and when they finally broke the backbone of the German Army, the brutal Hitlerites did not stop at anything in pursuit of their man-hating purposes in the territories they seized. To forget this would be a crime against the memory of millions of absolutely guiltless people who have perished, against their orphaned families, against the entire nation. Nor can we forget the enormous material damage inflicted on us by the German invaders and their allies in the many long months of their brigandage on Soviet territory.
The chief war criminals, before all else, must be made to answer for this. The German-fascist invaders completely or partially demolished and burnt down 1,710 towns and more than 70,000 villages; burnt down or demolished over 6,000,000 buildings, and left nearly 25,000,000 people homeless. Among the demolished and most heavily damaged cities are the biggest industrial and cultural centers of our country, such as Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Odessa, Smolensk, Kharkov, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don and many more.
The Hitlerites demolished or damaged 31,850 industrial enterprises employing nearly 4,000,000 workers and office employees. They ruined and ransacked 98,000 collective farms, including most of the collective farms of the Ukraine and Byelorussia. They slaughtered or seized and carried away to Germany 7,000,000 horses, 17,000,000 head of cattle, and tens of millions of pigs and sheep.
The direct loss alone inflicted on our national economy and our citizens has been estimated by the Extraordinary State Committee at 679,000 million rubles at government prices. We cannot forget all this, and we must demand of the countries which unleashed the war that they at least partially indemnify the damage they caused. The justice of this desire of the Soviet people is undeniable. Nor should it be overlooked that the decisions of the Berlin Three Power Conference on reparations by Germany have not yet made satisfactory headway.
None of us, however, advocates a policy of revenge toward vanquished peoples. Comrade Stalin has pointed out more than once that the desire for revenge, like the desire for retribution for grievances, is a poor counsellor in politics and in relations among peoples.
We should not be guided by desires for revenge, where the vanquished peoples are concerned, but should strive to hinder the outbreak of fresh aggression, and to place any new aggressor in a position of utmost isolation among the nations. It is not past wrongs that should guide our actions, but the interests of the maintenance of the peace and security of the nations in the postwar period.
Indisputably, for the sake of ensuring a stable peace the peace-loving nations must possess the necessary armed force. This refers, at any rate, to the countries which bear the main responsibility for ensuring peace. But the interests of safeguarding peace have nothing in common with the policy of an armaments race among the Great Powers, which is preached abroad by certain especially zealous partisans of imperialist policies.
In this connection one should mention the discovery of atomic energy and the Atomic Bomb, whose application in the war with Japan demonstrated its enormous destructive power. However, atomic energy has not as yet been tested for the purpose of preventing aggression or safeguarding peace.
On the other hand, there can at present be no such technical secrets of great importance as could remain the possession of any single country or any narrow group of countries. Therefore the discovery of atomic energy should encourage neither fancies concerning the utilization of this discovery in the international play of forces, nor a carefree attitude toward the future of the peace-loving nations.
There is also quite a lot of noise going on in connection with the creation of blocs and groups of states as a means of safeguarding certain interests in foreign relations. The Soviet Union has never belonged to groupings of powers aimed against other peace-loving countries. In the West, however, attempts of this kind were made repeatedly, as is well known.
The anti-Soviet nature of a number of such groups in the past is also well known. In any case, the history of blocs and groupings of Western powers proves that they served not so much to curb aggressors, but rather on the contrary, to encourage aggression, and aggression by Germany in the first place.
That is why the Soviet Union and other peace-loving states should not relax their vigilance in this respect. The re-establishment of peace throughout the world has by no means resulted, and could not result, in the re-establishment of the prewar situation in relations among countries. For some time to come Germany, Italy and Japan have dropped out of the list of great powers which set the tune in international life as a whole. This is as it should be for the period during which the Allies exercise united control over them-control aimed at preventing the revival of aggressiveness in these countries, but which does not hinder their development and progress as democratic, peace-loving states.
Of considerable significance for the future of Europe is also the fact that a number of fascist and semi-fascist states have taken the democratic road, and are now striving to establish friendly relations with the Allied states. It seems evident that the consolidation of democratic principles in those states should be supported, not obstructed.
One cannot fail to notice that in the camp of the Allied countries, too, the war has brought about no insignificant changes. There, as a rule, the reactionary forces have been to a considerable extent dislodged from their former positions, clearing the road for democratic parties, old and new.
In a number of European countries radical social reforms have been carried out, such as the abolition of the antiquated system of big landed estates, and the transfer of the land to the poor peasants, which undermines the former mainstay of the reactionary fascist forces and stimulates the growth of the democratic and socialist movement in those countries.
Some states now place on the order of the day such important economic reforms as the nationalization of big industry, the eight-hour working day, and so on, which lends a new spirit and confidence to the growing ranks of the democratic movements in Europe and outside of Europe. Some reactionary press organs try to ascribe these bold democratic reforms mainly to the increased influence of the Soviet Union. The hollowness of such contentions is obvious, as it is common knowledge that problems of this kind have been successfully solved in the progressive European countries before now.
This does not mean that the forces of fascism have been finally crushed, and need not be reckoned with any longer. All of you have read the Crimean declaration of the Three Powers on liberated Europe, saying: "The establishment of order in Europe and the rebuilding of national economic life must be achieved by processes which will enable the liberated peoples to destroy the last vestiges of nazism and fascism, and to create democratic institutions of their own choice."
Much still remains to be done to ensure the proper execution of the Crimean declaration. There is no doubt, however, that with all its negative consequences, the war against fascism, having ended in victory, has helped in many respects to clear the political atmosphere of Europe, and opened new roads for the regeneration and development of the anti-fascist forces as never before.
This situation undoubtedly meets the interests of the peace-loving states, and one should wish that realization of the necessity of "destroying the last vestiges of Nazism and Fascism" may take even firmer root among the European peoples.
The Soviet Union has always been true to the policy of strengthening normal relations between all peace-loving states. In the years of war the Soviet Union established friendly relations with Great Britain and the United States, with France and China, with Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and now has long-term treaties with nearly all these countries of alliance and mutual assistance against any possible new aggression by the states which were the main aggressors in this last world war.
On our part, everything possible is being done to establish normal and good relations also with those other countries which discarded their policy of hostility and mistrust of the Soviet Union. The same purpose is also served by the development of trade and economic relations between our country and an ever-growing circle of foreign states. With them cultural relations, too, are being strengthened.
The Anglo-Soviet-American anti-Hitler coalition, formed during the war, is now undergoing a test of its strength. Will this coalition prove as strong and capable of joint decisions under new conditions, when more and more new problems of the post-war period are arising? The failure of the London Conference of Five Ministers was a certain warning in this respect.
But the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition encountered difficulties during the war, as well. However, the coalition of three Powers proved able to find, though not always at once, the correct solution of the immediate problem in the interests of the entire anti-Hitler coalition of large and small states-a solution that also took into account the need for further strengthening the cooperation of the great democratic powers.
This year a new international organization, the "United Nations," has at last been founded. It has been set up on the initiative of the Anglo-Soviet-American coalition, which thereby assumes chief responsibility for the results of its future work.
It is clear to us that the "United Nations" organization should not resemble the League of Nations, which proved absolutely impotent in the matter of resistance to aggression and the organization of the forces of resistance to aggression once begun.
On the other hand, the new organization should not become the tool of any great power, since for any single power to claim a leading role in general world affairs is just as inconsistent as for it to claim world domination. Only the joint efforts of those powers which bore the burden of the war, and ensured the victory of the democratic countries over fascism-only such cooperation can make for the success of the work of the new international organization for lasting peace.
For this, it is not enough to express good intentions. What has to be proved is one's ability to cooperate in this fashion, in the interests of all peace-loving states.
The Soviet Union has been and will be a bulwark protecting the peace and security of the nations, and is ready to prove it by deeds, not words.
The glorious victories of our army will go down in the history of our country, and in world history, linked with the name of Generalissimo Stalin. Guided by Stalin, that great leader and organizer, we have now proceeded to peaceful construction, in order to attain the true blossoming of the forces of socialist society, and to justify the best hopes of our friends the world over.
The four years of war with Germany was a test for all the forces of the Soviet State. The Soviet Union passed this test with flying colors. The words of great, immortal Lenin again came true: "Never will that people be vanquished whose workers and peasants, in their majority, have realized, felt, and seen that they are defending their own Soviet power-the power of the working people; that they are defending a cause whose victory will secure for them and their children the possibility of enjoying all the blessings of culture; all the creations of human labor."
The Red Army emerged from the war covered with the glory of the victor. It has matured as an armed force, and grown even stronger in its Soviet fighting spirit.
Millions of people, so badly needed by the collective farms, mills and factories, and by our entire country, which has now addressed itself to the great task of securing a new upsurge of socialist construction, are now returning home to peaceful labor.
The Soviet people is now united around its Party as never before, and advances in organized ranks under the leadership of the Party of Lenin and Stalin. It was our great good fortune that in the hard years of war the Red Army and the Soviet people were led forward by the wise and tried leader of the Soviet Union-great Stalin.
Everyone knows how greatly the international prestige of the U.S.S.R. has grown. This became possible because of the military, economic and political achievements of our country. One year ago Comrade Stalin expressed this in the following words: "Just as the Red Army achieved military victory over the fascist forces in its long and arduous single-handed struggle, so the workers in the Soviet rear won economic victory over the enemy in their lone fight against Hitler Germany and her associates."
Comrade Stalin also said: "It is not only military defeat that the Hitlerites have suffered in this war, but moral and political defeat as well. The war has demonstrated to everyone how greatly our country has grown and strengthened in a military-economic respect. The war has also shown to no less an extent how greatly the Soviet Union's moral and political prestige has increased in the eyes of other peoples. We experienced exceptional economic hardships in the early years of the war; nevertheless our country proved capable of supplying our heroic army with everything it needed, including first-rate armaments superior in quality to the enemy's weapons."
Enduring the privations and hardships of wartime, the Soviet people worked without folding their hands, and we must pay tribute to our workers in the rear, especially to the selfless Soviet women and young people, so boundlessly loyal to their Motherland. It was this which permitted us to maintain the living standard of our people in the difficult time of war.
Millions of sons of the working class were mobilized and fought at the front. Yet the mills and factories continued working, owing to the influx of new cadres, especially from among the women and youth. Quite a few new factories, power stations, mines and railways were built during the war, mostly in the eastern districts of the country. Socialist emulation and new methods of raising labor productivity were invariably the main concern of the advanced workers and of the entire working class.
The trade unions and other workers' organizations carried on intensive organizational and educational work among the working masses. The workers, men and women alike, worked harder than before the war. Many difficulties were overcome as a result.
The collective farm peasantry demonstrated in war time its political consciousness and organization in agriculture, developed by the collective farm system. The peasants, men and women, have now perfectly realized the importance of socialist emulation on collective farms, and have done much to make up for the enormous damage inflicted on agriculture by the German invaders' temporary seizure of part of our country's territory.
All this enabled us to carry on through the war years with reliable grain stocks, and to supply the essential industrial enterprises with agricultural raw materials. It was not easy to cope with this task, especially if we recall that our Red Army consists chiefly of collective farmers.
Another factor which enabled us to cope with our war time tasks at the front and in the rear was that the Soviet intelligentsia did their duty to their Motherland. The war showed clearly what our intelligentsia has become under the Soviet system. One hears no more talk of the "old" and "new" intelligentsia. Life itself has eliminated this problem. The overwhelming majority of the intelligentsia honestly and effectively discharges its noble duty in organizing economic life, in training new cadres of specialists, in safeguarding the public health, and in raising the cultural level of the population. Today we may say with satisfaction that the Soviet intelligentsia are worthy of their people, and loyally serve their country.
The friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union has grown stronger during the war. Our multi-national state, with its different languages and varying modes of life, its varying culture and history, became even more united, and the Soviet peoples grew ever closer to each other.
No other multi-national state could have withstood the trials through which we passed during the war. Only our state, in which there is no place for the exploitation of man by man, in which there are no antagonistic classes, but instead workers, peasants and intellectuals, all equal citizens, administering both local affairs and the affairs of state-only such a state, and not the old Russia of nobles and merchants, could have withstood the German invasion in the hard years of 1941-42, smashed the reckless enemy with its own forces, thrown him out of its territory, and moreover rendered powerful assistance to other nations in their liberation from foreign enslavers.
Today in our country there are no oppressed or unequal peoples like those which only recently, under the Tsarist regime, were of colonial or semi-colonial status. In the Soviet State the rights of every people to independence and free national development are recognized. All peoples are reared in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect. They are also reared to recognize the services of each people, in accordance with its efforts to develop its own national culture and to advance still further the Soviet State as a whole.
The activity of our countless trade union, industrial, cultural, sports and other workers' organizations, the creation of collective farms uniting many millions of Soviet peasants all over the vast territory of the Soviet Union, the steady growth of socialist emulation at mills and factories, on collective and state farms, in mines and on railways-all these manifestations of the flourishing of a real democracy of the people, such as we did not know in the old days, and which cannot exist in any other state, divided into classes of oppressors and oppressed, a thing which in our country was done away with long ago by Soviet power.
The rapid progress of cultural life in our country, and the fact that our intelligentsia, the advanced and most cultured section of the people, have now merged with their people, so raising the moral and political unity of Soviet society to an even higher level-in all this one cannot fail to perceive a new advance of Soviet democracy, which inspires us with new hopes and confidence for our country's future.
The fact that the Soviets have ensured to all the peoples the steady progress of their national cultures, active care in fostering national talents, and growing friendship and fraternal mutual assistance among equal Soviet peoples, which was lacking in the old Russia, and which does not exist as yet in other countries, under either monarchist or republic regimes-all this bears witness to the all-conquering force of Soviet democracy, to its great significance for the truly progressive development of the peoples.
The mobilizing force of Soviet democracy and Soviet patriotism as a source of inspiration for heroic exploits was revealed with particular force during the war. The Soviet people are happy because, thanks to the October Revolution which saved our country from being reduced to the status of a second-rate state, the forces of the people, fettered by the regime of the nobility, bourgeoisie and big landowners, were set free and given unheard-of opportunities for development on the basis of the Soviet system. That is why our victory over fascism was also a great victory of Soviet democracy.
In the course of the war, the Soviet people had to step far beyond the borders of their country. The strong resistance of fascism compelled our troops to enter a number of foreign states, to learn more about life in their towns and villages, and to enter western capitals such as Vienna, Budapest and Berlin.
In all those states, including those which yesterday sided with fascism, the Soviet people easily found a common language with the working classes and democratic circles. Naturally, one could not expect that they would regard as their friends the enemies of yesterday, belonging to the camp of the servants of fascism and the upper circles of society which had been kept in their position by fascist regimes.
Acquaintance with the life of other nations will certainly be of benefit to our people, and will broaden their outlook. It is interesting, however, that the Soviet people return home with an even more ardent feeling of loyalty to their Motherland and the Soviet system.
The strength of the Soviet Government is its closeness to the people. Unlike parliamentary democracy, Soviet democracy is of a truly popular nature. Therefore the Soviet State, as a state of a new type, has tasks which are not inherent in states of the old type. Thus the duties of the Soviet State include the political education of the people in the spirit of safeguarding the interests of world peace, of establishing friendship and cooperation between peoples-which far from excluding, on the contrary calls for the exposure of all attempts to prepare new aggression and to regenerate fascism. This necessity should not be forgotten in the post-war years.
Under the Soviet Constitution it is a crime to preach hatred between races and nations, anti-Semitism, and so on-just as it is not permitted in our press to exalt crime, robbery and violence against man. Such "restrictions" are as natural, under Soviet democracy, as the very opposite is natural, unfortunately, in some other countries. In some countries freedom of speech and of the press is still interpreted in such a way that the mercenaries of fascism do not have to don masks in order to carry on unbridled propaganda in the interests of aggression and fascism, even though the peoples in all quarters of the globe have already paid an enormous price in blood and hardship for the orgy of the world aggression and fascism which they earlier allowed.
It is not every state that has enough strength to undertake the task of educating the people politically. When the fascist states tackled it, the only result was that they trampled on the spiritual life, culture and rights of the people.
The advantage of Soviet democracy were proved by the Soviet Union during the war with particular vividness. The U.S.S.R. passed through the fire of the war ordeal, and grew even stronger, as a genuine state of the people. As is generally known, in our country the Bolshevik Party bears a special responsibility for the political education of the people. It is in the first place to our great Party that we owe our achievements in this respect. That is why the Soviet people's words of gratitude and love for the leader of the Bolshevik Party-"Our teacher, our father and leader, Comrade Stalin"-are so full of meaning.
We are nearing the new elections to the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. These general elections take place after ail the trials experienced by the Soviet State in the Great Patriotic War. Our people will bring to the polls the wealth of political experience they have gained in those years, after pondering deeply the destinies of their country, and developments in Europe and the whole world. The Bolshevik Party, together with wide circles of active Soviet nonparty citizens, is preparing for these elections, which it regards as a most important manifestation of Soviet democracy, and one more powerful means of rallying our people and further strengthening the Soviet State.
Our country has switched over to peaceful construction. Great new tasks are facing all the people. Naturally, we shall devote the necessary attention also to the new territories which have become part of the U.S.S.R. As is well known, the enemy who invaded our country prevented us from giving due attention to the organization of the Western Ukraine and Western Byelorussia, which before the war had formed part of the Soviet Union for only a short.
Now, by treaty with Poland, the new Soviet-Polish frontier has been established. As a result, all territories inhabited by Byelorussians have been finally reunited in one Soviet Byelorussia, which can advance with confidence along the road of free national development.
By virtue of the treaty with Czechoslovakia, as is known, the Transcarpathian Ukraine has also at last become part of our state, and now the Soviet Ukraine unites all the Ukrainian lands-an age-old dream of our Ukrainian brothers
By treaty with Rumania, Soviet Moldavia now embraces all the territories inhabited by Moldavians, which affords them extensive opportunities for further national development.
The western frontier of our country has likewise been extended by the inclusion of the Koenigsberg region in the Soviet Union, which gives us a good ice-free port on the Baltic Sea. In the Baltic area Soviet Lithuania, Soviet Latvia and Soviet Esthonia have been re-established.
Such are the contours of our present western frontier, which is of the greatest importance from the point of view of safeguarding the security of the Soviet Union.
In the northwest we have restored our frontier with Finland in conformity with the Soviet-Finnish Peace Treaty of 1940. Furthermore, the Pechenga (Petsamo) Territory, in the north, has been restored to the Soviet Union.
Lastly, as regards the Far East. Here the Soviet Union takes over South Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands, which is important for the security of the U.S.S.R. in the East.
It remains to mention the restoration of the rights of our state to the railway in Manchuria, and to the Port Arthur and Daloy areas in the southern part of Manchuria.
All these areas, and also the area of our Porkkala-Udd naval base on Finnish territory, must receive proper attention from us, and in so far as they are new Soviet territories, will require the special attention of our state.
We must cope as soon as we can with our urgent tasks in Soviet territories which were temporarily occupied by the enemy armies. The Germans left behind them many ruined cities, thousands of ruined and plundered villages. Restoration began everywhere in these parts immediately the invader was driven out, but as yet only a small part of the work has been done.
The Soviet people, all the Soviet Republics, should bend their efforts to secure the early and complete economic and cultural rehabilitation of these districts.
The restoration of factories and mills, collective farms, machine-tractor stations and state farms, of schools and hospitals and dwellings-to give every urban and rural resident a home of his own for himself and his family-these are our urgent tasks.
Soviet institutions and trade unions, Party and Young Communist League organizations, also the collective farms and their organizations in the countryside should regard it as their chief duty to care for the men who did the fighting, and are now returning home from the army-to care, also, for the invalids, and for the orphaned families of Red Army soldiers. We must do everything in our power to cope effectively with this responsible task, and to heal the wounds of war at the earliest date. That is another urgent duty.
Right now, we must tackle the fundamental task of developing the national economy so that within a few years we may considerably surpass our pre-war standard of economic development, and ensure a considerable improvement in the living standard of the entire population.
That is the meaning of the recently published decision of the Party and the Government, on the drafting of a Five Year Plan for the rehabilitation and development of the national economy of the U.S.S.R., in the years 1946-50, and of the similar plan for the rehabilitation and development of railway transport.
Our people well know the power of the Stalin Five Year Plans which built up the might of our state, and ensured our victory. We need a new advance in heavy industry, in order to provide the country with more metal, coal, oil locomotives, rolling-stock, tractors, agricultural machines and automobiles, vessels of various kinds, power stations and many other things.
The people of the towns and villages expect a considerable increase in the output of consumer goods, also an improved food supply. The task of satisfying the needs of the collective farms, and the requirements of agriculture has become more urgent than ever. Our cultural requirements have grown and become more varied. Again, not for a moment can we forget our great duty to provide properly for the needs of the country's defense, the needs of the Red Army, the needs of the Navy.
We have no unemployment; and shall not have any. In our country everyone has work, for ours is a state of the working people. We must give more thought to the better organization of labor in industry, in agriculture, in transport and in all our institutions, so that the labor productivity of the Soviet citizen, and the quality of his work, may yield the best results.
In our day of advanced technology and the extensive application of science in industry, when it has even become possible to utilize atomic energy and other great technical discoveries, the utmost attention should be paid, in economic plans, to problems of technology, of raising the technological level of our industry, and of training highly skilled technical cadres.
We must keep abreast of the achievements of modern world technology in every branch of industry and the national economy, and secure conditions for an all-round advancement of Soviet science and technology.
The enemy interfered with our peaceful constructive work. But we shall catch up with everything as it should be, and will attain prosperity for our country. We shall have atomic energy too, and many other things.
So let us tackle these tasks with all our inexhaustible Bolshevik energy, with the mighty energy of Soviet people. Let us work as Comrade Stalin teaches us!
Lastly, about our tasks in foreign policy. The Soviet Union has always given first place to promoting peace and cooperation with other countries for the sake of universal peace and the development of international business relations.
While we are living in a "system of states," and while the roots of fascism and imperialist aggression have not been finally extirpated, our vigilance in regard to possible new violators of peace should not slacken, and concern for the strengthening of cooperation between the peace-loving powers will continue to be our most important duty.
We have no more important task than that of consolidating our victory, which we won in staunch struggle, and which has opened the road to a new great advance for our country and for further raising of living standards of our people. Never before have we faced prospects of socialist construction on so vast a scale, or such opportunities for the growth of the strength of the Soviet Union. Our people are full of faith in their great cause, the cause of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Long live the Soviet people, the victor people, and their Red Army and Navy!
Long live and prosper our great Motherland, the Motherland of the October Revolution!
Long live the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics!
Long live the Party of Lenin and Stalin-inspirer and organizer of our victories!
Long live the leader of the Soviet people-great Stalin! | <urn:uuid:596fc9cc-a2f5-4b11-9aaf-230ed9ec14df> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/post-war/1945-11-06a.html | 2016-07-29T06:21:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00156-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966972 | 8,714 |
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Introduction Health examination is not complete without the oral health assessment. Regular assessment of dental diseases have been seen to be important as they keep on varying in occurrence and severity. This has to be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively and the measure of these parameters are recorded by an µIndex¶ (plural ± Indices). It is a very important tool in the branch of dental public health and in the study of epidemiology.
Definitions An µIndex¶ has been defined by µRussell¶ as ³A numerical value describing the relative status of a population on a graduated scale with definite upper and lower limits, which is designed to permit and facilitate comparison with other populations classified by the same criteria and methods.´
³Periodontal disease´ means disease involving either or all of the attachment apparatus of a tooth. Many researchers place gingival diseases also under the heading of Periodontal diseases while others differentiate the two.
Periodontitis is a bacterially induced inflammation of the gingival tissues together with loss of both the attachment of the periodontal ligament and bony support.
Periodontal Index (PI) This Index was developed by Russell A.L. (1956).
It took him ten years to develop this index because of a lack of sophisticated methodologies to assess the prevalence and severity of gingivitis and destructive periodontal disease. In earlier times, clinical appearance of the tissues of the anterior teeth was taken as the only basis for segregating individuals for epidemiologic studies of gingival and periodontal disease in large populations. These observations permitted evaluation of only relative proportions of affected and unaffected individuals in the populations under consideration. So, according to WHO the PI has made great strides to the epidemiology of periodontal disease due to its definition that very quickly achieved wide international acceptance. (WHO, 1999)
However nowadays this index in not used much in epidemiologic surveys because of the introduction of new periodontal indices and refinement of criteria amid increasing periodontal research.
The PI was intended to estimate deeper periodontal disease by measuring the presence or absence of gingival inflammation and its severity, pocket formation, and masticatory function. The scale of value for the PI ranges from 0 ± 8 with increasing prevalence and severity of disease. The PI is a composite index because it records both the reversible changes due to gingivitis and the more destructive and presumably irreversible changes brought by deeper periodontal disease. Because of this, it is an epidemiological index with a true biological gradient.
Method All the teeth present are examined. Gingival tissue is assessed for gingival inflammation and periodontal involvement.
Instruments used Mouth mirror and explorer are supplemented occasionally by straight jaquette scaler or the chip blower for demonstration of a periodontal pocket. Periodontal probing was not recommended because, according to Russell, it added little and proved to be a troublesome focus of examiner disagreement.
Scoring Criteria Russell chose the scoring values (0,1,2,4,6,8) in order to relate the stages of the disease in an epidemiological survey to the clinical conditions observed.
Russell¶s rule According to Russell¶s rule ³When in doubt assign the lower score´.
Calculation of the index The PI score per individual is obtained by adding all of the individual scores and i.e. PI score per person = Sum of individual scores/number of teeth. dividing by the number of teeth present or examined.
PI score per group = Sum of scores of all individuals/number of individuals
Scoring Relation to clinical severity (1959) .
a plane mouth mirror and an explorer.8 to 8.7 to 1.6 to 5.Use of the PI requires a minimum of equipment: a light source.0 Full mouth extractions Uses of PI 1. It is also important because a number of epidemiological surveys have been conducted world over using this index.2 0.The PI is fast and easy to use.Clinical conditions Clinically normal supportive tissues Simple gingivitis PI scores Treatment 0 to 0.Used in epidemiological surveys. 2.9 Oral prophyllaxis Beginning of destructive periodontal disease 0.PI serves well for making an overall assessment of the periodontal status of a population. . 5. 3.9 Minimal periodontal treatment Established destructive periodontal disease 1. 4.3 to 0.Used in the national Health Survey (NHS).More data can be assembled using PI than most other indices of periodontal disease. 6. the largest ongoing health survey in the United States.0 Ellaborate treatment periodontal Terminal disease 3.
Modern understanding has shown the PI to be invalid because it does not include evaluation of Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL). The PDI is a clinician¶s modification of Russell¶s Periodontal Index. Ramfjord developed his own system for measuring periodontal disease. This system became known as the Periodontal Disease Index (PDI). The Periodontal Disease Index (PDI) was developed by Siguard P. grades all pockets of 3 mm or more equally and scores gingivitis and Periodontitis on the same weighted scale.Drawbacks of PI 1. Periodontal Disease Index As a consultant to the World Health Organization for a 1957 study of periodontal disease in India. . 4.The number of periodontal pockets without obvious supragingival calculus is also underestimated in the periodontal index. 2. Taking the most valuable features of existing indices and adding new features to compensate for their shortcomings. Ramfjord in 1959. Ramfjord was faced with the inadequacies of the available indices for measuring periodontal disease. 3. the results tend to underestimate the true level of periodontal disease.It doesn¶t indicate the degree of periodontal tissue destruction. especially early bone loss in a population.Since no caliberated probe or essentially radiographs are used when performing the PI examination.
To provide measurable reference data for assessment of correlations with factors of potential significance in the etiology of periodontal disease. Calculus component 3. 4. The PDI has been framed to be accurate for use in longitudinal studies. 3. The most important feature of PDI is measurement of the level of the periodontal attachment related to the CEJ of the teeth. 2. namely: 1. To assess prevalence and severity of gingivitis and Periodontitis within the individual dentitions and in population groups. the PDI was developed due to a lack of methodologies to determine prevalence and severity and with the intent to be a more sensitive version of the PI for use in clinical trials. Components of Periodontal Disease Index The PDI comprises of three components. 5.Gingival and Periodontal component Scoring methods .As in the case of the PI. To provide accurate recordings for clinical trials of preventive and therapeutic procedures in periodontics. Plaque component 2. The PDI is primarily concerned with an accurate assessment of the periodontal status of the individual person. Objectives 1. To provide an accurate basis for longitudinal studies of periodontal disease. To provide a meaningful basis for estimate of need for periodontal therapy in selected population groups.
36. Evidence of ulceration of the gingiva with bleeding is considered. The gingival status is scored first. 44). lingual and interproximal surfaces with each other. 24. Presence or absence of stippling is not considered as related to gingival inflammation. Changes in colour are evaluated by observing the colour of the gingivae around the tooth to be scored and comparing the colour corresponding to the buccal. Any minor change either in contour.Only six selected teeth are scored for assessment of the periodontal status of the mouth. The gingivae around the teeth to be scored are first dried superficially by gently touching with absorbing cotton. one may concern all of the teeth in the mouth. 21. for short term clinical trials and where a limited number of patients are available. However slight contour change alone is never scored as gingivitis. Change in consistency is checked by applying gentle pressure with the side of periodontal probe against the gingiva to determine if there is a soft or spongy consistency. as well as comparing it with the colour of the gingiva around the adjacent teeth. Change in form is initially a blunting or rounding of the margin of the gingivae and thickening of papillae. if the . stippling or consistency alone is not considered to be a definite manifestation of gingivitis. The six selected index teeth are (according to FDI notation 16. however. These are known as Ramfjord¶s teeth. 41.
a ³University of Michigan´ number O probe is used. After the distance from the free gingival margin to the CEJ has been measured. The following criteria is used for crevicular measurements:- . The next step is recording of crevice depth related to the CEJ. The University of Michigan number O probe is graduated at 3.gingiva is touched gently with the side of a periodontal probe. of if there is severe redness and marked change in contour. This can be achieved only if there has been loss of periodontal attachment. The end of the probe should be placed against the enamel surface coronally to the margin of the gingiva so that the angle formed by the working end of the probe and long axis of the crown of the tooth is approximately 45°. an attempt should be made to move the probe along the cemental surface. Later on it was simplified by taking the score at the mesial surface of the tooth as representative of all surfaces. The probe should always be pointed towards the apex of the tooth or the central axis of multirooted teeth. The mesial measurement should be made at the buccal aspect of the interproximal contact area with the probe touching both teeth if there is a neighbour tooth present and the probe pointing in the direction of the long axis of the tooth to be scored. making it necessary to estimate intervening measurements. The buccal measurements should be made at the middle of the buccal surfaces. 6 and 8 mm. For this purpose. Minimal force should be used to pass the probe in apical direction maintaining contact with the tooth.
If the gingival margin is on cementum.1. The distance from the CEJ to the bottom of the pocket can then be found by subtracting the first from the second measurement. record the distance from the CEJ to the gingival margin as a minus value (a) then record the distance from the CEJ to the bottom of the gingival crevice as a positive value (b). Ramfjord¶s method for measuring this distance is often referred to as the ³Indirect method for measuring periodontal attachment loss´ Scoring Score Criteria 0 1 2 3 Absence of inflammation Mild to moderate gingival changes not extending all around the tooth Mild to moderate gingival changes extending all around the tooth Severe gingivitis Calculation of the PDI score The PDI score can be calculated for an individual and a group For Individual = Total of individual tooth scores/ Number of teeth examined For group = Total individual PDI score/ Number of people examined . Both loss of attachment and actual crevice depth can easily be assessed from these scores. If the gingival margin is on enamel. measure from gum margin to CEJ and record the measurement. Then record the distance from the gingival margin to the bottom of the pocket. 2.
Epidemiologic surveys 2. Shannon I L. If any of the six index teeth is missing. This index is also known as ³Periodontal Screening Examination´ The GPI is a modification of the PDI of the Ramfjord for the purpose of screening individuals to determine who needs periodontal treatment. calculus and . The GPI assesses three components of periodontal disease: gingival status. and collectively material alba. hence leading to inter examiner bias. NHANES) Gingival Periodontal Index Developed by O¶Leary T J. Hence in between scores need to be estimated. Gibson W A. Uses: 1. It is more time consuming as compared to Russell¶s Index. Schuessler C F and Nabers C L. two aspects of the index are often used: Selection of the six Ramfjord teeth and the method for measuring pocket depth and loss of periodontal attachment. Although the PDI is rarely used nowadays. 2.g.Either of the PDI score ranges from 0 ± 6. another tooth is not substituted in its place. periodontal status (crevice depth). 6. Values marked on probe are 3. Ramfjord¶s technique for measuring pocket depth and periodontal attachment loss has been used in national surveys (e.Longitudinal studies in periodontal diseases Drawbacks: 1. in 1963. 8 mm.
Method: Scoring is done on all teeth present. The assessment is done segment wise. 38 to 34. 13 to 23.overhanging restoration. Segmentation of the mouth The Dentition is divided into six segments: (According to FDI notation) 18 to 14. Gingival status The specific criteria for the gingival status component of the GPI are as follows: . 33 to 43. 24 to 28. Eachsegment is assessed for each of the three components of periodontal disease. 44 to 48. The latter triad is independently called as the ³Irritation index´. The primary objective in using the index is to determine the tooth or its surrounding tissues. with the severest condition within each segment.
Compiling the Gingival Periodontal Index The highest score (either gingival or periodontal) found for each dentulous segment is recorded and the sum is divided by the number of segments to give the GPI score for the individual. Uses 1.To monitor patient progress 2.For epidemiologic surveys .The highest score found on any tooth in a segment is recorded as the periodontal score for the segment.
Gingival Bone (GB) Count Index The GB count index was given by Dunning J M and Leach L B (1960) This index records the gingival condition and the level of the crest of the alveolar bone. Scoring . and proportionate measurement of bone loss is made on a 0 to 5 scale. Subjective measurement of gingivitis is made on an arbitrary scale of 0 to 3 for each tooth. This index permits differential recording of both gingival and bone conditions. The bone level is assessed by clinical examination but radiographs are recommended for greater accuracy.
The criteria used for scoring bone loss is as follows: Score Criteria 0 Normal Lack of continuity of cortical plate at the crest of interdental bone. Time consuming .One score is assigned to each tooth studied. Up to 1/3rd of supporting bone lost 4 5 6 More than 1/3rd and up to 2/3rd of supporting bone lost 7 More than 2/3rd of supporting bone lost Disadvantages The index in its present form does not distinguish between slight involvement of many teeth and extensive involvement of a few teeth. with possible widening of Periodontal Ligament. Shetham A and Striffler D F developed an index similar to the Bone count component index in 1970. and a mean is computed for the whole mouth.
stage of advancement) of loss of Periodontal attachment (LPA) by determining the percentage of sites within the mouth with LPA greater than 1 millimeter (i. The ESI utilizes the Ramfjord¶s method to measure loss of periodontal attachment.e. . number of sites affected within the mouth) and severity (i.Extent and Severity Index (ESI) This index was developed by J P Carlos. the ESI has demonstrated relatively the same level of reliability in partial mouth examinations versus full mouth examinations.e. extent) and the mean LPA for affected sites (i. The ESI was developed because of a lack of satisfaction with the previous indices of periodontal disease and because of the emergence of a newer conceptual model of periodontal disease by ³Socransky and associates´ The PI was based on a model in which periodontal disease was a slowly progressing. severity). Furthermore. The ESI is considered to be a simple and reproducible procedure requiring minimal examiner training.e. It dealt with gingivitis as part of the biologic gradient that extended from health to advanced periodontal disease. In the newer model. It can be used in a variety of survey types such as cross sectional surveys and longitudinal studies.e. continuous disease process. periodontal disease is a chronic process. M D Wolfe and A Kingman (1986) to assess the extent (i. with intermittent periods of activity and remission that affects individual teeth and sites around teeth at different rates within the same mouth. Some consider the ESI not to be a true index since it summarizes data and is descriptive rather than analytical.
with an average severity of 1. for interpretation. Afterwards. a tooth site is considered diseased only when loss of attachment exceeds 1 mm.Procedure To obtain the ESI.g. an ESI of (60.0) suggests a generalized but mild form of periodontal disease whereas an ESI of (20. 27% of sites examined showed evidence of disease. mid-buccal and the mesio-buccal aspects of each tooth using the Ramfjord procedure. Disease severity. a coin toss) to select which upper quadrant to examine. E. In addition. 2. on average. S. ESI = (E.. is expressed as the mean loss of attachment. For the ESI. 6. in excess of 1 mm.e. So as stated earlier. disease extent.0) suggests a severe localized form of periodontal involvement.34 mm loss of attachment per diseased site. This results in a maximum of 28 measurements (i. So. . is expressed as the percentage of sites among examined sites with an LPA greater than 1 mm. for affected or diseased sites. a maximum of 14 measurements in each quadrant) for each subject. The contralateral quadrant in the lower arch is then automatically decided. use a random procedure (e. the ESI is written as follows where E is rounded off to the nearest whole number.34) means. Third molars are not examined. S) An ESI expressed as (27. 1.
e. . the recession of the gingival margin and alveolar bone. pathological pockets and numbers of erupted teeth were considered basic to data requirements. The assessment of gingivitis. the Oral health unit of the World Health Organization (WHO) took the initiative to organize a group of experts from 14 member countries to examine and advise on the epidemiology. George Beagrie.Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) This index was developed for the ³Joint Working Committee´ of the World Health Organization´ and ³Federation Dentaire Internationale´ (WHO/ FDI) by Jukka Ainamo. having the objective of developing a method for the evaluation of treatment needs. Jean Martin and Jennifer Sardo-infirri in 1978. For population studies and field trials. i. As far as calculus is concerned.. Having accepted that periodontal disease is one of the most wide spread diseases of mankind. Gingival recession and tooth mobility were also excluded from the recordings. gingival bleeding and pocket formation. This index was developed primarily to survey and evaluate periodontal treatment needs rather than determining past and present periodontal status. named for the WHO Technical Report Series (TRS) publication number in which this method was first featured. The CPITN is an evolution of the ³621´ method. Terry Cutress. recording of plaque was considered less important than the assessment of its consequences. etiology and prevention of periodontal diseases. David Barmes. it was included as being necessary to any study of treatment need.
. International uniformity Its limitations include partial recording. it provides guidance on the planning and monitoring of the effectiveness of periodontal care programmes and the dental personnel required. The CPITN is a procedure which uses clinical parameters and criteria relevant to planning for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases. Speed. CPITN is therefore not a diagnostic tool and should not be used for planning of specific clinical treatment of individual patients. namely periodontal pockets.Scope and Purpose The CPITN procedure is recommended for epidemiological surveys of periodontal health. and 3. The major advantages of CPITN are: 1. gingival inflammation (identified by bleeding of gentle probing) and dental calculus and other plaque retentive factors. Primarily the CPITN is a screening procedure for identifying actual and potential problems posed by periodontal diseases both in the community and by the individual. The CPITN records the common treatable conditions. Also. Simplicity 2. It does not record irreversible changes such as recession or other deviations from periodontal health such as tooth mobility or loss of periodontal attachment. exclusion of some important signs of past periodontal breakdown ± notably attachment loss and absence of any marker of disease activity or susceptibility. The CPITN is not intended as a comprehensive assessment of total past and present periodontal disease experience.
In order to determine periodontal disease status. in the maxilla. but not non-treatable or irreversible conditions (i. reduced halitosis. for the presence or absence of: 1.Pocket depths of 4 or 5 mm . these were the facial and mesial aspects of the right first molar (16 ± FDI notation). improved quality of life. reduced potential threat to longevity of teeth. enhanced general well-being and appearance. elimination of bleeding from the gums. the lingual and mesial aspects of the left first molar (36). right central incisor (41) and right first premolar (44). left central incisor (21) and left first premolar (24) and in the mandible. The recordings were made in the following order. attachment level). Originally. This selection of teeth was as proposed by Ramfjord (1959) for partial mouth recording of periodontal disease. recession. Reasons for attempting to control periodontal disease and promote good periodontal care include. and improved mastication. Treatment needs It implies that CPITN assesses only those conditions potentially responsive to treatment. Subgingival calculus 3.e. Supragingival calculus 2. the group supported the use of a partial mouth recording system with scores being taken with the aid of a probe from two surfaces of six teeth.With this information appropriate oral care services can be planned for populations and for individuals.
Each sextant is given a score. it is included in the adjacent sextant.Pocket depths of 6 mm or more 5. When only one tooth remains in a sextant.Gingival bleeding after probing 6. the recordings per sextant are based on findings from specified index teeth. For epidemiological purposes.Recession (eventually recession scores were discarded).4. Sextants Six sextants (depicted based on FDI notation) 17 ± 14 13 ± 23 24 ± 27 47 ± 44 43 -33 34 ± 37 The third molars are not included. the highest score in each sextant is identified after examining all teeth. . For clinical practice. Index teeth In epidemiological surveys assessing the periodontal treatment needs of a population. The treatment need in a sextant is recorded only if there are two or more teeth present and not indicated for extraction. except where they are functioning in place of second molars. the score is identified by examination of specific index teeth.(2 ) Procedure for CPITN The dentition is divided into six parts (sextants) for assessment of periodontal treatment needs.
This probe is particularly designed for gentle manipulation of the often very sensitive soft tissues around the teeth.5 mm markings. The probe has a ball tip of 0. The Joint Working Committee of WHO/ FDI have advised the manufacturers of CPITN probes to identify the instruments as either µCPITN±E¶ for the epidemiological probe with 3. The additional lines may be of use when performing a detailed assessment and recording of deep pockets for the purpose of preparing a treatment plan for complex periodontal therapy.The WHO Periodontal Examination Probe ± CPITN Probe Figure .5 mm markings. The CPITN probe is both thin in the handle and is of very light weight (5 gms).5 mm and 5. . thus decreasing the tendency for false reading by over measurement.5 mm and 11. namely measurement of pocket depth and detection of subgingival calculus.5 mm and ending at 5. A variant of this basic probe has two additional lines at 8. The probing force can be divided into a µworking component¶ ±to determine pocket depth and a µsensing component¶ ± to detect subgingival calculus.5 mm and 11. This probe was designed for two purposes.5 mm from the working tip.5 mm diameter that allows easy detection of subgingival calculus.5 mm.CPITN Probe The recommended periodontal probe for use with CPITN was first described by WHO (TRS -621 ± 1978). Probing procedure A tooth is probed to determine pocket depth and to detect subgingival calculus and bleeding response. This feature combined with the light probe weight facilitates the identification of the base of the pocket. or µCPITN±C¶ for the clinical probe with additional 8. The pocket depth is measured through colour coding with a black band starting at3.
Pain to the patient during probing is in most cases indicative of the use of a too heavy probing force. Recommended sites for probing are mesial. whenever possible be in the same plane as the long axis of the tooth. the lightest possible force which will allow movement of the probe ball point along the tooth surface is used. with the probe tip remaining in the sulcus. the probe may be µwalked¶ around the tooth. 1987). For µsensing¶ subgingival calculus.The working force should not be more than 20 grams ± a practical testfor establishing this force is to gently insert the probe point under the finger nailwithout causing pain or discomfort. The direction of the probe during insertion should. the ball tip should follow the anatomic configuration of the tooth root surface. When gently inserting the probe into the gingival pocket. mid line and distal. Sites in addition to the recommended ones should be probed if there is suspicion that a higher scoring condition is present.e. The probe is inserted between the tooth and the gingiva. and the sulcus depth or pocket depth is noted against the colour code or measuring lines. . both on facial and lingual/ palatal surfaces. The probing may be done by withdrawing the probe between each probing or by the probe tip remaining in the sulcus or pocket in order to walk the probe around each surface (i. buccal and lingual) of the tooth (Cutress. The ball end of the probe should be kept in contact with the root surface. ³Walking´ the probe should be done with short upward and downward movements. Ainamo and sardo-infirri. The probing may be done by withdrawing the probe between each probing or alternatively.
Recording of code 4 makes further examination of that sextant unnecessary. Note:. The codes are listed in descending order of treatment complexity as follows: Code ³X´ When only one tooth or no teeth are present in a sextant (third molars are excluded unless they function in place of second molars) Code ³4´ Pathological pocket of 6 mm or more present i.If the deepest pocket found at the designated tooth or teeth in a sextant is 4or 5 mm. Code ³3´ Pathological pocket of 4 mm or 5mm present. there is no need to examine for gingival bleeding. the black area of CPITN probe is not visible. Note:. when the gingival margin is on the black area of the probe.e.If code 2 is attained. a code of 3 is recorded ± there is no need to examine for calculus or gingival bleeding. Code ³2´ Calculus or other retentive factors such as ill fitting crowns or poorly adapted edges of restorations are either seen or felt during probing. i. Bleeding may be delayed for up to 10 ± 30 seconds after probing. Codes and Criteria The appropriate code for each sextant is determined with respect to the following criteria. . the gingiva or gum of the examined tooth should be inspected for the presence or absence of bleeding before the subject is allowed to swallow or close their mouth.e.After probing.
Code ³1´ Bleeding observed during or after probing. The requirement is that more than one functional tooth is present. If µyes¶. As soon as the highest scored criterion has been determined there is no need to examine for the presence of lower score criteria. Code ³0´ Healthy tissue. but bleeding occurs after gentle probing. a code of 1 is recorded for the sextant.4 or 5 mm deep pockets. Control of bleeding by means of self care is a pre. No signs of disease is observed. then score µx¶ and move to next sextant. calculus or other plaque retentive factor.requisite for all periodontal therapy. or examine all teeth (for clinical screening procedure). Note:.0) Bleeding is a sign of early disease which can be overcome by self care following suitable oral health education and instruction. This treatment is recognized as ³Treatment need 1´ (TN -1) . Classification of treatment needs (TN) A recording of Code 0 (healthy) or code X (missing) for all six sextants indicates that there is no need for treatment (TN . If µno¶. Determine appropriate highest score for each sextant. bleeding only. Examination procedure The aim is to determine the highest score applicable to each sextant with the least number of measurements. for presence of 6mm or deeper pockets. in that order.If neither pathological pocket nor calculus is observed. First decide whether the sextant can be validly scored. examine index teeth (in epidemiological procedure).
The treatment of these conditions may require ³complex therapy´ for which skilled clinically trained and experienced dental personnel are needed. for patients with deep pockets even after scaling. On the other hand. Oral hygiene and scaling will usually reduce inflammation and bring a 4 or 5 mm sulcus depth or below 3 mm. (TN -2) * Therefore. scaling and root plaining. Sextants with such pockets are placed in the same treatment category as calculus and other plaque retentive factors i. This need for complex treatment is recognized as ³Treatment need 3´ (TN -3) A sextant scoring code 4 also will fall in ³Treatment need 3´ (TN -3) Substitution for excluded and missing Index teeth The index (and substitute) teeth are excluded from the CPITN scoring when the decision has been made to go for extraction due to any cause. root plaining and control of bleeding by oral hygiene. there will generally be residual pockets. The CPITN differentiates between pockets of 4 or 5 mm and 6 mm or deeper because of the currently accepted different approach to their treatment. a CPITN code of 2 or 3 means TN ± 2.. the removal of calculus and other plaque ± retentive factors demands the professional care defined as µTreatment need 2¶ (TN -2) The depth of a pocket is not necessarily related to the amount of attachment loss.The control or elimination of gingival bleeding should be a prime goal even if further treatment is not available. Unlike plaque that can be eliminated through self care. . Although not pathological in themselves.e. calculus and other plaque retentive factors favour plaque retention and inflammation.
If all teeth in a sextant are missing or only one functional tooth remains. 25 ± . the nearest adjacent premolar is examined. substitute 21 for it. The ten CPITN index teeth are the first and second molars in the posterior sextants and a central incisor in each of the two anterior sextants. Choice of age groups While applying the CPITN. If the single tooth is an index tooth. the WHO standard are grouping should be used. if the first molar is not present or has to be excluded. then the worst index tooth score is recorded. substitute teeth are selected.The indication for extraction because of periodontal involvement is that the tooth has vertical mobility and causes discomfort to the patient. i. using the following rules. In subjects under 20 years of age. all the remaining teeth in that sextant are examined and the highest score is recorded. Remember that 2 or more functioning teeth must be present in a sextant for it to qualify for scoring. 3. 4.e. then the recording is based on the examination of the remaining index tooth. 6. 2. If both index teeth in a posterior sextant are absent or excluded from the examination. 1. substitute for mandibular teeth. A single tooth in a sextant is considered as a tooth in the adjacent sextant and subject to the rules for that sextant. 5. 7. If 21 is also excluded then identify the worst score for the remaining teeth. In the anterior maxillary sextant if tooth 11 is excluded. single years to 19 but including a group 15 ± 19 years then 20 ± 24 years. When one or more of the index teeth are missing or excluded at the time of examination. one of the two index teeth is not present or has to be excluded. Similarly. the sextant is coded as missing. If in a posterior sextant.
3. 1. 45 ± 54 years. Utilization of CPITN recordings The CPITN is designed for rapid and practical assessment of various periodontal treatment needs in population surveys and for initial screening of . or if a high prevalence of disease appears present at an early age. 55 ± 64 years and 75 ± 84 years and over. 2. It is recommended that age groups 15 ± 19 (or 15 years).29years. To obtain the µmean number of sextants¶ (MNS) for each condition per person. 4) Step 2: To obtain the prevalence (percentage) of subjects with codes 0. there have been very few changes to the index for epidemiological and public health purposes. examination of age groups 7± 11 years and 12 -14 years may be justified. 4 as their score. codes 0.e. 3. divide the total number of sextants with highest score for the person by the number of dentate subjects examined. 30 ± 34 years. Where resources allow. Modifications of CPITN Besides the slight changes to the CPITN since it was first described. 2. by the total number of dentate subjects examined and multiply by 100. 1. 35 ± 44 years. divide the counts of codes respectively. 35 ± 44 years and 65 ± 74 years be the age groups for data collection for international comparison and for planning and monitoring. Calculation of CPITN The CPITN for a population group can be calculated as follows: Step 1: Count the number of charts with different codes and add up the codes individually (i.
calculus and periodontal pockets. For this ³CPITN ± C´ probe is used. 16. Indicators:. Procedure: The mouth is divided into sextants as in the case of CPITN. 27 .Three indicators of periodontal status are used for this assessment. the teeth to be examined are: 17. (Note: this replaces the former instruction to include single remaining tooth in the adjacent sextant). A sextant should be examined only if there are two or more teeth present which are not indicated for extraction. gingival bleeding. However. 11. The time needed for the CPITN in recording the codes for the six segments should not exceed 1 ± 2 minutes.patients attending for regular dental care. The modification is done by the inclusion of measurement of ³Loss of attachment´ and elimination of the ³Treatment Needs´ category. a finding of the need for complex treatment necessitates a more precise identification of the teeth and tooth surfaces affected before starting the actual therapy required by the individual patient. 26. the CPITN recordings are sufficient for treatment planning. Community Periodontal index This index is based on a modification of the earlier used CPITN. Index teeth: For adults aged 20 years and over. For patients requiring oral hygiene instruction and scaling only.
only six index teeth 16. In this case. 37 The two molars in each posterior sextant are paired for recording and. 26. The probing for sensing gingival pockets and calculus is same as for CPITN. there is no replacement. 31 and 46 are examined. For subjects under the age of 20 years.e. If no index teeth or tooth is present in a sextant qualifying for examination. if one is missing. pockets should not be recorded i. 11. distal surfaces of third molars should not be scored. This modification is made in order to avoid scoring the deepened sulci associated with eruption as periodontal pockets. 41. 46. only bleeding and calculus should be considered. when children under the age of 15 are examined. 36. all the remaining teeth in that sextant are examined and the highest score is recorded as the score for the sextant. For the same reason. Examination and recording .. 36.47.
as a part of their ³Navy Periodontal Screening Examination´ (NSPE) The NPDI has two parts: 1.(according to FDI notation) 16. The six selected teeth are:. and 2.Navy Periodontal Disease Index (NPDI) The NPDI was introduced by Grossman F D and Fedi P F in 1974. dentisty.A pocket score which measures tissue destruction as determined by pocket depth. 21.A gingival score which assesses inflammation as determined by colour. Method The gingival and pocket score is done on six selected teeth. 24. consistency. enlargement and bleeding. .
41. middle and distal areas ofboth facial and lingual surfaces. µ1¶ ± Inflammatory changes are present. consistency. loss of normal dentisty and consistency. The greatest single measurement determines the pocket score for the tooth. any colour change. has firm consistency. The mesial and distal areas are measured at the facial and lingual line angles. The pocket examination includes six probing measurements of the depth of the gingival sulcus or pocket on each of the six designated teeth using a calibrated probe. substitute the next most posteriortooth and if the central incisor is missing substitute the nearest incisor in the samearch. Scoring Criteria µ0¶ ± Gingival tissue is of normal colour. The gingival examination is for colour. slight enlargement and/or blunting of papilla or gingiva and tendency to bleed on palpation.36. and no exudate is present. These measurements are taken on the mesial. If any of the selected posterior tooth is missing. Changes may include. but do not completely encircle the tooth. . µ2¶ . contour and bleeding.Inflammatory changes completely encircling the tooth. 44 The gingival scores are determined by examining the gingival tissues and the pocket scores by probing sulcular or pocket depth.
.Pocket Score µ0¶ ± pocket depth not over 3 mm µ5¶-pocket depth greater than 3mm but less than 5mm µ8¶ ± pocket depth greater than 5mm Calculation of NPDI score Gingival & pocket scores ± added & divided by no of index teeth.
Int Dent J 1994. J Dent Res 1960 39: 506513 Cutress TW. 35: 350-359 Dunning J. Periodontitis. the Periodontal Screening and Recording procedure in the USA. J Dent Res 1991. CDOE 2000. Gingival Bone Count: A method for epidemiological study of periodontal disease. J Dent Res 1956. 70: 1380-85 Nasi JH. Effect of examining half the teeth in a partial periodontal recording of older adults.References Flemming TF. Ann Periodontol 1999. Analysis strategies for longitudinal attachment loss data. 28: 1-9 Russell AL. Background to . Etler JR. 10th edition WHO ± Oral Health Surveys . 44: 58588 Dhingra K. Carranza. Clinical Peiodontology. Ainamo J. Vandana KL. Essentials of Preventive and Community Dentistry 2nd edition. Arya Publishing house. The community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) procedure for population groups and individual Hunt R. Sardo Infirri J. A system of classification and scoring for prevalence surveys of periodontal disease. Int dent J 2011: 61: 76-84 Peter s. 4: 32-38 Beck JD. Indices for measuring periodontitis: a literature review. and implementation of. Fann S. Leach LB.
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After sixteen hours on the bus, I arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma just before noon on a hot July day determined to find Charlie, actually Charlotte, but that’s not what I called her. I flew into Chicago and then took the long bus ride to Tulsa, wanting to experience Route 66. After almost two years of meeting Charlie, my cyber lover, I wanted to surprise her, just show up, a daring act in itself as fear of what a disaster this might be swept over me. What would she think when she realized who I was? Would she be disappointed? Disillusioned? Alarmed? Would I? For some reason, surprising how this sounds, we had never exchanged photos. Would she be what I fantasized after months of visualizing her without a photo? Would she believe it was me, someone she had never seen.
I found out that there were no buses from Tulsa to Jarvis, where she lived, so I decided to hitch a ride rather than rent a car. I stood out on the highway for about ten minutes, my small back pack on my shoulder and within ten minutes got a ride with an old geezer in a rusted old Dodge truck, wearing a cowboy hat, white stubble on his chin.
When I told him I just came from Maine and was heading for Jarvis, he looked at me, “Why that dinky town?”
“Don’t laugh,” I said, “but I’m looking for a woman I met on the internet.”
“No shit,” he said, looking at me. “She must pretty damn hot for you to come all this way,” he said. “And I bet she’s a lot younger than you, ain’t she?” he laughed.
“Yes, but so what? Age is just a number,” I added, knowing that was trite but didn’t know what else to say.
“Guess so,” he said, glancing at me, “but I hope your pecker holds up,” he laughed.
We drove for quite awhile talking about this and that and then I must have dozed off. When I woke up and looked around I saw the road sign that said Jarvis five miles.
“Won’t be long,” the old guy said, smiling at me. “Hope you find her.”
“Me, too,” I answered.
I saw the sign, “Entering Jarvis.” We drove past a gas station convenience store and into the middle of town.
“You can drop me off here in front of the hardware store,” I said, pointing to it.
He pulled over to the curb and I grabbed my backpack and hopped out.
“Thanks for the lift,” I said.
“No problem,” he responded, saluting me with his hand at the edge of his cowboy hat. “Good luck with your lady,” he said and smiled, then shook his head. “You’re gonna need it,” he laughed.
When I got out of the truck, he took off and I looked around. I stood on the sidewalk in the glaring hot sun, not sure which way to go to find the Jarvis Community Center where I knew she worked. I didn’t even know if she would be there and whether I would recognize her. What would I do if she wasn’t there since I didn’t have her phone number and had no idea where she lived? I took a chance, but then, what is life if you don’t take chances.
While standing there, uncertain which way to go, I saw two men sitting on a bench outside the hardware store, unshaven, smoking and looking out at the pick-up trucks and dusty cars driving by. One wore a cowboy hat, the other a green baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.
“Excuse me, can you tell me where the Community Center is?” I asked walking closer to the bench.
The man with the cowboy hat looked up, the cigarette dangling from his lip, and pointed down the street with his thumb, “Two blocks down, other side of the street, Can’t miss it.”
The other man glanced up at me then took a drag on his cigarette, looked away and sent a wad of spit to the curb.
“Thanks,” I said, nodding and headed in that direction. I passed a drug store, a small coffee shop, the post office and then saw the sign of the community center on the other side. I crossed the street and stood in front of the red brick building, looking at the door and suddenly felt my throat tighten. I saw a black pick up truck with oversized tires parked nearby and wondered if that was Charlie’s. I remembered her telling me that’s she drove a truck with big tires.
I gripped my backpack tighter as I stared at the door, feeling self-conscious. “Would she think I look like an old man?” I muttered to myself. I was twenty-some years older than Charlie, though inside I felt youthful. Online, age didn’t seem to matter, but now she would see my graying hair and beard, my wrinkled brow, the smile lines around my eyes. This was a reality, not cyber space.
I took a deep breath, put my hand on the knob, hesitating before entering. I glanced at myself in the glass of the door and saw my reflection.
“What am I doing here?” I thought before opening the door, “Well, here goes, what ever will be, will be.”
I had a mental picture of Charlie, remembering how she described herself. I knew she had brownish blond hair, a pony tail, blue eyes, dimples when she smiled. I knew she always wore jeans and a t-shirt, remnants of her tom-boy days on the farm where she grew up. In my imagination, she was beautiful with smooth fair skin, long legs, tight jeans, slender, her tits, “a good hand full,” she said. I know in bed, she wore a white satin nightie that came halfway down her thighs, that’s where we spent most of our cyber time if we weren’t on her couch.
When I entered, closing the door behind me, I stood in a large entrance way and looked around, hoping I would see someone that I thought resembled the Charlie in my imagination. I noticed a gym with a stage at one end, several small offices on the other side and a conference room with a large table and chairs around it.
And then I saw a young woman with a blonde pony tail, jeans and a red t shirt coming out of an office with several folders in her hand, I wondered if that was Charlie. She looked exactly as I pictured her.
“I bet that’s her,” I said to myself, watching her walking, my heart leaping and then I wondered again if I was insane to come all this way unannounced and uninvited to surprise her. Here was the “moment of decision and revision which a moment could reverse” I thought, as a line from T.S. Eliot went through my mind.
In our over two years of almost daily meetings on the internet, I felt I knew Charlie and knew she valued the time I took to know her, asking probing questions, letting her know that though we agreed initially to be on line “fuck buddies,” I cared about her and miraculously, our relationship gradually grew and evolved to a deeper level. We became on-line lovers who actually loved each other, at least to the degree that you can in a cyber relationship. Both of us accepted the limitations, the sense of it being real and unreal at the same time and we came to treasure our time together.
But now, we were about to enter a new dimension, the face to face reality. I swallowed and shook my head in disbelief that this meeting was actually going to happen. I watched the young woman I thought was Charlie walk towards another office clutching the folders. She glanced over at me near the door then turned away. I was not surprised that she didn’t continue looking at me, a stranger, because I knew how shy she was. I knew she kept herself protected and private, quiet, reserved, preventing people from getting to know her. However, in the safety of the internet, she allowed her passionate sexuality to be unleashed in quick fucking sessions that were basically anonymous one night stands. She liked it rough and wild and that’s what happened when we first met on line, but for some reason, we began meeting frequently. Our relationship evolved and became deeper, more loving. Over the two years, our relationship grew into what made me impulsively perhaps foolishly want to find her in real life.
I was uncertain how to approach her and gradually have her realize who I was. It was going to be a challenge, but I was eager to enter into this game of revealing myself, surprising her and hopefully, as she came to realize it was me, seducing her at the same time, though the possibility remained, she would be angry and turned off by my uninvited presence.
“Excuse me, miss,” I said, walking over to her. “I just arrived in town and wondered if there was a motel around here.”
“A motel?” she repeated and stiffened. I could feel how tense she was as she looked at me. “Well, there’s a motel just outside of town about five miles from here.”
That was the first time I heard her voice since we had never spoken on the phone. She was too shy for that. Her Oklahoma twang made me chuckle as the difference in this reality and the reality of reading her words on-line sunk in. She didn’t write with a twang.
“Five miles, really, that far,” I said, pausing a moment. “Well, I just came here on the bus from Maine.”
“Maine!” she repeated, “Wow! I know someone in Maine.”
I had hoped mentioning Maine would trigger this response.
“You do!” I responded. “Do you know where in Maine?” I asked.
“I’m not sure but I know it’s on the coast. He lives in a cabin in the woods and off the grid.”
She seemed excited to talk about someone she knew in Maine. As soon as she said that, she took a deep breath and looked away and became tense again. She looked down at her feet and clutched the folders to her chest like armor.
“Wow, you know someone who lives in Maine and in the woods off the grid. That’s really a coincidence cause that’s how I live. I live in the woods and off the grid.”
“Really, wow! That is a coincidence,” she said, looking up. “That’s so amazing.”
“You have beautiful blue eyes,” I said which stunned her and caused her to blush.
“Oh really, thank you,” she said and looked away then down at the floor, the folders still held tightly to her chest.
“But why are you blushing,” I asked, remembering her telling me she blushed easily.
She didn’t answer but looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know,” she finally said and shrugged her shoulders again.
“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” I quickly said. “I couldn’t help it. I just noticed how blue your eyes are and wanted to tell you.”
“Thank you,” she said again, smiled and looked away.
“And you have dimples when you smile,” I added. “I like that.”
She blushed again. Her face turned pink and she touched her face. “Oh yes, my dimples,” she said, holding her fingers just below her flushed cheek.
After a brief silence, I shifted my backpack from one hand to the other and cleared my throat. “Can I use a phone to call the motel?” I asked.
“Sure,” she answered. “You can use the phone in my office, well it’s not my office, but I’m using it,” she said, seeming to relax a little. “Follow me.”
“Thanks,” I said and walked behind her, loving how her ass looked in the tight faded jeans. “She’s even sexier than I thought she would be,” I mumbled to myself, still uncertain what would happen.
In the office, she took the phone book out of a drawer, opened it and looked up the number of the motel. She wrote it down and handed me the slip of paper. “Here’s the number.”
“You’re very helpful,” I said, smiling at her. Our eyes met. “That’s really something that you know someone in Maine who lives in the woods and off the grid like I do.”
She nodded and smiled. Again our eyes met. “An amazing coincidence,” I added.
“It is,” she said, with a slightly perplexed expression, scrunching her eyebrows and squinting as she looked at me. I could tell she was thinking about the coincidence.
I dialed the number and got a busy signal. “Busy,” I said, putting the receiver down. “Don’t let me interrupt your work. I’ll call again in a few minutes.”
Again, I looked into her eyes, thinking she’s even more beautiful than I imagined. I looked at her blond hair, her fair skin, the dimples, the way her tits stretched the t-shirt, the way her tight jeans fit. Even with her shyness, I could feel her sweetness. I already knew that lurking just below the quiet, reserved surface was a passionate, wild woman who inspired me to make this long trip to find her.
“What’s your name,” I asked, our eyes meeting as I waited to dial the number of the motel again.
“Charlie, short for Charlotte,” she answered, looking away and opened the file cabinet to put the folders away.
“Hmmm, Charlie,” I repeated. “I like that name. It’s one of my favorite names” then added, “and you’re really pretty.”
Again, she blushed and looked away. I knew I was being bold, but I also knew she was someone who avoided being noticed and I wanted to break through that barrier she created.
“You’re blushing again,” I said, smiling.
“I’m not used to people talking to me like you are,” she said. “It’s hard for me.”
“I understand,” I said. “I just like the way you look. I hope you don’t think I’m just saying that to get into your pants.”
When I said that she looked a little shocked though surprisingly didn’t look away. I think I excited her.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that about getting into your pants,” I added, letting my eyes drift down her body. “But I think you’re pretty sexy,” I said, our eyes meeting and I saw she liked that I thought she was sexy.
“You do, do you?” she responded, looking around to see if anyone was listening She looked down at her desk again then back at me. “Thank you,” she said looking into my eyes.
“I bet you have lots of guys wanting you,” I said.
“Not really,” she said, swallowing, the blush returning to her cheeks.
“I think it’s amazing that you know someone in Maine who lives in the woods in a solar cabin and here I am a guy who lives in a cabin in Maine, also off the grid.”
“Why did you come to Oklahoma?” she asked, looking at me, “and why Jarvis of all places?”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly but I was looking for a woman who lives in this town.”
“Really,” a puzzled look crossed her face as she looked at me. “You know a woman who lives in this town?”
“Yes, someone I met on the internet,” I answered.
“Oh, you met a woman on the internet who lives around here?” she asked, the perplexed expression returning to her face as she looked at me.
“Yes, I took a chance to come to Jarvis and surprise her.”
“Interesting,” she said, smiling, looking intently at me, again, our eyes met. “Well, I hope you find her,” she added after an awkward silence. She looked around again to see if anyone was listening then back at me. “That’s pretty exciting that you would come all this way to surprise a woman you met on the internet.”
The way she looked at me I knew she was catching on and ready to play. “Yeah, I met this guy on the internet,” she said. “He’s older than me, about your age, I’d say, but I don’t think we will ever meet.”
“Interesting,” I said. “Well, it’s a small world. Maybe one day you’ll meet,” I added.
“You kind of remind me of him, but that’s impossible, he would never come all this way to Oklahoma.”
“Yeah, it’s quite a long ways to come,” I said, nodding. “He’d have to be pretty crazy to come all this way to meet his fuck angel,” I said, smiling, knowing I would hit a chord.
She didn’t say anything but I could tell she was stunned. I often called her my fuck angel. We were both silent, looking into each other’s eyes, but I could tell she was figuring out what was going on and just looked at me, squinting slightly.
“Yeah, it would be crazy to come all that distance,” she said. “He would never leave his cabin in the woods. He’s a writer and a real hermit.”
“Hmmmmmm, that’s interesting. I’m a writer and I hardly ever leave my cabin,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s some coincidence, how about that?” I smiled, shaking my head as if in disbelief.
“There’s no way he’d come to Jarvis,” she said, still puzzled but the look on her face told me she knew what was happening. “Anyway he said we would never meet,” she added.
I nodded and picked up the phone, our eyes on each other as I dialed the motel again. Suddenly, she picked up a few more files from the desk and walked over to the filing cabinet.
As I listened to the phone ringing, I looked at Charlie opening one of the drawers. She turned and looked at me, noticing I was looking up and down her body as I held the phone. Our eyes met and we smiled slightly, acknowledging the game we were playing. I was impressed with how cool she was when she realized what was happening, acting unsurprised to see me but fascinated. She closed the filing cabinet and came back to the desk while I spoke into the phone and then hung up.
“I don’t need a reservation,” I said.
“Didn’t think you would,” she said, nodding. “I’m not surprised. It’s a pretty seedy place but it’s the only one around.”
“I kind of like seedy places,” I said. “They have atmosphere and character instead of those sterile places I’ve stayed at and fifty bucks for the night sounds good to me, just as long as it has a bed and a shower, it will do.”
“Hmmmm, I like seedy motels too,” she said, smiling. “They can be fun.”
When she said that, she looked at me and bit her lower lip and smiled. I smiled back at her, our eyes locked on each other. We had talked about meeting in a seedy motel in one of our fantasies.
“What do you mean,” I asked, “What kind of fun? Tell me.”
“You know the kind of fun I mean,” she responded, looking into my eyes, that coy smile on her lips, “Hot fun.”
“Yeah hot motel fun,” I repeated, smiling at her. “Now how can I get there?” I asked. “I don’t have a car.”
“Well, I’m off this afternoon. I guess I could give you a ride if you don’t mind waiting fifteen minutes.”
“That’s very friendly of you,” I said. “I mean, I’m a stranger. Do you think you can trust me, I mean, taking a stranger to a seedy motel?”
“I don’t know if I can trust you but I will take my chances. Anyway, I can take care of myself if you try anything.” She paused, smiling, looking playfully into my eyes. “And why shouldn’t I trust you. What would you want to do to me?”
I walked around the desk and stood close to her, our bodies almost touching. “That’s a good question,” I said, moving a little closer, both of us feeling our rising lust. “I would like to do a lot of things,” I said, softly, our eyes locked on each others eyes, both of us enjoying the teasing, feeling the growing sexual tension. “A lot of hot fun things,” I added.
“Oh really,” she said. “What makes you think I would let you?” She smiled then pushed me away, gently. “Let me finish up here,” she said. “Then I’ll drive you to your motel. It’s on my way home, anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll just look around while I’m waiting,” I said and walked towards the door then turned back and looked at her clearing her desk, my cock already hard from the intensity of being so close to her. I could not believe this was actually happening and I was excited at how cool Charlie was when she realized who I was and what was happening. She immediately got into the game we were playing and I remembered how intuitive she was when we fucked online. We were always on the same wave length.
I walked around the center looking at some pictures and reading different notices on the bulletin board. Finally, I saw Charlie walking towards me with a small back pack hanging loosely from her shoulder. “She’s just as sexy as I thought she’d be,” I thought to myself again, loving how her tight faded jeans fit and how her tits looked in her tee shirt, her nipples now showing, certain she had taken off her bra.
“Ready, stranger,” she said, smiling, her dimples showing. “My truck is outside.”
I followed her to the black truck, again noticing the big tires on it. “Some truck,” I said.
“Yeah, gets me where I want to go.”
We both climbed in the truck and she made a u-turn, the tires squealing and started down the street towards the motel. As we passed the hardware store, the two guys were still sitting on the bench and I nodded at them as we drove past.
In the truck we were quiet at first but kept glancing at each other, wondering what to say as our minds tried to comprehend what was happening. I liked that she was pretending she didn’t know me and it was if we were picking up from one of our on line role playing games, our two realities merging. I noticed how her tits jiggled in her tight red t shirt when we went over a few bumps.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“Did you take your bra off?” I asked boldly.
“Yeah, I hate bras,” she answered, smiling and looking in my eyes. When she said that I knew she was no longer the shy Charlie, but the Charlie who liked turning me on, who liked letting her secret sexy self loose instead of hiding behind her shy, good girl, protected manner. She was the Charlie no one knew but me.
“That’s interesting because the girl I know around here hates bras too,” I said.
“Oh really,” she responded. “Sounds like your friend and me are alike.”
“You are,” I said. “In fact, you remind me of her,” I added.
“Hmm, I do, now that’s interesting,” she said, looking into my eyes. “She must be some hot girl for you to come all this way.”
“She’s very hot,” I said, “but she hides it from people.”
“I bet she’s going to be surprised when you just show up,” she said looking straight ahead. I could see a slight smile on her lips.
“Well, I hope I find her. I don’t have any idea where she lives,” I said.
“I hope you find her, too. Coming all this distance for someone you met on the internet is pretty hot,” she said. “That would really turn me on if this guy in Maine I met on the internet showed up.”
“Really,” I said, our eyes meeting when she said that. “It sure is nice of you to drive me to the motel,” I said. “I mean, taking a chance with a stranger and taking him to a motel can be pretty risky.”
“Should I be worried?” she asked, looking over at me.
“Maybe,” I answered. “You got me pretty turned on in the office and you seemed pretty interested,” I added. “I think you took off your bra to tease me,” I said, looking at her.
“I said I hate bras, mister and I’m not a tease,” she said, smiling at me. “I happen to be a very good girl. I would never tease you. I’m not like that.”
“Well, here we are, Sunrise Motel,” she said, pulling into the parking lot, glancing over at me.
“Thanks for the ride, Charlie,” I said
“Well, I hope you find her,” she added, looking out at the motel. We were silent.
As I opened the door, I paused with my hand on the handle. “Hey, would you like to see my motel room?” I asked, looking into her eyes. “You said you like seedy motels.”
“Well, I don’t know,” she responded. “I don’t think I should go into a motel room with a perfect stranger like you,” she said. “You might get the wrong idea about me, like I said I’m a good girl. I don’t go into motel rooms with men I don’t know.”
“Oh come on,” I said. “Anyway you said you can take care of yourself.”
“I can,” she said. “I’m always in control.”
“And you said motels can be fun, especially seedy ones like this place,” I said. “I want you to see my room,” I said, “just to see what you think. Don’t you trust me?”
“Well, okay, but just for a minute,” she said. Again our eyes met and she smiled at me. “Yeah, I’d like to see your room, but don’t you get any funny ideas. I’m not that kind of girl, you know.”
“Cool,” I said, getting out of the truck. “Wait here, Charlie, I’ll be just a few minutes, “I said as I hopped out of the truck.
“Now remember I can only stay for a minute. I’ll just let you show me your room and then I have to take off.”
“No problem,” I said before closing the door.
I went to the office while Charlie waited in the truck. “I can’t believe this is happening,” I thought as I entered the office, loving how she was playing our little game, how cool she was being. I could tell she wasn’t disappointed seeing me in person or she would have slipped out of what was happening. I couldn’t wait to get her into the room to see how this would all unfold, but I knew she was just as turned on as I was. I could feel myself getting hard just thinking about it.
After I registered with the old frumpy woman at the desk and she handed me the key, I walked towards my room and waved for Charlie to follow me. She got out of the truck and looked around.
“Now don’t you try anything, mister,” she said, smiling at me.
I nodded and smiled back at her but didn’t say anything as we looked into each others eyes, knowing we were playing with each other. She walked slightly in front of me and I could not take my eyes off of her round luscious ass straining the tight jeans and felt my cock getting harder. “Damn I want her,” I thought to myself. She turned her head, glancing into my eyes, then down at the bulge in my jeans and smiled, looking back into my eyes.
She stood close to me as I unlocked the door. “I can only stay a minute,” she said again, pressing her tit against my arm, both of us getting hotter.
When the door opened, Charlie walked in ahead of me, my eyes on her delicious ass, my hard cock pressed tight against my jeans. I then closed the door and threw my backpack on the bed, a few feet away.
“Yep, pretty seedy,” I said as I looked around at the shabby bureau, the TV mounted on the wall, the gaudy red carpeting and the bathroom at the other end of the small room.
‘Yeah,” Charlie said, nodding, looking at me. “Pretty seedy,” she repeated and started walking towards the bathroom when I suddenly grabbed her arm. She gasped as I pulled her to me, turned her around and slammed her hard against the door and kissed her. She responded like I knew she would. She liked it rough and now at last all the pent up lust that had been building was unleashed as we attacked each other, our tongues swirling in each others mouths with loud moaning sounds.
As we kissed, I took her hands and held them over her head, pressing her against the door, our bodies grinding and humping each other as we devoured each others tongues, her soft tits crushed against my chest.
“Oh baby,” she cried as we both gasped for air. “Take me you crazy man!” she yelled. We looked into each others eyes as we fucked through our clothes, grinding and humping, her legs spread apart as my cock moved all over her tight jean covered pussy. I let her hands go and she grabbed my ass and pulled me into her, arching her back, spreading her legs wider apart as she pushed her pussy harder against the length of my hard cock, as we humped each other, fucking through our clothes.
“Oh fuck!” she screamed. “I need you in me!”
I ignored her and put my thigh between her legs, pulling her forward and she began riding my leg, sliding her pussy up and down my thigh.
“Oh fuck! This is so hot,” she moaned between kisses, her hands still holding my ass as she moved herself up and down my thigh, pulling me harder against her pussy. “Oh baby, I like this,” she moaned. “Oh fuck! This is so hot!” she repeated, moving faster on my thigh.
I then lifted her off my thigh, holding her by her ass, as she spread her legs wider apart, arched her back, my cock grinding against her jean covered pussy as she rode it, moving up and down my pole, faster and harder, leaning back, holding on to my shoulders, humping me shouting, “Oh baby, baby, fuck me! I want your cock in me! I need your cock,” she gasped, both of us getting raunchier, hornier. This was the Charlie I loved.
Gripping her ass as we continued grinding and humping, her back arched, her arms wrapped around my neck, her tits pressed tight against her t-shirt, her hard nipples poking like mountain peaks. Moving my hands to her tits in my hands, kneading them roughly, loving how round and soft they were, a real handful, I then leaned forward and we kissed, making loud animal sounds, our tongues swirling wildly in our mouths as she slid her jean covered pussy up and down my bulging cock while I hungrily molested her tits with my hands, our mouths devouring each other.
“I want to fuck you,” I said, taking my mouth from hers as we both gasped for air. I pushed her harder against the door. “I want to fuck you hard!” I growled. Our mouths then smashed against each other, our tongues swirling as we kissed madly.
I quickly moved one hand to her pussy, grasping it in the palm of my hand, pressing it hard against her crotch. I moved my lips away from her lips, keeping my mouth just above hers. “This pussy is mine!” I growled as I grasped it
Suddenly, I grabbed her arms, turned her around and pushed her towards the bed. I threw her down hard, looking at her lying on her back looking up at me. I grabbed her ankles and spread her legs wide apart, the seam of her tight jeans pressed against her pussy. I got down on my knees between her open legs, my hard cock throbbing in my jeans. I pounced on top of her, my cock pressed against her pussy. I kissed her hard, my tongue opening her mouth, our tongues deep in each others mouths, kissing fiercely. While we kissed, we continued grinding and humping against each other, picking up speed and intensity. She arched her back, grinding her pussy against my hard cock as we fucked each other through our clothes, humping and grinding harder and harder, our tongues moving wildly in our mouths, our desperate hungry moaning getting louder. I wanted this to be a long wild fuck, both of us consumed with lust, loving how connected we were in this reality, feeling our hungry bodies for the first time after over two years of cyber fucking almost every day.
Fuck me!” she screamed. “Please, I can’t stand this! I need you in me!”
“Oh yeah,” I said, looking into her hungry eyes. ‘What do you need?”
“Give me you fucking cock! I want your cock!” she shouted, the wanton wild woman I knew released from her good girl façade.
Though it was all I could do not to rip her clothes off of her, I kept humping and grinding against her pussy as she lifted her hips and arching her back, humping me. I loved driving her crazy, teasing her, getting her so out of control, wanting to get fucked hard.
“I thought you were a good girl,” I said, my mouth just above her mouth, our eyes locked on each others eyes. I smiled, “but you’re nothing but a cock tease. You’re not a good girl.”
“I am a good girl,” she said.
I laughed, knowing the game we were playing and kept humping her, grinding my cock harder. “You like this don’t you, you bad girl,” I growled, our eyes locked on each other’s eyes, remembering how she liked talking dirty, how hot it got her. “You like being bad. You like how my cock feels on your cunt, don’t you, you slut.”
‘Oh fuck,” she shouted. “I can’t stand it. I need you in me! Yeah, I’m your slut!”
I looked down at her, grinding my cock against her. “Tell me what you want.”
“Fuck me, you bastard! Don’t tease me!”
“Beg,” I yelled, humping and grinding, both of us getting more and more frustrated by our clothing.
“I need your cock! Please! I can’t stand this. Fuck me now. Now! Take me!”
I then got up on my knees and quickly unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. She lifted her ass and squirmed out of them. I tossed them across the room and quickly took my jeans off as she wiggled out of her soaked panties. My cock, freed at last was sticking straight out above her dripping pussy. She looked at it and reached to grab it.
“Hey!” I shouted pushing her hand away and took my cock in my hand and started moving the tip up and down her wet pussy lips, coating my cock. Her eyes were closed, her mouth wide open as I teased her, letting her enjoy the sensation. I then pressed the tip of my cock against her clit, rubbing it, pushing my cock against it. She opened her eyes and looked into mine, arching her back, lifting her pussy, trying to suck my cock into her.
Please! Please! I want it now! I can’t stand it!”
I ignored her and leaned forward and lifted her tight t-shirt over her tits and grabbed them roughly with both hands, pushing them together and started sucking both of her nipples at the same time, the length of my hard cock now pressed against her dripping pussy. As I slid my cock up and down her slippery pussy, the tip of my cock grazing her clit, driving both of us insane. She shuddered each time my cock rubbed her clit,
“Oh fuck” she yelled, grabbing my ass and pulling me against her.
As I sucked her nipples, twisting them from side to side with my mouth, Charlie wrapped her strong legs around my waist, her arms around my shoulders, lifting herself, arching her back, screaming, “Fuck me! I need to cum! Don’t do this to me! Please! Please!”
I could not believe we were in this seedy motel room instead of fucking online. We knew each other so well that this reality and the cyber reality merged, but the fact is we were now on a real bed in a real seedy motel and not in our imaginations.
I continued sucking her nipples, squeezing her tits, biting and twisting them from side to side, my hard cock throbbing as she squirmed and lifted herself desperately wanting me inside her.
I loved teasing her and got up on my knees, took my cock in my hand and again started moving the tip up and down her wet pussy lips, then moving the head just inside her entrance, feeling how juicy and warm she was. I then moved the tip of my cock to her clit and rubbed it, teasing her, watching her writhing and thrashing under me, my cock swelling. I was losing control. Suddenly, I reared back and slammed my cock, deep and hard, opening her tight pussy with one thrust.
“Ohhhhh yes!” she screamed at my sudden ramming.
“Take my cock!” I screamed as I pulled out and rammed my cock into her pussy again and again, harder and harder. “Take it! Fuck me, Charlie! Fuck me!”
“Ohhhfuck,” she shouted as I opened her, pulled out and drove my cock into her again and again. “Yeah, fuck your slut!” she yelled. “Give it to me hard!”
This was the Charlie I loved, the wild, sexy woman who loved to fuck and felt safe letting go with me. She was no longer the shy, hidden woman but a fully alive, passionate, uninhibited lover, fully allowing her submerged insatiable lust free with me.
I got my hands under her, grabbed her ass, lifted her up as my cock thrust deep and hard driving her back to the bed, both of us grunting. I lifted her again her legs wrapped tightly around my waist, her body arched, her pussy completely open to me as I pounded her again and again.
“Oh fuckkkkk! I’m cummmming, don’t stop! Ohmygod! Here it comes,” she screamed, her head thrashing, her back arching, her body convulsing violently, exploding in a huge orgasm, her pussy gripping me, her cum flowing all over my driving cock. I wanted her to cum first so that we could keep going. I kept thrusting, pulling out and pounding her as hard and fast as I could, fucking her through her orgasm.
Ohhhhhh,god, I’m cumming!” she screamed and I could feel her orgasm sweep over her as she shuddered, trembled and exploded all over my cock as another tremendous orgasm swept over her like a tidal wave, her screaming filling the room with her wild shrieking.
I then surprised her by quickly rolling onto my back without removing my cock and pulled her on top of me, knowing she wanted more. I got her to straddle me.
“Ride me! I screamed, my cock still deep in her, as she sat up on me, not moving, my hard cock filling her dripping pussy.
“Oh baby you always know what I like,” she said, looking down at me. I smiled, looking up at her, my cock deep in her pussy as she started to move around slowly.
“Yes, I know what you like,” I said, laying still as she moved slowly on my cock, biting her tongue, looking into my eyes. My hands gripped her ass as she rocked back and forth then in little swirling circles.
Mmmmmmmmmm,” she moaned deep in her throat as she pleasured herself.
She then sat straight up. I watched the expressions on her face, her eyes closed, her teeth biting her lower lip as she moved slowly up and down and around, moaning softly, concentrating on her pleasure. She then placed two hands on her tits and rubbed them hard with her hands and continued rising and lowering herself slowly swiveling her hips in small circles, using my cock as a fuck toy.
“Oh baby, I could do this all day,” she murmured then lifted herself on her knees, just above my cock and took it in her hands and started moving it up and down her wet pussy lips then pressing the tip hard against her clit. “I love this. I love your cock. I love playing with myself, using you like this. It feels so good, so good, so good, mmmmmmmmmmm, baby, I love your cock. I love fucking you.”
I looked up at her closed eyes, loving her face as she bit her lower lip. “Use me!” I said. “Play with it. Fuck your self with my cock,” I said.
I loved watching her hand on my cock, moving it up and down her wet pussy, teasing her self, pressing it against her clit as she moved slowly on me, her legs straddling me, her pussy dripping on my cock.
“Ohhhhhhhhh this feels so good. So hot,” she said half to herself, her eyes closed. “Mmmmmmmmm,” she moaned, her tits sticking straight out, her nipples enlarged and hard. I placed my hands on her tits, playing with them, loving how soft they felt.
“Yeah, baby, do that. Yeah, do that, mmmmmmmm yes, oh baby this is so hot. I love fucking you, oh fuck I love this.” Her eyes were closed and she was talking to herself and to me. I loved giving her this pleasure. It turned me on and got me so hot. Being older let me last longer and extended both of our pleasure.
I loved seeing my cock in her hand, watching her move it up and down her pussy, her thighs wide apart, her cunt dripping cum all over my cock, loved seeing her lift herself and then come down slowly on my pole, my cock going all the way in, disappearing then coming out, as she slid up and down, the sensation of her warm velvety pussy on my cock driving me crazy.
She then took my cock out of her pussy, her hand tight on my cock, moving it harder and harder against her clit, biting her lips as she concentrated, making soft guttural sounds and then she started speeding up as she got hotter, suddenly, lifting herself up and came down hard on my cock, forcing it deep into her tight pussy, “Oh fuck!” she gasped.
She then leaned forward, her hands on my chest as she bent over and started moving back and forth, slow at first and then faster, moving back and forth faster and faster, harder and harder, her clit rubbing against my cock as she rode me, leaning forward, like a jockey on a race horse galloping to her finish line.
As she leaned forward, I moved my hand to her round ass and put my finger in her ass hole and felt her shudder as I moved my finger in and out.
“Oh fuck!” she screamed, responding to my finger filling her ass and continued moving forward and back more aggressively. “Yeah, do that. Do that!”
She was riding me harder and faster, my finger moving in and out of her ass as she moved forward and back, riding faster, harder as my cock went deeper and deeper and suddenly she screamed, “Oh fuck, I’m cumming! Here it comes.
Suddenly, she sat straight up, lifted her self off my cock and came down harder, driving my cock deeper into her tight pussy.
I lifted myself off the bed thrusting my cock into her as she went up higher and came back down harder and harder forcing my cock as deep in her as it could go.
Her screaming got me so hot, I knew I would burst if I didn’t take control and fuck her. As she screamed and her second orgasm surged through her, cum pouring out of her pussy and all over my cock, I suddenly and roughly pushed her off of me, flipping her onto her back, grabbing her ankles, lifting her legs to my shoulder, our eyes locked on each other and she could see I was now out of my mind with lust and was going to fuck her savagely like I knew she loved.
“Take me!” she screamed.
Suddenly, I reared back then rammed my cock into her, opening her tight pussy. “Take my cock!, I shouted, driving into her as hard as I could.
“Give to me!” she screamed, her head thrashing from side to side. Suddenly she wrapped her legs around my waist, her arms wrapped around my shoulders. I then lifted her off the bed, almost pulling out of her pussy and then pounded her back to the bed, listening to bed squeak and the headboard banging against the wall as we fucked like wild savage animals.
I felt her pussy muscles tightening and gripping my cock as I thrust into her, pulling out and thrusting again and again as hard as I could. As I thrust, I felt her shudder and tremble and knew she was about to orgasm with me. Just then I felt my cock explode as I thrust deep and felt her pussy spasm on my cock as cum gushed out of my cock like hot lava and I screamed like a wild animal.
Charlie was screaming and sobbing, our loud sounds, filling the room. I kept thrusting, our orgasms coming at the same time.
Suddenly, I pulled out, grabbed my cock and squirted cum all over her stomach and tits before I collapsed on her. Charlie kept her legs wrapped tightly around me and we both lay there, breathing heavily, unable to move, the warm stickiness on her stomach and tits felt wonderful.
I somehow found the strength to lift my head and lick her cum covered tits as she moaned in my ear, “Oh, this is so good,” she murmured. I then moved my mouth to her lips and kissed her with my cum covered mouth and then laid my head back on her shoulder, panting and gasping for air, both of us still breathing heavily, her strong arms and legs embracing me.
After a few minutes, I lifted my head and smiled down at her, our eyes looking into each others eyes. “Surprise,” I said and laughed.
“You’re nuts,” she responded.
“I know,” I said smiling, “Very nuts!” I then lay my head back on her shoulder, both of us still gasping and panting.
After a few minutes of just laying on her, my head on her shoulder, I rolled off and got Charlie to turn on her side so that we were spooning, one of our favorite things to do on-line. I wrapped my arms around her and cuddled close to her.
“I love this,” she said, softly.
We were silent as we lay there trying to comprehend our situation. We were no longer cyber lovers. We had come down to earth and were now in the reality of each other’s arms, me, twenty years older and not entirely sure what that meant. How would my being here change our relationship, where could we go from here? Where did I want it to go? We lay there quietly, feeling incredibly close, both of us preparing to face the unknown.
She could tell I was off thinking and turned and knocked me gently on my head with her knuckles. “Stop thinking and be here with me,” she said, bringing me back to earth.
“I love you,” she said softly, touching my cheek.
“I love you, too,” I whispered, smiling.
She lay her head back down and I kissed the back of her hair, smelling the strawberry shampoo she always used. I pulled her closer, feeling my deflated cock pressed against her round ass. We both dozed off and slept like that for an hour. I woke first and let her sleep, enjoying the soft warmth of her body as I lay next to her.
I thought about Charlie’s secret life, the shy, quiet woman living her guarded, protected life, hiding her passionate, sexual needs. I knew she felt conflicted, wondering if something was wrong causing her highly sexual nature to rebel against the moralistic teachings she grew up with. This was not only her conflict but an age old conflict of living in a puritanical society. I thought how people fear wildness and want the safety of convention while at the same time longing to abandon their fears and inhibitions, to be renegades, outlaws, free of rules.
I loved how passionate we both were, how we threw all convention aside when we fucked like wild animals screaming “dirty talk” at each other as we fucked with wanton abandon, allowing our primal urges to take over. As I held her, I thought how lucky we were to have found each other, how we are able to let go, calling each other names as we fucked and then returned to our tender caring way with each other. We were like two sides of a coin.
As I lay there holding Charlie, thinking and loving having her in my arms, I felt her stir, felt my cock moving against her round luscious ass. I wanted to bring her out of sleep by slowly turning her on, only this time, we made sweet tender love, kissing, touching, my cock going slowly in and out of her warm wet pussy, moving as if in a slow dance until we started moving faster and harder, culminating in another overwhelming orgasm, both of us again coming at the same time. I lay on her, loving the feeling of her under me, listening to her breathing, loving that as raunchy we could get, we could also be tender and loving.
I rolled off of her and onto my back. She lay her head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of her hair, loving the smell of her shampoo and how she felt in my arms, still finding it difficult that we were there and not at our computers, miles apart.
“I’m kind of hungry,” I said.
“Me, too,” she responded, looking at me. “Let’s take a shower and then get something to eat.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, taking a deep breath.
Suddenly, she jumped out of bed and dashed toward the bathroom.
“Hey! Whatcha you waiting for?” she called, looking back at me sprawled out on the bed.
I jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom just as she was turning on the water in the shower. She looked at me as she got in under the water. “Come on in, the waters fine,” she laughed.
It was a tiny shower stall with a plastic curtain that had black umbrellas on it. I got in and grabbed the small bar of motel soap wrapped in paper and opened it as we both managed to get under the warm water. We faced each other, our wet hair falling over our faces as the water cascaded on us. I took the soap and a wash cloth and moved it over her shoulders and then down between her tits, getting her soapy as I washed her body. I moved the soapy cloth down her body, washing her thighs and her pussy, getting all the stickiness off. I turned her around and washed her back and then her ass, moving my soapy hands all over her ass.
“Mmmmmmmmm,” she moaned. “You take such good care of me.”
“I like taking care of you,” I said as I washed between her legs.
“I like taking care of you too,” she said and got down on her knees, grabbed the soap from my hand and started washing my thighs. She moved her hand between my legs, and started washing my balls, holding them in her soapy hand. I leaned back against the wall, water still falling over both of us as she ran her soapy hand over my deflated cock. I bit my lip, loving how her hand felt. I didn’t think I could get hard so soon but her hand felt so good, I felt it responding, getting harder as she wrapped her hand around it, moving her hand up and down my growing cock. I spread my legs wider as I leaned back against the wall looking down at her giving me a hand job with her soapy hand.
She then moved her mouth to my cock, the water washing away the soap and began licking the tip of my cock with her tongue.
I looked down at her placing the tip of my cock in her mouth, moving back and forth over the sensitive tip, each time getting my cock deeper in her mouth. I placed my hands on the back of her head as she sucked my cock.
“Oh, Charlie,” I half whispered, watching her move her mouth back and forth on my cock. I looked at the water beating down on her. She looked up at me as my cock went in and out of her mouth. Our eyes met.
Suddenly, I pulled my cock out of her mouth, reached down and pulled her up, turned her around and pushed her up against the shower wall, spreading her legs apart. She knew what I wanted and bent forward, opening her pussy to me.
“Fuck me!” she screamed, her voice echoing in the shower stall, the water pouring down on us. I placed one hand on her hip, holding my cock in the other hand. I was so hot from her mouth that I thrust my cock into her pussy with one hard thrust causing her to gasp. .
She bent over more as I pounded her pussy. Suddenly, I reached my hand forward and grabbed her wet hair and pulled it, forcing her to turn and face me. Our eyes met as the water came down on her back. I stood behind her and rammed my cock into her pussy as she pushed back, using her arms against the wall to get me deeper.
‘‘Harder! Harder!” she screamed, her voicing echoing in the shower stall.
I let go of her hair and grabbed her hips and rammed my cock as hard as I could. I felt her spasm and orgasm as she screamed, but I kept fucking her, wanting her to orgasm again. I kept fucking her and suddenly felt my whole body shudder, my cock swell and I erupted in a huge orgasm, the warm water pouring over both of us as we fell to the shower floor.
Feeling the water cooling down, l quickly got up, turned the water off and reached for the towels just out side the shower. I wrapped the towel around her. I got the other towel and started to dry myself. I then put my towel around Charlie and pulled her to me and dried her back with my towel.
We then got out of the shower and ran back to the bed and fell on it, holding each other with the towels wrapped around us. I was now on my back and she looked down at me.
“Me too,” I said.
“We can get a pizza at the convenience store,” she said. “They make pretty good pizza.”
I watched Charlie squirm into her jeans and put her t shirt on while I got dressed. We walked quietly to her truck and drove back towards town. While we waited for the pizzas, I looked around the store, glancing at the magazine rack, posters for rental movies, a large refrigerator case with sodas and beer. The store was cluttered with groceries and over the counter medicines, candy, a long row of cigarettes.
When I paid for the pizzas and the two sodas, Charlie stood next to me and the old woman looked at both of us. She obviously knew Charlie but I could tell she was wondering who I was with my shaggy grey hair and beard.
“Thanks. Grace,” Charlie said as she took the pizza box.
“Yeah, thanks, Grace,” I said to her and smiled. “Nice place you have here,” I added.
When we got outside, Charlie told me, “You made her day. She’s the biggest gossip around here.”
“Really,” I said as we got into the truck, holding the pizza and sodas on my lap.
“Yeah, with Grace, Jarvis doesn’t need a newspaper.”
I nodded and laughed.
We were silent as we drove back to the motel, both of us wondering where my surprise visit would end. It was getting dark out. We had spent the entire afternoon in the motel room.
When we got back to the motel, we put the pizza down on the bed between us and ate. Charlie leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and then took a deep breath. “So, mister why did you decide to surprise me like this?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I just had to see you and see how real our relationship is. I was curious about the difference between a relationship in cyberspace and a relationship in this reality, you know, here in person. So I took a chance.”
“So what do you think?” she asked.
“I think we made the transition from out there to in here pretty well, that’s what I think.” I smiled, “What do you think?”
“I think I agree, but now what?”
“I don’t really know,” I answered. “I’d like to stay here for a day or two before heading back to Maine.”
Charlie and I continued eating our pizza. We were quiet, thinking about our situation.
“I’d like to have a night or two in your bed and see you in your white nightie,” I said, smiling at her.
“Good! I’d like that,” Charlie responded.
Two days later, Charlie drove me to the bus station in Tulsa. We were quiet most of the way. When we got to the bus station, she came in with me to wait for the bus. I hugged her, “You were everything I thought you would be.”
“You were too,” she said.
“I’m glad we didn’t even talk about the difference in our ages,” I said.
“It’s not an issue for me,” she said.
“Good,” I said. “Age is just a number,” I added, still not liking that phrase.
Just then I saw it was time to board the bus. I picked up my little backpack and Charlie walked me to the bus. We hugged each other and kissed, holding each other close and tight.
It was hard to leave her, but I knew it was the right thing to do, go back to Maine and continue our on-line relationship, richer now because of this visit.
As I got on the bus, Charlie waved and smiled. “Hey, don’t be surprised if I just show up one day.”
Again, she waved and we both smiled at each other. As the bus pulled away taking me home, my mind saw her walking up the path to my cabin.
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Given at a
conference of cardinals and bishops held in Rome, December 17, 2010. The author is auxiliary bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan.
The primacy of the worship of God as the basis of all true pastoral theology.
I. The theological foundation of pastoral theology
To speak correctly of pastoral theory and practice, it is necessary first to be conscious of their foundation and their theological aim. The aim of the Church is the aim of the Incarnation: “propter nostram salutem.” This is how the faith and the prayer of the Church are expressed: “Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis et incarnatus est.... et homo factus est.” This salvation means the salvation of the soul for eternal life. The purpose of the Church’s whole juridical and pastoral order also consists of this salvation, as the last canon of the Code of Canon Law tells us: “prae oculis habita salute animarum, quae in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse debet.” (can. 1752)
The content of the salvation of the human soul consists of holiness, of renewal and indeed perfection of the original human dignity in Christ. God has created man according to His image and His likeness (Gen. 1:26) and this work is marvelous, as the Church says in the liturgy. “Deus, qui humanae substantiae dignitatem mirabiliter condidisti”. But more marvelous yet is the renewal and the perfecting of this image that has come by the work of the Redemption: “mirabilius reformasti”. Renewal, new perfection, holiness consist of the unimaginable grace of man’s participation in the Divine nature itself: “Divinitatis esse consortes”. This participation in the divine nature means being adopted sons of God, being sons in the Only Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, the only Son of God by nature, made himself the first-born of many brothers by His true incarnation: “primogenitus in multis fratribus” (Rm 1:29). By means of His redemptive sacrifice Christ offers man the grace of Divine life. The same Divine life in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is present in the humanity of the Son of God: “in ipso inhabitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter”, in Him all of divinity dwells bodily (Col 2:9). Christ incarnate is full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). The Holy Spirit shares the grace of Divine sonship and all the other necessary graces of holiness from this font of Divine life by means of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, in the liturgy of the sacraments. Thus we can better understand what the Second Vatican Council taught:
Liturgia est culmen ad quod actio Ecclesiae tendit et simul fons unde omnis eius virtus emanat. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10)
The liturgy is the summit toward which the action of the Church tends, and, at the same time, the fountain from which all her energy flows. Apostolic work, in fact, is ordered so that all who have become sons of God by means of faith and baptism may join in assembly, praise God in the Church, and take part in the sacrifice and at the table of the Lord. (SC 10).
II. A pastoral vademecum of the Second Vatican Council
In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, in the context of the discourse on the primacy of worship and adoration that is to be rendered to God, the Council presents a solid synthesis of a sound and theologically valid pastoral theology, a sort of pastoral vademecum with the following seven characteristics:
The Church announces the good tidings of salvation to those who do not believe, so that all men may know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and may be converted from their ways, doing penance [Jn. 17:3; Lk. 24:17; Ac 2:38]. To believers also the Church must ever preach faith and penance, she must prepare them for the sacraments, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded [Mt. 28:20], and invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate. For all these works make it clear that Christ's faithful, though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Father before men. (SC, 9).
From this brief synthesis given to us by the Council we can establish the following seven essential notes of pastoral theory and practice.
1. The duty to proclaim the Gospel to all non-believers (SC, 9).
Such a proclamation must be explicit: that is, faith in Jesus Christ, to which one arrives by the grace of conversion and repentance. Therefore there is no room for a theory and a practice of so-called “anonymous Christianity”, there is no acceptance of alternative ways of salvation other than the way of Christ: Christ is the one Mediator between God and men. This is what the Council teaches in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, saying:
The Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. (n. 14)
In paragraph n. 8 of the same Dogmatic Constitution, the Council says: “Unicus Mediator Christus” (see also ibid., n. 28). Human beings who are saved in eternity are saved by their acceptance of the merits of the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, in their earthly life (ibid., n. 49). The Second Vatican Council teaches, presenting the following quotation from the Council of Trent: “per Filium eius Iesum Christum, Dominum nostrum, qui solus noster Redemptor et Salvator est” (ibid., n. 50). In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council teaches that every man is redeemed by Christ the Savior and is called to Divine sonship, which can be received only by means of the grace of faith (Dignitatis humanae, n. 10).
Pope Paul VI, in his address at the opening of the second session of the Council in 1963, taught: “Jesus Christ is the only and the highest Teacher and Pastor, and the one Mediator between God and men.” (Sacrosanctum Oecumenicum Concilium Vaticanum II. Constitutiones, Decreta, Declarationes, Città del Vaticano 1966, p. 905). The same Pope repeated at the Council the following year: “Jesus Christ is the one Mediator and Redeemer” (ibid., p. 989). The teaching of the Council continues: “Now, since he who does not believe is already judged, the words of Christ are at one and the same time words of judgment and of grace, of death and of life.” (Ad gentes, n. 8). Missionary activity is a sacred duty of the Church, because it is the will of God Himself who insists upon the necessity of faith in Christ and of baptism for eternal life (ibid., n. 7).
2. The duty of proclaiming the faith to the faithful (SC, n. 9)
The primary task of the Church consists in taking care that the faith of the faithful grow and be protected from the danger of error: therefore this means to take care for the purity, the completeness, and the vitality of faith. Already in his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed Pope John XXIII declared unequivocally, in a yet more effective way, how the principal duty of the Council was to be the protection and the promotion of the doctrine of the faith: “ut sacrum christianae doctrinae depositum efficaciore ratione custodiatur atque proponatur” (loc. cit., p. 861). The Blessed Pontiff continues, maintaining how, in the exercise of this her duty in our time, the Church may never take her eyes away from the sacred patrimony of the truth, received by Tradition. The Council must transmit Catholic doctrine in its integrity, without diminishing it and without distorting it: “integram, non imminutam, non detortam tradere vult doctrinam catholicam.” Pope John very realistically observes how this may not be appreciated by everyone. It is therefore necessary, says the Pope, that the whole of Christian doctrine be received in our days by all, without omitting a single part: “oportet ut universa doctrina christiana, nulla parte inde detracta, his temporibus nostris ob omnibus accipiatur.” (ibid., 864)
In receiving and promoting the entire doctrine of the faith, we must follow a way that is accurate as to its form and concepts, following the example of the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council, as as Pope John XIII reaffirms. In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council admonishes the faithful to “let them be about their task of spreading the light of life with all confidence and apostolic courage, even to the shedding of their blood.” (DH, n. 14) Furthermore they have “a grave obligation... ever more fully to understand the truth received from Him, faithfully to proclaim it, and vigorously to defend it.” (ibid.) In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council exhorts: “Love and good will, to be sure, must in no way render us indifferent to truth and goodness. Indeed love itself impels the disciples of Christ to speak the saving truth to all men.” (n. 28). Pope Paul VI, in the address at the opening of the second session of the Second Vatican Council affirmed: “The foundation for renewal of the Church must be a more exacting study and a richer promotion of Divine truth.” (loc. cit., p. 913)
In the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity the Council expresses itself in these terms: “In our own times, new problems are arising and very serious errors are circulating which tend to undermine the foundations of religion, the moral order, and human society itself.” (Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 6). In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council observed how grave moral errors were being spread, already then, and exhorted all Christians to defend and promote the natural dignity and the high, sacred value of the matrimonial state (n. 47). The Council, in the same document, reproves immoral customs in relation to marriage and to the virtue of chastity, saying that “polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love and other disfigurements have an obscuring effect” on the dignity of marriage and the family. “In addition, married love is too often profaned by excessive self-love, the worship of pleasure and illicit practices against human generation. Moreover, serious disturbances are caused in families by modern economic conditions, by influences at once social and psychological, and by the demands of civil society.” (ibid.) The Council gives an unequivocal teaching on marital chastity: “Relying on these principles, sons of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law. (Pius XI, Casti Connubii). All should be persuaded that human life and the task of transmitting it are not realities bound up with this world alone. Hence they cannot be measured or perceived only in terms of it, but always have a bearing on the eternal destiny of men.” (ibid., n. 51).
In the Decree on Missionary Activity, the Council exhorts that every form of indifferentism, syncretism, confusion be excluded (AG, 15). In the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council rejects a purely worldly and anti-religious humanism (n. 56). The same conciliar document speaks of atheistic humanism which not only threatens the faith, but even exercises a negative and globalizing influence on all the spheres of social life:
Growing numbers of people are abandoning religion in practice. Unlike former days, the denial of God or of religion, or the abandonment of them, are no longer unusual and individual occurrences. For today it is not rare for such things to be presented as requirements of scientific progress or of a certain new humanism. In numerous places these views are voiced not only in the teachings of philosophers, but on every side they influence literature, the arts, the interpretation of the humanities and of history and civil laws themselves. As a consequence, many people are shaken. (ibid., 7).
Pope Paul VI, in his homily at the last public session of the Second Vatican Council, affirms that the Council is proposing to the people of our time a theocentric and theological doctrine about human nature and the world (loc. cit., pp. 1064-1065). In the homily given at the seventh public session of the Second Vatican Council, October 28, 1965, Pope Paul VI explains that despite the general pastoral nature of the council, it intends to propose the perennial and authentic doctrine of the Church, excluding doctrinal relativism; the Council is fulfilling a work
that does not historicize, does not relativize, according to the metamorphoses of secular culture, the nature of the Church, always the same and faithful to herself as Christ willed her and as authentic tradition perfected her, but makes her better suited to carry out her mission of doing good in the renewed conditions of human society. (loc. cit., pp. 1039-1040).
In his speech given the same year, 1965, on the occasion of the eighth public session of the Council, Pope Paul VI criticized the behavior of those who incorrectly and abusively misinterpret the intention of Blessed Pope John XXIII on the Church's pastoral adaptation to the new needs of our time (“aggiornamento”). Furthermore, the Pope expounds the spirit of the Council in this regard and puts everyone on guard against doctrinal and juridical relativism, stating that Pope John XXIII
certainly did not want to attribute to this programmatic word the meaning that some are trying to give it, as if it were to agree to ‘relativize’ everything in the Church according to the spirit of the world today: dogmas, laws, structures, traditions, whereas the sense of the Church's doctrinal and structural stability was so alive and firm in him as to make it the cornerstone of his thought and of his work. Aggiornamento will mean from now forward, for us, wise penetration of the spirit of the Council celebrated and faithful application of its norms issued in happy and holy wise. (loc. cit., pp. 1053-1054).
In the original Latin text, Paul VI does not use the word “aggiornamento” but the word “accommodatio”. The famous expression “aggiornamento” of Blessed John XXIII has become legendary by now. In his original intention, this expression has nothing to do with a doctrinal, legal, or liturgical relativism.
The new pastoral and benevolent attitude of patient understanding and of dialogue with society outside the Church does not involve doctrinal relativism. Pope Paul VI defends the Council from such a possible accusation in the aforementioned homily during the seventh public session: “This attitude ... was strongly and continuously operating in the Council, to the point of suggesting the suspicion to some that a tolerant and overpowering relativism toward the outside world, to fleeting history, to cultural fashion, to temporary needs, to the thoughts of others, had dominated persons and acts of the ecumenical synod, at the expense of the fidelity owed to tradition and to the detriment of the religious orientation of the council. We do not believe that this misfortune should be imputed to it, in its real and deep intentions, and in its authentic manifestations” (loc. cit., p. 1067). Here, Paul VI is defending only the real and deep intentions and authentic manifestations of the Council, not entering into the merits of persons.
The Council expressly rejects any kind of religious syncretism in missionary activity and requires that the particular traditions of peoples be enlightened by the light of the Gospel, always leaving intact the primacy of the Chair of Peter (AG, 22).
3. The duty of preaching repentance to the faithful (SC, n. 9)
One cannot speak of a true pastoral doctrine and practice without the essential element of repentance in the life of the Church and of the faithful. Every true renewal of the Church in history took place with the spirit and the practice of Christian penitence. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium n. 8 states that the Church must continually advance on the road of penitence and of renewal. Then it says that the faithful have to conquer in themselves the reign of sin by self-denial with a holy life (ibid., n. 36). In missionary activity the children of the Church must not be ashamed of the scandal of the Cross (AG, n. 24).
We can understand the true spirit of this conciliar teaching about the necessity of penance better if we consider the fact that, on July 1, 1962, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood, in view of the imminent opening of the Council, Blessed Pope John XXIII dedicated an entire encyclical to the necessity of penitence under the title “Paenitentiam agere”. It deals with a pressing invitation to the Catholic world and an exhortation to a more intense prayer, and a penitence beseeching Grace upon the coming Council. The Pope indicated the thought and the practice of the Church, as in the example of preceding councils, recalling the need for interior and exterior penitence as a cooperation with the Divine redemption. Concretely Pope John XXIII recommended in each diocese a penitential intercessory event, explaining how
with the works of mercy and of penance all the faithful seek to beseech God almighty and implore of him that true renewal of the Christian spirit which is one of the principal aims of the council. (n. II, 2)
The Pope continues:
In fact, Our predecessor Pius XI of venerable memory rightly observed: «Prayer and penance are the two means set at the disposition of God in our era to redirect to Him poor humanity which is wandering without a guide; it is they that take away and repair the first cause and principle of our confusion, which is the rebellion of man against God.» (Encyclical Caritate Christi compulsi)” (ibid.)
John XXIII directed the following ardent exhortation to the bishops: “Venerable brothers, make every effort without delay by every means that is in your power, so that the Christians entrusted to your care may purify their spirit with penance and arouse themselves to greater fervor of piety.” (n. II, 3)
The spirit of penitence and expiation must always animate every true renewal of the Church, as Pope John XXIII hoped would be produced by the Second Vatican Council. This attitude protects the Church from the spirit of worldly activism. As the Pope taught in the end of his encyclical:
What a wonderful, what a heartening spectacle of religious fervor it will be to see the countless armies of Christians throughout the world devoting themselves to assiduous prayer and voluntary self-denial in response to Our appeals! This is the sort of religious fervor with which the Church's sons and daughters should be imbued. May their example be an inspiration to those who are so immersed in the affairs of this world as to be neglectful of their duties towards God. (ibid.)
In the following words we can grasp that true spirit that animated the Pope of the Council and certainly the pars maior et sanior of the Conciliar Fathers:
They must repudiate it [worldly hedonism] with all the energy and courage displayed by the martyrs and those heroic men and women who have been the glory of the Church in every age of her history. If everyone does this, each in his own station in life, he will be enabled to play his individual part in making this Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, which is especially concerned with the refurbishing of Christian morality, an outstanding success. (ibid., n. II, 2).
4. The duty to prepare the faithful for the sacraments (SC, n. 9) The Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, teaches that the sacraments are the principal means by which all the faithful of every state and condition are called by the Lord to the perfection of holiness (n. 11). The principal end of the sacraments consists, according to Sacrosanctum Concilium n. 59, in the sanctification of men, the edification of the Mystical Body of Christ, and in the worship due to be rendered to God. Rarely in the history of the Church has the supreme Magisterium so insisted on the importance and the centrality of the sacred liturgy, and particularly of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, as the Second Vatican Council in fact has done. The fact that the first document of the Council to be debated and approved was dedicated to the liturgy, that is, to Divine worship, is meaningful and manifests this clear message of the primacy of God: God and the worship of adoration which the Church renders to Him must occupy the first place in all the life and activity of the Church. Sacrosanctum Concilium teaches us: “Sacra Liturgia est precipue cultus divinae maiestatis” (n. 33), and by this the worship of the Divine majesty must be the summit of all the activity of the Church: “Liturgia est culmen ad quod actio Ecclesiae tendit et simul fons unde omnis eius virus emanat” (n. 10).
The sacred liturgy is primarily and necessarily the true font of the Christian spirit, says the Decree on the Formation of Priests (Optatam totius, n. 16). The purpose of all the sacraments is found, in turn, in the eucharistic mystery, maintains the Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas: “Eucharistia est omnium sacramentorum finis” (Summa Theologica, III, q. 73 a.3 c) and adds: “In Sanctissima enim Eucharistia totum bonum spirituale Ecclesiae continetur” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, III, q. 65, a. 3, ad 1), (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 5). The same document says again that the Eucharist is the source and summit of all evangelization, and with all the more reason, the Eucharist is the source and summit of all the pastoral life of the Church. In Sacrosanctum Concilium we find this synthesis: “Particularly from the Eucharist, Grace is derived in us, as from a spring, and the sanctification of men and the glorification of God in Christ toward which all the other activities of the Church converge as toward their end, are obtained from it with the greatest efficacy.” (n. 10).
5. The duty to teach the faithful all the commandments of God (SC, n. 9)
Another element of pastoral activity is this: “To believers also the Church must ... teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded” (SC, n. 9). The Pastors of the Church therefore have the duty to teach the Divine laws and commandments in all their integrity. In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council states: “the highest norm of human life is the divine law – eternal, objective and universal – whereby God orders, directs and governs the entire universe and all the ways of the human community” (DH, n. 3). The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes maintains: “Man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.” (n. 16) The same pastoral document states: “Spouses should be aware that they cannot proceed arbitrarily, but must always be governed according to a conscience dutifully conformed to the divine law itself, and should be submissive toward the Church's teaching office, which authentically interprets that law in the light of the Gospel.” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 50)
The Council continues, saying: “This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” (ibid., n. 43) Such an error has become even more manifest in recent years in which one observes the phenomenon of people who, while professing to be Catholics, at the same time support laws contrary to the natural law and to the Divine law, and openly contradict the Magisterium of the Church. These words of the Council echo now: “Let there be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life on the other.” (GS, n. 43) Moral, domestic, professional, scientific, social life must be guided by the faith and so ordered to the glory of God. (ibid.) Let us observe again, in these teachings of the Council, the importance of the primacy of the will of God and of His glory in the life of every one of the faithful and in all the Church. The Council affirms this not only in a document on the liturgy, but in the pastoral document par excellence: the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes.
6. The duty of promoting the apostolate of the lay faithful (SC, n. 9).
Another essential point of pastoral life is this: “To believers also the Church must ever … invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate.” (SC, n. 9) In this point lies the great historic contribution of the Second Vatican Council to elevating the dignity and the specific role of the lay faithful in the life and activity of the Church. One can say that this is an organic development and a crowning of the Magisterium of Pope Paul VI regarding the question of the lay faithful. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium gives us a formidable synthesis on the question of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world, with a solid theological foundation and a clear pastoral direction, saying:
Moreover, let the laity also by their combined efforts remedy the customs and conditions of the world, if they are an inducement to sin, so that they all may be conformed to the norms of justice and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hinder it. By so doing they will imbue culture and human activity with genuine moral values; they will better prepare the field of the world for the seed of the Word of God; and at the same time they will open wider the doors of the Church by which the message of peace may enter the world. Because of the very economy of salvation the faithful should learn how to distinguish carefully between those rights and duties which are theirs as members of the Church, and those which they have as members of human society. Let them strive to reconcile the two, remembering that in every temporal affair they must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity which can be withdrawn from God's dominion. In our own time, however, it is most urgent that this distinction and also this harmony should shine forth more clearly than ever in the lives of the faithful, so that the mission of the Church may correspond more fully to the special conditions of the world today. For it must be admitted that the temporal sphere is governed by its own principles, since it is rightly concerned with the interests of this world. But that ominous doctrine which attempts to build a society with no regard whatever for religion, and which attacks and destroys the religious liberty of its citizens, is rightly to be rejected. (n. 36)
Here the Council condemns secularism without using the word, citing Leo XIII (Encyclical Immortale Dei, Nov. 1, 1885: ASS 18 (1885), pp. 166ff. Idem, Encyclical Sapientiae Christianae, Jan. 10, 1890: ASS 22 (1889-90), pp. 387ff. Pius XII, Discourse Alla vostra filiale, March 23, 1958: AAS 50 (1958), p. 220), who said that “the legitimate healthy laicity of the State is one of the principles of Catholic doctrine.” (ibid.) The Pope continued, saying: “the life of individuals, the life of families, the life of greater and smaller collectivities, will be nourished by the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is the love of God and, in God, the love of neighbor.” This doctrine finds in its essential elements a clear echo both in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and in the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council.
On the proper vocation of the laity, the Council says: “It is proper to the laity to seek the kingdom of God, dealing with temporal things and ordering them according to God.” (Lumen Gentium, n. 31) In the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, the Council speaks of the idolatry of temporal things because of an excessive confidence in the progress of the natural sciences and of technology. (AA, n. 7) The Council continues, affirming that matrimonial and familial life is the place where the Christian religion permeates all the organization of life and transforms it more every day. At the same time, the Christian family proclaims in a clear voice the present power of the kingdom of God and the hope of eternal life. In this way, with its example and with its witness, it accuses the world of sin and illuminates those who seek the truth (ibid.) We can observe here how current is this expression of the Council: the Christian and Catholic family is a living accusation to the world, accusing the world of sin.
The particular form of the apostolate of the laity consists in the witness of the life of faith, hope, and charity: it excludes, therefore, an apostolate of activism and of worldly interests. We can locate within the Decree on the Laity a brief vademecum of the lay apostolate, where the Council teaches that the internal form of the lay apostle must be conformation to the suffering Christ, and that the purpose of his apostolate is the eternal salvation of the people of the world. The Council says: “They should all remember that they can reach all men and contribute to the salvation of the whole world by public worship and prayer as well as by penance and voluntary acceptance of the labors and hardships of life whereby they become like the suffering Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; Col. 1:24).” (AA, n. 16). Often the lay apostle puts even his life in danger due to his fidelity, says the Council. (ibid., n. 17)
7. The duty of promoting the vocation of all to holiness (SC, n. 9)
The final essential note of pastoral activity in the Church consists of promoting the vocation of all to holiness, saying that the followers of Christ, being not of this world, must be yet the light of the world. (SC, n. 9) More specifically, the Council deals with this theme in the fifth chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, nn. 39-42: “De universali vocatione ad sanctitatem in Ecclesia”. In this one can see the truly historic and most specific contribution of the Second Vatican Council. Holiness consists fundamentally in the imitation of Christ, of Christ poor and humble, of Christ who carries the Cross, says the Constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 41. The imitation of Christ reaches its peak in martyrdom, in the courageous witness of Christ before men. (ibid., n. 42). The Council says: “All must be ready to confess Christ before men and follow Him on the way of the Cross during persecutions, which are never lacking to the Church.” (ibid.)
III. The authentic intention and purpose of the Second Vatican Council
For a correct reading of the texts of the Second Vatican Council, it is necessary to take account also of the specific characteristics of the time in which it developed. In the homily of Pope Paul VI during the last general congregation of the Second Vatican Council on Dec. 7, 1965, the Pontiff gives the following description of the historical period in which the Second Vatican Council was celebrated:
it is necessary to remember the time in which it was realized: a time which everyone admits is orientated toward the conquest of the kingdom of earth rather than of that of heaven; a time in which forgetfulness of God has become habitual, and seems, quite wrongly, to be prompted by the progress of science; a time in which the fundamental act of the human person, more conscious now of himself and of his liberty, tends to pronounce in favor of his own absolute autonomy, in emancipation from every transcendent law; a time in which secularism seems the legitimate consequence of modern thought and the highest wisdom in the temporal ordering of society; a time, moreover, in which the soul of man has plumbed the depths of irrationality and desolation; a time, finally, which is characterized by upheavals and a hitherto unknown decline even in the great world religions. It was at such a time as this that our council was held to the honor of God. (loc. cit., pp. 1063-1064).
According to an expression of Blessed Pope John XXIII in the speech given at the final general congregation of the first session of the Council, December 7, 1962, the one purpose of the Council and the one hope and confidence of the Pope and the Council Fathers consists in this: “To make ever more known to the men of our time the Gospel of Christ, that it be practiced willingly and that it penetrate deeply into every aspect of society.” (loc. cit., pp. 881-882). Can there be a more authentic and more Catholic pastoral principle and method than this?
In the address for the closing of the first session of the Second Vatican Council, Dec., 8, 1962, Pope John XXIII presented the true purpose of the Council and its desired spiritual fruits in this way: “So that the Holy Church, firm in faith, strengthened in hope, and more ardent in love, may flourish with a new and youthful vigor, and, fortified by most holy laws, be more effective and more resolute in fulfilling the Kingdom of Christ.” (Handwritten letter to the bishops of Germany, January 11, 1962)...Now the Kingdom of Christ on earth will be enlarged with new growth. Now the good tidings of the redemption of man will resound louder and sweeter in the world; thereby the supreme rights of almighty God, the bonds of fraternal charity among men, the peace that was promised on this earth to men of good will shall be confirmed.” (loc. cit., p. 891). According to the intention and desire of the holy pontiff John XXIII the Second Vatican Council was to contribute strongly to the following end: “that in the whole human family the fruits of faith, hope, and charity may grow most abundantly.” According of the words of John XXIII, in this consists the singular importance and dignity of the Council (ibid.)
IV. The challenge of contrasting interpretations
For a correct interpretation it is necessary to take account of the intention manifested in the conciliar documents themselves and in the specific words of the conciliar Popes John XXIII and Paul VI. Finally, it is necessary to discover the thread leading through all the work of the Council, which is the salus animarum, that is, the pastoral intention. This, in turn, depends on and is subordinate to the promotion of Divine worship and the glory of God, that is, it depends on the primacy of God. This primacy of God in the life and all the activity of the Church is shown unequivocally in the fact that the Constitution on the Liturgy intentionally and chronologically occupies the first place in the vast work of the Council. The seven essential notes for pastoral theory and practice are found exactly in the Constitution that deals with the worship of God and the sanctification of men, in n. 9 of Sacrosanctum Concilium, and they are: 1. The urgency to preach Christ to non-believers so that they may be converted; 2. The greatest care about preaching the doctrine of the faith; 3. The essential role of penitence in the life of the Church; 4. The sacraments as principal means of salvation and sanctification, where the Eucharist occupies the central and culminating place; 5. The integrity of moral doctrine; 6. The apostolate of the lay faithful in the Church and in human society; 7. The universal vocation to holiness.
The characteristic of rupture in the interpretation of the conciliar texts is shown in the most stereotypical and widespread way in the thesis of an anthropocentric, secularizing, or naturalistic shift by the Second Vatican Council in regard to the preceding ecclesial tradition. One of the most well-known manifestations of such a confused interpretation was, e.g., the so-called Theology of Liberation and the subsequent devastating pastoral practice. The contrast between that theology of liberation and its practice, and the Council, appears evident in the following conciliar teaching: “the proper mission that Christ has entrusted to His Church is not of the political, economic, or social order: in fact, the end that he has set is in the order of religion.” (GS, 42). The same document then says that the nature and the mission of the Church are not tied to any particular political, economic, or social system. (ibid.) The Constitution Gaudium et Spes quotes the following words of Pius XII:
An interpretation of rupture of doctrinally lesser weight is shown in the pastoral-liturgical field. One can cite under this topic the loss of the sacred and sublime character of the liturgy and the introduction of more anthropocentric gestural elements. This phenomenon makes itself evident in three liturgical practices well known and widespread in nearly all the parishes of the Catholic world: the nearly total disappearance of the use of the Latin language, the reception of the Eucharistic Body of Christ directly on the hand and standing, and the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the modality of a closed circle in which priest and people continually look each other in the face. This manner of praying, that is: not all facing in the same direction, which is a more natural bodily and symbolic expression with respect to the truth of everyone being spiritually turned toward God in public worship, contradicts the practice that Jesus Himself and His Apostles observed in public prayer at the temple or in the synagogue. Moreover, it contradicts the unanimous testimony of the Fathers and all the prior tradition of the Eastern and Western Church. These three pastoral and liturgical practices, in noisy rupture with the laws of prayer maintained by generations of faithful Catholics for nearly a millennium, find no support in the conciliar texts, but rather contradict either a specific text of the Council (on the Latin language, see Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 36, § 1; 54), or the “mens”, the true intention of the conciliar Fathers, as can be verified in the Acts of the Council.
Its divine Founder, Jesus Christ, has not given it any mandate or fixed any end of the cultural order. The goal which Christ assigns to it is strictly religious. . . The Church must lead men to God, in order that they may be given over to him without reserve.... The Church can never lose sight of the strictly religious, supernatural goal. The meaning of all its activities, down to the last canon of its Code, can only cooperate directly or indirectly in this goal. (Pius XII, Address to the International Union of Institutes of Archeology, History and History of Art, March 9, 1956: AAS 48 (1965), p. 212)
In the hermeneutical uproar of contrasting interpretations and in the confusion of pastoral and liturgical applications, the Council itself united with the Pope appears as the one authentic interpreter of the conciliar texts. One could make an analogy with the confused hermeneutical climate of the first centuries of the Church, provoked by arbitrary biblical and doctrinal interpretations on the part of heterodox groups. In his famous work De praescriptione haereticorum Tertullian was able to set against the heretics of various orientations the fact that only the Church is the legitimate owner of the faith, of the word of God, and of tradition. With that in the disputes on true interpretation, the Church can drive the heretics “a limine fori”. Only the Church can say, according to Tertullian: “Ego sum heres Apostolorum” (Praescr., 37, 3). Speaking analogically, only the supreme Magisterium of the Pope or of a future Ecumenical Council will be able to say: “Ego sum heres Concilii Vaticani II”.
In the decades past there have existed, and exist to this day, groupings within the Church that commit an enormous abuse of the pastoral character of the Council and of its texts, written according to that pastoral intention, since the Council did not wish to present its own definitive or irreformable teachings. From the pastoral nature of the Council’s texts it is evident that its texts are, on principle, open to further completion and to greater doctrinal clarification. Taking account of the experience of several decades since then, of interpretations doctrinally and pastorally confused, and contrary to the continuity, over two millennia, of doctrine and prayer of the faith, the necessity and the urgency rise for a specific and authoritative intervention by the pontifical Magisterium for an authentic interpretation of the conciliar texts with completions and doctrinal clarifications: a type of “Syllabus errorum circa interpretationem Concilii Vaticani II”. There is need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against errors coming from outside the Church, but against errors spread within the Church on the part of those who maintain a thesis of discontinuity and rupture with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application. Such a Syllabus would consist of two parts: a part marking errors and a positive part with propositions of doctrinal clarification, completion, and precision.
Two groupings that maintain the theory of rupture are evident. One such grouping tries to protestantize the life of the Church doctrinally, liturgically, and pastorally. On the other side are some traditionalist groups that, in the name of tradition, reject the Council, and avoid submission to the supreme living Magisterium of the Church, the visible Head of the Church, submitting for now only to the invisible Head of the Church, waiting for better times.
During the Council, Pope Paul VI explained the meaning of true renewal of the Church in this way:
“We think that the new psychology of the Church should develop along this line: clergy and faithful will find a wonderful spiritual work, to be discovered through the renewal of life and activity according to Christ the Lord; and We invite Our Brothers and Our Sons to this work: let those who love Christ and the Church be with us in professing more clearly the meaning of the truth, proper to the doctrinal tradition that Christ and the Apostles inaugurated; and with that the meaning of the discipline of the church and of the profound and cordial union, which makes us all confident and united, as members of one body.” (Paul VI, Address at the eighth public session of the Second Vatican Council, Nov. 18, 1965, loc. cit., p. 1054)
Pope Paul VI, explaining the mens of the Council, affirmed in his speech during the eighth public session: “So that all may be strengthened in this spiritual renewal, we propose to the Church to recall fully the words and example of Our last two Predecessors, Pius XII and John XXIII, to whom the Church herself and all the world are indebted; and to that end, we direct that the processes of beatification of those Supreme Pontiffs, most excellent and devout and dear to us, be begun canonically. In this way, the desire expressed by both the one and the other will be seconded, in a sense, by countless voices; in this way the patrimony of their spiritual heritage will be secured for history; and it will prevent that any motive other than the veneration of true sanctity – that is, the glory of God and the edification of His Church – would recompose their authentic and dear image for our veneration and for that of future ages.” (Paul VI, Address at the eighth public session of the Second Vatican Council, Nov. 18, 1965, loc. cit., p. 1054)
In substance, there were two impediments against the true intention of the Council and its Magisterium bearing abundant and lasting fruits. One was found outside the Church, in the violent process of cultural and social revolution in the 1960s, which, like every powerful social phenomenon, penetrated within the Church, contaminating vast ranges of people and institutions with its spirit of rupture. The other impediment showed itself in the lack of wise and intrepid Pastors of the Church who would be ready to defend the purity and integrity of the faith and of the liturgical and pastoral life, not letting themselves be influenced either by praise or by fear (“nec laudibus, nec timore”).
The Council of Trent stated in one of its last decrees on the general reform of the Church: “The holy synod, shaken by such grave evils that burden the Church, cannot fail to recall that the most necessary thing for the Church of God is... to choose the best and most suited pastors; with all the more reason, inasmuch as our Lord Jesus Christ will call negligent pastors, unmindful of their duty, to account for the blood of those sheep who might perish because of bad governance.” (Sessio XXIV, Decretum de reformatione, can. 1) The Council continues: “Thus to all who for any reason have received from the Holy See any right to intervene in the promotion of future prelates, and to those who take part in other ways... the holy Council exhorts them and admonishes them to recall foremost that they can do nothing more useful to the glory of God and to the salvation of peoples, than to dedicate themselves to choose good and suitable pastors to govern the Church.” (ibid.)
Thus there truly is the need for a conciliar Syllabus with doctrinal value, and moreover there is need to increase the number of holy, courageous pastors, profoundly rooted in the tradition of the Church, free from any type of mentality of rupture whether in the field of doctrine or of liturgy. In fact, these two elements constitute the indispensable condition so that doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral confusion may diminish notably and the pastoral work of the Second Vatican Council may bear many and lasting fruits in the spirit of tradition, which joins us with the spirit that reigns at all times, everywhere, and in all true children of the Catholic Church, which is the one and the true Church of God on the earth.
Rome, December 17, 2010
“The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: a pastoral council. Historical-philosophical-theological analysis.
Conference of studies on the Second Vatican Council toward a right hermeneutic in the light of the Tradition of the Church, organized by the Theological Seminary “Immacolata Mediatrice” of the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
Istituto Maria SS. Bambina, via Paolo VI 21, Roma, December16-18, 2010.
AA: Apostolicam actuositatem AG: Ad gentes DH: Dignitatis humanae GS: Gaudium et spes SC: Sacrosanctum Concilium
English translation by Richard Chonak.
The source text in Italian was provided courtesy of L’Espresso newspaper at:
Englsh translations of the conciliar decrees and constitutions were taken from vatican.va. | <urn:uuid:7a040202-5530-4bee-8bfb-e2dee5cc6af6> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.ewtn.com/library/bishops/schneider-proposte.htm | 2016-07-23T15:19:53Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00019-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934314 | 10,353 |
John de Lancie (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1, and Discord in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
I'm gonna give you the name of an actor who was on Star Trek, so you can tell me who he played. His name is John de Lancie.
that's super nice. Domino and John de Lancie (two of my other cats) make up for Cambria's silliness at least.
Katamari de Lancie. John de Lancie rolls a big sticky ball around and just kinda talks to you the whole time.
I love that John De Lancie is basically playing Q in a cartoon.
EQLA Announces - John de Lancie: For those of you out there have been asking...
I got shy when I met John De Lancie for the first time at a MLP con! ğ
I got to chat with John de Lancie for a few minutes, got to see a flash of and get an accident photo of dat *** (2015)
John de Lancie in this Murder She Wrote episode, acting exactly like Q from Trek. the 80s were a *** of a decade, man
Didn't you hear? John De Lancie's been promoted to class A drug status; his voice is too addictive.
John De Lancie and Show Writers: Equestria Daily's coverage of all things Brony and Con con...
Totally forgot that I've got a Discord card signed by John de Lancie. I need to find out if it's worth billions.
This car salesmen I'm talking to looks just like John de Lancie. It's like Q is trying to sell me a Scion.
opera workshop performance held at UCSC. The opera is directed by John De Lancie. httâ¦
Finally getting caught up on my Starcrafts and John de Lancie just showed up!!!.
but that depends. Well John de Lancie going to be in it?
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Especially the eps w/ John de Lancie as Dischord
heck Andrea Libman and John De Lancie are coming this year
I'd swear the mailman just now looked exactly like John de Lancie. :O
What if Stephen Fry deleted his account because of those John de Lancie/Q-Tip RTs I did.
John De Lancie as Q is just the best!
SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 114 â Our Interview with John de Lancie who played Q in Star Trek: The...
Look, Discord sounds like John de Lancie and brings chocolate rain. I'm thinkin' we should give him a chance.
unless it involves John De Lancie in the pony movie, we don't care.
Q, or at least John de Lancie, made any episode he was in better.
As a gesture of solidarity, see my face as I gaze at John de Lancie.
young John de Lancie is in this episode, playing such an absurd caricature of a country club playboy it HAS to be baby Q on vacation.
If John De Lancie gave you a hint, would it be a 'Q-Tip'? This pun is bad and I should feel bad.
John de Lancie gave some advice. It was a Q tip.
What a great group of Humanist award recipients!! John de Lancie is going to be at the AHA conference in May!!!...
it's the nobody's land. We have no even conventions. When last year John de Lancie came here it was a miracleğ
P.S. Did I ever tell you guys I ate lunch with John de Lancie (Q) in the VIP lounge at Indy PopCon? Didn't have the guts to say hi though :P
John de Lancie guest starring in The Librarians And the Infernal Contract (S2E6).
so, did that interview with John de Lancie ever get published?
Makes me smile. My text alerts are a TNG communicator & my car blue tooth is John de Lancie's voice as Q.
...fans and some just want to get paid. At we saw John De Lancie for so much less then we...
announced three more people coming this year: Tia Carrere, Lou Ferrigno and John De Lancie. Loving the lineup so far.
We are proud to have the incomparable JOHN DE LANCIE! . Among his many talents as an actor, director and writer...
Dear Bryan Fuller here is my list of demands:. -starfleet crew members who are girlfriends. -guest star John de Lancie. -SKANTS EVERYWHERE
John de Lancie is so popular, people tend to stand in a Queue to meet him.
See John de Lancie, the omnipotent Q at Jun 17-19.
I can't believe you guys didn't recognize John de Lancie's voice on that episode of BSG.
I was amazed to hear John de lancie's voice when Q appeared in STTimelines, he's my favourite ST hero??? Villain?? :/ lol
Hmm, well personally I'm always fond of those episodes with John de Lancie as Q so how's about episode 3x13?
Hello Jarrad I am in UK and I think you starred in Legend with Richard Dean Anderson and John De Lancie. Please can you tell
John De Lancie confirms I own a Q action figure with his signature on it!
Still never thought there'd be a movie where John De Lancie is credited alongside Seth Green and Peter Billingsley.
Wasn't kidding, I have a movie with John de Lancie in it, produced when he was still Q on Star Trek, odd part is who
I don't get the appeal unless it is hailing Eris or John de Lancie
I liked a video from Trolled by John de Lancie
Just remembered I have a movie with Discord himself (John De Lancie) in the cast.
Niece has me watching My Little Pony, and there's an infinitely powerful being tormenting the characters. He's played by John De Lancie.
Ted Cruz looks like a bust of John de Lancie made out of Oscar-Meyer bologna.
I forgot that John de Lancie has a small cameo in The West Wing and this is just great!
I find it utterly charming that John De Lancie will record literally anything for Star Trek they ask him to.
As bad as the first season of ST: TNG is, John de Lancie really nails Q. He's a really fun foil to Picard.
Oh huh I guess John de Lancie did his voice.
shifting through voice actor videos. and LotV...John De Lancie was in it?!?! I'm right now going through nergasim phases. :D :D :D :D :D :D
But his voice is so nice! And so is Valerian's but best voice is still Alarak aka John De Lancie
Starcraft 2s Alarak is the combination of a sith lord, protoss, and John de lancie
TV show pitch: Christopher Judge, Christopher Heyerdahl, John De Lancie. Let them do whatever they want. I'd watch it.
seeing as you guys are looking for guests for Fanaticon, I don't suppose you might try to get a hold of John De Lancie maybe?
I hope you had a wonderful time meeting John de Lancie. Say no to Drugs & while you're at it, say no to Chaos.
I was gonna complain about how bad the EMERGENCY! movies are, but then I saw John de Lancie as an ER doc. :-D
I can't wait for him to carry John De Lancie ğ
Best Performance by a Guest Actor:. John de Lancie, "Encounter at Farpoint"
Words cannot express how much I love John de Lancie. via
I liked a video The Signing: Story of John de Lancie at Comicon
I was exactly the same. Whenever I see John de Lancie for me he's still Q.
pinkiepie097 said: Wasn't your John de Lancie interview supposed to go up yesterday? What happened?
My dad showed me the news on KTLA 5, and suddenly, Discord!
Wel ok then, in your world we'll keep the original (John de Lancie is brilliant). In my head though.
Disney Princesses and/or John De Lancie voicing GPS devices will leave me broke
John de Lancie is fantastic as Q. It was definitely great that the show made him a recurring character.
News John de Lancie on His âStar Trekâ Success and Bronies: . var myPlaye...
John De Lancie himself is awesome, but the doc is crap.
...Price, James Earl Jones, Basil Rathbone, Christopher Walken and one by John De Lancie. Still hoping for a Patrick Stewart.
why can't they preface every con Q&A with that? I felt so bad for John De Lancie at Everfree.
Everfree Northwest Announces John de Lancie!: We've got a new animation today from AnimatedJames showing us the typical pony s...
How did nobody tell me that John de Lancie was on Breaking Bad?!
Beautifulğ. (Not to hate or anything, but when John De Lancie said he'd rather have Discord date Celestia, he was saâ¦
Every time they say "El Capitan" I can hear John de Lancie's voice as Q when he was talking to Captain Picard.
You've got billions of dollars. You couldn't have paid John de Lancie to come out and announce "El Capitan"?
I liked a video Trolled by John de Lancie
Posted from "Do you feel that John De Lancie could be good as the Doctor?"
No matter how many times I remind myself that it's wrong, I can't help but call John de Lancie "John Q. de Lancie".
Nick reminds me of a John De Lancie (aka Q from Star Trek).
Available on iTunes featuring the voices of John de Lancie, Daniel Roebuck, Voice Actor Kyle Hebert and many...
//Who doesn't? I may not LIKE-like anybody, but I've always idolised John de Lancie, whose KIDS are my age! It'll be fine.
I added a video to a playlist John de Lancie crashes brony panel at Calgary Expo
Iâm only now starting to watch Breaking Bad (I know, I know!) On Season 2 now and so pleased to see that John De Lancie is in it!
*considers bronycon for the sole fact that John De Lancie is going*
Featuring the voices of Daniel Roebuck, John de Lancie, Voice Actor Kyle Hebert and many more. Available at...
I added a video to a playlist Let's Go and Meet John de Lancie
John De Lancie is Confirmed for Con! =D Also Reg is open!
Awww yeah, John De Lancie for . No brainer now, I'm going.
A stoner character, the return of Maud Pie, and Princess Celestia as cheeky as ever...loved this. John de Lancie, you killed it. Well done.
John de Lancie is so cute. That smirk and that voice. *nomnomnom*
Whinny City Pony Con Grabs John de Lancie: Good news for all you Chicago people out there! The newly announced...
Discord is awesome as always because he is played by John de lancie of Star Trek
Everything is better with John de Lancie.
There are so many similarities between John de Lancie's Discord and Q.
Time for more pony! First apperance of Discord in . (Plugity plug: Come to Everfree NW and meet Discord's VA John de Lancie!)
on TODAY 4:35PM, also whistleblower atty Robert Sadowski, Sen. Blumenthal, and the guy John De Lancie
delete-the-wife: I think in the next Star Trek movie they should have John De Lancie somewhere in the...
John De Lancie (Q) helped me with my radio degree and starred in a radio play I had to write. ğ
is stoked to welcome Discord/Q to our show, the great Mr. John de Lancie!
Ooo could we have the question? Could he be played by John De Lancie? Ooo, could we have a female question?
Have you ever wanted a picture of a little bear juggling on top of John De Lancie's head? Say no more!
So sad that John De Lancie cancelled for Niagara Falls Comicon :( Excited for more crazy photo ops with you though!!! :D
Someone I know actually walked by John De Lancie on a bridge in Edinburgh and was all "I think I recognize him somehow.."
SCR - "MR WOLF" is a very dark play & somewhat disjointed in presentation but held together by the talents of John de Lancie & Emily James.
I may be biased, having something of a Thing for John de Lancie, but it is one of the most glorious things I have watched.
Did you ever play/watch a playthrough of the âStar Trek: Borgâ game? An hour of John de Lancie being Q directly to camera.
Impromptu Juilliard Alum gathering w/ John de Lancie and Jon Tenney. Come see us at SCR!
Anonymous said: If given the chance would you want you john de lancie in one of your videos?
I am still surprised John de Lancie will be at BronyCon this year. I cannot believe it! ^_^ I am SO hyped for August!
Reminds me of how criminally short John de Lancie's line was at NYCC.
John de Lancie will be appearing at Indy PopCon--June 26-28th, 2015!
I wonder if would be mad at me if I ever got my photo with John de Lancie at BC this year.
AH JOHN DE LANCIE'S GOING TO PLEASE tell me you'll be there!
I am literally fanboying over the news that John De Lancie will be attending BronyCon this year! :D
I am now an infinite times more excited for than I was for it when I went last year. I LOVE John De-Lancie!
I started assassin's creed III, and John de Lancie is narrating, what
OMG John De Lancie is going to be at BronyCon (2015)!!! *geeking out* =D
BronyCon announces John de Lancie as a guest! ~C
Wait.. let me get this straight.. did you just say John de Lancie is coming to this years con?
John de Lancie is coming to BronyCon!
Sad that kitty belle and I had to cancel going... maybe next year we'll go to BronyCon~ Retro
I liked a video from KP AND JOHN DE LANCIE AT EVERFREE NORTHWEST!
Luckily we have JUST the pony to help us make things more chaotic and fun at the ineffable John de Lancie!
I got Cary Elwes, Bruce Campbell, John De Lancie, and Laurie Holden. Then I'll add Christopher Lloyd and Felicia to that.
John De Lancie aka Q. Marina was supposed to do the con and had to back out. He stepped in. =)
Had fun with John De Lancie too. Almost had fun with Jonathan Frakes, met Marina Sirtis, and Nichelle Nichols.
Two more new songs airing today! One of my favorites from the Littlest Pet Shop Season 3 collection, "Chez Paris" with a killer solo by Peter New (Sunil) totally worth the price of admission. Also the rather insane long awaited My Little Pony Discord song, "A Glass Of Water," sung by the incomparable (yet very comprehendible), John De Lancie of Breaking Bad and Star Trek fame. Steffan Andrews did a killer orchestration on a very tricky track. Extra thanks also go out to John for being such a good sport and a gentlemen during the recording. We recorded at the end of a long day of voice acting and then to have to sing THAT song of all songs... wow what a pro!
Decided to check it out on a whim (I've only seen one episode so far though, and the channel I'm watching it on is not too far into the show). So I've only seen the first episode of the second season so far. But, I'm now a fan and can see what the fuss is about. And I eagerly await it on the schedule. Can't wait for more episodes. :-) Also, as I'm also a bit of a Trekkie it pleases me to hear John De Lancie is doing voice work on the show. But also, I'm just as pleased Tara Strong is one of the voice cast as I'm a big fan of her work. Man this show is amazing. It's like my childhood has been rebooted. That's what this feels like. It takes a lot of inspiration from some of my favourite cartoons I used to watch in the 80's/90's that also had strong moral codes. It's charming, funny, imaginative, witty, well written, excellent voice acting etc. I could go on to be honest. :-D
Another fact coming your way, Just like Lauren Faust, John De Lancie was also born and raised in Philadelphia,PA
Getting SO excited for the guests at ECCC. Now to just get Alexis Cruz on the roster and the celebrity guests will be awesome! Kris Holden Reid from Lost Girl, Richard Dean Anderson, John De Lancie, Michael Dorn, Cary Elwes, Alan Tudyk, Mark Sheppard, Steven Yeun among others!! SQUE. The Star Trek/Stargate/all other Sci Fi/Fantasy shows geeky nerd in me is jumping up and down.
I'm imagining that's just how John de Lancie is in real life. At least, one can hope.
That just made me realize, I have two games on my PS3 that have the voice of John de Lancie in them O.O
Michael Boltons singing voice + Morgan Freeman's or John De Lancie's voice = my perfect man
Just started Assassins Creed 3. John de Lancie does the opening narration, & now I feel like Q is shaping my destiny.
Logo is showing the Brony documentary. John De Lancie is awesome in it.
I think I've just had an awesome idea, John de Lancie as the Master!
WOW !! That moment when you're watching and John De Lancie appears =D
It's like the game Quantum Conundrum. The Narrator is funnier tho in TSP than QC, & John de Lancie is fantastic in that game.
There's no denying that John de Lancie has helped the Brony fandom a great deal. We owe him a real debt for being our spokesman.
That kid's epic! He got John De Lancie to convince his dad. :O
Tara Strong was on for a bit and I think I saw John De Lancie. Is Logo just using footage from the Brony Documentory for this thing?
Oh wow, I think it's actually THE documentary, the one with John De Lancie n stuff.
Is this the one with John De Lancie?
I squee'ed so hard when I found out John de Lancie was voicing a character. I *LOVE* Q from ST:TNG. They wrote Discord perfectly. :D
John de Lancie as Number 0 would have been PERFECT.
First a John de Lancie episode, and now a Mark Margolis one. guest stars all over these ST:TNG episodes.
John de Lancie and Krysten Ritter broke my heart in that season.
I think those fears went away as soon as John de Lancie opened his mouth XD
Thankfully, the "Erotic" link on John de Lancie's poetry page does not work
Am I to understand that Discord will have his own song? I didn't know John De Lancie could sing...
Disappointed that googling 'John De Lancie Grumpy Cat' doesn't produce a photoshop of one with the other's face :(
don't tell that he sounds like John de Lancie, he'll never stop mentioning it
It's rather impressive that you got John de Lancie for your spot!
...wait. Youtube recommended me a video of John de Lancie on MLP before I even Googled his name. That's kind of creepy, Google.
John de Lancie means He once played the character Eugene on DOOL's in the 80's He is Best... 3LinesPedia
You were right about John De Lancie on Breaking Bad. Wow. Just saw the (i think) last episode with him in it.
Anonymous asked: You're sitting in your room doing the usual, and *POOF* John de Lancie appears in front of...
I've never been able to take it seriously. I blame John de Lancie for that.
Once Breaking Bad ends at least I'll be able to re watch it for all of the Easter Eggs, The Color Theory and John de Lancie (;
John de Lancie definitely had a thing for eye liner.
Im watching Torchwood Miracle Day and I'm loving it. Great series. And then suddenly John de Lancie walks in and it gets a whole lot bett...
John de Lancie on the West Wing breaks my mind. It is broken.
Last night I dreamed that John de Lancie fixed me an ice cream cone. Butter pecan in a sugar cone. That's normal, right?
you need more John De Lancie in your life, and you know what that means.
John De Lancie always gets me mellow, it was really good, I intend to watch on!
. how was it? I need to know. Did John de Lancie give you a *** !?
I swear John De Lancie has been in everything under the sun
"a short-tempered John de Lancie wants to know WILL YOU CONTINUE"
Same with Tabitha. John de Lancie not so much.
John de Lancie is one of my favourite actors ever based on Q. He'd be the deus ex machina in every show I wrote.
Spending my evening in the studio drawing John de Lancie. There are worse things, to be sure.
As good as it was, Breaking Bad was improved enormously once John de Lancie arrived. Fantastic actor
You know I was worried that re-watching TNG would leave me disappointed... Nope. John de Lancie is a blast.
John de Lancie -"Act because you love to act. Don't act because you want fame or fortune."
John De Lancie proclaims his hatred of at
John de Lancie will be at the Seventh Fleet booth (931) after 1pm for a group photo. Come by to be in it (any costume).
To be fair, that happened again, except Satan was John de Lancie. Inevitably.
watch for John de Lancie season 2 episode 10 through 13 I think
I had the pleasure of working with the incomparable for several hours yesterday. Come see me and John de Lancie today in SLC.
I'm finding John de Lancie and having the stiffest drinks with him and then, only then will i begin my metamorphosis into Chance 2.0
Good job!! I missed your show tonight and wanted to give you this picture of John De Lancie as penance.
Day one of SLC Comic Con was a blast! Yay for getting to meet John De Lancie and others!
Everyone I met today was so nice! Nicholas Brendon, John De Lancie, Dwight Schultz, William Kircher. All great and so friendly!
Crap. just reminded me that we should've had John De Lancie snap for us. We blew it!
(c) Tara Strong and John De Lancie Autographs and it was given to me by ! And now my dad threw the Flash Memory Away.Oh well
I know, but we are talking about the John De Lancie right?
Upset that I can't go see John De Lancie at Salt Lake Comic Con. :S
Dragoncon was a blast! John De Lancie... The coolest man alive! Thanks so much!
heard that John de Lancie is coming
Do you know if John De Lancie is ok? He seems to have disappeared off everything.
I need to get me John De Lancie for 2014.
Called it! John de Lancie does do the voice on this My little Ponies character. He has a real knack of playing inter-dimensional beings.
I'm so scared to look at the comments on John De Lancie's reading of the Raven because I expect them all to be like "GOOâ¦
I liked when John De Lancie appeared in Breaking Bad
Finding out John De Lancie did a reading of The Raven made my day so much better.
I love John De Lancie so much that I'm willing to watch anything he's in despite how awful of a character Q is.
It's always a treat to see John De Lancie.
Wha! John de Lancie will be at Salt Lake Comicon? Gr...maybe I should wake up early on Saturday to check things out...
I just discovered John de Lancie (yaknow, Q in Star Trek, ya nerds) apparently does a voice on that creepy pony show. That poor man, ***
The cover of should sport John de Lancie and Donald Sutherland.
Due to a contract disagreement, John de Lancie was unable to reprise his role as Discord. He is graciously replaced with Jason Griffith.
Went to dragoncon in ATL over the weekend and it was incredible!! I met Billy D. Williams, Lee Major, John De Lancie and Michael Dorn!
you mean I hired John De Lancie to come here for nothing?
Well, his voice, anyway. :P John de Lancie.
Well they would call it the John de Lancie room, but Q sounds cooler.
If you were wondering if John de Lancie is still hot, worry no more. He is a knock out!!
I still cant beleave how you got John De Lancie and Tara Strong to voice for this thats SO (
High and low point of the con so far: got to shake hands and take a picture with John de Lancie and Maurice...
dinner time talk with mom: attempting to explain Discord to her because she's a treky and loves Q so she knows John de lancie.
John De Lancie, my daughter thinks you're cool because you played Q in STNG and a cool/funny villain in My Little Pony.
I started watching ST:TNG last night. Go figure that John de Lancie who plays Q (Discord in MLP:FiM) was in the first episode.
watching old episodes of Star Trek on netflix were you and John De Lancie every friends?
ok I saw the lineup. They had me at John de Lancie. Iâm going to have to consider going to this in the future.
You're only a real nerd if you enter its drive name as "John de Lancie"
John De Lancie has a similar effect on me too. I need to get into DS9, as I always watched it with my dad.
If I could have posse it would be me, Rob Coltrane, John de Lancie, & Summer Glau-we would walk around being sorta threatening in odd ways.
John de Lancie was also in bad. Great episodes I might add.
This is who Discord was based off of: Also played by John de Lancie.
I wonder what happened to John De Lancie. It's like he stopped participating in the fandom since that incident with the documentary
What famous person would you like to meet? â John De Lancie or Tom Hiddleson
wasn't John De Lancie MEANT to be there?
Who is John de Lancie famous for playing?
get John De Lancie for that too, doubt he'd turn down a paycheck
Also why does John de Lancie play everybody's dad now
Or you realized that John de Lancie played both characters. I don't think Q is really a draconequus! :-P
Want to be a voice actor? Want to co-star with John de Lancie, Robert Picardo, Colin Ferguson and more? Well you...
Why is John de Lancie not in more things? He really should be in more things, dammit.
Since Jessie's gf appears to have just died, does that John de Lancie's character won't appear anymore?
John de Lancie is on Breaking Bad...I don't think I can take it seriously now.
27 days to be a part of this all-star production starring Daniel Roebuck, John de Lancie, Robert Picardo, Colin...
John De Lancie is hilarious in person
Be part of this all-star production with John de Lancie Colin Ferguson & more! httâ¦
I can recognise John De Lancie's voice so well I could tell it was him when my sister was watching a program in a whole other room.
So, has John de Lancie pretty much given up on us? I was gone for the whole documentary thing, and that seems to be his last interaction.
Breaking Bad pitch: Turns out John de Lancie was still playing Q.
Dumbledore is beyond us. John de Lancie.
John De Lancie apparently did a documentary on how misunderstood bronies are so now I'm glad your fake TV daughter died, dude
That remains my favorite storyline, outside of "Saul wants them to buy a lasertag arena." It has John de Lancie!
John De Lancie appearing in a show is obviously indicative of good quality. First Q, then I see him in Breaking Bad, and now the West Wing?!
John de Lancie broke my heart in the S2 finale. I'm starting to dread the rest of this.
John de Lancie is more appealing to me tonight than Tim Curry. Although now I'm considering "Fern Gully.". No. Star Trek. For now.
John de Lancie was so much fun to listen to when answering Fan's questions. Inspiring!!
John De Lancie is such a sweetheart
John de Lancie, you're the best. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
John de Lancie's phone rings while on stage "at least it's my agent!"
John de Lancie's phone rings in the middle of his presentation. "At least it's my agent!"
Hard to believe John de Lancie was only in 9 episodes of Trek
John de Lancie's son Keegan works in the consulate office in Saudi Arabia for the U.S. government. He appeared in
John de Lancie flunked out of school when he was young because of dyslexia
Q: None of it is me. Turn off the sound, you will see all winks and nods and subtext, John de Lancie says
"The best way to see what Ido and for any actor- turn off the sound." John de Lancie
John De Lancie did a docu about bronies. Q films bronies.
People overseas seem to know John de Lancie more as "Jane's father" from than Q
is a gem, John de Lancie says, because of an enormous amount of detail that goes into the show
For the first time in his life, John de Lancie has no upcoming projects because of his recent boat traveling
Humor should be the "backseat" of the true nature of the Q character, John de Lancie says
Sitting in the John De Lancie panel at
John de Lancie just returned from a round-the-world trip!
John de Lancie takes the stage in the main ballroom
Sad to leave the Geek Girls discussion to go see Q - good conversation happening. John de Lancie in 10 minutes.
Joining TFB2 will be John de Lancie and Colin Ferguson. Support this original Audio Drama series!
John de Lancie crushed that small role.
My daughter is watching My Little Pony in the background, and itâs catching my interest because I can hear John de Lancie aka Q aka Discord!
Are you kidding me?! John De Lancie FTW. One of the best supporting characters in all of But garak was great too.
John de Lancie as Human Q is one of my favorite things on TNG.
My ability to just 'show up' in places around the world is only second to John de Lancie's 'Q'
Last weekend I learned that John De Lancie was on AND that he supports and defends Love him.
Well, there's always a chance a company hires John de Lancie to interview applicants. You COULD be talking to Q.
Also, if you liked John de Lancie as Q in The Next Generation, you might like "The Return of Harmony".
OMG John De Lancie does the narration for Assassins Creed 3.
More from - John de Lancie is sailing across the Pacific from California to the Marquesas Islands, sending updates via email.
Lol, it's awesome. I'm only halfway through S1 at the moment but I know John de Lancie voices a later character!
I thought I couldn't like Breaking Bad more, and then they bring out John De Lancie.
While it is always a delight to see John De Lancie - series two of was unfulfilling. Lacking the humour and power of the first!
I made a Trekie at the theater really jealous. All I said was that I met and talked with John De Lancie.
John De Lancie, Robert Picardo, Denise Crosby, Jason David Frank, Walter Koenig, Tim Russ... just to name a few of those appearing at Space City Con in Houston TX on August 2-4. make it out there if you can.
My favorite Q is John De Lancie. Only guy that could act with Jean Luc Picard. Or did I get confused here?
who is apparently voiced by John de Lancie, creating a fued between the trekkies and the bronies
I've only ever backed one Kickstarter which was the Brony Doc by Tara Strong, John De Lancie and Lauren Faust, got everything I was promised
I added a video to a playlist QMx Presents: The Raven read by John De Lancie
My Fav character has to be Q (John de Lancie) Just awesome fun when he's around :D
Apparently John de Lancie is in control of their clock.
I can only imagine Mr. Topaz in Fallout: Equestria being voiced by John de Lancie with a bit of echoe.
John De Lancie Returning to Friendship is Magic?: . A few weeks back at the Toronto Comic Con, John De Lancie pop... httâ¦
Guess who's coming to BUCK? John de Lancie's coming to BUCK. The added total of the Paypal and Kickstarter Campaign is currentâ¦
My Mum just got me Quantum Conundrum ^^ It's such a good game and it has John De Lancie in it. AWESOME.
The Squire of Gothos, makes me want to watch a episode featuring John de Lancie as Q.
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Quantum Conundrum Tara Strong Patrick Stewart Brent Spiner Star Trek Breaking Bad Lauren Faust Marina Sirtis Richard Dean Anderson Leonard Nimoy Jonathan Frakes Michael Dorn William Shatner Wil Wheaton Andrea Libman Lou Ferrigno Levar Burton Dallas Comic Con | <urn:uuid:f8464a10-7408-49d4-bf72-7bb0f40eaf5d> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://first-thoughts.org/on/John+De+Lancie/ | 2016-07-25T20:06:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00190-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936623 | 7,889 |
On August 12, 2002 the Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, USCCB and the National Council of Synagogues published a document, Reflections on Covenant and Mission, consisting of separate Roman Catholic and Jewish reflections on the the topic of the covenant and its missiological implications. The Roman Catholic participants generated a large and understandable amount of excitement and controversy by proposing that "campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity are no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church."
The participants cited as basis for this proposition specific examples from Nostra Aetate and guidelines for the implementation thereof; Pope John Paul II's recognition of "the permanence of the Jewish people's covenant relationship with God" and the "continuous spiritual fecundity" of rabbinical Judaism from the Middle Ages to the present day; a paper by Prof. Tommaso Federici for the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee in Venice, examining mission and witness of the Church in light of Nostra Aetate1; and statements by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Religious Relations with the Jews.
As might be expected, the document was imbued by the press with a greater degree of authority than it actually possessed by many in the press, construed and portrayed as a formal declaration of the Bishops of the USCCB. In the days and months Catholics witnessed a variety of responses and discussions -- some more calm, sober and reflective than others. The National Catholic Register held a symposium on the question "Should Catholic Evangelization Target Jews?" (Oct. 6-12, 2002), with predominantly critical responses to the document. Cardinal Avery Dulles responded as well in the pages of America (Oct. 14, 2002).
So great were the critical responses and overall confusion generated by Covenant and Mission that Cardinal Keeler was moved to issue a hasty clarification to the press that RCM represented "the state of thought among the participants of a dialogue", which was not to be taken as a formal statement by the USCCB or the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA), but whose intended purpose was to "encourage serious reflection on these matters by Jews and Catholics in the U.S."
Radical Traditionalists also responded in a flurry of vehement and righteous protest against Reflections on Covenant and Mission, deeming it a convenient example of the post-conciliar Church's slide into apostasy under John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger. In the words of Christopher Ferrara, Covenant & Mission can only be considered "a response to the Vatican's green light on the repudiation of the Church's mission to the Jews." 2 Meanwhile, Robert Sungenis of Catholic Apologetics International alleged that the document was "one in a long line of Vatican attempts to advance the Zionist agenda and change Catholic teaching", launching into a long tirade of Zionist conspiracy-theorizing that made use of anti-semetic material, slanders against the Talmud and references to Holocaust revisionists. 3
Radical Traditionalists like Christopher Ferrara, Robert Sungenis, and John Vennari all adhere to a hardline supercessionist perspective of Catholic-Jewish relations -- which is to say, if they had their way, there wouldn't be any, at least with contemporary Jews and rabbinical Judaism. While the Guidelines for the implementation of Nostra Aetate call for Catholics to "acquire a better knowledge of . . . the religious tradition of Judaism, [and] strive to learn by what essential traits the Jews define themselves in the light of their own religious experience", these three authors have occupied themselves with hurling invectives against the Talmud 4 and perpetuating theories of a Zionist conspiracy that has subsumed the post-conciliar Church. And neither are they thrilled by Pope John Paul II's efforts to reconcile Catholics with the Jewish people. As Ferrara put it in a recent article in The Remnant5:
When Pope John Paul performed the March 12 act of apology for sins "against the people of Israel," he prayed "God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the Nations: we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant. We ask this through Christ our Lord."
Father Fahey's writings, which are based on the consistent teachings of the Popes, reveal the gross deficiencies of this prayer, no matter how well-intentioned it may have been. In truth, only Roman Catholics can honestly be called "sons of Abraham," since it is only the Catholic religion which is faithful to the Faith of Abraham regarding the coming of the Redeemer. Only Roman Catholics can truly be called the "People of the Covenant," since Christ superseded the Old Covenant with His New Covenant by His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and the establishment of His one true ecclesia.28
Thus, the March 12 "prayer for forgiveness" was a bizarre inversion of what should have taken place. It is the Jewish Rabbis who should have been on their knees reciting this same prayer, asking Heaven's forgiveness for causing God's "children to suffer" by their de-Christianizing effect on the nations and for their opposition to Christ and His Kingship. It is the Jewish Rabbis who should have vowed to "commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant," in other words, to repudiate their blasphemous Talmudic errors and convert to the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
The 'Fr. Fahey' Ferrara refers to is Fr. Denis Fahey, held in high regard by many radical traditionalists (including the Society of St. Pius X), and waged a personal campaign against against "Jewish naturalism", or " the naturalistic Messianic domination of [The Jewish] nation over all the others". 6 It is interesting to note that Sungenis, Ferrara and Vennari, when speaking about the Jews, have all referred to Fr. Fahey's peculiar definition of anti-semitism, which is what I would like to address next.
Fr. Fahey adhered to a specific and personal definition of anti-semitism as that comes in quite handy for radical traditionalist critics to dismiss accusations that they personally dislike the Jews. As Vennari says in a recent article in Catholic Family News:
One of the finest writers who dealt with the subject of anti-Semitism was the eminent scholar, Father Denis Fahey. In his 1953 book The Kingship of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation, Father Fahey discussed the true nature of the word. He explains that "anti-Semitism" means hatred of Jews as a race and as such is sinful. "The Jews, however," says Fahey "use the word to designate any form of opposition to themselves, and they strive persistently to associate irrationality and want of balance with the term. They evidently want the world to believe that anyone who opposes Jewish pretensions is more or less deranged." 7
According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, "anti-semitism" was coined in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr to designate anti-Jewish campaigns in central Europe at that time. Although it is a misnomer (implying discrimination against all semites), it is commonly understood to mean "hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group" (Merriam-Webster).
Fr. Edward Flannery's Anguish of the Jews, a classic study of anti-semitism
The distinguishing mark of anti-semitism is a hatred, contempt and stereotyping of the Jewish people as such. . . . it should be distinguished therefore from indiscriminate hostility to which all peoples and groups have been prey; from anti-Judaism, a theological construct, with which it has often been intermingled; and from anti-Jewish manifestations that may lead to -- or in history have led to -- but do not possess the attributes specified above. 8
Flannery's book documents many kinds of anti-semitism, from the classical anti-semitism of Greeks & Romans (motivated by offense at the Jewish refusal to conform to the religious and social standards of Hellenistic culture) to the religious anti-semitism and anti-Judaism of the Christian Church (manifesting itself in persecution, pogroms, massacres, social degradations, and forced baptisms) to anti-semitism of modern times (motivated by economic resentment and racial hatred, and culminating in the Holocaust).
The Anguish of the Jews, revised and updated in 1984, is considered to be a classic history of the subject. Upon reading Flannery's history one can only conclude that Fahey's equasion of anti-semitism with racial hatred, while etymologically correct, is gravely insufficient.
Furthermore, Ferrara, Sungenis and Vennari's deferral to Fahey's definition of anti-semitism as exclusively racial hatred, conveniently enables them to dismiss other forms of anti-semitism and/or anti-Judaism, especially and including the "teaching of contempt" -- the tradition of theological interpretation which provided a religious basis for Christian persecution of the Jews over the course of history, and formally repudiated by the Church in Nostra Aetate.
Just what radical traditionalists think of "teaching of contempt" is illustrated in John Vennari's response to Rabbi Klenicki, whom he encountered while attending a Jewish-Christian dialogue meeting:
[Rabbi Klenicki] told us that Catholic theology had been poisoned by "triumphalism" and by what he called "anti-Judaism". He referred to the Catholic teaching of the Middle Ages as the "teaching of contempt". This so-called "teaching of contempt" is nothing more than the traditional Catholic doctrine that Christ put an end to the religion of the Old Covenant by fulfilling it, and superseding it with the New Covenant through the establishment of His one true Church. . . . Rabbi Klenicki, however, complained that the traditional Catholic teaching led to the belief that Jews were not saved, which led to the belief that Jews were inferior, which led to the belief that Jews were contemptible, "which led" he said "to Auschwitz".
Thus, the Rabbi advanced the false claim that it was the teaching of the Catholic Church that was ultimately responsible for the extermination of Jews in Nazi concentration camps under Hitler. 9
This relation of the "teaching of contempt" to the Holocaust was examined by the Vatican in the document We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah. Although the Church asserted that "The Shoah was the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime. Its anti-Semitism had its roots outside of Christianity", it did consider the question "whether the Nazi persecution of the Jews was not made easier by the anti-Jewish prejudices imbedded in some Christian minds and hearts", and recognized that "the spiritual resistance and concrete action of other Christians was not that which might have been expected from Christ's followers."
For Vennari, however, the notion that certain teachings within Christianity fostered contempt for the Jews and led to the lack of Christian resistance to (and in some cases complicity with) persecution of the Jewish people under the Nazis, is simply preposterous.
The 'teaching of contempt' was popularized by the French-Jewish history professor Jules Isaac, who with the advent of the Nazi invasion of France began to research the subject of the inexplicable silence and apathy of Christians toward Nazi persecution of European Jews, spurred by the loss of his wife and most of his family in 1943 in the Nazi death camps.
In 1947 Prof. Isaac published Jesus and Israel, a 600 page analysis of anti-semitism and Christianity which compared the texts of the Gospels with Catholic and Protestant scriptural commentaries conveying a distorted picture of Jesus' attitude toward Israel and Israel's attitude toward Jesus, and which he believed were largely responsible for the anti-semitic conditioning of European Christians. That same year, he met with Jewish and Catholic intellectuals to submit his Eighteen Points: specific recommendations for the purification of Christian teaching regarding the Jews.
In 1949, following the papal authorization to substitute the term "perfidis judaeis" with the milder "unfaithful" or "unbelieving" in the Good Friday prayer for the Jews, Isaac had an audience with Pope Pius XII to present his Eighteen Points and petition for further changes. In the years that followed Jules Isaac published several more works, including one on the fundamental differences between pagan and Christian anti-semitism, which argued that the latter, because it was theological, was more pernicious and persistent.
Prof. Isaac went on to meet Pope John XXIII in a private audience and petition for the formal removal of the "teaching of contempt" from Christian tradition -- a hope which was to be realized in Vatican II's Nostra Aetate, which not only issued a formal condemnation of the charge of deicide but conveyed a positive vision of the relationship between the Church and the Jewish people.
The first book by Isaac to be published in English is simply titled The Teaching of Contempt: Christian roots of Anti-Semitism, a basic presentation of his study of the subject. According to Isaac contempt for the Jews manifests itself in three main themes in Christian tradition:
The first theme is the "dispersion of Israel as a sign of providential punishment," beginning with the capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D, which Christians understood as God's retribution for the crucifixion of Christ.
The second theme is the "degenarate state of Judaism at the time of Jesus", in which Christianity portrayed the Jewish religion in Jesus' time as "desiccated, ossified, reduced to mere formalism and ritual . . . legalism without a soul, without ferver, without true aspiration towards God."
The third theme was the "crime of deicide", and the application of collective guilt upon the Jewish people as a whole. Christianity came to depict the Jews "as Cain, as Judas, as a murderous people, a 'deicide' people . . . an abomination to the Christian world." Thus the role of Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers would be increasingly subordinated to that of the Jews in the preaching and teaching of the Church fathers.
In this small book Jules Isaac would present each of these themes in the historical writings of the Church, from the time of the fathers through the twentieth century -- and he would counter each of them in turn with historical evidence to the contrary, as well as appealing to the scriptures themselves and the spirit of Christ:
Christ is said to have pronounced a sentence of alienation and condemnation upon the Jewish people. But why, in contradiction of his own gospel of love and forgiveness, should he had condemned his own people, the only people to whom he chose to speak -- his own people, among whom he found not only bitter enemies, but fervent disciples and adoring followers? We have every reason to believe that the real object of his condemnation was a certain pharisaism to be found in al times and in all peoples, in every religion and in every church. 10
Recognizing the contribution of certain interpretations in Christian tradition to fostering a contempt of the Jews, Vatican II responded to the Shoah by calling for a re-evaluation of the historical Judaism of the Old Testament, a condemnation of the charge of deicide, and an appreciation for the positive aspects of contemporary rabbinic Judaism and the witness of the Jewish people in our day and age.
The supercessionist theological conception of the relationship between the Old and New Covenant perpetuated by traditional Catholics like Ferrara and Sungenis, depicting the Jewish people as being utterly abandoned by God and the Jewish Covenant as revoked, must be firmly countered by the recognition of Israel's continuing covenant relationship with God, as expressed by the Church in light of St. Paul's reflections on the enduring mercy of a God who is faithful to his promises:
For Paul, Jesus' establishment of "the new covenant in [his] blood" (1 Co 11:25), does not imply any rupture of God's covenant with his people, but constitutes its fulfilment. He includes "the covenants" among the privileges enjoyed by Israel, even if they do not believe in Christ (Rm 9:4). Israel continues to be in a covenant relationship and remains the people to whom the fulfilment of the covenant was promised, because their lack of faith cannot annul God's fidelity (Rm 11:29). Even if some Israelites have observed the Law as a means of establishing their own justice, the covenant-promise of God, who is rich in mercy (Rm 11:26-27), cannot be abrogated. Continuity is underlined by affirming that Christ is the end and the fulfilment to which the Law was leading the people of God (Ga 3:24). For many Jews, the veil with which Moses covered his face remains over the Old Testament (2 Co 3:13,15), thus preventing them from recognising Christ's revelation there. This becomes part of the mysterious plan of God's salvation, the final outcome of which is the salvation of "all Israel" (Rm 11:26). 11
One of the best summaries of this new vision of the Jewish-Christian relationship is found in the reflections of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger:
Certainly, from the very beginning, relations between the infant Church and Israel were often marked by conflict. The Church was considered by her own mother to be a degenerate daughter, while Christians considered their mother to be blind and obstinate. Down through the history of Christianity, already-strained relations deteriorated further, even giving birth in many cases to anti-Jewish attitudes, which throughout history have led to deplorable acts of violence. Even if the most recent, loathsome experience of the Shoah was perpetrated in the name of an anti-Christian ideology, which tried to strike the Christian faith at its Abrahamic roots in the people of Israel, it cannot be denied that a certain insufficient resistance to this atrocity on the part of Christians can be explained by an inherited anti-Judaism present in the hearts of not a few Christians.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this latest tragedy that a new vision of the relationship between the Church and Israel has been born: a sincere willingness to overcome every kind of anti-Judaism, and to initiate a constructive dialogue based on knowledge of each other, and on reconciliation. If such a dialogue is to be fruitful, it must begin with a prayer to our God, first of all that he might grant to us Christians a greater esteem and love for that people, the people of Israel, to whom belong "the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs are the patriarchs, and from them comes Christ according to the flesh, he who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 9:4-5), and this not only in the past, but still today, "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). In the same way, let us pray that he may grant also to the children of Israel a deeper knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth, who is their son, and the gift they have made to us. Since we are both awaiting the final redemption, let us pray that the paths we follow may converge. 12
It is one thing to contend on the basis of this new appreciation for Jews and Judaism as expressed in Nostrae Aetate to call for the cessation of proselytism and missionary tactics which infringed upon human dignity and religious freedom. It is quite another to argue, as do the authors of Reflections on Covenant and Mission, that the Jewish people are exempt from the Church's missionary mandate to spread the gospel to the nations.
In spite of the objectionable content found in radical traditionalist portrayal of the Jews, I believe they are correct about this: it must be admitted that with respect to the question of whether a mission -- understood as catechesis and the invitation to baptism -- to the Jews was acceptable in the Catholic Church today, we are receiving conflicting messages by prominent members of the clergy, not only those of the USCCB but within the Vatican itself. For even though Cardinal Keeler has rejected the popular misconception that Covenant and Mission represented a formal teaching of the Catholic Church, prominent members of the dialogue are contributing to that very impression by publicly agreeing with and promoting the conclusions of the authors.
As Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, Eugene Fisher is has often had to publicly address the issue of converting Jews to Christianity. In addition to referring to the paper by Tommaco Federici on the subject mentioned earlier, Fisher has on numerous occasions advanced the argument that the revisions to the Good Friday prayer for the Jews provide a theological basis for the relenquishment of a specific mission.
Beginning with Pope Pius XII's mandate in 1950 that the term perfideles be translated in liturgical books as "unbelieving" or "unfaithful" rather than "perfidious"; Pope John XIII's subsequent abolishment of the term altogether, and the extensive revisions of the prayer by the Second Vatican Council, Fisher concludes:
The reform of the Liturgy mandated by the Second Vatican Council, however, re-conceptualized and rewrote the prayer entirely. It now reads:
Let us pray for the Jewish people,
the first to hear the word of God
that they may continue to grow in the love of his Name
and in faithfulness to his covenant.
Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity.
Listen to your Church as we pray that the people you first made your own
may arrive at the fullness of redemption.
The phrase, "fullness of redemption," here, is not historical but eschatological. Like St. Paul in Romans 11 it remands the issue to God's mercy, to be revealed at the end of time. I believe this was intentional as a way of resolving the question in the present dispensation. So, no, the Church does not wish the conversion of the Jews as a people to Christianity. Otherwise she would at least pray for it. This does not, of course, preclude the acceptance into the Church of individual Jews whose own, personal spiritual lives have lead them to our faith. Such a policy of exclusion would in my opinion be itself a travesty of the principles of religious freedom. 13
Like the Catholic participants of Covenant and Mission, Eugene Fisher also refers to the words of Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, in May 2001, responding to Jewish concerns over the missiological implications of Dominus Iesus for the Jewish people. Statements which, because of the nature of his office, carry far more weight than those of Covenant and Mission [emphasis mine]:
Kasper's declaration, while not quite on the order of the statement of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which it interprets, is nonetheless not simply another "opinion." It was issued on a formal occasion when the Cardinal was speaking for the Catholic Church to the Jewish People. So it represents the definitive statement by the Holy See itself of the meaning of DI for Catholic-Jewish relations.14
Kasper notes the postive appreciation of Judaism by Nostra Aetate, and by Pope John Paul II. He correctly notes the unique character of the Church's evaluation of Judaism among the rest of the world's religions:
As Pope John Paul II has put it on more than one occasion, "our two religious communities are connected and closely related at the very level of their religious identities" (his addresses of 12 March, 1973, and 6 March, 1982); and during his historic visit to the Synagogue of Rome on 13 April, 1986: "The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic'to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic'to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers". 15
On the question of the status of the Jewish covenant, Kasper assures them that "the old theory of substitution is gone since II Vatican Council. For us Christians today the covenant with the Jewish people is a living heritage, a living reality." And since Dominis Iesus was specifically concerned with correcting certain attempts by theologians engaged in dialogue to arrive at a "universal theology" of interreligious relations leading in some cases to indifferentism, relativism and syncretism, the Jewish people have no basis for concern, because Dominis Iesus has no bearing upon the theology of Catholic-Jewish relations.
And yet, contrary to his initial assertion that Dominus Iesus is not directly concerned with Jewish-Christian relations, Cardinal Kasper proceeds to state -- on the basis of Dominus Iesus -- that the salvific universality of Jesus Christ specifically absolves the Jews of any need to convert:
The only thing I wish to say is that the Document Dominus Iesus does not state that everybody needs to become a Catholic in order to be saved by God. On the contrary, it declares that God's grace, which is the grace of Jesus Christ according to our faith, is available to all. Therefore, the Church believes that Judaism, i.e. the faithful response of the Jewish people to God's irrevocable covenant, is salvific for them, because God is faithful to his promises.
This touches the problem of mission towards Jews, a painful question with regard to forced conversion in the past. Dominus Iesus, as other official documents, raised this question again saying that dialogue is a part of evangelisation. This stirred Jewish suspicion. But this is a language problem, since the term evangelisation, in official Church documents, cannot be understood in the same way it is commonly interpreted in everyday's speech. In strict theological language, evangelisation is a very complex and overall term, and reality. It implies presence and witness, prayer and liturgy, proclamation and catechesis, dialogue and social work . . . which do not have the goal of increasing the number of Catholics. Thus evangelisation, if understood in its proper and theological meaning, does not imply any attempt of proselytism whatsoever. 16
Note Cardinal Kasper's line of reasoning: Dominus Iesus emphasizes the necessity of evangelization. But evangelization is a highly complex term, and doesn't necessarily mean "increasing the number of Catholics" (presumably through conversion). Consequently, Jews need not be concerned because DI does not imply any attempt of proselytism whatsoever.
But what does "proselytism" really mean? And is Cardinal Kasper's understanding of the term correct? -- According to Cardinal Francis Arinze, former head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious dialogue and one quite familiar with the term, proselytism is generally understood to mean the effort to spread one's religion by methods that are regarded as unnacceptable. Examples of proselytism include coercion by physical (through harrassment and threat of violence), economic (through the promise of material gifts), and psychological (taking advantage of one's ignorance) means, all of which deserve condemnation since they insult the human dignity of the recipient, infringes upon one's religious freedom, and does no honor to God.
But, Cardinal Arinze adds,
There is, however, a use of the word proselytism that is unacceptable. Some people use the word to refer to every effort to propose one's religion to others, even when the methods used are noble, honest and respectful. It is worng and confusing to use the term in this sense. It is like giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. It is like wanting to deny and to condemn the right of a person to share one's religion. This fundamental human right should never be denied to anyone. 17
In light of Arinze's clarification of the term, Cardinal Kasper's statement that Dominus Iesus's promotion of evangelization excludes any attempt at proselytization is faulty -- since it equates proselytization with a sharing of the gospel with others and gives the impression to his audience that such is prohibited in Jewish-Christian relations.
Does Dominus Iesus's insistence on the universal salvicity of Jesus Christ imply that Jews are exempt from the Church's missionary mandate? -- Cardinal Kasper answers in the affirmative. A closer examination of the text of the document, and Cardinal Ratzinger's defense of that document, argue to the contrary.
Cardinal Kasper and Dr. Fisher are certainly correct in noting that the Church teaches that those outside the visible boundaries of the Church can attain salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ. As Pope John Paul II states in the encyclical Redemptoris Missio
The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all. But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the gospel revelation or to enter the Church. The social and cultural conditions in which they live do not permit this, and frequently they have been brought up in other religious traditions. For such people salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his Sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation.
For this reason the Council, after affirming the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, went on to declare that "this applies not only to Christians but to all people of good will in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Since Christ died for everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is therefore a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in this Paschal Mystery in a manner known to God." 18
Consequently the unique mediation and universal salvicity of Jesus Christ is extended to all humanity beyond the visible boundaries of the Church, and allows the possibility for non-Christians (including the Jews) to respond to that grace by following what light of truth is available to them.
But this is not simply all there is to it: Dominis Iesus, while reiterating the Church's teaching, follows its assertion of the universal salvicity of Jesus Christ with an equally emphatic assertion that individual salvation through Christ cannot be understood as an isolated process, separate and against the Church:
[20.] Above all else, it must be firmly believed that "the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door". This doctrine must not be set against the universal salvific will of God (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); "it is necessary to keep these two truths together, namely, the real possibility of salvation in Christ for all mankind and the necessity of the Church for this salvation".
The Church is the "universal sacrament of salvation", since, united always in a mysterious way to the Saviour Jesus Christ, her Head, and subordinated to him, she has, in God's plan, an indispensable relationship with the salvation of every human being.Ý For those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, "salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit";81 it has a relationship with the Church, which "according to the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit".
21. With respect to the way in which the salvific grace of God -- which is always given by means of Christ in the Spirit and has a mysterious relationship to the Church -- comes to individual non-Christians, the Second Vatican Council limited itself to the statement that God bestows it "in ways known to himself". Theologians are seeking to understand this question more fully. Their work is to be encouraged, since it is certainly useful for understanding better God's salvific plan and the ways in which it is accomplished. However, from what has been stated above about the mediation of Jesus Christ and the "unique and special relationship" which the Church has with the kingdom of God among men -- which in substance is the universal kingdom of Christ the Saviour -- it is clear that it would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions, seen as complementary to the Church or substantially equivalent to her, even if these are said to be converging with the Church toward the eschatological kingdom of God. 19
I believe that Cardinal Kasper certainly comprehends the entire meaning of Dominus Iesus. However, when he informs a predominantly Jewish audience that Dominus Iesus means "it is not necessary to become a Catholic in order to be saved by God", and assures them that "Judaism, i.e. the faithful response of the Jewish people to God's irrevocable covenant, is salvific for them, because God is faithful to his promises" -- without providing any degree of theological clarification of these points, he assists in fostering an attitude of ambivalence towards the necessity of Jesus Christ and his Church for salvation.
Dominus Iesus' caution to theologian that "it would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions" could certainly be seen as applicable to Cardinal Kasper's presentation of the Jewish Covenant -- especially when this caution is also stated by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews:
"In virtue of her divine mission, the Church" which is to be "the all-embracing means of salvation" in which alone "the fulness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (Unit. Red. 3); "must of her nature proclaim Jesus Christ to the world" (cf. Guidelines and Suggestions, I). Indeed we believe that is is through him that we go to the Father (cf. Jn. 14:6) "and this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (Jn 17:33).
Jesus affirms (ibid. 10:16) that "there shall be one flock and one shepherd". Church and Judaism cannot then be seen as two parallel ways of salvation and the Church must witness to Christ as the Redeemer for all, "while maintaining the strictest respect for religious liberty in line with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (Declaration Dignitatis Humanae)" (Guidelines and Suggestions, I). 20
Dominus Iesus, furthermore, is insists the missionary mandate of the Church, which is obligated to proclaim the truth of salvation to all without exception [emphasis mine]:
In inter-religious dialogue as well, the mission ad gentes "today as always retains its full force and necessity". "Indeed, God 'desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4); that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the promptings of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary". . . . Indeed, the Church, guided by charity and respect for freedom, must be primarily committed to proclaiming to all people the truth definitively revealed by the Lord, and to announcing the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of adherence to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in order to participate fully in communion with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, the certainty of the universal salvific will of God does not diminish, but rather increases the duty and urgency of the proclamation of salvation and of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. 21
Defending Dominus Iesus in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Cardinal Ratzinger was pressed with the question of the necessity of the Church's mission, "if, in the end, man can reach God by all paths" -- or, in the words of Cardinal Kasper, "one does not have to become Catholic to be saved"). The Cardinal responded:
"Those who seek the truth find themselves objectively on the path that leads to Christ, and thus also on the path to the community in which he remains present in history, that is, to the Church. To seek the truth, to listen to one's conscience, to purify one's interior hearing, these are the conditions of salvation for all. They have a profound, objective connection with Christ and the Church. In this sense we say that other religions have rites and prayers which can play a role of preparing for the Gospel, of occasions or pedagogical helps in which the human heart is prompted to open itself to God's action.
The way of conscience, the keeping of one's gaze focused on truth and the objective good, is one single way, although it can take many forms because of the great number of individuals and situations. The good is one, however, and truth does not contradict itself. The fact that man does not attain one or the other does not relativize the requirement of truth and goodness. For this reason it is not enough to continue in the religion one has inherited, but one must remain attentive to the true good and thus be able to transcend the limits of one's own religion. This has meaning only if truth and goodness really exist. It would be impossible to walk the way of Christ if he did not exist. Living with the eyes of the heart open, purifying oneself inwardly and seeking the light are indispensable conditions of human salvation. Proclaiming the truth, that is, making the light shine (not putting it 'under a bushel, but on a stand'), is absolutely necessary." 22
What does John Paul II say regarding a mission to the Jews? The authors of Covenant and Mission and Cardinal Kasper defend their conclusion with an appeal the Pope's appreciation of Judaism and his (often-quoted) insistence, following St. Paul, that "the covenant has not been revoked." But as Cardinal Avery Dulles notes in his response to Covenant and Mission:
[Pope John Paul II] declares that "missionary evangelization is the primary service that the Church can render to every individual and all humanity in the modern world" (R.M., No. 2). The call to conversion, says the pope, must not be dismissed as "proselytization" in the pejorative sense of that word, since it corresponds to the right of every person to hear the good news of the God who gives himself in Christ. Conversion to Christ, he notes, is intrinsically joined to baptism as the sacrament of regeneration (No. 47). While he does not "target" Jews in any special way for conversion, he makes no exception for them. He simply assumes, as all Christians must, that if Christ is the redeemer of the world, every tongue should confess him. If Jesus offers a share in his divine life through the sacraments, all men and women, not excluding Jews, should be invited to the banquet. 23
And as Rev. Michael McGarry, C.S.P. observes in his analysis of Redemptoris Missio in relation to the question "Can Catholics make an exception?":
[Like Pope Paul IV in Evangelii Nuntiandi], Pope John Paul II says nothing about the Jewish people in Redemptoris Missio. Rather the beneficiaries of the Church's missionary task ad extra are all peoples without exception. ("The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the church...it must be made concretely available to all"). . . . The Pope's view of the Jewish role in salvation, at least in this document, is decidedly prefatory; Jewish life and religion after the time of Jesus and their continued witness to the world of God's faithfulness are neither mentioned nor alluded to. However, what is interesting in the Pope's description of the mission from our focused concern is precisely its emphasis, if not sole direction, towards the Gentiles and not towards Israel.
What are we to conclude, therefore, about what Pope John Paul has said about the Jews in RM?
Like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II does not call for an explicit mission to the Jews (nor does he exclude the Jews from the Church's mission);
The meaning of the Jewish people to and in the world after the time of Jesus is left unmentioned.
In spite of the criticisms of Cardinal Avery Dulles and Cardinal Ratzinger, it certainly appears that the exemption of the Jews to the Church's call for conversion, together with a conception of the Jewish covenant that possesses a salvific status of its own, seemingly apart from the work of Christ or any relationship (however mysterious) with the Church, are representative of the state of mind of Catholic participants engaging in dialogue with Jews today.
So long as prominent members of the Church like Eugene Fisher (associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations) and Cardinal Kasper (President of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews) express their agreement with the conclusions of Reflections of Covenant and Mission over and against other prominent members of the clergy (Cardinal Dulles and Cardinal Ratzinger, among others), there will continue to be a great deal of confusion in the minds of many laymen -- not to mention those outside the Church -- on this very question.
The need for further clarification from the Vatican -- perhaps by way of a formal doctrinal note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- on this matter is made all the more imperative, given the manner in which radical traditionalists and others on the Catholic fringe have used the conclusions of Covenant & Mission and Cardinal Kasper in their vehement assault upon the integrity of Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church.
I firmly believe that Nostra Aetate's repudiation of the teaching of contempt and the development of a positive appreciation of Jews and contemporary Judaism is one of the greatest achievements of the Second Vatican Council, and that members of those commissions engaging in interreligious dialogue with the Jews have done a remarkable job of bringing about the Church's reconciliation with our "elder sisters and brothers in the faith." But such a reconciliation cannot be attained at the cost of reneging on the Church's obligation to bring the gospel of Christ to all people.
Let us hope and pray that the Vatican will see fit in the future to present a unified response to Reflections on Covenant and Mission, and assist in putting an end to the conflicting messages we are currently receiving.
Study Outline on the Mission and Witness of the Church, by Tommaso Federici, presented at the sixth meeting of the Liaison Committee between the Roman Catholic Church and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, held in Venice at Casa Cardinal Piazza March 27 to 30, 1977. Tommaso argued on historical and theological grounds that there should be in the Church no organizations of any kind dedicated to the conversion of Jews. This has over the ensuing years been the de facto practice of the Catholic Church.
Sungenis' outbursts and headlong embrace of radical traditionalism prompted many of his colleagues and mainstream Catholic organizations such as EWTN to sever ties with Catholic Apologetics International. He has since removed the offending piece which, along with another titled "The Jewish Talmud - A Sacred Book?", are under revision and will "be reposted in the first week of November with much more significant information, as well as a good measure of sensitivity to all parties involved." (Readers are still waiting). Bill Cork has written an analysis of the original article in a piece titled "Anti-Semitism and the Catholic Right".
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Talmud -- the classic text of Jewish law and lore, history and philosophy -- is increasingly being used to perpetuate anti-semetic portrayals of Jews as "perverted" and "immoral", and have issued a response addressing such charges. John Vennari has often cited such charges, his latest in an article "The Attack on the Oberammergau Passion Play", on Jewish criticisms of and revisions to anti-semitic content in the Obberamergau Passion Play (Catholic Family News, May 2003).
In "Fr Denis Fahey on Anti-Semitism", Fr. Fahey reminds his readers that "Catholics should neither hate [the Jews] . . . nor deny them their legitimate rights as persons." And yet, in a "A Brief Sketch of My Life's Work", Fr. Fahey quotes approvingly Pope St. Pius V' expulsion of the Jews from the Papal territories, according to whom:
"Their wickedness, which has been developed by every evil art, has now reached such a point that, in view of our common safety, We feel it expedient to check the spread of such a disease by applying a speedy remedy ....We have clear and definite proof how this perverse race hates the name of Christ, how hostile they are to all who bear His name and by what tricks and frauds they plot against the lives of Christians ...." [The Angelus January 2001, Volume XXVI, Number 1.]
I personally find it incomprehensible how one can both condemn racial anti-semitism and yet endorse such a contemptuous view of Jews that has fueled so many malicious words and acts in the history of the Church.
Vennari, "The Attack on the Oberammergau Passion Play", Catholic Family News May 2003.
Dominus Iesus, an assessment by Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Religious Relations with the Jews. Delivered at the 17th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, New York, May 1, 2001.
SIDIC. Service International de Documentation JudÈo-ChrÈtienne (International Jewish-Christian Documentation Service) is a Study and Documentation Center founded in Rome in 1965 at the request of a group of Bishops and experts from Vatican Council II.
Christopher Blosser is the webmaster for the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club. When he's not engaged in maintenance and updates of this website he posts occasional musings on various issues in Catholic theology to his blog.
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The No. 10 player in the nation scheduled a visit to Akron's campus for April 18.
Despite offers from the likes of Kentucky, Ohio State, Pitt and Tennessee, Akron's campus is Adriean Payne's only scheduled visit.
Payne is 6-foot-10, but his doctors say he has seven-foot potential. He plays on a loaded AAU team, but like Zeke Marshall, he wants to blaze his own trail -- to make his name where few names have been made.
Payne, a Dayton native, will visit with his grandmother and his high school coaches. With Akron's other available scholarship likely going to Darryl Roberts, Payne would be Akron's only recruit in 2010.
But if he signed with the Zips, you better believe it would make national headlines.
Payne wants a school with a great basketball program, solid academics and one that provides a chance to catch the eyes of NBA scouts. The most recent NBA Draft has shown that if you stand out, scouts will find you.
The PD's Elton Alexander wrote about Akron's plans with Zeke Marshall. It's definitely worth reading.
I hope fans are not unreasonably optimistic about Marshall's immediate impact on offense. He is seven feet tall, but that does not mean his footwork or his hands are advanced enough to score on the MAC's physical, yet short, post bangers. I think everyone is justified in believing Marshall will dominate on defense, though.
I played the role of lazy reporter. You asked the questions. J.D. Brookhart answered them.
Question: What will be the defensive scheme? Answer: "We are still going to be use a base 3-3, but we will be more multiple," Brookhart said.
Question: What does Walt Harris think of the quarterback situation? Answer: "I like them both," Harris said. "Chris [Jacquemain] is a veteran quarterback. He has tools to be an outstanding passer. Matt Rodgers is an interesting young man in terms of upside. Chris is a two-year starter. He has experience that you can't buy. But he has to get better. He has to be more confident in what his receivers are doing." Brookhart added this: "Jacq is the quarterback. Matt has to beat him out."
Question: What is the status of the running backs? Answer: DeVoe Torrence and Jeremy Bruce got carries, but the others were still out. Alex Allen dressed and verbally expressed his desire to play from the sideline, but I did not see him on the field.
Question: How is the defensive line looking? Answer: Only five linemen dressed today. In fact, Akron had 20 injured players on Thursday. Ryan Bain's back is bothering him, but he is eligible. (Brookhart stressed that, so it's not like that "foot injury" of last year.) Another lineman, who will go nameless, was cited by police for "driving too slow." On the positive side, Brookhart singled out Dan Marcoux as showing great improvement. Shawn Lemon is looking good on pass rush. Almondo Sewell, as always, is a terror to block, the coach said.
Question: How are the linebackers looking? Answer: Brookhart plans to play six or seven linebackers. The top two are Aaron Williams and Mike Thomas. The coaches have been really impressed with freshmen Troy Gilmer and Brian Wagner, too. Will Fleming might be a factor but they are being careful with his injured shoulder.
Question: Will Larry Dawson play? Answer: The Akron North High School product is listed at linebacker. He is not contending to start.
Question: Why Morgan State? Answer: Brookhart said, "Thank goodness, we get a [Division] I-AA game like the rest of the world." Brookhart was involved in the scheduling process. Division I-A teams get to count one win against a I-AA team for their win total regarding bowl eligibility, so this makes a wealth of sense. Why play a Middle Tennessee State and lose when you can schedule a local I-AA team that brings fans and a cupcake roster? Next time, UA might find an Ohio team to get that added benefit. This year, they were pinched and had to find a team quickly. When Mack Rhodes arrived, the schedule lacked flexibility, but now he is able to do that.
Question: How is Torrence coming along? Answer: He has "lots of learning to do. He needs to go make a lot of mistakes," Brookhart said.
Question: Are there any transfers since the end of the season? Answer: No.
Question: How has Marquinn Davis looked? Answer: Brookhart got excited when I asked this. "He has improved, yeah. He has been a nice surprise. Not there as a starter yet."
Question: Is Da-Von Moore healthy? Answer: No. He has had two surgeries on the same anterior-cruciate ligament since arriving at Akron. He tore the same tendon twice. Moore had his second surgery in September. Two ACL tears on the same knee is awful news for a football player at any position, much less a linebacker who has to move laterally.
Question: What are your thoughts on the coffin corner punt? Answer: Akron has used it a lot, but not as much toward the end of last season, Brookhart said.
Question: How did Pro Day go yesterday? (This is my question) Answer: "Impressive." Three former Zips ran in the 4.3s: Bryan Williams, Brandon Anderson and Andrew Johnson. Merce Poindexter clocked in at a solid 4.6.
Question: Will you name team captains? (My question) Answer: It turns out, Brookhart doesn't run a democracy. He will let the players vote at the end of spring. If he isn't happy with the results, he will wait until the fall.
According to a university source, Akron has agreed to play Morgan State on Sept. 12 to open InfoCision Stadium.
Previously, the opener was planned to be against Indiana the following week. Morgan State is the new university of former Zip Carlton Jackson, who will be the Bears' starting quarterback.
I will have more tomorrow.
With new a new stadium, new coaches and new talent, this football season has more intrigue than any I can remember.
I will attend practice on Thursday afternoon. If you have any questions, post them below or e-mail me, and I will try to find an answer.
I have been neglecting the pigskin, but I promise to play catch-up. Fun fact: My blog statistics indicate that football is the sport of widest interest.
The Washington Post wrote a great story that draws all of the connections between LeBron James and the Zips basketball program.
The feature illustrates how important James has been to Akron's growth, and how big he will be in the future. One quote struck me: "When we do ask [for money], it will be for a lot," Keith Dambrot said about soliciting donations from King James. That sounds a lot like an allusion to a new basketball arena.
Sophomore running back Dale Martin, who transferred from Louisville, will be out until at least late July after tearing his Achilles' tendon, the university announced today.
That link also gives information about April 4's Spring Festival.
After 48 games, Howard Cleveland leads the AK-Rowdies Bracket Challenge by one point.
Romeo Travis never played in the NCAA Tournament, but he sure can fill out a bracket.
He has entered the lead in the AK-Rowdies Bracket Challenge. The former Zips star has made 26 correct picks out of 32. Travis predicted a Sweet Sixteen appearance for Akron. You have to admire that loyalty and trust.
There are five others tied with Travis: Howard Cleveland, Matt Strand, Eric Noland, Matt Kloetzer and (ugh) Kiel Fleming.
Every year, there are No. 4 seeds that appear ripe for the picking. On the other hand, there usually are No. 4 seeds that have just as much talent as the boys at the top. Akron stumbled into the backyard of one of them, fought them punch-for-punch, but eventually succumbed.
If there was ever a loss where Keith Dambrot doesn't have to read negative comments, it should be this one. The Zips were like the little brother who made enough shots to give the older brother a scare in the driveway. Eventually, size, experience and skill became too much for the underdog.
Congratulations to this Nate Linhart-led team, which broke new ground for the program and refused to be satisfied with just seeing its name on the bracket. If you still don't comprehend what Linhart has meant to this team, you have chosen not to. The postseason also revealed the next generation of Zips leaders: Chris McKnight, Brett McKnight, Steve McNees and Humpty Hitchens.
Indeed, the program is in great hands, even without adding a monster shot blocker next season.
Keep refreshing your browser for updates, game starts at 7:25 p.m...
Blog fill-in guy Dan here. Rasor is out of town. Apologies in advance for what is to follow.
Anyway, so it is here. For the first time since 1986, the Akron Zips are dancing. Make sure to scroll through the rest of this blog to find beat writer Tom Gaffney's reports from Portland and Rasor's analysis.
Rasor predicted a 16-point Gonzaga victory. Columnist Patrick McManamon predicts a 12-point Gonzaga victory. Naturally, I predict an eight-point Akron loss, with Gonzaga taking it 62-54.
Most point to several factors, but this game should come down to two things: How well Akron is making and defending threes and the foul situation. Should Josh Heytvelt and Matt Bouldin - two tough size matchups for the Zips - get in foul trouble, the Zips have a chance.
Akron starters are expected to be Steve McNees, Darryl Roberts, Nate Linhart, Chris McKnight and Nikola Cvetinovic. Gonzaga is going with Heytvelt, Bouldin, Austin Daye, Micah Downs and Jeremy Pargo. Still no official word on the health of Humpty Hitchens.
Outside of die-hard Akron fans, who actually thinks the team has a chance of winning? Artie Lange, sidekick on the Howard Stern Show. That's right, you have to be a heroin addict to predict a Zips victory. Hat tip to Kiel Fleming for that line.
The Zips game got pushed back to a 7:40 p.m. start. Looking at the entire NCAA Tournament, it's too bad Akron didn't get the 14-seed American University received. The Eagles are playing Villanova, a guard-centric squad Akron could probably do well against.
It has been six years since a Mid-American Conference team has won an NCAA Tournament game. That was when Chris Kaman and Central Michigan beat Creighton.
Before the game, I really hoped Vern Lundquist wasn't the announcer. Who is the announcer? Kevin Harlan, who did good work during the Browns games. Oh, and immediately it is 2-0 Gonzaga after the tip.
Humpty Hitchens didn't start, so his ankle must still be a problem. However, I really expect to see him at some point.
Currently up 8-7, Akron is doing fairly well shooting, hitting two of three three-point shots.
Austin Daye is giving the Zips guards a lot of trouble. He's already blocked three shots and is easily shooting over defenders.
Someone in the journalism world actually picked the Zips. Joe Posnanski went with Akron. However, it should be noted that he filled out his bracket in 64 seconds and seems to enjoy the name "Humpty." No word on if he likes heroin.
Chris McKnight is looking a little more than overmatched so far in this game. With 11 minutes left in the half, Hitchens is in the game for the first time. It makes you wonder if Akron plans on opening up the game a little more.
I'm notoriously poor at filling out NCAA Tournament brackets. In the AK-Rowdy contest, I'm far out of first place already. That's the bad. The good? I'm tied with Romeo Travis.
Matt Bouldin is the latest in the long, and lame, Gonzaga tradition of having a goofy mop cut. His curly locks follow in the tradition of Adam Morrison and Dan Dickau.
A big three-point shot by Jeremy Pargo puts Gonzaga up 22-18. The Zips are having a little trouble getting back in transition. Gonzaga's players are just bigger and quicker.
Akron is really staying in the game thanks to tough play from Nate Linhart, who already has 10 points. The Zips are on a run right now and need to keep it up. For some reason, Gonzaga has gone away from the low post game.
Miami University re-signed head coach Charlie Coles to a three-year contract extension today. Good move by Miami. Not only is Coles a good Mid-American Conference coach, but he has quite possibly the best scowl in collegiate sports. Watching Miami games might be boring. Watching Coles' expression is not.
Akron is up 33-28 thanks to smart play in the low post. Akron is really using a lot of finesse moves down low with success. Gonzaga's low-post offense is much better than its defense. Austin Daye now has five blocks.
Mike Bardo is in the game, but you wouldn't know it by watching the game. He has done almost nothing and doesn't box out on rebounds.
Akron is going into the half leading 38-35. Incredible. Thank Linhart. He has 13 points with three three-pointers. Someone pass the heroin!
The Zips are doing a nice job collapsing on Heytvelt in the post. On offense, Akron continues to live behind the three-point line with Roberts hitting another. I think that makes Akron six for 11 on threes.
Three minutes into this half, there is some bad basketball being played. Bad shot selection, bad fouls, bad passing. Akron needs to settle down a little and try and put a few good possessions together. It could start with Chris McKnight's three off the top of the backboard.
Chris McKnight lost a contact lens. He may or may not lead the nation in lost lens.
Mike Bardo almost ripped down the basket on a dunk. That was followed with a silly foul by Bardo. Oof. 46-41 Akron.
I didn't hear all of it clearly, but Harlan just talked about the "Humpty Dance" and his wife in the same sentence. I am fortunate to not have heard it.
Live and die by the three. Gonzaga just made one, putting them ahead 50-49. That forced the Zips to take a timeout. Akron needs to get back to getting shots for Linhart, who has no points in the second half.
Fun, and annoying, factoid with 11 minutes remaining: Gonzaga has shot 15 free throws to Akron's eight.
A silly push off foul by Jimmy Conyers already puts Gonzaga in the bonus with just under 10 minutes left. That's no good. Also no good is Brett McKnight shooting one for six.
CBS has switched to the Michigan/Clemson game. I know the pain of Michael J. Hixenbaugh.
Gonzaga is currently on a 14-3 run to go up 57-52. Bummer. Still no points in the second half for Nate Linhart. If he doesn't get back into the action in a big way, Akron won't win this game.
Heytvelt is really starting to take over the low post in this game. He has 16 points and keeps finding himself wide open near the basket.
Brett McKnight is just having a bad game. No more, no less. He just threw the ball to Gonzaga that led to a Zags basket and followed that up with an offensive foul.
The game has quickly slipped out of Akron's grasp with Gonzaga going up 64-52. If Akron loses this game, you'll know why by looking at the combined field goal percent of McNees and Brett McKnight. Currently they're one for 12 shooting.
Seemingly, everything Gonzaga is shooting is going in. Everything Akron is doing in the second half is not working. The Zips have gone 10 minutes with a made field goal.
Pargo just made a highlight-reel slam dunk, which punctuates this game for Akron. in the last several minutes of this game, it has become readily apparent the Zips have no chance.
Hey, hey! Akron made a basket! Darryl Roberts sinks a three bringing it to 74-58 Gonzaga.
Linhart gets the honorary substitution. He was electric in the first half of this game, but has done almost nothing in the second half.
Tim Carrol (or perhaps Tim Carroll) in the game. What, did the Wizard of Wadsworth finally run out of eligibility? Sorry. This second half has made me quite bitter.
Game over: Akron 64, Gonzaga 77.
Final note from me: This was a good season for Akron. Although this game turned out to be a disappointing one, there is nothing for the Zips to be ashamed of this year. All of the players except Nate Linhart are back next year and some promising young player will be in Rhodes Arena. That all makes Akron the prohibitive favorite to take the MAC next season.
The Zips had a short walk-through Thursday morning at Concordia College in Portland before returning to the team hotel for rest and a pregame meal. The team will leave for the Rose Garden about 2:30 Pacific. Coach Keith Dambrot said his biggest concern is that his team will defend well, but that Gonzaga is so big that it will throw the ball over the top for inside baskets. A personal thought: UA had some foul trouble in Cleveland, but can't afford that against Gonzaga.
The point spread has risen to its highest level of the week at 13.
A weekly newspaper had capsule scouting reports on all eight teams in Portland. It had "Reason to root for" and "Reason to root against.'' The "for" for UA: ""Freshman guard Anthony Hitchens' nickname is Humpty.'' The "against" refers to how LeBron James has scorched the Trail Blazers, including 51 points recently: "Thanks to the connection between coach Keith Dambrot and LeBron James, Akron players sport James' LJ23 Nike gear. Who wants a Blazer-killer like James to be happy?''
The Oregonian, Portland's newspaper, had Gonzaga as its major story in the sports section. The headline is: ''Mid-major no more." The Zips had a short story on page C9.
The NCAA Tournament is in Oregon for the first time since 1983 and in Portland for the first time since 1975. Part of the reason for the state snub was that the NCAA frowned on the Oregon Lottery, which had one game based on betting on the NFL. Proceeds of that went to college athletic departments. But that game was stopped several years ago, and Portland got this tournament not long after. No one said there was a connection between the two, but skeptics believe there was. Skeptics also believe the state was better served by the lottery game rather than one week of having the NCAA in Portland
It seems strange to be watching the NCAA pre-game show at 9 a.m. and seeing LSU over Butler 9-0 after two minutes.
During the press conference on Saturday night, Keith Dambrot iterated the importance of getting a favorable first-round matchup. Then he reiterated it.
Indeed, the opponent makes a huge difference for Akron. The Zips can beat a certain brand of team. And there is a brand of team that the Zips have no chance against.
The former is a team like Michigan State (or many Big Ten squads) that rely on defense without being stunningly athletic. The latter is a team like Pitt, that can score 100 points if the breeze is going the right direction and that has a roster chock full of NBA talent.
When it's a defensive showdown, Dambrot has his Zips playing on par with any team in the country. When it's a shootout... Well, Akron just can't keep up.
Gonzaga, as you have probably inferred, plays a brand of basketball that Akron will struggle mightily to compete with. They average 78.8 points per game, which is the nation's 15th highest total.
The Zags also have gross height advantages at almost every position. Comparing the starting lineups, Akron is giving up 17 inches. Those inches will account for a lot of rebounds and air space for shooting. Consider the shooting guard matchup: 6-foot Darryl Roberts and 6-5 Matt Bouldin.
Also, Akron's depth was a huge advantage in Cleveland, where opponents were dealing with back-to-back-to-back games. In Portland, Gonzaga will have had 10 days to rest since painlessly putting a sleeper hold on St. Mary's in the WCC finals.
Can Akron win? Ehh...
Here is what has to happen: The Zips have to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Gonzaga has to miss a lot of 3s and have some of its important players get in foul trouble.
Prediction: Gonzaga 77, Akron 61
Here are some quotes from the press conference with the Zips in Portland:
Coach Dambrot on the Zags: ""I think the biggest challenge we face with Gonzaga is simple. I think, that a lot of times, when you coach you can handle tremendous size or terrific skill. But the biggest problem we have with Gonzaga is they not only have tremendous size, but terrific skill.''
Chris McKnight on the Zips work ethic: "'It comes from just working so hard earlier in the year. Coach always pushes us to go hard, especially in practice, because if it comes easier in practice then it will be a lot easier in games.''
Nate Linhart, same topic: "It's always been our motto to play harder than the other team. Coach is always constantly reminding us that we're not very skilled or talented. We had to find other ways to win. Playing hard just goes hand in hand with that.''
Darryl Roberts on the possibility of an upset: ""We are trying to stay away from that and stick to what we do. We just want to perform well and show we are capable of playing with a high conference team.''
Steve McNees on being in the tournament: ""It's been a heck of a ride for the entire group. It means a lot for not just the team, but the whole school, to make the tournament for the first time in 23 years. We are here to have fun and take it all in, but we're here to win and compete.''
The team got their first look at the Rose Garden, where they will play Gonzaga Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Keith Dambrot and players Nate Linhart and Chris McKnight took part in a formal press conference with the assembled reporters. The general tone of the session was how hard the Zips play. That was a followup to an earlier comment by Gonzaga Coach Mark Few: "I dont think I've ever in 20 years of watching game tape seen a team that plays that hard.''
In addition, Steve McNees, Darryl Roberts, Humpty Hitchens and Brett McKnight answered questions from tournament officials that were distributed to the press.
After that, the Zips had their alloted 40 minutes on the floor, the same as the other seven teams in Portland. The small crowd of UA fans gave them a round of applause. Most of the time was spent on shooting. At the end, Dambrot assembled the players at center court and spoke for several minutes.
I will include some of the best quotes in 15 minutes.
I had a chance to walk around Tuesday afternoon and again Wednesday morning. I like Portland, but perhaps not as much as other Pacific Northwest cities Seattle and Vancouver, where I have been recently.
It's a city that has a European feel with old buildings and half-city blocks that are easy to navigate. It has signs that say it has been honored as the Most Eco-Friendly City in America. It has parks, gardens, bike trails and fountains right in the city.
I took a long walk on the Westside Riverwalk that borders the Willamette River. Lots of walkers and bikers.
Also saw a small area dedicated to the lost art of newspapering. It had front pages of the Oregonian newspaper featuring the end of WWI, the shooting of JFK and the walk on the moon. None that said, "Oregonian closing," thankfully.
I also enjoyed Pioneer Courthouse Square, an amphitheater that is a site for entertainment. It has a pole with 20 arrows pointing to places such as Australia (8,000 miles) and Mount St. Helen (72).
Saw some people with Gonzaga gear on, but none with Akron.
Getting ready to head to the Rose Garden, where all teams will have a media session and 40 minutes on the court. The Zips are one of the last, at 515 Pacific
Ken MacDonald was the Zips sports informaton director in 1985-86 when UA made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He is in Portland for the game and brought a post-season yearbook from that year.
As with the 2008-09 Zips, that team was not highly regarded headed into the season. They were picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference, but tied with Middle Tennessee for first in the regular season and then defeated MT in the tournament final to make the NCAA Tournament.
It was interesting to see photos of a much younger Bob Huggins and assistant Frank Jessie, and of players such as Marcel Boyce and Mike Dowdell.
As a newcomer to this area that very same year, I liked seeing the list of UA employees from that season in the yearbook. I got to know and like many of them through the years, but was not completely aware of their connections to the university. In that group were the likes of Chris Bame, Pat Ciccantelli, Loralee Bolinger (later Daley), Russ Swartz, Gary Robison, Jim Corrigall, and Rocco Cona. I also liked MacDonald talking about past UA radio announcers Denny Schreiner, Whitey Wahl and Don Ursetti, who have the misfortunate of being friends of mine.
There is no question that the Gonzaga fans love their team and that the Zags are a state-wide phenomenon. I have been interviewed by five radio stations in the state, including two from Seattle. Also a newspaper reporter from Seattle called for details on the Zips. Seattle is on the other side of the state from Spokane, Gonzaga's home.
Here is more: UA ticket manager Keith Ford said he has requests for 200 tickets from Zags fans wanting to get some of the Zips allotment. Ford said between 175-200 UA fans have requested tickets.
On Tuesday night, I was watching the play-in game between Morehead State and Alabama State when the Zips got some love from the announcers. In talking about names, Humpty Hitchens of UA was mentioned. Seconds later, the zags vs. zips game was mentioned.
I am headed over to the Rose Garden in a bit after a walk around Portland, where the forecast is 55 and rain.
I arrived for my flight to Baton Rouge a few hours early, so my girlfriend could give me a ride. She's heading to Arizona.
It just so happened that Zips' fans who comment on this blog as Captain Kangaroo and Fred212 were taking the same connecting flight to Chicago as my girlfriend, en route to Portland. Ironically, the Buchtelite's Vincent Dorsey was also ready to board the jet with his brother, Nicholas. So we had a nice impromptu discussion of the Zips' hopes.
The Zips got a vote of confidence from none of us, but obviously, none of us would hold regrets over a one-and-done trip to the NCAA Tournament as long as Akron plays hard.
I strongly commend the fans making the trip. It is a helluva commitment to pay in the neighborhood of $2,000, miss work and other obligations to watch two hours of basketball. And yes, only two. Many fans booked a return flight after the first-round game, regardless of Thursday's result.
For those of you headed to Portland, I would love for you to comment on your experience. Tom Gaffney will be checking in daily, as well.
Kent State lost to Oakland tonight 80-74 in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament, and the Flashes missed an opportunity to extend their streak of 10 consecutive 20-win seasons in Geno Ford's first season.
If there's a silver lining, Al Fisher hit the 1,000 point mark for his career.
Ford will have a difficult time next season, but every new coach goes through the growing pains of establishing his system and finding players who best suit it.
I am back after a radio interview with a Seattle station. It's interesting how the state of Washington loves the Zags, perhaps more than the University of Washington, which also plays here in Portland. Maybe it is the underdog thing.
Anyway, kudos for the members of the athletic department for putting this trip together on short notice. No snags, a bag of food for everyone, timetables met. Dr. Proenza, you have good people in that department.
The players did look tired after a week of playing late, preparing for the next game, celebrating, doing media interviews, prepping for the Zags. The players and many in the traveling party slept for the first half of the trip.
Mum is the official word on Humpty's ankle, but he appeared to be walking well.
The Zips will practice at 4 p.m. Pacific (7 in Ohio) Tuesday at Concordia College. Another walk through is set for Wednesday there, then a press conference and 40-minute practice open to the public at 515 Pacific at the Rose Garden.
Talking informally to a few people here, most expect a Zags win.
This is Tom Gaffney. I will be blogging a bit here with the team as Mike Rasor attends to law-school duties.
The Zips traveling party includes the team, members of the athletic department, boosters, media, cheerleaders and band members. The total on the plane is 106.
Buses left the JAR at 6 and arrived at Akron-Canon Airport's McKinley Air at 620. The charter plane is a 737 run by Southwest Airlines. The plane left at 723 and the ride was smooth all the way. It landed to rain in Portland at 931. Busses then took the party to the team hotel, which is six blocks from the Rose Garden.
I was able to sit and talk with Keith Dambrot for a bit. He said the last few days have been a blur and that the game schedules in the MAC and NCAA is like "cramming for exams."
He said the key to the Gonzaga game will be controlling the tempo. He said a score in the 80 s will spell doom for his team
More in a few minutes, i have a radio interview with a Seattle station.
The Zips traveling party, with me along for the ride as a paying customer, will leave by charter at 7 a.m. Tuesday from A-C Airport. The plane is scheduled to arrive at 9:15 Pacific time.
Plans are being made to practice somewhere Tuesday, but nothing is firmed up.
On Wednesday, the Zips will have a press conference at 5:15 p.m. Pacific, followed by a workout from 5:55-6:35 on the arena floor. That's right, 40 minutes. The practice is open to the public.
I will be blogging the next few days, but not during the game.
Zips fans often desire for their team to become the "Gonzaga of the East."
Akron will have a chance to measure itself head-to-head against its role model on Thursday.
No. 13 Akron will play No. 4 Gonzaga in Portland for the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986. The winner will play Illinois or Western Kentucky in the Second Round. No. 1 North Carolina potentially awaits in the Sweet Sixteen.
It might feel like a home game for the Bulldogs. Portland is a five-hour trip from Gonzaga's campus in Spokane, Wash.
Gonzaga relies on two seniors, big man Josh Heytvelt and point guard Jeremy Pargo. The Bulldogs have lost two games to solid mid-majors, Utah and Portland State. However, they have only lost once since Jan. 7 -- and that loss was to Memphis.
I will have more on Gonzaga as the week progresses. Remember to sign up for the AK-Rowdies Bracket Challenge, now that the brackets are released.
I'm starting an NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge of Facebook.
It is intended for AK-Rowdies, but even you "oldies" can join if you have a Facebook account. Here is the link. I will post the leaderboard directly on the blog, but you can check them on Facebook, too.
Is this sinking in for you?
I don't think I will truly believe what happened this week until I see the word "Akron" on my bracket.
It doesn't make sense that the Zips had the scare of a lifetime against Toledo. Then the team breezed through what should have been a three-day gauntlet for an exhausted team without its point guard. Akron won its three final games by a combined 30 points.
It doesn't make sense that the Zips would win the MAC this year, when most Akron fans would have been satisfied with the 20-win season because knowing brighter days were ahead, as opposed to the last two years, when Akron fans left Cleveland on Saturday terribly disappointed because the Zips seemed like a team that could make a dent in the NCAA Tournament.
Then again, Keith Dambrot's career hasn't made sense. Dumb luck allowed one of the three best athletes in the world, LeBron James, to fall into his lap. But a lack of luck (and perhaps foresight) got him fired at Central Michigan. Dumb luck put him in the right place at the right time to take over the job at his alma mater. But a lack of luck (and perhaps foresight) allowed Doug Penno's shot to fall.
As a fan, an NCAA Tournament berth is special, particularly at a school that hasn't been there since the Ronald Reagan administration. Something other than that choked me up, though. It was the ramifications for Dambrot, whose life is begging for a biography. It is a beautiful reward for someone who has fallen into controversy and vindication, into misery and triumph. This triumph is a gold star on Dambrot's resume, and he will start to get more of the credit that he deserves as being one of the nation's best mid-major coaches.
I was also happy for Nate Linhart. It is heart warming to see someone's hard work pay off in the twilight of his career. He will leave Akron as the winningest player in the program's history. It's no coincidence. As I have written several times, Linhart is everything that is right about college basketball. He cares. He leads. He respects others. He expends every ounce of energy.
You might compare this to the football team's title in 2005, the year after Charlie Frye left. But it feels different. The football team won a tiebreaker to get to Detroit, then it beat a heavy favorite on a last-moment Hail Mary. That was highway robbery. This is an overdue reward.
Freshman Jenna Compton became the second national champion in Akron history this afternoon, winning the NCAA Collegiate Individual Air Rifle Championship.
Coach Newt Engle called it the "crown jewel" of the program's accomplishments.
This season, the rifle team finished with a 5-4 record and won its sixth-straight WIRC championship.
Track athlete Christi Smith won Akron's first national championship in 1990's outdoor heptathlon.
One more team stands in Akron's path to a third-straight MAC Championship appearance.
More than just Bowling Green, there is another major obstacle. I foresaw it the moment Akron took Toledo to overtime.
I thought, even if Akron advances past Miami, the semifinals will be very difficult. Akron will be playing its third game in four nights. Plus, the Zips will not have the benefit of adrenaline that naturally comes from playing for an NCAA berth. Also, the team's starting point guard is doubtful to play.
Yes. It is a huge obstacle.
But look at it from another angle. Bowling Green also must see tonight's game as a challenge in uncharted waters. The Falcons knew they can beat Ohio. They drubbed the Bobcats by 34 just four days earlier. Akron, on the other hand, has tournament experience and beat the Falcons at home.
In the first meeting, Humpty Hitchens scored 15 points and the Zips held Bowling Green to 28 percent from the floor. That game was at Anderson Arena, and Akron won by 10. In the second meeting, it was Akron who went cold, shooting 30 percent from Rhodes Arena's floor. Brian Moten carried the Falcons and made the play of the game with a deep, fall-away 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down. Bowling Green won by four.
To avoid tired legs (which leads to poor shooting), Keith Dambrot must rely heavily on his bench. He should even consider giving Eric Coblentz and Tim Carroll some minutes.
You can see this as a No. 1 seed vs. a No. 4 seed. I prefer to see it as two equally talented teams who have to climb equally large mental mountains. The winner will get a chance to play Buffalo or Ball State and possibly stamp a landmark moment in its program.
Buffalo's Andy Robinson stole the ball with five seconds left, depriving Kent State of a chance for a game-tying 3-pointer.
The Bulls moved to the semifinals with a 65-62 win.
The win ends Kent State's streak of 10 seasons with 20 consecutive wins. Love them or hate them, you have to admit that streak was really friggin' impressive.
I'm about to head to The Q to watch Ohio vs. Bowling Green. I will blog a little during that game, I think.
Nate Linhart is the MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Brett McKnight is the Sixth Man of the Year, the MAC announced today.
Miami's Michael Bramos is the MAC Player of the Year and Ball State's Jarrod Jones is the Freshman of the Year. The MAC media voted on Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. I think if the coaches voted on that (as they vote on the other two individual awards), Bramos would not have sniffed the POY award. I agree with the other three awards.
As I wrote below, Bramos and Linhart will duel tonight. It will be a great show.
Strangely, a lot of my classmates are catching the MAC Tournament fever.
Not even in undergrad have I engaged in so many conversations about Akron's postseason. It should be more unusual in law school, where a vast majority of students pledge allegiances to their own undergrad teams.
This is one instance in a line of instances that inspires my instinct that Akron students will throw tremendous support to the basketball program as soon as it climbs that NCAA Tournament hump. Think about it. For you Zips fans, wasn't there one experience -- or one season -- that handcuffed you to being a die-hard Akron supporter?
I believe Akron students generally are proud of their team's success, but they won't hop on a bandwagon until the team convinces them of its indisputable value. A trip to the NCAA Tournament will do that. Mark my words. If Akron wins the MAC Tournament, you will wonder, "Where did all of these fans come from?"
It might be slightly annoying, but it's the nature of mid-major college sports.
Of course, Akron must win three dogfights to get that. That fact is true of each of the eight remaining teams. Akron has its weaknesses, but they all do. Miami, Kent State and Ohio lack depth. Buffalo, Bowling Green and Ball State lack deep-tournament experience. Central Michigan is solid, but frankly is not very talented.
Miami is Akron's first test, and luckily for the Zips, they matchup well against Miami. The RedHawks are not capable of burying the Zips when Akron's inconsistent offense declines to score for five minutes at a time.
The real reason for Akron's success against Miami has been Nate Linhart. To use the cliche that Linhart is "inside Michael Bramos' head" is an understatement. Linhart owns beachfront property on the RedHawk star's frontal lobe.
Bramos is a first-team All-MAC player. Unfortunately for him, Linhart has the same body type, same athleticism and a sadistic desire to see Bramos pull an oh-fer.
My belief in Linhart's ability to guard Bramos is more than anecdotal. During Bramos' career of 119 games, he has averaged 12.5 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting. In 11 games against Akron, Bramos is averaging 10.4 points per game on 40.9 percent shooting. His highest scoring total was 15.
"Linhart has been a thorn in his side." Miami coach Charlie Coles said after Akron's win over Miami on Feb. 18.
A frustrated Coles added this about Bramos: "I don't have any confidence, I'll tell you that. Akron just stayed on him. I want to send an e-mail to all the coaches. I want to say, 'This guy is shooting 20 percent from the 3 and please stop guarding him.' We don't have anyone who can break the defense down."
Keep in mind, Bramos is a first-team All-MAC player. (Update: Bramos was named MAC Player of the Year.) He has scored more than 30 points several times this season. He is an elite scorer by MAC standards. Linhart played Bramos so tightly that Bramos' own seasoned coach candidly gave up hope for him.
Miami will rely on Bramos during this tournament, especially now that starting point guard Eric Pollitz is done with a knee injury. Pollitz was not a star, but he served as a stopgap due to Kenny Hayes' season-ending injury. Now Miami is down to its third-string point guard, Carl Richburg.
Without a confident Bramos or a point guard, Miami's slow-it-down offense will be lucky to produce 50 points tonight against a good Akron defense. If the Zips shoot with any level of competence, Akron will win and be one step closer to turning potential fan frenzy into actual fan frenzy. These days, however, that's not a given.
Central Michigan beat Akron tonight in the first round of the MAC Tournament, finishing the Zips' season.
The Chippewas ended the game on an 18-4 run, which was more than the difference in the 67-59 result.
Kara Murphy scored 32 points for the Zips. The sophomore led the MAC in scoring and made the All-MAC Team. Also returning is center Kyle Baumgartner, who made the All-MAC Freshman team. She averages 9.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Jodi Kest has recruited better players than Kelly Kennedy. Some of Kennedy's recruits were trouble off the court, too. Kest must have realized this problem when she purged some talent due to disciplinary reasons two years ago. You can't argue with how she restocked.
I teased you about seeing Humpty Hitchens and Zeke Marshall together for three years. The Lady Zips have a inside-outside corollary in Murphy and Baumgartner.
Tomorrow morning, I will preview the third game in the Akron-Miami season series.
After Day One of the MAC Tournament, 17 of 23 participants in my MAC Bracket Challenge are tied in first place with five points.
Three participants lost a point by picking Eastern Michigan. One dropped a point by predicting Northern Illinois to upset Kent State. Two players, including me, fell back two by picking Western Michigan over Ohio. (Thus, we also missed the extra upset point.)
If you want to see the scores, you can click the link below. If you have a discrepancy (or think I didn't receive your bracket), please e-mail me and we'll figure it out.
Scores after Round 1 (link is fixed)
If you weren't at the game last night, check out the plays of the game on Youtube.com...
A wounded Humpty Hitchens slung his life preserver around the Zips, twice rescuing Akron from a lackluster effort with miracle plays.
The Zips trailed by three with just seconds left in regulation. The ball, like Akron's hope, was squirting away. Hitchens, who had recently sprained his ankle, grabbed the ball and drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game with 1 second left.
Akron faced a similarly dismal outlook with 1.5 seconds left in overtime, down by one. Hitchens lobbed the ball over the defense to Brett McKnight, who dropped in the game-winning basket
Akron won a rollercoaster shootout, 93-92, which gave the Zips a ticket to the quarterfinals and a 20-win season.
"It was an unbelievable pass," assistant coach Jeff Boals said in the post-game radio show. "The pass had to be perfect."
Before both of Hitchens' heroics, Akron looked utterly hopeless. The Zips trailed by 12 with five minutes left. The team had gone 14 minutes without a field goal. Even in the last two minutes, Akron appeared sunk. The turning point was when Brett McKnight made a layup and was fouled. Nate Linhart put back the subsequent missed free throw to bring Akron within 1. After two Toledo free throws, Brett McClanahan missed a potential game-tying 3, but Brett McKnight grabbed the rebound and fed Hitchens for the game-tying 3.
Akron pulled ahead of Toledo in overtime thanks to 3-pointers from Brett McKnight and Hitchens and a key put-back from Nik Cvetinovic. Toledo found a window when Linhart threw a loose ball out of bounds. Toledo's Clayton Sterling drove and made a shot while falling forward, giving the Rockets a one-point lead. Akron had 1.5 seconds left for the Hitchens-to-Brett McKnight connection.
In an unprecedented abuse of the whistle, refs blew 62 fouls and 34 on the Zips. Akron's highest foul total this season had been 30. As the game neared a conclusion, both teams saw their benches narrow. Darryl Roberts, Chris McKnight and Steve McNees fouled out. Toledo lost Jonathan Amos, Tyrone Kent and Mohamed Lo to fouls, as well.
Kent and Amos combined for 45 points. In their final college games, they played phenomenally. Chris McKnight led Akron with 18 points. Linhart had 11 rebounds.
The game conjured two memories for me. First, it reminded me of the end of this football season, during which the Zips went from first place to irrelevant within a couple weeks. Second, it reminded me of Akron's 2006 loss to Toledo in the MAC semifinals. The Zips were favored but they had little tournament experience. The Rockets team snuck up and stabbed them in the hearts. (Who can forget then-sophomore Tyrone Kent's game-sealing midcourt steal and dunk?)
Young teams fade near the end of the season for several reasons. The large amount of minutes wears out the freshmen and newcomers who are not accustomed to five months of high-intensity basketball. Also, opponents pick up on the youngsters' tendencies.
It has not affected Hitchens.
There is no doubt that Hitchens, a true freshman, wants the ball when Akron faces danger. There is equally no doubt that Keith Dambrot ought to gladly give it to him. If you remember, Hitchens made a fabulous assist on the game-winning shot for Chillicothe in the state title game last spring.
I had a third memory during this game. Last season, I was chatting with Boals about what a certain 7-footer would bring to the Zips. Boals agreed, but he stopped me. He said, "You're going to love Humpty Hitchens."
Indeed. Both the 7-footer and Hitchens will be foundations of this program until 2012.
For now, the Zips will recuperate from a thrilling win. Then they will prepare for their Thursday game against Miami at 9:30.
I love a good sports debate as much as the next guy. But maybe we can bury the hatchet with some friendly competition.
I am organizing a MAC Bracket Challenge. You will compete as individuals and as fan bases for who can best predict the MAC Tournament outcomes. The rules are very clear and the contest is simple. Click the link below to view the contest form and rules.
The individual winner will receive an Ohio.com mug, T-shirt and calculator. The most accurate fan base will win eternal bragging rights.
Contrary to my prior post, Chris Singletary is NOT suspended for the MAC Tournament.
I apologize for the confusion. I heard the news from someone who is credible and who works for the university. Apparently, the suspension is not true at all.
I called Rick Boyages to find out how this miscommunication occurred. I got his voicemail and asked him to call me back.
As the No. 5 seed, Akron will play Toledo in the first round of the MAC Tournament on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Here are the final standings...
1) Bowling Green -- 11-5 2) Ball State -- 7-9 3) Buffalo -- 11-5 4) Miami -- 10-6 5) Akron -- 10-6 6) Kent State -- 10-6 7) Central Michigan -- 7-9 8 ) Western Michigan-- 7-9 9) Ohio -- 7-9 10) Eastern Michigan -- 6-10 11) Northern Illinois -- 5-11 12) Toledo -- 5-11
If Akron wins Tuesday, the Zips will play Miami on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. The road to the championship theoretically would go through Bowling Green, and then Ball State/Buffalo.
Here are the other first-round matchups...
No. 5 Akron vs. No. 12 Toledo (winner plays Miami) No. 6 Kent State vs. No. 11 Northern Illinois (winner plays Buffalo) No. 7 CMU vs. No. 10 EMU (winner plays Ball State) No. 8 WMU vs. No. 9 Ohio (winner plays Bowling Green)
I quickly went over the scenarios an hour ago and completely messed it up. I apologize if you relied on that. Anyhow, I will break down the Toledo game on Monday.
I got some answers from the MAC's media contact Jeremy Guy. But it created only more questions.
It's true that the MAC West champion will serve as the tiebreaker between two or more teams that cannot settle their tie through the head-to-head tiebreaker.
It's also true that Keith Dambrot is right. The MAC will break the tie for the No. 2 seed before breaking the tie for the No. 1 seed.
That is totally contrary to the rules, which state: "All ties will be broken in the order in which they occur, from top to bottom, in the standings."
If we have to break the tie for 2nd before breaking the tie for 1st, we have a big problem. There is a strong possibility that Western Michigan and Ball State will be tied after tomorrow. Those teams split their season series, so they need an additional tiebreaker. The additional tiebreaker would have us examine how the each fared against the No. 1 seed.
By now, you are probably realizing the problem. If there is a tie for the No. 1 seed, then they need to break that tie (the one for 1st) before breaking the No. 2 seed tie. You break the tie for 1st by looking at the No. 2 seed. We are back to square one again.
If you're going to stick with this sadistic rule, the obvious answer to me is to preliminarily break the tie for 1st by using the both of the teams tied for second (and third, fourth, etc., if needed). Then you can easily break the tie for 2nd by using the single 1st-place team. Now you have your No. 2 seed. You can go back and re-break the tie for 1st using a single No. 2 seed.
It probably won't make a difference, but the system is so convoluted that another step won't hurt.
I will be frank. I'm still confused. I MUST be missing something. There is no way that the conference is misinterpreting its own rules so badly. First of all, the No. 2 seed has no business breaking the tie, considering the No. 2 seed is the seventh-best team in the conference. Second, the rules are clear that you break ties from top to bottom.
The rules also provide an example for using the combined records for a tiebreaker, rather than dropping down and breaking a tie for a lower position beforehand. ("Team A and Team B, who tied for second place, would compare against Team X and Team Y who tied for 6th as follows: Team A would compare its combined record against both X and Y against Team B’s combined record against both X and Y.")
I know someone at the MAC, who said the conference has worked out all of the potential scenarios that tomorrow might provide. I'm glad they're prepared. Next year, they need a lawyer to draft some clear tiebreaker rules. I'll do it for $200 an hour. The bill will come to about $40.
With regard to substance, there is a four-way tie for the MAC lead.
After Sunday, there could be an outright winner, which would be either Miami or Buffalo, who play each other. There could be a two-way tie between Miami/Buffalo and either Akron or Bowling Green. Or there could be a three-way tie between Miami/Buffalo, Akron and Bowling Green.
The first tiebreaker (head-to-head) is unlikely to sort out the conference champion. Keith Dambrot is concerned that the confusion relating to the second tiebreaker will cause a coin flip to determine the winner.
With regard to procedure, there are two issues:
1) Who is the "second-ranked" team for purposes of the second tiebreaker? It could be: The MAC West champion, which will occupy the No. 2 seed OR The team(s) with the second-best record, which will come from the East division. I believe it would be more fair to have the tiebreaker decided by competition against the best overall team, but what do I know? Gregg Bach says it's the MAC West team, so I believe him.
2) If there is a tie for the "second-ranked" team, is the initial step to break that tie for second, or are the first-place teams graded against each of the teams tied for second? If I understand it correctly, Dambrot said you have to break the tie for second, then apply the tiebreaker for first. That could create a TON of confusion if the tie for second descended to the second tiebreaker. From reading the MAC's Web site, I disagree.
Dambrot obviously knows what he's talking about. However, here is what the MAC's Web site says regarding my question: "When comparing tied teams against positions lower in the standings, which are also tied, those lower-tied positions will be considered as a single position for purposes of comparison. (Example: Team A and Team B, who tied for second place, would compare against Team X and Team Y who tied for 6th as follows: Team A would compare its combined record against both X and Y against Team B’s combined record against both X and Y.)"
If I am right, there is no need to break the West tie first. For example, if Buffalo and Akron are tied for first and WMU and BSU are tied for the West lead, then UA and UB compare their combined records against WMU and BSU. Akron is 2-0 against those teams. Buffalo is 1-1. Therefore, Akron wins the MAC.
I will analyze the specific scenarios tomorrow. Don't be surprised if I'm completely wrong on this. I'm astonished that a tiebreaker could be so confusing.
At first blush, Nate Linhart did not look like a player with a productive future at Akron.
Early in his career, Linhart's confidence peaked and waned depending on his offense. After his first month with the team, the coaches must have known that Linhart will not be a first, second, or even a third offensive option. He always played hard, but "playing hard" is often a euphemism for "not talented."
Something transformed Linhart from being a serviceable spare part to being an essential cog, to being a "Coach, I dare you to play without me" piece of the Zips. That transformation occurred when Linhart embraced what he is, and ignored what he is not.
It was only when Linhart accepted that truth that defense is his value. That knowledge allowed him to stride back into the locker room, knowing that regardless of how the ball bounced on the rim, he could be proud of grabbing the loose ball after an exhausting defensive stand, proud of keeping his proper crouched stance when the shot clock winded down, proud of smothering the other team's star no matter what position the star plays, proud of being the "what to do" example in Keith Dambrot's long-winded, high-volume rants, proud of convincing the underclassmen that Dambrot's defense-first attitude is an identity worth embracing, and proud of demanding the respect of every butt in the seats at Rhodes Arena -- or any arena, for that matter -- and getting it.
You could tell that Linhart pulled the best traits from players before him: Cedrick Middleton's desire. Nick Dials' toughness, grit and leadership. Romeo Travis' calmness and assurance. Jeremiah Wood's confidence. Dru Joyce's intelligence. Likewise, Nate's name deserves to be mentioned among those names when fans talk about the "good old days" 10 years from now.
Linhart probably won't get any votes for MAC Player of the Year. His season statistics are OK, but he isn't even averaging 10 points per game. His career statistics are approaching the top tier in school history, but that is mostly because of the massive amount of minutes he has played. On any given night, his box score is usually bland.
That is why Linhart is under-appreciated. But if you take him off the Zips, this is a below-.500 team. Akron is at least 15 points better each night with Linhart than without him. With respect for Chris McKnight and Humpty Hitchens, there are no Zips who are as consistently valuable.
And it goes back to Linhart's philosophy -- the one he was forced into. You play defense in the first minute as tightly as you play it in crunch time. You hustle like you're fighting for your family's life. You sweat and scrap and dive and bruise until the job is done. And when it is done, Linhart knows he will have played a more complete game than anyone else on the floor, even if he missed all of his shot attempts.
Linhart probably has no future in American pro basketball, but his size, quickness and work ethic make him a better candidate than any Zip in the past 10 years. He reminds me of a poor man's Tayshaun Prince. Unless Prince makes a stellar defensive play, no one pays much attention. Analogous to Linhart, Prince was a necessary cause for the Pistons' NBA titles.
Indeed, it's easy to overlook Nate's worth in the statbook. While you're watching him tonight in his last regular season home game, pay attention to contributions that statisticians cannot quantify. You'll begin to understand what Dambrot said Sunday: "Everybody thinks we will be a good team next year, but he won't be easy to replace, I will tell you that."
Linhart is the antithesis of the modern-day basketball culture. He doesn't want to mimic the And1 Mixtape guy. He knows he will never score 40 points. He doesn't want all of the attention on him. Nate is a throwback player who is humble, works hard and does it because it's the way you're supposed to play, not for the individual glory.
If Akron wins a MAC Championship in the dusk of Linhart's up-and-down career, it will be an appropriate bounty for one player who deserves it. If Akron does not, Linhart will still have the peace of mind that every moment he was on the floor was a moment where he expended his tank for his coaches, teammates and fans.
For every "hit" in recruiting season, there are several misses.
Akron offers about five scholarships for every one scholarship it has to give. Here is a rundown of what happened to some of the "misses" of the last five years... | <urn:uuid:2108a7cf-9d53-4f5c-8b7d-aa1cbb7cc01c> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.ohio.com/blogs/ua-zips/university-of-akron-zips-blog-1.277207/reports-zips-football-grab-fsu-defensive-tackle-1.404991?month=2&year=2009 | 2016-07-28T03:45:34Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00034-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972369 | 13,022 |
Both blunted osteocytic production of the Wnt inhibitor sclerostin (Scl) and increased T-cell production of the Wnt ligand Wnt10b contribute to the bone anabolic activity of intermittent parathyroid hormone (iPTH) treatment. However, the relative contribution of these mechanisms is unknown. In this study, we modeled the repressive effects of iPTH on Scl production in mice by treatment with a neutralizing anti-Scl antibody (Scl-Ab) to determine the contribution of T-cell–produced Wnt10b to the Scl-independent modalities of action of iPTH. We report that combined treatment with Scl-Ab and iPTH was more potent than either iPTH or Scl-Ab alone in increasing stromal cell production of OPG, osteoblastogenesis, osteoblast life span, bone turnover, bone mineral density, and trabecular bone volume and structure in mice with T cells capable of producing Wnt10b. In T-cell–null mice and mice lacking T-cell production of Wnt10b, combined treatment increased bone turnover significantly more than iPTH or Scl-Ab alone. However, in these mice, combined treatment with Scl-Ab and iPTH was equally effective as Scl-Ab alone in increasing the osteoblastic pool, bone volume, density, and structure. These findings demonstrate that the Scl-independent activity of iPTH on osteoblasts and bone mass is mediated by T-cell–produced Wnt10b. The data provide a proof of concept of a more potent therapeutic effect of combined treatment with iPTH and Scl-Ab than either alone. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
PTH; BONE; SCL; ANTIBODY; T CELLS; WNT10B
Multifrequency atomic force microscopy imaging has been recently demonstrated as a powerful technique for quickly obtaining information about the mechanical properties of a sample. Combining this development with recent gains in imaging speed through small cantilevers holds the promise of a convenient, high-speed method for obtaining nanoscale topography as well as mechanical properties. Nevertheless, instrument bandwidth limitations on cantilever excitation and readout have restricted the ability of multifrequency techniques to fully benefit from small cantilevers. We present an approach for cantilever excitation and deflection readout with a bandwidth of 20 MHz, enabling multifrequency techniques extended beyond 2 MHz for obtaining materials contrast in liquid and air, as well as soft imaging of delicate biological samples.
atomic force microscopy; multifrequency imaging; nanomechanical characterization; photothermal excitation; small cantilevers
Tropical forests are being rapidly altered by logging, and cleared for agriculture. Understanding the effects of these land use changes on soil fungi, which play vital roles in the soil ecosystem functioning and services, is a major conservation frontier. Using 454-pyrosequencing of the ITS1 region of extracted soil DNA, we compared communities of soil fungi between unlogged, once-logged, and twice-logged rainforest, and areas cleared for oil palm, in Sabah, Malaysia. Overall fungal community composition differed significantly between forest and oil palm plantation. The OTU richness and Chao 1 were higher in forest, compared to oil palm plantation. As a proportion of total reads, Basidiomycota were more abundant in forest soil, compared to oil palm plantation soil. The turnover of fungal OTUs across space, true β-diversity, was also higher in forest than oil palm plantation. Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal abundance was significantly different between land uses, with highest relative abundance (out of total fungal reads) observed in unlogged forest soil, lower abundance in logged forest, and lowest in oil palm. In their entirety, these results indicate a pervasive effect of conversion to oil palm on fungal community structure. Such wholesale changes in fungal communities might impact the long-term sustainability of oil palm agriculture. Logging also has more subtle long term effects, on relative abundance of EcM fungi, which might affect tree recruitment and nutrient cycling. However, in general the logged forest retains most of the diversity and community composition of unlogged forest.
Tropical forests are being rapidly altered by logging and cleared for agriculture. Understanding the effects of these land use changes on soil bacteria, which constitute a large proportion of total biodiversity and perform important ecosystem functions, is a major conservation frontier. Here we studied the effects of logging history and forest conversion to oil palm plantations in Sabah, Borneo, on the soil bacterial community. We used paired-end Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, V3 region, to compare the bacterial communities in primary, once-logged, and twice-logged forest and land converted to oil palm plantations. Bacteria were grouped into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the 97% similarity level, and OTU richness and local-scale α-diversity showed no difference between the various forest types and oil palm plantations. Focusing on the turnover of bacteria across space, true β-diversity was higher in oil palm plantation soil than in forest soil, whereas community dissimilarity-based metrics of β-diversity were only marginally different between habitats, suggesting that at large scales, oil palm plantation soil could have higher overall γ-diversity than forest soil, driven by a slightly more heterogeneous community across space. Clearance of primary and logged forest for oil palm plantations did, however, significantly impact the composition of soil bacterial communities, reflecting in part the loss of some forest bacteria, whereas primary and logged forests did not differ in composition. Overall, our results suggest that the soil bacteria of tropical forest are to some extent resilient or resistant to logging but that the impacts of forest conversion to oil palm plantations are more severe.
Since the invention of hybridoma technology, methods for generating affinity reagents that bind specific target molecules have revolutionized biology and medicine. In the postgenomic era, there is a pressing need to accelerate the pace of ligand discovery to elucidate the functions of a rapidly growing number of newly characterized molecules and their modified states. Nonimmunoglobulin-based proteins such as DARPins, affibodies, and monobodies represent attractive alternatives to traditional antibodies as these are small, soluble, disulfide-free, single-domain scaffolds that can be selected from combinatorial libraries and expressed in bacteria. For example, monobodies—highly stable scaffolds based on the immunoglobulin VH-like 10th fibronectin type III (10Fn3) domain of human fibronectin—have yielded antibody mimetics that bind to numerous targets for applications including intracellular inhibition,[5,6] therapeutics, and biosensors.[6,8] These 10Fn3-based ligands can be derived from highly diverse libraries using techniques such as phage, ribosome, mRNA, bacterial, and yeast displays.
antibodies; directed evolution; mRNA; ligand design; selection methods
Modern high-speed atomic force microscopes generate significant quantities of data in a short amount of time. Each image in the sequence has to be processed quickly and accurately in order to obtain a true representation of the sample and its changes over time. This paper presents an automated, adaptive algorithm for the required processing of AFM images. The algorithm adaptively corrects for both common one-dimensional distortions as well as the most common two-dimensional distortions. This method uses an iterative thresholded processing algorithm for rapid and accurate separation of background and surface topography. This separation prevents artificial bias from topographic features and ensures the best possible coherence between the different images in a sequence. This method is equally applicable to all channels of AFM data, and can process images in seconds.
adaptive algorithm; artifact correction; atomic force microscopy; high-speed atomic force microscope; image processing
Little is known of how archaeal diversity and community ecology behaves along elevational gradients. We chose to study Mount Fuji of Japan as a geologically and topographically uniform mountain system, with a wide range of elevational zones. PCR-amplified soil DNA for the archaeal 16 S rRNA gene was pyrosequenced and taxonomically classified against EzTaxon-e archaeal database. At a bootstrap cut-off of 80%, most of the archaeal sequences were classified into phylum Thaumarchaeota (96%) and Euryarchaeota (3.9%), with no sequences classified into other phyla. Archaeal OTU richness and diversity on Fuji showed a pronounced ‘peak’ in the mid-elevations, around 1500 masl, within the boreal forest zone, compared to the temperate forest zone below and the alpine fell-field and desert zones above. Diversity decreased towards higher elevations followed by a subtle increase at the summit, mainly due to an increase in the relative abundance of the group I.1b of Thaumarchaeota. Archaeal diversity showed a strong positive correlation with soil NH4+, K and NO3−. Archaeal diversity does not parallel plant diversity, although it does roughly parallel bacterial diversity. Ecological hypotheses to explain the mid diversity bulge on Fuji include intermediate disturbance effects, and the result of mid elevations combining a mosaic of upper and lower slope environments. Our findings show clearly that archaeal soil communities are highly responsive to soil environmental gradients, in terms of both their diversity and community composition. Distinct communities of archaea specific to each elevational zone suggest that many archaea may be quite finely niche-adapted within the range of soil environments. A further interesting finding is the presence of a mesophilic component of archaea at high altitudes on a mountain that is not volcanically active. This emphasizes the importance of microclimate – in this case solar heating of the black volcanic ash surface – for the ecology of soil archaea.
The development of new antiviral compounds active against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has surged in recent years. In order for these new compounds to be efficacious in humans, optimal dosage regimens for each compound must be elucidated. We have developed a novel in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic system, the BelloCell system, to identify optimal dosage regimens for anti-HCV compounds. In these experiments, genotype 1b HCV replicon-bearing cells (2209-23 cells) were inoculated onto carrier flakes in BelloCell bottles and treated with MK-4519, a serine protease inhibitor. Our dose-ranging studies illustrated that MK-4519 inhibited replicon replication in a dose-dependent manner, yielding a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 1.8 nM. Dose-fractionation studies showed that shorter dosing intervals resulted in greater replicon suppression, indicating that the time that the concentration is greater than the EC50 is the pharmacodynamic parameter for MK-4519 linked with inhibition of replicon replication. Mutations associated with resistance to serine protease inhibitors were detected in replicons harvested from all treatment arms. These data suggest that MK-4519 is highly active against genotype 1b HCV, but monotherapy is not sufficient to prevent the amplification of resistant replicons. In summary, our findings show that the BelloCell system is a useful and clinically relevant tool for predicting optimal dosage regimens for anti-HCV compounds.
Background: Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) is a direct-writing technique with nanometer resolution, which has received strongly increasing attention within the last decade. In FEBID a precursor previously adsorbed on a substrate surface is dissociated in the focus of an electron beam. After 20 years of continuous development FEBID has reached a stage at which this technique is now particularly attractive for several areas in both, basic and applied research. The present topical review addresses selected examples that highlight this development in the areas of charge-transport regimes in nanogranular metals close to an insulator-to-metal transition, the use of these materials for strain- and magnetic-field sensing, and the prospect of extending FEBID to multicomponent systems, such as binary alloys and intermetallic compounds with cooperative ground states.
Results: After a brief introduction to the technique, recent work concerning FEBID of Pt–Si alloys and (hard-magnetic) Co–Pt intermetallic compounds on the nanometer scale is reviewed. The growth process in the presence of two precursors, whose flux is independently controlled, is analyzed within a continuum model of FEBID that employs rate equations. Predictions are made for the tunability of the composition of the Co–Pt system by simply changing the dwell time of the electron beam during the writing process. The charge-transport regimes of nanogranular metals are reviewed next with a focus on recent theoretical advancements in the field. As a case study the transport properties of Pt–C nanogranular FEBID structures are discussed. It is shown that by means of a post-growth electron-irradiation treatment the electronic intergrain-coupling strength can be continuously tuned over a wide range. This provides unique access to the transport properties of this material close to the insulator-to-metal transition. In the last part of the review, recent developments in mechanical strain-sensing and the detection of small, inhomogeneous magnetic fields by employing nanogranular FEBID structures are highlighted.
Conclusion: FEBID has now reached a state of maturity that allows a shift of the focus towards the development of new application fields, be it in basic research or applied. This is shown for selected examples in the present review. At the same time, when seen from a broader perspective, FEBID still has to live up to the original idea of providing a tool for electron-controlled chemistry on the nanometer scale. This has to be understood in the sense that, by providing a suitable environment during the FEBID process, the outcome of the electron-induced reactions can be steered in a controlled way towards yielding the desired composition of the products. The development of a FEBID-specialized surface chemistry is mostly still in its infancy. Next to application development, it is this aspect that will likely be a guiding light for the future development of the field of focused electron beam induced deposition.
atomic force microscopy; binary systems; electron beam induced deposition; granular metals; micro Hall magnetometry; radiation-induced nanostructures; strain sensing
Intravenous zanamivir is recommended for the treatment of hospitalized patients with complicated oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus infections. In a companion paper, we show that the time above the 50% effective concentration (time>EC50) is the pharmacodynamic (PD) index predicting the inhibition of viral replication by intravenous zanamivir. However, for other neuraminidase inhibitors, the ratio of the area under the concentration-time curve to the EC50 (AUC/EC50) is the most predictive index. Our objectives are (i) to explain the dynamically linked variable of intravenous zanamivir by using different half-lives and (ii) to develop a new, mechanism-based population pharmacokinetic (PK)/PD model for the time course of viral load. We conducted dose fractionation studies in the hollow-fiber infection model (HFIM) system with zanamivir against an oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus. A clinical 2.5-h half-life and an artificially prolonged 8-h half-life were simulated for zanamivir. The values for the AUC from 0 to 24 h (AUC0-24) of zanamivir were equivalent for the two half-lives. Viral loads and zanamivir pharmacokinetics were comodeled using data from the present study and a previous dose range experiment via population PK/PD modeling in S-ADAPT. Dosing every 8 h (Q8h) suppressed the viral load better than dosing Q12h or Q24h at the 2.5-h half-life, whereas all regimens suppressed viral growth similarly at the 8-h half-life. The model provided unbiased and precise individual (Bayesian) (r2, >0.96) and population (pre-Bayesian) (r2, >0.87) fits for log10 viral load. Zanamivir inhibited viral release (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50], 0.0168 mg/liter; maximum extent of inhibition, 0.990). We identified AUC/EC50 as the pharmacodynamic index for zanamivir at the 8-h half-life, whereas time>EC50 best predicted viral suppression at the 2.5-h half-life, since the trough concentrations approached the IC50 for the 2.5-h but not for the 8-h half-life. The model explained data at both half-lives and holds promise for optimizing clinical zanamivir dosage regimens.
In 2009, a novel H1N1 influenza A virus emerged and spread worldwide, initiating a pandemic. Various isolates obtained from disparate parts of the world were shown to be uniformly resistant to the adamantanes but sensitive to the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir and zanamivir. Over time, resistance to oseltamivir became more prevalent among pandemic H1N1 virus isolates, while most remained susceptible to zanamivir. The government has proposed the use of intravenous (i.v.) zanamivir to treat serious influenza virus infections among hospitalized patients. To use zanamivir effectively for patients with severe influenza, it is necessary to know the optimal dose and schedule of administration of zanamivir that will inhibit the replication of oseltamivir-sensitive and -resistant influenza viruses. Therefore, we performed studies using the in vitro hollow-fiber infection model system to predict optimal dosing regimens for zanamivir against an oseltamivir-sensitive and an oseltamivir-resistant virus. Our results demonstrated that zanamivir, at a dose of 600 mg given twice a day (Q12h), inhibited the replication of oseltamivir-sensitive and oseltamivir-resistant influenza viruses throughout the course of the experiment. Thus, our findings suggest that intravenous zanamivir, at a dose of 600 mg Q12h, could be used to treat hospitalized patients suffering from serious infections with oseltamivir-sensitive or -resistant influenza viruses.
In this study, we pilot tested an in vitro assay of cancer killing activity (CKA) in circulating leukocytes of 22 cancer cases and 25 healthy controls.
Using a human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa, as target cells, we compared the CKA in circulating leukocytes, as effector cells, of cancer cases and controls. The CKA was normalized as percentages of total target cells during selected periods of incubation time and at selected effector/target cell ratios in comparison to no-effector-cell controls.
Our results showed that CKA similar to that of our previous study of SR/CR mice was present in human circulating leukocytes but at profoundly different levels in individuals. Overall, males have a significantly higher CKA than females. The CKA levels in cancer cases were lower than that in healthy controls (mean ± SD: 36.97 ± 21.39 vs. 46.28 ± 27.22). Below-median CKA was significantly associated with case status (odds ratio = 4.36; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.06, 17.88) after adjustment of gender and race.
In freshly isolated human leukocytes, we were able to detect an apparent CKA in a similar manner to that of cancer-resistant SR/CR mice. The finding of CKA at lower levels in cancer patients suggests the possibility that it may be of a consequence of genetic, physiological, or pathological conditions, pending future studies with larger sample size.
It has been proposed that elements of the renin angiotensin system expressed in the arterial wall are critical for the development of atherosclerosis. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is highly expressed by the endothelium and is responsible for a critical enzymatic step in the generation of angiotensin II. However, the functional contribution of ACE expression in the vascular wall in atherogenesis is unknown. Therefore, we made use of unique genetic models in which mice without expression of ACE in the vascular wall were crossed with apoE-/- mice in order to determine the contribution of tissue ACE expression to atherosclerotic lesion formation.
Methods and Results
Mice expressing either a soluble form of ACE (ACE 2/2) or mice with somatic ACE expression restricted to the liver and kidney (ACE 3/3) on an ApoE-/- background were placed on a standard chow or Western diet for 6 months. Atherosclerotic lesion area in the ACE 2/2 mice was significantly lower than that seen in the ACE 3/3 mice. However, these animals also had significantly lower blood pressure and reduced plasma ACE activity which precluded establishing a specific causal relationship between absent tissue ACE activity and decreased atherosclerotic lesion extent. Therefore, we studied the ACE 3/3 mice which are normotensive and lack vascular ACE expression. In the ACE 3/3 animals, atherosclerotic lesion area was no different from wild type controls despite reduced plasma ACE activity.
We concluded that under these experimental conditions, expression of ACE in the arterial wall is not required for atherosclerotic lesion formation.
angiotensin; atherosclerosis; endothelium
We report the first use of ultrasonic standing waves to achieve cell cycle phase synchronization in mammalian cells in a high-throughput and reagent-free manner. The acoustophoretic cell synchronization (ACS) device utilizes volume-dependent acoustic radiation force within a microchannel to selectively purify target cells of desired phase from an asynchronous mixture based on cell cycle-dependent fluctuations in size. We show that ultrasonic separation allows for gentle, scalable and label-free synchronization with high G1 phase synchrony (~84%) and throughput (3×106 cells/hour/microchannel).
Sample preparation is often the most tedious and demanding step in an assay, but it also plays an essential role in determining the quality of results. As biological questions and analytical methods become increasingly sophisticated, there is a rapidly growing need for systems that can reliably and reproducibly separate cells and particles with high purity, throughput and recovery. Microfluidics technology represents a compelling approach in this regard, allowing precise control of separation forces for high performance separation in inexpensive, or even disposable, devices. In addition, microfluidics technology enables the fabrication of arrayed and integrated systems that operate either in parallel or in tandem, in a capacity that would be difficult to achieve in macro-scale systems. In this report, we use recent examples from our work to illustrate the potential of microfluidic cell- and particle-sorting devices. We demonstrate the potential of chip-based high-gradient magnetophoresis that enable high-purity separation through reversible trapping of target particles paired with high-stringency washing with minimal loss. We also describe our work in the development of devices that perform simultaneous multi-target sorting, either through precise control of magnetic and fluidic forces or through the integration of multiple actuation forces into a single monolithic device. We believe that such devices may serve as a powerful “front-end” module of highly integrated analytical platforms capable of providing actionable diagnostic information directly from crude, unprocessed samples - the success of such systems may hold the key to advancing point-of-care diagnostics and personalized medicine.
Sample preparation; Cell sorting; Magnetophoresis; Microfluidics
Hyperparathyroidism in humans and continuous parathyroid hormone (cPTH) treatment in mice cause bone loss by regulating the production of RANKL and OPG by stromal cells (SCs) and osteoblasts (OBs). Recently, it has been reported that T cells are required for cPTH to induce bone loss as the binding of the T cell costimulatory molecule CD40L to SC receptor CD40 augments SC sensitivity to cPTH. However it is unknown whether direct PTH stimulation of T cells is required for cPTH to induce bone loss, and whether T cells contribute to the bone catabolic activity of PTH with mechanisms other than induction of CD40 signaling in SCs.
Here we show that silencing of PTH receptor 1 (PPR) in T cells blocks the bone loss and the osteoclastic expansion induced by cPTH, thus demonstrating that PPR signaling in T cells is central for PTH-induced reduction of bone mass. Mechanistic studies revealed that PTH activation of the T cell PPR stimulates T cell production of the osteoclastogenic cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNF). Attesting to the relevance of this effect, disruption of T cell TNF production prevents PTH-induced bone loss. We also show that a novel mechanism by which TNF mediates PTH induced osteoclast formation is upregulation of CD40 expression in SCs, which increases their RANKL/OPG production ratio.
These findings demonstrate that PPR signaling in T cells plays an essential role in PTH induced bone loss by promoting T cell production of TNF. A previously unknown effect of TNF is to increase SC expression of CD40, which in turn increases SC osteoclastogenic activity by upregulating their RANKL/OPG production ratio. PPR-dependent stimulation of TNF production by T cells and the resulting TNF regulation of CD40 signaling in SCs are potential new therapeutic targets for the bone loss of hyperparathyroidism.
Spontaneous regression/complete resistance (SR/CR) mice are a unique colony of mice that possess an inheritable, natural cancer resistance mediated primarily by innate cellular immunity. This resistance is effective against sarcoma 180 (S180) at exceptionally high doses and these mice remain healthy.
In this study, we challenged SR/CR mice with additional lethal transplantable mouse cancer cell lines to determine their resistance spectrum. The ability of these transplantable cancer cell lines to induce leukocyte infiltration was quantified and the percentage of different populations of responding immune cells was determined using flow cytometry.
In comparison to wild type (WT) mice, SR/CR mice showed significantly higher resistance to all cancer cell lines tested. However, SR/CR mice were more sensitive to MethA sarcoma (MethA), B16 melanoma (B16), LL/2 lung carcinoma (LL/2) and J774 lymphoma (J774) than to sarcoma 180 (S180) and EL-4 lymphoma (EL-4). Further mechanistic studies revealed that this lower resistance to MethA and LL/2 was due to the inability of these cancer cells to attract SR/CR leukocytes, leading to tumor cell escape from resistance mechanism. This escape mechanism was overcome by co-injection with S180, which could attract SR/CR leukocytes allowing the mice to resist higher doses of MethA and LL/2. S180-induced cell-free ascites fluid (CFAF) co-injection recapitulated the results obtained with live S180 cells, suggesting that this chemoattraction by cancer cells is mediated by diffusible molecules. We also tested for the first time whether SR/CR mice were able to resist additional cancer cell lines prior to S180 exposure. We found that SR/CR mice had an innate resistance against EL-4 and J774.
Our results suggest that the cancer resistance in SR/CR mice is based on at least two separate processes: leukocyte migration/infiltration to the site of cancer cells and recognition of common surface properties on cancer cells. The infiltration of SR/CR leukocytes was based on both the innate ability of leukocytes to respond to chemotactic signals produced by cancer cells and on whether cancer cells produced these chemotactic signals. We found that some cancer cells could escape from SR/CR resistance because they did not induce infiltration of SR/CR leukocytes. However, if infiltration of leukocytes was induced by co-injection with chemotactic factors, these same cancer cells could be effectively recognized and killed by SR/CR leukocytes.
Spontaneous Regression/Complete Resistant (SR/CR) mice are a colony of cancer-resistant mice that can detect and rapidly destroy malignant cells with innate cellular immunity, predominately mediated by granulocytes. Our previous studies suggest that several effector mechanisms, such as perforin, granzymes, or complements, may be involved in the killing of cancer cells. However, none of these effector mechanisms is known as critical for granulocytes. Additionally, it is unclear which effector mechanisms are required for the cancer killing activity of specific leukocyte populations and the survival of SR/CR mice against the challenges of lethal cancer cells. We hypothesized that if any of these effector mechanisms was required for the resistance to cancer cells, its functional knockout in SR/CR mice should render them sensitive to cancer challenges. This was tested by cross breeding SR/CR mice into the individual genetic knockout backgrounds of perforin (Prf-/-), superoxide (Cybb-/), or inducible nitric oxide (Nos2-/).
SR/CR mice were bred into individual Prf-/-, Cybb-/-, or Nos2-/- genetic backgrounds and then challenged with sarcoma 180 (S180). Their overall survival was compared to controls. The cancer killing efficiency of purified populations of macrophages and neutrophils from these immunodeficient mice was also examined.
When these genetically engineered mice were challenged with cancer cells, the knockout backgrounds of Prf-/-, Cybb-/-, or Nos2-/- did not completely abolish the SR/CR cancer resistant phenotype. However, the Nos2-/- background did appear to weaken the resistance. Incidentally, it was also observed that the male mice in these immunocompromised backgrounds tended to be less cancer-resistant than SR/CR controls.
Despite the previously known roles of perforin, superoxide or nitric oxide in the effector mechanisms of innate immune responses, these effector mechanisms were not required for cancer-resistance in SR/CR mice. The resistance was functional when any one of these effector mechanisms was completely absent, except some noticeably reduced penetrance, but not abolishment, of the phenotype in the male background in comparison to female background. These results also indicate that some other effector mechanism(s) of granulocytes may be involved in the killing of cancer cells in SR/CR mice.
Both phenotypic plasticity and genetic determination can be important for understanding how plants respond to environmental change. However, little is known about the plastic response of leaf teeth and leaf dissection to temperature. This gap is critical because these leaf traits are commonly used to reconstruct paleoclimate from fossils, and such studies tacitly assume that traits measured from fossils reflect the environment at the time of their deposition, even during periods of rapid climate change. We measured leaf size and shape in Acer rubrum derived from four seed sources with a broad temperature range and grown for two years in two gardens with contrasting climates (Rhode Island and Florida). Leaves in the Rhode Island garden have more teeth and are more highly dissected than leaves in Florida from the same seed source. Plasticity in these variables accounts for at least 6–19 % of the total variance, while genetic differences among ecotypes probably account for at most 69–87 %. This study highlights the role of phenotypic plasticity in leaf-climate relationships. We suggest that variables related to tooth count and leaf dissection in A. rubrum can respond quickly to climate change, which increases confidence in paleoclimate methods that use these variables.
Spontaneous Regression/Complete Resistant (SR/CR) mice are resistant to cancer through a mechanism that is mediated entirely by leukocytes of innate immunity. Transfer of leukocytes from SR/CR mice can confer cancer resistance in wild-type (WT) recipients in both preventative and therapeutic settings. In the current studies, we investigated factors that may impact the efficacy and functionality of SR/CR donor leukocytes in recipients.
In sex-mismatched transfers, functionality of female donor leukocytes was not affected in male recipients. In contrast, male donor leukocytes were greatly affected in the female recipients. In MHC-mismatches, recipients of different MHC backgrounds, or mice of different strains, showed a greater negative impact on donor leukocytes than sex-mismatches. The negative effects of sex-mismatch and MHC-mismatch on donor leukocytes were additive. Old donor leukocytes performed worse than young donor leukocytes in all settings including in young recipients. Young recipients were not able to revive the declining function of old donor leukocytes. However, the function of young donor leukocytes declined gradually in old recipients, suggesting that an aged environment may contain factors that are deleterious to cellular functions. The irradiation of donor leukocytes prior to transfers had a profound suppressive effect on donor leukocyte functions, possibly as a result of impaired transcription. The cryopreserving of donor leukocytes in liquid nitrogen had no apparent effect on donor leukocyte functions, except for a small loss of cell number after revival from freezing.
Despite the functional suppression of donor leukocytes in sex- and MHC-mismatched recipients, as well as old recipients, there was a therapeutic time period during the initial few weeks during which donor leukocytes were functional before their eventual rejection or functional decline. The eventual rejection of donor leukocytes will likely prevent donor leukocyte engraftment which would help minimize the risk of transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease. Therefore, using leukocytes from healthy donors with high anti-cancer activity may be a feasible therapeutic concept for treating malignant diseases.
A national survey of medical school admissions administrators was used to assess the acceptability of applicants' qualifications that included degrees earned partly online, partly in a community college, or in a traditional program. A questionnaire was sent from The Florida State University in 2007 to admissions administrators in the 125 accredited allopathic medical schools in the United States. In each of three situations, the respondents were asked to select one of two hypothetical applicants to invite for an interview. The applicants with their coursework taken in a traditional-residential setting were overwhelmingly preferred over the applicant holding the degree earned partly online. Further analysis indicated that online courses were perceived as not presenting sufficient opportunity for students to develop important social skills through interaction with other students and mentors.
Graduate school admissions; online degrees; acceptability | <urn:uuid:8224303b-d39a-4acd-8838-29f2837a13dc> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr/reg?pageSize=25&term=jtitle_s%3A(%22Beilstein+J+Nanotechnol%22)&sortby=score+desc&filterAuthor=author%3A(%22Adams%2C+Jonathan%22) | 2016-07-30T00:02:07Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832399.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00213-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917215 | 7,317 |
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras
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|Full name||Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras|
|Nickname(s)||Alviverde (White and Green)
Verdão (Big Green)
Academia de Futebol (Football Academy)
|Founded||August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia|
|League||Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
|Série A, 9th
|Website||Club home page|
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (Portuguese pronunciation: [pawˈmejɾɐs]) is a Brazilian football club from São Paulo. The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia (pronounced: [paˌlɛstɾiˈtaliɐ]), but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942. It is one of the most popular and successful Brazilian clubs, with around 17 million supporters, including a large number of Brazilians of Italian ancestry. Despite being primarily an association football team, Palmeiras competes in a number of different sports, most notably basketball. The football team plays in the Campeonato Paulista,[nb 1] the state of São Paulo's premier state league, as well as in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A,[nb 2] the top tier of the Brazilian football league system.
Palmeiras is one of the most successful clubs in Brazilian football. The team has won 12 national competitions, more than any other club in Brazil. The club's most important titles are 1 Copa Libertadores, 8 national league titles (4 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa and 2 Taça Brasil) and 4 national cups (3 Copa do Brasil and 1 Copa dos Campeões).
In 1951, Palmeiras won the international Copa Rio, known as the first club world association football tournament, after beating Juventus of Italy. In 1999, the team was declared the Champion of the Century in Brazilian football.
- 1 History
- 1.1 Foundation and name
- 1.2 Palestra is born – opening game
- 1.3 1920–1930 – First title and purchase of the stadium
- 1.4 A Leader Dies, A Champion is Born
- 1.5 First World Champion 1951
- 1.6 The Academy, The Brazilian giant
- 1.7 1980s: The lost decade
- 1.8 The End of the 20th Century – The Greatest in Brazil
- 1.9 1999 – Libertadores Cup Winners
- 1.10 2000 – 4 Finals disputed
- 1.11 The new millennium
- 1.12 Allianz Parque
- 1.13 2012 Copa do Brasil Undefeated Winners
- 1.14 New relegation and new return to elite
- 1.15 2015 reformulation and Copa do Brasil title
- 2 Facilities
- 3 Kit
- 4 Supporters
- 5 Players
- 6 Technical staff
- 7 Presidents
- 8 Honours
- 9 Palmeiras B Team
- 10 Other sports
- 11 Notes
- 12 References
- 13 External links
Foundation and name
Palmeiras was founded on August 26, 1914, initially as Società Sportiva Palestra Italia, by Luigi Cervo, Vicenzo Ragognetti, Luigi Emanuele Marzo and Ezequiel Simone, four Italian men who were members of the Italian community of São Paulo. Its original colors were red, white and green (those of Italy). During the World War II, Brazil entered the war supporting the Allies and its dictatorship along with the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) forced Palestra Italia (and also a club of the same name in Belo Horizonte, who became Cruzeiro Esporte Clube) to change its name because of the reference to Italy. The original badge (a white ornamental "P" in a green shield) is still present in the current one, and the club has used red as a third color (mostly in friendly games during the club's 75th anniversary).
Palestra is born – opening game
At the beginning of the 20th century, several young Italians decided to start a club whose main goal was to form a football team that would be representative of the Italian community, and face the big names of São Paulo's football elite. Just over three decades earlier, Italy had been unified – a fact that was not known to some Italian-Brazilians and to some non-Italian Brazilians.
There were numerous Italian clubs, but each one represented an Italian Province or was geared to activities other than football. At the time, the game was starting to take hold and drew many players and fans.
The founders of the club sought out the Fanfulla newspaper, which was the media mouthpiece that defended the interests of Italians in Brazil, and entrusted young Vincenzo Ragognetti – another supporter of the idea – to draft an invitation to those interested in forming a sports club.
After several meetings, 46 interested individuals (led by Luigi Marzo and Luigi Cervo) gathered at the Alhambra Room on what is now Rua do Riachuelo, and founded a sports club for all Italian-Brazilians named "Palestra Italia". Ezequiel Simone was named club president. The Italian Consulate in São Paulo became interested in the new club because it would help spread the word among Italians that their country now had one flag and one anthem.
After some initial difficulties, Palestra Italia played its first game in the town of Votorantim (São Paulo State) – beating Savoy 2–0 with goals from Bianco and Alegretti to win the Savoy Cup.
1920–1930 – First title and purchase of the stadium
In 1916, the team joined the city's main sports league and held its first official championship match. The following year it would be runner-up in the São Paulo State Championship, facing Corinthians for the first time. Palestra won that initial game 3–0 with three goals from Caetano; it also won the rematch 3–1 of what would become the team's chief rivalry. In 1920, Palestra Italia captured the São Paulo State championship with a victory over the rugged Paulistano squad in the deciding match.
Palestra continued to grow as a sports club and also began acquiring more assets. Estádio Palestra Itália, purchased in 1920, was remodeled and expanded in 1933 – when it became the first Brazilian stadium with concrete grandstands and barbed-wire fences. Starting in 1964, the playing field would be suspended, which gave fans a complete, broad view and also created space in the lower levels.
The club continued to grow and won more championships, and at the outset of the 1930s became the three-time São Paulo State football and basketball champion – a feat which prompted Palestra fans to chant in celebration: "With the feet or with the hands, Palestra is the best in the land."
A Leader Dies, A Champion is Born
In 1942 during World War II, the government of President Getúlio Vargas made a decree banning any organization from using names related to the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). Palestra Italia was compelled to change its name, and became Palestra São Paulo. "Palestra" is a Greek word that did not violate the government measure. However, the change did not soothe political and sporting pressures. Under penalty of forfeiting all its assets to another club and facing ejection from the championship that it currently led, Palestra was forced to change its name a second time. The night before the last game of the State championship, scheduled for 20 September 1942, the Palestra board of directors held a heated meeting and changed the club's name. When the debate reached its peak, Dr. Mario Minervino took the floor and asked club Secretary, Dr. Pascoal W. Byron Giuliano, to note in the minutes:
– "They don't want us to be Palestra, so then we shall be Palmeiras – born to be champions."
Tensions flared during the final league match, where Palmeiras' opponent was São Paulo Futebol Clube (SPFC) which was laying claim to the assets of the former Palestra Italia.
Palmeiras took the field carrying the Brazilian flag under the leadership of army Captain Adalberto Mendes. Palmeiras was leading the score by 3–1 when a penalty was called in its favor. At that moment, the SPFC ordered its players to consider the Palmeiras squad an enemy of the homeland and pulled its side off the field amid jeers from even the club's own fans. The celebrations began on the spot. The next day, newspapers contained a photograph of Palmeiras entering the field with the headline: "A Leader Dies, A Champion is Born."
First World Champion 1951
In January 1951, the Brazilian sports newspaper O Globo Sportivo ran a lead story reporting that FIFA President Jules Rimet would grant unconditional support to holding a world club championship in Rio de Janeiro.
The first Rio Cup was held in 1951, with the participation of eight squads, divided into two brackets of four teams apiece: Vasco da Gama (Brazil), Austria Vienna (Austria), Nacional (Uruguay), and Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), playing in Rio; and Palmeiras (Brazil), Juventus (Italy), Red Star (Yugoslavia), and Olympique (France) playing in São Paulo. Clubs such as Malmo, Rapid Vienna, Austria Vienna, Tottenham among others were invited to participate in the tournament but not interested. FIFA acknowledged in 2000 and declared in 2007 that Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras is the first team to be world champion among clubs.
The zeal to compete in this contest was such that the Uruguayan Football Association issued a directive signed by all first division team bosses on June 15, 1951 suspending its national championship from June 25 to July 27, so that a sufficiently strong Nacional team could represent the 1950 World Cup champs.
Palmeiras and Juventus played in the final, held over two matches. Palmeiras managed to win one game and tied the other to win the Rio Cup.
The Academy, The Brazilian giant
In the 1960s, the standard of quality of Palmeiras play – led by the one who would come to symbolize this period of football excellence, Ademir da Guia – led the Palestra Italia team to be called the "Academy" of Brazilian football.
Headed by Filpo Nunes, Palmeiras players won the most important national competition in 1965, the Rio – São Paulo championship, with stand-out performances. Blow-outs against top rivals included seven goals scored against Santos, five against Botafogo in their home stadium of Maracanã, five against São Paulo, and another four scored against Vasco. The title came to Palmeiras in another lopsided victory against Botafogo at Pacaembú Stadium in São Paulo.
That same year, the Brazilian Sports Federation (CBD) used the entire Palmeiras roster to launch Minerão Stadium and represent Brazil in an official national team match against Uruguay for the Inconfidência Cup. The day that it donned the green and white, Palmeiras as Brazil was victorious 3–0 over the Uruguayan blue.
In the previous year, Palmeiras had won the Rio de Janeiro Quadricentennial Cup by beating the Paraguayan national team 5–2 and besting Peñarol of Uruguay in the final.
At the end of the 1970s, Palmeiras won the Copa do Brasil and the Roberto Gomes Pedrosa tournament – the Brazilian Championship equivalent at the time. These victories laid the groundwork for the second Palmeiras Academy, with players like Luís Pereira, Leivinha, Emerson Leão, Dudu and César.
Led by Oswaldo Brandão, the team captured several titles in the 1970s. It was three-time São Paulo State champion – emerging undefeated in one of those tournaments – two-time Brazilian Champion, three-time winner of Spain's Ramón de Carranza Trophy, and winner of Argentina's Mar del Plata Trophy – considered the South American Club Championship.
1980s: The lost decade
Accustomed to victories at the "Academy" in the 1960s and 1970s, Palmeiras fans saw the 1980s come and go without championships or titles. In 1986, Palmeiras fielded a good team – routing Corinthians 5–1 and playing an historic game in the semifinals of the São Paulo State Championship against that same rival, prevailing 3–0. The team had arrived at the final of the State Championship – 10 years after winning its last State title – but lost to Inter de Limeira.
On October 29, 1986, Palmeiras fans adopted the "Pig" as their mascot. At a game against Santos, the rival fans were chanting "pig"; the Palmeiras crowd responded with "Come On Pig!! Come On Pig!! Olé Olé Olé..." and "Go Piiiig...." A few days later, Placar sports magazine popularised the new nickname when it published an issue with Jorginho Putinatti – the symbol of that generation – holding a pig in his lap.
There were two noteworthy events during this decade. In the 1983 State Championship against Santos, referee José de Assis Aragão scored a goal for Palmeiras in the 47th minute of the second half. Striker Jorginho kicked inside the penalty area, the ball was on its way out but it hit Aragão – who was on the goal line about a meter from the goal and went into the Santos net. The game ended in a 2–2 tie – much to the chagrin of Santos.
The second unexpected event occurred on November 11, 1988, when striker Gaúcho defended two penalties against Flamengo in a game for the Brazilian Championship at Maracanã. Gaúcho was put in goal after keeper Zetti broke a leg in the final minutes of the match. The game ended in a tie, and advanced to the penalty shootout phase. During the shootout, Gaúcho stopped two shots, from Aldair and Zinho. To cap off the evening, he scored a penalty himself while wearing the goalkeeper's jersey.
In 1989, Palmeiras had another chance to celebrate a title. Undefeated until the second last match, the team was eliminated when it lost to Bragantino in the semifinals of the São Paulo State Championship. The 1980s ended without significant victories, but the 1990s would make up for that.
The End of the 20th Century – The Greatest in Brazil
Palmeiras found itself in a sixteen-year hiatus without any significant trophies until 1992, when the club signed a sponsorship deal with Italian dairy giant Parmalat. The deal lasted for eight years and quickly turned Palmeiras into Brazil's richest club.
In the 1990s, Palmeiras enjoyed countless achievements, winning numerous important titles. In the first full year of the relationship with Parmalat, the team won the Campeonato Paulista in 1993, beating its biggest rival Corinthians in the final. That same year, it also captured the Rio-São Paulo Championship as well as the Campeonato Brasileiro. The next year, it achieved the unprecedented feat of becoming two-time State Champion and two-time Brazilian Champion.
Featuring players with tremendous technical prowess like Edmundo, Evair, Zinho, Rivaldo, Alex, Marcos and César Sampaio, Palmeiras achieved victory at South America's premier competition, the Copa Libertadores de América in 1999; an accomplishment ranking among the biggest in the club's history.
In 2000, it would also win the Brazilian Champions' Cup, a tournament contested between Brazil's top-level clubs.
Having won key national and international competitions, Palmeiras was proclaimed Brazilian football's Best Team of the 20th Century of Brazil by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), newspapers Folha and Estado de São Paulo, and Placar magazine rankings.
1999 – Libertadores Cup Winners
Famous coach Luiz Felipe Scolari led the team to one of the club's most important titles: The 1999 Libertadores Cup. The final match was against Deportivo Cali from Colombia. Important players from that team were World Cup winners Marcos, Zinho and Roque Júnior, as well as Alex, Evair, Paulo Nunes and César Sampaio. In the first leg, in Cali, Deportivo beat Palmeiras 1–0. In the second leg, at Estádio Palestra Itália, Palmeiras beat Deportivo 2–1 and won the competition in the penalty shootout.
In the same year, in Tokyo, Palmeiras disputed Intercontinental Cup, but were defeated in the final by Manchester United of England. Therefore, the Palmeiras fans still dream of their greatest glory, a Club World Cup by FIFA.
2000 – 4 Finals disputed
In 2000, Palmeiras disputed 4 Final Championship Matches. At first, the team won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament after beating Vasco da Gama in the final. In the first leg, in Rio de Janeiro, Palmeiras beat Vasco 2–1. In the second leg, at Morumbi Stadium, the club from São Paulo beat Vasco 4–0.
The club again reached the Libertadores Cup final, this time against Boca Juniors from Argentina. In the first leg, in Buenos Aires, the game ended 2–2. In the second leg, at Morumbi Stadium, in São Paulo, the game ended 0–0 and Boca won the competition in the penalty shootout.
The new millennium
Parmalat sponsorship ended in 2000 and left the club in dire straits. After a mildly irregular season in 2001, with the biggest achievement being a Libertadores Cup semifinal against Boca Juniors, the club faced its worst year ever in 2002 and was relegated to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, which it won in the following year, returning to the Série A in 2004.
The 2004 and 2005 seasons were rather successful when the team finished in the 4th position in both years, and qualified for the Libertadores Cup in 2005 and 2006. Unfortunately, Palmeiras was eliminated by rival's São Paulo in the Round of 16 in both years.
In 2008, Palmeiras made a sponsorship agreement with Traffic, a Sports Marketing Agency. The club made some big investments on new players and also on coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo. This new strategy paid off with the 22nd Paulista Championship, with a 5–0 victory over Ponte Preta in the final's 2nd leg. Palmeiras finished 4th in the Campeonato Brasileiro, which qualified them to the 2009 edition of the Copa Libertadores.
The year of 2008 also marked the beginning of the planning phase for a new stadium for the club, as well as remodeling the social club, to prepare Palmeiras for the club's centenary year in 2014. The planned arena is now Allianz Parque.
In 2009, the club reached the quarterfinals of Copa Libertadores, eventually losing to Uruguayan side Nacional on away goals. In the same season, Palmeiras was close to winning the Brazilian League, but political problems inside the club caused internal turmoil and affected on-field performances, and Palmeiras finished the League in the 5th position.
From 2010 to 2014, Palmeiras played its home matches in the municipal Pacaembu Stadium, as the previous home ground Palestra Itália Stadium was demolished to accommodate the club's new arena, it is now the most technological stadium in Brazil.
2012 Copa do Brasil Undefeated Winners
In 2012, Palmeiras won the Copa do Brasil for the second time, beating Coritiba in the final. The team, led by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and captained by midfielder Marcos Assunção, was unbeaten in the championship.
New relegation and new return to elite
Less than 3 months after winning the Copa do Brasil, Scolari would leave the club that was having poor appearances in the Campeonato Brasileiro. This way, Palmeiras signed with Gilson Kleina, then coach of Ponte Preta, but the team failed to improve its performances in tournament and was relegated to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, for the second time since 2002, in its history, after a draw against Flamengo, on November 18, in round 36 of the 2012 Série A.
In 2013, now under the administration of President Paulo Nobre, elected in the end of 2012, and with a campaign with clear superiority in the Série B, Palmeiras was promoted back to the first division with six games to spare, ensuring participation in the Série A of 2014, the year of the club's centenary.
Palmeiras suffered a setback early on in its 2014 centenary season as head coach Kleina was sacked, swiftly followed by the departure of striker Alan Kardec and defender Henrique. Argentinian Ricardo Gareca was signed to coach the team after the break for the World Cup in Brazil, but failed to meet expectations and was sacked after a short spell. Dorival Júnior replaced Gareca until the end of the season, as the club was fighting against relegation. With first goalkeeper Fernando Prass and midfielder Jorge Valdivia both returning from injury, the players led Palmeiras throughout the second turn as the club managed to avoid relegation and finished the League in the 16th position.
2015 reformulation and Copa do Brasil title
2015 saw Palmeiras make a big reformulation in the whole club, with the arrival of a new coach and a new football director. The club signed 25 players in the year, as almost every player from the 2014 squad was negotiated, and also promoted several new talents from the club's youth teams. Palmeiras also improved its program of associated fans, the Avanti, increasing the number to 114 thousand associated fans.
The new season was also Palmeiras' first one playing in the newly built home arena, the Allianz Parque, that seats 43,713 fans and consists of fully covered spectator seating, and was inaugurated in November 19, 2014.
On June 9, 2015, head coach Oswaldo de Oliveira was sacked by Palmeiras due to a slow start during the Campeonato Brasileiro. On June 10, 2015, Palmeiras reached an agreement with Marcelo Oliveira, recently sacked from Cruzeiro and Brazilian champion of 2013 and 2014.
Palmeiras won the Copa do Brasil for a third time on December 2, 2015. After a 1–0 loss to Santos in the finals first match, the players were received at the stadium by more than forty thousand supporters, as they all watched the second match outside the stadium while thousands were inside the stadium. Palmeiras won the second match 2–1, both goals were scored by Dudu, and secured the trophy on penalties at Allianz Parque, with goalkeeper Fernando Prass saving a penalty and converting the last one. With this title, Palmeiras increased its supremacy as Brazil's greatest champion, with 11 national titles, being 8 League and 3 Copa do Brasil titles. Also, as champions of the 2015 Copa do Brasil, the club secured a place in the 2016 Copa Libertadores group stage.
Estádio Palestra Itália (1917–2010)
Estádio Palestra Itália was home of Palmeiras from 1917 to 2010. The venue was also known as Parque Antártica because the area was a park built by the Antarctica Paulista Company in the beginning of the last century, before being acquired by Palmeiras in 1920. In the past its capacity was listed as 35,000 spectators. However, even though its grandstands were extended in the late 1990s, it held only seats 27,640 people due to regulations which enforce safety and comfort.
It was one of the most important Brazilian grounds, considering the amount of decisive and important matches played there. Examples of matches played in Palestra Itália include 1999 Copa Libertadores final, the Copa Mercosur finals of 1998, 1999 and 2000, 1996 Copa do Brasil final and several Campeonato Paulista finals.
The last official match played in the stadium was against Grêmio for the Série A on May 22, 2010, and the last match played was a friendly against Boca Juniors on July 9, 2010.
Allianz Parque (2014–Present)
Opened in November 2014, Allianz Parque has 43,713 covered seats, being 25,395 lower seats, 14,888 upper seats and 3,430 in the cabins. The stadium was built for multipurpose events. Many other facilities are in place, including enhanced parking area, VIP area, media center for up to 1,000 media members, 3 restaurant and bar, heliport, etc. The first official game at Allianz Parque was held on November 19, 2014, between Palmeiras and Sport in the Brazilian Série A, when hosts Palmeiras lost to Sport Recife 0–2. The first official goal of the stadium was scored by Ananias.
On 14 June 2015, Palmeiras won their first Brasileirão match in Allianz Parque with a 2–1 win over Fluminense.
Average home attendances per season
(*) Information not available.
- 1 As of 18 January 2016.
- 1 Source: World Football
Palmeiras' first kit consisted of green jerseys, white shorts and green socks. Palmeiras' first jersey was green with a horizontal white band, and a red and white Savoy cross as the crest. Palmeiras have played in blue shirts twice as a tribute to the Italian National Team. Their supporters are also well known for creating the mancha verde (green spot) of fog and smoke when Palmeiras is entering the pitch.
From 2007 to 2009 Palmeiras used a third jersey: a light yellow shirt with a dark green shorts and socks.
In 2010 Palmeiras the light yellow jersey became the second jersey, and started using a blue and white shirt, with white shorts, for their third jersey.
In 2016, Palmeiras announced the extension of the sponsorship agreement with Crefisa and FAM (Falcudade das Americas), which will now have exclusivity in the uniform of Palmeiras. The two companies, which are part of the same group controlled by the couple José Roberto Lamacchia and Leila Pereira, will pay Palmeiras around R$78 million ($20 million) a year, the highest amount ever deposited by a partner in the history of Palmeiras. The uniform will be the most expensive uniform in the Campeonato Brasileiro.
Manufacturer and sponsors
|Period||Kit manufacturer||Shirt partner|
Originally, Palmeiras was a club heavily supported by Brazilians of Italian descent. Over time, that distinction has reduced, and today the fan base is very diverse.
Palmeiras' biggest rival is Corinthians. The rivalry between the two clubs is considered São Paulo's greatest, and the most intense in Brazil, and their matches are known as the Paulista Derby. Palmeiras was featured heavily in the film O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta where the rivalry between Palmeiras and Corinthians played a major role in the plot.
São Paulo FC is another major local rival; the games between the two clubs are called the Choque-Rei (King Clash).
Santos FC is another major rival; the games between the two clubs are called the Clássico da Saudade (The Good Times Classic). Located in the city of the same name, only 76 km (47,5 mi) from São Paulo, Santos is also one of the 4 big clubs of the state.
Palmeiras also has a rivalry with Portuguesa, with both located close to one another within the city of São Paulo. Despite Portuguesa is not as competitive as the other rivals, the derby between both clubs dates back to the 1920s.
The club's official mascot is a green parakeet.
During the late 1960s, fans of Palmeiras' biggest rivals Corinthians would mockingly refer to the team as "Pig", (Porco in Portuguese, a slur used by the elite directed to Italians or Italo-Brazilians residing in São Paulo) and soon after, other teams followed.
In 1986, at the Campeonato Paulista playoffs, supporters adopted the pig like their mascot. Although the parakeet is the official mascot, fans will refer to and yell: "PORCO!" (Pig) enthusiastically during matches, as the pig became their preferred mascot.
Palmeiras's anthem was composed in 1949 by conductor Antonio Sergi. Sergi also wrote the lyrics for the anthem, but did that under the pseudonym Gennaro Rodrigues.
Quando surge o alviverde imponente
(When the imposing white-green emerges)
No gramado em que a luta o aguarda
(On the pitch where battle awaits)
Sabe bem o que vem pela frente
(Aware of what lies before it)
Que a dureza do prélio não tarda
(That the struggle of the game is approaching)
E o Palmeiras no ardor da partida
(And Palmeiras, in the heat of the match)
Transformando a lealdade em padrão
(Making loyalty its norm)
Sabe sempre levar de vencida
(Always knows how to emerge victorious)
E mostrar que de fato é campeão
(And show that it's indeed the champion)
Defesa que ninguém passa
Linha atacante de raça
(Vigorous attacking line)
Torcida que canta e vibra
(Singing, cheering supporters)
Por nosso alviverde inteiro
(For our white-green as a whole)
Que sabe ser brasileiro
(That knows how to be Brazilian)
Ostentando a sua fibra
(Boasting its fiber)
- As of 19 July 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
These are Palmeiras's top scorers since its foundation (data as of 1 February 2016):
|3||Ademir da Guia||153||1961–77|
|Assistant manager||Alberto Valentim|
|Assistant manager||Sergio Santín|
|Fitness coach||Marco Aurélio
|Goalkeeping coach||Oscar Rodriguez|
|In house doctors||Rubens Sampaio
|Medical Staff||José Rosan Júnior
Mário Galdi Peixoto
João Carlos Ferreira de Sousa
Miguel de Oliveira
Last updated: 28 April 2015
The club associates congregate in a general assembly every four years to elect the seventy-six members of the Conselho Deliberativo (Deliberating Council) who in their turn chose amongst them a president for a two-year mandate. As of 2006 the president can only be re-elected once.
The following information is a list of all the honours of Palmeiras since founded.
|Campeonato Brasileiro Série A||8||1960, 1967, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1993, 1994|
|Copa do Brasil||3||1998, 2012, 2015|
|Copa dos Campeões||1||2000|
|Campeonato Brasileiro Série B||2||2003, 2013|
|Torneio Rio-São Paulo||5||1933, 1951, 1965, 1993, 2000|
|Campeonato Paulista||24||1920, 1926, 1928 (extra), 1927, 1932, 1932 (extra), 1933, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1959, 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2008|
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A record
- Super Copa São Paulo de Juniores (1): 1995
- Torneo Internazionale Under 19 Bellinzona (1): 2007
- Campeonato Paulista Feminino de Futebol (1): 2001
Palmeiras B Team
For many years, Palmeiras had a "second" team that played in the lower divisions of the Paulista Championship. The team was dissolved at the end of the Paulista 2013.
Palmeiras has athletic departments in many sports, such as aikido, athletics, archery, boxing, american football, futsal, judo, karate, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball and weightlifting . The club has also a victorious tradition in rink hockey and basketball. Palmeiras has in it history 2 Brazilian Roller Hockey National Championships, being one of the main teams from São Paulo.
- Also known by its nickname Paulistão.
- Also known by its nickname Brasileirão.
- "Laudo de Engenharia - Allianz Parque" (PDF). WTorre Engenharia. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
- "65 years ago, Palmeiras beat Juventus and led the Brazilian football to the top of the world" (in Portuguese). Palmeiras.com.br. 22 July 2016.
- "Paraíso Verde! Na Bola Parada, Palmeiras É Bi da Copa do Brasil". Globo Esporte.
- "Esportes - Futebol, UFC, F1, Campeonatos do Brasil e do Mundo - msn". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- "Love marca no fim e determina rebaixamento do Palmeiras". Gazetaesportiva.Net. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- "Eleito presidente do Palmeiras, Nobre afirma: 'Não sou salvador da pátria". Globo Esporte.
- "Alan Kardec deixa Palmeiras e acerta com rival São Paulo, revela Paulo Nobre". O DIA.
- Downie, Andrew (August 26, 2014). "Palmeiras mark centenary amid relegation fears". theguardian.com. Reuters. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
- "Avanti atinge 50 mil sócios em 2015 e fica próximo de bater recorde do Flamengo". SE Palmeiras.
- "Palmeiras leva gol de "ex" e decepciona 1ª no Allianz Parque". Terra.
- "Santos vence Palmeiras nos pênaltis e é campeão paulista". Terra.
- "Palmeiras demite Oswaldo de Oliveira". Globo Esporte.
- "Palmeiras chega a 11 títulos e se isola como maior campeão nacional". Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF).
- . 'Federação Paulista de Futebol, article "Estádio_Palestra_Itália". Accessed on January 3, 2008.
- "Palmeiras attendance in 2015" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- "Série A 2015 » Attendance » Home matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- Almanaque do Futebol Paulista 2000, by José Jorge Farah Neto and Rodolfo Kussarev Jr., published by Editora Panini Brasil and A Bola da Bola, page 414.
- http://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/noticias-detalhe/esportes/palmeiras-renova-com-patrocinadores-e-camisa-valoriza/?cHash=33d7ebf3f9817de5eecadb8a176352f1 Palmeiras renews sponsorship
- "Presidente da Crefisa comemora sucesso da parceria" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- "Palmeiras" (in Portuguese). Pelé.net. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- "Hino do Palmeiras". Letras).
- "Elenco de Futebol Profissional" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- Estatuto da Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (club statute), art. 52.
- Estatuto da Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (club statute), art. 83.
- Estatuto da Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (club statute), art. 113.
- Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras official records and meeting minutes
- . Terra, Chapter "Palmeiras Minha Vida", article "Presidentes do Palmeiras". Accessed on December 24, 2007.
- "Galeria de Títulos". SE Palmeiras. 2015. Retrieved 2015.
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Ring distributions leading to species formation: a global topographic analysis of geographic barriers associated with ring species
© Monahan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012
Received: 16 November 2011
Accepted: 12 March 2012
Published: 12 March 2012
In the mid 20th century, Ernst Mayr and Theodosius Dobzhansky championed the significance of circular overlaps or ring species as the perfect demonstration of speciation, yet in the over 50 years since, only a handful of such taxa are known. We developed a topographic model to evaluate whether the geographic barriers that favor processes leading to ring species are common or rare, and to predict where other candidate ring barriers might be found.
Of the 952,147 geographic barriers identified on the planet, only about 1% are topographically similar to barriers associated with known ring taxa, with most of the likely candidates occurring in under-studied parts of the world (for example, marine environments, tropical latitudes). Predicted barriers separate into two distinct categories: (i) single cohesive barriers (< 50,000 km2), associated with taxa that differentiate at smaller spatial scales (salamander: Ensatina eschscholtzii; tree: Acacia karroo); and (ii) composite barriers - formed by groups of barriers (each 184,000 to 1.7 million km2) in close geographic proximity (totaling 1.9 to 2.3 million km2) - associated with taxa that differentiate at larger spatial scales (birds: Phylloscopus trochiloides and Larus (sp. argentatus and fuscus)). When evaluated globally, we find a large number of cohesive barriers that are topographically similar to those associated with known ring taxa. Yet, compared to cohesive barriers, an order of magnitude fewer composite barriers are similar to those that favor ring divergence in species with higher dispersal.
While these findings confirm that the topographic conditions that favor evolutionary processes leading to ring speciation are, in fact, rare, they also suggest that many understudied natural systems could provide valuable demonstrations of continuous divergence towards the formation of new species. Distinct advantages of the model are that it (i) requires no a priori information on the relative importance of features that define barriers, (ii) can be replicated using any kind of continuously distributed environmental variable, and (iii) generates spatially explicit hypotheses of geographic species formation. The methods developed here - combined with study of the geographical ecology and genetics of taxa in their environments - should enable recognition of ring species phenomena throughout the world.
Polytypic species and complexes of closely related species provide unusual opportunities to study the linkage between micro and macro evolutionary processes directly in nature because they are composed of taxa that persist at various stages of divergence, from genetically differentiated populations to ecologically divergent taxa. Of particular importance are ring species , or circular overlaps , in which populations at intermediate stages of divergence are distributed around a geographic barrier and reconnect at a terminus as reproductively isolated taxa. By preserving genetic interactions that are typical of species at the ring terminus, as well as interactions typical of populations around the ring distribution, these systems provide a natural demonstration of how micro-evolutionary processes (that is, colonization, genetic drift, gene flow, and local adaptation) result in a continuum of divergence, linking taxa that are generally recognized as species. Although prized as examples of evolutionary clarity, ring species also present a pattern of taxonomic irresolution in which, facing continuous levels of differentiation, different taxonomists recognize a varying number of species, depending on their criteria. Most previous studies of ring species have focused on the local geographical and ecological factors enabling species formation. Here, we develop a generalized model of geographic barriers and use the known examples of ring species to evaluate the number and distribution of other barriers from around the world that are topographically similar and thus may be promoting ring speciation processes in equivalent taxa.
Geographic species formation is intrinsically dependent on the spatial scale at which organisms interact with the landscape, encompassing both biological and historical factors that affect divergence (for example, age of the clade, generation time), and others that affect homogenization through gene flow (for example, degree of philopatry, rate and distance of successful migration, home range size) (see ). Theoretically, ring species can arise frequently when the spatial scale of a geographic barrier matches the biological and historical 'scales' that are necessary for species-level divergence [4, 5]. Whether because that ratio is rarely met in nature or because of historical contingencies associated with the barrier or the organism, few polytypic taxa are in fact recognized by modern taxonomy as ring species and ring diversification is considered to be the exceptional mode of geographic diversification . Mayr stated that "circular overlaps can obviously develop only under highly exceptional constellations of geographical factors", so that the continuous levels of population divergence result from restrictions to gene flow within a species' range imposed by a central and long-standing geographic barrier. Despite their apparent rarity, ring species were extremely influential to the Evolutionary Synthesis [2, 9] and remain a cornerstone to our understanding of how geography influences species formation. These few examples seem to indicate that - even though species formation is clearly a continuous process - the geographic conditions that promote ring speciation are extremely rare. Perhaps there is a taxonomic impediment, in which discovery of parts of rings and their naming as species precedes (as in the case of the history of the Ensatina ring prior to its recognition as a ring ) or, perhaps more commonly, impedes recognition of the ring. In this paper, we release ourselves from existing taxonomic classifications, and possible related artifacts, in order to consider the processes that have enabled ring-distributed taxa ('ring taxa') to diversify in a continuous sense around geographic barriers, irrespective of whether the terminal forms are above or below species-level divergence.
Long-term research programs on ring species complexes, such as the plethodontid salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii and the greenish warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides, provide empirical insights into the processes that can drive ring species formation: (i) conditioned by a long-standing geographic barrier, an ancestor expands around the barrier to form a ring distribution, (ii) restrictions to dispersal imposed by the barrier are such that contiguous populations become increasingly more divergent, and (iii) this divergence continues to the point where - at the ring terminus - the reconnecting terminal taxa are reproductively isolated or hybridize infrequently (that is, without an opportunity for gene flow). The persistence of the central geographic barrier is fundamental for ring diversification because it restricts movement of individuals to the ring distribution, thus promoting non-adaptive divergence through the initial colonization of available habitat, genetic drift of each local population, and limiting gene flow among continuous populations around the ring. Adaptive divergence may further affect neighboring populations around the ring distribution through such processes as local adaptation of anti-predatory strategies (for example, coloration in E. eschscholtzii; ) or the development of assortative mating (for example, song and coloration in P. trochiloides; ). While taxon-based studies have contributed to our understanding of the evolutionary processes that result in ring species, they are not easily generalized and thus cannot be used to evaluate the number and distribution of other geographic barriers around the world that may also favor continuous divergence in ring distributed taxa, so that terminal overlapping forms are near species-level divergence.
Summary statistics used in the topographic ring model, along with a brief description of biological relevance.
Larger barriers provide more opportunities for isolation by distance to promote non-adaptive divergence (that is, differentiation in neutral loci) around a ring distribution.
3. Latitudinal range
Larger latitudinal ranges span more environments and thus facilitate adaptive divergence.
4. Mean distance from equator
Barriers further from the equator are larger to account for latitudinal differences in range size .
5. Shape (Perimeter-to-area ratio)
Compact circular-shaped barriers (compared to elongated barriers) are uniformly wider and therefore less subject to trans-barrier dispersal and gene flow.
More fragmented barriers (that is, barriers that split apart with changing topographic slope) offer more opportunities for trans-barrier dispersal than uniform barriers.
Results and discussion
Reference ring taxa do not always encircle single topographic barriers
Our finding that composite barriers exist and can promote ring diversification even in taxa that disperse widely is not simply an artifact of the model or the spatial resolution of the data. At different spatial resolutions of topographic slope (30 arc sec to 3 arc degrees) the model still predicted Central Asia and the Arctic Ocean as composite barriers. Furthermore, composite barriers encompass such large geographic areas (millions of km2 and hundreds of different ecoregions) that it is difficult to imagine any univariate or multivariate environmental approximation of a single barrier (for example, Central Asia, which is comprised of the Takla Maka-Gobi deserts and the Tibetan Plateau - large geographic regions that differ dramatically in terms of climate and vegetation). If ring taxa that disperse widely are in fact distributed around composite barriers, then an important implication for ring speciation is that individual barriers in close spatial proximity can interact with one another to form effective barriers to species distribution that are orders of magnitude larger than any single cohesive barrier. More empirical work is required to determine the spatial characteristics of inter-barrier gaps that prevent ring taxa from maintaining genetic connectivity across composite barriers.
Barriers associated with ring taxa share topographic features that are rarely found in nature
Considering all geographic barriers identified globally by our model, most share topographic features that cause them to cluster in two high density peaks of the PCA (Figure 3A). Meanwhile, the seven reference barriers cluster in a very discrete, low density area of the PCA (Figure 3B). Despite known species idiosyncrasies, our model is evidently tracking barrier traits that exert effects (Table 1) across taxa, since barriers involved in ring diversification in salamander and tree taxa are near one another in multivariate space (points 1 and 2, Figure 3A), and all individual barriers that comprise composite bird barriers also cluster (points 3 to 7, Figure 3A). This result indicates that barriers associated with ring taxa share similar topographic features, and that these topographic features are relatively rare on the planet. While our small sample size prevents any formal statistical comparison, the topographic features of the barriers associated with the reference taxa are also distributed along an axis of dispersal behavior (Figure 3B). As expected, our model shows that ring taxa with higher dispersal (points 3 to 7, Figure 3B) require larger barriers than lower dispersers (points 1 and 2, Figure 3B). A better understanding of how characteristics of the barriers scale with the biology of the organism will benefit from the discovery of new ring taxa, which can fill in the biological continuum that is encompassed by the current reference ring taxa, and also expand model predictions.
Compared to the most common barriers on the planet, reference barriers are larger in size (area, perimeter, latitudinal range) and less permeable (shape). These results support initial predictions for four of our six summary statistics (Table 1). Notable exceptions include the two summary statistics on PC2: (i) position (distance from equator), where the small number of known ring species prevented us from evaluating whether larger barriers would be required at higher latitudes, and (ii) fragmentation, where we expected more fragmented barriers to allow trans-barrier gene flow and thus prevent ring diversification. In actuality, our measure of fragmentation is reflecting the real topographic complexity of barriers. While small to medium sized barriers (< 50,000 km2) can have lower values for fragmentation (green points in Figure 3B), larger barriers are more likely to encompass fragmenting features like valleys and ridges, so that fragmentation is maximum for all barriers above 50,000 km2 (Additional file 4). For the same reason, our model recognizes larger topographic features such as the Arctic Ocean and Central Asia as clusters of individual barriers that are so large that they can no longer remain cohesive. In contrast, permeability of the barrier as measured by shape (perimeter-to-area ratio), which loaded heavily on PC1, fully matched our initial predictions, suggesting that this summary statistic might better reflect trans-barrier dispersal, or that its effect is biologically more meaningful than a finer fragmentation of the barrier. Although shape as computed by a perimeter-to-area ratio scales with size, the reference barriers were some of the most geometrically compact barriers within their respective size classes (low perimeter-to-area ratios in Additional file 4).
A minimum bounding box around the seven reference barriers (Figure 3B) encompassed approximately 1% of all candidate barriers on the planet. This statistic taken at face value suggests that geographic barriers with similar topographic characteristics to those that promote ring divergence are exceedingly rare. However, a statistic of 1% also results in about 10,000 individual cohesive barriers that are similar in terms of size, position and permeability to known ring barriers. In agreement with Mayr's assertion, those topographic conditions are indeed rare when compared to all candidate barriers on the planet, but numerous when considered relative to the handful of ring species that are well-described by science [2, 6, 8]. This further raises the possibility that a relatively large number of under-studied barriers on the planet may be associated with taxa that are evolving under ring processes of divergence.
Opportunities for ring divergence are more common around smaller barriers
When considered in the context of composite barriers, our model corroborates Mayr's assertion that few areas of the world present the topographic conditions necessary for ring speciation. However, when considered in the context of cohesive barriers, our model also suggests that a surprisingly large number of candidate barriers exist and merit further study. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that - while most contemporary phylogeographic studies have explored well-developed parts of the globe, like Europe and North America, the barriers most likely to be associated with ring divergence are located in under-studied regions (for example, marine environments, tropical latitudes) where new species continue to be described, their geographic ranges are still being mapped and genetic data are rare. An alternative explanation is that some of those areas have been studied but ring diversification has brought taxa to a stage when they are not clearly recognized as 'ring species'. Instead, recently diverged taxa might express continuous variation at the population level, whereas segments of older taxa might have already 'decayed' into a ring of closely related species (see ), thus making it unlikely that researchers would detect a near continuum of differentiation. Therefore, by providing spatially explicit phylogeographic hypotheses that can be tested with adequate genetic or phenotypic data, the topographic ring model is designed to advance field studies of species formation in ring-like patterns.
The topographic model generates spatially explicit hypotheses that may be tested in nature
For both cohesive and composite barriers, our topographic model produces spatially explicit predictions of diversification across taxa and environments. Depending on one's chosen taxonomic criteria, whether these candidate barriers affect taxa that presently constitute valid ring species or, more generally, ring distributed taxa in which terminal forms are above or below species-level divergence, is a question that can now be addressed. Yet, the candidate barriers predicted by our model are hypothesized to result in taxa expressing continuous degrees of adaptive and non-adaptive divergence, thus allowing these processes to be investigated directly in the field. Variation in biology and history will determine the level of divergence reached by taxa that are evolving under a ring diversification process, that is, whether taxa are currently recognized as a ring of populations, a ring species or a ring of species.
Establishing whether taxa comprise a valid ring species ultimately requires extensive population-level sampling around the ring distribution to test for increasing levels of divergence between contiguous populations (for example, [12, 17]), and restricted genetic interaction in secondary contacts across the ring when compared to contacts around the ring . However, there are three lines of evidence with respect to the candidate barrier that may be considered prior to investing in such detailed population-level sampling: barrier topographic traits, associated environmental gradients and species' distributions. We illustrate these in combination for a barrier in Costa Rica and Panama that, while being a mountain barrier, is topographically similar in size, shape and permeability to the Central Valley of California, which has promoted ring diversification in the salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii [11, 19].
By identifying the geographic barriers around the world that are most likely to promote ring diversification, our model provides a formal and flexible approach to discovering new examples of geographic speciation across a diverse range of taxa and environments. Results of the model show that the topographic conditions required for ring speciation are rare when considered relative to all barriers on the planet, but remarkably common relative to the handful of known ring species. Model predictions further suggest that the majority of barriers that are topographically most likely to provide new examples of ring speciation occur in under-studied parts of the world. Although model predictions are presently limited by the few clear examples of ring species, the discovery of new ring taxa will allow iterations of this same model with numerous and biologically diverse taxa. New applications and parameterizations of the model using topography and other environmental gradients will create additional opportunities to study geographic divergence towards the formation of new species in nature, especially across taxa with different population biologies and that diversify at different spatial scales. As Mayr (, p. 182) stated, "overlapping rings (that is, ring species) are disturbing to the orderly mind of the cataloguing systematist, but they are welcome to the student of speciation". We predict that taxa associated with focal barriers emerging from our model will express patterns of clinal differentiation in a direction towards species formation, thus illustrating examples of taxonomic irresolution. Irrespective of whether terminal taxa are above or below species level divergence, these examples allow us to identify the areas where additional evolutionary processes necessary for ring divergence can take place (that is, adaptive divergence) and promote diversification in nature.
Reference ring taxa
For purposes of training our model, we selected four reference taxa described in the literature as ring species: the salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii ; the tree Acacia karroo [27, 28]; the bird Phylloscopus trochiloides ; and the bird species complex Larus (sp. argentatus and fuscus) . Reference ring taxa are also reviewed by Irwin et al. . Importantly, due to recent advances in new taxonomic tools and criteria, these are not necessarily all recognized unambiguously as 'ring species', but do in all cases constitute taxa that are evolving under ring models of divergence - that is, 'ring taxa' that express continuous levels of differentiation with terminal forms above or below species level. Further, we restricted our analysis to these four taxa because they (i) represent true circular overlaps around distinct physical geographic barriers, sensu Mayr , as opposed to other ring systems produced by rare dispersal events; and (ii) have well described distributions with maps and extensive text-based descriptions that enabled us to extract the reference barriers from our model.
Rather than modeling ring distributions of species, our predictive model targets the geographic barriers that are topographically similar to barriers associated with taxa that are considered ring species. We focus on the geographic barrier because it is a core feature of all well-documented ring species, thus enabling us to make predictions about candidate rings across taxa and environments. Our model involves four steps (Figure 1): (i) selecting the focal environmental gradient, (ii) deriving the rate of change in the gradient, (iii) extracting all barriers and calculating summary statistics for traits relevant to geographic species formation, and (iv) analyzing the traits in multivariate space. We describe these steps in detail below.
Step 1 in Figure 1A. We selected elevation as our focal gradient because it is often correlated with other major environmental gradients that more proximately determine barriers to species distribution , and high-quality elevation data are available from multiple sources for the entire globe. Combined, these features of elevation enabled to us build a topographic model that could be reliably generalized to all environments. The model may be parameterized using other environmental gradients to address more targeted questions in specific taxa or geographies. Elevation data were obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ETOPO1 One Arc-Minute Global Relief Model . We selected the bedrock layer in order to define elevations irrespective of spatiotemporally fluctuating ice sheets and glaciers.
Rate of gradient change
Step 2 in Figure 1B. Our model was based on the rate of change in elevation (topographic slope) because this variable is associated with ecotones at landscape to biome scales in all terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments around the world. In turn, ecotones, and associated ecoregions, are strong predictors of species' distributions . We computed slope on the original ETOPO1 bedrock raster and then resampled it using bilinear interpolation to 10 arc minute. This decision was made to provide a spatial resolution that yielded a biologically reasonable minimum barrier size. Since the area of a 10 arc minute cell decreases with increasing latitude, minimum barrier size ranged from 344.2 km2 at the equator to 1.5 km2 at the poles (we accounted for this in our summary statistic calculations using spherical trigonometry, see below). But because the range sizes of taxa tend to decrease with increasing latitude , we considered this to be a biologically reasonable minimum barrier size for low-dispersing or recently diverged taxa, irrespective of their latitude of origin. Furthermore, 10 arc minute resolution was determined through an initial sensitivity analysis to most accurately approximate the range of reference barriers.
Step 3 in Figure 1C. Empirical field-based studies have described ring species as taxa that diversify around a geographic barrier, which could be as small as the Central Valley of California or as large as Central Asia . However, because these studies did not require a definition of what is a barrier, the geographic barriers associated with classical ring systems could not be explicitly compared to one another, or to other barriers on the planet. We formally defined barriers in our model as geographically contiguous blocks of grid cells that, at the 10 arc minute resolution of our analysis, had the potential to physically separate two or more taxa. Throughout we refer to these geographically contiguous barriers as being 'cohesive' because they are comprised of cells that stick together. Although slope is a continuous variable, calculations of topographic traits required discrete barriers (that is, groups of cells that constituted a cohesive barrier). We first reclassified into separate sets of grids all grid cells that were either greater than or less than or equal to a certain slope threshold. The resulting sets of cells that met the conditional statement on each grid effectively defined our candidate binary barriers for that threshold. Slope thresholds were allowed to vary from 1 to 87 (maximum observed) degrees, in increments of 1 degree, in order to bracket the complete range of barriers that species could be responding to. The biological rationale for thresholding slope in this fashion relates to the two main conditions that enable ecotones [13, 32]: (i) steep physical environmental gradients that directly affect key ecological processes and the distribution of organisms, and (ii) gradual physical environmental gradients where threshold or nonlinear responses cause changes in ecosystem dynamics and the distributions of dominant species. Hence, the ecotones that define geographic barriers in our model may be important for taxa irrespective of whether the slope is steep or shallow. For each slope threshold, in determining how to group sets of cells into discrete barriers, we further defined barriers as geographically cohesive blocks of grid cells under one-cell rook chess moves in the four cardinal directions. Cell blocks were then indexed sequentially on a sphere in order to eliminate edge-effects at poles and the International Date Line.
Topographic summary statistics
Table 1. We selected a total of six biologically informative summary statistics that collectively capture the size, position and permeability of candidate barriers: area, perimeter, maximum latitudinal range (controlling for longitude, max latitude minus min latitude), mean distance from equator (based on the absolute value of the centroid of each barrier), perimeter-to-area ratio, and fragmentation. All area and distance summary statistics were computed using spherical trigonometry to eliminate geographic bias in distortion introduced by imposing planar projections, and also to enable a comprehensible analysis of Polar Regions.
Fragmentation was evaluated separately for all candidate barriers in two steps. First, beginning with the slope threshold yielding the largest and globally most inclusive candidate barriers (1 degree for grids greater than each slope threshold and 87 degrees for grids less than or equal to each slope threshold), we determined the number of sequential slope thresholds (x) that maintained the starting barrier unfractured in smaller form as spatially contiguous blocks of cells. We also used barriers identified in x to derive mean estimates of the other five summary statistics that were computed using spherical trigonometry. Because mountains and valleys serve as barriers to species' distributions in similar ways, we did not distinguish between the two types of barrier inflection, and thus combined them for purposes of analysis. This process effectively reduced the number of redundant barriers (that is, barriers preserved across multiple slope thresholds) from 7,045,548 to 952,147. In other words, our inclusion of fragmentation allowed us to eliminate 6,093,401 spatially redundant or overlapping barriers that were originally extracted from applying the slope thresholds. Second, we calculated fragmentation as 1 - (x/a), where a = the maximum number of slope thresholds possible, 87 for our analysis.
Principal component analysis
Step 4 in Figure 1D. We used the summary statistics to compare the candidate barriers in a principal component analysis (PCA). Log transformations were applied to area, distance, and shape summary statistics; an arcsin transformation was used on fragmentation. The multivariate PCA space (barrier-space) was used to identify candidate barriers that were topographically equivalent to those known to be associated with ring species (see below). We provide our complete model results (data deposited in the Dryad Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5856q415) so that future studies can evaluate new hypotheses of barriers that may be promoting ring divergence.
Identification of reference and candidate barriers
Following development of the topographic model, we identified the barriers associated with our reference taxa ('reference barriers'), and also the other barriers from around the world that were topographically similar to the reference barriers ('candidate barriers').
We identified reference barriers by visually inspecting which topographic barriers from the model were circumscribed by the distributions of reference taxa. Data on the distributions of reference taxa were obtained from a combination of georeferenced point localities and range maps and included the following sources: Ensatina , Acacia , Phylloscopous , and Larus . We then used principal components 1 and 2 (PC1, PC2) to extract the locations in multidimensional space of the reference barriers associated with our reference ring taxa. We determined that both Ensatina and Acacia encircled single barriers ('cohesive barriers'), while Larus and Phylloscopus each encircled clusters of two or three cohesive barriers in close geographic proximity (thus forming 'composite barriers'). For purposes of describing the geography of each cohesive and composite reference barrier, we identified the common names of the topographic features from multiple world and regional maps.
Because geographic species formation depends on the interaction between the 'scale' of the organism and the spatial scale of the barrier associated with it, both the population biology and history of reference and candidate taxa need to be considered when evaluating candidate barriers. Thus, we identified candidate barriers separately with respect to the reference taxa and associated barriers. Because reference barriers were discovered to be either cohesive or composite, we further identified candidate barriers according to two methods.
Candidate cohesive barriers (Ensatina and Acacia)
Candidate cohesive barriers are represented in the model by other individual barriers that are topographically similar to the reference barriers in multidimensional barrier space. For this method, we identified candidate cohesive barriers as the 100 nearest neighbors (Euclidean distance) to each reference barrier in the PCA. Yet, other criteria could alternatively be used to define similarity (for example, a Euclidean buffer around reference barriers). For each reference taxon and associated barrier, we mapped the candidates back into geographic space and summed across barriers to detect possible spatial overlap of topographically similar candidates that were not consolidated using our estimate of fragmentation.
Candidate composite barriers (Larus and Phylloscopus)
Composite barriers are represented in the model by groups of other individual cohesive barriers. In addition to the summary statistics characteristic of all barriers, reference composite barriers are described by a particular combination of individual barriers with four criteria: (i) number of barriers, (ii) total area, (iii) geographic proximity to one another, and (iv) the same inflection. Individual barriers were first queried by identifying the 100 nearest neighbors (Euclidean distance) relative to each of the five reference barriers. Because these barriers clustered with respect to both reference bird taxa, we used a minimum convex polygon around the 500 total nearest neighbors to identify 1,380 candidate barriers. As performed for Ensatina and Acacia, we mapped the candidates back into geographic space and summed across barriers to detect spatial overlap of topographically similar candidates that were not consolidated using our estimate of fragmentation. We then queried for candidate composite barriers separately in Larus and Phylloscopus using the four criteria above, with similarity thresholds set to 5%. In the case of the Arctic Ocean, which was comprised of three individual reference barriers, we employed a two-barrier approximation because 90% of the total area was explained by two reference barriers (the Canada and Amundsen-Nansen Basins).
- PC1 and PC2:
principal component analysis.
We thank Craig Moritz, Robert Hijmans, Juan Parra, John Weins, Pedro Tarroso, Kristy Deiner, and Jack Dumbacher for providing helpful comments throughout the development of the study and during manuscript preparation. Additional thanks to Town Peterson and Darren Irwin for reviews that greatly improved an earlier version of the manuscript. Special thanks to Jeanne Robertson for making published data available and providing photographs.
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Modeling the electric field and images in electric fish contributes to a better understanding of the pre-receptor conditioning of electric images. Although the boundary element method has been very successful for calculating images and fields, complex electric organ discharges pose a challenge for active electroreception modeling. We have previously developed a direct method for calculating electric images which takes into account the structure and physiology of the electric organ as well as the geometry and resistivity of fish tissues. The present article reports a general application of our simulator for studying electric images in electric fish with heterogeneous, extended electric organs. We studied three species of Gymnotiformes, including both wave-type (Apteronotus albifrons) and pulse-type (Gymnotus obscurus and Gymnotus coropinae) fish, with electric organs of different complexity. The results are compared with the African (Gnathonemus petersii) and American (Gymnotus omarorum) electric fish studied previously. We address the following issues: 1) how to calculate equivalent source distributions based on experimental measurements, 2) how the complexity of the electric organ discharge determines the features of the electric field and 3) how the basal field determines the characteristics of electric images. Our findings allow us to generalize the hypothesis (previously posed for G. omarorum) in which the perioral region and the rest of the body play different sensory roles. While the “electrosensory fovea” appears suitable for exploring objects in detail, the rest of the body is likened to a “peripheral retina” for detecting the presence and movement of surrounding objects. We discuss the commonalities and differences between species. Compared to African species, American electric fish show a weaker field. This feature, derived from the complexity of distributed electric organs, may endow Gymnotiformes with the ability to emit site-specific signals to be detected in the short range by a conspecific and the possibility to evolve predator avoidance strategies.
Sensory imaging is a relevant issue in perception studies which is not yet fully understood. A specific sensory carrier's characteristics and how it interacts with pre-receptor structures to shape images are key aspects of all sensory systems. Comparative study leads to general concepts and a specialized jargon. Electric fish are widely used models for imaging studies and have led to important contributions in imaging research. We highlight the diversity of electric organ discharges as a source of different carriers subserving this active electric sense. Site specific differences in the organization of the electric organ of pulse Gymnotiformes results in a multi-directional “illumination” of objects in the surrounding environment. However, in both African and American species, there is a foveal region where the fields and the electric images show coherent waveforms that simplify the neural algorithms required for processing object images with high resolution. In addition, in American species the electric organs generate a complex field near the skin. This complex field tends to a dipolar form as it fades with distance from the electric organ, not very far away from the body. These features may have evolved as a cryptic adaptation of the electromotor system to deal with electroreceptive predators.
Citation: Pedraja F, Aguilera P, Caputi AA, Budelli R (2014) Electric Imaging through Evolution, a Modeling Study of Commonalities and Differences. PLoS Comput Biol 10(7): e1003722. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003722
Editor: Matthias Bethge, University of Tübingen and Max Planck Institute for Biologial Cybernetics, Germany
Received: September 9, 2013; Accepted: May 30, 2014; Published: July 10, 2014
Copyright: © 2014 Pedraja et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was partially supported by grants from the 7th Frame Program of the European Union (to RB and AAC) as a part of ANGELS project (http://www.theangelsproject.eu), CSIC (Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay, to Ruben Budelli) and PEDECIBA (to Federico Pedraja, as a part of his master studies). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Weakly electric fish show two electrosensory modalities , supported by the presence of two types of electroreceptors sensitive to transcutaneous electric fields . Passive electroreception, shared with many aquatic animals, allows the perception of electric fields produced by external electric sources, for instance the muscles of prey or predators, or the electric signals of neighboring electric fish. Active electroreception , , evolved independently in African and American electric fish and it is based on the selective tuning of electroreceptors to the waveform of the self-emitted electric field generated by the activation of an electric organ (EO). In active electroreception, objects with impedance different from water induce perturbations in the electric field generated by the self-generated electric organ discharge (EOD) . Object-dependent variations of the self-generated field across the skin are considered “electric images”, conveying information that allows the detection, identification, discrimination and recognition of the elements present in the surrounding environment , , , , , .
Modeling the electric field and images generated by fish contributes to the better understanding of the pre-receptor conditioning of electric images, which in turn is the key to unravel peripheral encoding of electrosensory inputs. Two main strategies have been used to study electric imaging with complex EOs. On the one hand, Caputi and Budelli developed a “direct”, bottom up model taking into account the structure and physiology of the EO and the geometry and conductivity of the fish body. On the other hand, Rasnow, Assad and MacIver , , , , and more recently Babineau and col. used a more pragmatic strategy, finding the appropriate internal sources that matched the external field.
The first strategy has the advantage of having solid foundations in experimental measurements of the electrogenic sources and fish body impedance . It has also the advantage of filling the gap between the knowledge of the electrogeneration mechanisms and the generation of electric images , , , , However, calculating the whole field of realistic 4-dimensional scenes (three dimensions of space plus time) with the “finite element” model would imply a very large computational demand. The second strategy, based on the boundary element method (BEM) has the advantage of providing faster and accurate calculation of electric images. Thus, our modeling is optimized by combining both strategies. Instead of calculating the whole field, we approximated the electric image applying the BEM in a new simulator that uses experimentally measured electromotive forces, internal conductivity and the geometry of the fish body (see the thesis by Rother and ‘The Model’).
A first set of simulations was carried out on the electric sense of Gnathonemus petersii, an African Mormyrid fish. These fish have a localized EO situated close to the tail, that is activated synchronously, yielding a very brief EOD which facilitates the analysis of the results , , . However the EO of American electric fish is distributed along the fish body, making the characterization and interpretation of images a much more complicated task , , , , .Thus, more recently we addressed the challenge of modeling the EO and the EOD of Gymnotus omarorum, a species where the electrogeneration mechanisms have been extensively studied . These models, together with experimental results, have helped to understand the role of the fish's body on image formation as well as the peripheral encoding of object impedance , geometrical characteristics of the object , , , the object's distance and position , , , , .
Electroreceptor sensitivity and distribution are fundamental in the transformation of the electric image into a “neural image”. Strong evidence supports the existence of an “electrosensory fovea”. The presence of this region was first proposed based on evidence arising from the modeling of the electrogenic system of G. omarorum and experimentally confirmed in G. omarorum , , , G. petersii , and other species . The electrosensory mosaic of the perioral region has the highest density and variety of receptors. This region has a large central representation and is stimulated by a relatively large, coherent and iso-oriented electrosensory carrier , , , a feature that has been described in those species by our previous modeling studies , , . Nonetheless, it still remains unknown how the spatiotemporal complexity of the field and the electroreceptor type distribution (both characteristic of each species) contribute to the electrosensory encoding of the surrounding scenes. To unveil this issue it is necessary to understand both the common and the diverse mechanisms of electrosensory imaging across species.
In this paper, we explore these aspects through realistic modeling. The extension of our previous studies in G. omarorum and G petersii , to other Gymnotiformes species with different EOD complexity, has allowed us to show the capabilities of the simulator for calculating electric fields and images in all functional types of electric organs and therefore its potential as a tool for exploring active electrolocation and electrocommunication. The chosen species cover almost the whole spectrum of complexity of electric imaging strategies: a) pulse type EOD emitted by a localized EO (represented by G. petersii); b) a wave type EOD emitted by a distributed EO (represented by Apteronotus albifrons) and c) a wavelet type EOD represented by G. omarorum and two other species with different degrees of waveform complexity. Gymnotus obscurus shows an almost monophasic EOD, with a very simple spatial organization of the electric organ, while Gymnotus coropinae shows a multi-phasic and very complex spatiotemporal organization , , .
We applied the model to investigate: a) how the electromotor organization influences the range of electroreception and electrolocation in different species and b) the differences in electroreception mechanisms between rostral and other body regions. Our analysis suggests that Gymnotiformes may have a shorter range of electrolocation and electrocommunication than African mormyrid fish. Our study has confirmed the fovea - body differences of the field and images in the new species studied and explains how differences in EO structure and body geometry, together with a certain organization of the sensory mosaic, provide functional advantages for the corresponding electrosensory organization.
In this article, we compare the electric field generated by two pulse type and one wave type Gymnotiform fishes with different EOD complexity, with the previously studied G. petersii and G. omarorum. We addressed the following points: 1) how to calculate the equivalent source distribution based on experimental measurements, 2) how the complexity of the EOD determines features of the electric field surrounding the fish and 3) how the basal field determines the characteristics of electric images.
From air gap recordings to source distribution
The coordinated activation of electrocytes or nerve fibers generates longitudinal currents that, flowing through the external media, generate the electric field due to the EOD. Although the EOD associated field may change with the sensory scene and particularly with water conductivity, we have shown that in most cases the EOD can be represented by an equivalent source which is characterized by the voltage generated in air and the impedance of contiguous parts of the fish's body . This series of voltage values are a species specific invariant that can be used for calculating external fields . For the localized EO of G. petersii we used a single dipole to simulate fields and images , . However as Gymnotiformes have a distributed EO, discharging different waveform at different regions, a multi-poles approach is required. Then, we experimentally determined the voltages generated by contiguous parts/sections? of the fish body by measuring the difference of voltage between electrodes (air gap) while the fish were held in air . These differences are generated across the body region encompassed between the electrodes.
The procedure is exemplified for G. omarorum in Figure 1, which shows in A the voltage recordings across the 7 air gaps (see data for the other species in Figure S1). Assuming that the voltage recorded from each air gap is produced by two poles of current sources of opposite polarity (dipoles) situated at either end of the body region (source and sink), the electric current can be calculated as V/R; where V is the recorded voltage and R is the longitudinal resistance of that part of the fish body (calculated according to tissue impedance and fish body geometry, see The Model). The time courses of longitudinal currents generated by the 7 rostral poles are presented in column B. Since the pieces of the fish body are contiguous and aligned longitudinally and are thus limited by a common plane, the currents supplied by the poles lying on the same plane can be reduced to a single entity by simple addition of their magnitudes, and the EO can be represented by a set of 8 poles (Figure 1C). Note that: a) the voltages increase rapidly towards the tail, b) waveforms are characteristic of each body part, and c) there is a delay between homologous peaks at different regions. This last occurs because the neural coordination mechanisms do not provide a perfect synchronism between EO regions , , , . However, due to impedance matching, the maximal current contribution to the external field is provided by the central and caudal body regions (Figure 1B). In consequence, the poles invert their polarity at the limits of the central region of the fish, where they also show maximal absolute values (Figure 1C violet and orange traces).
(A) Recorded potential differences through the air gaps. (B) Rostral poles of the dipoles calculated from the recorded potentials, fish resistivity and fish morphology. The diagram between A and B represents the fish in the multiple air gap. Red dots represent the position of the poles in the model. (C) Poles calculated from the dipoles as a function of time. The red and green dotted vertical lines represent the positive peak of the htEOD and the negative peak respectively.
Data was obtained for several species using this method, for which G. obscurus was the simplest case. For this fish, the voltage signal consists of a main positive component, increasing in amplitude and appearing with increasing delay as EO activation travels rostro-caudally. At the tail region there is a small negative component. Despite this apparent simplicity, the poles show complex waveforms illustrating the effect of the progressive shift of the positive peak onset from head to tail (Figure S1, ).
G. coropinae is the most complex case. This fish exhibits a large expansion of the EO at the head. Thus, besides the pattern already described for G. omarorum, G. coropinae shows a strong source that generates a different waveform starting significantly earlier than that generated by the rest of the EO (Figure S1, ).
A. albifrons is a wave type fish, with a neural EO. The magnitudes of the poles reach their maximum in the second and seventh defined body regions, due to the highly synchronous discharge of the EO. The most rostral and caudal dipoles are negligible. Currents from poles 3 to 6 are mild, but not negligible; if they were so, we would be able to simulate the field generated by the EOD by two distant poles (Figure S1 ).
Comparing the different pulse species we should stress that while heterogeneity plays a very important role at the transition between the head and central regions, the relationship between electrocyte number and internal resistance plays a major role at the transition between the central and tail regions . In A. albifrons, the similarity and the almost synchronous discharge of different regions of the EO results in two major poles, at the head to central and central to tail transitions.
From sources to electric fields
Using the BEM method (see The Model), we calculated the maps of electric potentials and fields, either in water or across the skin. The modeled field and images are multidimensional, including spatial and time dependent aspects. Thus we represent images as series of images profiles, defined as the transcutaneous voltages along a line on the skin, each element of the series corresponding to a given time. In certain cases images are represented as transcutaneous voltages, as a function of time at a given skin site. The drop of voltage and fields in water are shown in the same way.
Our first aim was to check the accuracy of the model by reproducing the far field and the head to tail recordings as used in taxonomic and evolutionary studies . In a previous paper, we checked that in G. omarorum, the simulated field fits the experimentally determined one . Here we compare the simulated and experimental head to tail EOD (htEOD) for the studied species (Figure 2A and B). Since the experimental recordings were obtained by different authors in different tanks , , and the simulations were calculated in an infinite medium, we focused only on the reproduction of the waveform, which, in fact, is outstandingly accurate. The main difference between G. petersii and American fish is that while in mormyrids wave transitions occur synchronously, in all Gymnotiformes the heterogeneity and asynchrony between the different regions of the EO generate differences between the near and the far field.
(A) The experimental htEOD recording across the species (B). The htEOD recording calculated using the BEM model. Dotted line indicates zero voltage. (C) G. obscurus: three instants before the positive peak, the positive peak, an instant between the positive peak and the negative peak, the negative peak and one instant later. A. albifrons at the peak of the negative wave of the htEOD, two instants close to the zero crossing between the negative and positive peaks, at the peak of the positive wave, two instants close to the zero crossing between the positive and negative peaks and again at the peak of the negative wave. Black lines indicate the points where the potential is zero. The insets show the htEOD waveform at the selected instants (red dots).
Furthermore, as explained in the appendix of a previous paper , in a three dimensional view, either the head or the tail can be enclosed by an ovoid shaped surface of zero potential, while another zero potential surface tending to infinite crosses the body at an intermediate level (Figure 2, C and Figure S2). This implies that different htEOD waveforms are recorded when the electrodes are either far or close to the body.
A second piece of evidence confirming the accuracy of the model results from the comparison of the modeled sinks and sources on the fish skin with published experimental data , , . We calculated the voltage as a function of time, measured along a lateral horizontal line on the fish skin (Figure 3 middle row). These maps indicate the presence of contiguous regions of different polarities, separated by zero lines (black lines). In G. petersii (Figure 3A), there is only one zero line that stays fixed in the same point. In Gymnotiformes the zero lines move from rostral to caudal regions as the EOD progresses, as expected by the progressive activation of the EO , . The simplest case is that of G. obscurus (Figure 3B), having an almost monophasic time course. The most complex case is G. coropinae (Figure 3C), reflecting the presence of multiple generators with asynchronous evolution of the source (reddish) and sink (bluish) positions along the fish. G. omarorum (Figure 3D) and A. albifrons (Figure 3E) are intermediate cases. The bottom row of Figure 3 shows the species-specific transcutaneous current profiles, which are proportional to the strength of the field (the voltage gradient) perpendicular to the skin .
(A) G. petersii (B) G. obscurus (C) G. coropinae (D) G. omarorum (E) A. albifrons. The top row shows the htEOD waveforms recorded in air as a reference. The second row shows the potential along a horizontal line on the skin as a colormap: x axis represents time along the EOD and y axis represents the position on the skin. Reversal points in black. The third row shows the transcutaneous currents using a similar representation. (F) schematic representation of the localization of the skin section in a lateral view (left) and seen from above (right). We have used the body profiles of G. omarorum but these are similar in the other fish.
Finally we compared the strength of the fields close and far from the fish. Figure 4 shows the maps of maximum field at each point, on a logarithmic scale. We marked (in purple) the experimentally obtained thresholds for active electrolocation for G. omarorum (continuous line), G. petersii (dotted line); and A. albifrons (dashed line). For the sake of comparison, we also plot the threshold values of active (in sky-blue) and passive (in black) electroreception of G. omarorum. We found that the strength of polarization of a neighboring object differs among species, the range for G. petersii being much larger than the range for the Gymnotiformes species, and that of G. coropinae being the smallest of all. This may explain the differences in electrolocation ranges found in the literature , , , . In addition the data also suggest that the distance for detecting a field produced by a conspecific with an EOD of the same amplitude would be significantly smaller in Gymnotiformes, reaching the lowest level in the species with the most complex EO (G. coropinae).
The color maps represent the maximum absolute value of the field at each point of space computed for the whole time course of the EOD. Purple lines show the experimentally obtained thresholds for active electrolocation for G. omarorum (continuous line); G. petersii (dotted line); and A. albifrons (dashed line). For the sake of comparison, in every fish we plot (continuous lines) the threshold values of active (in sky-blue) and passive (in black) electroreception, corresponding to those experimentally determined for G. omarorum (values taken from , , , , ).
From fields to images: Imaging mechanisms studied with small metal spheres
The clue to understand electric imaging is to realize that object polarization is the source of electrosensory signals, resulting from the change in the electric field determined by the presence of an object. This change (perturbing field) is defined as the field resulting from subtracting the electric field in the absence of the object (basal field) from the electric field in its presence (stimulating field) .
Depending on the object location and the fish species, the time courses of the object perturbing and stimulating fields may, or may not, be equal. Figure 5 compares the basal and stimulating field and their difference (object perturbing field) at the head and the side of the fish, when an object is placed in front of one of the recording positions. In all cases the time courses of the perturbing field in front of the object are equal but have opposite polarity with respect to the other recording point. This difference in polarity of the object perturbing field is due to the ‘Mexican hat’ center-surround image profile (): when the image of an object formed at the skin has a given polarity representing the center of the object, the surrounding skin will see an image tending towards the opposite polarity, corresponding to the ‘brim’ or the trough of the Mexican hat profile.
(A) Diagram of the scene. The red dots marked as b and c correspond to the places where the traces shown in B and C were calculated. (B) Time courses at the fovea. Left column: Time courses of transcutaneous currents in the absence (red), and in the presence (blue) of an object facing the fovea. Right column: The image calculated as the difference between the traces on the left (black). (C) Time courses for transcutaneous currents with and without an object situated laterally. (D) Diagram of the scene. The red dots marked as e and f correspond to the places where the traces shown in E and F were calculated. (E) Time courses at the fovea. Left column: Time courses of transcutaneous currents in the absence (red), and in the presence (blue) of an object facing the side. Right column: The image calculated as the difference between the traces on the left (black). (F) Time courses on the side, color-coded as above.
In mormyrids, the time courses of stimulus and perturbing fields are equal, but in Gymnotiformes they are often different. This implies that for a pure resistive object, the object position may be encoded not only by the spatial pattern but also by the waveform pattern at different spatial locations. It is clear from the Figure 5 that in all Gymnotiformes there is little difference between perturbing and basal field at the head, when an object is facing the recording point (Figure 5B). In contrast, for the same scene, there are important differences when the recording site is on the side of the fish (Figure 5C). When the object faces the side of the fish, perturbing and basal fields are different at both recording sites (Figure 5E and F). To study this phenomenon in detail, we compared the images generated by objects near the head or on the side of the fish.
Spheres facing the rostral zone.
Figure 6A (and Figure S3) shows, for the same scene as in Figure 5A, a series of electric images profiles. In all fishes, the image has a symmetrical center-surround opposed profile centered in front of the object. When a sphere of 0.25 cm radius is placed at 1 cm from the skin, the image profile is almost constant, changing only in amplitude. Thus, there is an almost perfect superposition of the normalized image profiles (Figure 6A and S3). Note that: a) the amplitude of the image in Gymnotiformes is at least one order of magnitude smaller than in G. petersii and b) in G. coropinae the images profiles are 2 orders of magnitude smaller than in the other studied species (Figure 5, 6 and S3). These features of the image contrast with those observed for a larger object (1 cm radius) or for a similar object located closer to the fish (0.5 cm from the skin). For the larger sphere, the widths of the image profiles are similar to those of the small sphere at the same distance. The superposition shows very similar image profiles except for G. coropinae, in which the discrepancy indicates that the spatial profiles are changing along the EOD (Figure 6B and 3S). For the small sphere located closer, the width of the profile decreases and the superposition is a bit less perfect in all fish, but this is most marked in G. coropinae (Figure 6C and S3).
Amplitude image profiles for G. obscurus, G. coropinae and A. albifrons when (A) a small (0.25 cm radius) and (B) a large sphere (1 cm radius) face the fovea at when the distance between the skin and the surface of the sphere is 1 cm) and (C) when the small sphere faces the fovea at a shorter distance (0.5 cm). The plot shows the profile for the entire EOD normalized by the absolute maximum of each peak. The yellow area indicates the projection of the object on the skin. Note the different shapes for G. coropinae. (D) Schematic representation of the localization of the skin section in a lateral view (left) and seen from above (right), for G. obscurus. See Figure S3 for the complete image.
Spheres facing the lateral zone.
Figure 7A compares the image profiles of a 1 cm radius metal sphere, placed 2 cm away from the fish midline, for the main peaks of the htEOD in the five studied species. While in G. petersii and A. albifrons the profiles of the main peaks are coincident, in pulse Gymnotiformes there is a spatial shift. Furthermore in all Gymnotiformes, the transitions between the main peaks are characterized by clearly different biphasic profiles, as illustrated in the insets. This indicates changes in the direction of the transcutaneous field. When the object is moved away from the fish body, the image profiles increase in width and decrease in amplitude and the changes along the EOD are attenuated (Figure 7B). Differences between profiles increase from the side of the head up to the 3/4 of the fish length measured from the snout (Figure S4, S5, S6, S7, S8).
(A) The diagram shows the relative position of the sphere when the distance to the longitudinal axis is 2 cm. (B) Each row shows the image profiles of a sphere situated at 2 cm from the sagittal plane for the studied species. (C) Image profile with the sphere at 6 cm. The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves: positive peak (green) and negative peak (blue). Also shown are the rostral positive peak (red) for G. coropinae and the first negative peak (red) for G. omarorum,. Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles (divided by the maximum absolute value along the EOD). The triangles and squares indicate the fovea and the tail tip respectively; the yellow area indicates the object projection on the skin.
Electric fish use the EOD as a signal carrier for object exploration and communication. The electromotor pattern varies across species, implying different strategies of image generation, which in turn may imply differences in the organization of the sensory pathway. In this article we combine modeling and comparative analysis to explore how the commonalities and species-specific differences in electric imaging may depend on the different organization of the electromotor systems. The main differences between African and American electric fish are caused by the extension and complexity of the EO. The increased complexity of the EO of American electric fish leads to the hypothesis that they may detect object location through waveform analysis. The simple organization of African mormyrids results in a long communication range while complexities may provide American fish with the possibility to emit site-specific signals to be detected in the short range as well as the possibility to evolve cryptic predator avoidance strategies.
The role of electromotor strategy on sensory imaging
Our model results fit well with experimental recordings of near and far fields for different species, confirming its validity. First we reproduced the time course of the htEOD. One of the limitations of the model is that the simulations cannot account in a precise way for the tank borders, and for this reason all calculations were performed as if the fish were in an infinite homogenous media. This may account for the differences in the amplitude of the htEOD and the differences in the time courses of the early components of G. coropinae.
In active electrolocation, the stimulus to the sensory mosaic in the presence of an object is the stimulating field: the sum of the basal field plus the object perturbing field , . Here we have shown that the time course of the field polarizing the object is species specific, as well as dependent on the object location with respect to the fish's body.
The simplest case is represented by pulse mormyrids. These fish have a localized EO at the caudal peduncle that is synchronously activated yielding a very brief EOD. Here we confirmed previous experimental and modeled data indicating that the basal field, stimulating the mosaic and the object perturbing field have the same time course when the scene is formed objects that are resistive only , , , , , , .
In contrast, Gymnotiformes show a distributed EO in which the time course of the regional electromotor sources is either shifted in time (as it is the case of A. albifrons and G. obscurus) or shows a characteristic regional waveform (as it is the case of G. omarorum and G. coropinae). Under the assumption of linearity we have extended the initial model based on a localized EO by calculating object polarization and basal fields as the sum of the effects of eight equivalent poles that change in magnitude with time. In order to calculate poles we started from experimentally recorded voltages with the fish in air and the geometric profile of the fish body . Since voltage amplitude, time course and body shape are species specific, the resultant polarizing field from each pole is also species-specific. Moreover, since the relative distance from the object site to each pole varies with the position of the object, object polarization is also site-specific for Gymnotiformes fish.
Commonalities and differences in active imaging
The first commonality is that all studied species show a short electrolocation range. However, there are differences between fish generating large (G. petersii) and small (Gymnotiformes) electromotive forces and having synchronous or heterogeneous discharges. We found a good agreement between the electrolocation ranges predicted by the extrapolation of the detection threshold of G. omarorum to the electric field of A. albifrons and G. petersii , , . It is important to note that as the polarization distance increases, the projection distance also increases which in turn reduces the image amplitude. Therefore, the exclusive consideration of object polarization leads to an over-estimation of the electrolocation range. Similarly, we have found that the extrapolation of the communication range of G. omarorum is in the experimentally determined range for G. petersii , . Finally, the EO complexity increases the probability of the cancelation of the far field, produced by neighboring regions of the fish, as occurs in G. coropinae.
A second commonality is the peculiar characteristic of the imaging mechanism at the perioral region. This finding is consistent with the general hypothesis that the perioral region and the rest of the body play different sensory roles . While the “electrosensory fovea” might be used for resolving details of the explored objects, the rest of the body might be used as a “peripheral retina” for detecting the presence and movement of objects. These results generalize some experimental observations about object imaging at the fovea of G. omarorum , . At the fovea the details of the size and shape of the object are only represented in the image profiles when the object is very close. In fact, as shown in Figure 6, a small and a large sphere placed 1 cm away from the skin show the same image shape, differing only in amplitude, in all studied fish with the exception of wave transitions in G. coropinae. This difference in image formation is due to the curved shape of the snout and the mandibular region , , . In this region the object's presence generates a similar image profile in each instant of the EOD. When an object is large enough for its edges to exceed this region (the larger or the closer sphere, in Figure 6B and C) the image profiles change in shape. G. coropinae has a slender body; hence this region is narrower in this species.
A third commonality is that the constant temporal profile of images observed for most species near the fovea facilitates capacitance discrimination as previously shown in G. petersii , and G. omarorum . The constancy of the time course of the EOD at the perioral region facilitates the identification of the changes in the stimuli induced by capacitance since within a fringe surrounding the fovea the only cause for a discrepancy between the time courses of the object polarization and the basal field is the complex nature of the object impedance. To discriminate qualia (as color, in vision), it is necessary to have at least two types of receptors, responding differently to the stimulus that reaches the sensory surface. In vision the light is composed by photons of different frequencies that differentially stimulate the three types of cones. Each of these images is characterized by a particular spatial pattern of amplitude or shape. In electroreception, qualia relates to the differential responsiveness of electroreceptors to the time course of the local EOD. Tuberous electroreceptors can be classified in various subtypes depending on the species. G. petersii has two subtypes , , in the genus Gymnotus there are four , , ; and in other Gymnotiformes there are at least two , . This has led to the idea of “electric color” in pulse fish , , . This shared characteristic of several subtypes of electroreceptors across species may suggest the use of similar algorithms for decoding object impedance. More intriguing is the possibility of “electric color” decoding by wave fish. In this case, the brain should compute the image as spatial changes in amplitude and phase of a sine-wave like stimulus .
Similarly to other sensory modalities, the trunk of the fish body may act as a peripheral electrosensory “retina” where most of the information coded deals with the presence, location, or movement of objects. Consistently with a smaller spatial resolution, images are also less sharp and may have more than one peak. For example, the presence of an object close to the fish's side can be detected both on the side and on the perioral region (Figures S10–S13 rows 2 and 3). This foveal stimulation by objects placed on the side of the fish was experimentally shown in G. petersi and G omarorum . Finally, for objects located away from the fish, image intensity on the side is relatively large, opening the possibility to decode the rough position of the object by waveform analysis, followed by an object tracking or avoidance responses to further inspect or to escape from the object .
Advantages and disadvantages of having a complex EO
Self-generated fields should have enough magnitude to ensure electroreceptor stimulation by the transcutaneous current of the emitter and, in the case of electrocommunication, by conspecific fish. From an evolutionary point of view two different strategies can be distinguished. African fish increased the EOD power by packing a large number of flat electrocytes into their highly localized EO. These electrocytes are oriented in parallel with the large surface perpendicular to the main axis of the body and are almost synchronously activated by the central nervous system. In addition, the large cross-section of the high conductance body spreads the generated current rostrally, increasing the equivalent dipole measured at a distant position . This may facilitate long range communication between conspecifics. The time course of the field, constant everywhere, assures that the variations of the local stimuli generated by a capacitive object, fall within a family of waveforms that depend only on the impedance of the object, suggesting the perception of “electric color” , .
American fish evolved EOs composed by numerous, large, and relatively separated electrocytes extended all along the fish's body. The simplest cases considered are G. obscurus and A. albifrons. In these species the regional EODs have almost the same temporal course all along the EO. At the fovea which is away from the EO, imaging mechanisms are overall similar to G. petersii. However, on the fish's side the time delay between the activation of the different regions leads to the described differences between the images of the same object when it is placed at different sites. G. omarorum and other pulse Gymnotiformes show regional EODs with different time courses. In addition to the rostro-caudal time shift described for G. obscurus and A. albifrons, most species of the genus Gymnotus and Rhamphychthys show temporal-overlapping of neighboring sources whose time course is opposite. Among the studied species, G. coropinae shows the largest complexity. In this species the duration of the different components is shorter in relation to the delay between regions, therefore facilitating overlapping between generators of opposite sign , . Furthermore, as a consequence of EO complexity, synchronous but opposed field generators in different regions of the fish cancel out relatively close to the fish's body. Since these two features appear to be disadvantages for electrolocation and electro-communication, what could be the advantage of this evolutionary strategy?
One advantageous functional consequence of EO complexity is the potential generation of site-specific signals in the near field, while maintaining a single species-specific EOD time course in the far field. This allows the fish to identify an object's position by analyzing waveform. In addition, the near field may be indicative of species gender. In the biphasic htEOD fish, Brachyhypopomus gauderio, three phasic site-specific near field EOD time courses may be used as communication signals during typical courtship displays , [Silva and Caputi, unpublished].
Finally, a smaller far field with high frequency components may be used as an encrypting strategy to avoid predators . G. coropinae and other members of the clade 1 , , are small sized fish exhibiting multiple asynchronous sources, yielding a very complex near field and a much less extended far field (Figure 4). This feature allows G. coropinae to use its complex discharge mainly for active electrolocation while the same complexity reduces the far field potentials, allowing this fish to cryptically hide from predators. As a complementary feature, in order to secure active electrolocation, this and other members of this clade (e.g. G. javari) might also have evolved strong sources in the head with a rostral common pole at the midline and two lateral poles . This rostral extension of the EO allows the fish to generate strong currents through the fovea but a small far field , , . This design reduces the region where the electrosensory mosaic is best suited for waveform analysis.
Detailed spatial analysis of the EOD
The multiple air gap procedure was used to characterize the detailed spatio-temporal patterns of the voltage distribution along the fish, while allowing us to compare EOD waveforms generated by different regions of the fish's body . Fish were suspended in air using a custom-made apparatus that holds the fish on a grill-like array of parallel wires. The wires in contact with the skin were perpendicular to the main axis of the body, one at each end of the fish and others at the limits of each of the explored regions. Voltages were simultaneously recorded between pairs of wires, amplified to reach adequate amplitude for similar quantization (bit resolution always larger than 8 bits), and sampled at 25 kHz. For the purposes of this investigation, seven regions of the fish's body were considered; their lengths were adapted to cover the whole length of the fish. Because of the different origins of the wave components, several recordings were obtained for each fish with different configurations before finding the montage yielding the most representative picture of the EOD pattern. In general, regions showing larger changes in voltages for any of the components were explored with a greater resolution. The length of the regions varied in integer multiples of 1 cm. In the multiple air gap condition, since load is absent, voltage recordings are considered good estimators of the equivalent electromotive forces generated by the different portions of the fish's body for the components that are directly activated by synaptic action.
Modeling the electric organ
We used the air gap data obtained from G. omarorum, G. coropinae, G. obscurus (already published by Rodriguez-Cattáneo and cols., ) and data from A. albifrons obtained in the same way. To evaluate resistance of the internal tissues and the skin, we used previously available data for G. omarorum and assumed the same specific resistivity in G. obscurus, G. coropinae and A. albifrons.
The voltage difference, between 8 consecutive transverse planes of the fish placed at different sites of the body are mainly produced by the regions of EO encompassed by these planes and, according to Ohm's law, it is equal to the current (I) flowing through the internal tissues between each pair of planes times the resistance (R) of that section of the fish's body. Then, from the resistance of the given section of the fish body and the measured voltage (V) across it, we were able to calculate the current causing the voltage drop.(1)This is based in the simplifying assumption that for a small longitudinal region of the EO the electrocyte population is homogeneous. Also according to the simplest assumption, electrocytes within a short segment of the electric organ are oriented similarly and fire almost synchronously. Thus in the model, the current generated by the series of identical dipoles -mimicking the electrocytes inside a cylindrical body slice- is equivalent to a dipole. This is because the rostral pole of one dipole adds with the caudal pole of the next caudal dipole: consequently, all the intermediate poles are canceled and the line of dipoles is equivalent to a single dipole with poles situated at the transverse planes limiting that piece of fish.
The longitudinal resistance (R) of a section of fish can be calculated from the geometry and resistivity (ρ)(2)where l and S are respectively the distance between recording electrode planes and the average cross-sectional area of the encompassed body portion
Hence:(3)The poles lying on the plane separating contiguous longitudinal pieces of the fish can be reduced to one by addition, and the EO can be represented by a set of poles equal in number to the planes limiting the experimentally studied regions of the fish. This method requires to identify whether there are abrupt transitions in the regional EOD waveform, and to place gap limiting planes at the transition points.
In the case of G. omarorum, G. obscurus and A. Albifrons, the anatomical and electrophysiological analysis indicates that the electrocytes are longitudinally oriented and thus, this analysis suffices for the representation of the EO. In the case of G coropinae the variation of the electrocytes dipoles is not smooth enough and the EO is not oriented along a line. The head portion of the EO is the junction of four linear columns (two lateral and two central) arranged in an arrowhead shape . To model EO complexity in this species, we considered 3 dipoles with a rostral common pole. The other three poles were located behind the opercula and at the abdominal wall. This approach produced similar results to the simulation obtained using a single dipole in the sagittal plane (Figure S9).
Modeling electric images
Modeling of electric images was done using software developed by Diego Rother, advised by R. Budelli . This model has two parts, a geometric reconstruction of the fish's body and a calculation of the transcutaneous field. Some later improvements to the Matlab codes used for geometric reconstruction of the fish's body and data presentation were introduced by Heric Rodriguez (unpublished results) and Juan-Ignacio Sanguinetti-Schek et al. .
The model was constructed under the following assumptions: 1) All media are ohmic conductors. This means that the vector representing the current density at the point x (J (x)) is proportional to the vector electric field at the same point (E(x)).(4)The proportionality constant σ (x), referred to as “the volumetric conductivity at the point x” is always a positive scalar.
3) Given that the dielectric relaxation of the media is in general smaller than the minimum significant period of the EOD Fourier components, the model is an electrostatic approximation .
4) The fish and other objects are immersed in an infinite water medium. The shape of the fish body and objects are approximated by an external surface composed by triangles, allowing an approximation of the object shape that is limited only by the computation power available. Every object should be covered by a thin resistive layer (the skin in the case of the fish), which can be homogeneous or heterogeneous in resistance (magnitudes specified as desired).
The model is based directly on the charge density equation which, under our assumptions, implies that the charge generated by the sources (f(x)) is equal to the charge diffusion (∇J(x)):(6)and therefore(7)where φ(x) is the local potential at the point x.
This differential equation, the so-called Poisson equation, can be solved for the fish boundary using the Boundary Element Method applied for wave fish by Assad . Briefly, this method determines the boundary electrical distributions solving a linear system of 2N equations for N nodes, where, the unknown variables are the trans-epithelial current densities and potentials that correspond to each node (for a detailed description see ). The known variables were the location of the nodes, the location and magnitude of the poles representing the EO inside the fish, the conductance of the internal tissues, the skin and the water. It is important to note that, differently from Assad's method, a set of important constraints of the model were those posed by the electric organ equivalent sources that were experimentally measured using the air gap method. In the first instance, only trans-epithelial current densities and potentials are calculated at the “skin” nodes and these are then linearly interpolated in the triangles defined by the nodes. This allows the calculation of the potentials in the surrounding space.
Voltages, dipoles and poles for: G. Obscurus (top) G coropinae (middle) and A albifrons (bottom). (A) Recorded potential differences through the air gaps. (B) Rostral poles of the dipoles calculated from the recorded potentials, fish resistivities and fish morphology. The diagram between A and B represents the fish in the multiple air gap. Red dots represent the position of the poles in the model. (C) Poles calculated from the dipoles as a function of time. Red vertical line represents the positive peak of the htEOD, the green line indicates the negative peak and the blue line in G. coropinae shows the rostral positive peak.
Electric potentials generated by the EODs in a horizontal plane. (A) G. omarorum: The sequence shows from left to right: the first negative peak, two instants close to the zero crossing of the htEOD between the first negative and the positive peak, the positive peak, two instants close to the zero crossing of the htEOD between the positive peak and the last negative peak, and the negative peak. (B) G. coropinae: three instants before the rostral positive peak, the rostral positive peak, the caudal positive peak, two instants close to the zero crossing between the positive peak and the negative peak, and the negative peak. Black lines indicate the points where the potential is zero. The insets show the htEOD waveform with the selected instants (red dots).
Image profiles for spheres of different size facing the fovea. Amplitude image profiles for all the species when either a small (A) or a large (B) sphere faces the fovea at the same distance and when the small sphere faces the fovea at a shorter distance (C). The plot shows the profile for the main components of the EOD. The yellow area indicates the projection of the object on the skin. The inset shows the profile for the entire EOD, normalized by the absolute maximum of each peak. Color coding of the traces: G. petersii: negative peak (green), positive peak (blue); G omarorum: first negative peak (red), positive peak, (green), last negative peak (blue); G. coropinae: first negative peak (red), positive peak, (green), last negative peak (blue), G. obscurus: positive peak (green), negative peak (blue); A. albifrons: positive peak (green), negative peak (blue).
Images of a sphere at 5 points on the side of G. petersii. (A) The diagram shows the relative position of the sphere for each row, when the distance to the longitudinal axis is 2 cm. Each row shows the image profiles for spheres at 2 and 6 cm from the sagittal plane and at different positions along the longitudinal axis shown in the diagram. The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves : positive peak (green) and negative peak (blue). Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles (divided by its maximum absolute value along the EOD). The triangles and squares indicate the fovea and the tail tip respectively in each plot and the yellow area indicates the object projection on the skin. (B) Schematic representation of the localization of the skin section in a lateral view and seen from above, for a sphere placed close to the rostral region.
Images of a sphere at 5 points along the side of G. omarorum. Scheme and profiles as in Figure S4. The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves: negative peak (red), positive peak (green) and last negative peak (blue). Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles along the EOD. Note that the shapes of the images at the peaks of the waves differ mainly in the 4th line.
Images of a sphere at 5 points along the side of G. obscurus. Scheme and profiles as in Figure S4. The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves, positive peak (green) and negative peak (blue). Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles along the EOD. Note that the shapes of the images at the peaks of the waves differ mainly in the 3rd line.
Images of a sphere at 5 points along the side of G. coropinae. Scheme and profiles as in Figure S4.The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves: first negative peak (red), positive peak (green) and last negative peak (blue). Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles along the EOD. Note that the shapes of the images at the peaks of the waves differ mainly in the 4th line.
Images of a sphere at 5 points along the side of A. albifrons. Scheme and profiles as in Figure S4.The plots show the profiles at the peaks of the htEOD waves: positive peak (green) and negative peak (blue). Insets show the superposition of normalized profiles along the EOD. Note that the shapes of the images at the peaks of the waves differ mainly in the 4th line.
Comparison of different models for EOs in G. coropinae. Color maps show external potentials calculated using a single dipole (A), two symmetrical dipoles (B) and three symmetrical dipoles (C).
We would like to thank Alejo Rodriguez-Cattaneo for his contribution of the data for the Apteronotus alfibrons EMF and Adriana Migliaro, Laura Quintana and Kirsty Grant for their comments on the manuscript.
Conceived and designed the experiments: AAC RB. Performed the experiments: FP. Analyzed the data: FP PA AAC RB. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: FP. Wrote the paper: FP PA AAC RB.
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- 77. Hunter P, Pullan A (2002) FEM/BEM NOTES. lola.unimo.it/~fonda/DISPENSA_Tb_html/Programma/Prog_TB_4/Dipolo/fembemnotes.pdf. | <urn:uuid:a2c2a749-519f-4aee-9112-a82285a43a81> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003722 | 2016-07-26T15:23:30Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00247-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.876655 | 16,472 |
“Global hegemony” might be defined as a situation in which one nation-state plays a predominant role in organizing, regulating, and stabilizing the world political economy. The use of armed force has always been an inseparable part of hegemony, but military power depends upon the economic resources at the disposal of the state. It cannot be deployed to answer every threat to geopolitical and economic interests, and it raises the danger of imperial overreach, as was the case for Britain in South Africa (1899–1902) and the United States in Vietnam (1962–1975).
Britannia ruled the waves from 1815 to 1913, but by the 1890s she was under economic challenge from the United States and Germany, and between the two world wars was no longer able to function as underwriter to the world system. U.S. hegemony began during the Second World War and peaked some thirty years later. The United States still has immense—unequalled—power in international economics and politics, but even as the sole superpower it finds itself less able than it once was to influence and control the course of events abroad. Its military supremacy is no longer matched in the economic and political spheres, and is of dubious value in preserving the global economic order and the stake that U.S. capital has in it. Even during the golden days of 1944–1971 the United States was unable to avoid military defeat in Vietnam and a draw in Korea.
Slow Merge Ahead: Hegemony Since the 1970s
An idea of the decline of American economic power can be formed from the following:1
- In 1950 the United States supplied half the world’s gross product, against 21 percent at present. Sixty percent of the world’s manufacturing production in 1950 came from the United States, 25 percent in 1999. The U.S. share of exports of commercial services, the fastest growing part of the world economy, stood at 24 percent in 2001, while the European Union (EU) had 23 percent—40 percent if intra-EU exports were counted.
- Non-U.S. companies dominated major industries in 2002, accounting for nine of the ten largest electronics and electrical equipment manufacturers; eight of the ten largest motor vehicle makers and electric and gas utilities; seven of the ten largest petroleum refiners; six of ten telecommunications companies; five of ten pharmaceutical firms; four of six chemical producers; four of seven airlines. Of the twenty-five largest banks in the world, nineteen were non-U.S. banks, although the two largest were Citigroup and Bank of America.
- Of the top one hundred corporations in the world in 2000 ranked by foreign-held assets, twenty-three were American. Together, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) seven-tenths that of the United States, had forty; Japan had sixteen. During the 1990s, the share of U.S. multinationals in the foreign sales of the world’s one hundred largest multinationals decreased from 30 to 25 percent; the share of EU-based companies increased from 41 to 46 percent.
- Twenty-one percent of the world’s stock of direct investment in other countries was American in 2001, compared with 47 percent in 1960. During 1996–2001, 17 percent of all new direct investment abroad came from the United States and 16 percent from Great Britain; together, France and Belgium-Luxembourg supplied 21 percent.
- Of the twenty-five largest mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the United States in 1998–2000, five involved takeovers by foreign multinationals (three British, two German). Of the top twenty corporations involved in cross-border M&As from 1987 through 2001, only two were U.S. (General Electric and Citigroup); they accounted for 5 percent of the value of all M&A deals during these years.
In global finance, the United States is not only less dominant, but vulnerable. The weak link is the dollar, whose status as the world’s key currency has been eroding since the 1970s, irregularly and with periodic revivals. Between 1981 and 1995, the share of private world savings held in European currencies increased from 13 percent to 37 percent, while the dollar’s share fell from 67 to 40 percent. Forty-four percent of new bonds have been issued in euros since the new currency was introduced in 1999, closing in on the 48 percent issued in dollars. Half the foreign exchange reserves held by the world’s central banks were composed of dollars in 1990 compared to 76 percent in 1976; the proportion rose back to 68 percent in 2001 because of the phasing out of ecus (reserves issued to European banks by the European Monetary Institute) to make way for the euro.2 For the first time since the Second World War there is another source of universally acceptable payment and liquidity in the world economy—at a moment when the U.S. balance of international payments is chalking up record deficits.
Since 1971, when the United States had a deficit in its trade in goods (merchandise) for the first time in seventy-eight years, exports have exceeded imports only in 1973 and 1975. A nation can run deficits in its trade in goods and still be in overall balance in its dealings with foreign countries. Deficits in trade in goods can be offset by having a positive balance in sales of services abroad (financial, insurance, telecommunications, advertising and other business services) and/or income from overseas investments (profits, dividends, interest, royalties, and the like). But the U.S. merchandise deficit has become too big to be paid for by services sold to foreigners plus remittances on investments. The U.S. current account (the sum of the balances in trade in goods and services plus net income from overseas investment), almost constantly in surplus from 1895 to 1977, is now deteriorating sharply; the merchandise deficit has become too big to be paid for by services sold to foreigners. And since 1990, the positive balance on investment income has been shriveling as foreign investment in the United States has grown faster than U.S. investment abroad. In 2002, the balance turned negative: for the first time the United States is paying foreigners more investment income from their holdings here than it receives from its own investments abroad.
Like most gaps between income and expenses, the current account deficit is covered by borrowing. In 2002, the United States borrowed $503 billion from abroad, a record 4.8 percent of GDP. When foreigners receive dollars from transactions with U.S. residents (individuals, companies, governments), they can use them to buy American assets (U.S. Treasury bonds, corporate bonds and stocks, companies, and real estate). This is how the United States turned into a debtor nation in 1986; foreign-owned assets in the United States are now worth $2.5 trillion more than U.S.-owned assets abroad. By mid-2003, foreigners owned 41 percent of U.S. Treasury marketable debt, 24 percent of all U.S. corporate bonds, and 13 percent of corporate stock. U.S. companies are continuing to invest abroad, but unlike the British Empire in the decades before the First World War, the United States is unable to finance those investments from its current account. By contrast, Great Britain’s current account was in surplus, averaging 3 to 4 percent of GDP every year from 1850 to 1913, when income from services and foreign investment was larger than its merchandise trade deficits.3
So far the global investor class has seemed willing to finance America’s external deficits, but it may not be forever. The deficits are exerting a downward drag on the dollar, arousing suspicion that the United States favors a cheaper dollar to help pay off its ballooning trade deficit. As the dollar declines in value, the return to foreign investors on dollar-denominated assets falls. German investments in choice office properties in New York, San Francisco, and elsewhere were cut back sharply in 2003. While the buildings were becoming cheaper in euros, rents were shrinking when converted from dollars back home. “We can get the same return in Britain and the Nordic countries, so why go to the United States, where the currency risk is greater?” asked the chief investment officer of a Munich-based property fund.4 Until recently all Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sold their oil for dollars only; Iraq switched to the euro in 2000 (presumably terminated with extreme prejudice in March 2003), and Iran has considered a conversion since 1999. In a speech in Spain in April 2002, the head of OPEC’s Market Analysis Department, Javad Yarjani, saw little chance of change “in the near future…[but] in the long run the euro is not at such a disadvantage versus the dollar. The Euro-zone has a bigger share of global trade than the US and…a more balanced external accounts position.” Adoption of the euro by Europe’s principal oil producers, Norway and Britain, could create “a momentum to shift the oil pricing system to euros.” Thus, concluded Yarjani, “OPEC will not discount entirely the possibility of adopting euro pricing and payments in the future.”5
If foreign investors get cold feet, ceasing to invest in U.S. industries or selling off their dollar holdings, the dollar would start falling faster. Interest rates in the United States might surge, borrowing money would become harder, and consumers would pay more for imported goods, draining income from other purchases and dampening the economy. A dollar rout could cause skittish investors to dump U.S. stocks and bonds, sending Wall Street into a dive. In any event the dollar is now perceived to be as risky an asset as the euro and possibly two or three other currencies (yen, sterling, Swiss franc).
The Yankee Trader in World Markets
With its economic preeminence under challenge and slipping in the 1970s, the United States turned toward a more belligerent international trade policy. Under Section 301 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1974, the president, acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury, could seek redress against any nation violating “the rights of the United States under any trade agreement” and retaliate against any foreign activity that is “unjustifiable, unreasonable or discriminatory…and burdens or restricts United States commerce.” Among the new trade weapons were the “orderly marketing agreements,” reached with South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 1973 to put “voluntary” restraints on their exports of cotton and synthetic textiles to the United States; in 1981 Japan agreed to slow its automobile exports. When a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade meeting in 1982 was adjourned without agreement on a new round of negotiations because of European resistance to U.S. proposals, the United States announced that henceforth it would expand trade on a “two-track” approach—reaching bilateral agreements with individual countries while at the same time pursuing multilateral accords to achieve an open trading system. This move toward bilateralism led to the 1984 Caribbean Basin Initiative granting trade preferences to countries in the region, a trade pact with Israel a year later, and the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (1988), extended to Mexico in 1994 by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
By 1990, more than a hundred investigations had been initiated under Section 301, with mixed results. A major 301 push began in October 1993 against Japan, which was now bypassing its “voluntary” agreement of 1981 by producing automobiles inside the United States. A 100 percent tariff was to be imposed on the values of thirteen Japanese-made automobiles unless Japan deregulated its auto parts market and imported at least a hundred thousand U.S.-made models annually. Despite what the Clinton administration called the “occasional acrimony” of the talks, and the “disingenuous” criticisms of the Japanese, an agreement was reached in June 1995, just as punitive tariffs were to go into effect. No new tariffs or quotas were imposed; in return, Japan made vague promises to change its system of parts suppliers and to increase numbers of dealers handling American-made cars. “In Tokyo, the agreement was generally seen as not requiring Japan’s major auto makers to do much more than they would have done anyway.”6
In 1998 the United States was rocked by three defeats in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In January, a WTO panel ruled that Japan’s support of Fuji Film in its competition with Kodak did not constitute a trade barrier. In May, another panel found that the United States could not stop imports of shrimp caught in nets that kill sea turtles. Then in June, an appeal panel allowed the EU to reclassify computers and parts as telecommunications equipment in order to protect this industry with tariffs. The United States tried to retaliate in trade involving bananas and hormone-raised beef cattle. The banana dispute began in 1993 when U.S. distributors of Latin American fruit (led by Chiquita Brands chief executive Carl Lindner, a large financial contributor to both Democratic and Republican parties) claimed that they were denied access to European markets because the EU’s quota and licensing system favored bananas grown in former European colonies in the Caribbean and Africa. The United States also targeted the EU’s ban on the use of growth hormones in beef, a ban that applies to domestic EU production as well as imports.
In April 1999, the WTO gave the United States a partial victory in the banana war—no punitive damages but wider access to European markets and reduced preferential trade status for Caribbean and African producers. In the hormone war, the European ban was ruled illegal but the $900 million in damages claimed by the United States and Canada was reduced to $128 million, and the dispute remains unsettled.
The EU struck back. In July 1999, a WTO panel ruled that the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) law, enacted in 1971, constituted an illegal export subsidy and ordered that it be abolished, marking the largest trade defeat ever for the United States. Under the FSC, around six thousand U.S. companies now shelter up to 30 percent of export income from U.S. taxes by setting up offshore subsidiaries for export sales in tax havens like Bermuda and Barbados. Estimated tax savings for 1991 through 2000 totaled $1 billion for Boeing and General Electric, $300 million or more for Motorola, Honeywell, Caterpillar, and Cisco. The annual value of the tax break for all companies reached an estimated $5 billion in 2002. Any attempt by the EU to impose sanctions of this order would detonate a “nuclear weapon on the trading system,” warned U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick.7 Nonetheless, in August 2002 the WTO ruled that the EU could impose $4 billion in penalties; duties up to 100 percent could be imposed on sixteen hundred items, including dairy and meat products, sugar, cereal, clothes, and machinery.
European leaders now had a club to use against the United States; soon they would have one more. In another unilateral breach of trade rules, President George W. Bush, in March 2002, imposed tariffs of nearly 30 percent on most types of steel imported from Europe, Asia, and South America, the biggest action to protect one industry in decades. The EU, joined by Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, and Brazil threatened retaliation, and U.S. companies that used the steel complained that they could no longer obtain specialty products they needed. Under pressure, the United States backpedaled and excluded 178 steel products from the March 2002 tariffs, but soon imposed new duties as high as 369 percent on imports of steel wire rods from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and the Ukraine. In July 2003, the WTO ruled that the steel tariffs were illegal, another major loss for the United States at the WTO.
But the United States was also renewing its offensive in agriculture. Two months after he put tariffs on steel, President Bush signed a record farm subsidy bill, increasing spending by 80 percent over existing levels and costing an estimated $190 billion over ten years. This undermined a global effort, at the WTO in Geneva, to scale down agricultural subsidies, not only in the United States but in the EU, Japan, and South Korea as well. In May 2003 the United States, joined by Canada and Argentina, filed suit at the WTO against the EU’s five-year-old moratorium on genetically modified foods, claiming that their farmers were losing sales of bioengineered corn and soybeans. Having a developing nation on board was considered crucial to the U.S. case, but Egypt dropped out under pressure from its major trading partner, Europe, and a seething White House immediately axed plans for a free-trade deal with Cairo. The Europeans pointed out that the United States had refused to join one hundred nations in signing the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and that the EU is currently processing applications for the sale of geneti-cally modified food varieties. Instead of responding to these statements, President Bush accused Europe of “hindering the great cause of ending hunger in Africa.”8
Then there is the long-running battle over the mother of all markets—Boeing versus Airbus.
A four-nation European consortium created in 1970 as a direct challenge to Boeing, Airbus Industrie (AI) was built on a base of government subsidies and loans. The United States fought it every step of the way. AI replied that Boeing benefited from considerable government aid, from the development of aircraft for the U.S. military and aeronautics and space program. The 1992 Airbus “accord” was basically a victory for AI, legitimizing the subsidies but capping them, at a time when AI was capturing 30 percent of new aircraft orders worldwide. A problem facing the Americans was the integration of business across the Atlantic. Some parts of the U.S. industry—engine manufacturers like General Electric as well as airline companies—had a vested interest in AI’s success and opposed trade actions against it. Lockheed Martin was exploring the possibility of becoming a fifth AI partner and has since agreed to unite with France’s Aérospatiale Matra, an AI consortium firm, to bid for a strategic tanker plane. By 1997 Boeing was purchasing $2 billion in supplies from European countries, generating sixty thousand jobs in Europe, and 30 percent of a typical AI aircraft was being made by U.S. companies or their European subsidiaries. AI reached parity with Boeing in orders for commercial jets in 2001. Two years later it moved ahead in deliveries, secured its first big military contract to produce 180 transport planes for seven European countries, and was now the world’s leading maker of commercial airplanes.
Another American monopoly under challenge is the ten-year-old Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite navigation system funded and controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense and providing coded signals allowing a receiver to compute position, velocity, and time anywhere on earth. Designed for the U.S. military, it now serves thousands of corporate and individual users worldwide. In 2000, the EU announced plans to launch its own satellite navigation system, Galileo, “a civil program under civil control that permits the EU to shake off dependence [on GPS]…and to be present on the international scene, in all aspects of cutting-edge technologies,” EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio stated. The United States has tried to block this project too. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz warned his EU counterparts in 2001 that Galileo would interfere with GPS (it is planned to be compatible), and that it would present “serious challenges and problems for the NATO alliance.”9 The Bush administration tried to discredit a report by the U.S. accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers that Galileo could earn €8 billion or more in profits over twenty years and create 140,000 new jobs. In March 2002 the EU announced that it would proceed with the €3.6 billion Galileo project, slated to be operational in 2008, synchronizing data transmission and controlling land and sea traffic with a positional accuracy within one meter.
The Airbus and Galileo battles are spilling over into another field of competition—corporate M&As. The EU reviews mergers that might create a dominant position in the European market, regardless of the nationality of companies involved. In 1997, the chief of the EU’s Merger Control Regulations (Karel Van Miert) was set to block the merger of the U.S. companies Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Boeing saved the deal by capitulating to several EU demands, chiefly, that it abandon its twenty-year exclusive supplier contracts with Delta, Continental, and American Airlines. In 1998, Van Miert announced a probe of the planned merger of two U.S. accounting firms, Ernst & Young and KMPG Peat Marwick; a month later Ernst & Young called off the deal. In 2000 the EU’s Competition Commission (EUCC) stopped two U.S. deals (WorldCom’s merger with Sprint and General Electric’s takeover of Honeywell), as well as a merger of Sweden’s truck manufacturers (Scandia and Volvo). After the Bush administration settled the antitrust case against Microsoft in 2001 by dropping several of the proposed penalties, the EUCC announced that it would continue its own investigation of the software giant, for illegally dominating the market for server software and tying its own music, video, and instant messaging software to the monopoly Windows system.
Finally, U.S. economic sanctions against other countries held up well until 1970 before coming under fire; by the 1980s they were successful less than 10 percent of the time.10 The boycott of Cuba is widely ignored, even by Britain, which led the successful opposition in 1982 to the embargo on exports of turbines and other equipment by U.S.-affiliated firms in Europe to the Soviet Union for its gas pipeline to West Germany. In 1998 the United States was compelled to waive its sanctions against any firms that use “confiscated property” in Cuba or invest in energy projects in Iran and Libya; in return, the EU agreed to tighten exports of weapons technologies to Iran and Libya. Left out in the cold, U.S. companies protested to their own government that European competitors were reaping profits from trade with these countries.
The ‘New Economy’ of the 1990s: What Goes Up…
The long-run decline in the relative economic might of the United States was obscured for awhile by the rapid expansion of the late 1990s. But when the economy sank into recession in March 2001, amidst the wealth-destroying collapse of the stock market bubble, the veil was blown away. Renewed rustlings of U.S. decline can be heard.
China is “eroding more than 50 years of American [economic] dominance in Asia,” as it pulls in much of the area’s new foreign investment, exports cheap manufactured goods, imports higher-tech products from Singapore and Japan, and launches diplomatic efforts to establish a free trade zone in East Asia, now the fastest growing trading region in the world. “The policy leverage of the United States as the great market is sure to decline,” observes James Castle, longtime leader of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia. Europe is challenging the United States in its own backyard—Latin America. Of the twenty-five largest foreign companies in Latin America in 2000, fourteen were European, eleven American, and inflows of investment from Europe were beginning to surpass those from el Norte.11 In another diversion of trade away from multilateralism, the United States is seeking bilateral pacts, one by one, with Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the five Central American countries to bully its way toward its own Alaska-to-Cape-Horn Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005. But the two largest South American economies, Brazil and Argentina, with Paraguay and Uruguay, formed their own regional trade bloc in 1991, Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur). Now the world’s third-largest trade group (after the EU and NAFTA), Mercosur has been reaching out to negotiate trade arrangements with the EU, and is working to form a South American free trade area to give the entire continent greater economic leverage against the United States.
In the late 1990s, many Europeans believed that U.S. corporations had undergone a successful two-decade restructuring, to become dominant in so many industries in terms of technology, productivity, and return on capital that Europe was falling hopelessly behind. But with the “new economy” shrinking down to bare bones—a cyclical upturn in productivity growth, faster diffusion of information technologies in workplaces and production facilities, homes and schools—and with financial scandals, accounting frauds, and bankruptcies spreading among its legions, corporate America is looking less than impregnable. In high technologies, a Japanese laboratory has built a computer matching the processing power of the twenty fastest American computers combined. It far outstrips the previous leader (an IBM machine) and has scientific and practical applications that reflect “a level of will that we haven’t achieved,” according to California Institute of Technology supercomputer designer Thomas Sterling. “These guys are blowing us out of the water, and we need to sit up and take notice.” In the growth of the internet, the United States has lower percentages of broadband users than Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Scandinavian countries and trails ten countries in internet use per capita. For less than twenty-five dollars a month, half the cost in the United States, customers in Japan and South Korea connect to the internet at a speed of ten megabits a second—ten times as fast as the typical broadband service in the United States.12
Ongoing trouble for the U.S. economy comes from the attack on the federal government, starting with the Reagan administration in the 1980s and reaching unprecedented ferocity in the reign of Bush II. Three tax cuts since 2001, loaded toward the rich, have helped to eliminate the federal budget surpluses of 1998–2001 and produce deficits of $374 billion for 2003 and upwards of $450 billion for 2004–2006. The problem is not the deficits themselves: were they spent on education, transportation, the environment, and health care they would not only produce a stronger and more stable economy but vastly improve the well-being of the bottom four-fifths of the income scale. But these are precisely what Bush and company want to destroy: the tax cuts are aimed at starving the federal government of resources and forcing it to slash spending on everything except the military.
These policies are feeding into a “perfect fiscal storm.” The exploding budget deficits reduce national saving, deepening the country’s international deficit and increasing its dependence on foreign capital to pay for domestic consumption and investment. The damage at home comes from the fiscal squeeze on state and local government (SLG), the worst since the 1930s. Cutbacks in federal aid to SLGs, on the heels of the end of revenue-sharing in 1986, have come at a time when the federal government is dumping heavier fiscal responsibilities on SLGs, chiefly for Medicaid, Social Security Insurance for low-income households, and new domestic security measures in the wake of 9/11. State governments now face deficits totaling $60 to $85 billion over the next year—13 to 18 percent of state expenditures. Since all states except Vermont are required by constitution or statute to run balanced budgets, the deficits are forcing SLGs to make deep cuts in spending on education, public safety, libraries, and parks and hike taxes in the face of recession—the opposite of what the doctor ordered. Thus, discordant, even contradictory policies are adopted by the different levels of government, resulting in impairment of the functioning of the economic system as a whole. If hegemony runs on economic efficiency, the American system of government leaves something to be desired, and the manipulation of it by the radical right-wing oligarchy now in power amounts to “lunacy,” as one voice of global capital, the Financial Times, calls it.13
A Military Remedy for Economic Fallback?
Can America’s military supremacy be used to rebuild economic hegemony? Can it serve the interests of global capital across the world?
For over fifty years the American military establishment has been a source of support for multinational capital, and for alliances whose logic is to preserve an open trade and investment system throughout the world. The U.S. military presence still protects economic interests, notably in Saudi Arabia and other oil satrapies, and it may now allow the United States to control Iraq’s oil fields, but the extent and duration of that control, and whether it will increase the leverage of the United States over supplies and prices in the world’s oil markets, remain highly problematic. Pax Americana has always been a mixed blessing for U.S. allies: it has been maintained partly by military power, undercutting efforts by U.S. allies in Europe and Japan to forge independent foreign policies. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States became “the only superpower still standing” and quickly set about using the new configuration of power in the world to reassert and expand its dominion over all comers.
In 1990–1991 the United States cobbled together a coalition to wage the first Gulf War (“By God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all,” exclaimed President George Bush the day the war ended), but would not pay for it and complained when its allies started to renege on pledges of $37 billion. At the same time the United States was searching for ways to keep the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance alive, even though the official rationale for its founding in 1949—the Soviet Union—had disappeared. According to a 1992 Pentagon Defense Planning document, “It is of fundamental importance to preserve NATO as the primary instrument of Western defense and security, as well as the channel for U.S. influence and participation in European security affairs [and] we must seek to prevent the emergence of Europe-only security arrangements….[W]e must maintain the mechanisms for deterring potential competitors from even aspiring to a larger regional or global role.”14 Seven years later the United States used NATO to launch an air war on Yugoslavia for refusing Washington’s terms for settlement of ethnic and territorial disputes in Kosovo—a province of Yugoslavia.15 Thus were Europe’s disunity and grossly inferior military capacity exploited to keep it bound to the United States, in a demonstratively subordinate role. a commanding American presence was reinforced inside the EU, a rival pole of global capitalism. In October 2001, the United States initiated its “war on terrorism,” bombing and invading Afghanistan to eliminate the al-Qaeda network it held responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington. A year later the Bush administration declared that it will use military force against any “potential adversaries…pursuing a military build-up in hopes of surpassing, or equaling, the power of the United States” (The National Security Strategy of the United States, September 2002).
In the run-up to the second war on Iraq in March 2003, the United States attempted to hijack the United Nations, by obtaining a resolution authorizing the use of force to “disarm” Iraq. The effort ended in total diplomatic defeat. Opposed by three permanent members of the Security Council (France, China, Russia), the United States was unable to coerce any of the “middle six”—Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan—to vote in its favor, even with enormous diplomatic pressure and outright bribery. Turkey denied the United States permission to use its territory as a staging area for military operations.
After the war it was clear that the United States had no effective means of reprisal against Turkey—or France and Germany. Once again the United States showed that it could exploit divisions within Europe; the governments (not the people) of Britain, Spain, and Poland backed the war, but only Britain supplied substantial military support. Occupying Iraq soon proved beyond the military means the United States put into the country. Afghanistan looked no better once the U.S. war wound down; as early as November 2002 the country was slipping back into chaos, insecurity, and warlord control, and al-Qaeda was regrouping in Paktika province.
Meanwhile, two years of “war on terrorism” have fractured the legitimacy of the United States across the world, dealing a blow, in effect, to the ideology and culture of American imperialism. The war on Iraq, a Pew Global Attitudes survey found, “widened the rift between Americans and Western Europeans, further inflamed the Muslim world, softened support for the war on terrorism, and significantly weakened global public support for the North Atlantic Alliance.” Only seven of twenty foreign nations surveyed had a favorable view of the United States, and in those nations (Britain, Israel, Kuwait, Canada, Nigeria, Italy, Australia) support was falling. In a British Broadcasting Corporation sampling of opinion in eleven nations, including the United States and only one Arab nation (Jordan), two-thirds of those questioned saw the United States as an arrogant superpower that poses a greater threat to peace than North Korea and Iran (the two surviving “axis of evil” members), and only 25 percent, excluding Americans, said U.S. military might was making the world a safer place. A Transatlantic Trends Survey conducted in July 2003 by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo, a Turin (Italy) foundation showed that only 8 percent of all Europeans questioned thought it “very desirable” that the United States exert strong leadership in world affairs; 70 percent in France and 50 percent in Germany and Italy deemed it “undesirable.”16
“The United States has always been ready to use its superior military strength,” as Gabriel Kolko observes, “in its futile, never-ending quest…to resolve political and social instabilities that challenge its interests as it defines them….The same policies that in varying degrees have produced disasters for the United States are still considered the only way to relate to the continuous and growing problems of a world that was already far too complex for it to manage fifty years ago.”17 In the post-Cold War world intercapitalist rivalries are no longer contained by their subordination to Cold War security issues. In this day and age conflicts between rival capitalist states are more likely to destabilize global capital, by undermining the constellation of multinational enterprises whose common interests override allegiance to any state because they incorporate segments of national economies on every continent. Each nation represents and supports its own capital, but all national capitals—to the extent that they remain national—are mutually dependent on cross-border production, trade, and finance. Almost any imperialist thrust by the United States is bound to threaten open markets, political stability, and agreed-upon international institutions on which global capital depends, and that have served the interests of the United States itself since the 1940s.
The United States now faces a formidable rival—the EU, its equal in production and trade. The EU is also an emerging political entity, anchored by France and Germany and bent on greater competition with the United States despite the mismatch in military power. Asian countries are melding into a regional economic zone around Japan and China, flanked by India as an expanding outsourcing center for manufactures, software and computer services. At the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Mexico in September 2003, Brazil emerged as the organizer and leader of the twenty-two developing countries, including China and India, that rebelled over the “Singapore issues” (rules for investment, trade, competition, and government procurement to advance the interests of multinationals in developing countries) and the huge farm subsidy programs of the United States, the EU, and Japan. The rich countries were pushing the first while avoiding all but shallow concessions on the second. The collapse of the Cancún talks was also a sign of the post-Iraq backlash against the United States. The Mercosur alliance came out of Cancún with new momentum, supporting a Peruvian proposal for a “South American Nation” trade area, uniting Mercosur and Andean Community countries (Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) as a counterweight to the U.S. plan to lock the Americas into a free trade area of its own making.
The war on Vietnam coincided with the first splinterings of American hegemony, and the “war on terrorism” will accelerate the decline. The United States can no longer control a multipolar world through unilateral action, military or otherwise; it can only bring devastation and disruption and prevent any other rules of the game from materializing, if it so chooses. To resist the new American imperialism is to give hope to its victims, and to progressive forces now stirring in the developing world, as well as in the first.
- ↩ The data that follow are drawn mainly from World Bank, Development Indicators 2003 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003); World Trade Organization, International Trade Statistics 2002 (Geneva: WTO, 2002); Fortune, July 21, 2003; The Banker, July 2003; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2002 (New York: UN, 2002). The European Union (EU) includes all countries in Western Europe except Norway and Switzerland; see www.eurunion.org.
- ↩ Eurecom, May 1997, at www.eurunion.org; International Monetary Fund, Annual Report 2002 (Washington: IMF, 2002), Table 1.2
- ↩ Imports of goods exceeded exports every year except 1870; B. R. Mitchell, British Historical Statistics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 869–870.
- ↩ “Auf Wiedersehen, Park Avenue,” Business Week, July 7, 2003.
- ↩ “The Choice of Currency for Denomination of the Oil Bill,” at www.opec.org (then News & Info, Speeches).
- ↩ Economic Report of the President 1995 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995), 231–235; “A Deal on Auto Trade,” New York Times, June 29, 1995.
- ↩ “Exporters Fear Loss of Subsidy,” Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2002; “US sends top official to help resolve trade dispute,” Financial Times, November 27, 2001.
- ↩ “Bush Links Europe’s Ban on Bio-Crops with Hunger,” New York Times, May 22, 2003.
- ↩ “Les Etats-Unis multiplient les pressions contre le project européen ‘Galileo,’ ” Le Monde, December 19, 2001.
- ↩ Kimberley Elliott and G. Hufbauer, “Same Song, Same Refrain? Economic Sanctions in the 1990s,” American Economic Review 89 (May 1999); “U.S. Backs Off Sanctions, Seeing Poor Effect,” New York Times, July 31, 1998.
- ↩ “Asian Leaders Find China a More Cordial Neighbor,” New York Times, October 18, 2003; “China Emerges as Rival to U.S. in Asian Trade,” New York Times, June 28, 2002; “Latin America Tops Asia in Luring Foreign Investors,” Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2000.
- ↩ “Japanese Computer is World’s Fastest, as U.S. Falls back,” New York Times, April 20, 2002; “What’s Slowing Us Down?” Wall Street Journal, October 13, 2003.
- ↩ Editorial, Financial Times, May 23, 2003.
- ↩ “U.S. Strategy Calls for Insuring No Rivals Develop,” New York Times, March 8, 1992.
- ↩ See Diana Johnstone, Fools’ Crusade (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2002).
- ↩ “World’s View of U.S. Sours after Iraq War,” New York Times, June 4, 2003; “U.S. is arrogant, poll in 11 nations says,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 19, 2003; www.transatlantictrends.org.
- ↩ Gabriel Kolko, Another Century of War? (New York: New Press, 2002), ix–x, 87. | <urn:uuid:30e8e717-30c3-4c4c-b8b6-049f8d854cfe> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://monthlyreview.org/2003/12/01/u-s-hegemony-continuing-decline-enduring-danger | 2016-07-28T14:30:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00072-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950559 | 8,473 |
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
||This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (June 2015)|
|Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|
Logo: The chalice with the Cross of St Andrew
|Associations||Churches Uniting in Christ, Christian Churches Together, National Council of Churches, World Council of Churches, World Convention of Churches of Christ|
|Region||The United States and Canada with partner churches worldwide|
|Founder||Various members from the non-denominational Christian Church formed the Council on Christian Union in 1910 which made a distinction in direction from independent Christian Churches and the Restoration Movement. This was even more formalized in 1919 with the establishment of the United Christian Missionary Society. Denominational structure of the Disciples of Christ was formed in 1968.|
|Branched from||Restoration Movement|
|Separations||Churches of Christ, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ|
|Members||497,423 registered (2014) |
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[note 1] is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States in the Reformed tradition. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or as The Disciples. The Christian Church was a charter participant in the formation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and of the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches), and it continues to be engaged in ecumenical conversations.
The Disciples' local churches are congregationally governed. In 2008 there were 679,563 members in 3,714 congregations in North America. For 2012, their Yearbook & Directory claimed 625,252 members in 3,627 congregations. In 2015, Pew Research estimated .3% of the U.S population, or roughly 735,000 adult adherents, self-identify with the mainline tradition which is significantly higher than the official membership of 497,423, of whom about 306,905 are active, while roughly 177,141 people attend services each week. The WCC also reports, with higher figures, that the denomination has up to 830,000 members in the US and 2,606 in Canada.
- 1 History
- 2 Beliefs and practices
- 3 Membership trends
- 4 Affiliated academic institutions
- 5 Ecumenical relations
- 6 Prominent members
- 7 See also
- 8 Notes
- 9 References
- 10 References
- 11 Further reading
- 12 External links
The name, Disciples of Christ, is shared by three other groups, The Churches of Christ, the Independent Christian churches and churches of Christ, and the Christian Congregation. They emerged from the same roots. The Stone-Campbell movement began as two separate threads, each without knowledge of the other, during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. The first of these two groups, led by Barton W. Stone began at Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky. The group called themselves simply Christians. The second, began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia), led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell. Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus that they found in the Bible.
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In 1801, the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky planted the seed for a movement in Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley to disassociate from denominationalism. In 1803 Stone and others withdrew from the Kentucky Presbytery and formed the Springfield Presbytery. The defining event of the Stone wing of the movement was the publication of the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery, at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in 1804. "The Last Will" is a brief document in which Stone and five others announced their withdrawal from Presbyterianism and their intention to be solely part of the body of Christ. The writers appealed for the unity of all who follow Jesus, suggested the value of congregational self-governance, and lifted the Bible as the source for understanding the will of God. They denounced the divisive use of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Soon, they adopted the name "Christian" to identify their group. Thus, the remnants of the Springfield Presbytery became the Christian Church. It is estimated that the Christian Church numbered about 12,000 by 1830.
Independently of Stone, the Campbell wing of the movement was launched when Thomas Campbell published the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington, (Pennsylvania) in 1809. The Presbyterian Synod had suspended his ministerial credentials. In The Declaration and Address he set forth some of his convictions about the church of Jesus Christ, as he organized the Christian Association of Washington, not as a church but as an association of persons seeking to grow in faith. On May 4, 1811, however, the Christian Association constituted itself as a congregationally governed church. With the building it then constructed at Brush Run, it became known as Brush Run Church.
When their study of the New Testament led the reformers to begin to practice baptism by immersion, the nearby Redstone Baptist Association invited Brush Run Church to join with them for the purpose of fellowship. The reformers agreed provided that they would be "allowed to preach and to teach whatever they learned from the Scriptures."
Thus began a sojourn for the reformers among the Baptists within the Redstone Baptist Association (1815–1824). While the reformers and the Baptists shared the same beliefs in baptism by immersion and congregational polity, it was soon clear that the reformers were not traditional Baptists. Within the Redstone Association, the differences became intolerable to some of the Baptist leaders, when Alexander Campbell began publishing a journal, The Christian Baptist, promoting reform. Campbell anticipated the conflict and moved his membership to a congregation of the Mahoning Baptist Association in 1824.
In 1827, the Mahoning Association appointed reformer Walter Scott as an Evangelist. Through Scott's efforts, the Mahoning Association grew rapidly. In 1828, Thomas Campbell visited several of the congregations formed by Scott and heard him preach. The elder Campbell realized that Scott was bringing an important new dimension to the movement with his approach to evangelism.
Several Baptist associations began disassociating congregations that refused to subscribe to the Philadelphia Confession. The Mahoning Association came under attack. In 1830, the Mahoning Baptist Association disbanded. Alexander ceased publication of The Christian Baptist. In January 1831, he began publication of the Millennial Harbinger.
The two groups united at High Street Meeting House, Lexington, Kentucky, with a handshake between Barton W. Stone and "Raccoon" John Smith, on Saturday, December 31, 1831. Smith had been chosen, by those present, to speak on behalf of the followers of the Campbells. While contemporaneous accounts are clear that the handshake took place on Saturday, some historians have changed the date of the merger to Sunday, January 1, 1832. The 1832 date has become generally accepted. The actual difference is about 20 hours.
Two representatives of those assembled were appointed to carry the news of the union to all the churches: John Rogers, for the Christians and "Raccoon" John Smith for the reformers. Despite some challenges, the merger succeeded.
With the merger, there was the challenge of what to call the new movement. Clearly, finding a Biblical, non-sectarian name was important. Stone wanted to continue to use the name "Christians." Alexander Campbell insisted upon "Disciples of Christ". Walter Scott and Thomas Campbell sided with Stone, but the younger Campbell had strong reasons and would not yield. As a result, both names were used. The confusion over names has been present ever since. Prior to the 1906 separation, congregations would typically be named "Disciples of Christ," "Christian Church," and "Church of Christ." However, there are different practices by each. More than the name separates each church example:"Independent Christian Church" will not accept a woman as a minister when some of the "Disciples of Christ" congregation will. These different congregations (Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, and Independent Church) share many of the same beliefs and practices but there are, in fact, differences.
First national convention and missionary movement
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In 1849, the first National Convention was held at Cincinnati, Ohio. Alexander Campbell had concerns that holding conventions would lead the movement into divisive denominationalism. He did not attend the gathering. Among its actions, the convention elected Alexander Campbell its President and created the American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS).
The formation of a missionary society set the stage for further "co-operative" efforts. By the end of the century, the Foreign Christian Missionary Society and the Christian Women's Board of Missions were also engaged in missionary activities. Forming the ACMS did not reflect a consensus of the entire movement. Sponsorship of missionary activities became a divisive issue. In the succeeding decades, for some congregations and their leaders, co-operative work through missionary societies and the adoption of instrumental music in church worship was straying too far from their conception of the early church. After the American Civil War, the schism grew. While there was no disagreement over the need for evangelism, many believed that missionary societies were not authorized by scripture and would compromise the autonomy of local congregations. This became one important factor leading to the separation of the Churches of Christ from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
From the beginning of the movement, the free exchange of ideas among the people was fostered by the journals published by its leaders. Alexander Campbell published The Christian Baptist and The Millennial Harbinger. Barton W. Stone published The Christian Messenger. In a respectful way, both men routinely published the contributions of others whose positions were radically different from their own.
Following Campbell's death in 1866, journals continued to keep the discussion and conversation alive. Between 1870 and 1900, two journals emerged as the most prominent. The Christian Standard was edited and published by Isaac Errett of Cincinnati. The Christian Evangelist was edited and published by J. H. Garrison from St. Louis. The two men enjoyed a friendly rivalry, and kept the dialog going within the movement. A third journal became part of the conversation with the publication in 1884 of The Christian Oracle, later to become The Christian Century, with an interdenominational appeal. In 1914, Garrison's Christian Publishing company was purchased by R. A. Long, who then established a non-profit corporation, "The Christian Board of Publication" as the Brotherhood publishing house.
In 1906, the U.S. Religious Census listed Churches of Christ for the first time as a group which was separate and distinct from the Disciples of Christ. However, the division had been growing for years, with published reports as early as 1883. The most obvious distinction between the two groups was the Churches of Christ rejecting the use of musical instruments in worship. The controversy over musical instruments began in 1860, when some congregations introduced organs, traditionally associated with wealthier, denominational churches. More basic were the underlying approaches to Biblical interpretation. The Churches of Christ permitted only those practices found in accounts of New Testament worship. They could find no New Testament documentation of the use of instrumental music in worship. The Disciples, by contrast, considered permissible any practices that the New Testament did not expressly forbid.
After the division, Disciples churches used "Christian Church" as the dominant designation for congregations. While music and the approach to missionary work were the most visible issues, there were also some deeper ones. The process that led to the separation had begun prior to the American Civil War.
Following the 1906 separation by the Churches of Christ, additional controversies arose. Should missionary efforts be cooperative or should they be independently sponsored by congregations? Should new methods of Biblical analysis, developed in the late 19th century, be embraced in the study and interpretation of the Bible? The "cooperative" churches were generally more likely to adopt the new biblical study methods.
During the first half of the 20th century, these opposing factions among the Christian Churches coexisted but with growing discomfort and tension. Among the cooperative churches, the three Missionary Societies merged into the United Christian Missionary Society in 1920. Human service ministries grew through the National Benevolent Association and provided assistance to orphans, the elderly and the disabled. By mid century, the cooperative Christian Churches and the independent Christian Churches were following different paths.
Following World War II, it became obvious that the organizations that had been developed in previous decades no longer effectively met the needs of the postwar era. After a number of discussions throughout the 1950s, the 1960 International Convention of Christian Churches adopted a process to "restructure" the entire organization. The Commission on Restructure, chaired by Granville T. Walker, held its first meeting on October 30 & November 1, 1962. In 1968, the International Convention of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) adopted the commission's proposed "Provisional Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)." Soon the Provisional Design became "The Design."
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Under the design, all churches in the 1968 yearbook of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) were automatically recognized as part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In the years that followed, many of the Independent Christian Church Congregations requested formal withdrawal from the yearbook. Many of those congregations became part of the Christian churches and churches of Christ.
The modern disciples have been described as "a Reformed North American Mainstream Moderate Denomination."
Beliefs and practices
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As an integral part of worship in most Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations members celebrate the Lord's Supper. Most congregations also sing hymns, read from the Old and New Testaments of Christian Scripture, hear the word of God proclaimed through sermon or other medium and extend an invitation to become Christ's Disciples. As a congregational church, each congregation determines the nature of its worship, study, Christian service, and witness to the world. Through the observance of communion, individuals are invited to acknowledge their faults and sins, to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to remember their baptism, and to give thanks for God's redeeming love. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believes that it is in the local congregations where people come, find, and know God as they gather in Christ's name. Because Disciples believe that the invitation to the table comes from Jesus Christ, communion is open to all who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, regardless of their denominational affiliation.
For most Disciples, communion is understood as the symbolic presence of Jesus within the gathered community. Most Disciple congregations practice believer's baptism in the form of immersion, believing it to be the form used in the New Testament. The experiences of yielding to Christ in being buried with him in the waters of baptism and rising to a new life, have profound meaning for the church.
Marco Antonio de Dominis, De Repubblica Ecclesiastica, adopted as the 19th Century slogan of the Stone-Campbell Movement
For modern Disciples the one essential is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and obedience to him in baptism. There is no requirement to give assent to any other statement of belief or creed. Nor is there any "official" interpretation of the Bible. Hierarchical doctrine was traditionally rejected by Disciples as human-made and divisive, and subsequently, freedom of belief and scriptural interpretation allows many Disciples to question or even deny beliefs common in doctrinal churches such as the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the Atonement. Beyond the essential commitment to follow Jesus there is a tremendous freedom of belief and interpretation. As the basic teachings of Jesus are studied and applied to life, there is the freedom to interpret Jesus' teaching in different ways. As would be expected from such an approach, there is a wide diversity among Disciples in what individuals and congregations believe. It is not uncommon to find individuals who seemingly hold diametrically opposed beliefs within the same congregation affirming one another's journeys of faith as sisters and brothers in Christ.
Members and seekers are encouraged to take being disciples seriously, meaning that they are student followers of Jesus. Often the best teaching comes in the form, "I'll tell you what I think, but read the Bible for yourself, and then study and pray about it. Decide in what ways God is calling you to be a follower of Jesus."
Modern Disciples reject the use of creeds as "tests of faith," that is, as required beliefs, necessary to be accepted as a follower of Jesus. Although Disciples respect the great creeds of the church as informative affirmations of faith, they are never seen as binding. Since the adoption of The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in 1968, Disciples have celebrated a sense of unity in reading the preamble to the Design publicly. It is as a meaningful affirmation of faith, not binding upon any member. It was originally intended to remind readers that this Church seeks God through Jesus Christ, even when it adopts a design for its business affairs.
consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ
and obedience to him in all things...."
Thomas Campbell — Proposition 1 of the Declaration and address
The Disciples celebrate their oneness with all who seek God through Jesus Christ, throughout time and regardless of location. That oneness is symbolized in the open invitation to communion for all who have professed faith in Christ without regard to church affiliation.
In local communities, congregations share with churches of other denominations in joint worship and in community Christian service. Ecumenical cooperation and collaboration with other Christian Communions has long been practiced, by the Regions.
At the General Church level, the Council on Christian Unity coordinates the ecumenical activities of the church. The Disciples continues to relate to the National Council of Churches, of which it was a founding member. It shares in the dialog and in the theological endeavors of the World Council of Churches. The Disciples has been a full participant in the Consultation on Church Union since it began in the sixties. It continues to support those ongoing conversations which have taken on the title Churches Uniting in Christ. The goal of these endeavors is not the merger into some "Super Church", but rather to discover ways to celebrate and proclaim the unity and oneness that is Christ's gift to his church.
In 2011, the denomination stated that "Disciples do not have a formal policy on same-sex marriage. Different congregations have the autonomy to discern on issues such as this one". In 2013, the Disciples of Christ voted in favor of a resolution affirming all members regardless of sexual orientation. After same-sex marriage was legalized in the US, the denomination reiterated that it leaves "all decisions of policy on same-sex marriage to local congregations".
Congregations of the Christian Church are self-governing in the tradition of congregational polity. They select their own leadership, own their own property, and manage their own affairs.
In Disciples congregations, the priesthood of all believers finds its expression in worship and Christian service. Typically, lay persons who have been elected and ordained as Elders preside with called and installed ordained pastors in the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Elders and called Pastors provide spiritual oversight and care for members in partnership with one another.
The Regional Churches of the Christian Church provide resources for leadership development and opportunities for Christian fellowship beyond the local congregation. They have taken responsibility for the nurture and support of those individuals seeking to discern God's call to service as ordained or licensed ministers. Typically, they organize summer camping experiences for children and youth.
Regional churches assist congregations who are seeking ministers and ministers who are seeking congregations. Regional leadership is available on request to assist congregations that face conflict. Though they have no authority to direct the life of any congregation, the Regional Churches are analogous to the middle judicatories of other denominations.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at the "General Church" level consists of a number of self-governing agencies, which focus upon specific Christian witnesses to the world that have emerged in the dialog within the movement since before the first convention in 1849. Typically, these ministries have a scope that is larger than Regional Ministries, and often have a global perspective. The church agencies report to the General Assembly, which meets biennially in odd numbered years. The General Minister and President (GMP) is the designated leader for the General Church, but does not have the administrative authority to direct any of the general church agencies other than "The Office of General Minister and President." The GMP has influence that derives from the respect of the church much as the pastor of a local church leads a local congregation.
The General Ministries are:
- Office of the General Minister and President
- Christian Board of Publication/Chalice Press
- Christian Church Foundation
- Church Extension
- Council on Christian Unity
- Disciples of Christ Historical Society
- Disciples Home Missions
- Division of Overseas Ministries/Global Ministries
- Higher Education and Leadership Ministries
- National Benevolent Association
- Pension Fund
One highly popular and respected General Agency program is the "Week of Compassion," named for the special offering to fund the program when it began in the 1950s. The Week of Compassion is the disaster relief and Third World development agency. It works closely with Church World Service and church related organizations in countries around the world where disasters strike, providing emergency aid.
The General Church has challenged the entire denomination to work for a 2020 Vision for the first two decades of the 21st Century. Together the denomination is well on the way to achieving its four foci:
- Seeking racial justice, which it describes as becoming a pro-reconciling/anti-racist church.
- Forming 1,000 new congregations across the United States and Canada by 2020.
- Seeking God's transformation of 1,000 existing Congregations in ways that will renew their witness.
- Working to nurture leadership for newly formed and transformed congregations.
At the 2005 General Assembly, over 3000 delegates voted nearly unanimously to elect the Sharon E. Watkins as General Minister and President of the denomination. Watkins was the first woman to be elected as the presiding minister of a mainline Protestant denomination.
The logo of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a red chalice with a white St. Andrew's Cross. The chalice represents the centrality of Communion to the life of the church. The cross of Saint Andrew is a reminder of the ministry of each person and the importance of evangelism, and recalls the denomination's Scottish Presbyterian ancestry.
After the 1968 General Assembly, the Administrative Committee charged a sub-committee with the task of proposing a symbol for the church. Hundreds of designs were submitted, but none seemed right. By November the Deputy General Minister and President, William Howland, suggested that the committee's staff consultant and chairperson agree on a specific proposal and bring it back to the committee: that meant Robert L. Friedly of the Office of Interpretation and Ronald E. Osborn.
On January 20, 1970, the two men sat down for lunch. With a red felt-tip pen, Osborn began to scrawl a Saint Andrew's cross circumscribed inside a chalice on his placemat.
Immediately, Friedly dispatched the crude drawing to Bruce Tilsley, a commercial artist and member of Central Christian Church of Denver, with the plea that he prepare an artistic version of the ideas. Tilsley responded with two or three sketches, from which was selected the now-familiar red chalice. Use of the proposed symbol became so prevalent that there was little debate when official adoption was considered at the 1971 General Assembly.
The chalice is a registered trademark of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Congregations and ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are free to use the chalice in publications, web sites and other media. Organizations not affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are asked to obtain permission.
Because most congregations call themselves "Christian Churches," the chalice has become a simple way to identify Disciples of Christ Churches through signage, letterhead, and other forms of publicity.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has experienced a significant loss of membership since the middle of the 20th century. Membership peaked in 1958 at just under 2 million. In 1993, membership dropped below 1 million. In 2009, the denomination reported 658,869 members in 3,691 congregations. As of 2010, the five states with the highest adherence rates were Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky and Oklahoma. The states with the largest absolute number of adherents were Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
Affiliated academic institutions
From the very beginnings of the movement, Disciples have founded institutions of higher learning. Alexander Campbell taught young leaders and founded Bethany College. The movement established similar schools, especially in the years following the American Civil War.
Because intellectual and religious freedom are important values for the Disciples of Christ, the colleges, universities, and seminaries founded by its congregations do not seek to indoctrinate students or faculty with a sectarian point of view.
In the 21st century, the relationship between the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and its affiliated universities is the purview of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM), an agency of the General Church.
Universities and colleges
- Barton College – Wilson, North Carolina
- Bethany College – Bethany, West Virginia
- Chapman University – Orange, California
- Columbia College – Columbia, Missouri
- Culver-Stockton College – Canton, Missouri
- Drake University – Des Moines, Iowa
- Drury University – Springfield, Missouri
- Eureka College – Eureka, Illinois
- Hiram College – Hiram, Ohio
- Jarvis Christian College – Hawkins, Texas
- Lynchburg College – Lynchburg, Virginia
- Midway University – Midway, Kentucky
- Northwest Christian University – Eugene, Oregon
- Texas Christian University – Fort Worth, Texas
- Tougaloo College - Tougaloo, Mississippi
- Transylvania University – Lexington, Kentucky
- William Woods University – Fulton, Missouri
Seminaries and theological institutions
- Brite Divinity School – Fort Worth, Texas
- Christian Theological Seminary - Indianapolis, Indiana
- Lexington Theological Seminary – Lexington, Kentucky
- Phillips Theological Seminary – Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
- Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt University — Nashville, Tennessee
- Disciples Seminary Foundation - Claremont, California
- Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico - San Juan, Puerto Rico
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The Disciples of Christ maintains ecumenical relations with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It is also affiliated with other ecumenical organizations such as Churches Uniting in Christ, Christian Churches Together, the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. It maintains Ordained Ministerial Partner Standing with the United Church of Christ, which means that clergy ordained in the Disciples of Christ may also serve in the United Church of Christ.
- Jesse Moren Bader, evangelist
- Steve Beshear, former Governor of Kentucky
- Edgar Cayce, American mysticist March 1877 - January 1945
- Fred Craddock, professor and preacher
- Russell Errett, former Congressman (R) from Pennsylvania's 22nd Congressional District.
- J. William Fulbright, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States, ordained Disciples minister, Principal (President) of Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now named Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, attorney admitted to the Ohio Bar.
- David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who delivered open air sermons on temperance
- Murry Hammond and Grey DeLisle, singers
- Dean Hess, US Air Force Pilot
- Ben Hogan, professional golfer, tied for fourth all-time with nine career professional major championships
- W.H. "Boss" Hoover, founder of The Hoover Company, also a founding member and ordained minister of Community Christian Church in North Canton, Ohio
- Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States
- Jim Jones, Cult leader's association with the Disciple of Christ is well documented.
- Ken Lucas, former Congressman (D) candidate for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District.
- Crit Luallen, former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
- Frances McDormand, Oscar-winning actress
- James Clark McReynolds, United States Supreme Court Justice (1914–1941)
- John Muir, Scottish founder of the environmental movement. Raised in the church, but later left it.
- Susan Pamerleau, Republican sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, since 2013, the seventh most populous city in the United States
- Betsy Price, Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas (2011–present), the 16th most populous city in the United States
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, baptized into the Disciples as a youth, and graduated from the Disciples' Eureka College, but a member of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in his later years. He married Nancy at The Little Brown Church in Studio City, California, a Disciples Church.
- Susanna Carson Rijnhart, Tibetan explorer, missionary
- Gene Robinson, raised in a Disciples church, but now a retired bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
- Colonel Harlan Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Tom Selleck, actor
- Arthur Shelton, missionary to Tibet
- John Ben Shepperd, Texas attorney general (1953–1957)
- Ike Skelton, congressman from Missouri's 4th Congressional District
- John Stamos, actor
- John Tanner, congressman from Tennessee's 8th Congressional District
- Preston Taylor, African American minister, businessperson and philanthropist; founder of the National Christian Missionary Convention
- William Thomas, Jr., actor
- Marion Tinsley, considered the all-time greatest human Checkers player
- Lew Wallace, author and Civil War general; his membership in the Disciples is somewhat uncertain, but his stepmother, Zerelda G. Wallace, was a founding member of Central Christian in Indianapolis and active in the WCTU, with her portrait still in the Indiana Statehouse. Wallace himself, though, claimed no denominational filliation
- Roger Williams (U.S. politician), Congressman representing Texas' 25th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Former Secretary of State of Texas (2004-2007)
- John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach, raised in a Disciple Church in Martinsville, Indiana
- International Christian Churches
- Restoration Movement
- First Christian Church
- The Churches of Christ and Christian churches and churches of Christ, which separated from the Disciples in 1906 and 1968, respectively.
- World Convention of Churches of Christ
- Note: the full name of the denomination, "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)", includes the parenthetical phrase.
- "2014 Yearbook Repport". Office of the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- Rice, Howard L. (1991). Reformed Spirituality. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780664252304. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
The denominations in the United States usually considered to be part of the Reformed tradition include the Presbyterians, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, and, though it can be debated, the Disciples of Christ.
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - The Association of Religion Data Archives
- Howard E. Bowers, ed. Yearbook & Directory 2012 of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Indianapolis, IN: Office of the General Minister and President, 2013), 552-53.
- "Religious Landscape Study". pewforum.org. Pew Research. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States — World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
- "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada — World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
- McAlister and Tucker (1975). Page 29
- McAlister and Tucker (1975). Page 27
- Marshall, et al. 1804.
- McAlister and Tucker, (1975) page 79
- McAlister and Tucker, (1975) page 80
- McAlister and Tucker, (1975) page 82
- McAlister and Tucker, (1975) pages 108-111
- McAlister & Tucker (1975) Page 117
- Davis, M. M. (1915), Page 86
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). page 131
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). pages 132 - 133
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). pages 144-145
- Davis, M. M. (1915), Pages 116-120
- Davis, M. M. (1915), Pages 116
- Garrison & DeGroot (1948) page 212
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). pages 153 - 154
- McAlister & Tucker (1975) pages 27-28
- Garrison and DeGroot (1948) page 245
- Garrison and DeGroot (1948), page 245
- Garrison and DeGroot (1948) Page 247
- Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-3898-7, ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Missionary Societies, Controversy Over, pp. 534-537
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), page 208.
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), page 364.
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), page 364
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), page 426
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). Page 251
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). Page 252
- McAlister & Tucker (1975). Pages 242 - 247
- Cartwright, Colbert S. (1987) pages 17 - 18
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), pages 418-420
- Garrison and DeGroot, (1948), pages 428 & 429
- McAlister & Tucker, (1975). page 419
- McAlister & Tucker, (1975). page 421
- McAlister & Tucker, (1975). pages 436 - 437
- McAlister & Tucker, (1975). pages 442 - 443
- Williams (2008)
- Cartwright (1987) pages 22-23
- Cartwright (1987) page 30
- Cartwright, 1991, page 29
- Cartwright, (1987) pages 61 - 68
- Cummins. 1991, Pages 64-65
- Cummins (1991) pages 14 - 15
- The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Cartwright 1987. Page 13
- Council on Christian Unity
- "Disciples congregation votes to change its policy on marriage - Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)". 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2016-07-22.
- "Welcoming Disciples | The Christian Century". Retrieved 2016-07-22.
- "Gay marriage: mainline denominations affirm SCOTUS". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2016-07-22.
- Cartwright (1987) pages 42 - 44
- Regional Ministries
- "General Ministries Directory". Disciples.org website. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- Week of Compassion
- The Four Priorities of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Reconciliation Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- New Church Ministry
- Congregational Transformation
- Higher Education and Leadership Ministries
- The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
- Watkins, Sharon E. (2006) pages 291 -303
- Office of the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Watkins, Sharon E. (2006) page 206
- The Chalice
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Denominational Profile, Association of Religion Data Archives website (accessed November 27, 2013)
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Distribution, Association of Religion Data Archives website (accessed November 27, 2013)
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Map by Number of Adherents, Association of Religion Data Archives website (accessed November 27, 2013)
- ""Johnstown Project at SDSU"". Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- White, Graham Introduction, in Journeys in the Wilderness, A John Muir Reader, Birlinn, 2009, Edinburgh; p7
- Ben-Hur: The Book That Shook the World, Magazine Humanities. November/December 2009 Volume 30, Number 6. Accessed 2010-04-20
- Boring, M. Eugene (1997). Disciples And The Bible. Chalice Press. ISBN 0-8272-0623-2.
- Campbell, Thomas (1809). The Declaration and Address
- Cartwright, Colbert S. (1987). People of the Chalice, Disciples of Christ in Faith and Practice. St Louis, MO: Chalice Press. ISBN 0-8272-2938-0.
- Challen, James (editor), Biographical Sketch of Alexander Campbell, Ladies' Christian Annual, March, 1857 (Volume VI, No. 3), Philadelphia: James Challen, Publisher. Pages 81–90.Online Edition
- Corey, Stephen (1953). Fifty Years of Attack and Controversy St. Louis, MO: Committee on the publication of the Corey manuscript
- Cummins, Duane D. (1991). A handbook for Today's Disciples in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Revised Edition. St Louis, MO: Chalice Press. ISBN 0-8272-1425-1.
- Davis, M. M. (1915). How the Disciples Began and Grew, A Short History of the Christian Church, Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company
- Garrison, Winfred Earnest and DeGroot, Alfred T. (1948). The Disciples of Christ, A History, St Louis, Missouri: The Bethany Press
- Green, F. M. (1904). "James A. Garfield". John T. Brown's Churches of Christ. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 2005-12-08.
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Maintaining Irrigation Pumps, Motors, and Engines
This publication explains how to maintain irrigation pumps, motors, and engines for peak efficiency. The publication includes descriptions and diagrams of recommended installations, checklists for maintenance tasks, and a troubleshooting guide. Each system component is treated separately and maintenance tasks are broken down by how frequently they need to be done. References and resource listings follow the narrative.
Table of Contents
- Recommended Installations
- Pumping Plant Maintenance
- Further Resources
Efficient irrigation begins with properly installed and maintained pumps, motors, and engines. Equipment problems and management problems tend to go hand in hand. Equipment that is badly designed or poorly maintained reduces the irrigator's degree of control over the way water is applied. Problems like patchy water distribution and inadequate pressure make it impossible to maintain correct soil moisture levels, leading to crop stress, reduced yields, wasted water, runoff, soil erosion, and many other problems.
Related ATTRA Publications
Centrifugal Pumping Plant Installation with Electric Motor
Figure 1. Ideal and Poor Installations
(Adapted from Saving Energy on Montana Farms and Ranches, Montana Department of Environmental Quality.)
The term "pumping plant" refers to the irrigation pump and motor or engine, considered together. If you have an older system, the pumping plant might look like Fig. 1, Poor, on the discharge side. The next time you rebuild the pump, replace the fittings so that your system will look like Fig. 1, Ideal. An ideal installation should also have:
- A discharge concentric expansion instead of an abrupt change in pipe diameter, to minimize head loss, turbulence, and air pockets.
- A discharge valve the same diameter as the mainline.
Fig. 2 shows what your pumping plant should look like when pumping from a surface source such as a river or canal. The pumping plant should also have:
Figure 2. Recommended Pump Installations
(Adapted from Energy Efficient Pumping Standards, Utah Power & Light Company.)
On the Suction Side of Pump:
- A well designed and screened sump that keeps trash away.
- Suction line joints that are airtight under a vacuum.
- No high spots where air can collect.
- A suction line water velocity of five feet per second (fps) or less; two to three fps is best.
- A suction entrance at least two pipe bell diameters from sump inlet.
- A suction lift (vertical distance from water surface to pump impeller) less than 15 to 20 feet.
- An eccentric reducer to keep air from becoming trapped in the reducer fitting.
- A vacuum gauge to indicate whether the primer is pulling a vacuum or just moving air through the pump.
On the Discharge Side of Pump:
- A valve size that is the same diameter as the mainline.
- A non-slam check valve to prevent back spin when shutting off the pump.
- An air relief device when a buried mainline is used.
- A discharge line water velocity of less than seven fps. Five fps is best.
- An energy efficient 1800 rpm motor with a 15 percent safety factor.
- A simple shade over the motor.
Turbine Pump Installation
Figure 3. Deep Well Turbine Pump
(Adapted from Energy Efficient Pumping Standards, Utah Power & Light Company.)
Refer to the left half of Fig. 3 for a properly installed turbine pump in a well; many of these same principles apply to turbine pumps in sumps. The properly constructed well should also:
- Be at least six inches in diameter larger than the outside diameter of the well casing when a gravel pack is required.
- Have horizontal well screen slots that continue below the pumping water level. The openings should hold back at least 85 percent of the surrounding material.
The poorly constructed well in the lower right half of Fig. 3 shows a well casing that is not centered in the well. Vertical slotted pipe perforations are above the minimum water level, creating cascading water.
Control Panel for Electric Motors
The importance of a properly installed control panel cannot be overemphasized for personal safety and for protecting your investment in your pump and motor. Your control panel should:
- Have a shade over it to keep thermal breakers cool.
- Be mounted on secure poles or foundation.
- Have any missing knockout plugs and other holes in the starting switch box replaced and screened or puttied against rodents, insects, and dirt.
- Have a small hole (3/16-inch diameter) in the bottom of the panel to allow moisture to drain.
Your control panel should include the following controls at a minimum:
- Circuit breaker(s) for overload currents.
- Lightning arrester.
- Surge protector.
- Phase failure relay, to protect the motor from phase reversal or failure and from low voltage.
- A pressure switch to shut off the motor if pumping pressure drops to undesirable levels.
Pumping Plant Maintenance
Every irrigation system needs regular maintenance in order to run efficiently and reliably. Poorly maintained systems waste energy and money, and are prone to breakdowns that cause crop losses and yield reductions.
Caution: The recommendations below are not comprehensive and may not be correct for all systems. Consult your owner's manual for recommended maintenance procedures and always follow the manufacturer's instructions if they differ from the ones in this guidebook.
Electric Motor Maintenance
Make a habit of checking that the motor is securely bolted to its platform. Mounting bolts can vibrate loose. Check to see that rotating parts aren't rubbing on stationary parts of the motor, causing damage to the motor.
Remember that an electric motor is an air-cooled piece of equipment and needs all the ventilation it can get. Excessive heat is a main cause of reduced motor life.
Motors also like to be dry. Keep motor windings dry by keeping pump packing in good condition. Even if windings are protected from moisture, minerals in the pumped water can attach to the windings and cause early failure. Motors that operate at 3600 rpm experience twice as much wear as motors operating at 1800 rpm. Regular maintenance is especially critical for 3600 rpm motors and pumps.
At season startup:
- Remove tape on all openings and clean out rodents, insects, or debris.
- Locate the motor drain hole on the base or support for the base, and clean it out so water won't be trapped and held directly under the air intake.
- Change oil in reduced voltage starters, using an oil recommended by the manufacturer. Be sure to clean the oil pan before refilling.
- Use vacuum suction or air pressure to remove dust and debris from moving parts of the motor. (Don't exceed 50 psi of air pressure.)
- Clean grass or debris from air ventilation openings on the motor and from around the motor to allow a full flow of cooling air.
- Check screens on motor ventilation openings. Replace with machine cloth (¼-inch mesh) as necessary.
At end of season shutdown:
- Cover the motor with a breathable water-resistant tarp.
Motor Electrical System
Wide temperature fluctuations during the year can cause electrical connections (especially in aluminum wire) to expand and contract, loosening connectors. Loose electrical connections cause heat buildup and arcing at electrical terminals. The voltage drop across loose connections will cause the motor to operate at less than its rated voltage, increasing internal motor temperature. Increased heat will break down motor winding insulation, resulting in electrical shorts and motor failures. A loose or broken connection can also unbalance the phases of three-phase power and damage the motor windings.
Caution: Before conducting these tasks, be sure power is off at the utility disconnect switch. It may be necessary to have the utility company shut the power off.
At season startup:
- Inspect insulation of motor windings. If the windings are excessively grease-covered, consult your motor repair shop for direction.
- Check all safety switches according to the manufacturer's directions.
Twice a year:
- Check electrical connections from meter loop to motor for corrosion and clean if necessary.
- Coat the wiring (especially aluminum) and connectors with an antioxidant that meets electrical code requirements.
- Check electrical connections from the meter loop to the motor for tightness.
- Tighten and re-tape if necessary.
- Replace overheated connections or wires with new material. Overheated connections will show heat damage such as burnt insulation on wires.
Lubricate the motor according to the manufacturer's instructions. Intervals between lubrication will vary with motor speed, power draw, load, ambient temperatures, exposure to moisture, and seasonal or continuous operation. Electric motors should not be greased daily. Bearings can be ruined by either over- or under-greasing.
Fill a grease gun with electric motor bearing grease and label it so it won't be confused with other types of lubricating grease.
Caution: Lubrication instructions in owner's manuals should be followed if they differ from these. Newer motors may have sealed bearings that cannot be lubricated.
|Recommended Re-greasing Periods for Motors|
Type of Service
Change the grease at recommended intervals to remove any accumulated moisture:
- Remove the bottom relief plug and clean hardened grease out of passageway.
- Using a grease gun, fill the housing with approved high temperature electric motor bearing grease (refer to the manufacturer's manual for API number of grease) until old grease is expelled.
Caution: If old grease is not expelled as the new grease is pumped in, stop adding grease and have your motor checked by a qualified repair person. Adding new grease without old grease being removed could blow the seals and push grease into the motor windings, causing the motor to overheat and reducing its service life. Do not over-grease your motor.
- Run motor until all surplus grease is thrown out through the bottom grease port (may require 5 to 10 minutes).
- Shut off the motor and use a screwdriver or similar device to remove a small amount of grease from the grease port to allow for grease expansion during full load operation.
- Replace grease plug.
Control Panel Maintenance
Control Panel Safety Precautions
Never use the main disconnect to start or stop your motor. It is not intended for this purpose. Using the main disconnect to start and stop the motor will cause excessive wear of the contacts and arcing can occur. Use the start and stop button.
If the overhead lines to your control panel's service are obstructed by tree branches or other items, have the utility company clear the lines.
Have an electrician inspect your panel to ensure that:
- Control circuits are protected with the correct size and type of fuse.
- Lightning arresters are properly installed on the meter and motor side of the buss and breaker. They should also be mounted in a secure box to protect you if they blow up.
- The service panel is properly grounded, independently of the pumping plant.
- Service head grommets are in place and in good condition.
Have your electrician or pump maintenance person do a Megger check on the control panel, motor, conduits, and other electrical connections. The Megger device applies a small amount of voltage to an electrical component and measures the electrical resistance. A Megger test can also detect potentially harmful moisture in windings.
Any time the main disconnect switch has been left open or off, operate it several times before leaving it closed or on. Copper oxide can form in a few hours and result in poor contact and overheating. Any type of corrosion can cause poor contact, poor grounding, and direct or high-resistance shorts.
Caution: After opening the control panel but before touching the controls inside, use a voltmeter to be sure that the incoming power is disconnected or turned off. If necessary, have your utility disconnect the power. If you have any doubts about the safety of your control panel, WALK AWAY AND CALL A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN. Even a current of 15 milliamps (one milliamp is one one-thousandth of an amp) can cause serious injury or death. Always play it safe!
At season startup:
- Replace fuses after checking to see that they aren't blown.
- Never use oversized fuses.
- Operate disconnect switch slowly to check for alignment of blades and clips.
- Open and close the disconnect switch several times to clean oxide from contact points.
- Clean contacts of all dust and dirt. Clean copper contacts with very fine sandpaper or a fine file. Replace badly pitted or burned contacts. Never file silver or silver-plated contacts. Leave contacts clean and dry so dust won't collect.
- If easily accessible, check magnetic starter switch contact points.
- Periodically clean out debris, rodent droppings, and nests and insects. Make sure drain hole is open.
At end of season shutdown:
- Ensure that switches are in the off or open position.
- Lock the panel in the off position and remove the fuses to prevent accidental startup and vandalism. Removing fuses will also prevent corrosion.
- Protect exposed control boxes against moisture and dust with a waterproof tarp.
Engine Maintenance — Diesel, Gasoline, Liquid Propane Gas (LPG), and Natural Gas
Make a habit of checking that the engine is securely bolted to its platform; mounting bolts can vibrate loose. Regularly check coolant, oil levels, fuel, and fan belts. If coolant or oil is down, check lines for leakage. On diesel engines, check injectors and fuel lines for leaks.
Engine power is affected by altitude and air temperature. Derate engine power output by 3.5 percent for every 1,000-foot increase in altitude over 500 feet above sea level. Derate output by 1 percent for each 10-degree increase in air temperature above 85 degrees F.
(Beginning of Season)
|Engine power is affected by altitude and air temperature.|
- Remove tape on all engine openings and the distributor cap, and tighten belts.
- Charge batteries and connect them.
- Open fuel tank shutoff valve.
- Before starting the engine, override safety switches that protect against low water pressure, loss of oil pressure, and overheating. After engine has reached operating speed, activate the safety switches.
- Run the engine for 10 minutes, then turn it off and check oil and coolant levels.
- Check engine and pump for any leaks caused by drying gaskets.
Engine Air System
Always replace disposable air filters with new ones. Cleaning can distort the filter and allow more dirt to enter.
- At season startup, clean and refill the filter bath in oil-bath air cleaners and reassemble the air cleaner.
- Periodically brush blockage off the screen if the air induction system is equipped with a pre-screener.
- Change the air filter when the service indicator signals that it's time to change it:
- Turn off engine before changing air filter.
- Wipe the outside of the cover and housing with a damp cloth and remove the cover.
- If cover is dented or warped, replace it.
- Use extreme care when removing the filter to prevent dirt from falling into the intake duct. Use a clean damp cloth to wipe inside of filter housing.
- Install new air filter.
Engine Electrical System
If you have a natural gas engine, be aware that natural gas has a higher octane value than automotive gasoline. You can increase engine efficiency and reduce fuel consumption by setting the ignition timing to take advantage of the higher octane. Consult the engine manufacturer for recommendations on how to do this.
At season startup:
- Inspect breaker points for wear and replace if needed.
- Set the gap or dwell angle and lubricate the rotor.
- Check timing and adjust if necessary.
- Clean all connecting terminals; cover with protectors.
- Spray silicone on electrically operated safety switches and ignition system to prevent corrosion.
Twice a year:
- In engines that have them, clean and re-gap spark plugs or replace with plugs in the recommended heat range.
- Check all terminals and electrical connections for tightness and corrosion, and spray with corrosion inhibitor (NOT grease).
- Remove the distributor cap and lubricate governor weights with silicone (NOT oil).
Engine Oil and Lubrication
Have a sample of engine oil analyzed for contaminants, which signal abnormal wear. Intervals between analyses will depend on the engine, and analysis may be cost-effective only for larger engines. Equipment dealers should know where the oil can be analyzed and how often this should be done.
Use only the oil recommended by the manufacturer. Tag each engine with a label identifying the proper oil.
Twice a year:
- If the engine was not protected during shutdown, or if the oil has not been changed within the last year, change the crankcase oil and oil filter.
- Lubricate all engine accessories such as the driveshaft and U-joints.
Engine Fuel and Coolant
- Twice a year remove and clean or replace the fuel filter.
- Periodically check that fuel tank cap and oil filter cap are on tight and that gaskets aren't cracked.
- Periodically check that the fluid level and degree of coolant protection are adequate. Check that the radiator cap is on tight and that gaskets aren't cracked.
Engine Shutdown (End of Season)
|Do not store batteries directly on concrete.|
- Drain all fuel from the tank and lines and shut off the fuel valve. If LP gas is used, drain vaporizer-regulator. (Drain both fuel and water lines.)
- Remove spark plugs. Pour a tablespoon of clean motor oil into each spark plug hole. Position spark plug wire away from cylinder opening and rotate crankshaft by hand to lubricate piston and rings. Replace spark plug.
- Seal the distributor cap with duct tape where the cap joins the distributor housing.
- Seal all the openings in the engine with duct tape, including air cleaner inlet, exhaust outlet, and crankcase breather tube.
- If the engine coolant is water, drain and refill the cooling system with water, a rust inhibitor, and antifreeze.
- Remove tension from belts.
- Remove and store batteries in a cool but not freezing location. Do not store batteries directly on concrete.
- If engine is outside, cover with a water-resistant tarp.
Centrifugal Pump Maintenance
Centrifugal Pump Startup
(Beginning of Season)
Figure 4. Centrifugal Pump and Motor
- Using new gaskets and pipe-dope, reconnect to the pump any piping removed during shutdown.
- Re-install the primer and priming valve if they were removed during shutdown.
- Check that the pump shaft turns freely and is free of foreign objects. Applying power could break the impeller if it's rusted to the case.
- Check the pump for leaks caused by drying gaskets.
- Check intake and discharge piping for proper support and make sure the pump is securely bolted to the platform.
- Clean the drain hole on the underside of the pump.
To avoid water leaks, make sure that all gaskets are the correct ones for the coupling or flange. Eliminate air leaks in your pump's suction line by coating threaded connections with pipe cement or white lead and drawing them tight. Also examine suction line welds for cracks, which will allow air leaks.
If your pump isn't delivering water, verify that the pump shaft is turning in the direction of the arrow on the pump casing. As viewed from the motor end, the rotation is usually clockwise, but check the startup instructions that came with the pump. On three-phase motors, swap any two power leads to change rotation. It is recommended that a qualified electrician perform this task.
If the pump doesn't prime, check for air leaks on discharge valves. Many all-metal gate-type valves won't seal properly to create a vacuum. Sand or other debris lodged between the rubber flap and the valve seat will prevent check valves from sealing and forming a tight joint. See if the rubber face is cracked or chipped and not seating. Replace the gate valve or check valve. Check connections between pump and primer. On a hand primer, if grass or other debris is lodged in the check valve, air is pulled back into the pump at every stroke and the pump won't prime. After proper priming, fill the system slowly.
Twice a year:
- Thoroughly clean suction and discharge piping and connections, removing moss and debris.
- Tighten all drain and fill plugs in the pump volute case to avoid air and water leaks. Use a pipe thread compound on all pipe threads.
- Check for cracks or holes in the pump case.
- Clean trash screening device and screens on the suction pipe.
Servicing Impeller and Wear Rings
If you suspect that your pump impeller is clogged or damaged, or that the wear rings are worn, you can dismantle the pump. This will take some work and is best done in the shop. Or have a qualified pump repair shop undertake this procedure. Always follow the directions in the manufacturer's manual, if available, instead of the following simplified directions.
- Remove suction cover or volute case.
- Remove debris from impeller and volute. Remove pebbles lodged between vanes.
- Check wear at the impeller eye and vanes. If worn, repair or replace the impeller.
- Re-machine or replace wear ring if clearance is greater than 1/32 inch per side.
- Replace suction cover or volute. Use a new gasket.
|Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) and Cavitation
Many people are surprised to learn that centrifugal pumps don't pull water through a suction pipe; they can only pump water that is delivered to them. When air is removed from the suction pipe by a primer pump, the weight of the earth's atmosphere forces water to rise into the pipe, delivering water to the pump.
Even in the best of circumstances (including a near-perfect vacuum), the maximum water column that can be forced by atmospheric pressure never exceeds about 33 feet in height. As elevation, water temperature, and pipe friction increase, the height of the water column that can be forced drops. The maximum column of water that can be created in a pipe under a given set of conditions is known as Net Positive Suction Head or NPSH.
Insufficient NPSH often occurs at startup. Since the pump is working against low pressure, it pumps a larger volume than in normal operation. This larger volume creates friction losses in the suction line, reducing NPSH. Too little available NPSH can result in vaporization of water in the eye of the impeller, causing cavitation, a noisy condition where vapor bubbles collapse violently in the pump.
To stop cavitation, close the discharge valve. If cavitation is allowed to continue, the impeller and pump casing can become pitted and damaged, reducing pump capacity. To eliminate cavitation as well as water hammer, and to prevent high amperage draw on demand meters, open the discharge valve slowly to fill the mainline whenever you start up the pump.
Caution: Don't let the pump run more than two minutes with the discharge valve closed.
Servicing the Pump Packing
A pump with shaft sleeve and packing in good condition and properly adjusted shouldn't require constant re-adjustment, but should be checked daily. Unless proper leakage (about 8 to 10 drops per minute) is running through the packing box, the packing will become overheated and dry out, eventually burning and scoring the shaft sleeve. Excessive dirt, silt, or sand in the water can also score the sleeve.
Check for an improperly greased or worn rotary shaft seal by running the pump and squirting oil on the shaft just outside the seal. Oil drawn into the seal indicates a leak.
If the pump has been out of service, the packing may be dried and hardened. Air can leak into the pump through the packing box and the pump can lose prime.
Figure 6. Pump Packing
Grease the packing box annually with a proper pump packing grease. Less frequent maintenance causes grease to harden, making this task very difficult.
- If the packing box is equipped with a grease cup or a grease zerk, apply a couple pumps of packing grease to the packing box to force out the remaining water and protect the packing.
- For a packing box without a grease cup or zerk, remove the last two packing rings (see below for replacing packing) and discard. Pack packing grease into the packing box until full. Add two new rings and gently tighten the packing gland slightly to force the grease into the subsequent packing rings. Then loosen the gland.
Replacing the Packing
Old packing should be replaced completely if leakage cannot be reduced by adding a new packing ring to the old packing, or if the packing is burned (dried up and scorched) or has leaked excessively during the season.
|Once the packing is burned and the shaft sleeve is scored, no amount of adjustment will maintain proper leakage for any length of time.|
Caution: This task is difficult. Have a qualified pump repair shop do it if you are in doubt. If you are attempting the procedure yourself, do it in the shop rather than in the field.
- Remove packing box gland nut with a wrench. Remove the gland and packing.
- To remove packing, twist two packing pullers 180 degrees apart into the exposed packing ring. Pull each ring out of the packing box cavity until all are removed. The lantern ring has two holes 180 degrees apart and can be removed with the packing pullers.
- Replace the shaft sleeve if it is worn or grooved. This usually requires pump disassembly. Once the packing is burned and the shaft sleeve is scored, no amount of adjustment will maintain proper leakage for any length of time.
- Before replacing new packing, insert the packing gland to make sure it enters freely to the gland's full depth. If it doesn't, clean out the fragments of old packing and other debris that may be obstructing it.
- Install new packing rings as far forward as can be reached. Install only the type and size of packing recommended by the manufacturer.
- Insert each ring separately. Push it securely into the box and seat it firmly. A small amount of packing grease applied to the packing will make this job a little easier. Don't use sharp points to push the packing into the box. (Use the packing gland, a wooden dowel, pliers handle, fingers, or other blunt object.) Successive rings of packing should be installed so the joints are 120 degrees apart.
- Install lantern ring (if required) in proper position to the packing rings as shown on your manual's parts page.
- Install packing gland so that it just begins to enter the stuffing box straight, making sure that the full packing is under uniform pressure.
- Seal the gland with clip, stud, and nut.
- If the packing is equipped with a grease fitting, add a shot of grease.
- Before inserting the last two packing rings on boxes without a grease cup or zerk, pack grease into the packing box until full. Add the last two rings and tighten the packing gland slightly to force the grease into the subsequent rings of packing. Then loosen the gland.
- Start the pump with the packing gland loose so there will be initial leakage. Tighten the packing gland only enough to draw the necessary vacuum for priming.
- Tighten the gland nuts slightly and evenly every 15 to 20 minutes, until leakage is reduced to about 8 to 10 drops per minute and the water leaking from the box is cool.
Caution: Don't stop leakage entirely.
Centrifugal Pump Shutdown
(End of Season)
In cold climates, it is critical that all water be drained from pumps prior to freezing weather.
- Remove suction and discharge piping in areas where ice is a problem. Make sure drain valves are not plugged, and drain water from the pump.
- Cover any exposed metal, such as the shaft, with protective lubricant to prevent corrosion.
- Cover all oil- or grease-lubricated bearings with lubricant so moisture won't rust and pit them.
- Remove tension from any belts.
- Open petcock and drain diaphragm-type hand primer.
- If the discharge primer valve is equipped with a rubber seat, coat it with rubber preservative.
- Any rubber parts in a flexible coupling connecting the pump to the driver should also receive a coating of preservative.
- Make sure the ball valve on the pressure gauge riser is closed. Remove the pressure gauge and store inside.
- Seal all openings, including suction, discharge, and primer, with duct tape, to keep out rodents and foreign material.
- Cover the pump with a waterproof tarp.
Turbine Pump Maintenance
Figure 7. Oil-Lubricated Turbine Pump
Some of the instructions below also apply to submersible pumps.
Make a habit of periodically checking that discharge piping is firmly supported in the area near the pump. Make sure the pump is securely bolted to the platform.
If your turbine pump is installed over a well and you've experienced water supply problems, check the static level and drawdown in the well. A deeper pump setting might be required.
At season startup:
- Change the oil in the oil bath or reservoir for the pump upper bearings. Fill with approved turbine oil almost to the top of the sight glass so bearings are covered, taking care that excess oil doesn't get on or in the motor.
- Grease lower bearings. Refer to electric motor bearing greasing instructions above.
- Maintain the pump packing on water-lubricated turbine pumps as directed above for centrifugal pump packing.
- Change the bearing oil in vertical hollow shaft motors. When replacing the oil, follow motor manufacturer's recommendations or use ISO-VG32 turbine oil, such as:
Mobil DTE 797
Chevron Turbine Oil GST32
Shell Turbo T Oil 32
Maintain bearing oil at the proper level. Overfilling the oil reservoir can cause oil to overflow when the motor heats up during operation. The excess oil will adhere to the motor and to ventilation screens, collecting dirt and debris and reducing the motor's ability to dispel heat.
Short-Coupled Turbine Pump
At season startup for oil-lubricated pumps:
- Fill the oil reservoir and start the oil flowing to the pump one hour before starting the pump. Check to see that the oil tube is filled before running the pump. The pump needs about 10 drops per minute.
At season startup for water-lubricated turbine pumps:
- Pre-lubricate line shaft bearings with light oil.
- Adjust and maintain the packing on water-lubricated, short-coupled turbines as directed for the packing on a centrifugal pump. (See pages 10 to 11 above.)
Annually (or according to manufacturer's recommended interval) adjust the head shaft nut on short-coupled turbine pumps:
- Remove the top motor cover and take out the set screw.
- Remove, clean, oil, and replace the key stock.
- Loosen the head shaft adjusting nut (it has a left-hand thread) so the shaft and bowls are resting on the bottom. Tighten the head shaft adjusting nut two turns, which will raise the shaft and bowl assembly enough to allow for proper clearance.
- You should be able to turn the shaft by hand once it's raised. If you can't, tighten the head shaft adjusting nut one-half turn and try to turn it by hand again.
- Replace the set screw and motor cover.
Caution: If you are unable to turn the shaft by hand, and you have raised the shaft by five or more turns of the nut, remove the pump, disassemble, and inspect for damage or debris. If you have any questions about this procedure, consult your pump dealer.
Deep Well Turbine Pump
Shaft adjustment needs to be more precise for deep well turbines. Shaft stretch needs to be considered. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions or consult a qualified pump dealer.
At season startup for oil-lubricated pumps:
- Start lubricating the shaft up to a week before starting the pump, or until the line shaft and column are full of oil and the oil begins to run out at the top near the stretch assembly. During this first week, allow four to five drops of oil per minute. After starting, increase to 10 to 15 drops of oil per minute. Check the manufacturer's instructions to be sure of the requirement. (Oil will drip slower at night when it cools down.) The viscosity rating of the oil should be 9 or 10.
- Adjust and maintain the packing on water-lubricated deep well turbines, following the same procedures as for the packing on a centrifugal pump. (See above.)
A submersible pump is a turbine pump that is close-coupled to a submersible electric motor. Since both pump and motor are suspended in the water, the drive shaft and bearings required for a deep well turbine pump are eliminated. The pump is located above the motor and water enters the pump through a screen located between the pump and motor.
Submersible pumps use enclosed impellers. The motors are smaller in diameter and longer than turbine pump motors. Inadequate circulation of water past the motor may cause it to overheat and burn out. The riser pipe must be of sufficient length to keep the bowl assembly and motor completely submerged at all times and the well casing must be large for water to easily flow past the motor. Electrical wiring from the pump to the surface must be watertight with sealed connections.
This section identifies symptoms and possible causes under Suction, System, and Pump. Find the Symptoms and then look across to the left to see possible causes. Most often, suction problems are the cause. Contact your pump repair shop for additional help.
Caution: This troubleshooting guide is general and does not cover all the possible system configurations or problems that might be encountered.
See Troubleshooting Tables. [PDF/57K]
Black, Richard D., and Danny H. Rogers. 1993. Evaluating Pumping Plant Efficiency Using On-Farm Fuel Bills. Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service, Manhattan, Kansas. 4 p.
Loftis, J.C., and D.L. Miles. 2004. Irrigation Pumping Plant Efficiency. Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service, Fort Collins, CO. 4 p.
A take-to-the-field reference to help irrigators save energy, water, and money; includes guidelines for water management, equipment maintenance, and handy conversions and formulas. Get a free printed copy by calling 800-346-9140 (toll-free).
Other Publications and Web sites
Extending Electric Motor Life. Hansen, Hugh J. and Walt L. Trimmer. PNW 292. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. 4 p.
Available from Oregon State University Extension Service. Cost $0.25.
Order from 541-737-2513, 800-561-6719, or [email protected]
Irrigation Water Pumps. 1993. By Thomas F. Scherer. Publication AE1057. North Dakota State University Extension Service, Fargo, ND. 12 p.
Covers basic operating characteristics of centrifugal, deep well turbine, submersible, and propeller pumps, as well as pump power requirements and selection criteria.
Maintaining Electric Motors Used for Irrigation. [PDF/304K]
2000. By Richard F. Beard and Robert W. Hill. Utah State University Extension Service, Logan, UT. 5 p.
Describes factors that affect electric motor performance and service life and describes procedures for controlling internal motor heat.
Irrigation Engineering Publications
Dozens of publications on irrigation management and hardware.
Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno.
A "multi-function, educational resource for irrigation water management." Includes an energy use/cost calculator, guidelines for estimating fuel requirements, options for reducing energy use and costs, and discussions
of various other energy-related topics.
Maintaining Irrigation Pumps, Motors, and Engines
By Mike Morris and Vicki Lynne
Paul Driscoll, Editor
Sherry Vogel, HTML Production
This page was last updated on: August 28, 2014 | <urn:uuid:bc159f94-f959-483f-afed-9a8c766ab934> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/viewhtml.php?id=112 | 2016-07-30T16:55:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00270-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.890857 | 7,645 |
|Publication number||US7206844 B2|
|Application number||US 10/875,905|
|Publication date||Apr 17, 2007|
|Filing date||Jun 24, 2004|
|Priority date||Jun 29, 1998|
|Also published as||US6446109, US6868448, US20010039565, US20050021759|
|Publication number||10875905, 875905, US 7206844 B2, US 7206844B2, US-B2-7206844, US7206844 B2, US7206844B2|
|Inventors||Abhay K. Gupta, Alejandro Abdelnur|
|Original Assignee||Sun Microsystems, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (28), Non-Patent Citations (12), Referenced by (15), Classifications (22), Legal Events (6)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/267,794, filed Mar. 12, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,448, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/106,868, filed Jun. 29, 1998 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,109.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computing systems, and more particularly to the architecture and environment for computing and applications executing therein.
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, SPARC, Java, JavaBeans and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
2. Background Art
Computers are used to send and receive data using a transport mechanism or communications network. The Internet is one example of a transport mechanism and other examples include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Using a network, a software application (a sender) that resides on one computer system can exchange information (e.g., corporate data or executable code) with a software application (a receiver) that resides on a remote computer system, for example. The exchange of information between computers typically occurs between a “server application” that provides information or services, and a “client application” that receives the provided information and services.
A problem with existing server applications is that they must be pre-configured to include the information that they are to provide to a client application (they cannot be configured dynamically). Additionally, files that are needed, to execute an application are transferred one at a time as they are needed thereby delaying the execution time for various applications. Thus, instead of having all files that are utilized by an application transferred prior to execution (thereby expediting the actual execution), each file is transferred as it is needed. Further, when information or an application is updated, the updates have to be manually retrieved and installed. Additionally, disk space on a server must be managed by a user to relieve disk space for further use. Issues such as transmission efficiency and security are raised when information is exchanged between computers. Transmission inefficiencies are especially apparent where information is communicated over a long distance and/or lower speed or bandwidth lines. Further, where a transmission is being received by a computer system, security measures are typically used to ensure that the transmitted information (e.g., program code) does not corrupt the computer system. Unfortunately, security measures can restrict access to the computer system's resources which can hinder an application's efficiency and usability.
As will be discussed below, computing environments that use an application architecture initially developed for use with the Internet can be significantly affected by the type of medium used to form the Internet connection. The type of connection that a user has to the Internet can impact the speed at which information is transmitted.
The application architecture that is typically used in the Internet environment is referred to as a three-tier application architecture, or three-tier architecture. The three-tier architecture was originally designed to allow a client to have access to data and applications. In this architecture, a client communicates requests to a server for data, software and services, for example. The three-tier architecture includes a database tier that includes a database server, an application tier that includes an application server and application logic (i.e., software application programs, functions, etc.), and a client tier. The application server responds to application requests (e.g., a request for a software applet, etc.) received from the client. The application server forwards data requests to the database server.
The number of tiers that are required for an application may vary. For example, a calculator application might only involve the client tier. That is, if the calculator application software and data are resident on the client, there is no need to access the application or database tiers. An application that makes use of persistent storage such as a word processing application and the documents created therein may involve both the client and the application tiers. An enterprise's application (e.g., an accounting or personnel) application may involve all three tiers as data that is used by the application may be stored in a database.
Application server 110 is pre-configured to include those applications that are needed by its clients. In an effort to keep the size of the client minimal or “thin,” applets that are executed in client tier 102 generally do not include any significant application logic. Application server 10 is pre-configured to include the application logic that is not included in client tier 102. The majority of an application's functionality is performed by the application logic that resides on and is managed by application server 1 10 in application tier 116. Database tier 118 contains the data that is accessed by the application logic in application tier 116. Database server 112 manages the data, its structure and the operations that can be performed on the data and/or its structure.
Application server 110 and database server 112 reside in production data center 108. Application server 110 can be pre-configured with applications such as a corporation's accounting, personnel and payroll applications, for example. Application server 110 manages requests directed to the applications that are stored on application server 110. Database server 112 manages the database(s) that manage data for applications. Database server 112 responds to request to access the accounting, personnel and payroll applications' data, for example.
Connection 104 is used to transfer code, data, and graphical user interface layer to client tier 102 and to transmit enterprise data between client tier 102 and production data center 108. The client tier can communicate with the application tier using various protocols including HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), HTTPS (Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), Socket, CORBA, or an RMI (a Remote Method Invocation) application programming interface (API) available from Sun Microsystems. The RMI API provides the ability to invoke methods, or software modules, that reside on another computer system. Parameters are packaged (or marshalled) and unpackaged (or unmarshalled) for transmittal to and from the client tier. Connection 114 represents the transmission of requests for data and the responses to such requests from applications that reside in application server 11O.
In a typical computing environment, production data center 108 is located at a centralized site. In this way, applications can be centrally managed such that updates can be made and a standardized application base can be provided to users. However, an application's users can be spread across a wide geographical area. Thus, client tier 102 is not necessarily located at the same site or proximately connected to application server 110 (e.g., via a local area network, or LAN). Information may be transmitted, for example, via a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet that involve remote transmissions (e.g., overseas) and lower bandwidth communication technologies (e.g., modem) which can result in unacceptable transmission times. Transmission times are of concern since both data and application code may be transmitted between client tier 102 and application server 110 in the three-tier architecture.
The three-tier architecture can be used with various types of networks (e.g., Internet and intranet). Typically, client tier 102 communicates with production data center 108 via browser 106 which issues a request of application server 110. The client can request a resource that is identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) designation. For example, the URL can identify a page definition (e.g., an HTML document) that browser 106 uses to generate a display, or the URL can identify page definition with an embedded applet (i.e., executable program code) that-is run inside browser 106).
The information that is represented by a URL is downloaded to client tier 102. Thus, if a corporate application requires multiple downloads (e.g., multiple page definitions and/or applets) to run within client tier 102, the downloading process is inefficient when application server 110 is remote and/or slower transmission rates are used. Web applications (where the client is using a browser as the application container), often do not store code, nor data in the disk on client tier 102. All information is retrieved from the application server 110 every time. Further, when information may be stored within client tier 102 (for example when a client is the tuner Castanet product available from Marimba discussed below), the information downloaded to client tier 102 may occupy a significant amount of client tier 102's disk space. To free up memory and disk space on client tier 102, a user has to manually delete unused applications.
One type of application that can be used for distributing, updating, and managing business applications and accompanying information on the client is the Castanet product available from Marimba. The Castanet product consists of a tuner (client software that resides on the desktop or computing device) and transmitter (server software). A tuner can receive, install, and launch applications automatically without intervention. When a network connection is available, the tuner looks for updates to the installed applications and selectively downloads only the information that has changed. The transmitter distributes and updates applications over a network. Information and applications distributed and managed by the Castanet product through the transmitters and receivers are referred to as channels. Thus, the Castanet product may be utilized to distribute and, manage channels. However, the tuner for the Castanet product is required in order to receive the transferred information.
Security measures adopted for use with the application architecture limit the applications that have been developed according to this architecture. For example, an application's efficiency and/or usability can be impacted as a result of security measures. Further, there are issues of security concerning the transmission of information. From the perspective of client tier 102, for example, it is necessary to ensure that the information that is being received is “trusted.” That is, it is important to ensure that client tier 102 is not corrupted by unauthorized software executing in client tier 102. ^Further, it is important to ensure that a client that attempts to access production data center 108 can be trusted with the corporation's data and applications.
Optimally, client tier 102 executes only those applets that have been received from a known and trusted source (e.g., production data center 108). A level of trust can be achieved between a client tier 102 and production data center 108 such that data and applets can be transmitted freely between client tier 102 and production data center 108. However, this paradigm is limiting and does not always occur in practice. Browser 106 may request an applet from a source other than production data center 108, for example. If an applet is allowed to execute unchecked in client tier 102, it introduces the potential for serious breaches of security and/or malicious access to the data and resources.
Security models or approaches have been adopted to limit the damage that may be caused by a breach of security and maliciousness. One such security approach, referred to as the sandbox security model, limits the access given to applets from an “untrusted” (i.e., unknown) source to only its namespace (e.g., operating system-assigned boundaries of a program such as the addressable memory). For example, normally, applets run within a browser's sandbox model, due to which the applets are not allowed to access any local resources like file systems and printers. The only way to access file systems and printers is from the application server which is normally in a remote location. Such a solution is not efficient and may not provide access to resources close to a client. Under the sandbox model, one solution to this problem is to use signed applets that make the applets trusted, thereby allowing the applets to use the local resources. Further, when applets are downloaded from an application server, the applets can only communicate with the application server. Thus, it is not possible to share services by applets downloaded from different application servers.
An “untrusted” applet or software program is allowed to access only memory or other computer resources that are in its namespace. By limiting an “untrusted” applet to its own namespace, the applet can be prohibited from modifying areas of memory assigned to other applets or applications, for example.
Further, an applet may be prohibited from establishing a connection to (and/or downloading code from) a server (e.g., file or printer servers) other than the one from which it was retrieved. Client tier 102 may be forced to access another server via application server 110. To make a request of a, file server, for example, client tier 102 sends the request to application server 110 which forwards the request to the file server. This is inefficient particularly when the file server adjacent to client tier 102.
Further, in the sandbox approach, printing is accomplished by displaying material to be printed in browser 106 and relying on the user to print the material using the print functionality available in browser 106.
The sandbox approach has clear disadvantages. An applet that is confined to its namespace cannot access information that is stored in a local file system. Further, confined applets cannot pool or share resources such as memory.
Another security approach uses signatures or other forms of certification to certify that an applet is from a known source. An “untrusted” applet can become a “trusted” applet, if its digital signature can be verified by, for example, client tier 102. Verification can be accomplished with digital signatures using a public key/private key encryption technique. The recipient of the information (e.g., client tier 102) uses the digital signature and a public key (a key generated from the private key and distributed to the public) to verify the digital signature thereby verifying the information.
Signed applet support is not provided by all clients. To support digitally signed applets, it is necessary for client tier 102 to include the ability to verify the signature. Many currently available browsers do not have such a capability.
In addition to the efficiency, memory, and security issues, in the three-tier model each application must log in to application server 110 separately. There is no ability to store user information (e.g., profile information) in client tier 102 or elsewhere so that it can be used for subsequent applications.
One or more embodiments of the invention comprise a computing environment that offers a level of decentralization wherein application code resident on a remote application server can be distributed to a local server, or local application server, that services a client. A local application server can be dynamically configured to serve its clients based on requests for application code and/or services. Further, if application code that is downloaded to a client from the local application server cannot be trusted, access to the local application server's resources may not be given to the downloaded application code. Efficiencies can be achieved for the transmission of information.
Using embodiments of the invention, it is not necessary to pre-configure the local application server to satisfy a request of the server. The local application server can be configured dynamically (e.g., as needed) in response to requests. For example, there is no need to install application code or services on the local application server in anticipation of a request. If the local application server is not configured to handle a request, the local application server dynamically configures itself to satisfy the request.
A request for information, such as application code (e.g., an applet) by a client, can be serviced by the local application server with its existing configuration or a new configuration. Further, by using the local server, it is possible to access local resources in an efficient way from the local server without using signed applets (which requires a costly infrastructure and certificates management). Thus, all of the applets are downloaded from the local server regardless of the application server. Proxies are installed in the local server and communicate with the application servers. Therefore, it is possible for applets to share services in the network using the proxies downloaded in the local server. Further, because the user downloads all of the applets from the local server, the application server locations and URLs are transparent to the user, and from the user perspective, all applications are local. Consequently, from the applet perspective, all services are available on the local server, and the resource locator/handler (discussed below) running in the local server downloads the proxies for the actual services and makes the locations transparent for the applet. In addition, since the applet is obtaining all services from the local server, a signed applet infrastructure is not required.
One or more embodiments provide for a request handler to manage a client's requests and ensure that needed files and applications are installed. If the local application server's configuration includes the requested application code, the local application server satisfies the request using its existing configuration. If the local application server's configuration does not include the requested application code, the local application server (through the request handler) attempts to locate the requested application code (e.g., from another application server). When the requested application code is located, it is transferred to the local application server. The local application server retains a copy of the application code and forwards a copy to the client. Thus, if a subsequent request is made for the application code, it can be satisfied by the local application server (without accessing another application server).
Further, a complete set of the files needed to run an application are downloaded and installed rather than one file at a time as needed for a particular application.
The local application server can further be dynamically configured with services that can satisfy a client request. When a service request is received from the client, the local application server attempts to satisfy the request using a service that resides on the local application server. If the requested service is resident on the local application server, the local application server forwards the request to the service. There is no need to reconfigure the local application server.
If a request is for a service for which the local application server is not already configured, the local application server (through the request handler) determines whether the service resides elsewhere (e.g., on another server). If the local application server finds the service, it determines whether the service can be acquired from its current location. If so, the service is copied to the local application server and is used to satisfy the client's request.
Where the requested service cannot be transferred to the local application server, the local application server establishes a proxy for the service. The proxy resides on the local application server and forwards the client request to the service that resides on the other application server. If a response is generated by the service, the response is sent to the proxy on the local application server and forwarded to the client. Thus, where a proxy is used, the client need not be aware of the service's actual location. The client is unaware that the requested service does not reside on the local application server.
In embodiments of the invention, the local application server includes a resource locator (also referred to as a request handler), a download service and one or more local services. The resource locator is used by the local application server to locate application code and services (respectively) when a request is made that cannot be satisfied using the local application server's current configuration. Services that are downloaded to the local application server can be used by the local application server to satisfy a request.
The local application server can be configured with proxy services as needed. A proxy service acts a proxy for a service that resides elsewhere (e.g., on another server). A proxy service is used when, for example, a service cannot be transferred to the local application server. A service request is forwarded by the proxy service to the service. The service sends a response, if any, to the proxy service for forwarding to the requester.
The local application server can be configured with application software as needed. When, for example, a client requests application code, the local application server can obtain the application code, if it does not already have the requested application code. Application code that is acquired by the local application server is retained and can be used to satisfy a subsequent request for the application code, if any.
The local application server can be configured to include local services such as print, file, login or profile services that can be shared by multiple applications. Where the local application is configured to include local services, a client request for a local service is forwarded by the local application server to the local service.
One such local service allows a client to log in to the local application server. During a login process, the client establishes its identity which is stored on the local application server and can be used for multiple applications and information requests. The local server generates a credential for the client that can be used to authorize access to any application server and/or service requested by the client.
In embodiments of the invention, applications and information that has been updated at a remote server are automatically updated on the local application server. Further, disk space and memory are managed automatically such that unused applications are removed from the local application server.
An enterprise computing environment is described. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
Embodiment of Computer Execution Enviroment (Hardware)
An embodiment of the invention can be implemented as computer software in the form of computer readable program code executed on a general purpose computer such as computer 200 illustrated in
Computer 200 includes a video memory 214, main memory 215 and mass storage 212, all coupled to system bus 218 along with keyboard 210, mouse 211 and processor 213. The mass storage 212 may include both fixed and removable media, such as magnetic, optical or magnetic optical storage systems or any other available mass storage technology. Bus 218 may contain, for example, thirty-two address lines for addressing video memory 214 or main memory 215. The system bus 218 also includes, for example, a 64-bit data bus for transferring data between and among the components, such as processor 213, main memory 215, video memory 214 and mass storage 212.
Alternatively, multiplex data/address lines may be used instead of separate data and address lines. In one embodiment of the invention, the processor 213 is a microprocessor manufactured by Sun Microsystems, Inc., such as a SPARC microprocessor, or a microprocessor manufactured by Motorola, such as the 680x0 processor, or a microprocessor manufactured by Intel, such as the 80x86, or Pentium processor. However, any other suitable microprocessor or microcomputer may be utilized. Main memory 215 is comprised of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Video memory 214 is a dual-ported video random access memory. One port of the video memory 214 is coupled to video amplifier 216. The video amplifier 216 is used to drive the cathode ray tube (CRT) raster monitor 217. Video amplifier 216 is well known in the art and may be implemented by any suitable apparatus. This circuitry converts pixel data stored in video memory 214 to a raster signal suitable for use by monitor 217. Monitor 217 is a type of monitor suitable for displaying graphic images.
Computer 200 may also include a communication interface 220 coupled to bus 218. Communication interface 220 provides a two-way data communication coupling via a network link 221 to a local network 222. For example, if communication interface 220 is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem, communication interface 220 provides a data communication connection to the corresponding type of telephone line, which comprises part of network link 221. If communication interface 220 is a local area network (LAN) card, communication interface 220 provides a data communication connection via network link 221 to a compatible LAN.
Wireless links are also possible. In any such implementation, communication interface 220 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals which carry digital data streams representing various types of information.
Network link 221 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 221 may provide a connection through local network 222 to host computer 223 or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 224. ISP 224 in turn provides data communication services through the world wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet” 225. Local network 222 and Internet 225 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals which carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 221 and through communication interface 220, which carry the digital data to and from computer 200, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.
Computer 200 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 221, and communication interface 220. In the Internet example, server 226 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 225, ISP 224, local network 222 and communication interface 220. In accord with the invention, one such downloaded application is the application computing environment described herein.
The received code may be executed by processor 213 as it is received, and/or stored in mass storage 212, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, computer 200 may obtain application code by way of a carrier wave.
Application code may be embodied in any form of computer program product. A computer program product comprises a medium configured to store or transport computer readable code, or in which computer readable code may be embedded. Some examples of computer program products are CD-ROM disks, ROM cards, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, computer hard drives, servers on a network, and carrier waves.
The computer system described above is for purposes of example only. An embodiment of the invention may be implemented in any type of computer system or programming or processing environment.
One or more embodiments of the invention comprise a computing environment that offers a level of decentralization wherein information needed by a client can be cached at local application servers referred to as webtop servers. A webtop server can be, for example, an instance of computer 200. Webtop servers also provide access to local and remote network services. Thus, a client accesses a webtop server instead of a remote server such as, for example, application server 110 that resides in production data center 108 of
In one or more embodiments of the invention, a webtop server is included in a four-tier application architecture (or four-tier architecture) as illustrated in-
Application server 310 resides in application server tier 316. Application server 310 manages requests for application logic and is responsible for database transaction handling with database server 312 that is in database tier 318. Database server 112 is responsible for storing application data in a persistent store such as a relational database (RDB) or an object-oriented database (OODB), for example. Database server 112 responds to a request to access accounting, personnel and payroll applications' data, for example. In an embodiment of the invention, application server 310 and database server 312 are instances of computer 200.
Application server 310 and database server 312 can be resident in a production data center that is remote to a client in client tier 302. A client in client tier 302 communicates its requests to webtop server 308 in webtop server tier 320. Webtop server 308 can support multiple clients. Webtop server 308-caches applets and/or static data that are needed by a client. Further, webtop server 308 manages services which provide access to network resources need by a client (e.g., file system and printer resources).
In an embodiment of the invention, communication link 322 between a client in client tier 302 and webtop server 308 uses both the Hypertext, Transmission Protocol (HTTP) and Remote Method Invocation (RMI). Similarly, communication link 324 between webtop server 308 and application server 310 uses both HTTP and RMI. In one or more embodiments of the invention, communication link 324 between webtop server 308 and application server 310 uses the Castanet product to transmit information (channels) from webtop server 308 to application server 310 and vice versa. Alternatively, instead of the Castanet product, an HTTP Distribution and Replication Protocol (DRP protocol) may be utilized. Using DRP, a client can download only the data (or application) that has changed since the last time the client checked (i.e., only the differences are downloaded). The DRP protocol uses content identifiers to automatically share resources that are requested more than once (thereby eliminating redundant transfers of commonly used resources). Additionally, the DRP protocol uses a data structure called an index that describes meta data (e.g., the exact state of a set of data files). The DRP protocol is more fully described in the document entitled “The HTTP Distribution and Replication Protocol” (1997) available at “http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-drp”. It should be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that other communication techniques and/or protocols can be used for communication links 322 and 324.
In one embodiment of the invention, communication link 322 between application server 310 and database server 312 uses a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) Application Program Interface (API) that is available, from Sun Microsystems, Inc. It should be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that other database interfaces can be used for communication link 326.
Webtop server 308 caches data and applets for use by a client. Initially, webtop server 308 is empty without any information maintained. When a client accesses an application for the first time, webtop server 308 retrieves and stores the program software from application server 310. Subsequent requests for the application software can be satisfied using the program software stored in webtop server 308. Where the program software is written as Java applets, webtop server 308 becomes the applet-host once the applets are transferred from application server 310. Thus, when the applet is executed on the client, the applet can communicate back to webtop server 308 as the host of that applet thereby satisfying the sandbox security paradigm.
Other program software that can be transmitted to webtop server 308 includes servlets. A servlet is a software program that is written in, the Java programming language (or any other programming language) and runs on a server. A servlet can be invoked by a client via a name or a URL, for example. Servlets can be used to write application services that comprise application server tier 316, for example. An applet running on a client requests the handle for a servlet (e.g., a URL) from webtop server 308. If the servlet does not already reside at webtop server 308, webtop server 308 can obtain the servlet from application server 310 and send the service's handle to the client.
When a request is received by a servlet, the servlet can either satisfy the request locally or forward the request (or some portion of it) to another service. For example, file system and printing requests can be handled by services that reside on webtop server 308.
Clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C reside at sites 406,416 and 426 (respectively). Using embodiments of the invention, it is unnecessary for sites 406,416 and 426 and their clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C to be proximately located with reference to production data center 402. Webtop servers 408,418 and 428 reside at sites 406,416 and 426 (respectively) and are dynamically configured to handles requests such as those received from clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C. Application software and services requested by clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C can reside on webtop servers 408, 418 and 428 respectively.
Webtop server 408 can reside in the same building or campus as clients 410A–410C, for example. Similarly, webtop servers 418 and 428 can be proximately located to clients 420A–420C and 430A–430C, respectively. Clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C interact with webtop servers 408,418 and 428, respectively.
When a client requests application software or a service that is not resident on the webtop server, the webtop server can obtain the request software or service from the production data center 402. When a client requests software that has already been cached on the webtop server, the software can be downloaded to the client without interfacing with production data center 402. A service that is resident on a webtop server can be used to satisfy a client's request for that service. Thus, the need to access application servers 404A–404C in production data center 402 is minimized. This is advantageous particularly when an inefficient mode of communication would otherwise need to be used between production data center 402 and clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C.
Application servers 404A–404C forward requests for stored data (e.g., stored in a database) to database servers 414A–414C. A response received from one of database servers 414A–414C is forwarded by one of application servers 404A–404C. Thus, for example, a request for data initiated by client 410A residing at site 406 is forwarded to webtop server 408. Webtop server 408 forwards the request to one of the application servers at production center 402 (e.g., application server 404A). Application server 404A forwards the request to the appropriate database server (e.g., database server 414A). Database server 414A processes the request and responds with the requested data (or an error), for example. The response is forwarded to client 410A via application server 404A and webtop server 408.
Thus, when transactions (e.g., an HTML form is submitted with search criteria) are requested by clients 410A–410C, 420A–420C and 430A–430C, the transactions are not processed by webtop servers 408, 418 and 428 respectively. Instead the transaction requests are forwarded to application servers 404A, 404B, and 404C respectively. When the requested information has been located, the information is then transmitted back to clients 410A–430C for display.
Webtop server 308 includes a service locator, cached applets and servlets, and local services. Examples of local services include file system, print, login and profile services which will be discussed in more detail below.
Login and Profile Services
In one or more embodiments of the invention, a login service (e.g., login service 514C) runs on webtop server 308 to log in a client and verify the client's login information (e.g., login identification and password). Login service 514C can further create a cookie to track the client session. A cookie is, for example, an item or items of information that is stored on the client and accessed by software that is running on the client (e.g., a browser). A cookie is typically stored as a text file, however, it can be retained using other storage mechanisms.
In one or more embodiments of the invention, login service 514C maintains, on webtop server 308, the client's profile that contains information about the client. Profile service 514D examines the profile to obtain information about the client. For example, profile service 514D can examine a/client's profile to determine whether the client is able to connect to other systems on the network from an applet which is downloaded from webtop server 308. This occurs when, for example, the client trusts webtop server 308 as a trusted server. A client's profile can further include, for example, an identification of the protocols (e.g., RMI) supported by the client.
Profile service 514D can examine a client's profile information to identify and create a start page (e.g., an initial page that displays in client tier 102) once the client has successfully logged in. The initial screen is transmitted to client tier 302 for display by browser 306 in client tier 302.
In an embodiment of the invention, login service 514C is used to generate a credential that can be used on behalf of the client to verify the client to an application or network service. When the client wishes to access an application or network service, the credential is sent to the application or network server. The application or network server trusts the credential generated by login service 514C after verifying the signatures of login service 514C. The credential can be used to enable a client to enter a single login for all of the applications and/or network services that it accesses.
Login service 514C generates a credential certificate upon request of the client. It is not necessary for the credential certificate to contain the client's password. The credential certificate is sent by the applet to the network service or application. The network service or application verifies the signature(s) generated by login service 514C using the credential certificate.
Application locator 502 is used in one or more embodiments of the invention to locate application program software (e.g., applets). Application program software may be written in any programming language including but not limited to the Java programming language, HTML, and the Java scripting language. Application software that is not already cached on webtop server 308 is stored on an application server (e.g., application server 310) that is typically located in a central production center. Application locator 502 consults a directory to locate the application server that contains the requested application software. Once the applet is located, download service 504 acquires the application software for storage on webtop server 308.
The application software that is stored on webtop server 308 can be downloaded to client tier 302 from webtop server 308. Webtop server 308 becomes the host server for the application software that is downloaded to client tier 302. Thus, under the sandbox security model, the application software executing on the client can send requests to webtop server 308.
Application locator 502 can further verify that the application software that is cached on webtop server 308 is the current version of the software.
The directory information that application locator 502 can contain versioning information that application locator 502 can examine to determine whether the cached version of the software is the most recent version of the application software. If a more recent version exists, download service 504 can access application server 310 to obtain the current version of the application software. Because webtop server 308 maintains the most recent version of the application software, the client receives the current version of the application software.
A broadcast message technique can be used as an alternative to webtop server 308 examining the directory to determine whether it has the most recent version of application software. For example, when an applet is changed, a broadcast message can be sent across the network. The broadcast message can be sent out to all instances of webtop server 308 or only those instances that have registered to receive such a message. When a broadcast message is received by webtop server 308, it can respond by obtaining the new version. Download service 504 can respond by acquiring the changed application software from the application server on which the newer version resides for storage on webtop server 308, for example.
Thus, application server 310 can notify webtop server 308 when a change occurs in application code. Alternatively, webtop server 308 can contact application server 310 to determine whether the application code has been updated. Application server 310 can keep track of all changes to application software. When contacted by webtop server 308, application server 310 examines its set of changes and respond to webtop server 308. If application server 310 indicates that application code has changed, webtop server 308 can request an updated copy of the application code.
To request application software, the client need only reference application locator 502 on webtop server 308 and identify the requested application software by name, for example. There is no need for the client to remember a URL for the requested application software. Application locator 502 accesses the directory to translate the name provided by the client into a identifier (e.g., a URL) for the application software.
Application software that is running on a client can request a service (e.g., file system or print services). When a service request is received by webtop server 308, service locator 506 is used in one or more embodiments of the invention to locate a local or network service to satisfy the request. It is not necessary for the application software to be aware of the location of the network or local service. Thus, a network or local service can be moved without impacting the applet code.
To illustrate, an applet (or other application software) running in client tier 302 submits a request for a service via communication link 322. The request is received by service locator 506 which proceeds to find the requested service.
If the service can be transferred to webtop server 308, download service 504 acquires the service from the server on which it resides. If not, service locator 506 acquires a proxy on webtop server 308 that acts as a conduit for transmissions between the client and the requested service.
In one or more embodiments of the invention, services are written in the Java programming language (or any other programming language) and are referred to as servlets. Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Webserver™, as well as other servers, support the use of server-side programs (servlets) that may be written in the Java programming language (or other programming language). A Java Servlet API is available from Sun Microsystems, Inc. that includes abstract classes that can be subclassed to create a servlet.
Where it is possible for an application software's request to be satisfied by more than one service, service locator 506 can choose based on each, service's respective loads. Thus, service locator 506 can perform load balancing across the services. A discussion of load balancing is provided below.
As an alternative to Application Locator 502 and Service Locator 506,
Processing by resource handler 924 commences upon receiving a client request 900 from a client using a standard internet browser such as Navigator available from Netscape or Internet Explorer available from Microsoft. Resource handler 924 checks to determine if the request is an application or transaction request (e.g., if the URL (Uniform Resource Locator—the language used to specify the information to be transmitted via the internet) starts with “http://<HOST>/app/” or is an HTML form). If the request 900 is not an application or transaction request, resource handler 924 passes the request 918 to the webtop server 932 for processing as described above. Webtop server 932 processes the request and transmits the response 920 back to request handler 924 where it is forwarded 922 to the client via HTTP for example. If the request 900 is an application request, request handler 924 determines if the request is locally available. If the request is locally available, request handler 924 forwards the request 918 to webtop server 932 for processing.
If the application is not locally available, request handler 924 checks 904 with an information base such as directory service 926 (or a database or other repository of information) to determine if the application exists and its location (e.g., with the Castanet technology, request handler 924 checks with the directory service to determine if the application channel exists). Directory service 926 provides the results 902 to request handler 924. If the requested information does not exist or is not listed with directory service 926, an ERROR message may be provided to the client via path 922. Once the location of the requested application is provided by directory service 926, request handler 924 requests 906 the WebDist 928 module to obtain the application. WebDist module 928 may contain the Castanet tuner (or a device configured in the DRP protocol) to receive the relevant information from a Castanet transmitter 930 (or DRP transmitter) located on an application server, for example. Consequently, the WebDist module 928 may request the information 908 from Castanet (or DRP) Transmitter 930 which then provides the information 910 back to the Castanet (or DRP) Tuner located within the WebDist module 928.
Once retrieved, the WebDist module 928 may store the relevant information 912 in the HTML directory structure 938 of webtop server 932. WebDist module 928 may then notify the request handler 924 that the application is ready for retrieval and transmission to the client. The notification may be synchronous or asynchronous. If asynchronous, the user will be notified the application is being obtained and a re-request may be performed automatically in a few seconds.
When information is transmitted to WebDist 928, a properties file is also provided. The properties file specifies all additional information and dependencies that are needed for the application to run. For example, one application may need another application to properly run. This properties file is provided via path 914 to request handler 924 for processing. Request handler 924 examines the properties file and if additional resources (e.g., files, information, or applications) are needed, request handler 924 requests WebDist 928 to retrieve the appropriate resource. The properties file consists of the name of the channel or application being provided, the owner of the channel/application, and any dependencies (e.g., other channels needed to use the current channel and information regarding how to retrieve the needed channel.
Once the necessary information is installed in the HTML tree (also referred to as HTML directory structure) 938, request handler 924 provides the information necessary to load the necessary servlets 940 to webtop server 932. Webtop server 932 then installs the necessary servlets 940 using the invoker servlet 93& For example, a servlet located in a JAR file may need to be started up in order to process the HTTP request or run the CGI script requested by the client. In this manner, the servlets are loaded dynamically within the webtop server or proxy when they are needed.
Disk space on a webtop server may be limited. Since the request , handler 924 is responsible for maintaining and updating the necessary files, request handler 924 may request WebDist to remove specific files that are no longer used or needed by webtop server 932. Alternatively, WebDist 928 may determine that additional space is necessary and ask request handler 924 which files and resources it can remove.
If the resource exists, kernel 1032 adds the resource to the resource table 1034 and the-resource is prepared 1014 by requesting the WebDist module 1020 to make the resource locally available 1018. If the resource is prepared and locally available 1020, kernel 1032 requests the webtop server 932 to load the necessary servlets 1022. Processing continues as described above. Alternatively, the resource may not be immediately loaded or available (e.g., it is being used by another application or is being retrieved from an application server), and will be placed on waiting list 1040. Once the resource is loaded and available, notification of the resource's availability may be sent to the client. The notification may be synchronous or asynchronous. Further, the resource may remain on the waiting list in a “preparing” state until all of the resource's dependencies are retrieved, loaded, and available.
By utilizing the request handler in this manner, the webtop server is the real application server from the perspective of the client.
Service locator 506 and application locator 502 (and request handler 924) locate a service (or services) and application code (respectively) when webtop server 308's current configuration cannot satisfy a request. In one or more embodiments of the invention, a directory service (also referred to as an information base, a database, or repository of information) can be accessed, for example, to locate a service or an application's program code.
A directory service can be centrally located or distributed at various geographical areas. A distributed directory service can comprise entries for all geographical areas, or those for a particular area. A replication mechanism can be used to replicate entries to each of the distributed directory services such that each directory service comprises all entries, for example.
A directory service receives and processes locator requests. A directory service maintains a store of information that contains an entry for each service or application code that is registered with the directory service. This store is referred to herein as a directory. When a new service or application is installed, an entry is added to the directory by the directory service. The new service or application may also be added to the resource table 1034. Entries can also be deleted from the directory or resource table when, for example, a service or application is no longer available.
With respect to a service, a directory entry associates a service name with the location of the service. Similarly, a directory entry can identify an application's program code by its name. The location can be expressed in terms of a URL in one or more embodiments of the invention. Service locator 506 or application locator 502 queries the directory service using the name of the service or application (respectively). The directory service queries the directory for a service or application code with that name. The directory service returns the location of the service(s) or application code, or an error, if the directory does not contain an entry with the name.
In some cases, a service cannot be transferred to webtop server 308. In this case, webtop server 308 can transfer a proxy for the service. A service may, for example, process secure information and must therefore be executed in a secure environment such as application server 310. The service's proxy forwards the client's request to the service that is running on application server 310.
If a proxy is copied to webtop server 308 instead of the service, webtop server 308 creates a handle for the proxy. The proxy's handle is forwarded to the client. The client is unaware that the handle is to a proxy and not the actual service. The client submits a request to the service via the service's proxy using the proxy's handle. When the request is received by webtop server 208, it is given to the service's proxy. The service's proxy forwards the request to the service.
If the service generates a response to the request that is to be transmitted back to the client via the proxy. The service sends the response to the proxy on webtop server 308. The proxy forwards the response to the client.
A credential certificate generated by login service 514C can be sent to a network service (e.g., services 608A–608B). The network service trusts the credentials supplied by login service 514C after it verifies the signatures of login service 514C. The client need only enter a single login (i.e., with login service 514C) to access multiple applications and network services.
Services that are resident on webtop server 308 are local services. For example, local services are those services that permanently reside on webtop server 308, or are copied to webtop server 308 in response to a request by the client. Referring to
A client forwards a request for a handle to a service to webtop server 308. If the service is local to webtop server 308, the handle is forwarded by webtop server 308 to client. The client can access the service using the handle. Responses generated by a local service are forwarded by webtop server 308 to the client.
Service locator 506 and proxy services 510 can perform load balancing according to an embodiment of the invention. Where service locator 506 is aware of more than one service that is capable of satisfying a service request, service locator 506 can balance the processing load between the services. For example, service locator 506 can select a service based on which of the services received the last request. That is, service locator 506 can assign requests to each of services in a sequential, cyclical manner (e.g., a round robin assignment) to balance the load across all of the services that are capable of satisfying the service request.
Similarly, proxy services 510 may be aware of multiple services that can satisfy a request. Proxy services 510 can act as the proxy for multiple services. Therefore, proxy services 510 can distribute service requests to the services for which it acts as a proxy to balance the request processing load. For example, proxy services 510 can assign service requests using a round robin technique.
Using the above services in a local server architecture according to one or more embodiments of the invention provides many advantages. A request for information, such as application code (e.g., an applet) by a client, can be serviced by the local application server with its existing configuration or a new configuration. Further, by using the local server, it is possible to access local resources in an efficient way from the local server without using signed applets (which requires a costly infrastructure and certificates management). Thus, all of the applets are downloaded from the local server regardless of the application server. Proxies are installed in the local server and communicate with the application servers. Therefore, it is possible for applets to share services in the network using the proxies downloaded in the local server. Further, because the user downloads all of the applets from the local server, the application server locations and URLs are transparent to the user, and from the user perspective, all applications are local. Consequently, from the applet perspective, all services are available on the local server, and the resource locator/handler (discussed below) running in the local server downloads the proxies for the actual services and makes the locations transparent for the applet. In addition, since the applet is obtaining all services from the local server, a signed applet infrastructure is not required.
Application software and services can reside on webtop server 308 for local access by a client. If the application software and/or services do not already reside on webtop server 308, they can be downloaded for use by the client.
If the requested software does not reside on webtop server 308, processing continues at step 706 to determine the location of the software. Webtop server 308 consults an information base (e.g., database, directory service or other repository of information) that can reside at a local, regional or centralized site, for example, to determine the location of the requested software. In one embodiment of the invention, the client identifies the requested software by name, for example. It is not necessary for the client to know the exact location of the requested software. However, if the location is known by the client (e.g., in the form of a URL), the client can submit this information to webtop server 308.
Using the location information obtained for the requested software, webtop server 308 sends a request to the application server on which the requested software resides (application server 310). If necessary, webtop server 308 can provide a credential so that the request can be verified by the application server. At step 710, the application software that is transferred from the application server is cached on webtop server 308. Further, any dependencies of the application software are transferred and cached on webtop server 308. At step 712, the requested application software is, forwarded to the client and processing of the software request ends at step 714.
Similarly, the client can request a service (e.g., print or file service). If the service is local to webtop server 308, a handle for the service can be sent to the client. If the service is not local, webtop server 308 attempts to download the service/for use locally by the client. If the service cannot be obtained or there is no gain (e.g., efficiency gain), webtop server 308 obtains a proxy for the service and a proxy handle is sent to the client.
At step 802, a request for a service handle is received from the client. At step 804, webtop server 308 determines whether the service is already local (or resident on webtop server 308). If so, processing continues at step 814 to return a handle for the service to the client and processing of the service request ends at step 816.
If the service is not local to webtop server 308, processing continues at step 806 to determine the location of the requested service. Webtop server 308 consults an information base (e.g., database, directory service, or other repository of information) that resides at a local, regional or centralized site, for example, to determine the location of the requested service.
At step 808, a determination is made whether the service can run locally on webtop server 308. If, for example, the service must run in a secure environment of another server, the service cannot be copied to webtop server 308. Further, if the service must interact with other services that cannot be copied to webtop server, there is little benefit to obtaining a copy of the service. In these cases, webtop server 308 does not download the service, but requests a proxy for the service at step 810. If webtop server 308 determines that the service is transferable, it requests a copy of the service at step 812.
At step 814, a handle to the service of the service's proxy is sent to the client. Processing of the service request ends at step 816.
In one or more embodiments of the invention, a security model is implemented whereby an applet's status as trusted or untrusted indicates the degree of access to resources given to the applet. An untrusted applet is limited to its own namespace, for example. A trusted applet can have access to resources (e.g., memory) outside of its namespace. Since servlets (like applets) can be copied from trusted servers as well as untrusted servers, a security approach can be used to ensure that servlets cannot cause harm to computer resources.
In one embodiment of the invention, webtop server 308 limits the acquisition of servlets such that servlets are only obtained from trusted servers. A servlet that is obtained from a trusted server is considered to be a trusted servlet and may be given access outside the sandbox (e.g., outside of its own namespace).
In another embodiment of the invention, webtop server 308 allows servlets to be obtained from both trusted and untrusted servers. To verify an untrusted servlet, webtop server 308 can require that a servlet obtained from an untrusted server be signed with a signature of an authorized person. The signature is verified before the servlet is considered to be a trusted servlet. If a servlet is obtained from an untrusted server, it is considered to be untrusted unless it has a signature that has been verified. As with an untrusted applet, an untrusted servlet is limited, in its access, to its own namespace. That is, an untrusted servlet is run inside the sandbox.
Thus, an enterprise computing environment has been provided in conjunction with one or more specific embodiments. The invention is defined by the claims and their full scope of equivalents.
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Cat PDA Vs. Human PDA, And Other Animal Behavior Explained
From feisty kittens to pacing cheetahs, Vint Virga knows animal behavior.
A veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine, Virga has treated many household pets in his clinic. But for the past five years he has been working mostly with leopards, wolves, bears, zebras and other animals living in zoos and wildlife parks. He deals with such issues as appetites, anxiety and obsessive behavior.
"I'm always trying to provide every single animal I come into contact with ... with the opportunity to invent and think and discover on their own," Virga tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.
Virga's book, The Soul of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human, was recently published in paperback. It explains how animals demonstrate mindfulness, forgiveness and adaptability — and what we can learn from them.
Virga talks about how house cats, like lions, are more fulfilled when they forage for food — and how animals express affection differently than we might think.
On making cats forage for food
Probably the most important thing I stress to all my clients is to think about what the cat would do if they were living in nature. They would have to actually hunt for food. While we can't put out lizards and mice to run around in our house, we can portion out the food and make it more challenging and interesting for the cat to actually find.
I take my clients through a program of actually teaching their cats to forage for their food. Yeah, it isn't live, but they've got to go on the hunt or the prowl throughout the house, and the locations in which they're going to find the meal scattered about in the house ... are going to be different every day. And cats find that very stimulating and very interesting — it adds a lot of richness to their lives.
On how cats show affection differently from humans
We need to step out of what we consider are the appropriate behaviors as humans and try to put ourselves in an animal's footsteps. ... Affection is shown by being cuddly and lovey for a lot of us — not necessarily all of us — [so we often think] that our cats would want to be cuddled and loved.
Instead, a lot of cats, if you actually watch their natural behavior when they're in groups, the most affectionate cats might be sitting near each other. They might sit with their tails intertwined, rear to rear, but they're not usually face to face, nose to nose, or snuggled up next to each other.
... That says that cats feel comfort and they express their emotions in ways differently than we do. If that's true, then what behooves us [as] ... their caretakers and human family members, is to learn about what it is that cats think and feel rather than [imposing] what we think and feel upon them.
On reading animal behavior at the zoo
Usually I like to spend a fair amount of time sitting outside an animal's habitat and watching them, without trying to interact with them in any way, so I can understand as much about their behavior as possible — how they relate to other animals in their habitat, what they do in their time.
It's one thing to see a wolf, for example, pacing alongside the edge of their habitat at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon when they're starting to anticipate that their afternoon meal might be coming. It's a very different thing if I see a wolf pacing around after their morning meal, before the zoo visitors have started to enter, because they reflect very different behaviors.
One, we're talking about a wolf that's anticipating something and starting to get a little bit anxious or excited; and the other, we're talking about a wolf that even after his appetite and hunger needs have been met, he's still choosing to pace. That reflects something very different in behavior.
On how zoos have changed to improve the animals' well-being
I think the most important things that zoos have done in the past 10, 20 years, is that they [have] focused primarily on the animal's well-being. And, depending on their feedback and responses, looked at their behavior, looked at their overall happiness and contentment, and used that as the gauge for what to do for the animal.
They've also applied as much [as] science knows about the animals in nature. What that looks like is providing them with a space that's a lot more rich and full than just a place that is an exhibit. So it's really shifting from not a cage, because most zoos don't even have those anymore, but from an exhibit to a habitat. The environment is much richer and more complex rather than flat and uniform, so that we can see them.
[Zoos are] providing [animals with] opportunities to escape from view of the public — and that can be difficult for a zoo. ... Visitors complain to the zoo if they can't see the leopard, the bear or the lion. But on the other hand, if the lion doesn't have any choice of getting away from the public at times, particularly if there [are] crowds or noisy visitors, then we're taking away their sense of control over their environment.
On captive-born zoo animals
It is important to realize ... that most animals in zoos nowadays are captive-born. They are not, by and large, taken from the wild. Usually it's a number of generations that we would have to trace back to any type of direct wild animal.
... It becomes a constant effort by zoos, that is, supervised in a very strict fashion in terms of making sure that these animals are not inbred, to maintain diversity in the population, and yet what we are dealing with [are] ... animals that are to some degree different than their wild cousins.
They lose some of those instincts by ... not having predators and the pressures of the world that they're being exposed to — from habitat loss and pollution and so on. They also are gaining other traits in that they're constantly getting this affiliation or connection to humans. I'm touched by the relationships that I witness every day between keepers and the animals in their care.
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. When Dr. Vint Virga makes his rounds, it's at a zoo. He's a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine. He's treated many pet dogs and cats, but for the past five years he's mostly been working with leopards, wolves, bears, zebras, and other animals living in zoos and wildlife parks. Typical problems he deals with involve food issues, anxiety, and obsessive behavior. Earlier in his career, he practiced veterinary general medicine in emergency rooms and his own clinic. He's the author of the book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human," which was recently published in paperback. Dr. Vint Virga, welcome to FRESH AIR. So can I start by telling you something about the new cat that my husband and I adopted? Because I think...
VINT VIRGA: Please do.
GROSS: I think, like, a lot of people with cats will have this kind of issue. So, you know, we took him home, and it was so exciting to get him out of the shelter. And, he just seemed to be hungry all the time - and we realized that he probably didn't get fed that much, you know at the shelter. It was a great shelter; but nevertheless. But he would just like, meow constantly, wanting food, and you'd feed him and then - he'd meow - he'd want more food. So we've been trying to figure out what's the best way of starting to, like, regulate his diet. Is it, like, a couple of big meals a day, and then you get no more? Or there's also - a lot of people do the - I think it's called, like, free - free feeding - is that what it's called? Where there's, like, a bowl of dry food out all the time and the cat just eats when he or she wants to, and there's a finite amount of food per day, and that's you get.
VIRGA: Yes. Well, and you can imagine free feeding is probably the furthest from natural. A feral cat living on a dairy farm, or out in nature would not have a free choice of eating food whenever he or she wanted to. So what I really encourage clients to do, is to at the very least, divide their meals into a number of portions, and spread those throughout different times a day. If we have a kitty that we're dealing with that likes to get up in the middle of the night and wake the family members up early in the morning, that's particularly important to give them a meal as close to bedtime as possible, because you're giving them an option to eat during the night, and they'll probably be a tiny bit less motivated in the morning. But probably the most important things I stress to all my clients is to think about what the cat would do if they were living in nature. They would have to actually hunt for food, and while we can't put out lizards and mice to run around our house, we can portion out the food and make it more challenging, and interesting for the cat to actually find. So I take my clients through a program of actually teaching their cats to forage for their food. Yeah, it isn't live, but they've got to go out on the hunt or the prowl throughout the house, and the locations in which they're going to find the meals scattered about in the house or portioned out in the house. They're going to be different every day, and that - that - cats find that very stimulating, and very, very interesting. It adds a lot of richness to their lives.
GROSS: So like, where do you suggest hiding the food?
VIRGA: Oh, my goodness, everywhere from closets, to allowing certain shelves on a bookshelf, behind cabinets, behind the television, or entertainment center. Underneath dressers if there's enough crawlspace, inside boxes that they would actually have to either open, or inside balls that they would roll around and the food would actually drop out. Food can be put in something as simple as a - the cardboard tube inside a roll of toilet paper, and then taped up, punched with a few holes, and the cat would actually have to roll the tube around in order to get the food out.
GROSS: I guess if you're not vigilant about cleaning up all those places where you put the food, the cat might soon have real vermin to chase (laughing)?
VIRGA: (Laughing) I guess so. But if you put it in small portions, in five or six different places of the house, most people are - find that the cat is very, very thorough in terms of cleaning up everything. And the food doesn't have to be on a rug, or on the floor. It can be in a saucer, it can be in a cup, it can be in a little bowl, or; as I said before - a ball or a box.
GROSS: Do you recommend this for all cats, or just cats who are having some kind of eating problem?
VIRGA: I really recommended it for all cats. And what it is, is it's really just carrying over what I do with zoo animals over to the family situation. Within the zoo, the keepers are constantly looking for new ways to encourage the animals to invent, and explore, and interact with their environment. And consistently, and reliably, what we find is that those are the animals that live the most fulfilled lives, and seem to be the most emotionally healthy.
GROSS: So how do you make sure you're not reinforcing bad behavior? Like if your dog barks, or whines, and it wants something? Or, your cat meows and it wants something? Part of you wants to give it to them because you love your animal, and you want to make them happy. But then, you don't want to encourage them to be nagging - you know - to be nagging all the time that they want something, and meowing or barking all the time.
VIRGA: Right. So it really becomes a matter of timing. If we reinforce them, if we give them what they want - even if we don't give them what they want, and we give them just our attention - at a time right after they've done a behavior that they're hoping to get something out of, then what we're doing is reinforcing the behavior. And what instead I recommend is that we actually do our best to hold off on our instinct to respond to them, until they stop. If that behavior's really ingrained, it may take a while for them to stop. It may be just for a moment that they finally stop whining, or barking, or meowing. But at that moment, if we take the opportunity then to reinforce them with affection, or attention, or praise, or food, then what we end up doing is giving them a pretty clear message, and they figure it out pretty quickly, that - ah, so now if I'm quiet, or if I'm not demanding, whatever it is I want, that's when I'm actually going to get it.
GROSS: Do you think it's a good idea to, like, feed your animal before they're asking for it so that you're not reinforcing the meowing or the barking?
VIRGA: Yeah. Yeah, that falls in the category of preventing. And prevention is wonderful because what it does is it helps to solve the problem before it's actually happened.
VIRGA: So that's the same thing as, for example, the cat that's active at three in the morning. One of the things you can do is put out food in several different, hidden spots in the house before you go to bed. And that gives them something to do when they wake up in the middle of the night.
GROSS: I want to ask you about children. A lot of people have pets and children. And sometimes the pets and the children get along famously; other times, they don't. And sometimes the children can actually scare the pets. And you write about an example like that where a married couple got two kittens, two sisters. And after that, they had a baby, a daughter. And eventually, one of the cats became a hermit, hid all the time. And you figured out that that had to do with the way the daughter was playing with the cats. Tell us what the problem was.
VIRGA: Well, their daughter was about two years old. And at that age, she was rather rambunctious and energetic. And she had a particular fondness for her kitties. In fact, her kitties were her favorite thing in the whole world. And if she had the - if she had her druthers, she would rather spend time playing with the cats than doing anything else. And the way in which she played was a little bit loud and boisterous and rough. And she hadn't really learned the subtleties and nuances of the signals that her kitties were saying to her - or conveying to her. So one of the cats was very tolerant and accepting of that, but the other cat became very reclusive and hid from her. What was going on was that she was just literally running in every time she saw them and screaming, kitty, kitty, kitty and chasing them throughout the house.
VIRGA: If you or I were a little cat and we had someone chasing after us that way, we might want to hide too.
GROSS: So what did you do to solve the problem?
VIRGA: Well, two things. I helped them to appreciate the nature of the problem. And they didn't quite appreciate how their daughter's love and enthusiasm for the kitties really was bringing about this behavior. So part of it was education. But really, the main two things we did is we gave the cat an opportunity to be with the family without hiding - but be with the family in a safe way. So what we actually gave her was safe, elevated perches that were out of their daughter's reach in the most common places in the household that the family would gather -in the eating area, in the living room and then in the daughter's bedroom. And then, the other thing we did was that we taught the daughter a game that I called Whisper Kitty. And what I actually taught her to do was instead of - taking that incredible enthusiasm she had for her kitties and instead play game of, every time she was excited to see the kitties, she would tiptoe and walk softly and slowly and then whisper to the kitties. And she caught on to this. This, to her, was a marvelous, new game. And the kitties responded dramatically in a very short timeframe.
GROSS: You know, you write in your book, impassioned cuddles and kisses are human, not traits we see in the feline world. So what does that tell us about how to express our love for our cats and what not to do?
VIRGA: I think what it tells us, with respect to our cats as well as every species, is that we need to step out of what we consider are the appropriate behaviors as humans and try to put ourselves in an animal's footsteps or an animal's shoes, so to speak. Instead of thinking that for us, affection is shown by being cuddly and lovey for a lot of us - not necessary all of us - that our cats would want to be cuddled and loved. And instead, a lot of cats, if you actually watch their natural behavior when they're in groups, the most affectionate cats might be sitting near each other. They might sit with their tails intertwined, rear-to-rear. But they're not usually face-to-face, nose-to-nose, or snuggled up next to each other a lot. That says that cats feel comfort and they express emotion, their emotions, in ways differently than we do. And if that's true, then what behooves us as being their caretakers and human family members is to learn about what it is that cats think and feel rather than superimposing what we think and feel upon them.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Dr. Vint Virga. He's a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine. He works with pets as well as zoo animals. And he's the author of the book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human." Let's take a short break here, and then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. If you're just joining us, my guest is Dr. Vint Virga, a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine. In addition to treating cats and dogs, he consults with zoos and wildlife parks on the care and feeding of animals. So you knew when you were young that you wanted to work with animals. You always loved animals, you had cats and dogs as a child - but you're working with zoo animals now and you - you didn't have lions, and tigers, and giraffes, and elephants as a child. How do you learn about the behavior of so many different kinds of animals that there's no - no way you could have been really exposed to outside of visiting them in zoos when you were - you know, before you became a veterinarian?
VIRGA: Yes well, that's a really good question. When I - when I started in my behavioral medicine residencies at Cornell - part of behavioral medicine residency requires that you spent time with zoo animals. But I came out of that residency program thinking, oh boy how am I going to be able to work with zoo animals. I - I'll stick to what I feel is most comfortable and what I know best. However, when I got an opportunity to see a polar bear at a zoo fairly early on in my behavioral part of my crew, all I could do was take what I knew about behavior of animals in general and - and take it to the polar bear's side to try to figure what was going on with that particular bear. And as I got invited to start visiting more and more animals at zoos, I started to see some rather distinctive patterns and - and that is that they're definitely differences between giraffe behavior and - and leopard behavior - and between wolf behavior and tortoise behavior - but at the same time there're a lot more commonalities than - than we would actually think exists. I can't even to this day tell you that I - I can know what - what I'm going to see when I'm dealing with species that I haven't dealt with. But it's a matter of taking what I do know and then taking the time to - to really observe and listen and - and then put the two together to try to understand what's going on for that animal.
GROSS: When you're making the rounds at a zoo what do you do? What are you looking for?
VIRGA: Well, what I love to do if I had my druthers is - is come before anybody else at the zoo. Because I can usually see the animal's behavior a whole lot better than before - than when visitors are starting to come into the zoo. But usually I like to spend a fair amount of time sitting outside an animal's habitat and watching them, without trying to interact with them in any way, so I can understand as much about the behavior as possible - how they relate to other animals in their habitat, how - what they do in their time. It's one thing to see a wolf for example pacing outside - pacing alongside the edge their habitat at about three o'clock in the afternoon when they're starting to anticipate that their afternoon meal might be coming. And it's a very different thing if I see a - a wolf pace around after their morning meal before the zoo visitors have started to enter because they - they reflect very different behaviors. One we're talking about a wolf that's - that's anticipating something and starting to get a little bit anxious or excited. And the other were talking about a wolf that even after his appetite and hunger needs have been met, he still is choosing to pace. That reflects something very different in behavior.
GROSS: So you've listened to a lot of wolves howl and try to understand what they're saying to each other. What can you tell us about what you've learned about how wolves communicate through howling?
VIRGA: Well, I think that we think of wolves communicating - if you think of a how, if you try to translate it into words - we can't take animals, including wolves' signals, and try to translate them into sentences. But what we can see for example with wolf howls, is that they vary in pitch, and frequency, and tenor and duration, and they're used between wolf groups to communicate when - when individuals of a pack will - will separate to go on their nighttime hunt - they use it as a way to communicate with each other where they're located, and also where to check in with each other, and to also to reunite at the end of the day.
GROSS: Something you wrote in your book leads me to believe that you are good at mimicking some kinds of meows, and understanding some of the variations in meaning that accompany it.
VIRGA: Well - well, yes. So there's been all sorts of scientific studies that have looked at cat vocalizations and tried to categorize them. And I think in general though, what I tell people is you know better frankly than anyone. When your cat does certain vocalizations what they're - what they're saying to you - if there chirping or meowing in a certain way, it's probably because they want your attention. You notice a very different purring type of sound oftentimes when they're content and they are laying on your lap. But to dissect it and break it down into individual vocalizations, while it can be useful, I also don't know how practical it is in the real world.
GROSS: Does this mean I'm not going to get you to meow.
VIRGA: (Laughing) If you really want me to, I'll meow.
GROSS: I really want you to.
VIRGA: (Laughing) OK. Well, let's see for example I could give an example of our two Norwegian Forest Cats. They're very, very different terms of their vocalization. Our - our male is very quiet - he's a Norwegian Forest cat so is rather big, he's around 16 pounds, which is - which is a big but not heavy size - not overweight size for a Norwegian Forest cat. And when he wants attention he'll go (imitating cat) budururrr, and do little tiny chirps. If he is distressed about something - if I were for example come over and go Fritz, I haven't seen you in forever, I've been on a trip for a week, and I come up to him and instead of stroking him, which I know he likes, I just have to give that little human hug and - and he doesn't like it he most likely is going to go [imitation of cat noise] orrrerrrrow, and you know, run away. Our little girl on the other hand, Clara, when she wants attention she almost sounds a little bit like a yowling Siamese and she will sometimes be up in the - especially if I have been writing for hours and ignoring them, and I'm at my desk, she will go just out of reach in the hallway to where I can't see here and then start going (imitating cat) rowwww, rowwww, rowwww - and she knows very effectively that I'm not going to sit at my desk and - and ignore her. And she does it on purpose that she's just out of sight because she knows if she were in sight, that it wouldn't be nearly as effective at getting my attention. And sure enough I'll put - I'll put down my pen and step away from my desk and go and find her and - which is exactly of course, what I'm not supposed to be doing. Because what am I doing? Reinforcing the attention.
GROSS: I was going to point that out.
VIRGA: Yeah, so what I tend to do, Terry, is instead what I - what I like to do if I'm smart and really want to get work done, is I will prevent it as you'd said earlier and give them - give her a totally different part of the house to - to explore, to investigate - give her things to do, give her puzzle boxes and - and hide food and give her a little cat bed that I put maybe on the second or third bookshelf along with some sprinkled catnip. And - and that'll keep her busy until she's exhausted and - and she'll - she'll happily rest and sleep while I work on my - my writing.
GROSS: What's a puzzle box?
VIRGA: And puzzle box is like what I was talking about earlier - where you take just a simple cardboard box and you can fill it with shredded paper, or you can fill it with nothing other than food itself. But usually you're putting - what I put in there is either a scent or two like - like cinnamon and clove can be really interesting to cats - or catnip. Or I can put some - some freshly cut catnip branches. Matatabi's another plant that our kitty cats like - that's Japanese Silverthorne I think it's called. Or we can put just - I can just put food - the regular cat food Kibble, or Kibble mixed with a few pieces of freeze-dried fish or chicken. And then the box is - is not completely sealed, but sealed enough that it her a little while to get inside of it - which is just what I would do with a leopard or a lion
GROSS: Dr. Vint Virgo will be back in the second half of the show. He's the author of "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human." I'm Terry Gross and this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross, back with Vint Virga, a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine. Although he still treats cats and dogs, for the past five years he's worked mostly with animals in zoos and wildlife parks. Virga is the author of the book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human." I would imagine that the behavioral disorders that you've seen in a lot of zoo animals have to do with the fact that they're in captivity. What are some of the things that zoos have successfully done to make the zoo environment a little closer to the animal's natural environment that you think - things that you think have helped in terms of the behavior of the animals?
VIRGA: I think the most important things that zoos have done in the past 10, 20 years, is that they've focus primarily on the animal's well-being and depending upon their feedback and responses, looked at their behavior, looked at their overall happiness and contentment and used that as the gauge for what's going - what to do for the animal. And then, they've also applied as much as science knows about the animals in nature. So what that looks like is providing them with a space that's a lot more rich and full than just a place that is an exhibit. So it's really shifting from - not a cage because most zoos don't even have those anymore - but shifting from an exhibit to a habitat where the environment is much richer and more complex, rather than flat and uniform so that we can see them - providing them opportunities to escape from view of the public. And that can be difficult for a zoo in that visitors complain to the zoo if they can't see the leopard or the bear or the lion. But on the other hand, if the lion doesn't have any choice of getting away from the public at times, particularly if there's crowds or noisy visitors, then we're taking away their sense of control of the environment. So a key part of what zoos do nowadays is give the animal control and choice in their environment by making it a lot richer and fuller and more complex. And then the third thing is environmental enrichment, like we were talking about with cats earlier, is applied to every single animal I work with.
GROSS: So that there's things for them to do - puzzles...They have to hunt for their food.
VIRGA: Right. The key that I'm always trying to provide every single animal I come into contact with is the opportunity to invent and think and discover on their own and to provide them with a richness of opportunities to explore their world and interact with it in a entirely new way.
GROSS: Do you feel more positively disposed towards zoos than you used to when you started in veterinary medicine?
VIRGA: Absolutely. I used to avoid zoos with a passion. And even when I made the decision that I wanted to try to do a little bit of work in zoos, it was very painful and difficult for me. But I also felt like if I didn't do what I could within the structure of zoos as they existed, they weren't going to go away. So the best thing I could do was do what I could within the organization, within the structure of what existed, to try to make things better for the individual animal.
GROSS: And you point out that zoos actually have a very important place, now, in the lives of endangered species 'cause a lot of endangered species basically have no natural habitat anymore. And the zoos, at least, can try to reproduce some of that habitat.
VIRGA: Yeah. And that applies to every - to almost every species out there. If we look at elephants - I don't know what the latest numbers are. But they're devastating, the number of elephants that are in Africa compared to what there were 10 years ago. Those numbers, if we look at them, for a wide number of species out there, reflect a changing world where the habitats are being compromised. Pollution is taking away the quality of life of these animals, encroachment of humans on their environments and poaching, hunting, are all taking away the world of these animals. And zoos can actually be looked at, in my mind, as havens, where at least we're doing the best we can for at least some of the individuals to try to turn around and then bring awareness to those species out there that most desperately need it.
GROSS: Do you think the animals are changing in the sense that they're getting acclimated to humans? You know, like lions and tigers and giraffes and elephants that wouldn't necessarily be around humans are around people all the time in zoos - the zookeepers as well as the crowds who come to see them. So do you think that that changes the animal, or that the animal becomes more comprehending of humans and maybe more friendly?
VIRGA: Yes, I think so. It's important to realize, too, that most animals in zoos nowadays are captive-born. They're not, by far and large, taken from the wild. And usually it's a number of generations that we would have to trace back to any type of direct wild animal that was originally captured many generations ago. And so it becomes a constant effort by zoos that is supervised in a very strict fashion in terms of making sure that these animals are not inbred, to maintain diversity in the population. And yet, what we are dealing with, very honestly, are animals that are, to some degree, than their wild cousins. And they lose some of those instincts by constantly not having predators and the pressures of the world that they're being exposed to from habitat loss and pollution and so on. But they also are gaining other traits in that they're constantly getting this affiliation or connection to humans. And I'm touched by the relationships that I witness every day between keepers and the animals and their care, even in some of the most - what would be thought to be solitary, unsocial animals.
VIRGA: Like something like a takin, that in nature, I think, would keep away from humans as much as possible - or a leopard or lion or tiger. Bears - the bears that I work with are very, very oriented towards the keepers and definitely look forward to seeing them every day. They add a richness, and they add social interaction.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Dr. Vint Virga. He's a doctor of veterinary medicine who specializes in behavior medicine. And he's the author of the new book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human." Let's take a short break. Then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR and if you're just joining us, my guest is Vint Virga. He's a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine and he's the author of the new book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human" and he now works mostly with animals in zoos although he continues to have the cat and dog patients that he had before he spent more time in zoos. So give us an example of a pet or a zoo animal in which you seen repetitive behavior and you had to diagnose what the problem was and tried to treat it?
VIRGA: An example would be a Doberman retriever I saw a number of years ago and he would get up early in the morning and he would sit in his living room of this house and start to watch for reflections or lights on the wall even though there weren't any lights on the wall and as time progressed over the day he would continue to chase after what appeared to be imaginary objects. We couldn't see any reflections or any images or any insects or bugs that he was changing after. What it all started out with was, actually, a laser pen that one of the children in the house was playing with and he became so intent and focused on the laser pen that he would spend a good part of his day chasing after the laser. Then when the laser was not provided he started finding other things that didn't exist to chase after.
GROSS: Oh, you're scaring me. I use one of those laser toys with my cat.
GROSS: Am I going to drive her crazy?
VIRGA: (Laughing) No.
GROSS: Make her obsessive?
VIRGA: In fact, it's very interesting because cats don't seem to show the pre-disposition that dogs do towards developing a compulsive response to the laser pen. They seem to be fully entertained by it. So that's a big difference between canids and felids with respect to that particular behavior.
GROSS: OK, so you realize that playing with this laser pen caused, you know, repetitive compulsive behavior on the part of this Doberman. What did you do?
VIRGA: Well, the first thing was to try to prevent any further images, laser pens, reflections from them feeding on the behavior, contributing to the behavior. When we're dealing with compulsive behaviors with animals, as is the case with many people, we end up relying upon medication. Usually training, learning, behavioral conditioning is not sufficient when a behavior reaches the degree of becoming compulsive. So what I did with this particular dog is I put her on an anti-anxiety medication and we were able then by reducing her anxiety level to start giving her other activities that she could spend other time enjoying rather than chasing after imaginary objects and it worked very effectively.
GROSS: Were you able to eventually take a dog off the medication?
VIRGA: Yes, we were. There are a couple of times that the behavior started to pop up again and by putting her on a low dose and then weaning her off again we were able to manage the behavior really effectively.
GROSS: You've had your share of cats and dogs in your life. What's the worst behavioral disorder you've had with one of your own pets and that you've tried to treat?
VIRGA: Oh my goodness. Well, Katie, our Labrador retriever, developed separation anxiety at a very young age. She, like a lot of dogs with separation anxiety, was at risk - I think greater risk of separation anxiety because of her background of having had previous owner and then been through really dramatic experience. The way in which Katie's separation anxiety manifested is she would destroy the house while she was left alone by three four years of age she was causing massive damage which as a young veterinarian out of vet school that was a lot to deal with especially when I didn't even own in my own home. We'd come home and we'd find carpets torn and shredded. We'd find poop and pee - poop smeared around the house, puddles of pee in all sorts of places. But aside from all that, those manifestations that we saw, think of what Katie must've been going through to cause that type of damage? She was a typical Labrador in terms of orientation towards people, very people oriented and also fairly energetic. But she never caused destruction if she wasn't left alone and before the separation anxiety really started happening she never caused any type of destruction.
GROSS: How did you deal with it?
VIRGA: Medication was really the primary answer for her. Alleviating her anxiety to the point that then we could give her other things focus other than when we were leaving her and then it was a process. Once I was able to alleviate her anxiety of helping her to give other things to do. Katie's favorite activities were then left for when we would leave at the beginning of the day to go to work in our respective practices - my wife and I.
GROSS: And did it get to the point where you could take her off the medication?
VIRGA: We tried twice with Katie and both times she had relapses so she was one of those dogs that I was never able to get medication completely.
GROSS: But you're OK with that?
VIRGA: Well, look at the quality of her life.
GROSS: Exactly right.
VIRGA: Yeah, so she ended up being on medication all the way pretty much until she was an old, old dog and wasn't able to get around very well.
GROSS: So my understanding is most vet behaviors now think that positive reinforcement is much more effective and humane than negative reinforcement when you're trying to shape behavior or, you know, prevent an animal from doing something bad.
VIRGA: Universally there's 60 some odd behaviorists in North America and every single one of us would say wholeheartedly that that is true. That isn't just in the veterinary behavior community. Most of the members of the zoo community have come to realize, a number of years ago, that the best way we can shape and change an animal's behavior is by encouraging and reinforcing behaviors that we want and not reinforcing behaviors that we don't want to encourage.
GROSS: So one of our producers has two new kittens, very adorable very lively, but they're from the same litter and they just wrestle with each other and bite each other all the time and now they're starting to do that to the family too - to the family of humans - and they're scratching them and, you know, chewing on them. So what's a good way of getting them to like calm down and stop doing that?
VIRGA: And how old are the kittens?
GROSS: Ten months.
VIRGA: Ten months. OK, so they're still really young. So what I would do with when they're starting to direct any type of attention's to people that's when I would just get up and walk away. I think you can count on the cats at that age not being injured if you were to literally just get up off the sofa and stand if they're on top of your lap. If you're standing and coming into house if you're at a meal and wherever you are the best thing I would say to her is that you should if you're standing and coming to the house if you had a meal and wherever you are the best thing I would say to her is that you should literally just get up and walk away from them so that you're not reinforcing the behavior. And you're also signaling them because they're orienting towards you they're wanting a response from you. You're signaling to them that that is not a behavior that you really want to participate in. On the other hand, whenever they're calm and quiet and acting appropriately, that's the time to lavish attention and praise but not so much that gets them all excited. Some of this they're most likely, very most likely going to outgrow 'cause they're just - they're teenagers at this point, preteens really. So they're full of energy and rambunctious. I would encourage her not to get involved with any conflicts between them unless they become serious and if so, give me a call because chances are they're going to work it out themselves and they will scratch or a little bite here and there is going to be better for them to understand their own limits or the other's limits rather than us trying to inter of the fear and say don't do this. Also if we interfere, all we're doing is getting involved in a behavior that then they're just going to turn around and direct towards us.
GROSS: So a water gun can be pretty effective in the short term of getting away from you?
VIRGA: Well, I don't know I see a lot of kitties that habituate to water guns so if you really need to do something aversive I think a compressed air canister, you know, the type you would use to a camera or a computer - not directed at them just sprayed in a cupped hand. The hissing sound will usually send most cats running. And at least what I like about that its not directional. A squirt gun will be perceived by most cats as being from you. What we'd rather have is that God or the universe anytime something like that anytime I do the behavior suddenly lets out this hissing sound that I don't like.
GROSS: So here's a question for you. I was looking at your picture, you know, the author photo on the back of the book and you're wearing what looks like a leather jacket with a fur collar and I was wondering how you feel about leather and fur or is it faux leather and faux fur.
VIRGA: It's actually faux.
GROSS: What they now call vegan leather?
VIRGA: Yeah. Yeah, which of course raises its own issues 'cause I'm sure it's made from petro-chemicals and everything else but, you know, it's like yeah, there's trade-offs. Yeah, I'm a vegetarian. Yeah, I was raised as a meat eater in undergraduate years I was actually an animal science major where I took other people to the slaughterhouse as a lab assistant so I'm very familiar with the animal production industry. You know, there's choices we make day-to-day and I don't think there's right or wrong personally about it I think the thing I would wish for is that everybody brought up mindfulness to what they're doing instead of just if you love steak and you want to continue eating steak at least recognize that there was a cow whose life was given up, basically, so you could eat the steak and the same thing is true for leather.
GROSS: What did you do at the slaughterhouse?
VIRGA: Well, I used to accompany the labs and help the teaching assistant with moving students through the labs and what we taught was what's actually involved with the slaughter of animals from moving them to the stockyard to actually being killed to them - how the body is then processed into what we would identify them as steaks and ribs and the bacon and so forth. And that type of reality is not something that's easy to shake or let go of. That type of familiarity with what's going on. So all I encourage people to do is just be aware and then from that, you know, make choices that feel right to them.
GROSS: Well, Vint Verga, thank you so much for talking with us it's really been interesting. I really appreciate it.
VIRGA: Oh, thank you very much for having me.
GROSS: Dr. Vint Virga is the author of the new book "The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human." You can read an excerpt on our website, freshair.npr.org. Coming up, John Powers reviews the new 50th anniversary restoration of the Beetles film, "A Hard Day's Night." This is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:0c55d7a5-a66c-46ec-bda2-29e5b921bb4b> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://iowapublicradio.org/post/cat-pda-vs-human-pda-and-other-animal-behavior-explained | 2016-07-27T01:57:44Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00285-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983391 | 9,927 |
Driven to Desire Challenge
Genre: Romance/ Drama
Word Count: 12,621
Pairing: Edward and Bella
Summary: My only love sprung from my only hate, but this is no Romeo and Juliet story. I discover that with Edward, there is a fine line between love and hate…and it's a very blurry line indeed.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author (that would be ME). No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: The author would like to get down on her knees…and thank Jaspers Destiny for her amazing beta work through Sparkly Red Pen, and Jess Molly who pushed the author on to complete this 12.5K wonder without any payback or teases…she works for free…!
"Okay, Bella, let's see it," Rosalie's voice rang out. She was exasperated.
I looked in the mirror and ran my hands over the dress, smoothing out wrinkles that weren't there. I was desperate to do anything with my hands except clench them. They were already red with all the nervous wringing.
"Bella, what do you think?" the shop assistant asked softly in my ear.
I jumped; I had forgotten she was even there. We had been here for two hours, and I was no closer to leaving with a dress than I was when I entered the shop. I was way past the old adage there is the perfect dress for every woman.
I shook my head quietly. "This isn't it either."
"This is Rosalie's choice?"
"Yep. She thinks I should go with a statement piece." I rolled my eyes. Rosalie never missed an opportunity to tell me how understated everything I wore was.
"I hate to say it, Bella, but this just doesn't suit you at all. The ball gown style doesn't flatter your figure."
"I know, I'm too short." This dress needed tall and willowy. I was five foot seven and slim, but in this I looked short and dumpy. "Well, let's get this show on the road."
This was dress number twenty, and I was just tired.
I grasped the excess material in my hands so I wouldn't trip and made my way out to where Rosalie was sitting. I couldn't even look in the mirrors anymore as I stood up on the little round platform and let the material fall around my feet.
"Oh, Bella, it's beautiful."
I kept my gaze to the floor until I saw Rosalie's ruby red ballet flats come into view. After last week, she vowed that she would never dress shop in heels with me again.
Finally, I looked up to the mirrors. I looked like a cake topper, which was ironic because in three days' time I would be looking at cakes and toppers. The dress was a beautiful ivory with a Cypriote lace overlay. A boned bodice with a sweetheart neckline gave me cleavage I didn't possess, but that was the only flattering thing about it. The layers of fabric in the skirt made me look fifty pounds heavier. Plus, with all the hooping and tulle underneath, I was bound to fall flat on my face as I walked down the aisle.
I stared at the girl in the mirror. She wasn't me. This girl was thinner, and you could see the slight indentations at her collarbones. This girl was pale, beyond the usual, the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced. But this was me. This was the Bella Swan I had become.
I snapped back and plastered a bright, fake smile on my face.
"You've got to be kidding, Rose. I look like a giant marshmallow."
"Don't be so negative. A pair of heels will balance it out. It's an incredible dress."
I'd had enough. "You wear it, then."
"Dear God, Bella, just pick a dress! We have been at this for two weeks, and there are only six months to the wedding. You leave it for much longer and you will have to," her voice dropped to a whisper, "buy something off the rack." She shuddered. "Plus, I can't marry my own brother."
I couldn't resist; I snorted.
"We might be old money, but even in Seattle, they don't allow incest."
Finally, I cracked a smile. Trust Rosalie to put a crack in my emo feelings. There was a reason we'd been friends for over twelve years.
In six months and three days, on the 28th of May, I, Bella Swan, would be marrying Jasper Hale, Rosalie's brother.
"Oh, Alice called. She wanted to remind you that you and Jasper have the interview with the Seattle Times. She's going to send a car here in thirty minutes to pick you up."
Ah, Alice. Alice Brandon was the Hales' personal publicist and all-round family assistant. She primarily worked for Joseph and Sarah Hale, Rose and Jasper's mom and dad, but ever since Jasper and I announced our engagement, Alice had become my unofficial wedding planner. The only reason she is unofficial is because I am still adamant I don't need a wedding planner. Who needs a wedding planner for a small wedding? Knowing the reach of the Hales, my small wedding was but a pipe dream.
"I don't need a car, Rose, I'll take a cab. It's only a couple of minutes away."
Rose chuckled and shook her head at me. "One day, Bella, one day."
"One day you will realize the life you are coming into by marrying a Hale."
My lifted mood sank again. When I said yes to Jasper, I didn't even think about what would come with him. To me, the Hales were always just a normal family in a small logging town. I knew they had money, but you wouldn't know it unless you saw their bigger-than-usual house in the woods and the fact that they took at least one vacation every year.
I looked up into the mirror again and caught a glance of myself. Panic ripped through me. The dress was too tight on me, and it constricted my breathing. I clawed behind me at the clamps holding the dress together and tried to pull them away from me.
"Get it off me!" I yelled. "Please, Rose, just get it off! I can't breathe…" I was beginning to see dark spots in my vision. "For fuck's sake, Rose, get this thing off me!"
That started Rose into action. She pulled the clamps off the dress, and it pooled at my feet.
Oxygen flooded into my lungs, and I could feel the rhythm of my heat begin to slow.
I stepped out of the dress, and Rose pulled it up into her arms. She stared at me in horror.
"I guess that's not the dress." I chuckled weakly and forced a smile on my face that probably looked demented rather than reassuring. A shiver snaked down my spine. I was standing on a display block in my strapless white and silver stripped strapless bra and matching panties. "I'm going to put my clothes back on. Can you give the dress back to the assistant?"
Rose nodded mutely and turned to walk away, and I stepped down from the platform.
"Bella, are you okay?"
Rose had turned back around, and she was watching me carefully as if I might fold into insanity at any given moment.
"I mean, are you truly okay?" I know that our family can be a lot to handle, and I know you hate all of this attention, but I'm so glad you're going to be my sister."
"I… I…" No words would come out. Instead I reached over and pulled Rose into tight hug before I made my way back to my dressing room. I needed to pull myself together. The pressure was nearly breaking me. I must have stood looking at my reflection for too long because Rose knocked on the dressing room door.
"Bella, you ready yet? The car is here."
I rubbed my hands over my arms in an attempt to ward off the cold. I was always cold these days.
"Yeah, Rose, just coming."
I hurriedly dressed and met Rose in the front of the shop, surrounded by wedding dresses. I needed to get out of here, now. I hugged Rose and made my way out to the curb. The town car was waiting with another faceless driver holding open the door. A jacket was resting on the seat inside the car, and the first genuine smile of the day graced my face.
"Jasper, I thought I was meeting you at the paper!"
I missed Jasper's little surprises, like when he would meet me in the town car when I was supposed to be meeting him at some fancy event—all just so we could grab a few minutes to ourselves before we were put on display.
"I'm not Jasper, hon. And I'm sorry, but he's running behind, so he won't be able to make it to this interview.
"What do you mean he can't make it? It's an interview about us, about our relationship. That kinda means that we both need to be there."
"He phoned to say he was going into the office and would try to make it as soon as he can."
Hold up! "He called you? Why didn't—?" I stopped myself just in time.
"He didn't want to disturb you. You were wedding dress shopping, which is about the only wedding thing the male brain understands as important."
I was trying my best not to show the fury that was creeping into my bones. It was Jasper who had agreed to the interview when his mom had suggested it. Alice had been more than happy to arrange it all, and before I knew it, Alice was fielding possible questions.
"Maybe we should just reschedule?"
I really needed Jasper by my side for this one. His mom had talked me into it as a way of keeping the media off our backs about Seattle's apparent wedding of the year. Jasper had been his usual laid-back self about it, agreeing without hesitation, but I, on the other hand, hated the thought of sitting there and allowing someone to cross-examine me. I didn't want to be the centre of attention, but I loved Sarah, and I saw how happy this would make her.
"Nonsense! It was hard enough as it was to line these time slots up when you would both be available. It's fine, I'll be there with you."
Great, how reassuring.
After the dress shop, my nerves were frazzled enough as it was. I couldn't do this alone. I shouldn't have to.
"Alice, cancel the appointment and reschedule it for when Jay can be there."
I heard Alice huff. "Bella—"
"Alice, reschedule!" I said through gritted teeth. "Pull over here, please," I asked the driver.
I muttered a goodbye to Alice and climbed out onto the curb. The financial district of Seattle was still bustling even though it was the weekend and void of workers. There were too many people, and they all had places to be and people to see.
In that moment, as people moved around me so as not to bump into me, I had never felt so alone.
What would I do now? I didn't want to go back to our empty apartment, just to wallow. And God only knew when Jay would actually make it home. Instead, I reached for my phone in my jacket pocket and dialed.
"Bellaboobooboo, I dooooo love yoooooou," an off-key voice sang through the phone.
People stared at me as I laughed aloud.
"Emmie Bear!" Now people were definitely staring at me.
"To what do I owe this stupendous honor?"
"I was wondering what you were up to. How would you feel about catching the Seahawks game?"
"Don't you have that interview thingy today? Or is that next week?"
"Jay is stuck in the office, so we're going to reschedule." I could hear a lot of noise in the background. "You're busy, Em, I'm sorry. I'll speak to you later.
Suddenly the noise dropped away, and I heard a door slam shut.
"No, no, Bells, I was just moving to a more quiet spot. So, no Jay, huh? Well, that's just my most awesome luck. We're at Murphy's getting ready for the game. Come on down."
That was the best offer I'd had all day. Some football, a pint of Guinness, and random, sweaty hugs when we scored. It was just what I needed.
"Sounds like a plan, Emmie. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. Save me a seat?"
"Sure, sure. See you soon, Bellaboo."
As I hung up, I smiled to myself. If I could rely on anyone to distract me, it was Emmett McCarty; he was part-friend, part-big kid. Emmett was a friend of mine from work, but when he was introduced to Jasper, the two formed a bromance of epic proportions. The Hangover had nothing on these guys. At the end of the day, I knew Emmett's loyalty was with me. As much as he loved Jasper, he would always have my back first. He was the brother I never had.
The cab up pulled to the curb outside Murphy's, and I paid the driver. From the outside, Murphy's looked like a dive bar with a sun-bleached Irish flag, but inside it was like a cave of wonders, with dark wood paneling and cream painted walls, and pictures of Ireland dotted the walls. It was like stepping back in time to a working class, local pub in deepest, darkest Cork. I loved how it was all so warm and welcoming. Rosalie and I introduced Jasper to it when he came back to Seattle, and it became our go-to place ever since..
It was hard to miss Emmett's towering six foot four frame. Séamus, Murphy's owner, like to say that Emmett was built like a brick shithouse. Around his neck he wore a Seahawks scarf, and he was well into the pre-game warm-up.
"BELLA!" he shouted across the room.
I smiled and shook my head at Emmett's over-exuberance. Nothing about Emmett was low-key. I fought my way through the crowd only to be engulfed in Emmett's big bear hug. He put me back on my feet and chuckled at me.
"You're a bit over-dressed for a football game, Bella."
"Well, I was supposed to be at the interview today. I doubt a Seahawks jersey would go over well with the paper…or Alice for that matter."
"Who cares what Alice or the journalist think?" He never gave me a chance to answer because he shouted at the bar, "Hey, Edwardo, get my Bellaboo a drink, too!"
"Edwardo? Edward's here too?"
"Of course. Just because Jasper is stuck in the office it doesn't mean that the rest of us can't have any fun."
A familiar, tall, bronze-haired figure cut through the crowd, balancing three pint glasses in his hands.
Before me stood Edward Cullen, the third clog in the bromance of the century. Edward was Jasper's best friend and would stand up, much to my chagrin, as best man at the wedding. To say that Edward and I don't see eye to eye would be an understatement, and also not the whole truth.
When I saw Edward for the first time, I was distracted by Jasper. Jasper had been back in Seattle for two weeks after staying in the UK after finishing his Masters at Oxford. He'd returned home because he missed his family. I hadn't had a chance to catch up with him or Rose, so when I saw him in my local coffee shop, I was beyond surprised. He was sitting at a table and casually reading the paper. I had to do a double-take just to be sure it was him.
Jasper and I were already sitting at the table, laughing over old stories, when Edward came walking towards us with two mugs of coffee in his hands.
"Please tell me you wanted a latte, because there is no way I am going back into that line."
I looked up and felt like all the breath had whooshed out of my body. Standing in front of me was a guy that looked like he'd stepped out of a J Crew ad; the dark wash jeans, grey sweater, and button-down underneath literally took my breath away. His sex-tousled hair and lackadaisical smile sealed the deal.
"Edward, meet my oldest friend Bella." Jasper threw an arm over my shoulder and drew me to his side. "Bella, this is Edward. He and I work together."
From the start there was this…spark between us, a sizzle that hummed in the air. I could only hear the sound of my own breathing as nearly everything drifted away except for the gorgeous man before me. I was aware that Jasper was still speaking, and every now and again he would squeeze me closer.
The mugs in Edward's hands shook as the minutes passed, his knuckles turning white. I watched as Edward's jovial, open smile fell as he watched Jasper and me closely.
Ever since that day, Edward has been standoffish with me. He's polite to me, but after Jasper and I started dating, he became almost hostile with me, treating me just above civilized when Jasper was around.
I've come to believe that Edward is jealous. I've monopolized Jasper, and by accepting Jasper's proposal, Edward must think he's lost his best friend for good.
A roar of approval as the cheerleaders ran out on the field brought me back to the present. Edward was still standing in front of me, holding out a pint of Guinness to me.
"Of course, Bella. You drink the same thing whenever we're here."
I could feel my mouth dropping open. He knew what I drank. I always thought that I was only good enough for his peripheral viewing, if that. Mind you, we tended to buy in rounds when we were out, so that's probably why he remembered.
"Hold up, I thought you and Jasper had the first media interview today?"
I rolled my eyes. Did everyone know our day-to-day lives?
"Don't tell me you stood Jasper up to watch a Seahawks game."
Typical. Of course I was the bad guy in Edward Cullen's high and mighty eyes.
"Actually, he stood me up. He's stuck in the office working, so we have had to reschedule."
"But we worked hard on Friday, so…" Edward stopped abruptly. "Who told you that?"
"He phoned Alice." I tried to keep the bitter tone out of my voice.
Edward scowled and muttered under his breath. I was about to ask him to speak up, but Emmett threw his massive arms around us both, causing my Guinness to slosh dangerously in my glass.
"Hush up, people! The Seahawks are coming out. Pay homage."
I laughed at my giddy friend and forgot the sullen man to my left as I hollered with the rest of the pub as the mighty, mighty Seahawks graced the field.
It was the third quarter, and the Cardinals and Seahawks were level at ten. The atmosphere in the pub was manic and full of good cheer, but the heat from all the bodies was stifling. I had stripped down to my button-down, rolled my sleeves, and removed my Seahawks scarf, and even then I was only really surviving because of the icy breeze that would blow in whenever someone opened the door.
Out of nowhere, Todd Heap scored a touchdown from a thirteen-yard pass. The pub went nuts in angry disappointment. Insults were shouted at the ref, Emmett's the loudest and most vocal of them all. Seven minutes later the whistle sounded, and the Seahawks were seventeen down.
"Okay, commercial break, and it's my round. Same again?"
"Yeah, me too. Can I have some water as well?"
Emmett headed off to the bar along with most of the pub. I was left with Edward, and the atmosphere was awkward, to say the least. I racked my brains trying to find something, anything, to start a conversation. We had spent the past two years barely on speaking terms, and this was one of the rare times when Jasper or Em wasn't there as a buffer.
People jostled me as they made their way back from the bar to catch the fourth quarter. One guy slammed my shoulder, knocking me off balance. My hands scrambled for purchase on anything to stop me falling backwards, but nothing came. I closed my eyes and waited for the crash.
It never came. Instead, strong, warm arms wrapped around me like steel bands. I slowly opened my eyes to find green ones staring back at me, full of concern.
"You caught me?"
He gave me a half-smile before drawing me up to my feet, his hands resting on my waist. I could feel his palms on my skin, full of delicious heat and comfort. The crackle that could always be felt between us was there, spitting and hissing away. In an almost unconscious movement, his thumbs rubbed circles on my hipbones.
My hands reached for his forearms to steady myself. I couldn't form a sentence. My breaths were coming out in shallow pants, and I felt drowsy. Edward's eyes bore into mine; his beautiful emerald irises were almost black.
His gaze turned to my hand on his left arm, and suddenly he was gone, pushing me away from him.
"I'm sorry…" Then I saw it, too.
My engagement ring. The reminder of where my heart was supposed to be.
What was I thinking? I was getting married to his best friend.
"I should have known better than to get drinks during the break. The bar was slammed!" came a boisterous voice.
Emmett didn't seem to notice the tension that had enveloped Edward and me, and he handed out the drinks.
My eyes never left Edward. His hair was a mess because of the way he kept running his fingers through it in agitation. Did he feel it, too?
I moved myself so that Emmett was between Edward and me. Distance was a good thing; touching was bad. My mind screamed at me to stop, to move closer, but I couldn't walk that road.
I clasped my hands together because they wouldn't stop twitching.
"I'm sorry, Em, I have to go. My mom called. She needs help with…um…the car. I said I would help her."
"But, Eddie, there is only fifteen minutes of the game left. You can't bail now."
"Sorry, I have to. Plus, it's looks like it's a foregone conclusion."
Without hesitation, Edward grabbed his jacket and made a move towards the door. I couldn't let him just leave. I should, but I couldn't.
My mind—and heart—won the battle, and I reached out and grabbed for his hand.
"Edward…" He turned and looked right through me, as if he could see through to my racing heart.
"What, Bella?" His voice was tired and resigned.
"Nothing, just…thank you—you know, for catching me."
He tugged his hand free and then he was gone.
As much as I tried to concentrate on what was left of the game, I couldn't get back into it. Emmett was the one to tell me that the Cardinals had won twenty-three to twenty. My mind, however, was on a never-ending loop of Edward Cullen's pained face as he pulled away from me.
What the fuck just happened?
I let myself into the apartment. It was almost eight o'clock, and all but the living room lamp was off. After leaving the pub, I decided to walk a little to clear my head before catching a cab. I ended up walking nearly three miles before realizing what time it was. My police chief father would have a heart attack if he knew I walked so far late at night.
"Jasper?" I called.
I dumped my keys in a bowl in the foyer and toed my shoes off before heading to the living room. There, in the shadow created by the lamp, sat Jasper. His elbows were resting on his knees, his head in hands. He was so still.
I walked towards him and put a light hand on his shoulder. He was beginning to scare me.
He sat up in surprise.
"Bella, where did you…have you been here the whole time?"
"No, I just got home. I went to watch the Seahawks with Emmett and Edward.
Even though he straightened himself out to sit upright on the sofa, his shoulders were still slumped.
"What's going on, Jay?"
He turned to look at me, and what I saw shocked me. He looked haunted. Worry lines etched his face, and the light in his eyes was gone. In front of me was not the Jay I knew.
"Jay, you're scaring me."
I looked at the glass of amber colored liquid on the coffee table. For Jasper to be drinking alone, something was very wrong.
With a start, Jasper seemed to spring to life again. His brow lifted, he sat upright, and he even attempted a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry. It's just been one of those days."
I wondered how it could be 'one of those days' when he'd apparently stayed late of his own accord.
"Is work really that bad?"
"No, it's just…" He threw his hands up in exasperation. I knew Jasper wouldn't talk to me until he was sure he had it worked out in his own mind first.
"Okay, well, I'm gonna go take a shower. I'm all sweaty from the pub. Wanna join me?"
"No, I'm going to finish this." He held up the glass of scotch.
He didn't even look up at me. I knew now wasn't the time to be asking about the interview and why he really bailed on me.
"Oh, hey, how did the dress shopping go? Did you find the one?"
I shrugged. "No. Maybe next time."
He nodded in response, and I walked down the hall to our bathroom. The distance between us had been growing over the last month. Jasper was spending more hours in the office, and I was spending more time with Rose to avoid being in the apartment with the echoing loneliness.
What concerned me more was that Jasper and I hadn't made love in nearly three weeks. We had always been unable to keep our hands off each other. The passion that fueled our relationship was petering off into non-existence.
Silent tears slipped down my cheeks. I felt so very alone.
The following week passed in a much happier fashion than the last. Jasper seemed to snap out of his funk by Sunday morning, when he took me to brunch, And he spoiled me with little presents all week, like having flowers delivered to my desk at work and making an effort to be home at a normal time. He even made dinner one night.
Today was a big day. I left work early to meet Jasper at the bakery. We were going to pick out our cake, and I was looking forward to the tasting so much.
I was running late. As I neared the, a familiar figure was waiting outside.
He turned to face me. His brow was furrowed in worry, and his hands were fisted nervously by his sides.
"What's going on? Where's Jay?"
"He got caught up at the office and can't make it."
"So he sent you?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, he didn't want to disappoint you."
"And he sent you?" I asked again. I still couldn't believe it. "Edward, we barely even speak. Why did you agree?"
"Jay said that you were really looking forward to this. Plus, free cake."
I let out a sigh.
"I can go. You can reschedule for when Jay is free."
Don't you dare.
"If I do that, there'll be no cake at the bloody wedding!" He turned to walk away, so I reached out to stop him. "No, stay. I don't want to do this alone."
Edward looked down at where my hand was nestled in his, and I pulled it away sharply. The hum was still there.
Instead of turning away from me, Edward reached past me and opened the bakery door.
"Ah, you must be my bride and groom-to-be!" a rotund man in a chef's jacket called out. "I am Fernando. I am Master Baker here at Cake Power. I understand from Ms. Rose that you're getting married in May?"
"Yes, the 28th."
"I've already checked, and that is no problem, especially for the bride of Mr. Hale."
"Oh, he isn't…"
Obviously Fernando knew the Hale name but had never met Jasper.
"No, he's right, Bella, Mr. Hale's bride should have the best." Edward's gaze was earnest.
Fernando looked over to Edward and winked.
"So, do you have any ideas on what you would like?"
"You don't know what you want for a cake?" His face was a picture of disbelief.
I hung my head in embarrassment. I was never one of those girls who had planned their wedding from childhood. There was never any playing dress-up bride, and Rose was never my groom. I'd never compiled a wedding binder. My mother was flighty at best, and she stressed that she married my dad only because she fell pregnant with me and was way too young. She would tell me time and time again that she would never make the same mistake again, never be tied down and constricted by life. Was I making a mistake with marriage? Was I my mother, just a couple of years older?
"Bella is calm and uncomplicated. She cares for others before herself and is selfless to a point, but underneath her calm exterior is a woman with a temper and stubbornness that drives you nuts."
His hands were clenched on the table-top like he was wringing my neck. I swallowed deeply at the thought if his hands on me.
"She could argue that black was white if she believed it enough." He chuckled. "Trust me, we've had many a verbal sparring match."
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"She looks most beautiful in plaid and jeans, shouting at the screen when football is on."
Realization dawned on me. He saw me—me—the me no one else could see. The real me.
"When she walks into a room, her presence brightens every corner. She is the only thing I see. Even in a crowd of people, I can pick her out. And when I do, I could watch her for hours without her realizing it because she never thinks that anyone notices her."
I watched him, stunned.
What. The. Fuck.
Who was this man? This was not the Edward Cullen I knew. Where was the cocky, self-assured asshole that drove me insane and bated me into arguments?
"So, a cake to match the bride, no? I see, I see," prattled the baker. "Do you have a picture of the dress?"
I looked anywhere but at the baker. I really was shit at this whole wedding thing.
"No dress?" God, even the baker sounded despondent. "Color scheme?"
This one I could answer, even if I hadn't told anyone else yet.
"French lavender, white, and grey."
I was so pleased with myself when the baker's eyes lit up and he muttered, "Pretty."
"Why don't you and your fellow look at these books, wander around the bakery, and see what inspires you."
My head nodded like a bobble-head toy. I would agree to anything just to get away from the disappointed baker.
Edward shadowed me as we walked. I didn't even need to know where he was physically; I could just feel him. He would move one way and I would move the opposite direction. Our distance was kept, but we orbited around each other as we explored the bakery.
My nerves were frazzled; I was on edge and anxious. The hairs on the back of my neck rose when he came near and calmed as he walked on by along the row of display cases. The rational, sensible part of me urged me to sit at the table across the room and look at the damn books, to stay as far away from Edward Cullen as I could. My more emotional side, however, told my rational side to take a hike, and that it was running the show now.
I was so distracted. I kept staring at the same cake for over ten minutes.
"I don't think you want a My Little Pony cake for your big day. It will never feed five hundred people."
My breath hitched at his soft velvet tones and the warmth of his breath as it skirted across my neck. His body was so close that I could smell him, all earth and rainy days under a blanket, comfort and home. I closed my eyes against the sensation of having him so near. His pinky brushed mine, and my rational side finally got its act together.
I spun away.
"Edward," I breathed out.
He moved away from me to look at the toppers. Edward was right, though, My Little Pony certainly wasn't going to cut it.
"Hey, Bella, look at this one."
And, just like that, the moment was broken and we were back to being frenemies.
I wandered over, trying to keep a distance, and Edward took a step backwards. I smiled to myself; he was feeling this just as much as I was. The topper was about four inches high and a little more traditional than the pink pony…but not much more so.
The topper was of a bride in a conventional white dress dragging the groom behind her by his tux collar. There was even a ball and chain around his ankle.
"Have you forgotten who I am marrying, the family I am marrying into? I may have known the Hales my whole life, Edward, but I haven't forgotten for a minute who they are. If anything, this topper is the wrong way around, and Alice Brandon is my ball and chain."
I watched Edward's reflection in the glass. He winced when I mentioned Alice.
"Bella, I can never forget who you are marrying. He's my best friend."
His voice was so sad. I felt his pain in my heart.
"Ah, there is the lucky couple! Do you see anything you like?"
"I…" My voice failed me as I tried to quash the pain deep down inside of me. "I…um…I like the topsy-turvy cake. It's different."
"Unusual, yes, but doable. You like the topper?"
"NO!" we both shouted.
"No topper." He held his hands up in defense. "Why don't you go join Michel; he will be conducting your tasting. This is always the favorite part, no?"
Every bite of cake I put in my mouth tasted like sawdust. Edward pushed pieces around his plate with a dainty fork. Normally this was something I would be enthusiastic about, given my love of baking, but I could only keep my eyes on the white tablecloth. Even Michel had stopped trying to engage my opinions.
"So, those were all our flavors. Any favorites?" Michel asked in a heavy French accent.
My brain was mulch, with more thoughts than I could handle. I couldn't even remember what I tasted.
"Your favorite is the Chocolate Whisper, right?"
I nodded my head.
"And Jas—I mean, I prefer a fruity cake, so how about a bottom or spare layer for me in Raspberry Truffle?" Edward asked.
"How about I do alternative layers?"
"Perfect. Is that okay, Bella?"
I was stunned into silence. Edward and I had barely been able to converse without sniping at each other or trading sarcastic barbs. I had always seen him as Jasper's best friend who borderline hated me for barging into their lives. I thought he begrudged me the time I spent with Jasper because our bond was deeper than theirs.
Regardless of what I thought, I realized now that he saw everything; the little details that no one else saw. I bet I could ask Jasper what my favorite cake was and he wouldn't know. I was so fucking confused right now. My world was tilting on its axis, and nothing was the same anymore.
"So, I'll draw up the cake and send you the design. We can change anything you want, and then—boom!—we'll make the most amazing cake for the most beautiful couple, no?"
Michel showed us out, and the awkwardness settled around us once again.
Edward shifted from one foot to the other, wringing his hands. Every time he moved towards me, I shifted back, maintaining the distance between us.
"So…um…" I began.
"I want a truce, Bella. You're," he tugged his hands through his hair, "you're a huge part of Jay's life, and it would be easier all around if we tried to get along."
This day was turning into a complete head fuck.
"A truce? Oh, okay. A truce is good. You know, I never wanted to come between you and Jay. I'm not insecure enough to want him all to myself."
"It was never that, Bella. You never come between us. Well, except when Jay tells me to stop being such a douche to you."
That brought me up me short. Then why the fuck had he acted like an ass for the last two years? He seemed in no mood to explain himself right now, though.
"Oh, well, good, because God knows what would happen to you three if some girl forced a break-up of your bromance."
"You're not just some girl, Bella." His voice was almost wistful. "So, friends?"
Friends. With Edward Cullen. Who would have thought? And why didn't it feel like enough?
I stuck my hand out, but he moved towards me with his arms stretched out to hug me.
He drew back to offer his hand, but I was already moving in to hug him.
I grabbed his hand and pumped it once before dropping it like I had been burnt.
Friends with Edward Cullen. I was fucked now.
It had been about a month since Edward and I had called a truce the UN would be proud of. To my surprise, we actually made a real go of it. We were still sarcastic, and we pulled no punches, but it was all banter and friendly piss-taking. Despite all my reservations, we were friends. Well, if friends meant that our banter often descended into blatant flirting and innuendoes. The grazing touches didn't stop, but they were innocent enough. Or so I told myself. Even the brush of a finger over the back of my hand was sensual to me.
I justified it by telling myself it was because Jasper was spending more time away from home. He left the house before I rose and was home long after I went to bed. We hadn't had sex in over six months. I told myself that my attraction to Edward was the reason why someone strays from home: I was lonely, I felt forgotten, and I just wanted someone to see me. However, deep down I knew the truth; I was falling for Edward, and falling hard. Which was why I was sitting in a bar with Edward. Emmett was playing pool out back with one of his work colleagues. Jasper was working late, again. No big surprise there. I had come straight from work to the bar after deciding I didn't even want to step foot in our empty apartment just yet.
"Drink?" Edward offered.
"Yeah, only the one though. I haven't eaten, and I have an early start tomorrow."
"Wow, Bella, getting all hard core." I threw him a withering look. "Fine, fine, just one. Better make it a good one."
"Trust me, Cullen, I know how to pick a good one."
"I bet you do."
"I'll have a Maker's Mark on the rocks, please," I answered, ignoring his comment.
Edward seemed impressed, and he ordered one for each of us. We sipped, chatting over the inconsequential crap of our lives and ignoring the elephant on the stool beside us. Whenever we were around each other, the air was thick with tension and unacknowledged lust.
The liquor felt warm stirring in my stomach, but still I couldn't relax. Something was different tonight, and it was putting me on edge.
"It's been so long since I've had Maker's that I forgot how good it tastes." Edward smacked his lips in appreciation. "I must admit, Bella, I'm impressed. A girl ordering good bourbon, and taking it neat as well? You're full of surprises."
Edward threw me a cocky smile that oozed sex. We had flirted in the past, but this was him making a boldfaced move.
"It shouldn't be that surprising. I'm not exactly a white wine spritzer kind of girl."
"And that's what I love about you."
I coughed and spluttered as my drink went down the wrong tube. Fuck, it burned.
"So, why Maker's?"
Oh, we were playing that game, were we? I could play it, too.
"It's like honey and fire in a glass. At first taste," I put my lips to the glass and took a sip, my eyes never leaving his, "the sweet tones warm you from within, dancing on your taste buds. Then, as you swallow," I swallowed deep and sat the glass on the bar top, "it slides down smooth. And just when you think the party is over, you feel it. The burn on your tongue takes your breath away, leaving you gasping for your next hit."
I smiled to myself. Bella one, Edward zero. He was probably as hard as steel and couldn't do anything about it.
"Got to love hard liquor." I mock toasted him with a coy smile. I was in this to win.
His eyes flashed and then darkened. Edward moved in close, skimming his nose over my cheek. "I bet there is a lot of things you like hard, Bella."
Fuck! Fuckity fuck!
He knew exactly what he was doing. I shouldn't be doing this. This wasn't right.
I stumbled from my stool, grabbed my purse, and managed to make my way to the bathroom, pushing through the busy after-work crowd.
I threw the toilet seat lid down and sat on it. Deep, controlled breathing helped calm my racing heart but not the rampant thoughts in my head. I needed to get the fuck out of here before I did something I would regret. My self-control was fading faster than I could say no.
I fought my way out of the bathroom, past the gaggle of lipstick-reapplying girls. I was nearly home free. I could see the exit, but just then someone grabbed me and pulled me into a dark side room, pinning me to the wall.
"What the fuck?" I yelled.
His deep voice, gravelly from the bourbon, filled the air, and the noise of the bar faded away.
"Why did you run, Bella? Haven't we played this game enough? I see you everywhere I turn. I've called out to brown-haired girls on the street, but they're not you. Jesus, Bella, you haunt my dreams. I wake up so fucking hard it hurts. I've tried to fuck it out of me, but it seems you've stolen my mojo. You've ruined me."
He leaned closer. I could feel every inch of him against me. Every inch. Closer he came, until I could feel the beating of his heart. An inch closer and we would taste each other's lips. This wasn't who I was; I wasn't a cheater, though I had already cheated in the worst possible way. I had given my heart away to someone who didn't want it.
I reveled in the feel of his touch. It felt comforting, new, and right. I clung unapologetically to this human contact. At the last moment, I turned my head to the side, and his lips brushed my cheek.
"Edward, please." I begged.
And then I was free. I knew if I looked at Edward, I would be a goner. Eyes to the floor, I ran.
The apartment might be empty, but at the moment it was as close to a sanctuary as I was going to find in Seattle.
As soon as I opened the door, I knew something was wrong. I could hear voices, a man's and a woman's. It was Jasper, and I had a sinking feeling I knew who the girl was. The problem was, Jasper had told me he was working, which means he'd lied. I made my way towards the living room. Jasper was sitting on the sofa, and two wine glasses sat on the coffee table. The tinkling laugh of Alice Brandon made my blood boil.
"I didn't know we were having guests over," I muttered sarcastically.
If my emotions weren't all over the place, I would have noticed the high heels by the door and the petite coat hanging on the coat stand.
Jasper sprang up, and his scotch slopped out of the glass as he thumped it down on the table. Alice froze, her eyes wide with surprise.
"I thought you were out tonight."
"Yeah, well, I thought you were in the office, but I guess neither of us are where we are supposed to be." I paused. What right did I have to play the victim after what just happened with Edward and the feelings I have for him? "What's going on?"
"Um…Alice…I was at…"
My gut instinct was right. Something was rotten in the state of Denmark.
"I just stopped by with some papers for Jay."
Her use of his nickname irked me. She was an employee. What was worse was there were no papers lying around.
"Jasper, Alice works for your father, not you. And second, where are the papers?"
You didn't need a dictionary to read their faces.
"I think I should go," Alice muttered, getting up from the couch.
I didn't miss the discrete clasp of her hand on Jasper's arm before she walked passed me. I kept my focus on Jasper as I listened to the apartment door close behind us.
"Bella, it isn't want it looks like," Jasper pleaded with me.
My anger was back, growing with the obvious lie.
"Really? Pray, do tell, why else would Alice be over here at," I checked my watch, "nine in the evening when you said that you were in the office? Working too hard to join your friends for an after work drink, Jay?"
"I told you—"
"Don't lie to me, Jasper. We've never lied to each other, and we shouldn't start now."
He slumped back on the sofa, and I had my answer.
I spun around and grabbed my car keys. I needed to be anywhere but here, so for the second time that night, I ran.
I didn't know where I was headed, but as soon as I saw the sign for Port Angeles, I knew. I wanted to go home. I wanted my dad and the kind of comfort that only a parent could give.
The car spluttered before coming to a stop. I managed to steer it to the side of the road before the momentum gave out.
I slammed my hands down on the wheel. I had been so mad at Jasper that I forgot that I hadn't filled the car after work. My mind was so distracted lately that if it wasn't on a list, I stood no chance of remembering anything. Wedding lists, guest lists, seating plans… Too many lists.
I watched the wipers beat across my windshield for a minute as I tried to quell the tears of frustration that burned in my throat. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Jasper's distance from me, his lack of care over the wedding, my confusion over Edward… It was all too much.
The tears fell, and I made no effort to brush them away. My life was falling apart, and I had no clue what to do anymore. As much as I was angry with Jasper, it wasn't his fault. We both were to blame.
I pulled myself together enough to call someone. For once my luck was going my way; I still had reception.
Even though we had fought, I called Jasper, but it went straight to voicemail. I had only left him an hour ago, so why was his phone off?
Rosalie was out of town, so she was a no go. It pained me, but I was running out of options. I selected the name from my contacts list.
"Hello, this is Alice Brandon. Sorry I can't take your call at the moment. Please leave your name, number, and a short message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can."
What the hell? Alice never turned her phone off! It was practically surgically attached to her ear.
That left me only one option, as there was no way I was going to ask my dad to drive three hours to come get me.
I dialed and crossed my fingers.
"Hello, Edward." God, my voice sounded rough. "I didn't want to disturb you, but you're my last hope."
"What's going on? Are you okay, Bella?" His voice was panicked.
"I'm fine, I think. I've run out of gas on the 101. Rosalie is out of town, and I've tried Jasper and Alice, but their phones are off."
"Where are you?"
"I'm about an hour along the 101, heading toward Port Angeles. There's no traffic, and I'm scared."
"What the hell are you doing all the way out there?" His voice was still panicky, but I could hear anger seeping in.
"I was heading to Forks, and I hadn't filled up in a while. I forgot to do it today."
"For fuck's sake, Bella, why were you heading to Forks at ten at night? And of all the irresponsible things, not checking for gas! You could have got stuck without reception, or a car could have hit you…"
I drew the phone away from my ear. Edward was apparently on a roll. I knew he was right, and that made me feel like I was a child again.
"Look, Edward, I didn't call for a lecture. I called to see if you could help me out. The rain is pissing down, and you obviously don't want to, so I'll just call my dad to come get me."
"Don't be stupid, Bella, Forks is hours away. Of course I'll come out with gas. Just stay where you are."
"I don't have gas, Edward, so I can't go anywhere, duh!"
Wow, his lecturing me really had brought out my inner child.
"Well, then, stay in the car, lock the doors, and I will be there as soon as I can."
I relaxed a little. Help was on the way, but it was still dark and I was parked next to a forest. The trees were creaking in the wind and rain. I turned the ignition on to activate the air and turned it to hot. My temperature gauge was showing forty-one degrees. I quickly turned the air off. Without the engine on, it was just blowing cold air from outside. Still, I kept the ignition on, and the music from the CD player kept me company.
Here it comes, ready or not
We both found out it's not how we thought
That it would be
How it would be
If the time could turn us around
What was once lost may be found
For you and me
For you and me
I thought over the argument I had with Jasper. It had been building for weeks. I thought we had sorted things out after I found Jasper drinking scotch by himself. We seemed to be back on track. Jasper started showing some enthusiasm about the wedding, but then he didn't show up for the cake tasting, and I let it go with the flimsiest of excuses. I sat through engagement photos, and the interviews for a wedding planner. All Jasper had to do was add a couple of names to the guest list of people he wanted to invite, and he didn't even want to do that. He claimed work was kicking his ass, but I had called him a couple of times when he was meant to be working late, and the phone just rang and rang.
My own feelings weren't helping any. I felt alone and isolated. Jasper was apparently working more, and Rosalie was never available anymore. Emmett wasn't around as much either. I figured that maybe they had rekindled there on-again, off-again romance and just weren't telling anyone. As a result, I had been spending more time with Edward. I liked his friendship. I loved the way he made me feel wanted and not so lonely. I loved the way his phone calls made me smile, and how he would go out of his way to meet me for coffee during lunch breaks. Jasper and Edward worked for the same company, but in all our years together, Jasper had never made the effort to meet me during work hours.
The feelings I had for Edward were wrong, but I just couldn't stop them. It had crossed my mind more than once that I was only developing feelings for Edward because things were so crappy between Jasper and me. The more I thought about it the more I realized it wasn't true. It couldn't be. I had always been attracted to Edward., but his attitude towards me from the start, and then Jasper and I started dating showed he couldn't possibly feel the same. I chalked my feelings up to purely physical attraction and hoped it would pass. My love for Jasper had been stronger than the base attraction I had for Edward and his sometimes shitty attitude.
Headlights flashed from behind me, and I turned in my seat, watching as Edward's Volvo came to a stop. I opened my door and stepped out into the cold rain.
"Goddamn it, Bella, I told you to stay in the car."
"I knew it was you. Who else would drive a Volvo and come bail me out?"
He rolled his eyes and stomped to the back of his car to pop the trunk. My hair, wet and clinging to my face, fell into my eyes. Drop by drop, I felt the rain seep into my clothes. I couldn't feel the cold from the December rain as I watched Edward's harsh, angry movements in pulling a gas tank from his trunk. His eyes blazed as they caught in the headlights.
He wasn't just angry with me; he was furious.
Muscles moved and rippled under his soaked through shirt. It looked as if he had left the house in nothing more than a button-down and jeans. Even his socks were missing.
"Don't, Bella," he ground out.
I shrunk back and listened to the Lifehouse song that could still be heard playing inside the car.
I was only looking for a shortcut home
But it's complicated, so complicated
It was beyond complicated; it was convoluted and muddled. In the span of three months, Edward had turned my life upside down and inside out. Nothing was clear anymore. At night, I would lie in bed, waiting for Jasper to get home, and I would think of the tangled mess my life had become. I was long past the stage of denial; I was in love with Edward Cullen, and I had no idea if he felt the same for me. I loved Jasper, too, but I loved him like my best friend. He was in my heart, but he didn't cause it to skip beats when he was near. I loved him for the sunny days and big brother hugs of our childhood, for my history with his family and the way I knew he would always be there for me. When Jasper asked me to marry him, I had been so in love with him, and I was joining the Hale clan. Rose would be my sister by name not by some infantile blood bond forged over pushing cut fingers together. But I couldn't marry him now; I couldn't cheat us both out of the lives we could find with others.
Edward emptied the gas into my car and screwed the lid back on. His body was tense, his every movement controlled. If he let it go, even for a second, I would lose it. I had caused this, and I didn't understand why.
"Edward, I'm sorr—"
"I swear to God, Bella, if the next word out of your mouth is sorry, I'm gonna lose my shit."
Well, what else could I say? I didn't mean to drag you out here because of my blonde moment? I'm sorry I let you kiss me? I'm sorry I walked away? I was sorry for so much; he had to know that."
Edward closed his eyes and shook his head. Picking up the gas can, he stalked back towards his car. Suddenly, he stopped halfway and put the can down before turning back towards me.
I watched him through the pouring rain, his body wavering; would he stay or would he go?
"Do you even know how stupid you've been?" His voice was haggard and pained. He was livid.
"Look, it's been a stressful week. Sorry if my brain wasn't on gas-top-up monitoring," I muttered sarcastically. "I've got a lot on my mind."
Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say. A couple of long, quick steps and he was in front of me, his brow furrowed, his hands clasped in his hair.
"Jesus, Bella, anything could have happened to you out here. What if someone had stopped and the last thing they wanted to do was help you? What if I hadn't picked up the phone, or had been drinking and couldn't pick you up? Fuck, do you have no sense of self-preservation?"
He wasn't angry anymore; anxiety was written all over his beautiful face.
"You know, for someone who hates me, you seem to give an awfully big damn about me. You didn't even stop to put socks on before coming to my rescue. Desperate to play the white knight, huh?"
I was goading him. Beyond frustrated, and desperate to find some sense of stability in my world, I was pushing him to his breaking point.
Time to fight or flight, Edward.
I found myself being stalked, taking steps backward until I felt my back against the car. The cold metal cooled my wet clothes. It was a relief from my anger-heated body.
"These clothes were the only ones I hadn't packed."
What the fuck was going on?
"Packed? What do you mean packed? You're going on a business trip?"
He laughed sardonically. "No, Bella, I'm leaving permanently."
He took a step away from me, and I leaned toward him.
He was leaving? No, he couldn't be leaving.
What about his job? What about me?
"I can't do it anymore. I can't be here every day, watching."
"You're making no sense, Edward. You can't just leave. What about your life here?" What about me?
"What life? I have no life here anymore, only heartache, and I can't do it anymore."
My breath hitched. "Someone broke your heart?"
"She's everywhere. I can't escape her. She fills every corner of my life, and the torture of it is killing me. She's marrying my best friend, and I'll be damned if I stand back and just watch as she does it."
Best friend? But his best friend is Jasper…
Before I could blink, Edward was beside me, his hands caging me against the car. No escape. But there was no use escaping if you wanted to be there. He was so close that I could see drops of rain sitting on his lashes.
I held my as he leaned in close, fitting against me from pelvis to chest. Our clothes were so thin and wet that I could feel his every breath pushing his chest against mine. Skin against skin, his nose brushed over my cheek, and I felt his hot breath against the shell of my ear.
"I love you, Bella Swan. I've loved you from the moment I watched you walk in that coffee shop. Your cheeks were flushed from the fall chill, and you were wearing that ridiculous, thick scarf, with all the colors of the rainbow in it. The barista tried to flirt with you when you ordered your coffee, but you didn't notice. I left a half-full latte on the table to join the sales line just so I could be near you and maybe chat you up. By the time I got through with the guy at the till, you had vanished. Then I found you again…in Jasper's arms. God, Bella, it was like the bottom of my world dropped out."
His voice was low, his emotions cracking through at the end.
"But you hated me! You looked at me like I was something you picked off your shoe."
Edward's hands dropped from the car to my hips, his thumbs caressing me in small circles. It was distracting, more so than his voice. I noticed it stopped raining.
"I could never hate you, Bella. I was so…disappointed that Jasper got to you first."
"Edward, I wasn't some prize to be claimed."
"I know that, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. The draw to you was incredible. I could feel you whenever you were around even if I couldn't see you. I thought about you when you weren't there, watched you when you were. You drove me half mad."
"I had no idea."
I took his face in my hands, pulling him away from my ear. I needed to see him. Tears were falling down his face. How pained this man must have been all this time! What had I done to him? How had I not seen this?
"Of course you didn't. On the way home, Jasper went on and on about your childhood, his crush on you in middle school, and how hot you had turned out. There was no way I could compete. And it wasn't high school anymore. I couldn't yell, 'I saw her first'."
"Edward, I'm so sorry. I never…I just—"
"I can't do it anymore, Bella. I can't stay here and watch you marry him. I deserve a chance at happiness, too. There may not be anyone else out there for me; you may have ruined me, but I owe it to myself to try."
"That's why you're leaving?"
He tried to pull his gaze from mine.
"I can't, Bella."
Fat, silent tears fell down both our cheeks.
"Stay. For me."
"What about Jasper?"
My heart broke. Someone was going to get hurt, and things would never be the same again.
"There is no me and Jasper. We haven't been us since before his proposal."
"Then why did you say yes? You could have gotten out. We could have—"
"You have to understand, I have known the Hales most of my life. I have always been part of their family. Jasper and I were having problems before, and he proposed to try to fix them, I guess. It was always expected that we would marry, and Rosalie wanted a sister. I wanted the extended family I've never really had. It was natural for me to say yes. I love Jasper, Edward. I'm just not in love with him anymore. I haven't been for a long time."
"What about us?"
And with that question, my mind was clear and focused for the first time in such a long time. I knew what I wanted. It was time to take my head out of the sand and grow a pair, figuratively.
"I want to try an us. But first, I need to talk to Jasper. I can't think about you and me until I sort things out with Jasper. I owe him that, and so much more. Will you follow me back to Seattle?"
"Anywhere you want me to go."
"I'll talk to Jasper and then come over to your apartment?"
He nodded. "I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Edward."
I pulled his lips to was the kind of kiss I'd been dreaming about my whole life. I could feel everything: his love; his lust; the promise of more; hope for a future. It was all softness and home.
As I pulled out onto the highway, my shoulders felt light. And even soaked to the bone, I felt happy. When my thoughts turned to Jasper, the road didn't seem long enough. I was about to hurt one of my oldest and closest friends.
Edward's car left me as I pulled into the underground parking lot at the condo. What was usually the slowest elevator in the world zipped up to our floor. My hands clenched and unclenched as I tried to control the nervous shaking of my body.
My keys rattled in my hand as I tried to get them in the lock. Finally, I got it in and turned it to open the door.
It was dark inside; only the lights in the kitchen created shadows across the room. The scene was eerily familiar—even more so when I spotted Jasper on the sofa and the glasses and bottle of scotch still sitting across from him. His suit jacket was rumpled, and his tie hung undone and loose around his neck. He looked like hell.
"Jasper," I whispered into the dark.
He turned sorrowful eyes on me. He looked broken and torn. Jasper took in my appearance, startled.
"What happened to you?"
He got up and walked towards me. I waved off his hands. If he touched me, the guilt would break me.
"It's raining. I got caught in the downpour." It was a lie; the truth would come out later. Right now I needed something simple to stay on point.
"Here, sit by the fire and I'll get you a robe."
I avoided his attempt to direct me, and I sat on the chair closest to the fireplace. The warmth was good, and the shivers subsided, but it couldn't warm me on the inside.
The robe was warm, soft, and comforting as it was slung over my shoulders, which he clasped before moving to sit on the coffee table close-by.
In the firelight, I studied him. There was no sharp ping of desire, no overwhelming passion there. Instead I saw a man who was my best friend in the way no girl could be. What I told Edward was true; I loved Jasper, but only like a friend should.
All the anger, all the feelings of betrayal faded. The torn look on his face said it all.
"God, Bella, this is so fucked up."
Suddenly, I wasn't his fiancée anymore; I was his oldest friend and confidant.
"What's up, Jay?" I saw his hesitation. "Before we were anything else, we were friends, best friends. I'm still your best friend, and you need one right now."
"I've fallen in love with someone else."
And, just like that, I felt the weight lift off the both of us.
"Alice. Why aren't you screaming and throwing things like women are wont to do?"
"We both know that's not my style. Plus, who I am to judge? We've both been absent from this relationship for a while."
"I didn't sleep with her, Bella. I swear to you, I would never do that to you. Alice and I…we just talked. I've been falling apart, and she let me lean on her. She just gets me…" He must have seen the look on my face. "Not that you didn't. She just gets me like no one else could. I've wanted to tell you all along, but I couldn't."
"It's okay, Jasper, it really is. I get it."
He had admitted his betrayal, and I had accepted it. Could he accept my betrayal, too? It was so much worse; it was his best friend.
He took my hand from my lap and held it.
"You've met someone, too?"
I nodded. "Edward," I whispered.
I watched the emotions flit across his face: anger, hurt, relief, and confusion before settling on understanding.
"Who would have thought it? I guess hate really does breed love."
"You're not angry?"
"Oh, I'm angry, but who am I to judge? We've both made mistakes, and we feel just as guilty as the other does. What's the point in lashing out this late in the game?"
Jasper's natural empathy could be frustrating, but for once I was glad of it. We were both hurt and guilty enough without needing to sling mud and play the blame card.
"What are we going to do, Bella?"
My practical side took over, and I gave my constricted heart a rest.
"Tomorrow we'll start phoning people, calling stuff off, and then we'll work everything out. I'm not looking forward to explaining this to everyone."
Jasper reached out and held my chin so I would face him.
"We don't have to explain this to anyone but ourselves. We can just tell people that we aren't in love, but we're still friends. We still want the best for each other."
"Will you be? Will you still be my friend?" I murmured.
"Bella, I will always be your friend. Do you want me to leave?
"No, Jasper, this is your home, too. I'll…I'll take the guest room for a while, until we figure this out. Why don't you call Alice? I'll give you some space after I change my clothes."
"You going to see, Edward?"
"Yeah, I…I need to see him."
I put my arms through the holes in the robe and stood.
"For what it's worth, I do love you."
"I love you too, Jay."
Rose and I walked down the street. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, and I felt like I was in the middle of the Sound of Music, all singing and twirling on the top of a mountain, happy and free. Only I wasn't in the Swiss Alps; I was in downtown Seattle on a Saturday morning having the strangest sense of déjà vu.
I pushed open the door to the exclusive boutique and sighed as the outside noise faded away. The memories of the last time I was here threatened to surface, but I quashed them down. That was then, and this is now.
"Ah, Miss Swan! Welcome back."
"Yep, we're hoping that it is second time lucky."
I nudged Rose with my elbow. "Rosalie," I muttered between clenched teeth.
"It's always going to be too soon with comments like that."
"Come on, B, lighten up a little. Last time we were here you had a hard time finding something, but at least we know why."
"Maybe we should have gone somewhere else." I shuddered at the memory of my mini-breakdown just eight months earlier.
"No way. This place has the best selection for off the rack…considering you guys haven't given us all much notice."
I had to laugh at the veiled disgust on Rosalie's face at the mention of "off the rack". We wanted to get married quickly—in one month, to be precise.
"If you will to follow me, I have some selections based on what you told us you were looking for. I must say, Miss Swan, you gave us a much better idea this time, so I am sure we will find exactly what you are looking for."
"Samantha, please, call me Bella. I think given the fact we both tried this before, we should be on a first name basis. Rose, why don't you grab yourself one glass of champagne, and I will be right back."
As I followed Samantha back to the dressing rooms, I was filled with trepidation; it wasn't a sense of unease like before, but an understanding of the significance of this moment.
I stripped down and redressed in the underwear I had brought with me. Samantha came back in with about four dresses in her arms; the last time there were at least five times as many.
"Wow, you have your underwear already!" Samantha exclaimed.
My hands ran over the silky corset, fingering the suspender straps. I couldn't wait until he unwrapped me and found out what was underneath.
"I know what my man likes. I saw it and just knew."
Catching the glint in Samantha's eyes, the middle-aged woman knew that I was not just talking about the corset.
"It's like a different bride in front of me this time."
"I think it is."
Tears burned in my eyes, and I could see Samantha's turning glassy.
At least I could blame the hormones.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
As the zipper on the first garment bag was pulled down, I got my first glance. Intricate beading and silk covered buttons. My apprehension ebbed away. Just like everything else over the last two month, this felt right. No second-guesses, no wondering why I wasn't like every other bride and ecstatic about picking out a dress or a cake. This was a second chance to get it right.
I stepped into the dress, which now lay open and pooled at my feet. There was a lot of dress; lace and tulle rippled out from the structured bodice.
The silk lining caressed my skin as Samantha pulled the dress up my body. Even before it was fully fastened, it struck me. The dress was beautiful. The silver and pearl beading of on bodice was so detailed, and it caught the light as Samantha pulled at the back to fasten the clamps.
When I first saw the tulle, I was worried. The meringue of my previous attempt at dress hunting came back to haunt me. It wasn't the same; this time the tulle was fine and soft against my palm, flowing with the dress, not filling it out. You could see the lace beneath it, which complimented the subtle lace behind the beading on the bodice.
The color confused me. It wasn't ivory or champagne, and I specifically asked for no white.
"Is this pink?"
"It's ivory with a hint of light rose pink in the lace underneath."
Who would have thought the color I hate so much would be in my wedding dress and look so stunning?
"It's beautiful. Can I go show Rose?"
Rose must have been beside herself waiting for me, or reaching for the scissors should this go the way of our initial visit.
I held the train of the dress as Samantha walked with me. As I stepped up onto the round platform in front of the 180-degree mirror, I smiled.
This was what my husband-to-be was going to see as I walked down the makeshift aisle towards him. My mind automatically went to the picture of him in his wedding tux. Rose has shown me smuggled phone pictures from when the boys had gone to pick out their suits. It would take everything I had in me to not jump him at first sight.
I had forgotten Rose was in the room with me. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she gave me a watery smile.
"You look so…" Rose let out a sob of happiness.
I had managed to render Rosalie Hale speechless for once. Nice.
"This is it. This is my dress."
"Edward is going to shit his load when he sees you. I think you guys might have to elope after all. There's no way he's going to keep his hands off you during the ceremony, and that is a show the guests don't need."
"The feeling is mutual. That tux has popped up in more than one of my fantasies."
"So, this is it?'
"This is it."
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Saturday, January 31, 2009
Whenever I give her a choice about which movie to watch, she always goes for Toy Story. This made me very, very happy at first. It's much better than most of the dvd's she wants to watch. It doesn't have annoying music, and the comedy is actually humorous. I enjoy it. Now I'm a little concerned that I may get tired of it. I've forced her to watch other movies, which she always enjoys, but if she sees the Toy Story box, it's over. Just give it up. That's what we're watching.
She's almost memorized "You've Got a Friend in Me," and it's awfully cute to hear her try to sing it. She gets very excited when she knows that Slinky (the dog) or Rex (the dinosaur) are about to come on. When Woodie gets knocked off the bed, she gets a look of concern on her face and says, "Ohhhh no!" She loves it when Rex and Potato Head pop up out of the box and spit out the packing peanuts. Well, even if I do get tired of the movie itself, I don't think that I'll ever get tired of watching her watch it. I'm pretty sure that we'll find out if I can get tired of it or not.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Then I went to Chic-Fil-A's drive through, got a brownie-a-la-mode and water (I'm obviously quite health conscious ;), and put the ol' Corolla in park for a few minutes so I could devour my brownie and ice cream. While in the drive-through, I was behind what appeared to be a church van, though there was no name on it that I could see. This thing was equipped with seven bumper stickers, six of which were Pro-Life slogans. The other was odd. It was yellow with red letters and hearts. The inscription was "Chastity is for Lovers". I told Edwin about this, and neither of us could quite understand the point. Jesus-lovers? Unmarried lovers? There are lots of reasons that true love waits, but that bumper sticker sure isn't one of them.
As I was scarfing down the brownie, I saw the electronic billboard where the new babies from Jackson Hospital are announced. One of them was named Late'hia. I sat there for a few minutes, trying to figure out the proper pronunciation. I don't think I ever quite hit on it. There was a little boy whose parents were extremely creative with his hospital picture. He was wearing an Alabama jersey, "holding" a football in the QB position (his right arm was tucked behind his head as if he were about to throw it), and his left hand was fashioned to look as if he were giving the peace sign. I could just imagine the pride bursting from that exhausted mother's face when she saw how hard her husband had worked to ensure a high-quality representation of their baby. (That may not be the family situation at all, but I'm going with the most traditional family organization since I don't know.) It was a cute picture.
After an enjoyable night of doing nothing, and worrying about no one as I did it, I went to get some groceries and came home. Thanks, Edwin, for giving me some time. I don't know how I could live this life without you by my side. (Let's not try to find out.)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
So what is it that I am so grateful for in this very special edition of Year 24? It might sound a little odd to you, but I am grateful that our God is not a god of checklists. It comes from the fact that I've been thinking about DeLaynie and her development quite a bit lately. She isn't doing poorly, in fact, she didn't even qualify for Alabama's early intervention program (because she is doing so well). I'm not really sure why it's been on my mind so much lately, but it has.
I've tried to make the delay disappear, I've tried explaining how her mind works, and I've tried listing her strengths out of a desire to make her weaknesses go away. This is a natural way of doing things, but why would I do things naturally when I have a supernatural relationship with the King of Kings?
I'm grateful that God isn't sitting on His throne comparing one child to another, and I'm grateful that I don't have to either. God's design for a child is not a reflection on the quality of the mother, but on the greatness of our God. I don't know what's ahead for DeLaynie, but I have an inclination to believe that there are a couple of Goliaths that her way of hearing and feeling things are going to enable her to slay with Christ's strength. I don't want to miss that because I'm too busy worrying about her normality.
I admit that I long to have a full, meaningful conversation with my daughter, but when that day comes, I look forward to hearing about the way things seem to her. I can hardly wait to understand her better, but I want to understand her for who she is. This precious one has so much to offer the world that I can't even begin to comprehend it. I'm grateful that there is no such thing as a mistake in God's design. I'm grateful that mommy's little masterpiece is in the hands of the Great Artist. I may not always understand His perspective, but I will one day. On that day, the weaknesses of both of my children will be revealed in the light of His grace.
There's one more thing that I'm especially grateful for today. I'm grateful that this parenting gig isn't left up to us alone. Edwin and I have the sheer joy of teaching the girls about a mighty Warrior who is fighting on the side of those who love Him. At the end of the days when it seems too hard, we can sit in the lap of the Father of all Comfort. When I'm concerned for the health of my children, I can take it to the Great Physician. The greatest goal that we have as parents is to guide them to the Truth that can bring them the joy of knowing their Creator with the intimacy that is available to His children. I'm grateful for a husband who sees this goal as a family affair. I'm grateful for this life, for this responsibility, for the road that lay ahead. I'm grateful that God is ahead of me every step of the way. And above all, I am grateful that whatever happens, He will be glorified.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
There is a rule that the picture can't be overexposed, and the brightness of the flash created a similar affect on DeLaynie. It appears that she has stop-the-traffic red lips. Ella has a pretty nice picture, but it is too far off. It looks like we'll have to try it again. I had a feeling this was going to take a couple of attempts.I went ahead and added a couple of pictures of how the girls actually look. It's mostly for the purpose of showing off my babies. I especially enjoy the picture of Ella.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Anyway, so I've had a sudden influx of SPAM. I'm not sure who sends it out, but they are completely un-picky about the recipients. First, I keep receiving dating service messages. Obviously, that's not needed. I'm thoroughly married. Secondly, the dating services seem to be pretty specialized. The other day I got one "Singles Over 50 Meet". Today was "Black People Meet". I love meeting people of both groups, but I don't think we're talking about Bible Study meetings here. I'm simply not their target niche.
That isn't nearly as annoying, though, as the stuff I'm constantly getting from the GOP. I emailed them once to let them know that I found their "surveys" to be a complete waste of money. I use quotation marks with the greatest of care. They called them surveys, but they were actually statistic generators. All of the questions were meant to get specific answers. I found this to be a terrible waste of resources. Obviously, it wasn't all that helpful in the presidential campaign, either. Ever since I emailed in my complaint, I have been made aware of every race involving a republican in the United States. I've also been emailed information about every mistake, personal or professional, made by a democrat. As much I love to read about how the governor of Massachusetts (who is referred to as "His Excellency," no matter who it is) forgot to return a library book in the seventh grade, I figure that there have to be bigger fish to fry.
I'm sure that I could be removed from all the lists, but nothing dirty has arrived yet. Once that happens, I'll attack the problem. For now, I'm just going to allow these people to send me ads that will never be used. I have to admit that they have piqued my curiosity about the number and specificity of dating services. I'm waiting for the day to come when I receive an invitation to "Eastern European Scientologists Meet".
Monday, January 26, 2009
I appreciate Travis Abraham allowing me to borrow his set. I'm always nervous about borrowing books. I'm afraid of ruining them. I think that it would be worth it to buy Travis a new set if that happens. I have similar feelings about caravaning. I don't like to lead cars because I'm afraid of losing them or driving poorly with someone watching closely, and I don't like to follow cars because I'm afraid of going too slowly or getting stuck at a red light. There's a lot of fear of failure involved.
Anyway, Lewis uses fantasy to explore the possibilities of different outcomes, such as if the Fall in the Garden of Eden had been averted. He tells the stories in such a way that they aren't beyond comprehension, and they are easy to get pulled into. There are some lines that stick with you, such as when the Eve-like character in the second book realizes that she has always had free will. She hadn't even realized it because she never wanted anything other than what God had wanted from her. There seemed to be no choice, simply because the answers were so obvious.
I enjoy a good "what if...?" scenario, which is the main reason I so enjoyed Sliders, at least for the first couple of seasons. Sliders, for those of you who aren't up to speed on weird mid-90's television, was a fantasy show where the character "slid" from universe to universe, each one with a different history. The interesting part of the show was to see how things could be totally different due to one change in history. If you have Netflix, you can watch it online for free. Don't waste your time on the third, fourth, or fifth seasons.
Well, if you are looking for fiction that may just prove to have some value, I recommend the Space Trilogy. It's hard to go wrong with C.S. Lewis. I like his work so much that I almost wanted to name Ella (had she been a boy) after him. Then I discovered why he shortened his name to initials. Why would anyone name their child Clive Staples? That has to cause emotional trauma.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
We have no broadcast t.v. We have a dvd player and a video game console, but no actual television. I guess that it's a good warm-up for going overseas, but it makes me feel out of the loop to not be aware of such things. There have been countless news stories that I had no idea about because we are lacking in the media department. We go to Mom and Dad's to watch 24 on Mondays. That's about as ideal of a situation as we're going to get since it's not like we could keep up with it without some form of childcare anyway.
Obviously, we have internet, and are therefore able to watch the missed t.v. shows and find the news stories that we crave. (We watched Lost today.) That requires effort that I don't always care to spend on such activities, though. Ella always wants to pull the keys out of the keyboard, so it's close to impossible to do either while she's awake. Her nap time is already full of blogging.
Being locked up in this house with a sick child (who is feeling much better, by the way) has made me feel thoroughly secluded from society. Maybe I'll just have to adjust to life on the little Attaway island.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Let's look at what we learned:
- Eye contact matters- it sends the message that we aren't ashamed of what we're saying, and that we genuinely care about the person to whom we are speaking.
- We don't have to come off as lunatics- we're all afraid of looking crazy, but it isn't necassary.
- Caring about the person is square 1- the best place to start is by knowing what the person you're talking to cares about. This guy started by complimenting Penn's work. That meant something to him because it's a priority to him. I've never believed that, "Hell is real, and it's where you're going!" was the best starting point for evangelism. Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't convey a message of love or concern, just judgement.
- There's no such thing as a lost cause- Penn has a video series discussing the Bible as, well, something I can't say. He's vehemently against the things of God. But you know what, he saw something there for a second that he couldn't deny. It was enough to cause him to create a video and show the world. That Bible is probably sitting somewhere in His house right now. He may never open it, or he might. Fifteen years from now, fifty years from now, he may open that precious book and discover the very power of God. I've heard of it happening before. Let's pray for him. He could end up being the greatest theologian or evangelist of our time. He may not, but there's no good reason to not pray. Pray for the other people in our world who appear to be "lost causes". I don't think God recognizes that category, and I'm pretty sure that we shouldn't either.
- It's worth it, folks!- I find one thing that he says extraordinary. "How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them?" That's a great question. We are more concerned with how we look and having friends than we are about the people all around us who are dying and going to Hell. We are more concerned with our comfort than their eternal destiny. How can we then say that the love of a God who gave His very Son for our salvation dwells within us? We come into contact with people everyday who haven't experienced love like we know it. We need to share that. We need to speak up, in love and kindness. It's easy to stand on a street corner and yell out phrases of eternal judgement. It takes guts to walk up to someone and bare your soul to them, forgetting your pride, remembering that there was a time when you were an enemy of God, just as they are now. It's by grace that we can be different. How cruel do we have to be to refuse to share it?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Nick was holding Ella up in the air when DeLaynie walked into the room. DeLaynie became upset and yelled, "No! Stop that. Get her down!" Nick quickly handed Ella off to Edwin in order to placate DeLaynie's desire for safety. DeLaynie looked at Edwin very seriously and said, "Be careful." DeLaynie likes that phrase, "Be careful," probably because she has heard it a thousand times a day ever since Ella was born.
Yesterday I put on a video for children with language delays and babies Ella's age whose parents simply want their children to be geniuses. It's incredibly boring, but DeLaynie and Ella both enjoy it immensely. Plus, I don't feel guilty for letting them watch it since it is, after all, therapeutic. One of the words covered on this video is "cry." The way that the video works is that they show the word, say it out loud, and show the action, all simultaneously. This meant that crying was represented by a bunch crying children. I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but it upset DeLaynie immensely. We're talking real tears, sobbing, and running from the room. I comforted her, but even after the next word, "wave," came up, she was still visibly upset.
I'm not sure what brought on this sudden wave of maternal instincts, but it does make for some adorable scenarios. I'm not sure what it is, but there is nothing quite like watching a two year-old cradle her doll, sing to it softly, and kiss its plastic face. I'll just have to make a point of enjoying such moments between the tantrums that are also typical of DeLaynie's stage of development, though not nearly as precious.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I wasn't sure if DeLaynie could even go to school off of 6 hours of sleep that ended 5 1/2 hours before school even began, but she made it through her day just fine. Then she came home, and I let her stay up for about an hour before putting her to bed. Ella wasn't quite normal (see below), so I was trying to deal with her. When I went to the kitchen to make her a bottle, I heard DeLaynie in our room. Then I heard a piece of metal slide on the door.
She locked it. From the inside. With one of the bar locks that can't be unscrewed from the outside. And the hinges were on the inside. We had very few options. Edwin was on his way home from a lunch in the middle of nowhere (which is between Tallassee and Tuscaloosa), so I called my dad. He was in the woods, walking and probably praying, but he came over, and called Mom who'd taken a half-day off for a dentist appointment. She got there before Dad.
Poor DeLaynie was in a frenzy. None of us had even noticed where on the door the lock was, so we were shooting in the dark. Mom and Dad decided that the door would have to be removed... by force. I went outside and tried to seduce DeLaynie to the window where she wouldn't be near the door when it swung open. She wouldn't bite. The curtains were closed, so she couldn't even see me. Mom pried and kicked and made great head-way in dislodging the door before Dad got there. The noise was traumatizing DeLaynie. Ella was annoyed that both grandparents were there, but they wouldn't hold her. DeLaynie decided to lay down on the floor, which is about 18 inches below the bottom of the door because of a stair. This gave Dad the opportunity he needed to bust it in. The door finally opened, and DeLaynie ran out, screaming, "Yippee!" in response to Dad announcing her freedom. I tried to explain that these kinds of things happen when we disobey Mommy. (She was supposed to be laying down for a nap.)
Yesterday I mentioned how I caved in the midst of inner turmoil about giving Ella a steroid prescribed to her. I will freely admit that the reason is fear. I'm afraid of the bronchitis developing into something like pneumonia, and having only myself to thank for it. I don't typically like to make decisions from fear, but this is a logical fear, so it's kind of like making a logical decision, right?
I don't know. The inner turmoil continues over the decision. The poor baby turned into the Energizer Bunny. She kept crawling at a pace equivalent to a sprint, up the hall, then back down. I might be reading into it, but she seemed miserable through the whole night, as if she desperately wanted to stop, but couldn't. She was ravenously hungry all day, gulping down at least ten bottles of 6 ounces each. She didn't sleep well either. I think that it was partially due to being hungry and partially due to the sudden bursts of undeniable energy. There's only one term for the way she was acting: high. Maybe it's all of the educational videos I've seen in my life about how steroids kill people, but I'm having a hard time gulping this one down. I think I'll head over to WebMD and click around to see what they have to say about it.
Yesterday wasn't all trauma and struggling with little people. Edwin found out that he got a job! He started orientation today. He didn't know which job, exactly, as he applied for a few different ones with the same organization. I suppose that I'll find out when he gets home, not that we know when that'll be.
Ah, parenthood. It's quite an adventure.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I hate going to the doctor. I have no problem in going myself. It's taking the kids that irks me. Not only is the experience a generally miserable one, they always seem to come out sicker than when they went in. I don't know where the cycle starts and ends, but it seems like there are kids who are always at the doctor, and they seem to get sick more and stay sick longer. The easiest thing to believe is that they go to the doctor because they're sick, but I'm not sure that it doesn't work the other way around. Maybe they get sick because they go to the doctor and are always on antibiotics. I don't know. I just feel like it's a theory worth the try.
Well, I finally just went. I hardly even saw the doctor. We mostly dealt with a med student, who was very nice, but I didn't get much information from her. It wasn't until I had the meds in my hands that I realized that they had given her a steroid. Ella's ten months old, so this was scary to me. I don't even like giving them antibiotics. Steroids keep them awake, and they tend to be irritable and eat more. (B.Wal referred to a steroid her son was on as "Satan Medicine".) The very last thing that Ella needs is to eat more. Still, the med student, who was very nice, mentioned in passing that she has bronchitis, so I felt like it was probably necessary to give her the steroid.
The good news is that they did give her something to actually make her feel better. Her nose is raw from all of the wiping, and they took everything off the market that could actually fix it because some people simply refused to follow directions. (I'm most definitely not anti-medication.) It's like being in elementary school, when no one gets to have a cookie because a few of the kids thought it would be fun to crush them into the carpet. Some people just have to ruin it for everybody.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
That's not to say that I never got my way through pure perseverance. I got a dog that way. When I was ten, all I wanted for Christmas was a puppy. I put up posters all over the house, each with a pro-puppy slogan. My parents demanded that it was completely impractical for us to get a dog, but sure enough, Christmas morning found a mutt puppy named Jessie under our tree (not literally; there is no way to get a puppy to stay still under a Christmas tree). The fact of the matter is that I was an unusually persuasive little girl. I'm hoping that such a trait has not been passed down to our next generation.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Then we got to meet up with B.Wal and her fam. They're in the state visiting family and attending a work-related conference, which worked out well for us. We have missed them greatly. DeLaynie was extremely excited to hear that we were going to see Woodstock. Tonight Mom mentioned his name, and she started running around the house trying to find him. She's got it bad.
To make the day a bit more memorable for B.Wal and her hubby, we made shirts. Each one of us had "I (heart)" followed by the name of the corresponding Wal family member. We were pretty proud of ourselves for such dedication to a joke. I think they got a kick out of it.
Edwin interviewed for a job today as well. We don't know anything yet, but he seemed to think that it went well.
Finally, Mom was kind enough to throw a dinner party and invited the youth minister and his wife, along with their three boys. It was a lot of fun. We got to play a game and everything, thanks to my mom and dad being willing to take care of 5 kiddos. And they did a great job at it, too. The food was fabulous, and the company was splendid. The girls weren't in a great mood, but the evening was none-the-less a fun one.
DeLaynie kept coming over and grabbing the cards from the game we were playing. She was saying, "fish," which we didn't understand at all. Then Edwin realized she picked up on the card game Go Fish. I'm not sure where she got it, but I'm proud of her observation skills.
So it was a good day. Now it's time to try and get some sleep.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Anyway, she got a doll for Christmas that she has fallen head-over-heels in love with. The first thing she did was give it a big kiss. Now she's in a kissing frenzy. The good news is that she doesn't kiss just anyone. She kisses all babies, human or plastic. She kisses teddy bears. She asks Edwin and me for kisses all the time. I'm trying to teach her to blow a kiss, but right now it's just kissing the air.
It can't possibly be good for her to go around kissing everything in the middle of cold season. She does have an excellent immune system, but this has to be a bit much. I'm just hoping that this little phase passes before her teen years. Otherwise, I may be forced to homeschool.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
There have been some questions in the Christian community about the value of VeggieTales. Some people say that you can't tell a part of the Bible stories and not the whole thing, completely accurately. I'm not sure about you, but I don't know how DeLaynie could handle the story of King David and Bathsheba as is. Try explaining adultery to a preschooler. I think it makes good sense to present them with a starting point that you can use as they get older. No cartoon, after all, takes the place of parents and church in a child's upbringing. It's merely meant to supplement the education that they receive from their adult influences. There is also the issue of there being no Jesus in VeggieTales. I find this valid, but it is a pretty big question, "What vegetable plays Jesus?" There really isn't a way to play it respectfully. It would be nice if they did something to at least talk about Him, though.
Back to "The Pirates...". As I was watching the commentary (or watching the movie and hearing the commentary), I could tell that my man Phil was pretty annoyed with some of the changes made by Universal. Specifically, a song that was added in a tavern. When I first saw the movie, I was shocked that Phil Vischer would have written it, but concluded that he must have since he was the writer according to the credits. I was relieved to discover that he didn't like it either.
At another point the director (who was apparently the go-between for Universal and Big Idea) said something about "sometimes less is more" in defense of scene that was cut. To which, Phil responded, "and sometimes more is more." This was quickly followed by nervous giggles all around. They couldn't really hide their true feelings about the situation, which is the only reason that I sat through the entire commentary.
All-in-all, it's a good movie, though the Universal fingerprints are embedded through the entirety. If they would have left it alone, I'm sure that it would have been better. Phil made the comment at the end of the commentary, "Most people don't notice that the heroes never defeat the bad guy. An outside power, who is the one who called them into the story to begin with, is the one who really saves the day. That's what makes this movie distinctively Christian." And that is I why I'm a Phil Vischer fan more than a VeggieTales fan.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
When we moved to Alabama, he started teaching her to acknowledge certain attributes of God's character. This sounds really complicated at first glance, but it is simply getting her to repeat "God is good." He started with "good", then he added a second thing. "God is great." Last night he changed "great" to "wise". His plan is to have her learn several different attributes. I personally can't wait to hear her say, "God is omniscient." Okay, so we'll probably use other terms, like "God knows everything," but it will be a fun day when she can say "omniscient".
There are few things more adorable than hearing your husband and child have such a discussion. It's during these times that I think about the single moms and women who are married to unbelievers. Parenting isn't meant to be done alone, though i know that God provides the grace to those that do. Listening in on conversations like the one last night are a highlight at the end of the day. I'm thankful for little moments like that one.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Random, I know. I've been reading a new novel. For the first time since Mother's Day, I'm delved into a work of fiction. On Mather's Day I read The Bell Jar. It's an odd way to spend Mother's Day, for sure, to be immersed in the brain of a mentally and emotionally disturbed woman. And yet I enjoyed it, as I did The Catcher in the Rye. I'm not sure what it says about me, but since they're considered classics, I can't imagine that I'm a rare breed among readers. This gives me comfort.
So reading a novel causes me to mentally narrate my life. I'm so used to turning words into images, I end up turning images into words. The movie Dead Poets Society made me want to write poetry, something that I am incapable of. I may could write prose, but not poetry. The concepts of meter are simply beyond me. Iambic pentameter, what? I don't even enjoy reading most poetry, to be honest. I prefer a good novel.
The book that I'm reading is enjoyable, though the author took much more time studying Africa than the Baptist missionaries that serve it. The book (which I am not going to name because I'm afraid that if you read it, it may leave you with a false impression of mission work) tells the story of a missionary family in the Congo during a very temultuous time. The father is incapable of understanding the culture, and he believes that it is necassary to Americanize the Congolese in order to teach them of salvation. He also has a very inappropriate understanding of baptism. He's a horrible father, and a terrible human being in general.
Although I am sure that the story could read like an autobiography of some missionaries, I really wish that the author had studied other missionaries, like Lottie Moon. She died of starvation because she kept giving her food to the local children. Or Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. Or any number of others.
Well, I'm not finished with the book yet. It's harder to read when you have children. Unlike t.v., books require a decent amount of concentration. Since we have no television, we are limited in entertainment avenues, which led me to reading this book. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm glad it was. I like it, even if I do feel like chucking it at the wall at times (I don't act on such feelings, just so you know).
Saturday, January 10, 2009
There is an abundance of words that are left unused, sitting desperately in the dictionary, hoping that someone will come across them when searching for the correct spelling of "spaghetti". There are a few words that I feel are sadly overlooked. They aren't long words, and they are pretty easy to spell, but for whatever reason, America has overlooked them. Here is a list of the unsung heroes of the English language, as I see it (and I am no authority):
- Placate- to satisfy, as one would a child, not an authority figure.
- Ardent- passionate; fiery. Usually this word is used in its adverbial form of "ardently".
("I'm ardently against the use of chocolate as a means of placating small children.")
- Monosyllabic- the state of a word having only one syllable. (Cat and dog are monosyllabic words.)
- Superfluous- unnecessary and unneeded; redundant. ("The politician was superfluous in his choice of words in an attempt to make himself sound smarter than he is.")
In the time of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, the middle-class Russians (as well as the high-class) would speak several languages because they felt that a single language was inadequate for full expression. Most Russians spoke at least French, in addition to Russian. Every once in a while, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky would randomly throw in a word from French to convey their point better. Even with all of the words held in the Russian language, it wasn't enough. Here we have plenty of words in our own language that not even native speakers know.
Of course, it is necessary to take the audience into consideration when choosing words, but the fact of the matter is that the more words we know, the richer our discussions and the deeper we can understand one another. Words are a powerful thing, my readers. Obviously you know that, or you wouldn't be reading this ;)!
Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Friday, January 9, 2009
- Work- We're in no threat of going hungry. We will be okay, even if we never get jobs, but for our own sanity, we would love to get some work. The pay doesn't need to be fabulous, and menial tasks are fine. It's more of an issue of finding part-time work that doesn't require Sundays and allows us to take turns taking care of the girls.
- Adaptability- We will be moving again in April, June, and eventually to our new home in Nicaragua some time in the fall, or next winter. For young children, this is a lot of change. We'll be changing languages, and they'll be in the care of different people at each stop. I'll be back in full-time mommy mode when we arrive in Nica.
- Preparation in the hearts of the people we encounter- Edwin and I will be building relationships and presenting the Gospel at every opportunity. Pray that God will be working in the lives of the people we meet, that they will become aware of their sin and that they will desire the grace of our wonderful, forgiving God.
- Humility- What I am realizing is that pride, or a belief that we are somehow better than the people we will serve, is going to be an enemy to us and our work. If we can learn from the people in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, respect their culture, and gain from their wisdom, we will have a much better chance at adapting to their world, parenting our children well in the new culture, and reaching them. We're going into their world, and we are going to have to earn their respect by being respectful of them as they are.
We need your prayers. It is God's choice as to how He will answer. It will be His grace that sustains us in each and every phase of this journey. What a wonderful thing that we get to serve a big God, for whom nothing is impossible!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
I decided that today's post would be a light one, so we're going to focus on some of the goofier memories. This isn't hard because last night I had a big kick-back to middle school. I was a Hansonite, a Fanson. Whatever you want to call it, I was a die-hard Hanson fan. Hanson fans are much cooler now days. They aren't the same thing that they were when I was in middle school. I know this because there is a wonderful teenage girl in our church who is a fan. I don't think anyone would debate her coolness.
When I was a nutty, out-of-my-mind, couldn't get enough Hanson fan, we weren't cool. We giggled constantly, cried when we saw them up close, and clung to every word that came out of their pubescent faces. I had posters... lots and lots of posters, that cluttered my walls. I remember one day when Dad came into my room to get me up for school. He turned to walk out, and seeing my Hanson-plastered wall (Mom had a rule that you shouldn't be able to see any posters from the door), said under his breath "My daughter is a groupie." He sounded so sad, as if I had been abducted by aliens.
I had a Hanson birthday cake. I'm embarassed to say that it was for my fourteenth birthday party. I totally should have grown out of that stage of fandom by that point, but I hadn't. By the time I got to college, my fandom waned. I still kept up with them. Oh, how disappointed I was to discover that Taylor, the middle one, had gotten a girl pregnant and was engaged to be married.
It was only a few months later that Edwin and I began dating. We were engaged by the time I was 19. I saw a concert the September before we got married in December. To be totally honest, if I had the opportunity to see them tomorrow, I would totally do it. They had a concert in Louisville, but I couldn't find anyone who wanted to go with me, and Edwin somehow thought that it would be a waste of money. Plus, it was in a club. Not really somewhere that I want to visit.
As memories of who I was collide with plans for who I want to be, I find myself confused. But some part of me still hums "Mmmbop". If you'll excuse me, I have a kid who needs her diaper changed.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Ella actually took a nap! A long one, too. I had to wake her up to get De from school. Edwin went to a pastor's lunch with Dad, so there was a time during which I was the only conscious person in the house! I talked to B.Wal for a while. I didn't have to take "angry mommy voice" breaks every fifteen seconds, and I didn't have to feel guilty for not wanting to pick up Ella, my little Cling-on (that would be a Star Trek pun).
When I did go to pick up DeLaynie, her very sweet teacher said that she'd had a great day! She'd cried once, but quickly calmed down. Edwin was quite relieved to discover this. I was happy, but not as shocked as my hubby. DeLaynie was delighted to see that I'd brought Ella with me. When I walked up, I heard, "There's Mommy. And look! There's the baby! It's Baby Ewwa." She seemed pretty happy in general.
I'm pretty proud of her, myself. She's going to be just fine with this missions thing.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Neither of us like the fact that we don't have jobs at the moment. I haven't worked outside of the home in years. Edwin, however, has always loved working. It isn't that he prefers being at work more than being at home, but going to work makes being at home more enjoyable to him. (Try to say that three times fast.)
The hardest part is establishing a routine. When you have nowhere to be, it's difficult to get into the swing of things. The good news is that pre-school starts tomorrow for DeLaynie. Three days a week, she will delve into the predictable world of structured education. At least as structured as a classroom of two year-olds can be. This will be a good warm-up for the eight weeks of 8 to 3 childcare she'll experience at orientation.
Daddy is far more nervous about this school thing than I. He may seem like a sentimental guy, but he isn't. Or he wasn't until the word, "school" was spoken. He's gotten all warm and squishy ever since it came up. He's mostly nervous for her. I think DeLaynie will like it once she adjusts to the expectations of the classroom, a process that will be good for her in its self, though it may not be so enjoyable to the teacher.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
For a Christmas present from my parents, Edwin and I asked for a few nights out of town. It came at the perfect time. Edwin and I were exhausted from the move, and the girls seemed more annoying than normal. This generally happens when I haven't slept enough. We went to a little cabin in Warm Springs, Ga for three nights. (It's near Callaway Gardens.) My mom is great at finding random places that are cozy and wonderfully obscure.
We went to Columbus a couple of times. We ate out, without fighting two little mess-makers. We saw a movie... in a theater. We heard almost every word. The movie was Valkyrie, so I really can't say that it was a barrel of laughs, but I do recommend it. It was a great movie, even if it was dark. It helps to know that we won eventually.
Then came Friday night, when we watched the Sugar Bowl. I'm not a sports genius. I do know that the University of Alabama only played sparatically. I'm not going to say much on the subject. The Alabama papers have said plenty. Let's just say that the Sugar Bowl was the low light of our vacation.
We had a good time sleeping in, watching television on cable, and walking around without worrying about the girls getting worn out from all of the shopping. We're home now, and it's good to be back with the girls, even if DeLaynie is a tad bit cranky from all the work that she put in preventing my mom from getting sleep. (Thanks mom!) We really missed them, and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to miss them.
Now we move on to job hunting. DeLaynie starts pre-school on Tuesday, and Mommy and Daddy are pretty nervous about it. Keep on praying for us! | <urn:uuid:1a7313cb-fb2c-45e2-a966-0a8fd18c2090> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://july24tojuly24.blogspot.com/2009/01/ | 2017-08-20T23:06:06Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00400.warc.gz | en | 0.989364 | 9,135 |
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The downfall of lists is that they can be so microscopic – just a nano-view of one person's singular likes and dislikes. So, when doing my 2009 best-of, I wanted to expand it a little, so I badgered a lot of kind, patient and musically savvy people for their picks, too (most of which I played on-air). Not only did they put up with my list-hounding, they also selected a lot of awesome music. What I love about year-end reflecting is that you get to play catch-up on things you missed out on; and the best feeling is when you discover some great thing you knew near-zero about before hectoring someone about their 2009 favourites (cf. HTRK, Do The Robot).
So a mega thank-you to all the bands, bloggers, writers, listeners who were sweet enough to put up with my pestering (especially visual superstars Greedy Hen, who came up with a Top 5 mixtape). I've arranged this in vague order of most-wordy to least, and just to be a list-hog, I've started this with my favourites, accompanied by descriptions where I use way too many heart metaphors.
My 30 favourite Australian songs of the year
1. Close Your Eyes And It All Goes Black (recorded live at FBi) by Kid Sam
I know I'm committing about a million music-fan crimes by doing this. Citing a version of a song that hardly anyone owns. And then to put it at number one! Could you get any more indie-snob than that? But hear me out, I'm singling this out not to high-note my record collection or the fact I'm lucky enough to volunteer at a radio station, but because I sincerely love this version to bits. Not that the original on the album isn't great. It's just that the little differences that unfolded in the FBi studio make the song even more of a punch to the heart … the squeaky strings on the record are replaced by the quietest of strums, so Kieran's lyrics get full and bare spotlight; the cute glockenspiel twinkles are gone, instead Kishore plays the melodica, each note lingering and mood-sinking. I was a million kinds of fortunate to be sitting across the desk when this all happened. Close Your Eyes And It All Goes Black is about things disappearing, and yet the song makes the strongest case for not letting go of it.
Still from Blood videoclip by Greedy Hen
2. Blood by The Middle East
A song which I re-fell in love with many times this year. The part where the band turn up their voices, from hushed tones to loud, rowdy choir – and the song scatters into countless full-flight, wayward harmonies – it's such a stampede-charge to the heart. You can see how it transformed The Middle East from relative unknowns in January to music-festival veterans and best-of-list favourites by December. (And the hand-crafted video clip by Greedy Hen made the song even better.)
3. After All by Jonathan Boulet
If you were being a calendar-killjoy, you'd say that this technically came out in 2008 – and it did, on a hand-printed demo that was dropped into my FBi pigeonhole. But most people probably didn't hear it until it got a re-release this November, so I figure this can sneak in. I still love this track as much as I did when I first heard it last October though – the crazy bolts, snaps and shuffle of percussion filtering through this melody-shot song are actually drawers being slammed, and Jonathan Boulet making little scrapes and knocks on a desk. It's so rare that you would get a demo full of perfect, inventive indie-pop from someone little-known and that lottery-chance of discovering something that good in an anonymous-looking stack of records is about the best thing about being at FBi. (Also, this slot could easily belong to One Who Flys Two Who Dies and the wonderfully unavoidable A Community Service Announcement, both from the same record.)
4. Fox & A Prayer by A Casual End Mile
This was another demo discovery. And being a lazybones, here's what I wrote earlier on the blog: "Sometimes you hear a singer for the first time and your heart forgets itself entirely. Unskipped beats pile up, waiting for you to remember to unpause, but music has a funny way of playing cardiac traffic cop – it takes a while for everything to return to normal. It's rare to single out a moment like that, but when I first pulled A Casual End Mile's demo from the weekly mountain of CDs, it was like that completely. Madelaine Lucas' voice is the kind that rewires your memory. Like Hope Sandoval, her words are quiet and spellbinding, able to make the most unadorned songs sound dreamy. A Casual End Mile is one to keep listening to."
5. The Siren Sings by Red Riders
Sometimes you think you have a band all figured out. And then you hear a song that completely rewrites everything you know. If I wind back a while, I remember playing I Think You're Blind from the first Red Riders EP when I was doing my first all-nighters at FBi (that song = 3am for me), and there was that summer where Slide In Next To Me was almost as ubiquitous as Peter Bjorn & John's Young Folks. So the music-sorting part of my brain defined them as sharp-cut, angular rock and then, when I started zipping through tracks on Drown In Colour for the first time (to work out what to play on my show that night), I was stopped entirely by The Siren Sings. All fogged-out and wistful, there's something so hazy, dark and beautiful about it, and trying to mechanically size up why it works is like trying to make logical sense of a half-remembered dream. The song is all fuzzed out and perfectly in focus at the same time; it has the unstoppable pull of something you don't want to let out of your sight.
6. Scarlet Sometimes by The Kritzlers
7. Food Chain #2 by Dragging Pianos
8. Rescue by Black Cab
9. Old Faces by The Motifs
10. Absolute Truth by Shady Lane
11. Tiny Ants by Jane Woody & Angel Eyes
12. Listen Lovers by Castratii
13. Burden by Wolf & Cub
14. Colorado by Pivot
15. We Don't Believe It by Super Wild Horses
16. Beaches by Bridezilla
17. Kids by Sherlock's Daughter
18. Pool Party 2009 by Shazam
19. Kitten Gloves by Denim Owl
20. Mountain by Love of Diagrams
21. Greenwich Meantime by Galactic Empire
22. Mr Light by Royal Chord
23. Remember Me by Tame Impala
24. Betsy Remastered by Robert Luke
25. Time Means Nothing At All by Lisa Mitchell
26. Destination Part 1 by Damn Arms
27. Stranger Than Fiction by City of Satellites
28. Decide What You Want by The Morning Night
29. One Day (Clubfeet Remodel) by The Transients
30. Tables by Peach
My favourite Australian album of the year
Nowhere Forever by Love of Diagrams: hazed-out guitars at full-blast, with melody fracturing and out of each song. This is the album that converted me to the band (the previous two were a little too clean-edged for me), proving that getting pissed-off is the best kind of muse. Nowhere Forever is the album made after Matador rudely dropped the band from the label's roster, and the screw-you defiance of this record has translated into something urgent, entrancing – even kind of dazed-out and beautiful.
Here We Go Down The Rabbit Hole by Shady Lane; Drown In Colour by Red Riders; The Good Fight by Royal Chord; The First Dance by Bridezilla; Marry Me Tonight by HTRK; Machine Is My Animal by City of Satellites. And, even though it came out last year (but then got a second life in 2009 on Rice Is Nice), The Sound of Trees Falling On People by Seekae.
My favourite Australian EP of the year
Dream Pocket by Denim Owl: this record's goofiness aims to distract you from how lush and gorgeous it is. Lucky that trick doesn't work, these songs are indie-pop sophistication gone undercover. Janita Foley can sing the silliest lyrics – and with that voice, all is forgiven.
The Motifs; Sherlock's Daughter; Dragging Pianos.
My favourite demo of the year
Demo 1 & 2 by A Casual End Mile: Even the lo-fi nature of her very first demo couldn't disguise how hyper-talented Madelaine Lucas is. She played live while cursed with a cold in October, and she still sounded husky and enchanting. 2010 can only herald better things for her.
The Kritzlers; No Art.
GREEDY HEN'S FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN 2009 RELEASES
1. Dance Alone by The Twerps
The Twerps' self-titled EP (which is actually long enough to be an
album) is total bliss. It's D.I.Y calamity jams in its purest funnest form; messy slapstick garage-pop, humorously insightful lyrical gold. Basically whenever we listen to it, we want to hunt them down and be their best friends forever. BFFs!!!
2. Gold Canary by Cloud Control
We air-punch almost everyday just knowing that we get to work with Cloud Control so much. Gold Canary, the second single from their upcoming album (due for release early 2010!!! Wooohooo!) has the usual hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies, nostalgic jangly guitars and organ that define the Cloud Control sound, but this one also has … wait for it … a winding African vibe! Seriously, who saw that coming?! It sends us straight to Graceland. I won't even mention how many iTunes playcounts it has had in the Greedy Hen studio. It's pure joy.
And what is most definitely the icing on the cake is that it will soon be available on a sweet looking 7" vinyl, too. Yes way! Did I mention we're enthusiastic nerds?
Jack Ladder photo by Will Reichelt, willreichelt.com
3. Case Closed by Jack Ladder (the version found on the Counterfeits EP)
OK, so it has come to our attention that Jack Ladder has evolved. Jack Ladder is the new Nick Cave, and the new Tom Waits, and the new howling preacher man, and the new Suicide … Basically, he gets compared to a lot of old things, but no one's mistaking those deep rich vocals and stage swagger for anyone else.
The Counterfeits EP is a re-working of five tracks from his recent soulful album Love Is Gone. It scratches the surface of what the recent live performances have been like and gives us a hint at things to come. His stage presence is electric, his lyrics are intelligent – basically what he's doing is exciting. We're excited!
4. Mirror Ball by Crayon Fields
A perfect twee pop song, this is what cardigans are made of, it's the colour of blushing cheeks. This song kills us! Seriously kills us! Ecstatic fumbling love, awkward lustful longing, we're spellbound. "I look at you and suddenly I'm a virgin in a dance hall", "can't tell if everyone's on heat or sunstroked" – my God! It's almost too much.
5. Blood The Middle East
This year, we spent many many hours cutting out paper trees and watercolouring skies, for an epic hand-made stop motion film clip for one of our most favourite bands, The Middle East. The song is called Blood, and we still get goosebumps from its mighty whistling solos – it's a powerfully climatic joy to behold. It's one of our favourite songs of 2009, in fact the whole EP just breaks our hearts every listen.
Still from Blood videoclip by Greedy Hen
Favourite Album: Crayon Fields - All The Pleasures Of The World. I know it's fey as hell and massively twee, but it's such a nice change from all the bombast and bravado of so much music these days. I love how it's charmingly gawky, while still being beautifully and confidently melodious.
Single: Royal Headache are one of the best new Sydney bands I've heard in ages, their songs Eloise and Honey Joy are awesome.
Demo: Bearhug. I love the way these guys sound. It reminds me of late '80s/early '90s indie rock (when 'indie' still meant something). Sloppy and sonic, like Pavement without a sense of humour.
Al Grigg, Red Riders
Hurt Me by The Jezabels (from She's So Hard)
This sounds ridiculous probably, but I find this song thrilling. Most times it ends, I have to immediately skip back to the beginning to experience that initial rollercoaster drop of the chugga-chugga-chugga Fleetwood Mac guitar dropping into the mix once more. The lyrics concern gender roles and masochism and some other things, but (and I know I’m usually a lyrics man) I find their meaning superfluous to the enjoyment of this song – because this song is about feeling. And my God, when Hayley sings, “Whole cities light up, but nothing can compare to you baby!”, I feel it like you wouldn’t believe.
Shag, presenter of Thursday & Friday Arvos on FBi
Marry Me Tonight by HTRK
I think this record might've been finished in 2006, that's how long it'd been waiting around for a release. Probably leaked early last year or so, but not many folks noticed. I guess it's been a couple of years since HTRK left our shores too. First moving to Berlin, then London (I think) and they've barely batted an eyelid or flashed flesh Australia's way since. Still, I feel like I gots to fly the flag with this record.
Anyway, the music … high-class sleaze, drug-den haze, unsavoury sorts exploiting whoever/whatever – that kind of thing. Impeccably (and I really mean it, the production/arrangements are flawless), crafted noise/atmospherics, grinding bass/drum machine, sexy/detatched and minimal vox. God it's all SO HOT. So messed up.
Special mention to … Dream Pocket by Denim Owl and self-titled releases by Psuche and Darren Sylvester.
Alex Nosek, ii & Oblako Lodka
Bridezilla photo by Will Reichelt, willreichelt.com
It's really hard to single out a single release for 2009 – artists that have really stood out for me include Cabins, Seekae, and the unreleased garage band demos of Desire The Horse. But as far as releases go, it would have to be the Tren Brothers/Bridezilla split 7".
Split releases, and particularly vinyl, don't seem to be as common here as in the US/UK, but this one is special for more reasons than just that. I am a big Mick Harvey fan, and the artwork is always a beautiful touch to the Tren Brothers' records. I loved the Bridezilla track the first time I heard it in its demo form – it's both strong and gentle, sad and hopefully, and so very melodic. I think this release really showcases original Australian music, in its past and present forms.
A Casual End Mile
Over The Stones, Under the Stars by Ned Collette + Wirewalker
I have been living overseas this year and even with the wide availability of music online, I still feel very disconnected from both the Melbourne and Sydney scenes. There are a bunch of bands playing regular shows that I have not heard yet. So this is a necessarily provisional selection – but what choice would not be? I like the tenacity and ruggedness of this album. There's also a lot of anger and resignation and disappointment in it. But Ned's music has always sounded consistent to me. There's something rewardingly unfashionable about it – it's not fickle or faddish, although it never repeats itself either. I guess you'd call that "honesty" – which is not so fashionable …
Ben Gook, music writer & musician
Without having to think about it too hard, I think the Australian release of the year is By The Throat by Ben Frost. An amazing follow-up to his brilliant Theory of Machines album from a few years back, and even though he's an expat he's still as Aussie as you'd like.
Peter Hollo, presenter of Utility Fog on FBi
My favourite song of 2009 is The Quest For Love Aboard the Belafonte from Love On The Second Stair by Telafonica. The whole song just sails along, so dreamy and hopeful. Amazing vocal performance, the whole thing is full of little bits and pieces of gold.
I have to admit nothing flew put instantly as an ultimate favourite for the year. But if I have to pick, Rainbow Kraut by John Steel Singers was pretty fun, with an infectious energy that lingers between the ears long after you've listened to it.
Alison, Glebe, FBi listener
Aleks and the Ramps – Midnight Believer
The Dead Sea – The Dead Sea
AFXJim – Blackout Music
Brian Campeau – Mostly Winter, Sometimes Spring
Ghosts of Television – Forsaken Empire
Parades – Hunters EP
Broken Chip – Pow Wow 7
Ben Frost – By the Throat
Curse ov Dialect – Crisis Tales
Mr Maps – Mimicry of Lines and Light
Greg Stone, Underlapper
Kid Sam: album of the year. (Runner-up: Fergus Brown.)
I loved Fergus the minute I heard it, but Kid Sam crept up on me. The first time I saw them, I was so surprised to know so many songs (I'm AWFUL at matching band names to songs. I just don't hear back-announces when I'm at FBi), but it still took months for me to get into the album somehow. Then suddenly, it was kind of all I was listening to. It has the rare quality of making both being happy and sad better.
New Artist (tied): Home Is Where The Home Studio Is by The Desks. This just killed me, when I was about to collapse during Save FBi, this appeared on the Local Fidelity compilation; Winter People - I loved My Town, but the rest of the EP is just brilliant.
Julia Thomas, Marketing Manager, FBi
When Heavy Profession by St. Helens came out, I was suggesting it was album of the year full stop, local or otherwise. I dig the mood of the album, Jarrod's voice is very affecting and I've always liked his songs and his singing. The biggest hook for me is the chorus of the opener Don't Laugh, when he goes "Oh" and the guitar starts to pick a melody. I only need to hear it once and that bit is stuck in my head for days. It makes me feel funny on the inside.
Sarah Blasko photo by Will Reichelt, willreichelt.com
Bird On A Wire from As Day Follows Night by Sarah Blasko
Playground from Some People Have Real Problems by Sia
Recordings of Middle East by The Middle East -
King Hokum by C.W.Stoneking
Water and the Flame by Daniel Merriweather feat. Adele
The 13 by Polo Club
Sleeping On Your Style by Thundamentals
Jane Tyrell, The Herd/Firekites
My 2009 fave was called Last Days by Sydney rapper/producer called Fame. Surely Australia's first online mixtape 'leak', Last Days is perfection. You'll feel i) deeper ii) tougher and iii) happier for having downloaded it.
A Mouthful Of Gold EP by Ghoul
Definitely one of the most original and exciting releases to come out of Australia, let alone Sydney. Can't wait for the album.
John Hussell, Seekae
I'm going to go with Heavy Profession by St. Helens as I don't think it got the attention in 2009 that it deserved. I'm not sure if it was my favourite Australian album of the year but it's got this loose, vaguely claustrophobic vibe that I really dig.
Sean, A Reminder
FBi listeners tweet about their fave local releases of the year
Some short-and-sweet picks
Pick of 2009: Gold Canary by Cloud Control (with an honourable mention going to Super Wild Horses for their debut 7").
Dan Pash, Leader Cheetah
Street Bananas by Blank Realm – criminally overlooked kosmiche psych-drone from Brisbane, with an album on Digitalis.
Stuart Buchanan, presenter of New Weird Australia on FBi
My favourite Australian album of 2009 was Easy/House Music by Mum Smokes.
Steve Phillips, Sensory Projects
Here We Go Down The Black Hole by Shady Lane
This album is beautiful and heartbreaking.
Conrad from Richard In Your Mind
First Names by Do The Robot
Ambrose Nock, Apricot Rail
The 13 by Polo Club. Also, any of Aoi's demos from this year.
Brendan Webb, Baddums/ex-Sandpit
Favourite single: Silver Line by Faux Pas
Alexandra Savvides, presenter of Saturday Overhang on FBi
The Sound of Trees Falling on People by Seekae
This record is just an elegantly made album packed with soothing, ambient sounds – as if it’s almost soft to touch. Simply beautiful.
Ro, Those Walls Your Ears.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
FBi starts getting list-mad this week, with presenters refining their year-end favourites to the point of laser precision. Last-minute re-arranging and on-air still-deciding can be a common thing – it's the curse of people who take music hugely to heart.
My take on Australian music in 2009 is on this Sunday, 7-9pm AEST, and it will include a lot of picks selected by bands (Jonathan Boulet, Seekae, Red Riders to name a few), FBi folk and listeners. If you would like to add your two cents on your favourite local release(s) of this year, it's not too late! Just add your nomination in the comments section, along with your name, suburb, and why this record spun out your world so much, and hopefully I'll be able to play it and read out your answer!
Here are some visual reminders, if your memory needs some pixels to recall 2009, but if you are more of a words person, here are some bits of text to spark up your list.
All photos were taken at gigs this year, by the highly talented Will Reichelt.
The Middle East
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Current band rollcall?
Eliza Hiscox, Tammy Haider, Tim Piccone, Ben Butcher.
royalchord has been around since …
We (Eliza and Tammy) started playing music together in 1997 and got serious in 1999. Ben and Tim have started playing with us this year.
Let's play Six Degrees of royalchord. What are some interesting musical links you could come up with?
Tammy: I recorded vocals at a house that Jarvis Cocker owns and, by pure accident, met him in the kitchen one morning whilst he was making toast for his son.
First song ever written?
Tammy: Gosh, I can't quite remember, no doubt it was about a guy, how it went wrong.
Eliza: First real song I wrote that doesn't make me cringe was on our first album, it was called Notion of Invisibility. It's about losing in a relationship, and learning to live alone, after your first heartbreak. There were some strange songs that I've written before which I, to this day, cannot make sense of.
Music making for you began when …
Tammy: I was in The Sound of Music at age six; ever since then, there's been no turning back.
Eliza: piano lessons when mastering A Whole New World, the theme song to Aladdin.
Most unusual sound/instrument you've used in your music?
Bottles on The Good Times, or the creaking door on Mr Light.
Strangest gig you've ever played?
We played a gig in New Orleans where a couple started dry-humping while we were playing our cover of Etta James' I'd Rather Go Blind; it wasn’t really that the gig was strange, more that we'd never thought of ourselves as making music to get down-and-dirty to (not that we mind this, of course). Probably even stranger was playing in Aimes, Iowa, at a Christian arts collective (we didn't know this beforehand). We ended up playing most of the show unplugged, and on the last song wearing wigs, standing in the centre of the room – it was surreal, beautiful, beyond words.
Do you pin up images when recording to help inspire your songs? (Or put up other things in the studio for the same effect?)
We like to pin lyrics up and tend to have pieces of disassembled equipment scattered round, empty beer bottles, pictures of dogs, trees, and always incense burning.
Unlikeliest thing to influence your music?
Tammy: I feel like my nieces' reactions to our music influences me just because, right now, they are really into it, which I think is so sweet.
Most unconventional topic you've covered in your lyrics?
If you had to offer any of your lyrics as love advice (or life advice), you would offer …
Life advice: “I will go go go, where my body will take me, I'll surround myself with the hope that’s left in me”
Most useful lyrics you've heard in a song?
Tammy: I'm sorry there are just too many to give one.
Eliza: I don't like songs with useful lyrics, or I don't take note of them at least! I love songs which have lyrics that hit you to your core, tell a story or express something so sad but is made beautiful in a song. I think pretty much everything Bill Callahan writes would fit that criteria. Also D.C. Berman of the Silver Jews: "You're a tower without a bell, you're a negative wishing well."
Do you think the country/city/town you live in affects your music in any way?
Definitely! For us, it's almost the opposite, I guess, as we are shifting around every couple of months, so the city we are in tends to have a transient effect on our music; it really takes us into our own world and mixes up the flavours.
You would love to record with …
Anyone from Hot Chip, Timbaland, Danger Mouse (dream on!).
Favourite person you have performed with/recorded with …
Tim Piccone and Ben Butcher, Andrew Spencer Goldman, Andrew Bencina – all such good, fun, creative, brilliant people.
Outside of royalchord, you spend your time …
Right now, pushing paper, daydreaming of travelling once more, playing tennis, walking the dog, playing with my friend's two-year-old daughter, walking, drinking, sleeping.
Next for you is …
A Sydney and Brisbane album launch, then U.S, U.K and European tours.
If record stores had to come up with a new genre name to file your music under, it would be called …
Royalchord's album The Good Fight is full of quiet surprises, and contains one of my favourite songs this year (Mr Light, creaking door sound and all). You can catch the band launching the record this Friday at Serial Space in Chippendale. For more details (and general up-to-date info about the band), head to their MySpace.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Like a lot of people, I've totally fallen for list fever. With all this best-of reflecting that's happening everywhere, I'd love to hear people's thoughts on which Australian records were the keepers, the ones that survived the hype, (and people's hopeless memories). Which underrated gems deserved more of the spotlight?
So I'm doing two list-crazy shows on Local Fidelity - 'Best of 2009' on December 20 and 'Best of 2000-nowish' on December 27. It'd be awesome if you could somehow take part.
If you could single out your pick for 2009 favourite Australian record – it could be an album, single, EP, demo – as well as your utmost favourite of the last ten years, that would be amazing. (If you're able to add a line or two on why these releases have defined your year/decade, that'd also be brilliant.) Please everyone don't pick Since I Left You by The Avalanches (even though it is a killer record)!!
Just leave your suggestions, along with your name and suburb in the comments section and I'll announce & play as many as I can on-air on Dec 20 & Dec 27 from 7pm. I'll also blog about the responses here.
To jog your memory, here are a few names (though I'm sure I've missed lots, so please fill in the musical gaps, if you know any).
A Casual End Mile. AFXJim. Aleks and the Ramps. An Horse. Angie Hart. Apricot Rail. Band Of The Free. Bearhug. Bird Automatic. Black Cab. Bluejuice. Brave Radar. Bridezilla. Broken Chip. Cameras. Castratii. City of Satellites. Cleptoclectics. Clubfeet. Convaire. Damn Arms. Danimals. Dave McCormack. Dappled Cities. Darren Hanlon. Decoder Ring. Denim Owl. Dick Diver. Dragging Pianos. Drama For Yamaha. El Mopa. Erasers. Faux Pas. Fourplay. G.L.O.V.E.S. Grand Salvo. Great Earthquake. Greyhound Lane. Harmonic 313. Holidays On Ice. Horrorshow. Howard. I Dream In Transit. I Heart Hiroshima. Jane Woody & Angel Eyes. Jessica Says. Jonathan Boulet. Kid Sam. Killaqueenz. Lisa Mitchell. Local Fidelity (ha). Lost Valentinos. Love Connection. Love of Diagrams. Martin Craft. Maxine Kauter. Megastick Fanfare. Miami Horror. Mum Smokes. Music Vs Physics. Namatoke. New Weird Australia 1, II & III. Nicola Lester. No Art. Oh Mercy. Orisha. Oto Uto. Peach. Record Producer. Red Riders. Royal Chord. Sailmaker. Sarah Blasko. Seekae. Shady Lane. Shazam. Shock! Horror! Sherlock’s Daughter. Snob Scrilla. Songs. Spunk Singles Club Compilation. St Helens. Super Melody. Super Wild Horses. Tara Simmons. Tarcutta. Telafonica. The Bon Scotts. The Church. The Crayon Fields. The Kritzlers. The Mess Hall. The Middle East. The Model School. The Native Cats. The Night Terrors. The Rational Academy. The Twerps. Umpire. Underlapper Remixes. Unkle Ho. Urthboy. Voltaire Twins. Washington. Williams Break. Wolf And Cub.
Adamsaidgalore. Aleks and the Ramps. AFXJim. An Horse. Angie Hart. Apricot Rail. Architecture in Helsinki. Art of Fighting. Bag Raiders. Barrage. Belles Will Ring. Big Heavy Stuff. Bird Automatic. Birth Glow. Bluejuice. Bluebottle Kiss. Brave Radar. Bridezilla. Broken Chip. City City City. City of Satellites. Cleptoclectics. Clubfeet. Coda. Cut Copy. Damn Arms. Dappled Cities. Darren Hanlon. Decoder Ring. Denim Owl. Dick Diver. Dragging Pianos. Drama For Yamaha. El Mopa. Expatriate. Faux Pas. Fdel. Firekites. Gaslight Radio. Gerling. Grand Salvo. Great Earthquake. Greyhound Lane. Guy Blackman. Harmonic 313. Hermitude. Holidays On Ice. Horrorshow. I Heart Hiroshima. ii. Jack Ladder. Jane Woody & Angel Eyes. Jessica Says. Jonathan Boulet. Julian Nation. Kid Sam. Laura Jean. Ladyhawke. Lisa Mitchell. Little Red. Lost Valentinos. Love Connection. Love of Diagrams. Luluc. Machine Translations. Martin Craft. Midnight Juggernauts. Minimum Chips. Mountains In The Sky. Namatoke. New Buffalo. Nick Cave. Nick Huggins. Ninetynine. Oh Mercy. Parades. Pikelet. Pivot. Pnau. Pretty Boy Crossover. Princess 1.5. Prop. Red Riders. Qua. Richard Easton. Richard In Your Mind. Robert Luke. Royal Chord. Sailmaker. Sarah Blasko. Seekae. School of Two. Shady Lane. Sherlock’s Daughter. Sly Hats. Sodastream. Songs. Sounds Like Sunset. Sui Zhen. Tame Impala. Tarcutta. Telafonica. Telemetry Orchestra. The Avalanches. The Church. The Crayon Fields. The Desks. The Devastations. The Go-Betweens. Thehead. The Lucksmiths. The Middle East. The Model School. The Motifs. The Presets. The Rectifiers. The Twerps. The Woods Themselves. Tim Koch. Tobias Cummings. Touch Typist. Tucker Bs. Unkle Ho. You Am I. Underlapper. Urthboy. Washington. Williams Break. Wolf And Cub. Youthgroup. | <urn:uuid:ded7ac9c-6c1a-426a-87c5-76df98f951de> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://localfidelity.blogspot.com/2009/12/ | 2017-08-19T11:05:21Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00080.warc.gz | en | 0.945179 | 7,294 |
Friday, December 22, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
But after having a brief conversation with a fellow Catholic (who lives in Alberta), I feel compelled to tell the whole story. So here it is.
When my friend was studying in an Alberta seminary, a group of students from Newman Theological College decided their church was in need to modernization. In what form? Well the church was following the very old and tired idea of having the tabernacle at the front centre of the church. To the NTC students, this was an obvious distraction to the congregation. How could they pray durings Mass with something like that around? These intrepid students then made plans to take the tabernacle out of the church (yes, out) and put it in an adjoining chapel, without consulting the local bishop. The seminarians were justifiably outraged, and informed the bishop. The seminary was divided. After a few days, the local bishop came in, reprimanded the NTC students, and made sure the Tabernacle stayed were it was. Who was this bishop?
Thomas Collins, the new Archbishop of Toronto.
This whole event brings another issue to my mind. What happens when the laity cannot appeal to their bishop in a situation like this? What if their bishop is the one fomenting dissent and division?
There are two things one can do:
(1) I would advise anyone living in a parish like that to write to their local archbishop and the Canadian Papal Nuncio. Most archbishops and nuncios are completely unaware of many of the abuses the laity suffer at the hands of their priests and bishops. Sometimes things can be sorted out quickly, other times (and most usually) it takes some time for action to be taken.
(2) Pray, pray, pray. I believe it was St. Cyril who said that the roads of Hell are paved with the skulls of bishops. These men are under intense spiritual attack, and as we know from our own personal experiences, most Western Catholics born within the last 50 years received pathetic catechesis, and many of our priests and bishops received inadequate preparation and training in the seminaries to boot. Even if it is just one, small prayer dropped into the Divine Economy, every little bit helps. God answers all those who ask, dontchano.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Thus it is with some surprise (to myself) that I am actually blogging about the Greens. H/T to Suzanne, who informs me that there is some strife/gnashing of teeth/wringing of hands in the party. Some green folks are a little grumpy a with the new leader, Elizabeth May, for speaking freely about abortion.
Abortion? Spoken freely of? In Canada?
May says she disagrees with (publicly) restrictions on abortions and (privately) excessive access to abortions. She says, nevertheless, that she must follow the party line and never question the abortion leviathan of Canada. According to May, it's a settled 'debate' - Charter stuff and all that. Now with condescending triumphalist crud like that, you'd think that it would be the social conservative members of the Green Party who would be upset. Not so.
Judy Rebick, of the Thought Police and Ryerson University, is officially withdrawing her support of May and of the entire Green party. For Rebick, any discussion of abortion must be framed in a certain way, a way which May did not follow. May, Rebick claims, questions the most important achievement of the women's movement of the last 40 years. The mere 'questioning' of the abortion leviathan could result in the complete destruction of years of good, honest, hard work. Restrictions on abortions are now just around the corner, and those damned evil Conservatives will form an unholy alliance with the Greens and send us all back to the 1960s.
Chretien, Mulroney, Martin, and even Harper have all said the same thing about abortion, so what's the big deal when May says it? I imagine it has to do with May being a woman, and the inner-politicking of the feminist movement. Popular women cannot speak freely on certain issues the same way men can, if Rebick is accurate in her criticisms. So 'freedom to choose' then negates 'freedom of speech' which of course negates by default 'freedom of conscience'. I'm no human rights theory expert, but when rights begin to trump other rights, we have problems with our definition of rights. Right?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
What I began to understand as I came back to my faith, was that during this period of artificial artistic and architectural denegration, the faithful of the West experienced a massive crisis of faith. Most of this 'crisis' has been linked to dissenting theologians, poor pastoral leadership and even worse catechesis, but I do wonder if some of it can be attributed to the debasement of church architecture and liturgical.
As most capital 'C' Catholics know, the church itself is a liturgical expression. By that I mean the whole building must, in a certain way, direct the congregation toward Christ and His sacrifice, so that they may worship and pray in a sincere and authentic manner. One of course is reminded of the stories about previous Catholics who could provide a brief theological lesson by simply explaining the eschatological meaning of yellow stained glass. When Catholic churches began to resemble their iconoclast Protestant neighbour's, the church ceased being a partner in the liturgy and simply four walls and roof people just happened to visit once a week. I don't think its a coincidence that during this time, Catholicism also became something people just happened to 'do' once a week as well.
I've often thought that there are a few small steps every diocese could take toward 'reliturgizing' its churches. Bring back the Communion Rail. Besides the Tabernacle, Altar and Crucifix, I think this is one of the most vital parts of the Catholic liturgical architecture/building structure. Other than the aforementioned three, there really isn't another structure which would so drastically affect the way people prayed at Mass. Receiving Christ on the knees, whether it be by hand or tongue, is maybe the most humbling act most of us Catholics perform each week. It forces us, even if it is simply posture, to more fully understand what we are doing when we receive the Body and the Blood of our Lord. It is such a wonderful teaching moment for us, and all it takes is some wood and padding.
I think I'm going to mention this to my pastor and the other parish youfs.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
- The coffee we ordered
- The events of my week
- The events of their week
- The events of my siblings' week
- Catholic and political events (they afford me a few minutes to indulge in my political science background)
- The Liturgy
You wouldn't think it, but the most lively topic is usually the Liturgy. When I returned to my faith two years ago, I never knew the Mass was said in Latin. A trip to Europe and Pope Benedict's The Spirit of the Liturgy later, I was dying for some Latin in our 'Bugnini Masses'. Our English translations were so clunky; our hymns so flakey. By the Grace of God, our local pastor introduces a little more Latin into the Mass every year, especially during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, and thus part of my appetite for the language of the Church is satisfied. But I, like my parents, want more. We want a vibrant Latin liturgy, or at least a liturgy that isn't afraid to use Latin and English together. When I was volunteering at WYD 2005, my fellow freiwilligen und mich discussed the positives and negatives of the Novus Ordo Mass. We appreciated understanding all the Liturgy in our mother tongues. We appreciated the participation. But on the other hand, we found the new Mass to lack reverence and sanctity. It was too much like everything else in our society. Latin would at the very least offer us a time truly outside of this world. And on top of this, going to Mass in a foreign country was a little difficult if you didn't speak the native tongue.
Hence it is with much joy that I heard the Holy Father is planning an indult to all bishops to 'deregulate' the use of Latin in the Mass. No one is really sure how 'deregulated' it will be, but I'm certain we won't be witnessing a return to the Tridentine Mass, or even a major up turn in requests for it. It will probably 'universalize' the Mass in way not seen since before the 1970s, as most parishes will likely offer at least one 'Latin' Mass each day of obligation. It will also have a profound affect on the Liturgical music, as the latest Marty Haugen jingle will sound absolutely ridiculous after the congregation and the priest chant the Sanctus or the Gloria in Latin.
Of the people my parents and I have spoken to about the indult, the general feeling is quite positive. Catholics, especially of the younger variety, are craving a truly countercultural experience that will remind them of Christ's calling, and the sanctity of the Eucharist. Older Catholics will probably have a harder time acclimatizing to the changes, of course, since they have spent the last 40 years praying a certain way. Habits can be hard to change (unless you're a feminist nun - ha ha ha!). But everyone seems pleased, if not a little impatient; we've been waiting a while for this.
The national coverage of this event is surprising. Usually Catholics do not make it into the news unless they are (a) dissident or (b) sexually assaulting somone (for the record, the same applies to teachers these days). But here we have several nationally syndicated media outlets discussing the appointment of Collins, a little known bishop from Edmonton who will now head Canada's largest, richest, and most culturally diverse diocese, home to some 1.4 million faithful.
I don't know much about Collins, but what I've heard is good. A friend of mine spent some time at the seminary in Edmonton, and told me that Collins was both orthodox and courageous. My parents remember him from his days in the Hamilton diocese, and they too had fond memories. I can only hope and pray that he handles Toronto well; the diocese has been ravaged by media abuse, especially in the past ten years, after the sexual abuse scandals broke. Toronto is also home to two of Canada's most anti-Catholic and most-read newspapers, the Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star. Dissident groups regularly appear with any mention of the Catholic Church, and the homosexual activist movement has its base in the city as well. Orthodoxy and courage, indeed!
Take for example the Toronto Star's article. It barely mentions Collins aside from a little history, gives Ambrozic the title 'controversial', and then spends its final paragraphs quoting the local dissident agitator. According to Joanna Manning of Catholic Network for Women's Equality, who has been 'a long time advocate for the ordination of women', Ambrozic and Collins are 'cut from the same conservative cloth' and 'they are all micro-managed from Rome'. Manning continues ' I actually began to feel sorry for him [Ambrozic] because I don't think he ever came to terms with the kind of heterodox, pluralistic inclusive culture of Toronto'. Clearly Manning herself has never come to terms wih the culture of Catholicism and Christianity.
Despite the difficulties Collins will face, his approach to leading the Toronto archdiocese will be much different than Ambrozic's. Cardinal Ambrozic was a Slovenian emigre, who shot from the hip. He wasn't heterodox, but he wasn't subtle either, and his abrasiveness won him many enemies. Bishop Collins is a born and raised Ontario boy, from Guelph, who worked in the area until he was appointed to the bishophoric of Edmonton. He is a young arch-bishop, and one can assume that if he handles the diocese well, he will soon be called to the College of Cardinals.
Joanna Manning, sadly, will never enjoy that honour.
Friday, December 15, 2006
One more important step toward the global revolution!
(Please remember this when you're watching the 2008 Olympics in Beijing)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Then on a hot Summer's day in the sweaty and claustrophobic cofines of London's mass transit system, a spark of change was ignited. Four sparks actually, which ended up obliterating 50+ innocents in an instant. For the terrorists, it was a clear 'thanks' to the wooly fingered leaders of the social Left who pushed British society to the precipice with 30 years of anti-Western, anti-Christian ideology. It was however, also a clear sign to those not on the Left: the gauntlet has been thrown, and what are you going to do about it?
Karl Polanyi wrote about the double-effect, a trend he saw throughout history. With every great event, or series of events, or even with every great philosophy, there is a counter-event and a counter philosophy. Within Britain, and here Britain is the model example for the rest of the West, this double-effect was played out as the government openly supported moral ambiguity and a 'neutrality of worldviews' while it was experiencing its greatest numbers of non-Western immigration, specifically from former colonies populated by Muslims. (As an aside, what's pretty funny is that so many elites and intellectuals in the 1960s to the 1980s thought future acts of terrorism or new fascist ideologies would come from grumpy Christians. Oh, how wrong you were, and are.) As it became increasingly difficult to promote a Christian public philosophy in Britain, it became increasingly easier to promote an anti-Christian public philosophy. It didn't matter if you were an angry Muslim-proto-fascist or the village atheist, as long as your views and actions chafed the Christians, all the better.
What happened was pretty much what anyone with an ounce of plain common sense predicted. With the lack of a clear public philosophy, or sense of authentic communal identity (ever wonder why it is the religious who are the most patriotic and committed to their communities?), large swaths of non-Christian immigrants did not integrate. They founded their own schools, which didn't just teach in another language. They ghettoized themselves. Thus when the global jihad officially began in earnest in 2001, power-via-terrorism had already been entrenched in the minds of several hundred, if not thousands, of first generation Muslim Britons. Those people who made the mistake of vocalizing their concern over these unintegrated, alien communities were publicly roasted for being 'bigoted' or 'xenophobic'. Multiculturalism was the dogma, and heresy was not permitted.
Multiculturalism afforded these groups the time and space to advance their agenda. I mean, how else is that in the late 20th Century, the Century of Progress, so many 'insurrectionists' (although that is hardly the best descriptor) could fall under the radar? We've known for centuries that there are certain things in other cultures that are simply incompatible with our Judeo-Christian heritage, incompatible with post-Enlightenment human rights, so no one can argue that this all comes as a surprise. The fact is, we gave ourselves to our foes. St. Augustine writes in City of God that while the barbarian hordes were pressing against Rome, and the city's existence was threatened, pagan Romans were simply going to the theatre, and busying themselves in acts of pathetic immorality. These Romans had many eloquent rationalizations for their insatiable hedonsim and pedantry, which, surprise-surprise, have many parallels to our own society's complex and nuanced theories of multiculturalism, pacifism, and neutrality. Rather than taking the hard steps to protecting our society, we've watered it down, served it as a buffet, and are now wringing our hands because our guests don't want to hold their own buffet.
For any solution, we will have to take the prodigal road back to Christian society. It's patently obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense that our current path isn't the right one. Whatever the faults of our pre-1960s confusedly Christian culture, it was, by in large, a stronger one than this.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Almighty and eternal God,who created us in Thine imageand bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful,especially in the divine person of Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,grant, we beseech Thee,that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor,during our journeys through the internetwe will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Theeand treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter.Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You can check out other translations of the prayer here.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
- Excellent Acting
- Excellent Sets & Costumes
- Excellent Story
(Not for the kids, though)
Mel Gibson's Apocalypto tells the tale of a young Mesoamerican man, Jaguar Paw whose village is overrun by slavers. The slavers kidnap him and a group of other villagers, and rape and kill the rest. Before he is captured, Jaguar Paw manages to lower his pregnant wife and young son into a cave. As he is being tied up, Jaguar Paw's father is brutally killed in front of him by the slavers. As the slavers lead the kidnapped out of the village, one of them notices the rope Jaguar Paw used to lower his family into the cave, and cuts it. While being led to the slaver's city, the troop encounters a diseased young girl, who warns them about an impending curse. Upon arrival at the city, the kidnapped women are sold as slaves, and the men led off to be sacrificed. The city's crops are dying and to compound that, there has been a drought for some time. The kidnapped men are taken to the top of a Mesoamerican pyramid, and several are disemboweled and decapitated, to the great applause of the city, who believe every sacrificial victim brings them closer to rain, a good crop, and eternal power. Just when Jaguar Paw is about to be sacrificed, an eclipse occurs, and the city shaman announces that their god has smiled upon them, and stops the sacrifices. The slavers then take the kidnapped to a small arena to be killed off. Jaguar Paw escapes, but slays the slaver leader's son in the process. The slaver then takes his best men and chases Jaguar Paw back into the jungle.
As Jaguar Paw is hiding in a tree, he stumbles upon a jaguar. The jaguar almost kills Jaguar Paw, but instead mauls one of the slavers. The slavers try in vain to save their friend, but kill the jaguar in the process. Jaguars, in ancient Mesoamerican mythology, were seen as particularly important creatures; shamans even sought to transform into them since it was believed that a jaguar could transcend this reality and enter into the supernatural realm. The slavers realise their transgression, remember the diseased girl's prophesy, and consider giving up the chase. The slaver leader however, blind with bloodlust and rage, forces them to continue the chase. Two more slavers are killed, seemingly by accident, during the chase, until Jaguar Paw is cornered after running toward a waterfall. Sensing his immediate death, Jaguar Paw jumps off the waterfall, survives to swim ashore and inform the slavers that they have now entered his ancestral jungle. Undaunted, the slavers follow Jaguar Paw over the waterfall, only to lose two more of their men: one murdered for showing what appeared to the slave leader to be fear, and the other by cracking his skull open on an underwater rock.
Jaguar Paw makes his way toward his razed village, only to fall into a mud-pit and nearly drown. Rising from the pit however, he is energized and then prepares himself to battle the slavers. After killing two of the remaining five slavers, Jaguar Paw faces off against the slaver leader, who is a far superior fighter. Jaguar Paw turns and flees from the fight, knowing that the leader will pursue him wherever he goes. The leader manages to wound Jaguar Paw, and rushes in to finish him, but is impaled by one of Jaguar Paw's hunting traps which dotted the jungle around his village. The last two slavers find Jaguar Paw and chase him to a beach, whereupon Jaguar Paw collapses, looking out to sea. Just as the slavers catch up to Jaguar Paw, they pause immediately behind him, joining his gaze. The camera moves out to sea to show four European ships carrying Spanish colonizers and Catholic missionaries. Ironically, it is those who would eventually destroy the viscious Mesoamerica who save the protagonist. Jaguar Paw leaves the beach, rescues his wife and children (she gave birth while in the cave), and moves deeper into the jungle to find a new beginning.
Reviews of the film have generally been favourable, which is not surprising. Apocalypto is a magnificent film, albiet with much more visceral depictions of violence than most films will ever show. The key difference between this violence and the violence of, say, the Saw movies, is that the story is not about grossing out the audience. Via this graphic display of violence Gibson manages to bring the audience into the final days of one of the bloodiest civilizations the world has ever seen. As one who has studied the Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilizations, I can assure you that we know a lot about the ritual and senseless violence which eventually rotted out the heart of these cultures. Public sacrifice and drug use was common. Life was nasty, brutish and short. When the colonizers are seen at the film's finale, they arrive to sighs of relief - change is finally here, the apocalypse has come for the city and its rulers.
Now if this were a liberal democracy, this wouldn't be an issue. Churches, to the state, are supposed to be private institutions out of their realm of authority. But Canada ceased to be a liberal democracy some time ago, and thus it's probably only a matter of days before the Gay, whoops, Human Rights machine takes the bigot Bishop to task for exercising one of his less affirming canonical competencies.
To the chagrin of those with a bone to pick with the Catholic Church, the Human Rights Act does not apply to this situation, even though it does include 'sexual orientation' as one of its protected groups. Why not? Well for starters, the Act applies to 'goods, services, facilities or accommodation customarily available to the general public'. The sacrament of the Eucharist has never been customarily available to the general public, it is only available to baptized Catholics who have received the sacrament of Confession/Penance, and even then only to those who are in a state of grace (without the stain of mortal sin). Also, the practice of denying the Eucharist to unrepentant Catholics who are publicly resisting repentance, ergo putting themselves into occassions of sin and giving scandal to the Church, is a regular practice, even though it has fallen by the wayside over the past 40 years. Therefore one cannot argue that the Bishop's act violates the HRA's prohibition on administering discrimination selectively to individuals, since this is not 'selective discrimination': You cannot receive the Eucharist if you have violated any of the Ten Commandments. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if the Church is sued by the government, this is Canada after all.
So where have the two men gone? Where else! The United Church! Beggars can't be choosers, you know. But even there the men realise something is missing. They attend Sundary worship at their new church, yet still refer to themselves as Catholics. Pray for them.
|You scored as [sic] Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is [M]ass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.|
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I recently finished two books from two First Things heavies. Catholic Matters, by Fr. Richard Neuhaus, discussed the past 40 years of Catholicism in the West. Neuhaus is a fine writer, and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Catholic Church or Western religions in general. God's Choice, by George Weigel, focuses on Catholicism, but mainly on the papacy of the late and great John Paul II, and the new papacy of Benedict XVI. While Weigel calls this book a sequel to Witness to Hope, his seminal biography of John Paul II, I'm not convinced. Witness to Hope is an indepth look into the life of the Man of the Century, whereas God Choice's is more of a first year university survey text. Don't take this the wrong way, I am a big fan of Weigel's, but I think this book was a laboursome affair he patched together to meet a deadline. It lacks direction: the first half discussing the black and white realities of the final years of John Paul II, clearly Weigel's preferred topic; the second half discussing the gray possibilities of Benedict's pontificate. It is the second half that Weigel loses direction, as he drifts from possibility to possibility without every providing as serious an understanding of Joseph Ratzinger as he did of Karol Wojtyla. Naturally, you might say, since Weigel spent years with John Paul II and published an 800 page biographical tome on him. But that's exactly the point: Weigel attempts to apply his lens, which he formed studing the previous pope, to Benedict, and the result is a rather tired and difficult final 150 pages. These final pages feel as if they were simply arbitrarily attached to the first, and I finished the book wondering why it was called God's Choice, and not The Final 5 Years of the John Paul II Pontificate & Some Stuff About the German Guy.
I'm now reading C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, which became one of my favourite books at page 30. To my detriment, I haven't read much Lewis, even though he was the last great apologist from the Anglo-Catholicism, and apologetics being my next stop after polemics. But on the rare occassion I take up a Lewis book, I am always surprised by the simplicity of his writing. It's so clear, and yet so effectual.
After I've finished The Great Divorce, I plan on tackling either Truth and Tolerance, by Benedict XVI, or City of God, by St. Augustine. I've read a lot of Benedict this past year, but Augustine's Confessions was the first book I read during my reconversion to Catholicism, and hence I've developed something of an affinity to that great North African Saint, so I might just take that one on instead. Choices.
In regards to my hope expressed at the end of the other abortion quote, it turns out Crusty Curmudgeon has put together a helpful, terse and congent response to the claims made by the CUSA, many of which expand upon the thoughts I was developing earlier.
One point I haven't seen discussed is the Charter right to peaceful assembly. Since the CUSA's decision effectively restricts the free assembly of students (that the CUSA is a non-voluntary, student institution is paramount here) who have displayed absolutely no violent tendencies, the decision violates one of the Lifeline student's basic human rights. I'm not familiar with constitutional law, but I'm sure there has been a case which applies to this situation. Hopefully I can find it.
In my own opinion, the only way the CUSA could legitimately denied the Lifeline funding was by proving that their actions were either (a) violent or (b) discriminatory. Since the CUSA has said that Lifeline can oppose abortion, just as long as it does not argue for criminalization, they have conceded that the opinions expressed by the group are in fact not discriminatory. For if criminalization is their bone of contention, it could be then argued that if the CUSA believes student's can express their pro-life opinions, then they must also grant the students the ability to go so far as to question the criminality of at least some abortions, since this would be the rational, reasonable, and logical conclusion to the students' beliefs. It is not the role of the CUSA to decide whether or not certain conclusions are expressable and which ones are not, and more importantly, they have already allowed for the students to express their arguments for that conclusion.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
In the course of the debate, the president of the Student Association said that while the group could promote the pro-life cause, it could not however publicly work toward the criminalization of abortion on any level. Since Canada has no abortion laws, and that means no legal protection for the small ones until they fully exit the mother's body, I find it a tad excessive to demand that one small student pro-life group be unable to even discuss the possibility of criminalizing some abortions. Excessive to the point of dangerous.
That the Carleton University Student's Association would go so far as to refuse to allow the group to openly discuss legal restrictions on abortion illustrates a serious crisis of the university, and of our democracy. Carleton University is on Canadian soil, and Canada is a liberal democracy. Liberal democracies are known for many things, first among them freedom of speech and critical analysis. Without these two things, democracy cannot be excercized, since expression and discussion are essentially what makes democracy representation and fair, even at its most base. Thus within Canada, citizens are able publicly disagree with the courts and the government, citizens can appeal judicial decisions, and citizens can repeal legislation. The idea is that even democracies can make mistakes, and it is sometimes necessary to retrace our steps to make sure we have made the correct decision. We do this all the time in economics: trade policies are revised and discarded, budgets are modified, and institutions are expanded or streamline to increase efficiency or competency. Yet what the CUSA is basically saying is that when it comes to abortion, students cannot disagree with the complete lack of laws at all. (And, to top it all of with irony, it is a university association telling its students that certain discussions cannot be held, at a university) So restricting the exercise of critical analysis undercuts the ability of these students to fully exercise their rights as guaranteed in the Charter of Rights. If the CUSA decides to follow its expressed course of action, it does so at the expense of our liberal democracy, and it may even do so illegally.
I'm surprised no one has made this argument to the CUSA yet. I'm sure there are some very smart people following this case who could make a much more compelling argument than I. I would personally love to discuss how to advance this argument, especially since the national media is actually giving the issue some attention.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Similar things happen when abortion, birth control, or casual divorce are brought up. Everyone assumes there has been a massive, and equal debate, and the 'rights' and results we now bask in were brought about by fully fair and democratic means. Canada, as if you didn't know, is a liberal democracy which upholds the primacy of reason and law. Central to the vitality of democracy, the free exercise of reason and law is discourse, and Canadian political and judicial institutions are designed to promote discourse. Right?
What if things aren't as they seem? What if Canada's institutions have been corrupted? What if our democracy has been ebbing away for so long that there is so little left of it we can barely tell it's gone? What if we've been sold gimmick after gimmick in the place of the real thing? How could we tell?
Friday, December 01, 2006
Reeling from this reality-and editorial line-shattering event, those in the media scrambled to categorize and frame wily Benedict's apparent about face. Pope prays toward Mecca headline, the natural result. But did the Pope 'pray toward Mecca'? He certainly did, in the sense that if anyone happens to be praying while facing East they too would 'pray toward Mecca' by geographical default. But you would also be praying toward Jerusalem, Nazereth, Bethlehem, Agra, Beijing, Kyoto or Seoul.
The anthropological roots of praying toward Mecca are rooted in Mediterraenean and Middle Eastern traditions. Simply put, way back when, people identified the rising of the Sun in the East with various spiritual concepts. Christians, in their pagan assimilating ways, saw some basic truth in this, and taught that praying to toward the East, orientalizing prayer, reminded us of the rising of Christ and his Promise to Return in Glory. Most churches, even today, are still on an East-West axis, with congregations facing (and thus praying) the East. In the last 100 years the practice died out a bit, but is enjoying a rebound of sorts.
In Benedict's Spirit of the Liturgy, orientalizing prayer is discussed at great length. Benedict has always believed in physical, corporal acts during prayer, and recalls in his book fond memories of 'praying to the East' as child. He has stated, with some frequency, that posture is crucial to prayer, and that the Church must embrace this aspect of prayer once again, especially in the West.
So for Benedict, the option to orient himself during a prayer session with Muslims was less about making a 'PR' stunt-gimmick, like his predecessor's kissing of the Qu'ran, and more about making a statement about common practices and beliefs Muslims and Christians share.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Naughty and Nice Christmas List from the folks at the aptly named Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign:
Partial "Naughty List"
Lowe's - Employees cannot say "Merry Christmas" to customers. Lowe's corporate advised that only when customers initiate a "Merry Christmas" greeting can employees respond in kind.
Toys 'R' Us - "Holidays" are in, "Merry Christmas" is out.
Banana Republic - Web site has "Holiday Gift Guide" with no mention of Christmas.
Bed Bath & Beyond - No mention of any holidays.
Barnes & Noble - Web site says "Gift Guide," "Holiday gift baskets," "Holiday sled," "Holiday delivery," but no Christmas. Stores not allowed to put up Christmas trees, and employees are not allowed to say "Merry Christmas."
Best Buy - Web site says "Unique gifts for the season," "Holiday gift ideas." Spokesperson said the use of "Merry Christmas" is disrespectful.
Dick's Sporting Goods - Web site says "gifts" and has images, but no mention of Christmas.
Eddie Bauer - Customer service would not recognize Christmas, they "don't want to offend Jews, those who celebrate Kwanza and those who have no religious preference."
Gap - "Holiday Survival Guide" with no mention of Christmas.
Home Depot - Web site says "Holiday Store" and "Holiday Lighting" and only at bottom of site says "Make your Christmas decorations complete." Stores have "Holiday Home Accents."
K-Mart - Selling "Holiday trees" and "Holiday wreaths."
Partial "Nice List"
Dillard's - Advertises "Christmas Catalog."
JC Penney - Web site has "Christmas Shipping Countdown."
Joann Fabrics - Offers Christmas and Holiday fabrics.
Kohl's - Christmas is all over TV, print and radio ads.
L.L. Bean - Advertises and distributes "Christmas Catalog."
Linens 'N Things - Has a "Christmas Shop" and "Christmas Checklist."
Macy's - "Merry Christmas!" on its home page.
Michaels - Web site has a Christmas section.
M&M-Mars Candies - Will have red and green candies with pictures of Christmas trees and angels among other images.
Target - Web site says "Christmas Decor," although the physical store has "Holiday entertaining." TV ad says "Merry Christmas."
Wal-Mart - Has a "Christmas Shop," plays Christmas carols, and employees can say "Merry Christmas."
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Well, as this Reuters article tell us, tens of thousands did show up to protest the Pope. Actually, it was only 25,000. How 25,000 (which could itself be an exaggeration) can be considered, in all honesty, 'tens of thousands', I will never know. Once again one finds modern mainstream journalism wanting.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
No? He looks like an elephant, doesn't he?
Actually, in Canada, he's not an elephant.
[edit: My fiance wants me to tell you that yes, this is an elephant. It is a baby elephant in utero, which is why I made the comment about how in Canada, this 'little' guy would not be considered an elephant, since current Canadian law states that unborn creatures (humans included) are not protected by law until air touches them.]
The article, while altogether not too poor, does stumble into the usual pitfalls of agit-prop leftist journalism. Of course, Hooper concedes less than 2 paragraphs in, no offical statement has been made. All that has happened is that the Pope has commissioned one of the Vatican's think tanks to study the issue. Hooper can't resist the usual references to high ranking and media friendly Bishops, naturally 'candidate for the papacy' Cardinal Martini is referenced, who have publicly made some murkish statements which seem to favour the use of barrier contraceptives in cases of HIV/AIDS. Heck, even the unfortunate Dr. Rowan Williams, head of the disintegrating Anglican Church, gets his name in there too. Hooper thinks Williams will take Pope Benedict to task for the Church's teachings, which immediately brings to mind the ironic image of the leader of a Christian sect facing oblivion lecturing the Pope about how to run a church properly. Obviously Hooper has not set out to breach any of the Guardian's sacred editorial policies.
But what of the article's premise? Could the Church do an about face and change Her social doctrine?
While there is always the chance that the Church could change it's teaching on the use of contraceptives, its highly unlikely that She would do so. Here's why:
(1) Sexually transmitted infections and diseases are not new. In the early days of the Church they were rampant, especially in the cosmopolitan cities of Athens, Corinth, and Rome. Nor was the countryside spared; we have many records of syphillis outbreaks scourging the populations of rural Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. In was in this setting that the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, developed its teaching on the use of barrier contraceptives.
(2) It is in the sexual act that a very important part of who were are as individuals created in the image and likeness of God is shared and displayed to another. The sexual act, the Church has shown, must be an act of reciprocal love without any barriers being put up between the couple. It is by this act of utter selfless giving to one another that we as God's children replicate the love which God gives to us all. By placing a contraceptive between one another, the couple loses the ability to partake in this act of reciprocal love, since, obviously, all is not being reciprocated. For a couple with an untreatable STI/D, the call is to abstain from sexual intercourse. In the place of intercourse, the couple is called to acts of heroic virtue, they must devote themselves to each other without intercourse, which has always been a serious, and sanctifying, even saintly, feat.
(3) Incrementalism isn't an official part of Catholic political science or sociology, but it might as well be. The Catholic Church has watched as the Protestant denominations 'liberated' themselves from bans on contraception over the past 75 years. In every case, the 'liberation' has also liberated those churches of their members and their vitality. A church that ceases to ask its members to live lives of virtue and sanctity, is a church that eventually ceases to exist. As the Protestant churches fled from traditional teaching on contraception, always while making similar arguments to ones found with the Guardian peice I should add, they also suffered a massive crisis within the faithful, as many other traditions and beliefs were deemed too restrictive and removed. The Catholic Church, as its raison d'etre, is here to prepare the world for Christ, and it's not clear how that role would be better serviced if, after 2,000 years, a handful of Church academes and bureaucrats decided to force a change on this issue. The historical record tells us much in this respect.
(4) In the 1960s, the majority report of the Papal commission on contraception advocated allowing its use. The minority report of course advocated no change at all. In those days prior to the announcement of the Pope's decision, to be contained within his encyclical, Humane Vitae, the media and those Church figures popular with the media, confidently predicted that Pope Paul VI would choose the majority report. The rest, as it is nauseatingly said, is history.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
As President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy (a 31 year old national association of 700 priests and deacons) and as a pastor and a diocesan priest ordained for more than 18 years, I personally and professionally repudiate the premise contained in your recent editorial (Tomorrow's Priests). I entered the seminary in 1976 after graduating from eighth grade (parochial school) and continued from high school seminary to college seminary to major seminary until ordination in 1988. During those twelve years of seminary, I saw and heard a lot. Likewise, in the subsequent eighteen years of priesthood, mostly in parish ministry with a brief stint in Tribunal and Hospital Chaplaincy ministry, my experience is certainly not insignificant.
First, the assertion that two major groups exist(ed) in the seminary (either doctrinally orthodox to Rome or pastorally open to collaboration with the people) is inaccurate at best and deceptive at worst. During the later years of the pontificate of Pope Paul VI when I entered High School Seminary, there was a general malaise prolific in many minor and major seminaries. Faculty members who had hoped the reforms of Vatican II would have led to further and more revolutionary changes (priestly celibacy, women's ordination, etc.) were hoping that P6's successor would open the doors and not just the windows (as did J23). Faith and morals were considered 'fluid' and 'malleable' in that they could and needed to adapt to the times, or so this group thought. Immutable doctrines and absolute moral laws were relics of the past, they maintained. Many of these theological and liturgical 'hippies' were the ones who ran the seminaries and therefore sought to remake the mold used to form the contemporary priest.
Collaboration with the laity was not their real agenda anymore than was subsidiarity. True, this group was unmistakably prone to dissent from Magisterial teaching (as evidenced by their enthusiastic embrace of Charles Curran and his dissent from Humanae Vitae) and were certainly not concerned or preoccupied with loyalty to Rome. Yet, they were not the populist saviors they purported to be. Recall in Church History when Martin Luther inaugurated the Protestant Reformation in the 16 th century. He convinced Bishops, priests and laity to rebel against Papal authority with the simultaneous rebellion of the kings, princes, and barons against the secular Imperial authority. Once the Pope and the Emperor were out of the way, however, those in power made sure the dominoes stopped falling. The Peasant's Revolt was mercilessly crushed by the aristocracy with the full support and encouragement of Luther and other clerics. The poor peasants only followed logic when they saw the episcopacy revolt against the papacy and saw the aristocracy revolt against the monarchy. They were unaware of the fact that revolutionaries often depose authority so as to replace it with their own brand. Likewise, some of the extreme radicals of the post-Vatican II church sought to sever their doctrinal and disciplinary obedience to Rome but to keep intact their own fascist control over their subordinates.
Prior to the papacy of JP2, the other group in the seminary was indeed loyal to the Magisterium and obedient to the Roman Pontiff. Sarcastically labeled as 'traditionalist' or 'rigid,' those of us who wished to be faithful to the hierarchical structure intended and founded by Christ when He personally established the Church with Saint Peter, were in the minority and had no influence whatsoever. Those who rejected infallible doctrines and absolute moral laws, embraced and promoted dynamic doctrines that adapted themselves to become more appealing to non-Catholics. They also embraced an amorphous morality which would open the doors to contraception, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, corruption, graft, etc., since there were no more ethical absolutes. Many of the problems and scandals inside the seminary and afterwards in the parishes after some of these guys got ordained can be traced to BAD theology and BAD morality. Both were sustained, sadly, by BAD liturgy ( lex credendi, lex agendi, lex orandi). The raping of the Catholic worship resulted in the intentional loss of reverence, sacredness, sacrifice and worship of the divine. Liturgical aberrations and abuses promoted the dissident theology and adulterated morality by glorifying man over God. Human nature was deified while divinity was dethroned. Concupiscence was no longer the effect of Original Sin, but a natural inclination which needed to be understood and nurtured. The only official deviancy was the old regime and the few new recruits who sought to restore Peter to his chair which had been stolen from under his seat.
It is a false dichotomy to say one had to choose between loyalty to Rome and collaboration with the people. Ironically, it is the people who are often more Catholic than their clergy at times. Like the days of the Soviet Union, Communists claimed to represent and cooperate with the people (proletariat) after they had overthrown the bourgeoisie. The reality was that the new order had no intention of sharing authority with the people and in fact sought to control and manipulate the masses. Anyone who disagreed was sent to a Gulag or simply eliminated. Dissent from party policy was dealt with severity and swiftness. The Kremlin and the KGB did not share power nor did they tolerate unconditional adherence to their rule.
Similarly, the ecclesiastical radicals bragged about their disdain for the Pope, the Vatican and the Magisterium. Academic freedom and liberty of conscience were their mantras. Yet, if someone under their authority dared to disagree or worse yet, disobey the disobedient, then the fascist side of them emerged. While there was no equivalent Peasants' Revolt, we did have in the seminary those who refused to be disloyal to Rome. It was not the people in the pews who faithfully went to church for Mass and confessions who demanded that their parishes remove statues, communion rails or whitewash their sanctuaries. The liturgical Nazis imposed iconoclasm on many parishes and they even deported Christ by removing Tabernacles and placing them in obscure, small, and covert 'Eucharistic chapels' instead of the main worship space.
If the ultra-reformers (those who feel V2 did not go far enough) were truly collaborative, they would not be the ones who bully and harass the elderly woman who chooses to kneel for Communion. Paradoxically, the same bullies are too timid to refuse Communion to politicians who openly support abortion. Bishops who remained silent when local 'theologians' publicly espoused heterodox teaching or even overtly dissented from Humanae Vitae or Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, or who refused to enforce Ex Corde Ecclesiae by requiring and monitoring the mandate needed to teach theology, are often the very same ones who quickly and with ferocity impose sanctions (such as suspension or interdict) on those who dare question their prudential judgments. Disagree with the Pope, even from the pulpit or in the classroom, and nothing was done. Disagree or question a diocesan policy, however, and incur the wrath of Khan. Authentic collaboration are the bishops, priests and deacons who listen to and respond to the spiritual needs of the parishioners who SUPPORT and who ATTEND the local church.
If many post-Vatican II clergy need to be re-educated it was not because they were poor students while in the seminary. Some just got bad or poor education because they were not given the unadulterated truth. There was no Catechism prior to 1992. I was ordained in 1988. We had the Code of Canon Law since 1983 but even that was criticized in class, as in the case of mandating first confession before first communion (#777 and 915). The Documents of Vatican II were not taught but the ' spirit of Vatican II' was invoked all over the place. Thankfully, some of us went underground and learned the truth by secretly reading Denziger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, the Summa Theologica, and attending annual seminarian conferences sponsored by none other than Opus Dei.
What was not taught in the seminary besides orthodox doctrine and morality was business management. The corporate model of ecclesiology was never explained or taught but extensively used as many of us discovered once we were ordained. The hierarchical institution model was always ridiculed but the servant, herald, mystical communion or community of disciples while promoted to one degree or another, did not reflect the reality outside the seminary, however. Many priests who find themselves discouraged, disenchanted or even demoralized are so because they do not feel, see themselves or are treated as spiritual fathers of a local family of faith. Instead, they are often employees of the corporation. Pastors spend more time doing fundraising, attending committee meetings, and reading and completing diocesan paperwork than they do celebrating the sacraments. Often, we are treated like branch managers of the company and the bishop is the senior vice president, surrounded by his board of directors in the chancery office. Policies to protect assets, and increase revenue and reduce expenditures are certainly prudent and required by good stewardship. Sadly, these often become the high priority while the teaching of orthodox doctrine and the reverent celebration of the sacraments are put on the back burner if at all.
When parishioners ask for devotions like Divine Mercy, Eucharistic Adoration, Public Rosary, Novenas, Processions and the like, often the so-called 'collaborators' ignore or insult them. When parishioners utilize their legal option to receive Communion on the tongue or to confess anonymously, their legitimate choice is denied. When someone is known to be a member of Opus Dei, Familia or Regnum Christi, they are often prevented and prohibited in some dioceses from joining Parish Council. So much for collaboration. Often, parish council members are 'elected' like Stalin and others were in the former USSR, i.e., no other candidate was allowed OR the party merely told you who were elected before any vote took place.
Seminarians do not need administrative or managerial skills or training. They need orthodox theological and sound philosophical education within the context of solid spiritual formation founded on prayer and proper celebration of the sacraments, especially the Holy Mass. Instead of running parishes and dioceses like businesses and corporations, we need to return to the familial model. Pastors and Bishops should be paternal and not middle or upper management. Many of us clergy long for the day when competent and qualified deacons and laity can handle most if not all of the mundane business of the parish, like budgets, committee meetings, fundraising, employee relations, labor disputes, diocesan bureaucratic paperwork, et al. I would rather spend time teaching the faith and ministering to the sick rather than worrying about salaries, benefits, insurance, decreasing offertory income, rising expenditures, etc. Here is where real collaboration can take place. Unlike Trusteeism which turned the parish over to the lay trustees who could hire and fire the pastor and other clergy, real lay collaboration is using the gifts and talents of the parishioners, especially those who have accounting, financial and managerial training and experience. The pastor still represents the authority of the local bishop but the division of labor is such that he is assisted by the wisdom and experience of the laity who help him with their expertise. Tampering with doctrine, morals or the sacred liturgy is not the prerogative of either the pastor or the parishioners.
Real faith communities are not places where the clergy have abdicated their authority to teach and govern and be mere sacrament dispensers. Real faith communities are FAMILIES of faith where the pastor is the spiritual FATHER. Collaboration and cooperation occur in the diverse apostolates of the parish, like teaching the faith to children and adults, keeping the church clean, planning and celebrating reverent liturgies that conform to the traditions of our church. Ironically, it is the other side which unilaterally imposes liturgical aberrations and illicit innovations upon the parishioners whether like it or not. This is not a battle between liberals and conservatives, progressives and traditionalists, pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II. The issue is whether to abandon or entirely embrace the 'corporate business' model. Many of us choose to restore the ancient family model which was never democratic but always hierarchical yet always in an atmosphere of charity, justice and mercy. Since the wonderful reign of Pope John Paul II and his current successor Pope Benedict XVI, we have two exquisite role models and one marvelous vision. Many of the bishops these two have appointed are superb choices and in fact shepherd their diocese like a father leads his family. There are some, however, who still use a business model and prefer the role of executive to that of father. Disobedient children cannot be ignored nor encouraged in their folly, especially when it endangers the rest of the family. Redefining doctrine or reinventing sacred liturgy are not viable options. Sentire cum ecclesiae (think with the church) and ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia (where Peter is, there is the church) are our best roadmaps.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Throughout the blogosphere and orthodox Catholic media, there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth at the fact that such a blatant anti-Catholic Catholic priest can even exist within the Church. To qualify that a bit, Fr. Gravel's Bishop has indeed revoked his priestly abilities until he steps down for election, but most people are more than a little disappointed that it took several public, even on a national scale, dismissals of Catholicism by Fr. Gravel that the Bishop finally took some action. For leftists, Fr. Gravel is another great French hope for the 'Catholic Church of Tomorrow'. For everyone else, Fr. Gravel is an animated fossil from a passing age.
At my adult catechesis class, we asked our Bishop how he would handle the situation. He said he wasn't sure, that is was a very complex case and that he would feel particularly concerned for the spiritual health of the actively dissident priest. I of course hoped for a more forceful answer, but then this is a Bishop who spends much of his time repairing 40 years worth of damage done to our diocese. Comparing my Bishop's response to the reponse given by Fr. Gravel's Bishop, I cannot help but sympathesize with the latter. No one wants to be the Wittenberg Bishop in this age (although who even remembers the name of Luther's bishop), especially in the ruins of the Church in Quebec. By revoking his abilities as a priest, Fr. Gravel's Bishop has effectively nullified what could have been an absolute catastrophe (imagine a MP priest making a mockery of our sacraments in the Commons... yikes!). Sure, we still have Fr. Gravel agitating for election, but now he is simply Raymond Gravel, whose personal opinions can no longer tarnish the administration of the sacraments. The media will no doubt attempt to spin this as yet another 'progressive' silenced, but of course he hasn't been silenced at all, and the public will realise that. All this without excommunication.
Pray for Fr. Gravel, his associates, and most especially his bishop.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
St. Augustine of Hippo
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
It has been pointed out by several commentators that wishing that I were something does not make it so. Say, for example, if I wanted to become a police officer, I could not simply wake up one morning and decide that I had become one. To be a police officer takes a lot work and discernment. There is college, several interviews with prospective academies, meeting with those encharge of hiring new police officers, and finally months of serious preparation and training before I can be, authentically, a police officer. This of course is intrinsic to any vocation or career. With this in mind, one really has to question the pyschological health of those unfortunate women in North America and Europe who have decided for themselves that they are now priests. Noticeably absent from their stories are the same rigours and struggles a man seeking to become a priest faces. As some people are aware, becoming a Catholic priest takes many, many years and the priests and bishops responsible for your training and entry into the priesthood reserve the right to decide whether or not the candidate has the necessary charisms and calling to be ordained. The point is that it is not up to the candidate to decide that he can be a priest, and so then he is a priest. There's a lot more to it.
Yet in the minds of the handful of these women agitating for female ordinaition via illicit ordinaition ceremonies and press releases, the route is simple and the path wide. Just make a few calls to your local unrepentant excommunicant, find a boat (since the Womenpriest movement operates under the mistaken assumption that the Church's ecclesial territories do not include water systems - they do), and bring along some funny colour faux-vestments. Removed are the years of patient discernment, the hours in front of the tabernacle, those stressful minutes before you meet with the head of a seminary, the struggle to prepare oneself for the massive demands of the administering the sacraments to the faithful, and not to mention the task of rebuilding the many bridges burnt by scandal. In their place is, well, not that much.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
For the past century, particularly since the great modernist vs. fundamentalist debates of the 1920s, the mainline Protestant churches have wed themselves to fashion. Rather than using Christianity as a lense by which to interpret the times, these churches used the times to interpret Christianity. As with most bad ideas, this decision (which has also been followed by some in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, but to a much lesser and limited degree) is based upon a rather naive assumption: Christianity, which admittedly had been on the defensive since the Reformation, will cease to be relevant unless its doctrines and dogmas are radically changed to accomodate similar changes in secular society (this was not a grass-roots decision; the choice to abandon Christian mores and beliefs was made chiefly by bishops and other church leaders).
In the early 20th Century, mainline Protestant churches were robust institutions who played an important role in society. By the end of the 20th Century, and after a seemingly endless number of rethinkings of Christian belief, mainline Protestant churches were empty vessels with absolutely no real influence on society. Its congregations have been hemorrhaging numbers at such a rapid pace that is it now average for one mainline Protestant parish to close its doors forever each week. In the UCC, membership has dropped by 50% over the past 40 years. With such massive losses, one would think common sense to somehow enter the minds of the pastors of the UCC and spark a serious reassessment of their leadership. Perhaps another liberalization or nauseating statement about 'affirming congregations' or 'embracing diversity' is not what is needed. When a church presents the same philosophy as the secular society, it runs the risk that its message will simply not be heard. For the UCC, this is the 10 million dollar gamble.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
For Dawkins the issue is very simple: All of humanity's problems come from irrationality sponsored by religious belief. Unfortunately for his followers (and I suppose his critics as well) Dawkins barely moves beyond that simple statement, and thus spends his entire television programme and book (from the reviews I have read) regurgitating the same statement to which he has seemingly centred his entire life. Aside from the danger of becoming the village atheist (a role currently occupied by Dawkin's friend and ally, the 'philosopher' Daniel Dennett), Dawkins' repetitious argument displays a very obvious deficit of knowledge when it comes to religious matters. Unlike a proper scholar, he pays litte attention to the reason and rationality behind many religious (particularly Catholic) beliefs, preferring to ridicule not what his would-be opponents consider their own belief-system, but rather what Dawkins himselfs decides is their belief-system. A very good tactic if you want to be popular, a very poor tactic if you want to be honest.
What I personally find so interesting about Dawkins and his compatriots is that while they ridicule the religious believer as ignorant, unenlightened and regressive, they themselves are on the verge of a complete demographic catastrophe of fantastical proportions. It is no exaggeration to state that unless the Dawkinites of the world start reproducing, there won't be many of them left in 30 or 40 years. On the other hand, the ignorant, unenlightened, and regressive souls keep making more souls. So for Dawkins, who considers religious belief to be inherently irrational and destructive, it must be a harsh reality to accept that for every atheist who dies, 10 theists are born.
This demographic crisis threatening the Secularist/atheist 'culture' calls into question a great deal of the claims made by the likes of Dawkins. If religious (Christian) belief is so irrational, why has it been so efficacious? Which is more irrational, a species willfully killing itself off, or a species struggling to adapt, survive, and prosper? Which is more irrational, a belief that all life has a purpose, or that all life is ultimately meaningless? Which is more irrational, the idea that all has been made by a Creator (which has yet to be witnessed), or the idea that all has been made from primordial soups and meaningless, unguided mutation (which has yet to be witnessed either)? That Dawkins' philosophy fails to offer any serious response to any of these questions makes the atheist birth deficit all the more understandable. While these questions I listed are basic, they are also intrinsic to humanity. Every successful culture and civilization has been able to provide at least a sufficient answer to the questions of human orgin; in fact as we know from the Christian and Islamic cultures, it is by having rational answers to these questions that civilizations are able to thrive and last.
To be sure, Secularism and atheism are not dead. Europe, Russia, Asia and North America are currently dominated by these philosophies, right the way down to our education systems. Even more to the point, Secularism and atheism are waging what could possibly be their final campaign in the culture wars that have so devastated Western culture for the past 200 years. At least this Christmas, when we're all fighting to be able to say 'Merry Christmas' in a department store, we might be able to take some solace knowing that it is not unlikely that our children's children will not have to do the same.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sponsored by Pro-Life Groups of BC.
Being dupped is usually hard for the ego, but this time I was more than happy about it.
Monday, October 30, 2006
I think I need to tone it down.
So lately I've been addicted to the series Battlestar Galactica. It's not a masterpeice by any means, but it has breathed new life into science fiction. Scifi, as I know well, has generally sucked since Picard hung up his shiny, pointed boots and Riker went back to Alaska to grow his beard and go spear-fishin' with Deanna & Worf. Battlestar Galactica (BSG from now on) attempts to make scifi more realistic, more of our time in terms of style and custom than try to dream up a completely fantastical world of aliens and laser beams.
Briefly stated, BSG follows the last survivors of humanity who, after having their homeworlds completely destroyed by a race of hyper-intelligent robots on their own creation, are in search of the legendary 13th colony, Earth. The problem is that the characters in the show are very human and spend a lot time doing very human (read stupid) things. Reason it seems, even in an age of grand techonological advancements, stills gets chucked out the window when it becomes inconvenient. One of the last scientists, a certain Dr. Baltar, has hallucinations of a female robot to whom he allowed access into humanity's defense computers and thus is indirectly responsible for the nuclear slaughter of billions of people. Ex-president Roslin exploits religious belief when it suites her, then drops it when it mandates a more unpopular, however necessary, course of action. Everyone has a problem: promiscuity, selfishness, pride, alcoholism, infidelity, depression and so forth.
The allure of BSG comes from the humanity of the characters. There isn't a Captain Picard who, between trips to the holodeck, never makes a poor decision. Instead, when people make a mistake and others die, you know it. People get upset and hold grudges. Characters react and change. It may be scifi, but it feels very believable. Credit is due to the writers who recognized the problems of modern-scifi and addressed them neatly in this well produced and acted series.
With that out of the way, maybe I can finish those other posts.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
So how about our West?
Aside from a few sensible men and women working in the popular media, most commentary has been contra the Pope's Regensburg message; in fact most commentary has been reactive, incoherent, and often vicious. Fr. Neuhaus at First Things notes the commentary follows the established norms: When a Catholic makes a Catholic statement, attack him because of his Catholicism. Intrinsic to this norm is the idea that for honest discussion to occur, one must rid themselves of any idea that one's own position is superior, or even simply 'more correct' than the other's. To be honest, it doesn't strictly apply to Catholics, but it tends only to be exercised when the Catholic position on any given issue is publicly stated.
Tersely stated, there are a lot of problems when two participants in a conversation pretend their, for instance, own epistemological and ontological differences do not exist. I need not delve into example to illustrate this, but you can imagine how effective a Supreme Court Council would be if each judge 'rid themselves' of their normative understandings whilst making a conciliar judgement.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
When I finished elementary school in 1995, we hadn't had a recycling rally for about 3 years. I suppose the excitement was tied in with the then optimistic understanding of the Rio Convention, a UN sponsored meeting which would discuss and hopefully resolve the environmental problems of the entire world. By 1995 however, Rio was deemed to be a failure by most, it's most important contribution to environmental conservatism was the term 'sustainable development' and popularizing the idea of biodiversity. The problem with Rio, and all other international environmental law, was that there was no way to make the states participating actually follow through on their commitments. Why should a state, the argument goes, risk its financial assets because of the looming extinction of tree frogs in the Amazon whom few had even heard of before? Unless there was some sort of international body with some authority, few states were and are wiling to independently risk economic strain for the sake of the environment.
Rightfully, this is a sad situation. States are comprised of people, and people need a healthy environment to be healthy themselves. Pollution and waste go against common sense. For the sake of our children and our world, we need to engage in radical environmental conservatism.
But here's the sticker: How can a society which rejects social conservatism embrace environmental conservatism? Both require sacrifice for the good of the community, and naturally authentic expressions of both are rather unpopular. Being socially conservative requires a massive amount of self-honesty and criticism, as does being authentically environmentally conservative. One cannot protest the deforestation of British Columbia's forests while using condoms and pharmaceutical birth control, both recently discovered to be extremely harmful to our water supplies, without firmly cementing themselves on the patchouli steeped plateau of low-brow hypocrisy. For some reason I'm reminded of the unfortunate theif, Svend Robinson.
In effect we have a grand problem, for this type of hypocrisy is natural to us all. It is harder to practice abstinence than it is to compost your leftover spaghetti or cut back on paper use at the office, yet the two sacrifices are interrelated and interdependent. Making the personal sacrifice requires an acceptance of imperfection, a realization of authority and a proper understanding of autonomy. I have not adopted social conservatism because it makes life easier for me, and nor does the other adopt environmental conservatism because it makes life easier for him. This decision comes for accepting my own responsibility to ensure the safety and sanctity of myself and the other. Likewise for proper environmentalism, it too stems from the same sources. Anything else is shallow and incapable of effecting actual change and improvement.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Whose democracy, Bill?
Our's or your's? Canada's or the Liberal Party's?
Thursday, October 05, 2006
For the fifth biggest city in North America, one would think it natural to be home to several, or at least one, successful sports franchise. But let me qualify first: by successful, I do not mean in the financial sense - I am talking about real sporting success, glory and prestige. There was a time, the early 1990s, when 2 of the then 3 major sports teams in Toronto were successful. The CFL's Argonauts had just won a Grey Cup and held a monopoly on talent. The Blue Jays ended up claiming two Pennants in a row, unheard for a 'provincial' team in major league baseball. Even the Leafs re-emerged as a force in the NHL after years in the wilderness. Things were looking up.
But things, they fell apart. The owners of the Argos moved on and so too did all the talent. Baseball was shattered by a player's strike, effectively killing off the Montreal Expos, bankrupting the Blue Jays, and forever ruining that sport's once illustrious image as 'America's pastime'. Our only hope was the now serious Toronto Maple Leafs, a team finally ready to live up to its history and potential. Sadly, as every Canadian knows, no such renewal happened. After a few almost-there years for the Leafs, things began to take a turn for the worse. It's been over ten years since Pat Burns left Toronto, a departure which marked the end of those halycon days of reckless optimism. Things marginally improved under Pat Quinn, who is by all accounts a serious hockey coach, but his tenure was always overshadowed by unpopular signings and tactics. When he was replaced by Paul Maurice this past spring, there were few who shed any tears, let alone paused for a bit of nostalgic reflection.
Maybe things are looking up. 'Pinball' Clemens seems an amicable fellow whose passion for Canadian grid-iron is infectuous. Ted Rogers appears willing to match payrolls with the gluttonous Yankees and Red Sox. Paul Maurice appears to have realistic goals, making it clear that this season will be one of youth and tactical experimentation, rather than veterans and 'dump n' chase'. Maybe in a year I could be blushing at the overwhelming success of the Toronto Sports Franchise.
Or maybe not.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
In conversations with other pro-lifers, I do hear the Conservative Party frequently bashed for not having an anti-abortion mandate. Some otherwise socially conservative Canadians even refuse to vote for them, since, as they say, they are in effect no different than the Liberals or the NDP on this issue. This is a mistake. The Conservative Party, whatever its faults (and they are many), remains the only party with a chance to form government who is at the very least willing to talk with the pro-life movement. Contrast that with the NDP, Liberals or Bloc, who have aggressively demonized any opposition to abortion as anti-women's rights for the past 25 years. Energies are better thus spent turning the Conservatives authentically pro-life rather than jumping ship to another political party simply because they decided not to adopt a specifically anti-abortion position during the last federal election. For better or for worse, the Conservative way remains our best chance of advancing the pro-life movement to corridors of the Commons. It's time we accepted that.
Proponents of euthanasia and abortion tend not to frame their argument as such, but that's the gist of it. Usually we hear them speak of personal freedom, mercy, a right to choose and a right to die. Superficially, it all seems very reasonable. Shouldn't we have the ability to decide when we die, or to decide what happens within our bodies? Isn't opposition to abortion and euthanasia simply another right-wing restriction designed to stifle one's natural inclinations toward killing small children, the infirm, the disabled, and the old?
In the face of brief scrutiny, the pro-choice and pro-euthanasia arguments decay rather quickly. Each argument rests upon the assumption that things will be worse if the person in question does not die. Seldom discussed is the courageous woman who put up with peer condemnation for not choosing to terminate her pregnancy and raised an international and NHL hockey star. One never hears about the unfortunate woman in Australia who killed herself in front of a group of supporters, thinking she had terminal cancer, only for the autopsy to discover the opposite. In the view of the pro-death movement, these are mere aberrations: abortions and suicides are always the right thing to do. There are no mistakes - just move on. Rinse & repeat. Die, die, die.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
I first finished The Cube and the Cathedral by George Weigel. For anyone who hasn't read a Weigel book, I suggest you do so: his prose is smooth and accessible making for an efficient read. In brief, this particular book is a collection of essays in which Weigel explores the current cultural crisis afflicting the West. This crisis is 'best' embodied in the dramatic decline of birth rates in Western Europe, an increasing democratic deficit, and an ahistorical understanding of Europe's philosophical roots. For Weigel, these are the symptoms of Western Europe's surgical removal of Christianity from its public philosophy. Radical laicism in Europe, which to me seems to share the same goals as the radical secularism of North America, has stripped an entire society of its historical, Christian roots. Exemplified especially by recent developments within the EU, most especially during the drafting of the now failed European Constitutional Treaty, the elite circles of Europe are dominated by the philosophy that Christianity is necessarily divisive and primitive, and that it must be sacrificed for the future health of Europe. Ironically, says Weigel, while most of Europe's leaders trumpet this belief, the continent, in fact the whole of Western European culture is decaying at such a rapid pace that there may well be no Europe in 50 years as we know it today. Thus enter Christianity. For Weigel, and most Catholics I might add, Christianity offers the sound philosophical and moral base any culture requires to survive. By cutting off people from Christianity, European leaders deprive them of the very basis of their own understanding of human rights, democracy, and the social welfare state. Obviously, a tree doesn't grow without its roots. Weigel ends the book by discussing the probable future of Europe, which he narrows down to three alternatives. I won't spoil it any further.
I then proceeded to finish off Rabbi David Dalin's The Myth of Hitler's Pope. It's popular assumption these days that the Catholic Church did nothing during World War 2 to stop the Holocaust/Shoah of 6 million Jews. James Carroll, John Cromwell (pre-repentance), David Goldhagen, Susan Zucotti, and Garry Wills have all made a tidy living recently off slamming Pope Pius XII, alleging a connection between the murderous Nazi persecution of Europe's Jewry and the Roman Pontiff. Dalin, like Rychlak, Doino and a host of others, debunks these allegations en masse. Drawing from primary sources, Dalin shows that every single claim made against Pope Pius XII is false, indeed baseless. In doing so, he exposes a rather depressing tendency of the liberal media to uncritically accept any claim made against Pope Pius XII. As it turns out, virtually all of the allegations are based upon secondary, and usually unsubstantiated, sources - typically interviews and anecdotes. Critics of the Catholic Church, according to Dalin, ignore the massive amount of primary literature which exonerates rather than implicates Pius XII. For Dalin, such ignorance is not innocent. He charges Carroll et al., with attacking the Pope simply because they harbour resentment toward the Catholic Church's teaching. Coming from a Jew, this is a serious claim. Dalin concludes by examining current trends of anti-Semitism and their relation to anti-Catholicism. As it turns out, it is not within Christendom that anti-Semitism is rife, but within Islam. The governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia produce millions of pages of anti-Jewish propaganda every year, while several Islamic leaders have made public their hatred toward Jews. Dalin fears that anti-Semitism is endemic to Islam because of several passages within the Koran which explicitly attack and denounce Jews. This leads Islamic scholars to accept otherwise false claims, such as those envinced by the phony conspiracy book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as true. Troubling stuff.
Finally, I read Joseph Bottum's When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano, in this month's edition of First Things. It is a short essay on the death of American Catholic culture after the Second Vatician Council. Bottum seems to yearn for a return to the Catholic culture of the 1950s and earlier, the culture that was so easily destroyed by the confusion and indifference of the Vatican 2 generation. Sure, there are some surviving cultural bastions such as the pro-life movement, but as Bottum shows, virtually everything else was replaced by utter nonsense. For me and my generation, who all lack a 'Catholic cultural' reference point, all the post-Vatican 2 hooplah does seem extremely silly and increasingly tedious. And in this respect Bottum hits the nail right on the head: younger Catholics don't care about the previous generation's divisions. Though I wouldn't call it a rebellion against a rebellion, there certainly is an element of revolution when the new generation of Catholics categorically rejects much of the 'Spirit of Vatican 2' reform. | <urn:uuid:16649aa6-04bb-413d-ac59-2483c2d14863> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://augustinepoodle.blogspot.com/2006/ | 2017-08-22T03:40:28Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.96879 | 16,822 |
Almost seventy years have passed since the events of chapter 1 of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar himself had died in 562 B.C. Daniel does not record his immediate successors, and extrabiblical literature is somewhat confused. A plausible account of Berosus, in his third book, found in a fragment preserved by Josephus summarizes the history between Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562 B.C. and the fall of Babylon 539 B.C.
According to Berosus, Nebuchadnezzar died after a reign of 43 years and was followed by his son Evil-Merodach. Because his rule was arbitrary and licentious, he was assassinated by Neriglisar after he had reigned only two years. The next four years Neriglisar occupied the throne. At his death his son Laborosoarchod, who was only a child, reigned for nine months until a conspiracy resulted in his being beaten to death. The conspirators appointed Nabonidus, one of their number, who reigned for seventeen years before being defeated by Cyrus the Persian. Nabonidus fleeing Babylon went to Borsippa but was forced to surrender to Cyrus. Nabonidus was allowed to live in Carmania until the time of his death, but he was not allowed to come to Babylonia.
The account of Berosus preserved by Josephus is supported by other evidence such as the short fragment of Abydenus preserved by Eusebius.
Until the discovery of the Nabonidus Cylinder, no mention of Belshazzar, whom Daniel declares to be king of Babylon, had been found in extrabiblical literature. Critics of the authenticity and historicity of Daniel accordingly were free to question whether any such person as Belshazzar existed. Since the publication of Raymond Dougherty’s scholarly research on Nabonidus and Belshazzar, based on the Nabonidus Cylinder and other sources, there is no ground for questioning the general historicity of Belshazzar; and only the details of the scriptural account unverified by extrabiblical sources can be challenged by the critics. Montgomery states that the story is “un-historical” but “nevertheless contains indubitable reminiscences of actual history.”
On the other hand, such a careful scholar as Edward J. Young states, “The identity of Belshazzar has long caused difficulty to commentators. Some have denied his historicity… The king’s name, however, has now appeared upon the cuneiform documents, so that there can be no question as to his historicity. This is the first point at which this ch. exhibits its remarkable accuracy.” The controversy over Belshazzar, because of the extensive investigation and great variety of findings, has become one of the most complicated problems in the entire book, but the problem itself is comparatively simple. Was Belshazzar actually king of Babylon and was he murdered on the night that Babylon was conquered?
A solution of the problem has depended largely on the premises of the scholars dealing with it. Those critical of the authenticity and accuracy of Daniel, especially those zealous to prove second-century authorship, proceed on the premise that Daniel must be in error until he is proved otherwise. Here the discussion is lost in a maze of conflicting facts in extrabiblical literature concerning which the critics themselves are not agreed. Although such ancient records are notoriously inaccurate and at best are fragmentary, the argument of the critics was that Belshazzar never existed because his name did not appear in any of the ancient records. This omission, however, was later remedied, as mentioned above, by the discovery of the name of Bel-shar-usur (Belshazzar) on cylinders in which he is called the son of Nabonidus. Critics, having to recede from their former position that no such person existed, have since centered their attack on the fact that the word king does not occur in connection with Belshazzar on any extant Babylonian records. The establishment of Nabonidus as the father of Belshazzar, or at least his stepfather, nullifies most of the critical objections, although Rowley in an extensive discussion maintains stoutly that to call Belshazzar a king “must still be pronounced a grave historical error.”
Since Rowley, however, even liberal scholars have tended to accept the explanation that Belshazzar acted as a regent under his father, Nabonidus. Norman Porteous, for instance, writes, “On the other hand it is known that Belshazzar was a historical person, the son of the last Babylonian king Nabonidus, who acted as regent of Babylon for several years before its fall, while his father was absent at the oasis of Teima in Arabia.” This would begin Belshazzar’s regency about 553 B.C., when Nabonidus went to Teima. Not only the record in Daniel but also the external evidence is now sufficient to support the conclusion that Belshazzar’s coregency is almost beyond question. This is another illustration of how critical objections based on lack of external evidence are frequently overthrown when the evidence is uncovered.
Additional evidence that Nabonidus was away from Babylon on the night of Daniel 5 is given in the fragment from Berosus, previously cited, which indicates that Nabonidus had left Babylon only to be vanquished in battle and flee to Borsippa. This would involve the premise that Nabonidus, although usually living at Teima, had returned to Babylon for a visit just prior to the siege of Babylon, had gone out to battle before Babylon was actually surrounded, and then was defeated, thereby permitting the Persians to besiege Babylon itself. Under these circumstances, Belshazzar would indeed be king of Babylon in the absence of his father. Problems of his relationship will be considered at the proper place in the exposition, including the possibility that Belshazzar’s mother was a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and thus in the royal line, whereas Nabonidus was not. There are actually so many plausible possibilities in Daniel’s account, supported by the evidence cited, that the storm of objections can hardly be taken seriously.
Belshazzar’s Feast in Honor of the Gods of Babylon
5:1-4 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
About seventy years had elapsed since the capture of Jerusalem recorded in Daniel 1. In the interpretation of the image in chapter 2, Daniel had predicted to Nebuchadnezzar, “After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee” (Dan 2:39). Now, in chapter 5, this prophecy is about to be fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliating experience in chapter 4 had been followed by his death in 562 b.c. Approximately twenty-three years elapsed between chapter 4 and chapter 5. In this period, a number of monarchs had succeeded Nebuchadnezzar. According to Berosus, Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, Evil-Merodach, also known as Amel-Marduk, who was killed in 560 b.c. He was followed by Neriglissar, also spelled Nergal-shar-usur, a son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar who died in 556 b.c. of natural causes. He was succeeded by Laborosoarchad, also known as Labashi-Marduk, a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, who was assassinated after less than a year. Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 b.c. and reigned until 539 b.c. when conquered by the Medes. Belshazzar is best identified as his son, whose mother was either a wife or a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and thereby strengthened the claim of Nabonidus to the throne. This explains why Belshazzar in the lineal descent from Nebuchadnezzar was honored as a coruler under Nabonidus. Although there are alternative explanations and some dates vary, this succession of kings and identification of characters seems to have reasonable justification. Most expositors disagree with Keil, who identifies Belshazzar with Evil-Merodach, preferring the identification of a son of Nabonidus, based on later evidence not available to Keil. The identifications of Leupold are more satisfactory.
In the quarter of a century which elapsed between chapter 4 and chapter 5, the further revelations given to Daniel in chapters 7 and 8 occurred. Chapter 7 was revealed to Daniel “in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon” (Dan 7:1) and the vision of the ram and he-goat in chapter 8 occurred “in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar” (Dan 8:1). The information embodied in these two visions, insofar as Daniel understood it, therefore was known to Daniel before the event of chapter 5 which chronologically came after chapters 7 and 8. If Belshazzar began his reign in 553 b.c, when Nabonidus went to Teima, the visions of chapters 7 and 8 actually occurred about twelve years before the events of chapter 5.
Verse 1 of chapter 5 introduces the fact that Belshazzar as king of Babylon had made a great feast to which a thousand of his lords had been invited with their wives. That such a large feast should be held by a monarch like Belshazzar is not at all strange. Leupold cites the ancient historian Ktesias to the effect that Persian monarchs frequently were known to dine daily with 15,000 people. M. E. 50:Mallowan mentions the great feast that Ashusnasirpal II gave to 69,574 guests when he dedicated his new capital city of Calah (Nimrud) in 879 b.c.
Although the size of the banquet is not amazing, the situation was most unusual. If the setting can be reconstructed, Nabonidus previously had gone forth from Babylon to fight the Medes and the Persians and had already been captured. The whole surrounding territory of the city of Babylon and the related provinces already had been conquered. Only Babylon with its massive walls and fortifications remained intact. Possibly to reassert their faith in their Babylonian gods and to bolster their own courage, this feast in the form of a festival had been ordered. The storehouses of Babylon were still abundant with food and wine, and there is evidence that there was plenty of both at this feast. The expression “drunk wine before the thousand” indicates that Belshazzar was probably on a platform at a higher level than other guests and led them in drinking toasts to their deities. Under the stimulus of wine, the thought occurred to Belshazzar to bring in the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar almost seventy years before. The implication in the clause “whiles he tasted the wine” is that Belshazzar in his right mind probably would not have committed this sacrilegious act.
Drinking bouts such as characterized Babylon were also common among other peoples, such as the Persians. Athenaeus quotes Heracleides of Cumae, the author of Persian History, in describing in detail the custom of drinking to excess after dinner. The luxury of both the drinking and the eating is also illustrated in Athenaeus in describing dinners among the Persians of high station as follows: “For one thousand animals are slaughtered daily for the king; these comprise horses, camels, oxen, asses, deer, and most of the smaller animals; many birds also are consumed, including Arabian ostriches—and the creature is large—geese, and cocks.”
Much has been made of the reference of Belshazzar’s relationship to Nebuchadnezzar, who is described as “his father” in verse 2; and even Keil is influenced by this to consider Belshazzar a literal son of Nebuchadnezzar. This is not entirely impossible, of course, for as Leupold shows, Nabonidus could have married a widow of Nebuchadnezzar who had a son by Nebuchadnezzar who then could be adopted by Nabonidus by way of strengthening his own hold upon the throne. As Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 B.C., only six years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar was probably at least a teenager when Nebuchadnezzar died—if he was old enough to be coregent with Nabonidus in 553 B.C.— it is possible that he was a genuine son of Nebuchadnezzar and that his mother, after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, was married to Nabonidus. This, however, is conjecture; and probably it is more natural to consider Belshazzar a son of Nabonidus himself.
Although the precise identity of Belshazzar may continue to be debated, available facts support accepting Daniel’s designation of Belshazzar as king. The reference to father may be construed as “grandfather.” As Pusey states, “Neither in Hebrew, nor in Chaldee, is there any-word for ‘grandfather,’ ‘grandson.’ Forefathers are called ‘fathers’ or ‘fathers’ fathers.’ But a single grandfather, or forefather, is never called ‘father’s father’ but always ‘father’ only.”
The sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem had apparently been kept in storage without sacrilegious use from Nebuchadnezzar’s day until the occasion of this feast. Now these holy vessels are distributed among the crowd and used as vessels from which to drink wine. Verse 2 cites that “the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines” drink from them; and this fact is restated in the actual act in verse 3 where only the golden vessels are mentioned. The Revised Standard Version, following the Vulgate, adds in verse 3 “and silver vessels.” This act of sacrilege was an intentioned religious gesture in praise of the gods of Babylon mentioned in descending order of importance as “gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” That Belshazzar well knew the blasphemous character of his act is evident from Daniel 5:13, 22. He knew Daniel and knew the history of Nebuchadnezzar’s experience with God’s chastening. Some have found, in the six materials mentioned, a typical reference to “the number of the world amenable to judgment because of its hostility to God.” In the original, the gods of gold and silver are separated by the conjunction “and,” not true of the listing of the gods of brass, iron, wood, and stone, as if there were two classes of deities. This distinction is supported by Keil.
Their pride in their deities may have been bolstered by the magnificence of the city of Babylon itself, interpreted as an evidence of the power of their gods. Herodotus gives a glowing account of Babylon as a monument to the genius of Nebuchadnezzar and undoubtedly a source of much pride to all the Babylonians. According to Herodotus, Babylon was about fourteen miles square, with great outer walls 87 feet thick and 350 feet high, with a hundred great bronze gates in the walls. A system of inner and outer walls with a water moat between the walls made the city very secure. So broad and strong were the walls that chariots four abreast could parade around its top. Herodotus pictures hundreds of towers at appropriate intervals reaching another 100 feet into the air above the top of the wall.
Modern interpreters view Herodotus’ figures as greatly exaggerated, with the real dimensions only about one-fourth of what Herodotus claimed. The outer wall seems to have been only seventeen miles in circumference, instead of about fifty-six as Herodotus claimed, with much fewer towers and gates; and probably even the towers were not more than 100 feet tall. While the dimensions may be questioned, the magnificence of the city was not seriously exaggerated.
The great Euphrates River flowed through the middle of the city in a general north-south direction and was bordered by walls on each side to protect the city from attack from the river. Within these walls were beautiful avenues, parks, and palaces. Many of the streets were lined with buildings three and four stories high. Among these buildings were the Temple of Bel, an eight-story structure, and the magnificent palace of the king, actually a complex of buildings, which have now been excavated. A great bridge spanned the Euphrates River, connecting the eastern section and the western or new section of the city. The bridge was later supplemented by a tunnel mentioned by Diodorus. The famed “hanging gardens” of Babylon were large enough to support trees.
Although Babylon has been only partially excavated with but a small part of the original city recovered, the system of mounds which mark the city today more or less indicate its boundaries. Archeological research is complicated by a change in the course of the Euphrates River and a higher water level, but more than 10,000 inscribed texts have been discovered.
In many respects, Babylon was the most fabulous city of the ancient world both for the beauty of its architecture and for the safety of its huge walls and fortifications. It was hard for the Babylonians to believe that even the Medes and the Persians who had surrounded their beloved city could possibly breach the fortifications or exhaust their supplies which were intended to be ample for a siege of many years. Their confidence in their gods was bolstered by their confidence in their city.
The Handwriting on the Wall
5:5-9 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
While the feast was in progress with its drinking of wine and shouting of praises to the gods of Babylon, suddenly there appeared the fingers of a man’s hand which wrote on the plastered wall of the palace. With only the fingers of the hand visible and producing writing upon the wall, the spectacle immediately attracted attention.
In the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace archeologists have uncovered a large throne room 56 feet wide and 173 feet long which probably was the scene of this banquet. Midway in the long wall opposite the entrance there was a niche in front of which the king may well have been seated. Interestingly, the wall behind the niche was covered with white plaster as described by Daniel, which would make an excellent background for such a writing.
If the scene can be reconstructed, it is probable that the banquet was illuminated by torches which not only produced smoke but fitful light that would only partially illuminate the great hall. As the writing according to Daniel was written “over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace,” it may have appeared in an area of greater illumination than the rest of the room and thus also have attracted more attention.
The effect upon the king and his associates was immediate. According to Daniel, his countenance changed, that is, changed color and became pale. His thin courage, bolstered by wine drunk from vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered and were seemingly a symbol of the power of the gods of Babylon, now deserted him. He was instead filled with terror to the point that “the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.” In his excitement, he no longer could sit down but hardly had the strength to stand. Probably before the babble of conversation in the banquet room had subsided, the king began to cry aloud “to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.” Only three classes of wise men are mentioned, but it is doubtful whether any class was intentionally omitted as verse 8 refers to “all the king’s wise men.” The astrologers were actually the magicians; the Chaldeans were a broad class of scholars and learned men in the lore of the Babylonians; and the soothsayers corresponded more closely to the modern concept of astrologers, although they may have also practiced sorcery. It is possible in the decline of the Babylonian Empire that the number of the wise men was far more limited at this point in history than it was under Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. In any event, there is no proof for the suggestion discussed by Keil that the classification of wise men mentioned purposely excluded Daniel. As Keil points out, the king was ready to listen to anyone who could interpret the writing.
As soon as a suitable number of the wise men had assembled, the king addressed them offering the reward that, if one of them could read the writing and show the interpretation, he would be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about his neck and become third ruler in the kingdom. To be clothed in scarlet and to wear a chain of gold about the neck were special tokens of the king’s favor and certainly would have been coveted by any of the wise men.
Much speculation has arisen concerning the expression that he offered them the position of being “the third ruler in the kingdom.” There is some question as to whether the Aramaic indicates specifically “the third ruler.” The ordinal numeral would be tÿli‚ta„y (as in Dan 2:39) whereas the Aramaic here is actually talti‚. Scholars are not agreed as to the precise meaning of this term, but the suggestion is made that it may be a title for an office of honor which did not necessarily correspond precisely to the meaning of the word. As Keil expresses it, “It is not quite certain what the princely situation is which was promised to the interpreter of the writing… That it is not the ordinale of the number third, is, since Havernick, now generally acknowledged.” However, recent scholarship has tended to confirm the translation “the third ruler.” Franz Rosenthal, for instance, confidently translates the term “one-third (ruler), triumvir.”
In spite of the problem in the word, it is probable that the offer of honor was that of being the third ruler. Belshazzar under Nabonidus was considered the second ruler, and the position of a third ruler would be the highest that he could offer. Belshazzar was evidently in no mood to bargain but was terrified and desperately desired to know the meaning of the writing.
The large reward that was offered, however, was to no avail, for the wise men who assembled could not read the writing nor interpret it. This implies a twofold difficulty. Some have claimed that the text does not plainly indicate the language. Charles, for instance, suggests that the writing was in unfamiliar ideograms. This, however, is mere conjecture. The probability is that the writing was in Aramaic and therefore not entirely unknown to the wise men.
In any case Daniel read the writing as Aramaic, and the suggestion of puns in the language depends upon the Aramaic. The difficulty of the wise men in reading the writing may have been that it was written in Aramaic script without the vowels being supplied; but if written in cuneiform, the vowels would have been included. Daniel does not explain the difficulty in reading the writing on the wall, but the problem apparently was not that it was a strange language but rather what the words signified prophetically.
The inability of the wise men to decipher the writing only increased the concern of Belshazzar. Perhaps the full force of his wickedness in using the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem had begun to dawn upon him, or the fears suppressed concerning the presence of the armies which surrounded Babylon may have now emerged. His concern was shared by the entire assembly.
Belshazzar’s predicament is another illustration of the insecurity and powerlessness of the rulers of this world when confronted by the power and wisdom of God. How God holds in derision the rulers of the world who take counsel against Him (Ps 2:1-4)! Like Nebuchadnezzar before him, Belshazzar was soon to experience divine judgment but without the happy ending.
Daniel Suggested as the Interpreter
5:10-12 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
The crisis produced by the inability of the wise men to interpret the handwriting on the wall is met by the entrance of one described as “the queen.” Much speculation surrounds the identity of this person as it is related to the larger question of Belshazzar’s lineage. Keil and Leupold both consider her to be a wife of Nebuchadnezzar and the mother of Belshazzar. As the wives of the lords and the king himself had earlier been declared to be at the banquet (v. 3) one who had the role of “queen” would most probably be Belshazzar’s mother. She had not attended the banquet. This would be understandable if she was elderly and the widow of Nebuchadnezzar. If she were the wife of Nabonidus who was in captivity she probably would not have desired to come alone. Hearing the unusual clamor at the banquet and learning of the distress of her son, because of her position she was able to enter the banquet hall freely and speak to the king. Her address is courteous, “O king, live for ever,” but directly to the point. Like a mother, she told her son in effect to pull himself together because there must be some solution to his problem. As one holding her position was normally highly regarded and treated with respect, she could speak out in a way that no other could do. Honoring of parents was characteristic of the Israelites (Ex 20:12; 1 Ki 2:13-20; 2 Ki 24:12-15). The same was true in the Gentile world, and the dowager queen was able to enter the banquet hall without an invitation.
Montgomery, opposing the idea that the queen is Belshazzar’s wife, comments, “Also the lady’s masterful appearance on the scene betokens rather the queen-mother than the consort.” Jeffery, likewise, writes, “…she speaks to him of his father in a way that suggests a mother speaking to a son rather than a wife to a husband.”
The solution to the problem which the queen suggested was that they invite Daniel the prophet, who had been discovered as a man of wisdom by Nebuchadnezzar, to interpret the writing. The queen uses the very words which presumably she had heard Nebuchadnezzar express (Dan 4:8, 9, 18). According to the queen, Daniel had “the spirit of the holy gods.” In the time of Nebuchadnezzar, to whom she refers as “thy father,” Daniel had been found to have the wisdom of gods and possessing “light,” that is, enlightenment, “understanding” or insight, and in general wisdom comparable to the wisdom of the gods. So great was his genius that Nebuchadnezzar had made him “master” or chief of his wise men, which in itself was a remarkable position for one who was not a Chaldean; and this honor placed upon him testified to the confidence of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel’s abilities. The reference to Nebuchadnezzar as the father of Belshazzar, as previously indicated, should probably be either grandfather or greatgrandfather as the same term would be used for any of these designations. It does imply, however, that Belshazzar was in descent from Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel’s excellent qualities manifested themselves in “an excellent spirit,” unusual knowledge and understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, difficult sentences, and “dissolving of doubts,” that is, solutions to problems. The word for doubts ( qitÿri‚n) is actually knots, joints, difficult problems. Daniel had not been assembled with the other wise men because he probably was in semiretirement and was no longer chief of the wise men. The queen urged, however, that now he be brought in to solve the present problem.
Daniel Called Before the King
5:13-16 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
When Daniel was brought before the king, he addressed a natural question to reassure himself of the identity of Daniel. It seems clear that Belshazzar knew something of Daniel, for his form of address in verse 13 goes beyond the information supplied by his mother. He knew for instance that Daniel was of the captivity of Judah and that he was one of the captives which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem. It may well be that because of awareness of his ancestry and religious convictions that Daniel had been demoted by Belshazzar himself. Now Belshazzar was all too eager to have the gifts of this man exercised to interpret the writing. Belshazzar goes on in verse 14 to repeat what his mother had said concerning Daniel’s wisdom.
Belshazzar informs Daniel of the inability of all the wise men either to read or to interpret the writing. Belshazzar then offers Daniel the same promise he made to the others of being clothed with scarlet and having a chain of gold and the privilege of being “the third ruler in the kingdom,” that is, the triumvir. As in the previous instances in Daniel 2 and 4, the wisdom of the world is demonstrated to be totally unable to solve its major problems and to understand either the present or the future. Daniel as the prophet of God is the channel through which divine revelation would come, and Belshazzar in his extremity was willing to listen.
Too often the world, like Belshazzar, is not willing to seek the wisdom of God until its own bankruptcy becomes evident. Then help is sought too late, as in the case of Belshazzar, and the cumulative sin and unbelief which precipitated the crisis in the first place becomes the occasion of downfall.
The situation before Belshazzar had all the elements of a great drama. Here was Daniel, an old man well in his eighties, with the marks of godly living evident in his bearing—in sharp contrast to the wine-flushed faces of the crowd. In the midst of this atmosphere of consternation, apprehension, and fear, Daniel’s countenance alone reflected the deep peace of God founded on confidence in God and His divine revelation.
Daniel’s Rebuke of Belshazzar
5:17-23 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this: But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Daniel’s reply to the king is properly called a sermon, and as King says, “What a great sermon it is!” Daniel begins by disavowing any interest in the gifts or rewards which the king offered. This was not prompted by disrespect nor by the evident fact that they would be short-lived. What Daniel is saying is that he will give an unprejudiced interpretation with no attempt to seek favor from the king. He promises both to read and to make known the interpretation.
In addressing the king, Daniel does not begin with a formal salutation as he does for instance in connection with Darius in Daniel 6:21 where he says, “O king, live for ever.” No doubt Daniel holds Belshazzar in contempt for his desecration of the sacred vessels. However, the narration here must be considered in the form of a condensation; and probably Daniel addressed the king in a formal way. A parallel is found in Daniel 2:27, where Daniel addresses Nebuchadnezzar without formal greeting, and in Daniel 4:19, where Daniel replies to Nebuchadnezzar simply with the expression, “My lord.” This was hardly a time in any case for Daniel to greet Belshazzar with such an expression as he gave to Darius, “O king, live for ever,” when as a matter of fact, Belshazzar’s hours were numbered. Instead, in verse 18 he recognizes him as king but then immediately delivers his prophetic message of condemnation.
Daniel first reminds Belshazzar that God gave Nebuchadnezzar his great kingdom and the honor that went with it. Daniel describes graphically in verse 19 how Nebuchadnezzar was feared and had absolute authority of life and death over his people and, accordingly, was an absolute sovereign. As Young points out, however, the very character of this absolute authority delegated to Nebuchadnezzar by God also made Nebuchadnezzar responsible. This is demonstrated and supported by Nebuchadnezzar’s experience of insanity in Daniel 4 when, as Daniel expresses it, “he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.” Daniel then itemizes in detail the characteristics of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity, how he lived with the wild beasts, ate grass like the ox, and was wet with the dew of heaven. All of this proved that God was greater than Nebuchadnezzar and held him responsible for his authority. Only when Nebuchadnezzar was properly humbled did God restore him to his” glory and kingdom.
These facts are pertinent to Belshazzar’s situation as they were well known by everyone as Daniel expresses it in verse 22, “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this.” The contrast between the supreme power of Nebuchadnezzar and the very limited power of Belshazzar is also evident. Belshazzar was not even the first ruler in the kingdom and was humiliated by the fact that Babylon was besieged and had already lost its power over the provinces surrounding the city.
Belshazzar’s situation and his knowledge of Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling made all the more blasphemous his taking of the vessels captured in Jerusalem from the house of the Lord and using them to drink wine in praising the gods of Babylon. With what eloquent scorn Daniel declares that Belshazzar, his lords, wives and concubines had drunk wine from these sacred vessels and had “praised gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”
Although the Scriptures do not state so expressly, it is probable that the message of Daniel to the king was heard by the entire company. It would have been quite improper for the entire company to keep on talking, especially in these dramatic circumstances, when Daniel was reporting to the king. They would naturally want to hear what he had to say. One can well imagine the tense moment as these ringing words reached every ear in the vast hail in the deathlike silence that greeted Daniel’s prophetic utterance. Here was a man who did not fear man and feared only God. Daniel spoke in measured tones the condemnation of that which was blasphemous in the sight of the holy God. There was, however, nothing insolent or discourteous in Daniel’s address to the king; and the charges were stated in a factual and objective way. In any case, the king was in no position to dispute with Daniel, even though Daniel’s words brought even greater fear and apprehension to his heart.
Daniel’s Interpretation of the Writing
5:24-28 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
In beginning his explanation of the handwriting on the wall, Daniel first of all reads the writing; and for the first time, the words are introduced into the text of this chapter. Transliterated into English, they are given as “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” There has been almost endless critical discussion as to what the meaning of this inscription is, and the interpretation is complicated by a number of factors. In the book of Daniel the words are given in Aramaic, but some have questioned this. If it was written in Aramaic script, however, only the consonants may have appeared. If in cuneiform, the vowels would be included. While in ordinary discourse the lack of vowels could normally be supplied rather easily, in a cryptic statement such as this the addition of vowels is a problem. The inscription on the wall may have appeared like this, “MN’ MN’ TQL UPRSN.” The order of the letters in the Aramaic, of course, would be the reverse of this, that is, from right to left.
Young suggests, after some of the rabbis, that the characters may have been written vertically, and in that case in the Aramaic order they would have appeared as follows:
P T M M
R Q N N
S L ’ ’
If, in addition to the complications of the Aramaic, a language which was known, some unfamiliar form of their characters was used, it would indeed have required divine revelation to give a suitable explanation and interpretation, and may account for the difficulty in reading the writing.
Because of the variety of words that could be identified merely by the consonants, another suggestion has been made. MENE could be considered equivalent to the maneh of Ezekiel 45:12; Ezra 2:69. TEQEL could be considered as representing the Hebrew shekel PERES could be read as PERAS, or a half-maneh, although this identification is questionable. Under this interpretation, the writing would read, “A maneh, a maneh, a shekel, and a half-maneh.” Having arrived at this conclusion, however, it still remains to be determined what it means. Young in his discussion on this point gives J. Dymeley Prince the credit for the suggestion that the maneh refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the shekel (of much less value) to Belshazzar, and the half-minas refers to the Medes and the Persians. Daniel’s explanation, however, is far more cogent and reasonable, and does not give any indication that the words mean other than he indicates.
The word MENE means “numbered,” and Daniel interprets this in verse 26 as indicating “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.” It is in keeping with the idea that man’s days are numbered, and the repetition of the word twice is probably for emphasis. Like the other words, it is a passive participle.
TEQEL means “weighed,” with the thought that Belshazzar has been put into the balances and found wanting, that is, short of true weight.
PERES means “divided,” and is merely another form for UPHARSIN as in verse 25 having the u, which is equivalent to the English and, with PHARSIN being the plural of PERES. Leupold suggests that PHARSIN could be understood by changing the vowels to be “Persians” and might have a double meaning as indicated by Daniel’s explanation “given to the Medes and Persians.” A pun may be intended on this third word. Having been interpreted to mean “divided,” it is also understood as a reference to the Aramaic word for Persian, thereby hinting a Persian victory over Babylon.
The interpretation of Daniel is clear and much more satisfactory than the alternatives offered by some expositors. Belshazzar is made to understand that Babylon will be given to the Medes and the Persians. Even while Daniel was interpreting the writing on the wall, the prophecy was being fulfilled as the Medes and the Persians poured into the city.
Daniel’s Reward and the Prophecy Fulfilled
5:29-31 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
The drama of the writing on the wall and its interpretation is now brought to its fulfillment as Belshazzar keeps his promise. Daniel is clothed with scarlet, a chain of gold put about his neck, and a proclamation issued that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. All of these honors, however, were short-lived and useless, as Daniel well knew, and typical of the honors of this world. In its rise to power the Babylonian Empire had conquered Jerusalem, taken its inhabitants into captivity, looted its beautiful temple, and completely destroyed the city. Yet this empire was to have as its last official act the honoring of one of these captives who by divine revelation predicted not only the downfall of Babylon but the course of the times of the Gentiles until the Son of man should come from heaven. Man may have the first word, but God will have the last word.
Herodotus gives an interesting account of the circumstances surrounding the capture of Babylon:
“Cyrus… then advanced against Babylon. But the Babylonians, having taken the field, awaited his coming; and when he had advanced near the city, the Babylonians gave battle, and, being defeated, were shut up in the city. But as they had been long aware of the restless spirit of Cyrus, and saw that he attacked all nations alike, they had laid up provisions for many years, and therefore were under no apprehensions about a siege. On the other hand, Cyrus found himself in difficulty, since much time had elapsed, and his affairs were not at all advanced. Whether, therefore, someone else made the suggestion to him in his perplexity, or whether he himself devised the plan, he had recourse to the following stratagem. Having stationed the bulk of his army near the passage of the river where it enters Babylon, and again having stationed another division beyond the city, where the river makes its exit, he gave order to his forces to enter the city as soon as they should see the stream fordable. Having stationed his forces and given these directions, he himself marched away with the ineffective part of his army; and having come to the lake, Cyrus did the same with respect to the river and the lake as the queen of the Babylonians had done; for having diverted the river, by means of a canal, into the lake, which was before a swamp, he made the ancient channel fordable by the sinking of the river. When this took place, the Persians who were appointed to that purpose close to the stream of the river, which had now subsided to about the middle of a man’s thigh, entered Babylon by this passage. If, however, the Babylonians had been aware of it beforehand, or had known what Cyrus was about, they would not have suffered the Persians to enter the city, but would have utterly destroyed them; for, having shut all the little gates that lead to the river, and mounting the walls that extend along the banks of the river, they would have caught them as in a net; whereas the Persians came upon them by surprise. It is related by the people who inhabited this city, that, by reason of its great extent, when they who were at the extremities were taken, those of the Babylonians who inhabited the centre knew nothing of the capture (for it happened to be a festival); but they were dancing at the time, and enjoying themselves, till they received certain information of the truth. And thus Babylon was taken for the first time.”
Keil discusses at length both Herodotus’ account and that of Xenophon in his Cyropaedia,which is similar, and summarizes the arguments of Kranichfeld discounting these records. Discoveries since Keil tend to support Herodotus and Xenophon, although not accounting for Darius the Mede. The battle probably took place much as Herodotus records it.
Prophecy anticipating the fall of Babylon is found in both Isaiah and Jeremiah, written many years before. Isaiah and Jeremiah had prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes on just such a night of revelry as Daniel records (Is 13:17-22; 21:1-10; Jer 51:33-58). Some of these prophecies may have their ultimate fulfillment in the future (Rev 17-18). More specifically of the invasion of the Medes, Isaiah writes, “Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media” (Is 21:2), and continues, after describing their dismay, “My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield” (Is 21:4-5). Finally, the tidings come, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground” (Is 21:9). Jeremiah is explicit, “And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire” (Jer 51:57-58).
The account of Cyrus, himself, of the fall of Babylon has now been recovered in an inscription on a clay barrel:
Marduk, the great lord, a protector of his people/worshipers, beheld with pleasure his (i.e., Cyrus’) good deeds and his upright mind (lit.: heart) (and therefore) ordered him to march against his city Babylon… He made him set out on the road to Babylon… going at his side like a real friend. His widespread troops—their number, like that of the water of a river, could not be established—strolled along, their weapons packed away. Without any battle, he made him enter his town Babylon,… sparing Babylon… any calamity. He delivered into his (1:e., Cyrus’) hands Nabonidus, the king who did not worship him (i.e., Marduk).
Daniel himself records with graphic simplicity the fulfillment of his prophecy in the words, “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.” The concluding verse of the chapter in English versification records how Darius the Median became ruler of Babylon at the age of 62 years. The identity of this conqueror, unknown outside the Bible by this name, has touched off endless controversy and discussion which will be considered in the next chapter.
The long chapter devoted to this incident which brought the Babylonian Empire to its close is undoubtedly recorded in the Word of God not only for its historic fulfillment of the prophecies relative to the Babylonian Empire but also as an illustration of divine dealing with a wicked world. The downfall of Babylon is in type the downfall of the unbelieving world. In many respects, modern civilization is much like ancient Babylon, resplendent with its monuments of architectural triumph, as secure as human hands and ingenuity could make it, and yet defenseless against the judgment of God at the proper hour. Contemporary civilization is similar to ancient Babylon in that it has much to foster human pride but little to provide human security. Much as Babylon fell on that sixteenth day of Tishri (Oct. 11 or 12) 539 B.C., as indicated in the Nabonidus Chronicle, so the world will be overtaken by disaster when the day of the Lord comes (1 Th 5:1-3). The disaster of the world, however, does not overtake the child of God; Daniel survives the purge and emerges triumphant as one of the presidents of the new kingdom in chapter 6. | <urn:uuid:c2f488d1-1461-4d10-bf54-5d496cabebb1> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://whatshotn.me/tag/unexplained/ | 2017-08-19T14:43:37Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105455.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819143637-20170819163637-00640.warc.gz | en | 0.980785 | 11,440 |
The important thing in life is to put the same heart and soul, the same tireless love into everything you do and never to give up, for it is the things that endure that must have priority. If something is to last, however, its particles must continually be renewed, and this means that if you are unwilling to clean out and discard the dusty remnants of your old ways of thinking and feeling, you will never create anything durable. Of course I know that it is going to be difficult for you to appreciate the importance of this truth, because the person who says it is a nobody. You think that only those who are learned or famous can reveal the truth. But that is not so; you should be able to recognize and appreciate a truth whoever may say it, be it a child or a beggar.
If something is to endure, it must constantly renew itself. And if the Church is disintegrating today, it is because it fails to renew itself; it continues to cling to old conceptions which are no longer valid and which need to be replaced. Of course I am not talking about the basic principles on which Christianity is built; no one will ever find principles more perfect than those of the Gospels. But why does the Church still burden itself with obsolete practices which no longer serve their purpose? Many people abandon the Christian religion because they think that science contradicts and nullifies the truth of the Gospels. This simply shows they have not understood the first thing about it, for it is just the opposite: the discoveries of science actually corrobate and emphasize the truths of the Gospels.
I can show you - in fact I have often done so - that the discoveries of science prove the truth of initiatic science, but this is something that neither scientists nor religious people have ever understood. For me there is no contradiction between science and religion; they go hand in hand. In fact they go hand in hand with art too, for the three are intimately related. From science mankind receives light, from religion warmth, and from art activity. Why have human beings separated these three realms that were created to coexist and work together in nature and in human beings?
Initiates have never separated science, religion and art, but today there is a gulf between them, and the result is that religion no longer has a hold on scientists; they reject it out of hand. They reject it, of course, because they do not possess the one true science. Their science focuses only on the physical, material world. They know nothing of the true science on which all religions are based. As for art, it fluctuates uncertainly between the two, in conflict first with one and then with the other.
The true religion is initiatic science. In nature, I repeat, religion, science, and art are one. If they are not one today it is because human beings have separated them, and as long as they continue to separate them, they will never understand anything. Science, religion, and art form a unified whole, thanks to which everything can be understood and explained. Science corresponds to a need of the intellect, religion to a need of the heart, and art to a need of the will, which seeks to express something, to create and build. These three needs are closely related, for we begin by thinking something, but we have to feel it before we can make it a concrete reality.
As a matter of fact, many initiates of the past have reincarnated today as scientists. Yes, many contemporary scientists were once high priests of the ancient Mysteries. Those who discovered radio and television, for instance, were once initiates in ancient Egypt, and they have simply applied the knowledge they acquired in the distant past to the material world. Our era is connected in many ways to Egyptian civilization, and the science of ancient Egypt will soon be known and will manifest itself in many technical applications.
But let us get back to this idea that the Church should change some of its ideas and attitudes. Take just one example: the other day somebody sent me an article about a recent speech by the Pope in which he deplored the activity of the Devil who, he said, was poisoning the work of the Church by sowing doubt in the minds of the faithful. Yes, for centuries the devil has been blamed for everything that was wrong. Even now in the 20th century the faults and errors of human beings are still said to be the work of the devil. It is still the devil who moves human beings to act. Do you hear me talking constantly about the devil? Certainly not. Why is he still so conspicuously present in the discourses of religion leaders? In the Middle Ages the devil was present day and night in people's lives. Everything began and ended with him.
Nothing else mattered. Even God took second place to Satan. It was he who was responsible for all miracles and prodigies. It was he who was said to heal the sick and utter prophecies. When a man or woman manifested exceptional gifts or talents they were always said that it was God who was omniscent and all-powerful. No, the all-powerful one was Satan. And the extraordinary thing is that even today, if someone works a miracle or achieves something truly unique, the Church is never very eager to acknowledge it as the work of God or of his angels; it is always suspicious, always ready to see the hand of the devil in everything. But believe me, the more you talk about the devil, the more you nourish and strengthen him and make it possible for him to act.
It seems that people need to fear something, so the devil is held up as the great 'bogeyman'. But this is ridiculous, for the only result is that people get so used to him that they no longer fear him (just as birds get accustomed to an old scarecrow and no longer fear it). Now I am not saying that the devil does not exist; he does. But the less we talk about him the better. If you tell people you have done something really astounding they will often exclaim, 'The devil you did!' Why? What has the devil got to do with it? To invoke the name of the devil - and even the fact of being afraid of him - are forms of black magic by which you attract his attention.
It is time the Church had a more intelligent grasp of esoteric science and stopped seeing the hand of the devil in everything. As it is, instead of acknowledging that people are abandoning religion because its representatives are unworthy of their calling, it blames the devil, saying that the devil has infiltrated the Church. How often I have explained to you that if you refuse to entertain the elements that attract the devil and keep your doors resolutely closed to him, he is powerless. This law is absolute. But instead of explaining this, the Church allows the faithful to think that he has the power to enter their inner being and that there is nothing they can do to stop him. We are asked to believe that human beings are so shoddily made (the Lord obviously did not do a very good job.) that, however pure and saintly they may be, the devil can always get into them. Well, this is simply not true. It is the knowledge contained in initiatic science that is lacking in the Church.
Christianity is in need of major transformations, for it is still living in antiquated traditions that are no longer suited to our day and age. Mankind would be much better off today if religion as the Church understands it were really enough, but since it is little more than a series of empty forms, is there any wonder that most people cannot take it seriously any longer?
In any case, people are more and more inclined to think things out for themselves and question what others tell them.
In the past they were ready to swallow whatever the Church said because for them the Church was the authority; it was the Church that thought for them, that made decisions for them. But today nobody wants others to do their thinking for them, so they leave the Church. This shows that Christianity will be forced to accept the new forms that are being suggested to it by the invisible world.
And the day will come when these new forms will wear out in their turn and will have to be replaced by others. Only principles endure, not forms. Cosmic intelligence has decreed that physical forms should not be permanent. The only function of a form is to keep the contents intact; it is a container, a boundary, a limitation. It is also a prison; and if the contents within a form are not to congreal and become rigid, that form must be broken open and the contents poured into a new, subtler, more flexible, more transparent form. This is why nothing that exists on the physical plane can be eternal. One day everything, even the great pyramids, even the sphinx, will disappear.
Time cannot affect principles, but it does affect forms. To say that all things are corroded and destroyed by time is true only in regard to forms, and Christians have not yet understood that the foms in which their religion was given to them centuries ago cannot last for ever; they are going to have to change them. But Christians are stubborn; they are unwilling to change anything. The Teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood offers no new principles, only new forms; that is to say, new methods, methods that allow the content, the spirit, to express and manifest itself more perfectly. The Universal White Brotherhood has no desire to introduce new principles, for principles are eternal; it wishes to renew only the forms, because forms are subject to the wear and tear of time.
Remember this one thing therefore: only principles are eternal.
When people are happy about something, they say, 'Long may it last!' Lovers for instance always want their love to last for ever, but unfortunetly this is impossible. Why? Because they cast it in fragile, perishable forms. If you want to express your love eternally you are going to have to change its form. Let me give you an example: if you express your love through your lower nature, your personality, even your eyes will reflect the desire to indulge your appetites without a thought for the good of the other person or the effect your actions will have on them. The only thing you want is to satisfy your own hunger and thirst. This is a coarse, cruel, selfish form of love, and the eyes of one who loves in this way become bloodshot and swollen with lust; they express something slimy, impure, and violent.
But when human beings express their love through their individuality, their higher nature, beauty, light and transparency shine from their eyes because such love is selfless. It asks for nothing in return: it wants only to give and to help and enlighten others. This is the most beautiful form of love... and yet most women prefer to see the flame of desire in a man's eyes. When they see this, the poor things are pleased because they imagine that such a love is so intense, potent, and expressive that it will last for ever. The one thing that women long for is a love that will endure - and of course they are right to do so. The only trouble is that they are blind; they do not realize that a sensual look speaks of a love that cannot last. The fire they see is a flash in the pan that will die down as suddenly as it flared up. Why do women have so little discernment?
It is up to you now to cultivate a broader outlook and, above all, to intensify your desire to evolve. For what is evolution? It is simply a change of form.
The natural sciences have always had a keen interest in the question of evolution: some say that it is forms that evolve, while others say that forms are predetermined from all eternity and that beings migrate from one form to another. It is this second theory that is correct; forms do not evolve. All forms - whether of animals, insects, or plants - pre exist in the world of archetypes, and individual creatures assume these forms for a time and then discard them and move on to others, exactly as actors put on a new mask for each new play. So the form in which the spirit is clothed is always different, but forms themselves do not evolve. They were created from all eternity, and the future froms of plants and animals that are still unknown to us already exist as archetypes.
New forms have been prepared and are ready and waiting for human beings as well. As our evolution progresses we shall assume these new forms, for we must constantly cast off the old forms and assume new ones that are, purer, more flexible, and more luminous.
When we assume a new form we also acquire new and better means of action and manifestation. To remain tied to our old forms would be to limit our progress; we would never get any further. This si what Christians fail to understand. They try to perpetuate the form, but that is not possible. Their attitude is diametrically opposed to the decrees of cosmic intelligence.
Cosmic Intelligence has no need to perpetuate forms on the physical plane; they are already eternal. Yes, but they are eternal only in the higher realms, in the world of archetypes. On that level all forms are eternal because they are there to serve cosmic intelligence. It is when men try to perpetuate them on earth, when they cling obstinately to one particular form, that the invisible world is obliged to set them free by taking its sledge-hammers and smashing that form. Human beings are scandalized by what they take to be cruelty on the part of cosmic intelligence, but how could they be free if they were permanently bound to the same form? Are you still not convinced? Very well, but think about what happens to human beings from one incarnation to the next. More often than not they change their sex. If you were a woman in a previous life, it was in order to learn to manifest the qualities of the feminine principle, and now that you are a man you must learn to manifest other qualities.
This apparent cruelty on the part of the invisible world, which shatters old forms in order to create new ones, is not yet understood by the Church. But whether it understands or not I guarantee that its old forms will be destroyed. However hard Christians try to save their old forms, the invisible world is going to move on. Human beings always have a tendency to cling to their old ways, and this is precisely what they should not do. What is a materialist? A materialist is someone who clings to material forms. This is why materialists will also be broken, smashed, and wiped out - so that they may be freed.
One day an angel, wishing to study the ways of animals and humans at first hand, decided to come down to earth in the form of a pig. He adapted himself so well to his new state that life in a pigsty seemed to him to be all that was most desireable. He stuffed himself with acorns and pigswill, he took a wife and was soon surrounded by innumerable offspring, and his happiness was complete. Nothing could induce him to abandon such bliss. In the meantime his brother angels were getting very worried about him and tried to decide how to get him back to heaven, for he was enjoying his life as a pig so much that he ignored all their messages. Finally, as a last resort, they decided that there was only one solution, and that was to send him to the slaughterhouse. Well, when the angel was released from his animal form and saw the carass being roasted for a banquet, he was astounded that he could have forgotten his own identity so completely and was full of gratitude ot his fellow angels for rescuing him. Unfortunetly a great many human beings are like that angel; they too have become 'pigs', and they too are destined to be butchered. All the philosophies, be shattered; only the principles will remain, and they will assume new forms.
The Universal White Brotherhood is a new form of the religion of the Christ. Oh, I know, Christians are going to exclaim in horror and take up arms against us to show that they are faithful to the traditions they have inherited. But this is a battle they will not win, for the invisible world will intervene to show them that they are wrong. A new form is going to appear, and it will last for a certain time before it too makes way for yet another more perfect form. As you see, I am being perfectly fair and honest with you, I have no wish to deceive you by telling you that the forms introduced by our teaching are eternal. There will always be new expressions; expressions that will become more and more perfect and luminous.
When people tell me that as Catholics they cannot accept the teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood, I say, 'Very well, if you feel more at home in the Church, stay there. But as for us, we are going to move on.' I ask you, what can you learn from all those sermons that explain nothing at all? Who is to blame if people listen to them and then go on doing all the things they should not do? They leave the Church because it has no answers to their questions, no words with which to allay their anguish. Their sermons are very poetic and also highly moral. Yes indeed, very pretty and very pathetic. I entirely approve of what they say, but you cannot learn much from their words because they contain no real understanding of the meaning and goal of human existence, the laws that govern it, or how to behave in harmony with those laws. It is all words, words; no mention of how to put those words into practice. Do you really believe that Christendom has ever put the Gospels into practice?
No, the facts speak for themselves. For my part, I am in favour of radical changes; and such changes are coming. You will see them for yourselves.
All those who decide to work with eternal, unchanging principles of Christ belong to the Universal White Brotherhood. They are not destroying anything; they are not working against Christ; they are not trying to promote new forms. And those who cling to the old forms show that they have not understood the principles. They rely on forms to save them, and they sleep soundly at night in the security of their protection. Yes, those who rely on forms fall asleep; whereas evolve very rapidly. Is this not a far better, far more benficial ideal?
Jesus himself tells us how magnificent it is, for we read and that is exactly what I have been trying to explain. I am constantly urging you to turn toward the spirit that gives life.
So, as I say, all those who give the priority to principles belong to the Great Universal White Brotherhood; not to the Brotherhood here on earth, but to that glorious Brotherhood that embraces all the most luminous creatures in the universe. Our role in the world is simply to provide these perfect beings with means and possibilities for action so that the kingdom of God may be established on earth. It is in this sense that the Universal White Brotherhood can be seen as a new form of the religion of Christ, and this is why I say that those who work with the principles of Christ belong to that great Brotherhood.
They may not even know of our existence, but that does not matter; they are still members of the Universal White Brotherhood.
Why do human beings cling so stubbornly to forms? The answer is that they are lazy. All their spiritual activity is dead; all that is left to them is to wave the banner of form. Take the case of all those people who wear a cross, for instance: their cross will not save them if they wear it only externally without any participation of the spirit. But if they cling to the principle behind the material cross and try to understand what it means and apply it to their lives, then it can help and protect them. Keep certain forms if you wish, but never lose sight of the spirit behind them, otherwise you too will be lost. Wear a cross if you like, but attach yourself to the spirit, for behind that form is the spirit. For me the cross is a fantastic symbol (a three-dimensional cross is composed of twenty-two planes, corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Cabbalah with which God created the world). But the Christians of today are really to be pitied; they have no desire to learn. They oppose change in the belief that they are being faithful to human beings, to idiots, to people who are sick.
We must be faithful to God, not to men. If you insist on being faithful to men, very well, that is your own business. I have no objection, but you will end up as dust. What was so special about all those people who ruled the Church for so many hundreds of years?
What did they stand for? As often as not they were no different from all the other poor wretches on earth. In fact if any of them manifested a higher degree of understanding they were immediatly banished, excommunicated. Look at the historical record and you will see for yourselves: all those who really wanted to reform things were cast out and rejected.
Yes, for the sake of forms. But form is not very productive; all it can do is imprison human beings. Form is a perfect prison. If you are a prisoner of form you can never escape.
A form should be preserved only as long as necessary, as long as it is indispensable or simply useful. As soon as it becomes obsolete it means that a new phase has begun and we must either replace it or reach a much more profound understanding of it. There are a certain number of rites, such as Baptism, Marriage, the Mass, and Communion, that are founded on eternal laws and a knowledge of magic. This is particularly true of the Mass, which is pure magic. In fact it would be true to say that it is thanks to the Mass that the Church has endured until today.
The sad thing is that a great many priests do not realize the profound significance of what they are doing when they celebrate the Mass.
If they understood it, the power of the Mass would be even greater.
Then there is the custom of lighting candles and votive lights in church. Take the example of the Easter ceremony in Orthodox churches:
everyone in church holds a candle and the celebrant begins by lighting his own candle. He passes on the flame to the candle of the priest or deacon standing next to him, who passes it in turn to the person beside him. And so it goes on, each one receiving light from one neighbour and handing it on to another until the whole church is ablaze with light. Symbolically speaking, this means that there must be someone who begins by lighting his candle, that is to say, his intelligence, his mind. Once he holds a lighted candle others will come and light their candles, their intelligence, from his, until all the men and women in the world form a multitude of lighted candles. The symbolism of the votive light is identical to that of the candle except that a candle is a masculine symbol whereas a vigil light is feminine. But this is such a profound and sacred question that I dare not tell you any more than that.
Man has a candle and woman has a votive light, but neither of them knows that they have something that needs to be set alight.
Christians automatically light candles and votive lights, but I have never seen one who knew anything about the mystery involved in this act, who knew how and why they should be lit. And yet what great transformations they could work in themselves if only they knew.
This is why I say that Christians have not yet begun their real work. Even if they go to church, light candles, bless themselves with holy water and receive Communion, they have still not begun, because they have not yet done these things inwardly. They hang a little icon of the Virgin Mary in their homes and imagine that whatever they do the Virgin will always be there to protect them, but this is nothing but superstition. They count on this and believe in that, but belief and faith are two quite different things.
Most people who think they have faith actually have nothing but a collection of beliefs. Yes, because they are too attached to forms. They do not realize that even prayers can be no more than forms. There is a story about a monk who was in the habit of paying secret visits to the wine-cellar every evening. It was his péché mignon, his favourite weakness, and he was incapable of giving it up. Every night he would say his prayers and ask God to forgive him and then sleep soundly with a clear conscience - as though by mumbling an act of contrition he could put everything right. One night he was rudely awakened from sleep by someone shaking him and saying:
'Wake up, wake up! You forgot to say your prayers.' And whom did he see beside his bed but the devil himself. All of a sudden he understood that the devil had taken the trouble to come and remind him to say his prayers, because it was the devil who benefited from them, not he. If he continued to say his prayers in the belief that he was automatically forgiven, then he could go on drinking. It was certainly not the Lord who had come to wake him up. The Lord does not hear a drunkard's prayers.
So you see, often enough it is the devil who hides behind forms and urges you to go to church, light a candle, say your prayers, or receive Communion. In this way he helps you to become more and more deeply entrenched in these old forms.
I have nothing against Communion. The only thing is that I see so many Christians who receive Communion all their lives long, who have already swallowed wagonfuls of hosts and drunk barrels of wine, and who are still as vicious, aggressive, slanderous, and unjust as ever. Whereas if you communicate with the perfect, living host of the sun as it rises every morning and with the wine of life that flows from it, it will not be long before you find that you are obliged to transform yourself. Yes, because the sun is alive. This is what Jesus meant when he said, 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternyl life.' At the time Jesus said this people were incapable of understanding such advanced ideas; this is why they had to be given bread and wine. But that era belongs to the past; today we must go much further. The fact that a man can be a regular communicant and still continue to beat his wife or slander his neighbour is surely proof that this kind of Communion is not very effective. Communion can help, of course; if you have faith, it can help. However, in spite of your faith, in spite of the strength of your convictions, and in spite of the priest's blessing, the sun is more potent than any number of hosts.
The blessing given by a priest is very important, that is true; but the quality of his blessing depends on his own elevation, purity, and faith. I am afraid that many priests are so sick of repeating the same gestures over and over again every day that they mumble the words of consecration without putting their soul or spirit into what they are saying. So the bread and wine are blessed, but with a blessing that is not very potent. Besides, even if a priest puts his whole heart and soul into the blessing I feel like asking: 'If you believe that the words of consecration are so powerful, could you not just as well consecrate some wood shavings or scraps of metal and distribute them to the faithful?' The truth is that in blessing bread a priest is blessing something that has already been blessed by the Creator. The wheat from which the host is made is alive, and this means that it has already been blessed by God. The blessing it contains is life itself.
To conclude, let me repeat that it is time to do away with the old forms that you still stand up for and try to defend. You think I am exaggering, but I know that once you see the question more clearly you will not only agree with me, but you too will find these old forms irksome and intolerable and be anxious to free yourselves from them.
I want to add a few words today to what I have already told you about forms and principles, for it is important that the question should be clear to you. You must not think that I am against all forms - certainly not. Forms are useful and necessary but they must not be expected to last for ever. After a time they need to be changed.
As I have said, a form is simply a receptacle, a container. This is easy to understand. Take the example of the clothes we wear: does a man wear the same clothes, the same trousers, shoes, or shirts, from the age of two to the age of ninety? Of course not. He always needs trousers, shoes, and shirts, but at intervals, as his size and shape changes, he grows out of his old clothes and needs new ones. And just as each human individual grows and changes, so the world itself evolves and needs new forms that corresponds to that evolution. Centuries ago mankind was like a new-born baby, but today that baby has begun to grow out of its swaddling clothes; it needs to exercise its arms and legs - and in doing so it claws and bites and kicks out in all directions.
The only real question is which forms to retain and which to change. As long as you are on earth you have to preserve and even protect the form of your physical body. You have to keep it healthy, well-groomed and expressive; but for how long? Only until the day you depart for the next world. There always comes a moment when this form has to be cast off like a threadbare garment. Perhaps you are wondering why the ancient Egyptians tried to preserve the physical forms of the pharaohs, and why our museums are still full of their mummies. In reality, the ancient Egyptians knew very well that forms cannot be preserved. They mummified the bodies of their pharaohs for purposes of magic, for they were very advanced in the knowledge and practice of magic.
It would take far too long to mention all the different instances in which forms change, but the example of dress is very significant. Only a few years ago the well-dressed man wore a carefully pressed suit, carried a walking stick and wore a hat, gloves, and even spats. And today? Today there are no more walking sticks, no more gloves, and men's trousers are all crumpled. These are the new forms. And women are in even more of a hurry than men to abandon old forms. Every year, several times a year in fact, fashion obliges them to change forms. This is why I must address myself particularly to women, because women are the first - the only ones - to take this question of changing forms seriously. Ah, woman, the marvellous creatures! How they love to change their hats, their shoes, their dresses. Just wait and see how many new forms there will be next year. Nobody ever criticizes the leaders of fashion for bringing in new fashions every few months, and yet when I speak about changing forms everyone is up in arms against me. I ask you, is that fair? Dress designers are applauded when they change forms, but when I suggest that some forms should be changed everyone is against me. How unjust people are!
Of course, many of the forms that still exist served a useful purpose in the past, because when they were first developed, human beings could not understand anything more advanced. But they must not be allowed to last for ever. We have to see how nature deals with this question; it is nature that leads animals and men to adopt certain patterns of behaviour and then, after a while, it is again nature that urges them to change their ways and behave differently because times have changed. Take the example of fear: nature has cultivated the reflex of fear in animals for their own protection. Fear is a healthy reaction in an animal because it warns it to flee when it is in danger. But if human beings are to attain a higher degree of evolution they need to rid themselves of fear, and replace it with other, nobler sentiments. There always comes a time, therefore, when nature recognizes the need to change patterns that she herself defined hundreds and thousands of years before.
There are many different kinds of fear: the fear of public opinion, the fear of falling ill, the fear of financial ruin, and so on. But we must no longer be ruled by fear. It was necessary for our own self-preservation at an earlier stage of evolution but today it is a serious obstacle to spirituals progress.
Fear is a very striking example of something that was necessary or useful in the past and that may no longer be useful today. It is nature herself that has taught me this, fo I continue to study in her school. Unfortunetly, Christians never turn to nature to learn how she envisages things and how long she intends them to last. They think that something that was decreed by human beings in the past must remain valid for all eternity. The trouble is that human beings are not qualified to foresee everything; they do not know what life will be like a few centuries from now.
Scientists are always making predictions about the future and telling us what is going to happen, but the only way to be sure is to go and find out from cosmic intelligence; for it is cosmic intelligence that planned things a very long time ago.
For centuries, the Church taught that a life of poverty and destitution was a spiritual ideal. It is true that poverty can be a good exercice; it can help you to become stronger. In other words it can be good for a period of training, but cosmic intelligence has not designed us for a life of perpetual deprivation. Our heavenly Father is not poor and destitute, and there is no reason why we should be. So poverty can be a good exercise for a time (in fact, when the sages first taught the practice of poverty it was as an exercise to counteract certain excesses), but it should not be seen as an ideal in life. The Lord wants us to be as rich, as beautyful, and as powerful as he is. If he has created us in his image, it is not so that we might eat rotten, mouldy fruit and live in the midst of filth and disease, wear hair shirts and flagellate ourselves. Human beings can no longer be expected to abide by such rules of life. A life of poverty can no longer be held up as an ideal, and people are less and less ready to believe that it is a good thing.
Heaven has a curriculum, an itinerary mapped out for us, but it is a course, a route to be followed, not a permanent abode. The plans of the invisible world are not what human beings imagine. Many saints and prophets acted on orders from heaven and carried out their assigned tasks faithfully and well, but special missions of this kind were only valid for a certain period; they were designed to encourage people to develop certain faculties which they still needed. Once those faculties were acquired, the next phase of the curriculum was waiting for them. As far as poverty is concerned, therefore, there is no reason why it should not be practised for a limited period as an exercise. For my part, almost half my life has been a life of poverty - of destitution, in fact. But does this necessarily have to go on for ever? No. On the other hand there is no necessity for me to go to the opposite extreme, for in doing so I would lose all that I had gained by the practise of poverty. Well, there is a great deal more that could be said about this question, but it will have to wait.
Even if you possess all the gold in the world, you still need light. You also need to know what to take for yourself and how much to take, where to stop.
There was once a Turk, a member of the Sufi sect of Whirling Dervishes, who lived in Bulgaria. The Dervishes lead very frugal lives, and when they ask for something people are happy to give it to them immediately, for they are much loved and well known for their integrity. One day, when this Dervish asked a rich man for alms, the man offered him his purse full of money, but the Dervish took just one coin, enough to cover his basic needs for that day. This is what you should do, too. Even if you possess great wealth you should only take very little, the strict minimum, for yourself.
And now let me tell you frankly that the reason why so many religious orders and spiritual movements are in error is simply that they fail to understand the Lord's plans for mankind; they cannot see things from this point of view.
The tragedy is that human beings always see and judge things with their own limited intellects, and in this way they distort reality and hinder the Lord's plans. The truth is that they are not concerned about what the Lord has in mind for us, but only about precepts which were formulated by human beings centuries ago and which were now obsolete. God manifested himself through Jesus, true, but he had already manifested himself through Moses. If Moses accomplished so much that was extraordinary, it was because god was with him. But by the time Jesus came, the intransigence of the Law of Moses was no longer appropriate to the plans of cosmic intelligence for the development of mankind.
Human beings find it so difficult to discard old forms. The different religious still treat those who are not of their flock with hostility and intransigence; they still think of them as pagans, infidels, sinners. Why should these old forms, which are an impediment to the coming of the kingdom of God, not be replaced with new ones? I tell you, it is the Churches that stand in the way of the kingdom of God. Fortunately, young people are getting rid of many of the old forms. They are eager to travel to other countries, to love all human beings, to understand and help everyone.
However, new forms have yet to be found for these manifestations, for they often degenerate and slip back into the old forms. If new impulses are forced into old forms, the old forms split open. Jesus said: 'No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed.' And this is exactly what happens with young people: they have a new wine that is foaming and fermenting, but they put it in old wineskins. Young people want to love freely, and this is magnificent, but why do they think that they can only do so by sleeping together and wallowing in sensual pleasure? New and better forms must be found.
How can we find these better forms? Well, they will certainly not be found by the blind groping of ignorant human beings. Or rather, they could be found in this way, but the process would take hundreds and thousands of years and involve a great many mishaps on the way. The best way is for an initiate to explain things, for only an initiate knows how mankind is destined to mature and blossom in new, innocent forms. The trouble is that human beings are not willing to accept the opinions of the initiates; they want to find their own solutions, and the results are always disastrous.
Even when they do find a solution, they are incapable of putting it into effect because it is always too late; they find it only when they have already wasted their energy in futilities. They are already old, worn out, human wrecks. And if they try to tell other people what they have learned from their painful experience, nobody listens to them: 'How can you imagine that you have anything to teach us? Just look at yourself in the mirror.'
Cosmic intelligence has other plans for mankind today. There was a time when disciples had to swear that they would never divulge the secrets revealed to them by their initiator. But then the Marquis of Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, a well-known French spiritual writer, published his book 'The Mission of India' in which he tells of how one of the leaders of Agharta saw in his meditation that the pyramid of light that shone over Agharta was split in two. When he asked cosmic intelligence what this meant he was told that although the mysteries had traditionally been hidden form non-initiates, the time was coming when they would be revealed to all those who were capable of understanding them. Incidentally, the Bible also says that the time will come when all that was hidden will be revealed; and that time is now upon us, so there is no cause to be astonished if you see that many great secrets are revealed in the Universal White Brotherhood.
In the past, the truths of initiation were revealed very sparingly and only at the price of terrible trials. This is why those who received them could use them to become extraordinarily powerful. But now that people receive them without having to make any effort of their own, they are incapable of using them to become powerful. They are like those who have a lot of money without having earned it: they waste it; they have no true appreciation of its value.
Whereas those who have to earn their living by the sweat of their brow are fully aware of the value of money. How true this is. However, in spite of all this, the great mysteries must gradually be revealed, for that is the will of heaven. Actually, you yourselves already know far more than even the sadhus and yogis in India. Their knowledge is not very extensive, but they use the little they know to acquire great powers; whereas you who know a great deal are not capable of achieving very much.
In our time also, initiation will take a different form. In the old days it was given in the temples, and candidates had to endure trials by fire, air, water and earth. Nowadays, it occurs in the course of everyday life: an initiate places his disciples in certain situations, confronts them with certain problems, and observes their reactions without their even being aware that he is doing so. All your trials occur in the ordinary course of life; the four elements are present in your lives. It is in your everyday lives that you have to show that you have overcome fear, concupiscence, egoism, sensuality, and so on. Yes, there are many trials in everyday life, and this is particularly true for those who want to advance towards initiation. They can be sure in advance that their desire will be granted, but they can also be sure that they will be put to the test. When they are least expecting it, in the ordinary course of their lives, they will be tested.
The trials of initiation are part of life; every minor event of our lives can be a testing. In fact it is precisely because people underestimate the importance of these little things and expect their trials to take the shape of a major event that they often fail.
When you have advance warning that you are going to have to confront great difficulties you are better armed, better prepared; you can plan for what lies ahead. But when you are taken unawares it is much more difficult, so it is up to you to be awake and on your guard.
You must constantly remind yourselves that every little event or circumstance can be an initiatic test. And your response will be judged by beings in the world above - and perhaps also in this world if you have a master on earth. If you pass the test you will be awarded a diploma, but not the kind of diploma that you get at a university and that can fade or be torn, burned, or stolen. The diplomas of the invisible world adhere to your face and your whole body; nobody can ever take them away from you.
And the spirits of nature, who know how to read these diplomas, will welcome and appreciate you if you have one. Otherwise, wherever you go throughout the whole of space, if they see that you have not earned your diploma they will have no respect for you. They will even persecute you because they will consider you to be a weak, ignorant, useless creature.
I could point out thousands of examples of forms in which human beings have become bogged down. Take the case of medicine. It is reduced to nothing but forms: pills, capsules, drops, surgical operations, all these are forms. What has happened to the spirit? There is no life in these things, nothing to trigger or evoke something spiritual, something divine.
No it is all forms. This is why people never get any healthier, why they are always weak and sickly.
Those who cling stubbornly to the same old forms become fossilized and lifeless because they dam up their inner spring. One often sees people like that, people who always have the same blank, wooden expression. It is dangerous to cling always to the same form. In fact this is one of the reasons why so many marriages break up. The man and wife are sick of seeing always the same gestures and expressions, of hearing the same words every day. They never see anything new or expressive in each other. In the long run they cannot bear it any longer, and they both go off and look for new forms. Many couples have never thought about this, and yet it is often the reason why they separate. If you are always the same, other people will get bored with you and begin to dislike you. Always try to renew yourselves therefore, be alive and expressive and no one will ever want to leave you, because you will always be sparkling with new life, always expressive.
But women have never understood this - neither have men for that matter. A woman faithfully does her duty by her husband: she takes care of him, washes his clothes, irons his shirts, cooks his meals - and even keeps him supplied with the little confections he loves - and then one fine day he leaves her for another woman. She cannot understand it at all. What has happened? Everything she did was for him. Yes, but she was always the same and her husband got bored with her.
One day a woman came and complained to me that her husband had deserted her. 'And yet,' she moaned, 'I always did everything I could to make him happy. I was always so devoted, so loving.'
'Ah, yes, and what is the other woman like?'
'Oh she's cold. She's a block of ice.'
'Well, there you are; you were always too warm and he has gone off with that other woman because he needs to cool off.'
So you see, it is not good always to be too warm, otherwise your partner will have to go and find someone cooler.
You must know how to have variety in your life, but variety in the forms, not in the principles.
You must always adhere to the same principles, always be animated by the same love, the same light, the same nobility, the same ideal; but you must not always manifest them in the same way. What an extraordinary thing the Universal White Brotherhood is. What extraordinary power it has to vivify and exalt us, to fill us with awe, wonder and enthusiasm. The great clairvoyant Rudolf Steiner saw this. He said, 'When I have gone, someone else will appear whose work will be marked by enthusiasm.' The keynote of Steiner's work was not enthusiasm: it was philosophy, science. I know nothing about either philosophy or science - or anything else for that matter - but I am capable of firing you with enthusiasm.
And now, in conclusion, always remember that everything in life is the product, the result of the relation between the two opposite poles: spirit and matter, principles and forms.
Human beings are not capable of living only with principles; they need the support of forms. The spirit incarnates in the form of a body in order to manifest on the physical plane. When it returns to the higher regions it no longer needs this form, but here on earth it does need it. We have to remember, however, that the form cannot last long. God has not given eternal life to forms. This is why heaven sends an initiate or a great master every now and then to change forms. Yes, but forms only; never the principles.
The principles are unchangeable because they are the spirit, the soul, the virtues; they are love, wisdom, truth, and sacrifice. These principles are immutable, they will be valid for all eternity. | <urn:uuid:462d6695-4f4e-4356-ae72-18a6817e9047> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://www.clubconspiracy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1876 | 2017-08-18T03:18:36Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104560.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818024629-20170818044629-00320.warc.gz | en | 0.980801 | 10,095 |
Corey Mertes: The Auditions
They are both fat. The bigger, balding one with the cigar does most of the talking; he must be the owner. The one who told her she could audition is the day manager. He never smiles. Neither of them smiles. Nor do they watch her performance, even as she plays up a seductive sashay from one pole to the other, in part to distract from the fumbling unfastening of her bustier from behind. They would not let her play the music she brought, an Amy Winehouse number she covers on her most recent demo. Instead, when the bustier finally drops, she stretches for the highest point on the pole she can reach and whips her legs around in an awkward bid for centripetal harmony with Nicki Minaj. She is not in great shape, never has been. An effort to support her body horizontally ends in farce, with her skinny thighs scissoring open and both heels hitting the stage with a thud. Though sober, her subsequent struggle to stand is like a drunk reaching a truce with a very slim hammock.
“Very good,” the bigger man says as the song comes to an end. “Do it again.” He resumes his conversation with the manager while she puts her outfit back on.
She was late to the audition because after picking her kids up from school she had to drop them with their father and deal with his mini-fit about taking them on short notice on his “one night of freedom,” as he put it, the shithead. Emily and Byron are their names, eight and ten. She named them believing in the redemptive power of poetry, although the actual reading of poetry has always been a craving too meager to indulge.
If they ask her to dance any more she’ll also be late for a session with the combo she recently reunited with, a year to the day after the breakup that followed their fateful meltdown at Maxine’s. Gripping the brass railing, her reflected hands in the mirror make her wish she’d worn fake nails, because her real ones are short and uneven. Despite having large pretty blue eyes, she isn’t very appealing as a dancer. She’s too thin, for one thing, her breasts too small to play much of a role in men’s fantasies. Duty, however, is the ultimate motivator—duty and survival. A friend who had once danced for six months told her the pay was better than she could expect anywhere else, that she’d make enough to support her kids working just two nights a week if she kept her daytime job waitressing, and could spend the remaining nights working on her songs. So, for one year and one year only, she’ll strip, that was her compromise. She rationalized it as just another form of showbiz. The art of performance. And, indeed, she pledged to devote every ounce of excess energy not spent with her kids in that time to reviving her moribund singing career. This was the year she would put her life back together.
Her plan depends upon these two meaty, middle-aged men hiring her despite her unpolished appearance and commonplace skills. Aware of her chances, she decides to wow them by sliding down the pole head first, a maneuver she witnessed another girl do the day she came in to ask for an audition. It isn’t pretty, her positioning herself upside-down, like a test monkey in some drug experiment gone awry. The song ends with her hanging there, unsure how to right herself, thinking how sore she’ll be tomorrow. That she neglected to take her outfit off doesn’t seem to matter to the men, who appear more interested in the smudges on the mirror than her reflection in it. Her ex- has nothing, so Plan B is to ask for a loan from her sister in Little Rock and take a second waitressing job.
“Good job, honey,” the one with the cigar says when she’s finally able to stand. “You’re hired. I need someone Monday and Tuesday nights.”
She wobbles on the strapped heels she bought just for this occasion and says “Really? Are you sure?” immediately thinking what an idiot she is. She regains her composure enough to ask about pay.
“Sky’s the limit. You’ll be an independent contractor like all the girls. You pay ten bucks for each dance on stage. After that, you keep sixty percent of whatever you bring in. Couch dances are twenty. Two hundred for half an hour in a VIP room. These girls make bank, believe me.”
She needs to believe him. She calculates she can do it if her roommate will put the kids to bed twice a week. The same song, on a loop, replays from the empty music booth. She steps down to shake the men’s mitt-like hands and says: “I’ll take it.”
Her frenetic schedule turns tardiness into routine. She was late to her audition, late to her session with Cameron, Parker and Ross, late to pick up the kids from her ex-, late again on her first night at work at the club.
No one at The Cheetah seemed to care. Most of the girls were habitually late. By the end of the first month, after the anxiety of removing her clothes had worn off, she came to feel more at ease there than at any other station in her hectic life. Dancers are allowed to accept drinks from customers. At first, mindful of her responsibilities, she didn’t drink alcohol. One night, however, after a saucy exchange with a customer at Fran’s, the restaurant she worked at during the day, and a subsequent reprimand from the general manager there, she ordered, instead of her usual Red Bull at the club, a gin pickle, a Fran’s favorite she had to explain to the snickering waitress who had asked the guy she was with if he wanted to buy her a drink. Later, she ordered another. Her burly companion, who called himself Dave and claimed to work for the railroad, gave her her first VIP dance. Although she’d been assured by her friend that nothing overly sexual went on in the VIP rooms, she’d had her doubts, and was relieved when the guy didn’t press for anything more than a show and some harmless groping. She would never stick around if more than that was for sale. Reassured, she had to admit the job held potential for decent money. By the time she left, she’d cleared three hundred dollars, by far her best shift ever. As the kids were with their cousins that night, she went on a bit of a bender.
Before long, a pattern developed. She’d have one or two drinks because it loosened her up enough to talk freely with the men, who generally didn’t have much to say themselves. Most of them didn’t listen too well either; they had the dancer on stage or another girl on their minds. You can’t have thin skin in this business, she learned that early. Still, rejection affects your self-image over time, and the drinks dulled the sting. Once in a while a man would be taken by her alcohol-induced chattiness, and that’s when her resiliency paid off.
“What do you do?” was how she usually started when she sat with someone.
“I’m a student at the college.”
“I thought about going to college. I loooved books. As a kid, I had a library card for a while and brought home books every week. Not one person I knew had a library card. Okay, maybe I didn’t finish all those books, but I did read the ones about music. My stepfather . . . now he was a bourbon man. Not the good stuff, either. Used to waltz right through that front door and see me leafing through some history of rock-and-roll, or some biography of Besse Smith, or whatever, and he’d laaaaaugh, and say, ‘Girl, read all the books you want, it ain’t going to make you any smarter.’ Like he knew. He had some funny ideas about right and wrong, believe me, but he was right about one thing: school was not exactly my strength. I figured out it wasn’t going to be books that would get me out of that town, it was going to be my voice. Mother went behind his back to get me lessons. She always said, ‘Girl, that beautiful voice of yours is your ticket. You keep singing.’ And I still do. I keep singing. Not that country stuff those rednecks listened to, either. I’m talking blues, jazz. Billie Holiday. I know the difference.”
The men who listened usually ended up agreeing to a couch dance or two. The couch area, like the rest of the room except for the stage, was lit dimly in red. From the ceiling hung fixtures covered with paper lanterns in swirling phallic configurations. The rules forbade the men from touching while the girls rubbed against them. Couch dances were bait for the VIP rooms. Sometimes a man would touch her on the couch in violation of the rules and she would back away. Occasionally she’d let one of them get away with it for the whole song if she thought it increased the odds of getting him into VIP, or sometimes if she was just a little drunk or lonely and the guy was nice, or if she just didn’t care. She got far fewer VIP opportunities than most of the other girls.
One night she sat down next to a man named Clayton. That was his real name, she learned later, not a made up name like a lot of the men and all of the dancers try on. He was heavyset, but solid, not gross. A scraggly half-beard from what she estimated as three days’ growth seemed out of place with his nice sports jacket, dress shirt and shoes, and the fact that everything matched and fit right. At first, she didn’t feel an urge to order alcohol with him, even though it was about the time she would usually start. She ordered water instead. Unlike other men, Clayton looked right at her while they talked instead of at the girl on stage or the ones working the room. He asked questions as if he were really interested in what she had to say.
“Willow, I think I’ve seen you before,” he said, after they’d talked for several minutes. Willow was the stage name she’d chosen. “Not here, on the real stage. Are you an actress?”
She tried to read from his eyes whether he was putting her on or not and noticed instead that they appeared, in that unnatural light at least, to be two different colors. The left one gleamed.
“I used to sing,” she said.
“That must be it. At Harling’s, right?”
She shook her head. “A place called Benny’s, usually. It’s kind of a hole-in-the-wall on the West Side. Mostly jazz and rhythm and blues. Some pop.” Then, in a more sober tone, she added: “I sang at Maxine’s once.”
“Is that right?”
“It was more like an audition.”
The waitress came by. This time Willow ordered a real drink, not to loosen up or dampen the sting of indifference, but because having revealed an episode she had long fought to suppress, she needed a drink to dilute the memory. When he told her he’d certainly heard of Maxine’s, she remained silent. On stage, Jasmine demonstrated her flexibility by pressing her palms to the floor. Clayton stared at Willow and smiled.
“What happened, they didn’t like your voice?”
“They liked my voice.”
She crossed her legs and straightened the one on top, deciding that her feet might be one of her best features. The waitress set down her drink. Clayton watched as she stirred the gin slowly with the pickle.
“What?” she said, turning her head.
“You don’t want to talk about it?”
“Maybe I don’t.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to hear about it,” he said, turning toward the stage, arms crossed. But he was smiling, and then she was smiling too and said: “I’ll tell you after a couch dance.”
While she rubbed against him on the couch, he looked only at her face, never at her body. He smiled the whole time but gave no other indication of arousal. She wondered if he might have been injured or something. When it was over and he paid, she asked carefully, “Was that alright?”
“Fine. I didn’t really want a dance. I want to hear your story.”
Though she’d promised herself she would look forward from now on, not back at her mistakes, that she had goals now and a program for achieving them, she would have told him the story of Maxine’s that night because he was easy to talk to, and she liked him. Just then, however, her name was called, and by the time she’d finished her two stage dances, changed outfits and got back onto the floor, Clayton was gone. He emerged from a VIP room a little later followed by Carly and walked straight out the door, head bowed. Carly, she noticed, changed into street clothes right afterward and left the shift early.
All the girls tell you not to get emotionally involved with the customers. Seeing them outside the club is technically forbidden, but even though it’s a rule that is never enforced and often broken, not one of the girls had a good story about a healthy relationship that lasted. Simply enjoying a man’s company enough to want to talk to him again, as Willow wanted to talk to Clayton, can only lead to disappointment, because you never know when, or if, he’ll return. Everything is on the man’s terms.
As it turned out, Clayton came back the very next night. It was early in her shift and no men were there yet. She was sitting in the long booth with Gemma, one of the only dancers she could really talk to. She’d decided the reason the others had been so cold was that she had ambition and they didn’t, and they resented her for it. Gemma went to college during the day to study communications. Clayton dressed casual this time, in a polo shirt and shorts. He still hadn’t shaved. He took a seat at the other end of the booth and waited for her to come over.
“Want company?” she offered, standing with her legs against his.
When she sat down, he said he wanted to hear about Maxine’s. She asked for a dance first, but he wasn’t going for it this time. As there was no money to be made elsewhere—little, in fact, to be made on these early-in-the-week shifts generally, as she was learning, the occasional big spender notwithstanding—she thought, what the hell, maybe this is how to plant the seed that will blossom into her first good-paying regular. She wanted to tell the story. Talk is therapy, as an aspiring therapist friend of hers always said, the same friend who had recommended she try stripping. Besides, Clayton had a sympathetic manner and he remembered what she drank. He ordered her a gin pickle when the waitress appeared, without her even asking.
“Maxine’s is big time,” he said, all it took to get her started.
“Best gig in town if it’s regular. Jazz, soul, blues, a little of everything. Parker got us the audition, our drummer. He knew someone who knew someone who knew the manager, or whatever, and they gave us a tryout after someone there must have seen us at Benny’s. Monday’s their tryout night because it’s so slow, like here. Only that night it wasn’t slow, there was this big crowd. The first set, they loved us. But then, at the intermission, we got involved in this . . . incident.”
She stirred her drink with the pickle. He waited.
“We were at the bar ordering drinks, laughing and feeling real good because everything was going the way we wanted. All of a sudden this country-and-western-looking guy pushes his way up there next to me like, you know, like his shit doesn’t stink. You can tell he’s there on the wrong night. Seems pissed off about it, too. We’re doing a jazz set and he’s no jazz lover. Real bushy mustache. He’s drunk, you can tell, because he’s talking too loud so that everyone can hear how smart he is. He’s got a big glass of whiskey in his hand. I kind of ignore him and keep talking with my friends, but he doesn’t like that. So he says, ‘Hey, dummy, I’m talking to you, can’t you hear?’ And he puts his hand on my thigh like this and tries to spin me around. They get all kinds in Maxine’s, that’s what’s so great about the place, usually. At that moment I wasn’t thinking about how great a place Maxine’s is, I was thinking about punching that asshole in the nose.”
Clayton laughed. “Feisty. I like that. Did you do it?”
“Not exactly. He leans in close to me like this and kind of whispers in my ear, ‘You’re lookin’ real sexy in that dress. You know where that dress would look even better?’ And I said ‘No, where?’ And he says, ‘On the floor.’ That’s when I threw my drink in his face.”
“Ha!” Clayton rubbed his leg. “You was askin’ for it,” he added, in some strange accent, as if he was imitating someone to be funny, but it wasn’t clear who or why.
Willow continued. She related how the man grabbed her in a headlock, how her friends and the guy’s friends got in a scuffle that ended with them all getting kicked out, herself included, after the manager saw her kick the main creep in the ribs while Ross had him on the ground. The police showed up, made a couple arrests, and, well, that was the end of her audition. They didn’t call back.
She told him she and the band were practicing together again after a long separation with the goal of getting back to Maxine’s. They had asked for another audition and were turned down, but she figured if they got good enough and were persistent, eventually the manager would have to give them another shot. She told him how hard it was balancing kids, two part-time jobs, her music, how tired she was all the time, and broke. She also expressed her determination. He listened to it all and encouraged her. He didn’t buy a dance, however. Instead, when McKenzie came in and winked in his direction, he made an excuse and followed her into a VIP room. As he closed the red curtain behind him, Willow could hear him growl.
After that he came in every couple weeks. He would inquire about her kids, her progress with the band. She liked the way he rubbed his leg when he got really interested, and even looked forward to the occasional gleam in his eye, which at first had been so disturbing—was it a glass eye?—but came to represent to her, in light of his unusually good manners for that setting, a tender distinction. He never asked for a dance. Their conversations always ended with his retreat to the couches or VIP rooms with another girl.
One night she decided to press him about it. She hadn’t been making nearly as much money as she’d hoped at this job, and hadn’t had more than one or two shows with the band, both at Benny’s, which paid next to nothing. Recently, she’d learned her son would probably need braces. For the first time, she’d had to borrow cash from her sister to pay rent. And this guy, loaded as he obviously was, just wanted to talk?
“How come you get dances from all the other girls but you never ask me?” she said one night, emboldened by the effects of an increasingly common third gin pickle.
A big smile revealed all of his unnaturally white teeth. “Maybe you’re not like the other girls,” he said. “Maybe I’ve got something special in mind for you,” he added cryptically.
“Oh do you now?”
He told her he was friends with the owner of Maxine’s, Michael Reiner, and could get her another audition. He pronounced his name Ree-ner.
She leaned back and eyed him suspiciously. “You never told me that before. I thought his name was Ri-ner.”
“No, uh-uh. Ree-ner.”
“How do you know him?”
“We belong to a couple of the same organizations.”
“Like the Crossroads Neighborhood Association. Heart to Heart. Friends of the Zoo. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to get to know you better. See what kind of person you are. Hear you sing. I heard you at Benny’s last week.”
“I didn’t see you at Benny’s.”
“I didn’t want you to see me,” he said, revealing his bright teeth again. “You can sing. I want to help you. I help you . . . and you help me.”
“Ok, I get it,” she said immediately. “I don’t do that sort of thing.”
“You don’t understand.” Before he could explain, however, Sofia, one of the more cutthroat girls, sat on the other side of him, and soon she and Clayton had disappeared into a private room. Willow was on stage when they finished. He left without looking her way.
Because he’d been a prominent businessman in town for years, a lot of information could be found on the web about the owner of Maxine’s. Willow learned that Michael Reiner had in fact been vice-president of the Crossroads Neighborhood Association, a board member with Heart to Heart, a Friend of the Zoo. His Facebook page even listed those exact organizations in that order. Although nothing she could find indicated any member of those groups named Clayton, it wouldn’t be unusual for a man to be using a phony name at The Cheetah. Willow knew enough not to ask any of the girls directly if they’d rendezvoused with Clayton outside the club. She did, however, try to feel them out for general information.
“He’s harmless,” Carly told her in the dressing room. “Some kind of bigwig developer. Seems honest.” But in the mirror as she dressed, Willow could have sworn she saw Carly wink at Savannah conspiratorially, and the two of them seemed to be suppressing giggles when they walked out.
The night Clayton returned, Willow had been rebuked again that day by the manager of Fran’s. While having her shift drink, she complained too loudly about a table that had stiffed her. The manager warned her he’d have to let her go if she continued to offend the customers. At The Cheetah, she hadn’t forgotten about Clayton’s offer. She asked for details as soon as she sat down.
“No sex,” he said. “It’s not like that.”
“What is it like?”
“It’s a little embarrassing.” He crossed his legs. “I just want to watch you . . . change clothes. Into these outfits you wear here. Into and out of them, one after another. It’ll be like I’m evaluating them, helping you decide which ones to wear.”
“I know it’s a strange fantasy.”
“I’ve heard stranger.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” he said, with an odd little chuckle.
They watched Crystal’s entire dance in silence. Then it was her turn and she stood up and said she was sorry but she’d have to decline his offer. He opened his wallet and handed her his card. “Just think about it,” he said. The card read:
Blank Properties, LLC
Weeks passed before he returned. Her money problems multiplied. Her combo had nothing scheduled and she’d missed two practice sessions in the previous week alone, one because of a hangover, the other because of a sick child. She was dancing in front of an unusually large crowd, most of them part of a rowdy bachelor party, when Clayton finally came in. Before even taking a seat, he approached the stage and placed a fifty dollar tip on it for her. When she later sat down with him she asked what he would pay, theoretically, if she were to take him up on his offer, and where they would go.
“A hotel,” he said. “A nice one.” He had to raise his voice to be heard above the din of the party. He practically yelled his proposed payment—“Three hundred dollars!”—before things finally quieted down enough for him to elaborate on his fantasy.
“I would be in my underwear the whole time. No laws would be broken. I don’t want that.”
Her answer was still no, but she had to admit to herself she was tempted. She asked around again, this time posing a hypothetical in the dressing room to Mercedes, one of the more experienced girls, describing details of the proposition.
“Are we talking about Clayton?” Mercedes laughed. She wouldn’t admit to having been with him, claiming instead to have heard about his fantasy from others.
“Don’t worry about that freak. He’s harmless.”
“Does he do what he says? He just watches?”
“Ah. Oh, he might kiss your leg or foot or something weird like that, but he won’t hurt you. He tips big, too.”
After that she didn’t see Clayton for more than a month. She’d had only one gig in that time, at Benny’s again, before a sparse crowd. A week later she lost her job at Fran’s for drinking on the clock. The night Clayton finally returned she’d had to get a ride to work from a friend because her car had broken down. On her third gin pickle she plopped into the booth next to him with less subtlety than usual.
“You look more beautiful than ever,” he said, after sizing up her condition.
She said, “I want four hundred dollars.” Actually, she slurred it.
From the parking lot, the hotel he chose appears much older than it is. A torn red awning over one of its balconied windows flaps audibly in the wind. The neon sign on the roof announces Hotel Brighton in zesty Broadway font, except the first t is burnt out.
They meet in the lobby. Sober tonight, she’s having second, third and fourth thoughts as she waits beneath a dusty chandelier while he pays for the room holding a paper sack under his arm. In the elevator, he turns sideways and examines her tight skirt and shoes. She stands in the corner clutching a gym bag full of the outfits he’d requested she bring. An intermittent clanging noise in the elevator shaft accompanies their ascent, like a secret code in a prison.
“That doesn’t sound so good,” she says, laughing nervously.
There’s an awkward silence. She wants to remind him of his promise to talk to the owner of Maxine’s after this is all over, but the timing isn’t right. She can see in his bag the red cap on a pint of Beefeaters and a small jar of gherkins. Following her eyes, he raises a smile on one side of his mouth and says, “I brought your favorite.” She just nods.
In the room, she’s relieved when the décor shows reasonably good taste, an effect mitigated, unfortunately, by its haphazard arrangement—a print hung well above eye level, a recliner with no room to recline, the bed resting at a peculiar angle—as though the decorator had been improvising and was interrupted mid-design. The muffled cry of a baby echoes from somewhere down the hall. The man plops an envelope on the bed and sits in the chair facing her as she stands fast against the bureau.
“I guess how I see this going at first is for you to change. In front of that mirror over there.”
His manner is more direct than it ever had been at the club, less giving. Sober is the word that comes to mind, even though in the elevator she’d detected liquor on his breath.
“When you’re done, parade around a little. I’ll rate your outfit and then you can change into another one.”
She opens the unsealed envelope and counts the hundred dollar bills.
“Glasses,” he says, all of a sudden.
“I forgot glasses. I bet they have cups.” He rises and skirts past her toward the bathroom, where he adds “We’re in luck!” before emerging with two translucent plastic cups. He pours them both a drink and tells her she can go ahead and get started with the frilly cowboy number.
By the time she’s changed into her third outfit and modeled each in the narrow path between him and the bed, they’ve had two drinks apiece—gin with a splash of warm tap water and a floating gherkin. They’re awful but she drinks them anyway, to blur the unpleasant sight of him gradually disrobing down to his underwear, a process no less disconcerting for his having prepared her in advance. The next scenario is more unsettling. She sits on the leather chair pretending to text her friends and ignores him while he gets on his knees and massages and kisses her calves. His movements are mechanical. He doesn’t appear to be aroused, which makes her wonder again if he’s suffered some sort of injury. His only words are commands: Cross your legs, or Stand up, turn around and sit down again, or Text someone for real but don’t tell them what’s going on. All of which she does, her only undirected movement a sidelong reach toward the desk to pour a drink, which she downs without pickle or water before pouring another. With his approval, she lights a cigarette, her first in the week since she last quit.
She thinks this might be a good time to remind him about Maxine’s, but when she mentions the name he closes his eyes and says “Shhhhhh. ” After a long silence with him at her knees and her nervously scrolling through contacts on her phone, she unconsciously begins to hum—My Baby Just Cares for Me, part of her standard set. Clayton stops what he is doing, looks up with cloudy eyes and smiles wryly.
“That’s right,” he says. “You’re the jazz singer.”
She is: the jazz singer. Not a whore. She isn’t stupid, she knows where this is going. “Listen,” she says, standing and gathering her things. “You said you were going to help me but don’t even worry about that now—” She cuts herself short after he spins and crawls speedily away from her on hands and knees, like an animal in flight. She grabs her bag.
“No no no,” he says. “Stay.” When he reaches what he’s after, his pants crumpled on the floor, he removes a slip of paper from the back pocket. “The guy I know at Maxine’s,” he says, holding it up. “Maxine’s, right?”
She doesn’t say anything, but doesn’t continue out the door, either. He stands with difficulty, grimacing from some indeterminate pain. He seems much older than he does at the club, here, in the light.
“What about it?”
“He’ll give you an audition,” he says, getting to his feet.
“Who? Michael Reiner?”
“Yeah yeah, Reiner. Come over here.” He holds out the paper.
“How do I even know you know him?”
“What does that say?”
She takes the paper and reads it aloud: “‘Michael Reiner.’ And a phone number. Big deal, any—”
“I want you to take off that outfit now. Right here, not by the mirror.”
“Why? What is this?”
“I want to try something different. With your back to me, facing the bed.” They are a couple feet apart. She inhales uneasily.
“We’re halfway done already. I just want to hear you sing.”
The words freeze her. He looks ridiculous standing there in his underwear. She feels like dashing from the room, down the stairs, half-naked into the street. But just as suddenly she has a paralyzing thought: What would she be dashing toward?
“Come on. I’ll put the pants on if you’re so worried.” Which he does, while she reaches for the gin.
“Are you going to throw your drink in my face or am I going to get you this audition?”
“Tell me again how you know Michael Reiner.”
“The Neighborhood Group thing,” he says, sounding a little irritated. “The charity. We’re old friends, okay.” He gently nudges her shoulder with an open palm until she’s turned around. “And friends do friends favors, don’t they?”
“Aren’t we friends?” he says softly into her ear from behind.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she drinks the cup of gin in one long gulp. He waits for her to set the empty cup on the night table before asking, “What’s a good one? What would you sing at an audition for Mike Reiner?”
Her knees touch the bed as he slips both hands under the thin strip of fabric around her hips. “I’d have to think about that. His name is pronounced Ri-ner, by the way. I asked around about that.”
“Let me help you,” he says, sliding her bottom down.
She grabs his wrist. “I’m not comfortable with this—”
“Okay . . . Okay.” He pulls his hands back. “You do it then,” as he guides her fingers to her hips. “What about My Funny Valentine? You know that one?”
She doesn’t answer. She grips the straps but doesn’t pull the bottom down or up, instead holding it in place.
“Sing it. My funny valentine . . .”
“This is not what we talked about.”
“I bet he’d like to hear My Funny Valentine. Mike Ri-ner.” Then he gently cups his hands around hers and directs the G-string slowly downward. She offers some resistance but says nothing. “Go ahead,” he says. “Sing . . . Sing.”
She begins to hum softly.
“No, sing it. Out loud.”
She can faintly hear the sounds of a couple arguing in the hall. She begins to sing in a soft voice, haltingly—My funny valentine . . . sweet comic valentine—as he takes over the task of removing her bottom. When it’s at her ankles, she tiptoes carefully out of it, as if inching toward a steep cliff.
You make me smile with my heart. Your looks are laughable—
He rises and gently places one hand on her shoulder to nudge her torso down and forward, the other hand guiding her hips back toward him with practiced care.
“I don’t—” She turns her head, looks him in the eyes.
“Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh,” he says, so gently. “Sing,” he whispers. “Like we’re at Maxine’s.” She lets herself be turned forward, toward the blank wall.
Unphotographable. Yet you’re my favorite work of art.
When he has her fully bent over he lets go of the piece of paper he was holding and it drifts onto the bed at her side. The phone number, she notices now, is one of those fictitious ones they use in the movies that begin with the prefix 555. It’s too late to question. She’s halfway through the song. She closes her eyes, her elbows supporting her weight on the blue chintz quilt, and she keeps singing, imagining herself on stage at Maxine’s before a crowd of applauding men of all ages.
“That’s it. Pretend it’s an audition,” he sighs.
Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak when you open it to speak? Are you smart?
The man’s zipper coming undone sounds a little like a jazz riff as her voice quavers. It turns out he wasn’t injured after all. What happens next makes her forget the refrain.
Corey Mertes grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago, in Hyde Park. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in many journals, including American Review, 2 Bridges Review, Green Briar Review, Sundog Lit, Valparaiso Fiction Review, Bull: Men’s Fiction, The Prague Revue, and Midwestern Gothic. He’s been nominated multiple times for a Pushcart Prize and was a semi-finalist for the 2016 Hudson Prize. | <urn:uuid:9839e5a7-34d0-4209-9829-4e7fdf3e2a06> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://marathonlitreview.com/2017/02/17/coreymertes/ | 2017-08-19T20:33:16Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105922.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819201404-20170819221404-00480.warc.gz | en | 0.982334 | 8,565 |
DUMA HOLDS SECOND HEARING ON CHECHNYA.
The State Duma commission
investigating the causes of the Chechen war examined Dzhokhar Dudaev's fall
1991 rise to power, Interfax reported on 20 March. Sergei Bekov, Chechnya's
former prime minister, said that contrary to Dudaev's assertions, his cabinet
did not back the August 1991 Moscow coup nor provide any money for the election
of Dudaev as republican president. Doku Zavgayev, former chairman of the
Chechen-Ingush republican legislature and now in the Russian president's
administration, said the dissolution of the republic's parliament on 15
September 1991 was planned in Moscow. He asserted that Dudaev held "intensive
telephone talks" with Russian parliamentary leaders and that several carloads
of weapons were delivered to Dudaev from Moscow. He also said that on 25 August
1991, former Russian Supreme Soviet Chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov sent him a
telegram accusing him of supporting the Moscow coup and demanding that he
convene parliament to elect a new chairman, otherwise the parliament would be
dissolved. Khasbulatov, present at the Duma hearing, admitted that he had sent
such a telegram. He said it was at President Boris Yeltsin's initiative but did
not remember who in Yeltsin's team had originally proposed the idea. -- Robert
Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR OF RUSSIAN PUBLIC TELEVISION APPOINTED. . .
Blagovolin, an economist with the analytical center of Russian Public
Television, has been appointed to succeed Vladislav Listev as the new company's
executive director, Reuters reported on 20 March. Blagovolin also serves on
President Yeltsin's advisory council. Russian Public Television is scheduled to
take over broadcasting on Channel One from Ostankino on 1 April. -- Laura
Belin, OMRI, Inc.
. . . AS CONTROVERSY OVER OSTANKINO RESTRUCTURING CONTINUES.
staff at the Moscow Ostankino station produced a 10-minute special program that
was broadcast during the evening news on 20 March, Ostankino television
reported. The program, entitled "Ostankino--SOS," featured an appeal to Yeltsin
to revoke his November 1994 decree on reorganizing Ostankino into Russian
Public Television. The restructuring plan has been criticized for auctioning
49% of Ostankino's shares to selected corporations in secret under the
supervision of a small group of cadres. The Moscow Ostankino employees also
denounced Alexander Yakovlev, who resigned as Ostankino chairman on 16 March
and will be the chairman of the board of Russian Public Television. On 10
March, the State Duma passed a draft resolution to suspend all privatization of
state television for the next five years. However, Russian Public Television
still plans to start broadcasting on 1 April. The Duma is scheduled to hold
more hearings on the privatization of Russian television on 21 March,
Nezavisimaya gazeta reported. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
YELTSIN'S TV REORGANIZATION AIMED AT ELECTIONS.
reorganization of Ostankino is an attempt to control the electoral process,
according to an article in Nezavisimaya gazeta on 21 March. If the
elections are held, Yeltsin will need to conduct a media campaign to elect
sympathetic candidates; if they are canceled, he will need to explain that move
to the population. The article speculates, however, that Yeltsin is unhappy
with both Ostankino and Russian Public Television, which will succeed it.
Accordingly, he may use the parliament's opposition to the reorganization as a
face-saving measure to back away from his earlier plans. The article also
suggests that board chairman Yakovlev may not fully support the president. It
paraphrased Yakovlev as saying that his new Russian Party of Social Democracy
might not support Yeltsin for reelection because of the increasing danger that
he will impose a totalitarian regime. The article contradicts the current
wisdom about Yeltsin's intentions and Yakovlev's support for the president. --
Robert Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
CLOSED DOOR MEETING HELD TO DISCUSS ECONOMIC REFORM.
government held a closed-door meeting on 18 March to discuss the economic
reform program for 1995-97, Segodnya reported. According to government
sources, Economics Minister Yevgeny Yasin delivered a report outlining the
program's key provisions. Those include slashing the pace of inflation by 1-2%
per month, cutting the budget deficit to 5-6%, and raising at least $10 billion
in currency reserves. On 20 March, Yasin commented to news agencies that the
government's key goal is to attain financial stability within the economy.
Reduced inflation will be achieved by giving up Central Bank funding of the
budget deficit and turning instead to the domestic bond market and
international lenders, he said. -- Thomas Sigel, OMRI, Inc.
CLINTON TO ATTEND VE-DAY CELEBRATIONS.
U.S. President Bill Clinton has
agreed to attend celebrations in Moscow on 9 May marking the 50th anniversary
of the allied victory over Nazi Germany, international agencies reported on 21
March. His attendance had long been in doubt and the decision to go ahead seems
to have been based in part on Russia's agreeing to tone down the military
aspect of the parade and simply display World War II vintage equipment. In
addition, Russia has also agreed in principle to allow a permanent OSCE mission
to be stationed in Chechnya. Clinton has come under fire from the Republican
Party for his decision. The head of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Jesse Helms, said the visit "will be perceived as an implicit show
of support for the policies of the Russian government" and provide an implicit
endorsement of "Russian aggression in Chechnya, nuclear sales to Iran, and
meddling by Russian agents in the affairs of former Soviet Republics." --
Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.
CHIEF OF STAFF: NATO SHOULD BE DISSOLVED.
General Mikhail Kolesnikov,
chief of the Russian General Staff, told a German newspaper recently that the
General Staff fully supported President Yeltsin's resistance to the eastward
expansion of NATO and, in fact, was demanding that the western alliance be
immediately dissolved. His remarks were published in Die Welt on 20
March. Kolesnikov recognized that NATO had been important to the West during
the Cold War but said that today its existence was "absolutely pointless."
Speaking on Deuschlandfunk radio the same day, German Foreign Minister Klaus
Kinkel rejected Kolesnikov's demand as "totally absurd." -- Doug Clarke, OMRI,
RUSSIA APPROVES BASIC CONDITIONS FOR RESTRUCTURING DEBTS TO FOREIGN
A Russian government commission on foreign debts and assets
approved the basic conditions on restructuring debts for deliveries of foreign
goods to the former USSR before January 1992, the Financial Information Agency
reported on 20 March. Mikhail Kasyanov, a Finance Ministry representative, said
"the final terms of restructuring and repaying debts to companies will be
negotiated with regional creditor clubs." He said more than 80% of the foreign
companies with financial claims on Russia have formed regional clubs, the
biggest of which are located in Germany, Japan, Italy, Britain, Austria, and
Finland. Kasyanov also noted that after the IMF agreement and the final
approval of the federal budget, there is every reason to believe that by the
end of 1995, Russia will manage to resolve its problems related to
restructuring Soviet foreign debts. -- Thomas Sigel, OMRI, Inc.
RUBLE LOSES 19 POINTS TO U.S. DOLLAR.
The Russian ruble lost 19 points
in MICEX trading on 20 March, closing at 4,807 rubles to $1, the Financial
Information Agency reported. A total of $14.92 million was sold, with the
initial demand at $64.97 million and the initial supply at $50.05 million.
Forty-six commercial banks participated. -- Thomas Sigel, OMRI, Inc.
VORKUTA PENSIONERS "HOSTAGES OF THE NORTH."
The deputy chairman of the
Independent Union of Vorkuta Miners, Viktor Semenov, said 38,000 Vorkuta
pensioners have become "hostages of the north," Interfax reported on 19 March.
One of the local union's demands is for a state program to move former mine
workers from the polar region. Twenty of the union's activists began a hunger
strike on 16 March. The miners' main grievance is nonpayment of wages. Interfax
on 20 March quoted Yury Vishnevsky, the chairman of the Vorkuta branch of the
Russian Coal Workers' Union, as saying the activists are ready to compromise
and are currently waiting for the arrival of an interdepartmental commission on
labor disputes and a Fuel and Energy Ministry commission. -- Penny Morvant,
Aliyev IMPLICATES TURKEY IN COUP ATTEMPT.
Addressing law enforcement
officials in Baku on 19 March, Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliyev claimed
foreign intelligence services were involved in last week's failed coup,
Interfax reported on 20 March. In that connection, Aliyev named a Turkish
national who served as an adviser to the Azerbaijani parliament. Aliyev further
claimed that "forces that wish to change the political situation" are still
operating both within and outside Azerbaijan. Prosecutor-General Eldar Gasanov
said 38 people were killed in the fighting including six civilians, which are
lower figures than Western correspondents' estimates. He said 362 people have
been arrested. -- Liz Fuller, OMRI, Inc.
UZBEKISTAN TO RECEIVE WORLD BANK FUNDS FOR ARAL SEA PROGRAM.
Bank is to provide Uzbekistan with $32 million to help save the Aral Sea, and
it is considering additional loans totaling $200 million over the next three
years, international news agencies reported on 20 March. Under the program,
experts from several countries will be invited to assess the extent of the
disaster. The World Bank will help fund analyses of new ways to handle water
resources, deal with soil salinity, restore the deltas of the Amu and Syr Darya
rivers, and improve the health of local people. The Aral Sea, once the world's
largest inland body of water, has shrunk dramatically due to over-exploitation
of the Syr and Amu Darya rivers which feed it. Some 10 million people are
believed to have been affected by the ecological disaster. -- Lowell Bezanis,
OSCE KARABAKH TALKS POSTPONED.
The OSCE talks on a settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, scheduled to take place in Stockholm on 20-24 March, have
been postponed, Interfax reported on 18 March. Various explanations have been
given: an OSCE spokesman said conditions for a dialogue have not been created;
an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Interfax that Azerbaijan had
requested a postponement because of domestic political instability; while
Karabakh presidential spokesman Alexandr Grigoryan told journalists on 20 March
that the mediators were to blame for failing to propose a mutually acceptable
solution. Die Presse on 16 March quoted a Western diplomat involved in
the OSCE Karabakh mediation as complaining that every time a breakthrough
appears imminent, one of the conflicting parties backs down. -- Liz Fuller,
SOSKOVETS IN KIEV.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets
arrived in Kiev for further negotiations on the Russian-Ukrainian friendship
and cooperation treaty, international agencies reported on 20 March. One of the
main issues on the agenda was a rescheduling of Kiev's $2.7 billion debt to
Moscow. The Russian government proposed that Kiev repay one-fifth of the debt
annually until 2001, but reserved the right to annul the agreement if Ukraine
missed payments. Under the current agreement, Ukraine is obliged to pay Moscow
$635 million in 1994 and $485 million in 1995 and 1996. The issue of the Black
Sea Fleet reportedly remains unresolved. Russia continues to insist that its
navy alone be based in Sevastopol and that the Ukrainian Navy move to Donuzlav.
The Ukrainian Navy says it will not abandon Sevastopol and the base will have
to be shared. At the end of the meeting Soskovets signed agreements on debt
restructuring with his Ukrainian counterpart Yevhen Marchuk. -- Ustina Markus,
GRACHEV IN TBILISI.
Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev arrived in
Tbilisi on 20 March to discuss bilateral military and technical cooperation
within the parameters of the CIS Collective Security Treaty, Interfax reported.
Serious disagreements exist within the collegium of the Georgian Defense
Ministry over the issue of Russian military bases in Georgia, according to
Interfax on 17 March. -- Liz Fuller, OMRI, Inc.
EU STABILITY PACT SIGNED.
Ministers from the 52 member states of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe signed an EU-sponsored
Stability Pact on 20 March, international agencies reported. The purpose of the
pact is to "render irreversible the advances of democracy and institute durable
good-neighborliness in Europe." The pact was signed on the first day of the
final session of the EU Conference on European Stability, which has focused on
resolving territorial disputes and the question of minority rights. The EU has
insisted that these issues be settled before applicants from Eastern Europe can
join. More than 90 bilateral and multilateral agreements included in the treaty
have been negotiated since the Conference opened last year. The most
significant of these agreements is the bilateral treaty signed by Hungary and
Slovakia on 19 March in Paris. The implementation of the stability pact will be
overseen by the OSCE. -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIAN AND HUNGARIAN PREMIERS SIGN JOINT DECLARATION.
and Gyula Horn signed a joint declaration "five minutes before the opening" of
the EU Conference on the Pact of Stability in Paris, Radio Bucharest reported
on 20 March. The two leaders said that negotiations on a basic treaty between
their countries were "nearly concluded" and would resume in April. Vacaroiu,
addressing the conference, pledged to establish good-neighborly relations with
Hungary. He began his official visit to France the same day, meeting with
French Premier Edouard Balladur, who said he was "satisfied" with the joint
Romanian-Hungarian declaration. Vacaroiu also held talks with Slovak Premier
Vladimir Meciar, saying that Slovakia's acceptance of Recommendation 1201 will
put other countries under pressure to approve it. But he added that Romania was
"adamant" in its rejection of the recommendation. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI,
HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT UNDER FIRE FOR CONCLUDING TREATY WITH SLOVAKIA.
Hungary's opposition parties, in a heated parliament debate on 20 March,
accused the government of hurting the interests of the Hungarian minority in
Slovakia by signing a bilateral treaty with that country, MTI and Western news
agencies report. The opposition parties said the treaty could not be enforced
as it contained no provision for monitoring the observance of minority rights.
They also charged that Slovakia interpreted the treaty differently from
Hungary, pointing out that, according to Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar,
the treaty does not give political autonomy to ethnic Hungarians. Jozsef
Torgyan, chairman of the Independent Smallholders' Party, criticized the
government "for selling the basic rights of Hungarians." -- Edith Oltay, OMRI,
SLOVAK REACTIONS TO TREATY WITH HUNGARY.
Democratic Union deputy and
former Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan on 20 March said the Slovak-Hungarian
treaty exceeds European standards and allows for multiple interpretations,
particularly of the Council of Europe Recommendation 1201, which grants
minorities the right to set up autonomous organizations. Christian Democratic
Movement Chairman Jan Carnogursky expressed support for the treaty but noted
that just last year, Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and his allies were
accusing the Hungarian minority of betraying Slovakia. Slovak National Party
Chairman Jan Slota, whose party is a member of the governing coalition,
expressed concern in interviews with Pravda and Slovenska
Republika about the inclusion of Recommendation 1201, which he called
"unsuitable." He also expressed sympathy with the standpoint of the Romanian
government, which has delayed signing the agreement. Meanwhile, Meciar,
attending the Conference on the Pact of Stability in Paris, said that autonomy
for minorities is unacceptable. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
CRIMEAN PARLIAMENT LEADERSHIP WANTS TALKS WITH KIEV.
The Presidium of
the Crimean legislature on 20 March announced it will ask deputies to approve
its plan to send a five-member delegation to Kiev for talks with the Ukrainian
parliament over its recent moves to annul Crimea's constitution and abolish its
Presidency, Interfax-Ukraine reported the same day. Serhii Tsekov, recently
reinstated as parliament speaker, said the Crimean legislators would continue
drafting a bill on the Crimean Presidency, despite Ukraine's move. Meanwhile,
Crimean President Yurii Meshkov has claimed he is still in charge of the
region, and he called the Ukrainian parliament's decision unconstitutional.
Meshkov, who is under criminal investigation for promoting Crimea's secession
from Ukraine, was ordered on 20 March to turn over weapons he had been given
for his personal protection. The situation in Crimea is generally calm, despite
the standoff. Some 40 Crimeans lined up outside the newly opened Russian
consulate in Simferopol on 20 March to apply for Russian citizenship, although
dual Ukrainian-Russian citizenship is illegal. -- Chrystyna Lapychak, OMRI,
BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT DISMISSES NEWSPAPER EDITOR.
on 19 March reported that Alyaksandr Lukashenka has issued a decree dismissing
Iosif Syaryedzich, chief editor of parliament news- paper Narodna hazeta.
The report did not say why Lukashenka had dismissed Syaryedzich but noted
that the president had met with the newspapers editors and told them "We will
be sued." Lukashenka's government came under severe criticism in December for
censoring newspapers that reported on a sensational speech by a parliament
deputy on corruption in his administration. Interfax reported on 20 March that
the parliament opposition had included Syaryedzich's dismissal on the session's
agenda, saying it was illegal. According to deputy Uladzimir Zamyatalin,
Syaryedzich was dismissed for publishing an anonymous letter calling for civil
disobedience. Zamyatalin said Lukashenka did not have the right to dismiss
Syaryedzich since he had been appointed by the parliament. -- Ustina Markus,
NEW ESTONIAN PARLIAMENT HOLDS FIRST SESSION.
The Estonian parliament
elected on 5 March held its first session on 21 March, BNS reported. Reform
Party deputy Toomas Savi was elected chairman, defeating rightist deputy Ulo
Nugis by a vote of 52 to 48. The government of Prime Minister Andres Tarand
will continue to work until a new government is approved by the parliament.
Meri has two weeks to nominate a new prime minister, who will then form a
government. Slightly less than half (48) of the 101 deputies were members of
the former parliament and 23 members of the former Soviet Estonian Supreme
Council. -- Saulius Girnius, OMRI, Inc.
NEW LATVIAN STATE MINISTER.
Prime Minister Maris Gailis has asked
Latvia's Way parliament deputy Raimonds Jonitis to become the first Industrial
Policy and Privatization State Minister at the Economics Ministry, BNS reported
on 20 March. Gailis had proposed that the Privatization Ministry be abolished,
but his coalition partner, the Political Union of Economists, was opposed. A
compromise was reached by his agreeing to combine the post with that of the
industrial policy minister. -- Saulius Girnius, OMRI, Inc.
WALESA ISSUES ULTIMATUM.
Polish President Lech Walesa on 20 March
complained that Prime Minister Jozef Oleksy's government has so far "done
nothing" to solve the problems facing Poland. The president said he would give
the government one to two months to sort things out; if it failed to meet this
deadline, he would impose his own solutions. Such reprimands have long been
Walesa's custom, but this latest example comes relatively early in the new
government's tenure. In remarks to Radio Warsaw, Oleksy described Walesa's
comments as "an attack on a government that has been in office for fifteen
days." If relations with the president were to continue on this course, "things
will become really interesting," Oleksy said. Walesa also endorsed the Polish
episcopate's stance on Church-state relations in the new constitution. He
argued that the constitution must respect national traditions, noting that
whereas the communists had ruled for only half a century, the Church had been
present in Poland for a millennium. -- Louisa Vinton, OMRI, Inc.
POLAND TO SHUN NEW TANK ORDERS FROM IRAN.
Foreign Minister Wladyslaw
Bartoszewski, in an attempt to end the confusion over Poland's stance on tank
sales to Iran (see OMRI Daily Digest, 16 March 1995), has said that
current orders will be carried out but new contracts will likely not be sought.
Gazeta Wyborcza reported that some government officials were dismayed by
Bartoszewski's public disclosure of the decision by the previous government to
end the tank sales, apparently under U.S. pressure. As Bartoszewski was meeting
with reporters, some 2,000 Solidarity unionists from the arms industry staged a
protest march in Warsaw to demand new government contracts and free shares in
their enterprises. Unionists said that roughly half of arms industry employees
have lost their jobs since 1990. Polish arms exports declined from $400 million
in 1990 to $100 million in 1993 before rising slightly to $150 million last
year, according to Gazeta Wyborcza on 18-19 March. -- Louisa Vinton,
THOUSANDS OF CZECHS RECEIVE COMPENSATION FOR NAZI CRIMES.
22,000 Czechs have applied for grants since a special government fund to
compensate victims of the wartime Nazi occupation was set up in early 1995,
Mlada fronta dnes reported on 21 March. The paper quoted Labor and
Social Affairs Minister Jindrich Vodicka as saying the fund has paid out almost
644 million koruny to some 11,000 people and a further 6,700 claims are being
processed. The deadline for claims to be lodged is the end of May. -- Steve
Kettle, OMRI, Inc.
BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES LAUNCH OFFENSIVE.
International media on 21
March reported that Bosnian government forces the previous day launched a
two-pronged thrust in the center and the north of the republic. They attacked
the strategic Mt. Vlasic, north of Travnik, which the Serbs then shelled in
response. The government's Second Corps based in Tuzla moved against Mt.
Majevica, which controls access to the Posavina land corridor linking Serbia
with its territorial conquests in Bosnia and Croatia and which is the site of a
key communications tower. The Serbs responded by shelling Tuzla as well,
killing 30 government soldiers and wounding 80, according to Vjesnik.
The BBC quotes Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic as saying that the
government had no choice but to attack since the Contact Group's diplomatic
efforts have run out of steam. The New York Times suggests that the move
may have come out of desperation or out of confidence that the Serbs can be
beaten. A UN spokesman called it the worst fighting since the current
four-month cease-fire began on 1 January. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
SERBS SEAL OFF SARAJEVO.
The New York Times on 21 March says that
Serbian forces have effectively sealed off the Bosnian capital after shelling
the airport and closing the Mt. Igman road over the weekend. The paper suggests
that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is impatient and fears that time is
on the side of the more numerous and better organized Muslim-Croatian alliance
forces. It also speculates that Karadzic may now be tempted to move against the
eastern Muslim enclaves of Gorazde, Zepa, and Srebrenica. News agencies on 20
March reported that government and Serbian forces nonetheless went ahead with a
planned prisoner swap on Sarajevo's Brotherhood and Unity Bridge, which
involved about 30 people. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
NO UNFIC FOR KNIN.
Nasa Borba reports on 21 March that Krajina
Serb leader Milan Martic told UN mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg in Belgrade that
Knin rejects any changes in UNPROFOR's mandate that would place peacekeepers on
Krajina's borders with Serbia and Bosnia. Martic added that Knin also opposes
the proposed new name for the peacekeepers, namely United Nations Forces in
Croatia (UNFIC). Martic argues that this name assumes a political settlement,
namely, that Krajina is indeed part of Croatia. The Serbs there declared their
independence in 1991 as the Republic of Serbian Krajina. -- Patrick Moore,
BELGRADE INTENSIFIES LIBEL CAMPAIGN.
Rump Yugoslav authorities appear to
be intensifying their attacks against charitable organizations, notably the
Soros Foundation (see OMRI Daily Digest, 13 March 1995). The government
daily Borba on 20 March ran the headline "Ban the Soros Foundation." The
same day Soros Foundation head in Belgrade Sonja Licht vowed at a press
conference that the organization would continue its charity work, adding "We
are determined to keep going as long as possible." Licht added that the
foundation is considering legal action. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
MACEDONIA WANTS GREECE TO LIFT EMBARGO BEFORE TALKS.
Macedonia will not
hold direct talks with Greece unless Athens first lifts the embargo imposed in
February 1994, AFP reported on 20 March. A Macedonian Foreign Ministry
spokesman was quoted as saying that "true negotiations...cannot be held if an
embargo is still in force." The Foreign Ministry statement said that the name
of Macedonia will not be changed, but "all the rest is open to discussion."
Greek Government Spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said he sees hopes for lifting
the embargo, as there are signs that Macedonia is ready to make concessions. On
19 March, Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias had announced that direct
talks between the two countries will begin in April, but he said that the
embargo would remain in force during the talks. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
FINANCIAL AID FOR MOLDOVA.
The Consultative Group for Moldova, meeting
in Paris on 20 March under the chairmanship of the World Bank, agreed to cover
Moldova's $290 million debt-financing requirements for 1995 and to provide
additional "significant sums" for technical support and investments in
infrastructure. The group's chairman, World Bank official Basil Kavalsky, said
Moldova has put in place "a solid framework of policy reforms," including price
liberalization, accelerated privatization, and significant improvements in the
social safety net. Moldovan Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli told the group that
Moldova's economic reforms are irreversible. In a related development, Western
agencies reported on 20 March that at a meeting of the EU's finance ministers
in Brussels, it was decided to lend Moldova an additional 15 million ecus ($19
million). -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
MOLDOVA CUTS PHONE LINES FROM DNIESTER REPUBLIC.
Valery Yefimets, who is
information and communications minister in the self-styled Dniester republic,
told Reuters on 20 March that Moldovan authorities were cutting most
direct-dial telephone links from the region for political reasons. Moldova's
move comes five days before scheduled local elections. But Director-General of
Moldtelecom Vasile Grumeza said the lines were cut to force the authorities in
the breakaway republic to pay their bills. He said the region owes Moldtelecom
some 8 million Moldovan lei ($1.8 million). The Dniester authorities have
offered to pay the phone bills with their own coupon currency, introduced in
August 1994. But Moldova does not recognize the coupons and says payments must
be made in the Moldovan currency. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
NEW OPPOSITION COALITION FORMED IN BULGARIA.
More than 20 parties from
the extreme Left and Right met in Sofia on 20 March to form a coalition,
Standart reported the following day. Slavomir Tsankov, chairman of the
Union of Democratic Parties and Movements ERA-3, proposed that the
extra-parliament parties unite in response to a draft bill stipulating that all
parties that received less than 1% in the last elections have to re-register
and must collect 5,000 signatures in order to do so. Meanwhile, the new Party
of the Democratic Center said it will support President Zhelyu Zhelev in the
next presidential elections. Party leader Ventseslav Dimitrov met with Zhelev
on 20 March. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
BULGARIAN AIR FORCE MAY BE GROUNDED.
The head of the Bulgarian Air
Force, Lt. Gen. Mikho Mikhov, warned that his aircraft may be grounded before
the end of the year unless the service receives more money. He was quoted by
BTA on 17 March as saying that the air force needed 17 billion leva in 1995,
while that amount would probably be budgeted for the entire armed forces.
Mikhov said that 47% of Bulgaria's combat planes were non-operational and the
percentage of grounded helicopters was even higher. Most pilots have only 20
flight hours per year, instead of the planned 80, leading to a higher accident
rate. Mikhov revealed that three planes were lost in 1994, compared with none
in 1993. -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc.
GREEK POLICE ARREST SEVEN ARMED MEN NEAR ALBANIAN BORDER.
arrested seven armed men near the Albanian border on 19 March, international
agencies reported the next day. According to the police in Ioannina, four of
the men were ethnic Greeks from Albania. The other three men were reportedly
Greek citizens from Athens, including a former military officer and a former
police officer. Police found six Kalashnikovs and other paramilitary gear in a
car. They later raided houses in Athens where they discovered pamphlets of the
Northern Epirus Liberation Front. Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, at
an emergency meeting with his foreign and internal affairs ministers, said
Greece is determined to neutralize ultra-nationalist groups. Albanian
authorities called the arrests a new sign of Greek goodwill. -- Fabian Schmidt,
[As of 12:00 CET]
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Serving Wakulla County For More Than A Century Our 118th Year, 28th Issue Thursday, July 11, 2013 T w o S e c t i o n s Two Sections 7 5 C e n t s 75 Cents kulla County For More T h h h an A Century kulla County For More T h an A Centur y P u b l i s h e d W e e k l y R e a d D a i l y Published Weekly, Read DailyThe Opinion Page ...........................................................Page 4A Street Beat ......................................................................Page 5A Church.............................................................................Page 6A Obituaries .......................................................................Page 7A Community .....................................................................Page 8A School .............................................................................Page 9A Sports ...........................................................................Page 10A Outdoors ......................................................................Page 11A Water Ways ...................................................................Page 12A Sheriffs Report................................................................Page 13A Weekly Roundup ...........................................................Page 14A Fourth of July photos....................................................Page 15A Natural Wakulla ............................................................Page 16A Green Scene ....................................................................Page 1B Week in Wakulla................................................................Page 2B Thinking Outside the Book.................................................Page 3B Classi eds ........................................................................Page 5B Legal Notices ...................................................................Page 5B Comics .............................................................................Page 9B EarthTalk .......................................................................Page 10A INDEX OBITUARIES Mike Otho Mike Brand Rhonda Lorraine Cox Baxley John Matthew Big Matt Southside Martin Ian Sutz Mary Laverne Harris Willis newsThe Wakulla Page 15A Officials file financial disclosuresBy AMANDA [email protected] Four of the ve county commissioners nancial disclosure forms are available for review. Commissioner Richard Hardens Form 6 has been turned in, however it is not yet accessible. Commissioner Howard Kessler holds the largest net worth, reporting an amount of $5,179,443. He lists five major assets, the largest being his investment account with Charles Schwab holding over $4.5 million. Under primary sources of income, Kessler lists ve, the largest coming from investment interest and dividends totaling over $80,000. Other income includes Social Security, medical exams, and properties in Wakulla County and Grady County, Ga. As a county commissioner he lists an income of about $1,911. Kessler listed no liabilities. Commissioner Jerry Moores disclosure showed that he seems to have his hand in the largest amount of baskets. Moore reported ownership of more than 20 different real estate properties that include commercial, residential, timber and raw acreage and with locations in both Florida and Georgia. Of the six liabilities found on Moores form, the largest amount reads $1,480,000 and belongs to 356 acres located in Crawfordville. Moore is involved with two real estate businesses. He is president of Jerry Moore Florida Operations as well as a managing member of Brown Bridge Partners LLC. Moore benefits from seven different sources of income second largest being the $34,000 earned as county commissioner. He reports a net worth of negative $188,070 as of June 10. Commission Chairman Randy Merritt reported a net worth of $282,000 as of June 26 with assets valued at about $135,000 and two sources of income. He listed ve different assets, the largest value was his home in Crawfordville. Merritt is a self-employed engineer and together with his county commission pay of $30,930, he earns over $100,000 a year. Merritts liabilities include a home mortgage of $240,000, a loan valued at $102,000, a line of credit with Suntrust Bank of $83,000 and credit card debt of $3,000. Commissioner Ralph Thomas reported a net worth of $17,315 as of Dec. 31, 2012. Turn to Page 3A Chairman Randy MerrittRichard HardenHoward KesslerJerry MooreRalph Thomas Net worth: $282,000Net worth: UnavailableNet worth: $5.1 millionNet worth: -$188,070Net worth: $17,315 Net worth of county commissioners:SOURCE: Florida Division of Ethics G o v S c o t t v i s i t s W a k u l l a Gov. Scott visits WakullaGovernor tells crowd that Everybody should be a RepublicanPHOTOS BY WILLIAM SNOWDENGov. Rick Scott addressing Wakulla Republicans at their fundraiser at Wakulla Springs Lodge. Wakulla Republicans socialize prior to the arrival of the governor. By WILLIAM [email protected]. Rick Scott gave the keynote speech at the Wakulla Republican fundraiser this week, and touted his record of leadership as governor: Falling unemployment, budget de cit reduced, education budget increased, and a businessfriendly atmosphere that will continue to draw more jobs to Florida. Scott made the remarks in a speech at the fourth annual Ronald Reagan Blue Jeans and Black Tie Affair on Monday, July 8, at the Wakulla Springs Lodge. About 150 people attended the fundraiser, which included a silent auction for Ronald Reagan memorabilia. Besides trumpeting his achievements as governor, Scott said he believed that everybody should be a Republican based on the partys belief in the American dream. If you stop and think about it, everybody should be a Republican, he said. If theyre not, its our fault were not telling our story. He said the GOPs positions on jobs and business make America better for everybody. Scott noted that he announced he would run for governor on April 9, three years ago, and that nobody knew who he was. When his rst commercial aired, nobody gave him a chance, he said. Now, he said, speaking as governor, he was proof that Anything is possible. He also said that being governor of Florida is a great job and made the joke that he didnt want anybody to run against him for the post. Scott didnt mention former Gov. Charlie Crist by name, but he blasted the policies of the onceRepublican, now Democrat Crist who is a presumptive candidate for governor in 2014. During Crists tenure, Scott said the state lost 832,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent to 11.1 percent. For his part, Scott touted the 330,000 jobs added during the past three years, and the jobless rate thats down to 7.1 percent, plus cutting more than $3 billion of state debt, and attracting national companies to Florida, such as Hertz. He also noted that for two years in a row, the K-12 education budget has been increased. State committee woman Tina Brimner presented Scott with a cowboy hat as a gift from the Wakulla Executive Committee. By AMANDA [email protected] During the Sopchoppy city commission meeting on Monday, July 8, three new city council members were administered the oath of of ce and took their places in leather seats at the commissioners table. Glenn Rudd, Nathan Lewis and Eddie Evans joined Martha Evans and Lara Edwards to complete the citys ve-member city commission. Right off the bat, the new board was tasked with making an important decision a decision that had been controversial in years prior. In June, the management of the new Sopchoppy Pizza restaurant asked city commissioners to consider granting them permission to sell beer and wine at their establishment. Currently, in an effort to keep bars from planting themselves in town, Sopchoppy has strict regulations in place on alcohol sale and consumption. The then-board decided to put the issue on the agenda to bring back to the July 8 meeting, having to rst conduct a pubic hearing on the matter. Attorney Dan Cox explained that the current ordinance requires that 80 percent of seating must be restaurant-style, while up to 20 percent can be bar-style. Turn to Page 5ANew board gets down to businessCITY OF SOPCHOPPYApproval granted for alcohol sales at Sopchoppy Pizza JENNY ODOMThe family of Bill Stephens wearing T-shirts with his picture.SoggySopchoppy on Fourth of JulyStory and photos
Page 2A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.comSpecial to The NewsA re was reported at Shell Island Fish Camp Motel in St Marks on Saturday, July 6. At 3:30 a.m., residents of a motel room awoke to the alarms of smoke detectors and found the room lling with smoke. After receiving a 911 call, units and re ghters from six stations of Wakulla County Fire Rescue responded. Wakulla sheriffs deputies arrived and assured that all were evacuated from the 15 unit motel building. Some residents continued to return to their rooms for belongings. Wakulla EMS Supervisor Acting Captain Mike Register arrived and reported that there was heavy smoke coming from the three end rooms of the structure. Fire units arrived shortly and found the re had spread to the attic and had penetrated to the roof in one area. Supply line was stretched to nearby hydrant as three attack lines were deployed. Fire ghters rst cut off the spread of the re and then extinguished the attic re in the room of origin. Units from St. Marks VFD, Wakulla Station VFD, Medart VFD, Sopchoppy VFD and Crawfordville VFD responded along with the on-duty Wakulla County re ghters. Fire Chief Mike Morgan told the crew that the aggressive attack saved the buildings and noted there was no re damage in any of the rooms. On rst approach re of cers feared that the entire roof of the building would be lost but quick action from the aggressive re ghters prevented any extension beyond what was on re upon arrival. An excellent job by all responders, starting with the WCSO Communication who again faced and met with success a fast paced situation that required a lot of coordination, said Chief Morgan.Special to The NewsA Wakulla County Sheriffs Of ce road patrol shift lieutenant and two deputies took part in a rescue of two juveniles who were kayaking in the Ochlockonee River but had capsized due to the wind and bad weather Friday, July 5 at 6:20 p.m., according to Sheriff Charlie Creel. Lt. Mike Kemp arrived at Walker Bridge and determined that two teenagers, a 17-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, both from Tallahassee, were capsized under the bridge and struggling in the rough waters. The teenagers were clinging to the kayak when their father, Brent Edward Zapata, 44, of Tallahassee jumped off the bridge in an attempt to assist them. All three struggled to swim in the choppy waters. Deputy Sean Wheeler arrived on scene and Deputy Billy Metcalf was assigned to retrieve the WCSO search and rescue boat. Lt. Kemp reported having dif culty observing the three Tallahassee residents in the water due to the high winds and heavy rain. Lt. Kemp did not feel he could wait on the WCSO vessel to arrive on scene and contacted a friend, Joel Wier, at the nearby Georges Lighthouse condominiums. Wier gladly assisted WCSO with the rescue operation and traveled out to the bridge with Lt. Kemp. Deputy Wheeler remained on top of the bridge maintaining visual contact with the struggling individuals in the water below. The three victims were assisted into Mr. Wiers boat and brought back to land without incident. A Florida Highway Patrol Trooper observed Deputy Wheeler driving quickly to the scene and attempted to assist the WCSO but lost control of his vehicle due to the poor weather conditions and hydroplaned into a ditch. The trooper was uninjured. Each day our road patrol deputies risk their own lives to protect the safety of others, said Sheriff Creel. Lt. Kemp and Deputy Wheeler did an outstanding job in making sure our Tallahassee visitors got out of the water safely so they can return to visit another day.Special to The NewsWakulla EMS and Fire Rescue responded to a violent near head-on crash in the Panacea area late on July 4. Both drivers were trapped in the vehicles and apparently were the lone occupants of each car. Both drivers were transported to the trauma center by EMS. Crews used two sets of hydraulic extrication tools to free the trapped victims. Crews from Ochlockonee Bay VFD Station 7 arrived quickly and began treating the injured. Members from Medart and the career re station in Crawfordville with WCEMS Medic3, R3, and R1. WCSO assisted with the injuries and shut down the highway and FHP responded to assist. Quick work from all crews assured a rapid extrication and transport to the trauma center. Good job by all rst responders as they worked quickly to assist the injured, said Fire Chief Mike Morgan.Kayakers rescued in Ochlockonee Bay PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE NEWSFire trucks on the scene of a re at Shell Island Fish Camp. Fire ghters at Shell Island Fish Camp Motel. Fire at Shell Island Head-on crash in Pancea PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE NEWSThe wreckage of vehicles involved in a near head-on crash on July 4. (PLEASE PRINT) Business name: ____________________Business contact: ___________ Business address: _____________________________________________ Business phone number ( ) _________FAX number ( ) __________ Email and/or web address (if available): ___________________________ Brief descrip on of why this business is deserving of this award: (include a separate sheet if necessary): ____________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ The Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce Invites you to Nominate your Favorite Business. The nomina ons for this award are solicited from the general public and are not restricted to being received from or required to be members of the Wakulla Chamber of Commerce. 2013 Wakulla Area Business Excellence Award Nomina on A Big THANK YOU TO OUR SPRONSORS!Your name ( Op onal ): ____________Your phone number: ( Op onal ) ( ) ____ Your email address: ( Op onal ) _____________________________________ Return the completed form to: Community Awards Commi ee, c/o Wakulla Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 598, Crawfordville, Fl 32327; or email to: [email protected]. You can also take your submission to the Chamber O ce in the Old Courthouse, 23 High Drive. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS AUGUST 12, 2013 Thank you for par cipa ng! The annual Wakulla County Chamber Business Excellence Awards Banquet will be held on September 19 at the Senior Center. Winners of the Wakulla Area Business Excellence as well as the Wakulla Chamber Business of the Year, Environmental Stewardship Award, Start-Up Business of the Year, Non-Pro t Organiza on of the Year and Chamber Member of the Year will be announced. The Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce is proud to once again announce our partnership with CenturyLink, a leading provider of Internet, TV and voice services, and WastePro, the Florida based company which is one of this countrys fastest growing solid waste collec on, recycling, processing and disposal companies in the country. These two organiza ons are being recognized as the tle sponsors of the 2013 Wakulla County Chamber Business Excellence Awards. The Wakulla County Chamber Business Excellence Awards and Environmental Stewardship Awards were established nine years ago to recognize a Wakulla County Chamber business that exempli es outstanding achievement and contribu ons to the community. For informa on on how to get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce, or for informa on on ckets to the event, contact the Chamber o ce at (850) 926-1848 or visit our website: h p://wakullacountychamber.comPRESENTED BY:
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 3ABy AMANDA [email protected] Friday morning, July 5, at the Crawfordville WalMart, there was cheering, laughing and the feverish clicking of cameras as the stores three male managers stood near the garden center entrance wearing dresses, bonnets and sporting ladies purses. Throughout the year, Wal-Mart raises money for the Childrens Miracle Network, which theyve supported for the past 26 years. Together with the help of Sams Club, more than $65 million has been raised for pediatric care through an annual fundrasing drive. Crawfordvilles WalMart raised more than $13,000 during this years six-week fundraising period, but it was the bargaining on one day that would earn the stores managers time to serve in womens clothing. Each manager had agreed to wear a dress at work if the associates could raise a certain amount of money each manager weighing in at different amounts. For Kevin Peacock the amount was $500, Tim Hobbs agreed to go in at $1,000 raised, while Richard Russell agreed if the funds got to $1,500. By 3:50 p.m. on the day of the bets deadline, the amount raised was a solid $500, locking in Peacock, but they crew still needed another $1,000 before 8 p.m. Needless to say, a lot of money came in the next four hours. During a 9 a.m. staff meeting, dozens of store associates gathered around to witness the fruits of their labor as their managers thanked them for all they had done, throwing in a few struts, hike of the skirts and some jovial twirling of their handbags borrowed from the stores ladies section. They worked hard for six weeks this was the least that we could do, said Peacock with a smile. Hobbs, who is transferring to the Wal-Mart on Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee, went out with kind words both to and from his co-workers as he thanked them all for their hard work and friendship and they thanked him with the presentation of a going-away cake a cake and a dress. All I can say is wow, Hobbs said of the hard work that went into the fundraising. Its for a great cause. It was fun. Russell expressed his gratitude for the hard work of not only the associates, but the community and the customers as well. We cant do anything without the customers, he said. Each manager had agreed to different amounts of time when they agreed to get in on the action. Peacock wore his garb for three hours, Hobbs one hour and Russell all day. The $13,000 raised during this years six-week drive came from car washes, dog washes, a veteran support day fundraiser, cookouts, yard sales and the contribution by customers at the registers while checking out. The employees also had a sh tank located in the back room to collect any additional funds amongst themselves. According to Russell, after three straight years of raising money, Wakullas store has raised over $45,000 for Childrens Miracle Network. In last weeks story, Community members comes together to save land, it was reported that Wakulla county commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a list of about 10 properties to be foreclosed upon with Commissioner Richard Harden being the only vote against. The board actually voted 3-2, with opposing votes coming from both Harden and Commissioner Ralph Thomas. AMANDA MAYORWal-Mart managers Richard Russell, Kevin Peacock, and Tim Hobbs.In ladies clothing for a causeWal-Mart managers dress in womens clothes after associates reach goal for Childrens Miracle NetworkCorrectionFrom Page 1A Thomas listed two assets in the form of his home and bank account and one liability his home mortgage. Thomas earns income from two sources: Ameri rst Fnancial Corp in the amount of about $36,000 and Wakulla County earnings of $1,891.04. Sheriff Charlie Creel, as of December 2012, reported a net worth of $351,962 with assets totaling $199,000. For assets, Creel lists two: his Crawfordville home valued at about $220,000 and a money market account holding $40,000. Three liabilities total over $100,000. The sheriff listed three sources of primary income, the highest coming from an FRS investment plan in the amount of $116,900.44. Wakulla County Property Appraiser Donnie Sparkmans form listed a net worth of $175,000 as of June 1. Three listed assets include his home, a cabin in Liberty County and a bank account. Three liabilities come to about $150,000. Sparkman lists one primary source of income as the countys property appraiser, earning $98,933. Brent Thurmond, clerk of circuit court, is valued at $337,000 as of December 2012. He lists four assets, which include real estate holdings ve Wakulla County real estate properties and two North Carolina properties totaling about $231,600 as well as Individual Retirement Accounts totaling $101,054, cash on hand of $23,403 and a money market account totaling just over $8,000. Thurmonds liabilities include his $24,761 mortgage and a credit card debt of some $4,000. His lone source of income comes from his position as clerk of court, which earns $95,854. Supervisor of Elections Buddy Wells reported his net worth to be $665,705. Seven total listed assets include three real estate properties, a $36,000 life insurance cash value and other investment accounts. Three listed liabilities total about $209,000. Wells receives income from two sources: As supervisor of elections he earns $81,996 and a rental property in Crawfordville earns him about $10,000. Tax Collector Cheryll Olah had yet to le her nancial disclosure forms. As of December 31, 2012 Superintendent of Schools Bobby Pearce reported a net worth of $63,400 with two assets listed his Wakulla home worth $230,000 and an ING Annuity investment worth $9,600. Pearces listed two liabilities which include a $229,000 mortgage and an account with Centennial Bank totaling a little over $2,000. Pearce earns income from two sources: His pool maintenance service business earns $8,500 while his position as superintendent brings in $81,219.O cials le nancial disclosuresTALLAHASSEE, July 2 Elected of cials, judges and certain state employees have started to send in their annual nancial disclosure forms that for the rst time are being posted on the Florida Commission on Ethics website. A majority of the individual reports still have not been posted. But most will become available in the next few days, said Commission on Ethics Operations Director Kerrie Stillman. This is the rst year that the disclosure forms are being posted online by the commission, which has been given a little more teeth to get all 38,000 people who are required to le to do so. Previously, the public had to request the information from the state agency, speci cally asking for each individuals records and then wait for the paperwork. For those of cials who missed the July 1 deadline, there is still plenty of time: the commission cant begin issuing nes, $25 a day, up to $1,500, until Sept. 1. News Service of Florida Information a few clicks away
Page 4A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com Letters to the Editor The Wakulla News welcomes your letters. You can email it to [email protected], mail it to P.O. Box 307, Crawfordville FL 32326 or drop it off at The News of ce, 3119-A Crawfordville Highway. Letters are published as space becomes available and must include the authors rst and last name, mailing address and telephone number for veri cation purposes. Only the name and town will be published. One submission per person per month. Letters are edited for style, length and clarity.readers speak out The Opinion Page The Wakulla News (USPS 664-640) is published weekly at 3119-A Crawfordville Hwy., Crawfordville, FL 32327. Periodicals postage paid at P.O. Box 307, Crawfordville, FL 32326-0307. Phone: (850) 926-7102. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Wakulla News, P.O. Box 307, Crawfordville, FL 32326-0307.The Wakulla NewsPublisher Emeritus: William M. Phillips Family (1976-2006)All subscriptions to The Wakulla News become due and payable one year from the time the subscription is purchased.In County $32/yr. $17.50/6 mo. Out of County $42/yr. $24/6 mo. Out of State $44/yr. $26/6 mo.Editor: William Snowden [email protected] Reporter: Amanda Mayor ........................................firstname.lastname@example.org Advertising: Lynda Kinsey [email protected] Advertising/reception: Denise Folh [email protected] Production Coordinator/IT: Eric Stanton [email protected] NATIONAL NEWSPAPERFOUNDATION NATIONAL NEWSPAPERBlue Ribbon AWARD WINNINGNEWSPAPER MEMBER Most popular stories online: A childs question of Are we there yet? follows us through life Community members come together to save land National Weather Service: Flood warning for St. Marks On the trail of Wakullas cottontail rabbits Chamber partners with CenturyLink, Waste Pro to honor business excellence Seeing the sights of London can be a challenge FWMA: Life with the animals In May, Riversink students helped KWCB pick up 200 pounds of litterthewakullanews.com Follow us on Frustrated with school testing Wetlands: Dont kill the golden goose ank you, Sopchoppy volunteers Boards wetlands vote is sad twistRemembering a particular Fourth of July at homeREADERS WRITE: By AMANDA MAYOR Greetings all! My hope is that you had a happy, safe and dry 4th of July. I spent mine in Tallahassee, where I was planning to attend a show held every year in the Summerbrooke subdivision located on the north side of town, only to learn later that most if not every City of Tallahasseerun reworks show was canceled, leaving us no choice but to walk around the neighborhood hoping to glimpse someones homemade tribute to our nations independence. It was the wettest Fourth I can remember, but Im OK with low key. Walking around watching residents set their reworks off safely reminded me of one paricular year with my family. My parents own a ve acre lot in Crystal River, of which maybe only about an acre is cleared lets face it, I really have no idea what an acre looks like but it is enough for our home, a pool and a decent-sized side and front yard. We used put on our own reworks show in the side yard an event which never ceased to cause me annual stress. Throughout the years, our family rework sessions slowly progressed from the good ol foolproof sparkler and those poppers that you throw on the ground where they explode with a sharp pop, to all manner of mortars and high-rise exploding contraptions sparks and combustions galore. The family would spend the Fourth grilling, swimming and then, after dark, my dad and older brother would put on their own rendition of a show. Nerve-racking stuff when you consider the obvious potential for unwanted explosion or poorly timed ignition mixed with too-slow reactions, or the possibility that sparks could catch one of the leaves of one of the many tall trees or worse the roof of the house. Those were my yearly worries. Worry wart? No, not me. My parents always seemed confused as to why I either seemed indifferent towards our reworks purchases on any particular Fourth, or why I never wanted to help set them off. But I was perfectly ne with a sparkler or two sitting off a safe distance away, thank you very much. As it turned out, my concerns were not unwarranted as, during a particularly dry year, one rework shot up, exploded into pretty celebratory blooms, then, as the sparks began to fall, normally fading into nothing before reaching the ground, a few landed in the brush a ways off. Shortly after, a dancing glow could be seen off in the distance. That was the end of the annual Mayor family reworks show. I hope you all had better luck with your reworks than we did that year.Amanda Mayor is a reporter for The Wakulla News.Editor, The News: I have a student at Wakulla High School entering the 12th grade. When FCAT was taken for his 10th grade year, he missed the needed score by two points. We were advised by the school that he could take the ACT and if he scored an 18, that would satisfy the FCAT requirement. He took the test in December 2012 and successfully received an 18. Imagine how we felt with that off our plate! Just as we were ready to sit back and enjoy the rest of his junior year we receive a letter advising that the Department of Education changed the ACT requirement in January 2013 to 19. Students who had taken the FCAT prior to January, 2013 were no longer meeting the requirement and theirs scores would not be grandfathered in. How many times are we going to beat our children down and change the rules? Has DOE or WHS gured out yet that some children just do not test well? We are left without any options except to keep testing. UNFAIR! Audri Hill Crawfordville Editor, The News: I would like to thank all my volunteers who showed up to help with the gates at the Sopchoppy Fourth of July Celebration. We were better known this Fourth as the Sopchoppy Ducks because everyone was wet, but they were all very dependable. I had a few gate people who stayed all day to help if someone didnt show up. A big thank you goes out to all my gate volunteers and also to all the food vendors and other vendors who stayed through all the rain we had. These people are very hard working and dependable people. We want to thank them again for all their dedication and hard work. Even though we were all wet some more than others but we had a great time. Juanita Cantrell SopchoppyEditor, The News: For years, Wakulla County commissioners have been spending thousands of our property-tax dollars to promote tourism, especially ecotourism. At the same time, these commissioners have been bragging about becoming the future home of an environmental institute funded by taxpayers of Florida. That all makes sense since the watery wilderness of Wakulla County is unique in Florida for being a paradise for shing, hunting, boating, biking, swimming, picnicking, photographing and more. But, in one of their most head-scratching recent decisions, four commissioners voted to allow more poisons into our wetlands by striking down county regulations that keep construction at bay. The only people apparently happy about this are developers, builders, realtors, and commissioners themselves. Two of the commissioners might see their vote to weaken wetlands as an opportunity to increase their income since they are builders and land developers, and have developer friends. Neither of the two seemed to care on June 17, that their vote looked more like a blatant move to get richer than do good. The other two commissioners argued that property rights were more important than protecting wetlands. One of them stressed that our troops died for property rights, so wetlands must suffer. Thats a sad twist of the noble cause for which our brave citizens and armed forces have fought and died. Their deaths protected our nation, which was created to promote the general welfare of all people. In other words, no property owner can use land in ways that hurt other people. Thats why commissioners have the power to order property owners to cut down weeds, get building permits, get rid of garbage. Would commissioners want to strike down sewer hook-ups and septic tanks to protect property rights? Simply stated, all of us have property rights over the wetlands; they exist for the betterment of all of Gods creatures, and, especially us, the people in Wakulla County. Now lets look at July 15: It appears one power-dizzy commissioner has gone a step further by proposing to abolish Wakulla Countys entire wetlands protection law and let the state do the job. The commissioners say 65 counties let the state protect their wetlands, so why shouldnt Wakulla? For an answer, one glance at the whole state of Florida suggests that the states protection of the wetlands is no protection at all. For proof, check out South Florida, West Florida, North Florida, Central Florida, or any part of dried-up Florida, and know that Florida is one of the states with the most aggressive wetlands destruction. So heres the question: How could abolishing our wetlands protection be good for us or Wakulla Countys reputation? For sure, it could damage our future. We are on the brink of an environmental boom in this county that promises to create a good living for decades to come. But how can Wakulla County continue to be environmentally unique if it takes only three commissioners to turn this county into environmental hypocrites? Dana Peck Ochlockonee BayEditor, The News: In the recent editions of The News, weve had thoughtful letters from Jack Rudloe, Emily Smith, the Rev. Perry Sanders, Eugene Watkins, Mary Pat King and James Hennessey concerning wetlands protection. Not only thoughtful, these letters were scienti cally based, historical and referential (Watkins history of the Tampa Bay area). The Rev. Sanders commented on the great changes, for the worse, which the county has suffered, destroying what was once a Sportsmans Paradise. But what I found completely strange and ironic was Ms. Cynthia Websters letter in the July 4 edition on misplaced tantrums. Language like that and words like venom and threatening anger or hostility and name calling do nothing to advance the discussion. Unfortunately, its Ms. Websters comments that advanced the interests of a very small but powerful group over the interests of citizens. I attended the meeting and read every letter on the subject. No venom I could see. I submit this: Such has been the patient sufferance... and is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government... let the facts be submitted to a candid world... refus(ing) to assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. Refus(ing) to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people... called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures, for imposing taxes on us without our consent. Pretty strong language? Venomous stuff? Angry? Hostile? Sound familiar? Excerpts from our own Declaration of Independence, which I believe we just celebrated. Part of the colonists bill of particulars against King George. So, I guess, actually, King George had nothing to say much about his policies but a lot to say about the guys commenting on his policies, because he sure was losing on the message then sent a lot of troops over to make sure his policies were followed by the messengers he was criticizing. Look, the wetlands ordinance was worked on for over one year. It was the result of much hard work by a signi cant number of people. All citizens were invited to have input. All meetings were advertised. Citizens were accommodated and invited to comment with two comment sections per meeting. But the charge of the committee was protecting the wetlands, not line the pockets of a very small group of landowners and developers. Its common practice, when you lose on the policy and message to complain and criticize the messengers. So, I would have to ask Ms. Webster, where was she through all the meetings of the committee, all the two citizen input sections we had at each meeting, and where was she when policies, especially the taking section of the ordinance was discussed and developed over the long course of the committees tenure? Ms. Websters Fifth Amendment concerns have been dealt with through case and common law, both at the state and federal level. There was no attempt at unreasonable taking and there have been no unreasonable takings. I will say this though, if Commissioner Randy Merritts proposal goes through, Commissioner Jerry Moore stands to make an awful lot of money, as an awful lot of his lands are wetlands and if allowed to be lled will do nothing for our natural environment but a lot to do with the environment of his personal pocket book. As one speaker, a local sherman, so eloquently said at the meeting, construction is so short term, its unbelievable. Our wetlands are so long term and important... Theres shermen, 200 or 300, jobless at the moment because our wetlands are not healthy. When we go to building in them or protruding in them its just going to make the problem worse... Building houses is not the answer. Putting in more attractions that would boost the economy. Whats our answer then? Showing up at next Mondays Board of County Commissioners meeting. Speak at Citizens to be Heard or at Commissioner Richard Hardens agenda item on repealing the entire wetlands ordinance. Dont be venomous nor throw a tantrum. Just show up, as the sherman did, and speak your truth and lets not let these people kill our golden goose. Hugh Taylor Crawfordville
By RICHARD BICKFORDSpecial to The NewsIf you have seen a vehicle around town that looks like a race car all decked out in decals, youve seen Greg Bickfords 2010 Mustang that he and his father, Richard, will be driving this summer in a road rally sponsored by Rally North America. This road rally is not a race, but a structured driving event that has each team looking for secret checkpoints along the way. Rally North America is a not-for pro t organization that selects a worthy beneficiary every year and coordinates a road rally, with car owners from all over the United States participating, to raise money for the bene ciary. The rally in 2011 was for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes and raised $15,000, and in 2012 it was for the accelerated cure for Multiple Sclerosis and raised $63,000. The bene ciary of this years rally will be Camp Sunshine which is a wonderful organization in Maine that helps children with life threatening or terminal illnesses. Families from all over the country attend week long programs free of charge. Last year 25 families from Florida went to Camp Sunshine. The 2013 rally will be Rally New England with 85 teams participating from all over the United States. Before the rally KickOff in Ithaca, N.Y., the teams will take laps on Watkins Glen International Raceway then the next morning the teams will depart and make their way to Rutland, Vt., stopping at Devils Bowl Speedway. On day two the teams drive from Rutland to Lewiston, Me., with a stop at Camp Sunshine on Maines Sebago Lake. Day three will take them to Oxford Plains Dragway before leaving Maine on their way to the nish line in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Each of the 85 teams are responsible for paying a $225 entry fee which covers the cost of track rental fees and making decals and shipping them. Each team must also make a minimum donation to Camp Sunshine of $75. They also pay their own hotel fees, gas, food and miscellaneous costs, team expense are estimated to average around $2,000. Each team has a dedicated donation page to raise money for Camp Sunshine; the goal set by Rally North America for the camp is $80,000. All donations the teams receive go directly to Camp Sunshine and are not used to cover any personal/team expenses. Team Tallahassee would like to thank the many individuals and the following local businesses Gulf Coast Lumber & Supply, Ace Home Center, White Elephant, Front Porch Florist, Luxury Cruise & Travel, Gulf Coast Landscape & Sod who all donated to Camp Sunshine on behalf of Team Tallahassee. Greg and his dad, Richard, are seeking additional sponsors for donations to Camp Sunshine and/ or merchandise that can be auctioned off at the event. Greg would love to display decals of your business on the Team Tallahassee 2010 Mustang for a $30 donation. For additional information you can reach Greg at (850) 251-1100, or Richard at (850) 9268136. www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 5A < STREET BEAT > Random, man-on-the-street interviews with Wakulla Countians. This week's question: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?BILLY DEAN MusicianDean Acres near Nashville, the bayside of the Plantation on St George Island, and San Diego. NOREEN BRITT Parks & RecRight here! JODIE BARNES HousewifeJust a small, small town on a river somewhere with lots of acreage. JAMES LLOYD HARVEY RetiredColorado. CODAN GARRISON Production TechnicianOregon. Compiled by Lynda Kinsey Local driver participating in road rally for charity SPECIAL TO THE NEWSThe black 2010 Mustang Greg Bickford will drive in Rally North America. 000EWP9 all akullas inest Sandy Lott 850 926-1010 Mary Applegate 239-464-1732 David Rossetti 850 591-6161 850926-1011734 Shadeville Rd, Crawfordville FL, 32327 Scan Mereo and short sale specialists our ome own ealtor LOCAL SAVINGS.850-778-40001700-14 N Monroe St Tallahassee Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko image 1999-2012. 2012 GEICO Erectile Dysfunction Drugs May Be Dangerous To Your HealthFREE book by doctor reveals what the
Page 6A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com Wakulla Worship Centers Medart Area Crawfordville Area Sopchoppy Coastal Wakulla Station 9:30am Worship Service850-745-84123383 Coastal HighwayChrist Church AnglicanWednesday 6:00 pm Dinner 6:45 pm Bible Study Children, Youth and Adult Bible ClassesThursday 10:00 am Adult Bible StudyThe Rev. John Spicer, RectorSunday Nursery available Pastor Vicar Bert MatlockChurch 926-7808 Pre-School 926-5557Bible Class 9:00 a.m. Worship 10:00 a.m. Pre-School M-F (3-5 Years)Trinity Lutheran Church of Wakulla County Hwy. 98, Across from WHS Web site: Lutheransonline.com/trinityofwakulla Ochlockonee BayUnited Methodist ChurchSunday Worship 9 a.m. Adult Sunday School 10:30 a.m.Pastor Kevin Hall(850) 984-0127 Sopchoppy United Methodist ChurchSunday School 9:45 a.m. Worship 11 a.m.Pastor Kevin Hall850-962-2511 Wakulla United Methodist ChurchSunday Contemporary Service 8:30 a.m. Sunday School for all ages 10 a.m. Sunday Worship 11 a.m.1584 Old Woodville Rd. Wakulla Station 421-5741 Pastor Susie Horner 1st Crawfordville United Methodist ChurchPastor Mike Shockley 926-7209 Ochlockonee & Arran Road Come Grow With Us www.crawfordville-umc.orgSunday School 10:00 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. Sopchoppy Church Of ChristCorner of Winthrop & Byrd St.Sunday: Bible Study ...9:30 a.m. Worship ...................10:30 a.m. Evening Worship .............5 p.m. Wednesday: Bible Study ...7 p.m. Visitors are welcome! Home Bible Courses available please call for details, 962 2213 Schedule of Services SUNDAY: Refreshments Sunday School Worship Prayer WEDNESDAY: Supper Pioneer Club: Youth and Adult Classes 9:30am 10:00am 11:00am 6:00pm 6:00pm 6:30pm Pastor John S. Dunning (From Rhema Bible Training Center) www.ochcc.org Blood Bought Word Taught Spirit WroughtSpirit Life ChurchPentecostal 962-9000 2889C Crawfordville Hwy 850.926.9308 bigbendhospice.org Were Here to Share the Journey... Sunday School........................10 a.m. Sunday Worship ......................11 a.m. Evening Worship .......................6 p.m. Wednesday Service ..................7 p.m. & Youth Service ........................7 p.m. Royal Rangers ...........................7 p.m. Missionettes ..............................7 p.m. Ivan Assembly of God202 Ivan Church Road Crawfordville Pastor, Daniel CookseyCome & Worship With Us926-IVAN(4826) religious views and events ChurchHonoring Your Loved One In PrintFREE Standard Obituaries in The Wakulla News & Online (850) 926-7102 Your church ad here! (850) 926-7102 Homecoming Revival at Faith HolinessFaith Holiness House of Prayer Ministries will celebrate its 15th Homecoming Revival on Wednesday, July 10, through Friday, July 12, at 7 p.m. nightly with Evangelist Keith Thomas. Homecoming service on Sunday, July 14, at 10 a.m. with Evangelist Elizabeth McCormick from Southport. There will be singing and morning message with dinner following on Sunday. Come out and worship with us and be blessed. Faith Holiness is located at 736 Woodville Highway. For more information, contact Pastor Cris Thomas at 421-1324 or Assistant Pastor Glinda Raker at 926-1331. Charlotte Temple to hold garage saleCharlotte Faith and Deliverance Temple is having a garage sale on Saturday, July 13, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Miss this and you miss a treat. Charlotte is located at 155 BrownDonaldson Road. For more information, call 408-0167. Holy Ghost Revival set at Charlotte Temple next weekCharlotte Faith and Deliverance Temple will be having a revival starting Wednesday, July 17, through Friday, July 19, beginning at 7:30 p.m. nightly. The Holy Ghost Revival will feature Brother Michael Barwick and his team presiding. Charlotte is located at 155 BrownDonaldson Road. For more information, call 408-0167. Primitive Baptist churches plan an eight-day revival Mount Beasor Primitive Baptist Church, 29 Winthrop Avenue, Sopchoppy and Friendship Primitive Baptist Church, 165 Friendship Church Road, Crawfordville, have announced that a special eight-day revival meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 21 through Sunday, July 28. Evangelist Lindon Frost, a dynamic speaker and teacher of Jasper, Ala. will minister nightly. Starting times for the eight-day event are 6 p.m. on July 21 and 7 p.m. nightly on July 22-24 at Friendship P.B. Church. Services start at Mount Beasor on July 25-27 at 7 p.m. nightly and 11 a.m., Sunday, July 28 for homecoming celebration (160 years). There will be special singing every night and a fellowship luncheon following the Sunday morning worship service on July 28 at Mt Beasor. Elder Bruce Taylor, Pastor of Mount Beasor, and Pastor Michael Hall of Friendship extend a cordial invitation to all for this special time of spiritual enrichment and fellowship. For more information, transportation and/or directions, call 926-1513 or 509-5760.Trying to keep my sanity in a politically correct world OUT TO PASTORBy JAMES L. SNYDERAll through my life, I have been awkward when talking to someone of the opposite gender. I had thought by the time I got to this stage of life, postyoung, I would have left a lot of this behind. Just when I think I have a good handle on this situation, something happens setting me back at least two generations. I was doing ne until I heard a news report giving information that the word freshman was no longer a politically correct word to use when speaking of college students. They are now referred to as FirstYear Students. According to this report, the word freshman is offensive to women. How and why it is offensive, they never did say but being in a politically correct world this word may no longer be used. This is where my confusion comes in. I wish they would come and explain to me how this word offends them. This word has been used for generation after generation and this is the rst time it is hurting certain individuals. I brought this to the attention of the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage to see if maybe she could shed a little bit of light on the situation. Unfortunately, she was as much in the dark about this as I was. I try to keep up with the latest trends and I must say that I am around 18 years behind my schedule. Frankly, I do not know why anybody wants to be politically correct. Being the sensitive kind of person that I am, I am going to give it the old college try. I sat down with my wife and we began to gure out how I, a very sensitive and politically correct person, could address somebody of the opposite gender. I guess I can still call them women, I said with a degree of certainty in my voice. My wife looked at me and slowly shook her head. Im afraid that the word women, is offensive to some of these politically correct individuals because the word ends in men, which is a masculine gender. I looked at her and scratched my head vigorously. It also applies, she continued, with the word woman because it also ends with the masculine man. I never really gave this much thought before. It never occurred to me that the last three letters of a word could be offensive to someone to the point that they are offended by that word. So, I said rather thoughtfully rubbing my chin, I will have to begin calling those individuals females. I smiled and thought I had come up with a solution. I looked at my wife to get her approval. Shaking her head, she said, That word is not acceptable anymore, either. If you look at the word, you will nd that it ends in the word male, and as you know that is masculine. I am really getting bogged down with all of this political correctness nonsense. How people can be so sensitive to be upset by a word. Well, I said in a little bit of desperation, I guess Ill just have to call them lady. Not so fast, she said looking at me. How do you spell lady? The rst three letters spell the word lad, and everybody knows a lad is a boy. It has been a long time since I have been this frustrated. For the life of me I do not intend to offend anybody if it all possible. I am just getting to the point where I am not sure it is going to be possible not to offend persons of the opposite gender. I nally came up with the word I thought would solve all my political correctness dilemma. And I threw it at her. I will just call them a person. I was proud of my accomplishment. Someone, no names will be mentioned, laughed hysterically at me while shaking her head. Buster, she said, you still dont get it, do you? The word person ends with the word son and everybody knows a son is a male child. I cannot call them women or woman or female or lady or person because somewhere in those words someone sees something masculine. I know what Ill do, I said to my wife with a smile dancing across my face, whenever I see someone of the opposite gender I will shout out loud and clear Hey, you. I think youre getting worse as you go along here, she said. You do know what the word hey begins with? I thought for a moment, sadly shaking my head, I looked at her and said, He? I will never arrive at any degree of political correctness, at least during my lifetime. And, I will never understand any one of the opposite gender, whatever you call them. I do take a little consolation in Gods Word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:11 KJV). I do not have to be politically correct when I come to God because His Word is nal.Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala. Call him at (866) 552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@ att.net. Church BriefsSpecial to The NewsThe Wakulla County Sheriffs Of ce and Florida Department of Financial Services have joined forces to host Operation SAFE on Thursday, July 11 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Wakulla County Senior Citizens Center. Operation SAFE (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation) was launched as part of CFO Jeff Atwaters On Guard For Seniors initiative. Be Scam Smart workshops are open to seniors, their family and caregivers to help inform, empower and protect Floridas seniors from nancial scams and fraud. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. at the senior center. For more information, visit www.MyFloridaCFO. com/SAFE or call 1-877MY-FL-CFO (693-5236). Program set to stop senior scams
Special to The News What does it mean to you to live well? This is one of the rst questions a trained facilitator will discuss with you as a part of Big Bend Hospices new program PEACE (Planning Early about Care at the End). The program is modeled after Respecting Choices, a well-developed and proven systematic approach to help people articulate clearly, and with those who matter most, their wishes for end-oflife health care. The PEACE program uses certi ed health care facilitators from Big Bend Hospice who have been trained in helping people have on-going discussions about important issues like what treatment a person would want if they are no longer able to speak for themselves to how would a person like to be remembered by those who matter most to them. These desires are captured on a document like Five Wishes and a reliable system is set in place to ensure the document is available as needed. The goal is to initiate an ongoing discussion that focuses on a persons motivation, knowledge and belief regarding health care at the end of life. The assessment helps to articulate preferences, values and goals. Building off of this understanding, people are better equipped to select a person who can speak for them in the event they cannot speak for themselves. Understanding the medical aspect of care for life-limiting illnesses, allows a person to make better informed decisions of what they do or do not want and these decisions can be clearly articulated to their family, doctors, rabbi or minister, and other trusted persons. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with a trained facilitator or have a PEACE representative come and speak with your Church or organization, call (850) 8785310. The service is free. www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 7AObituaries Mike Otho Mike Brand Rhonda Lorraine Cox Baxley John Matthew Big Matt Southside Martin Ian Sutz Mary Laverne Harris WillisMichael Otho Mike Brand, 63, passed away June 30, 2013 after a long illness. He died in Jefferson County at Brynwood Center in Monticello, a nursing home where he had been living the past several years). He had lived in Wakulla County since 1981, until going to the nursing home. A native of Tallahassee, he was an electronics technician, and he loved motorcycles, cars, music and the beach. Throughout his illness, he was an inspiration to all around him with his strong faith in Christ, his positive attitude and his caring spirit. Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Jane Elzie Brand. He was predeceased by his father, Randolph Beville Bud Brand; his mother, Vivian Frances Dunham Strickland; and his stepson, Sun Jason Scribner. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org). Mary Laverne Harris Willis, 67, of Crawfordville, and formerly of Moultrie, Ga., died Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare. She was born Dec. 28, 1945, in Moultrie, Ga. She was of the Baptist faith. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Cobb Funeral Chapel in Moultrie, Ga. Interment followed at Westview Cemetery. Visitation was held one hour prior to the funeral at Cobb Funeral Chapel. Survivors include one son, Joel Conger (Teresa) of Moultrie; two daughters, Shelia Schmidt (Todd) and Debra Russell (Charles), all of Crawfordville; two sisters, Barbara Harris Payne of Galveston, Texas, and Martha Harris Alton of Moultrie; and four grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, James Harris and Edwina Davis Harris; and two brothers, Randall Harris and Lavoyd Harris. Cobb Funeral Chapel has been entrusted with arrangements.Rhonda Lorraine Cox Baxley, 89, passed away June 30, 2013 from natural causes. She was born Feb. 2, 1924 in Smith Creek. She came to Lakeland from Orlando in 1959 and worked as a Paralegal in the 2nd District Court of Appeals. Survivors include her son, Tim Woodbery (fianc Andrea Adair) of Lakeland; brothers, Clayton (wife Joan) Cox of Tallahassee, and Ernie (wife Gloria) Cox of Smith Creek; a sister, Wanda (husband Bill) Schwarz of Smith Creek; a niece, Nancy Stanley of Tybee Island, Ga.; a cousin, Myra Richards of Summer eld; daughterin-law, Gerri Baxley of Lakeland; a stepson, Carl Baxley of Lakeland; and special friends Betty Roberts of Hosford and Vicki Waymire of Lakeland. She was predeceased by her parents, Leroy and Olivia (Pelt) Cox; her rst husband, Warren Woodbery; her second husband, Alfred Baxley; a brother, Carey (wife Lea) Cox; and sister, Christine Mercer. Memorial donations may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Ave., Auburndale FL 33823, telephone (863) 297-1880. John Matthew Big Matt Southside Martin, 50, of Crawfordville, formerly of Tallahassee, passed away Thursday, July 4, 2013. He was a tree crew foreman for the City of Tallahassee where he had been employed for 31 years. He was a board member of the Florida State Dog Hunters Association, an avid hunter and sherman, and loved camping with his family. He was also an avid NASCAR fan who enjoyed boating, singing karaoke, and spending time with his family and friends. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 13, 2013 at the Wakulla Springs Baptist Church with Pastor Lewis Pollard and Brother Derrick Crum of ciating. Survivors include his wife, Perriann Harrell Martin of Crawfordville; sons, Josh (Tonya) Martin of Crawfordville, and Kenny Thomas of Lake Charles, La.; a daughter, Kendall Thomas of Crawfordville; mother, Sandy Dodson Martin of Tallahassee; grandson, Jamie Martin of Crawfordville; sister, Hope (Donnie) Moore of Crawfordville; sister-inlaw, Shawnie Harrell of Sopchoppy; and numerous nieces, nephews, friends, co-workers, and his Buck Cemetery Hunting Club family. He was predeceased by his father, Jimmie Martin; and grandparents Willie and Minnie Martin and J.H. Check and Margaret Dodson. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Forbes Funeral Home, Macclenny, Florida 850-559-3380. Please sign the online guestbook at http://www. forbesfuneralhome.net. Ian Sutz, 63, of Bushnell, died on July 4, 2013. He was born June 2, 1950, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was a magician. A celebration of life was held on Wednesday, July 10, at Purcells Funeral Home, 114 W. Noble Ave., Bushnell FL 33513. Visition was held at 1 p.m. followed by the memorial program at 2 p.m. Friends were invited to share memories of him during the program. After the service, the family received guests on the family farm. Survivors include his wife, Nora Lyn Sutz of Bushnell; a daughter, Dr. Rachel Sutz Pienta (David) of Crawfordville; one grandson; three siblings: Ellen Sutz Fanale (Salvatore) of Washington; David Sutz (Maria) of Central Valley, N.Y., and Jenna Walter Bowers (Chris) of Montgomery, NY; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Saul Sutz and Anita Rait; and a daughter, Sara Lyn Sutz. Michael Otho Mike Brand Mary Laverne Harris Willis Ian Sutz Rhonda Lorraine Cox Baxley John Matthew Big Matt Southside Martin From Page 1A And 75 percent of the restaurants income must come from the sale of food items, and the city has the right to inspect the establishment in order to ensure that those ratios are upheld. Commissioner Eddie Evans brought up the notion of a track record and how, in the past with the former Backwood Bistro restaurant, their positive record was taken into account when voting to allow beer and wine to be sold on the premises. Cox said that the council could establish a provisional period for Sopchoppy Pizza and suggested a six or 12 month term for that period. I would prefer that the establishment be able to operate without the sale of alcohol, said Evans. But since we voted to approve it last time, Im torn on it personally as to whether to hold off on granting them permission until they can establish a track record as a responsible establishment, or going ahead and allowing them to sell it on a provisional basis during a given period. Evans added that he didnt really have any strong feelings for or against it. First of all, if we dont let them sell beer and wine, then will they be a BYOB? Edwards asked. Bringing up that, in such a case, the city has no control. We cant control how many times a person goes out to their car to mix a drink or bring in a beer, she explained. But if youre selling beer and wine you can cut them off. Otherwise the money is going to the gas station or theyre bringing it from Crawfordville and the moneys not going into our downtown business. As far as I know, when Backwoods was here, there werent any incidents. Lewis was for giving Sopchoppy Pizza the proposed permission. My inclination would be, knowing the (good) track record of Backwoods, to give Sopchoppy Pizza the opportunity to establish a track record with the ability to sell the alcohol, he said. I nd it hard to imagine how we would evaluate them handling the alcohol if they arent able to sell it on the premises. I would like to give them the opportunity on a provisional basis. Rudd said he only had one person say something to him and they didnt particularly want it. I thought long and hard about it but I cant see not letting them have it when we let Backwoods have it before. But he was for the provisional basis: Lets see how well theyre going to handle it, he said. A lot of people know how I voted on this before, said Martha Evans. Im against it, its my own personal thing. But other than that well see how it goes. With the commissioners having weighed in, the public was given the opportunity to speak on the matter, but nobody got up to say anything for or against. With that, Edwards put forth the motion to approve the proposed resolution with the addition of a provision to review the situation six months from the day that Sopchoppy Pizza opens, which is slated for Aug. 1. It passed with a 4-1 vote. With their rst decision made as a new board, the new members received a brie ng from Cox on the rules and procedures that each is required to follow, outlining things such as Sunshine Law and the fact that the members cannot talk about public business outside of public meetings. You are the policymaking board for this municipality, Cox explained. You tell us where you want the train to go and well gure out how to get it there. After the meeting adjourned, the three new commissioners were asked about the opportunity to serve the city of Sopchoppy. Weve lived here for 15 years, said Lewis. The towns been real good to us. I just wanted to give back and Im looking forward to serving as commissioner. Eddie Evans had previously served as commissioner and expressed gratitude to be back at it. Im glad to be back after three years and Im looking forward to getting down to business. I grew up just west of Sopchoppy, said Rudd. Now that I live inside the city limits I thought Id give it a shot. I think its a great place and I want to see it stay the same and what better way to do that than from right here.New board gets down to business PHOTOS BY AMANDA MAYORCity Commissioner Eddie Evans City Commissioner Nathan Lewis City Commissioner Glenn Rudd Hospice program encourages important conversations 926-3281 Promise LandOpen 9-5 Closed Sun. & Wed.Mon. -----Color Tag 50% Tues. ----------Seniors 25% Thurs. ---Deal of the Day 3299 Crawfordville Hwy.Approx. 1 mile S. of County Courthousewww.promiselandministries.org THRIFT STORE 926-2200 Ross E. Tucker, CLURegistered Health UnderwriterTucker Life-Health Insurance, Inc.Neither Tucker Life-Health nor Ross Tucker is connected with the Federal Medicare program. This is an advertisement for inurance. I understand by calling the number above I will be reaching a licensed insurance agent. Get a Better Medicare Plan Now!You may save money and/or gain benefits! Call today to see if you qualify.Use a Special Election Period to
Page 8A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.comhappenings in our community CommunityVictoria and Wilton Booth Sr. celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, July 3. The couple has two sons, Wilton Booth Jr. who resides in California and Tavaris Booth of Miami. They pray that God continues to bless them, their marriage and their children. The parents of Dr. Julia K. Whited, DVM, are proud to announce her graduation, in May of this year, with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University. Julia graduated with honors. She is the daughter of Bret & Rhonda Hammond of Crawfordville, and Joel Whited of Tallahassee. Julia is a 2001 graduate Wakulla High School. She will be joining the practice at Shepard Springs Animal Hospital, with Dr. Norman Griggs, of Crawfordville. Special to The NewsSheriff Creel and his staff hosted a cookout for the womens group called Shoot Like A Girl. This group meets every Wednesday mornings at the Wakulla County Shooting Range to practice their shooting skills and to socialize. This gives women a chance to become familiar with their own pistols and ri es, as well as providing proper weapon handling and shooting instructions if needed. Undersheriff Trey Morrison did a wonderful job of mastering the grill. The Shoot Like A Girl group appreciates the support shown by Sheriff Creel and the Wakulla Sheriffs Of ce for women to be better educated in the handling and safety of rearms. The cookout and fellowship was also appreciated and enjoyed by all that attended. Anyone interested in joining Shoot Like A Girl just go to the Wakulla County Shooting Range on Wednesday mornings. Sheriff hosts cookout for womens skills group, Shoot Like a GirlBooths celebrate 25 years WHS graduate earns doctorate of veterinary medicine Girl Scouts taking nominations for women of distinctionSpecial to The NewsDo you know an extraordinary woman who has distinguished herself as an outstanding member of the community? A program inspired by Girl Scouts nationally, the Girl Scouts of the Florida Panhandle Women of Distinction Awards honor women from across the Florida Panhandle who truly stand out for their commitment to the community. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Women of Distinction awards program. Annually, women from across the council service area are nominated for this coveted award. The women honored for 2013 will join the 100 women in the Florida Panhandle who have been honored as Women of Distinction since the programs inception in 1998. All nominees will be honored during the Women of Distinction Awards Gala on November 14, 6 p.m. at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. The Women of Distinction Awards Gala is a celebration of the women in our community whose leadership and commitment enrich the lives of many, stated Raslean M. Allen, Girl Scout Council of the Florida Panhandle, Inc. chief executive of cer. We invite you to nominate distinguished women from the community. Nominees must live or work in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla County. They should exemplify extraordinary civic, professional and/or philanthropic commitment and achievement, be a role model for girls, and demonstrate a commitment to advocacy for improving the lives of women and/or girls. Nominees are to demonstrate initiative, integrity and leadership characteristics, and are not required to have been or currently be a Girl Scout. Nominations will be reviewed by an independent Selection Committee based on standardized criteria for nominees in several different awards categories: Architecture, Real Estate Arts, Culture, Humanities Business Education Environment, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Government Health, Fitness, Wellness Law Media Social Services, Youth Services, Faith The deadline for nominations is Monday, September 9. Nomination forms can be obtained by visiting www.gscfp. org to complete online or download. Sponsorship Investment Opportunities are available. For more information on becoming a sponsor contact Irene Field, Chief Development Officer at 850-873-3999 ext. 1202, or toll free at (888) 271-8778, or email i [email protected]. omas Revell Jr. turns 1Thomas Craig Revell Jr. celebrated his rst birthday on May 14. He is the son of Craig and Christina Revell of Crawfordville. Thomas maternal grandfather is Ross Lee of South Port. His paternal grandparents are Debra and Sam Simmons of Crawfordville. Great-grandparents are the late Doris Revell-Sanders and the late Carlton Revell of Crawfordville. He has two big brothers, Richard Pope and Dalson Pope, as well as two big sisters Alayna and Ava Pope. SPECIAL TO THE NEWSUndersheriff Trey Morrison, left, and Sheriff Charlie Creel, right, with womens group. Wilton and Victoria Booth Dr. Julia K. Whited, DVM, at left. Thomas Craig Revell Jr. turned 1 on May 14. Hair Place That Full Service Hair Salon850-926-602027 E AZALEA DR. 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By BRANDON LARRABEETHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDASuperintendents from across the state pressed Education Commissioner Tony Bennett to consider limiting how much school grades will drop this year during a meeting Monday. Curbing the possible declines in school scores -which would essentially continue a policy from last year allowing the marks to drop no more than a letter grade at each school -was one of several recommendations the superintendents made during a meeting of a task force Bennett put together at the request of the State Board of Education. Bennett is set to report his findings back to the board, likely in mid-July, to help limit the fallout when the next round of school report cards is rolled out. Bennett's predecessor, Gerard Robinson, resigned shortly after a botched release of school grades last year, though Robinson said he was leaving to spend more time with his family. The superintendents say that some of the data they're getting back as they do the initial calculations for the report cards seem to be off -but they don't know why. Part of the problem, they say, is that the state has implemented 13 changes this year alone to the state's accountability system for schools -making it harder to meet the standards and harder to figure out what's going wrong. "If we had just done one or two of these, it might have been digestible," said Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. "But the fact that we're doing all of this ... it has become very traumatic." The school chiefs said they don't want the state to lower its standards per se, but to consider raising them in a more predictable manner. In the meantime, they said, the state should consider temporarily continuing the policy limiting grade drops and asking a third party to look at the data and figure out what's wrong. "It is not because we're afraid there will be too many Fs," said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, who also serves as CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. "The reason for that is because of the uncertainty of the system itself." Asked how seriously he was considering recommending a continuation of the temporary limits on grade drops to the board, Bennett was noncommittal, stressing that everything was on table. "I'm as serious about that as everything else," he said. In all, the superintendents say about three dozen changes to the way the state grades schools have been made over the last three years. And as that cycle has intensified, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said, one of the mantras of school reform efforts has started to lose its validity. "When we say that, 'every time we raise the standards, student performance increases,' [that] used to be true in the state of Florida," he said. "Since 2009, it has not" There are also worries about how any loss of confidence in the testing system by the public and educators could impact the introduction of the "common core standards," a national set of benchmarks for curriculum. The superintendents also expressed frustration at the fact that the state hasn't spent more time trying to educate the public on the possibility that school grades could fall even as students were learning more. "The canvas is still blank, and when you have a blank canvas, all kinds of people start painting on it," Carvalho said. www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 9Aeducation news from local schools SchoolBy KATRINA RODDENBERRYRiversink TeacherRiversink Elementary teachers are taking their students experiment to NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas from July 12 through July 20. The teachers will conduct the experiment aboard a microgravity aircraft as part of NASAs Microgravity eXperience. The aircraft flies approximately 30 rollercoaster-like climbs and dips to produce periods of micro and hyper gravity ranging from 0 gs to 2 gs. This is the same aircraft that NASA uses to train astronauts and conduct microgravity research. The Microgravity eXperience for the K-12 education community is a partnership between NASAs Teaching from Space Office and the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. The experience began with students and teachers developing and proposing a reduced gravity experiment. The team of teachers from Riversink Elementary was one of seven teams from around the nation to be selected to participate in this cycle of MicroGX. Riversink Elementary teachers Katrina Roddenberry, Jennifer Williams, Cassandra Burnham, Molly Jones, and Melissa Martin submitted a proposal for their students experiment, entitled Wakulla Waters: A Liquid Investigation, to be tested in microgravity. The unit was designed to provide students with the opportunity to experiment with various waters from natural resources in Wakulla County and to help students foster an appreciation for science and the many natural resources around them. The experiment that will be flown aboard the aircraft explores the immiscibility of oil and water, and it includes spring water from Wakulla Springs State Park and salt water from St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The Riversink Elementary teachers are appreciative of the support they have received from the Wakulla County School Board and their local community, and they are eager to share this experience with others. NASA has provided the opportunity to conduct a LIVE video conference with the teachers from Houston. The teachers will broadcast live from Ellington Field to Riversink Elementary on July 18 at 11:30 a.m. This is an opportunity for students and community members to connect with the teachers during the Microgravity eXperience. If you would like to participate in the LIVE video conference, please RSVP to (850) 926-2664 or email megan.crombie@ wcsb.us. The video conference will be held at Riversink Elementary School on July 18 at 11:30 a.m. Five Riversink Elementary teachers to take ight at NASATeachers left to right: Katrina Roddenberry, Jennifer Williams, Cassandra Burnham, Molly Jones, and Melissa MartinSpecial to The NewsSuperintendents want move forward with grade-level policy SKYBOXSPORTS BAR & GRILL the EATIN path OFF Your Guide to Area Restaurants and Catering Beverly CouncilJune 2013 WinnerHer name was drawn fromI thought I had won the Lottery !!! I encourage more people to participate. OFF The Eatin Path Entry Form Please drop off form at any participating Eatin Place Name _____________________________________ Address ___________________________________ __________________________________________ City ______________________________________ State __________Zip _______________________ Phone ____________________________________ e-mail _____________________________________One Winner!One Meal from Every Restaurant Congratulations Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor ank You So Much! C C Coastal RestaurantHome of the All-U-Can Eat Seafood & Chicken n t Eat DEALS FAMOUS OYSTER HOUSE IN ST. MARKSLLC Erectile Dysfunction Drugs May Be Dangerous To Your HealthFREE book by doctor reveals what the Ill show you how a life insurance policy with living benets can help your family with both long-term and short-term needs. We put the life back in life insurance. CALL ME TODAY. It can also provide for today. Insuring your life helps protect their future. State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI) State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI) Bloomington, IL1311023 Gayla Parks, Agent 2905 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, FL 32301 Bus: 850-222-6208 [email protected] BIG GED CHANGES 850926-1841 www.wakullaschooldistrict.org/secThe Current version of the GED test expires at the end of 2013 If youve already taken and passed parts of the test YOUR SCORES WILL EXPIRE, too. ACT NOW and you wont have to re-take the parts of the test you have already passed.If you dont feel prepared we can help!Even with your busy schedule, you can prepare, plan, and succeed with Wakulla Adult Education Well get you registered for our prep classes and youll have the support you need to pass the test. The last time for taking the current version of the GED test in Wakulla County is December 3 & 4, 2013DONT WAIT. CALL NOW!
Page 10A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.comsports news and team views SportsBy ALAN ROSS In a rare display of dominance at a platerestrictor race, Jimmie Johnson took over Daytona International Speedway Saturday night, leading 93 of the 160 laps to win the Coke Zero 400 and complete a sweep of the Daytona Double, taking both the 500 in February and the July 400. Johnson had to withstand two crashes on the closing lap where cautions were thrown but the race was still allowed to be completed to garner his fourth Cup win of the year, tying him with Matt Kenseth for the series lead in victories. Pole-sitter Kyle Busch led 29 of the first 33 laps before a familiar scenario began unfolding: the rising tide of the No. 48 car. Johnson simply took over the famed 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway, even getting shuffled back to 16th after an untimely caution immediately following his green- ag pit stop. Little matter. Before long, Johnson was back again at the front of the midsummer classic. Danica Patrick, who quali ed 11th, ran competitively all night, running seventh with seven laps to go and rose as high as third place two-thirds of the way through the race. Caught up in a lastlap wreck, she nished 13th. Johnson had led 82 laps when the race was red- agged with 10 laps to go, following a big crash initiated by Denny Hamlins self-in icted spin that took out ve cars including Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. Johnsons restart misdaventures that began with his controversial jump restart at Dover hung thickly in the air around the 48 camp, as the cars reignited for what would be the nal dash to the nish, Johnson attempting to become the rst driver in more than 30 years to sweep both Daytona races in the same year (Bobby Allison the last to pull off the double, in 1982). Johnson won the restart handily but Marcos Ambrose viciously punted Kasey Kahne into the in eld wall to bring out the nal caution. This was it, a greenwhite-checkered ending to seal the deal. But Johnson never was challenged, as carnage unfolded behind him twice on the nal lap. It was Johnsons 64th career Cup victory, and the winner of the race formerly known as the Firecracker 400 upped his championship points lead to 49 over Clint Bowyer, who knocked Carl Edwards from the runner-up spot after the latter was punted into the wall on the first of the nal laps twin crashes. The Cuppers race the one-mile oval at New Hampshire this Sunday. GERMAN GRAND PRIX: Sebastian Vettel won his home grand prix for the rst time in his star-studded Formula One career, taking the race at the legendary Nurburgring circuit in Germany for his 30th career F1 victory. The Red Bull Racing luminary had to fend off the closing charge of Lotus Kimi Raikkonen over the closing laps but made the move of the race at the rst corner of the opening lap, surging around pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton for a lead he never relinquished. Vettel holds a 34-point advantage over Ferraris Fernando Alonso in points. INDY POCONO 500: Target Chip Ganassi Racing celebrated IndyCars return to venerable Pocono Raceway after a 24-year hiatus, with a stunning 1-2-3 finish topped by Scott Dixons trip to the Winners Circle Sunday at Long Pond, Pa. With 27 laps to go in the 160-lap race, Ganassi first showed its 1-2-3 form, an accomplishment it had not experienced the entire season, with Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti following the winner the best overall showing of the year by far for Honda-powered cars. Race-long leader Marco Andretti slowed for fuel conservation with 38 laps to go, which allowed the battle for the front to become a scramble before the Ganassi cars took control. Read Alan Ross article on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 in Lindys Sports 2013 Pro Football Preview at newsstands everywhere. E-mail: alanross_sports@ yahoo.com. Sportland 2013THE COOL DOWN LAP Johnson gulps Coke Zero 400; Vettel wins home German Grand Prix You know we are getting older in years, but our age is getting younger, with advances in medicine and changes in the way we are thinking we are living longer. Now the downside, most American seniors are not aging well, they are the least physically active of all Americans. Approximately 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men in their golden years are unable to stay active due to lack of movement, improper diets, and coping with transitions of change that goes along with age. Changes in seniors over the age of 50 are among the highest, from children moving away, the loss of parents, friends, and other loved ones, changes to or the end of your career, changes in health, and even loss of independence. So, it seems with all of this drama and stress affecting our lives, trying to exercise and take control of our lives is the only thing we truly have to help keep us strong and healthy. It is true that we cannot stop life changes but we can balance with positive changes. Seniors have so many avenues in Wakulla County, the Senior Center, to the gyms, to various classes around town, such as Senior SIT & BFIT Classes. Not only will this one hour a day help you increase strength and keep you healthy, studies show that these classes will enhance your life greatly, socially and physically. Classes such as SIT & BFIT, Senior Yoga, Zumba, Clogging, and Line Dancing, can also increase connections to friends, family, and community. If you are not ready to venture out to connect to the community but still want the bene ts of getting younger it doesnt take a lot but does take a little elbow grease. That simple brisk walk around the neighborhood wont prevent falls or retain strength and mobility, you will need to start resistance training, stretching, and balancing along with that brisk walk. Please check with your physician before starting any exercise program. EXAMPLES OF EXERCISES GEARED TOWARDS SENIORS ARM RAISES: To strengthen the shoulder muscles, sit in a chair with back straight and feet at on the oor. Hold hands straight down at your side with palms inward. Raise arms to side shoulder height and hold for one or two seconds, return to lower position. To increase dif cult start using very light weights 1 or 2 pounds, if you have no weights, try a can of soup in each hand. BICEP CURLS: Sit in armless chair. Keep feet flat and even with shoulders. This exercise can be performed without weights with hands clenched in st position or you can hold hand weights or soup cans, with arms straight, hands facing toward your body. Bend either both elbows or alternating elbows, lifting weight toward chest and rotate palm to face shoulder while lifting weight, hold for one to two seconds then slowly lower arm to starting position and repeat. SIDE LEG RAISES: Excellent for sides muscles and thighs which is so important for good balance. Standing directly behind chair with feet slightly apart, hold onto chair and slowly lift right leg about 6 to 12 inches out to the side, trying to keep back and legs straight. Keep toes facing forward and hold each leg raise for one to two seconds, slowly lower leg, and then repeat on other leg. STAND UP & SIT DOWN! Sounds easy enough, but is one of the most important exercises for seniors to keep them active and healthy. Sitting in a chair with no arms, slowly try to stand up without using arms for assistance. Then try to slowly sit down without using arms; excellent exercise for thigh and leg muscles. ALL these exercise should be repeated at least 10 to 15 times, once you have mastered them try several sets and you will notice it becoming easier, so try using heavier weights, always keep going never stop. Remember, there are only a few Jack LaLannes in the world, but we have to keep trying to achieve a healthier life and never quit and never give in even with the changes in our lives. Remember the old saying if life gives you lemons make lemonade! No matter our age, we need to keep on moving! If you would like to try the Senior SIT & BFIT Class at Body-Tek 24 Hour tness, please contact Pam, Kim, or Stephanie at 9262348 (BFIT).Pamela Chichester, CFT, SPN is manager at Body-Tek 24 Hour Gym in Crawfordville. She can be reached at (850) 926-2348. GET FITBy PAMELA CHICHESTER Climb out of that old age box!SPECIAL TO THE NEWSNo matter your age, you need to keep moving. By WILLIAM [email protected] high school football magazine FNF, Friday Night Football Florida edition, has picked the Wakulla War Eagles as one of the Top 5 teams in the Northwest region of the state. No. 1 on the list was Wakullas rival Godby, followed by Madison County, Lincoln, then Wakulla, with North Florida Christian rounding out the list. FNF said of Wakulla: After winning it all in 2011, the War Eagles suffered a playoff loss to Godby. Now they are out for revenge. The magazine also gives the Godby Cougars, last years state champions in 5A, credit for having enough talent to make another run. It looks like Wakulla will be in the way of Godby once again if the Cougars expect a return visit to Orlando this December. Wakulla had a perfect regular season last year, including a 23-12 win over Godby, but the Cougars beat the War Eagles 14-7 in the second round of the playoffs. Godby went on to win the state title. The rematch against the defending state champion Cougars in Week 6 will be one to watch, FNF anticipates.FOOTBALLMag picks War Eagles as a Top 5 team in region 1305 Coastal Hwy. 98, PanaceaHome of the All-U-Can Eat Seafood & Chicken www.thewakullanews.comServing Wakulla County For More Than A CenturyThe Wakulla News BREAKFAST PARTNER... 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www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 11Aoutdoor sports and shing reports OutdoorsWell, I hope you had a nice Fourth of July. We had relatives down from Sunday to Sunday and spent most of the time sitting on the porch watching the wind blow and the rain come down. I know there were a lot of disappointed people but there are two things you cant do anything about taxes and weather! The rain we had darkened the water up around Shell Point and it looks like day-old coffee. This is the time of year no shrimp are available so its time to break out the grubs or cast net some live minnows. Capt. David Fife was able to sh a little and caught quite a few reds, some ounder, speckled trout and a bunch of silver trout. He said there are quite a few reds around and if you have a favorite silver trout hole now is the time to sh it. Mark and Louise Prance had their son and his girlfriend down over the Fourth and were able to get in one pretty good day of shing and caught 18 nice silver trout and quite a few seabass. Jeff May from Carrolton was down with his son and a friend and they shed one day offshore and didnt do too much. They shed around the Rotary on Tuesday morning and caught four trout and 14 nice ounder. They used bull minnows and the Gulp. Dr. Jim ONeil from Tallahassee shed Monday on the ats between St. Marks and Live Oak Island and said they caught plenty of trout but most were small. They did manage to catch three keepers up to 21 inches using the Gulp under a cork. We had a houseful of relatives and got in two half-days of shing. The first day we caught 28 silver trout and probably the biggest sail cat I have ever seen. The next morning I had a half-day charter with some neighbors and we caught seven trout and three nice reds. The next morning I shed with my relatives and we caught ve trout and three reds. My nieces son Chandler caught a 6 pound trout in the same spot one of my neighbors caught a 7 pound trout in May. He was using a mudminnow on the bottom. I rst thought it was a red the way it fought. We got it in, took some pictures and turned it loose. It went right to the bottom and turned belly up. My nephew Levi jumped in and brought it back up and we spent about an hour reviving it. I put it in the live well and turned on both pumps to give it plenty of oxygen. After about 30 minutes it came back around and we released her to ght again. That afternoon we went to St. Marks scalloping and found eight. We couldnt find any good grass and were going to go down past Gray Mare the next day but the weather didnt permit that. I did hear there were plenty of scallops around Lanark Village but thats a long haul from here by boat and with the weather like it was decided not to go. The Big Bend Classic was Fathers Day Weekend and John Swanson who started Fishing For the Brave runs Take a Soldier Fishing initiative for the Big Bend Classic. They nd folks who want to volunteer to take a military member shing during the tournament as an honorary teammate and link them up with military members. This was for military members or veterans. This year he matched up ve retired or active military members. They were Johnny Slusher and his brother Dustin, both U.S. Army veterans, William Issacs, U.S. Marine veteran, Gerald Floyd, a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam and Lance Moore, a U.S. Air Force member still on active duty. What a great way to say thank you to members of the armed forces. Dont forget the CQuarters Youth Fishing Tournament is coming up on July 20. This is open to all kids 16 and younger. Registration is required on site and is sponsored by Jimmie Crowder of C Quarters Marina, FishFloridaTag.org and local businesses. Also on June 3 and 4 will be the 10th annual Kingfish Shootout in which all proceeds go to the Leukemia Research Foundation. Over $600,000 has been raised over the past nine years. For more information go to www.cquartersmarina.com. This is the time of year you need to pay special attention to the weather. Storms can pop up rather quickly as Richard Gardner of Shell Point can attest to. They were over at Poseys at Rock Landing. They headed back and when they got out around Piney Island they got hit by the wind and rain of the storm that came through last week. Winds were in excess of 40 miles and hour and he said it was raining so hard he couldnt see the front of his boat. They made it back safely but he said he was pretty scared. He was in a 17-foot boat and when there are 4-foot seas on the ats that is reason for concern. Be careful out there and leave a oat plan. Good luck and good shing! From The DockBY CAPT. JODY CAMPBELL A lot of time sitting on the porch watching rain By MARJ LAW Whats the best gun to own? Simple. The rst time I went to the Wakulla County Sheriffs Office Range with a Ruger .22, I knew I was holding the very best gun. Smooth trigger pull, almost zero kick, and hitting the bulls eye was pretty easy at the rst target position. Everybody should learn on a Ruger .22. However, some people will tell you that a .22 doesnt have much stopping power. But I say, hey, the magazine holds 10 bullets. By the time you hit Mr. Baddie 10 times, hes a goner. So the Ruger .22 is the very best gun to own. Of course, other guns are out there. Once youre successful in hitting the target with some frequency, you begin to wonder What about those other guns? For instance, if you shoot competition, youd really need a 9 mm. Lots of companies make 9s. I tried an H&K, a Rock Island, a Glock, and a Taurus. I think its really a good idea to gure out whats important to you and what gun ts your hand. Whats important to me is a good target gun, as well as a good defense gun. I really want to take out that bullseye! I want: more than 10 rounds per magazine so I dont have to reload too many times, a narrow(ish) grip because my hands are small, adjustable sites, and a long barrel that will make a larger sight radius resulting in good target shooting. A metal gun is usually heavier than composite. Since the kick is directly affected by the guns mass, I want a lot of weight. A hard kick interferes with good aim. Hey, Im trying to take out the bullseye! The Heckler and Koch P30L takes 15 rounds. Good. Its barrel is 4.45. Good. 1.72 pounds. Okay. However, while the upper part is steel, the base is polymer. I just dont want a polymer base. There is no safety on this gun, so the trigger pull is fairly long and hard. The sights are not adjustable, except for windage (right and left on the rear sights). The grip is too wide for me and the gun is pricey at around $1,108 retail. Yikes! The next gun was the Rock Island 1911. This guy has a nice long 5 barrel and a good strong weight of 2.56 pounds unloaded. Its all steel or stainless and the grip is narrow because the rounds are single stacked. However, the sights are xed and all black. I nd the all black sights hard to see. And it only holds 10 rounds. Darn. The price is around $479 retail. The Glock 17 is the most widely used by law enforcement in the United States. It has a good long 5 barrel and holds 17 rounds. However, the sights are xed. Theyre easy to see because the rear dot is shaped like a square U, and the front sight is a white dot, but theyre still xed. The weight is sort of low: about 22 ounces. This is mostly because of the polymer base. Theres a long trigger pull and a hard kick. Too many problems for me, although the retail price is good: somewhere around $540. The Taurus Millenium G2 is a smaller gun with only a 3.2 barrel. It holds 12 rounds. The weight is 22 ounces because of that polymer frame. The G2 is called an ideal conceal carry gun for its size. And, somehow, with its compact size, it ts my hand well. I like it. Go gure. At about $349 retail, its affordable. I buy one. Turns out, that Taurus is a great shooter. Im happy! Out with the x-ring! And thats what I found I really wanted in a handgun. The Taurus is accurate, has good stopping power and is the best gun to own. Course, later I try out a friends Armalite AR-24. Darn. It just feels right. The Armalite is ne solid handgun. Its barrel is 4.7 long. It holds 15 rounds and has an all steel frame. At 2.16 pounds, its not a lightweight. I like the two big white dots in the rear sights and the one big dot in front. I can see them! And its accurate. Out with the bullseye! The mass swallows the kick. You can shoot it without inching. Oh, its sturdy. And if Mr. Baddie comes to the doorway, hes out of luck. Ive got to have it. So I sell the Taurus and purchase the Armalite. Oh well. The Armalite goes for around $444 a good price. However, they are getting harder to nd as their popularity grows. Got one just in time. Therefore, the Armalite is the very best gun to own. So what happens when a friend is offering a fantastic buy on a Spring eld XDM 40? Sigh.Marj Law is the formerdirector of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful and an avid shooter in her retirement.Capt. Jody Campbell with great nephew Chandler Everett with 6-pound trout Chandler caught and released. SPECIAL TO THE NEWS HOME ON THE RANGEWhats the best gun to own, part 1 An Armalite AR-24. www.WakullaDiving.com Wakulla Diving Center, Inc. TO DIVELEARN Buy Your Scuba Equipment Here & Class Tuition is FREE!* 2784 Coastal Hwy., Crawfordville850745-8208 2 Highest Rated Training Blended Gasses Scuba Equipment Sales & Service P.O. 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Page 12A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com All of us in Flotilla 12 hope that everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July celebrations, even if they were delayed due to the weather. That is one factor that none of us are able to control. Up until Wednesday, we were scheduled to assist in securing a safety zone for the reworks in Apalachicola. With a crew and coxswain prepared, they were called off late Wednesday night. While this is not what was planned, the decision was made by our call-out authority, Station Panama City, that the bene ts did not outweigh the risks. One of the models used by both the active duty Coast Guard and the Auxiliary is the GAR (green, amber, red). It assesses the situation, weather, crew and other factors to determine if it is safe to go out on a mission. Given the uncertainty of the weather and a patrol going out after dark, Station Panama City decided our risk was too great this year. It is a huge disappointment for us to not be able to ful ll a mission, but we also know that we need to practice what we teach others and put safety rst and foremost in everything we do. If you are interested in the GAR model, you can learn more about it at http://www. uscg.mil/safety/docs/ Safety_Mgr_Crs/ORM_ Handouts.pdf and, yes, there is an app for it too! This past weekend members were at the fort in St. Marks to offer free vessel safety exams. If you did not see one of us and would like a vessel examination, please contact our Flotilla Staff Of cer for Vessel Exams Steve Hults at [email protected]. Saturday morning we will hold our monthly meeting for July beginning at 9 a.m. in Tallahassee. Following the meeting we will have a membership training class by Division Vice Commander Eric DeVuyst. This is an opportunity for us to remain current on our skills and work hard to better ourselves so that we are ready to respond when called upon. Anyone interested in attending should contact our Flotilla Commander Duane Treadon at [email protected] or our Flotilla Vice Commander Norma Hill at [email protected]. If you are interested in becoming involved in the Auxiliary, check out our website at www. uscgaux.net for membership information or contact our Flotilla Staff Of cer for Human Resources Fran Keating at [email protected] peek into life on and under the water Water Ways Water WaysLocal writers share their experiencesScallops! Our Bay Scallop season has just begun (June 29) and with it the thrill of the hunt for these delicious creatures. Our season will last until Sept. 24 this year, thanks to an extension provided by the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Our available search area runs from Tarpon Springs to our southeast through Port St. Joe to our west. And dont forget a Saltwater shing license and Florida diver down (red with white diagonal stripe) ag are required. This year you may harvest only two gallons of the whole animal or one pint of the meat per person, with a boat limit of 10 gallons of whole (unshucked) animals. The bay scallop usually lives for only one year, reaching a shell size of 3 inches. If you nd one over that size it is probably an uncommon 2 year old. They are a bivalve or mollusk, that lives in the vast grass beds of the Big Bend. And they swim when threatened so catching them can be fun. They have a row of eyes that stick out of the front edge of their shell to detect motion. They hide at the base of the sea grass stocks in 3 to 6 feet of water. So a keen eye for their round shape is required, then a rapid snatch before they take off. Take a goodie bag to hold your catch while out collecting. A mask, snorkel and ns make collecting more enjoyable. Be sure to wear sun protection such as a T-shirt and waterproof sunblock. Your boat needs an awning for sun shade. And stay close to your dive ag so as to be visible to boaters in your area. The boat can have a larger pole mounted ag and the scallopers can drag a smaller oated ag. Scallops reproduce in the late summer releasing millions of eggs and sperm which grow into planktonic veligers that oat in the water until they settle on seagrass blades, ultimately falling to the sea bed to grow out to adults by the next summer. So please follow the rules and leave a few to repopulate the nursery for our next years crop! This is truly a resource to enjoy and protect. Once collected, cleaning is easy and fast. I use a table knife (not sharp) to pry open the shell, scrape off the white muscle that holds the two shells together from one of the shells, then with a good thumb nail, I scrape the mantle off from around the adductor muscle and pull it away. Keep the mantle (and guts) if there is no red tide in the area and make scallop soup. If not, then discard it overboard as the sh will LOVE you. With that same thumb nail pry the muscle off the shell and store it in a container. I love them raw since this muscle is sweet to the taste. Others will saut it in butter or lightly cornbread cover the meat before deep fat frying. This activity is pure family fun! When my kids were younger we would run east off the St. Marks Lighthouse or in St. Joe Bay and see who could catch the most scallops on a single breath. Some days we landed our quota quickly while other days we had to spend half the day searching. Lazy naps and marine life lessons lled in between relocating the boat to better scallop grounds. I hope to see you out in our Big Bend grass beds this summer! Coast Guard Station Panama City ......................................................... (850) 234-4228 Coast Guard Station Yankeetown .......................................................... (352) 447-6900 Coast Guard Auxiliary St. Marks (Flotilla 12) ........................................... (850) 942-7500 or ............................................................................(850) 284-1166 Boating Emergencies Coast Guard Auxiliary ReportsBy Carolyn Brown Treadon AUXILIARY U.S.COAST GUARD UnderwaterWakullaBy Gregg Stanton Special to The News The high bidders for the offshore Gulf Fishing Trip that was donated by Plantation Security Inc. to bene t Tall Timbers Research Station were Barry Grif n and Bud Holleman of Southern Forestry Realty in Bainbridge, Ga. Bud and Barry were recently hosted by Major Alan Lamarche, President of PSI. They went Fishing 35 miles south of Shell Point in about 80 feet where they enjoyed catching red snapper, red grouper, gag grouper that were released, white snapper and some sharks. Randy Floyd of Dixie Plantation served as rst mate. Brag Book:SPECIAL TO THE NEWSSPECIAL TO THE NEWSTall Timber auction winners shing trip Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 3.6 ft. 5:03 AM 3.6 ft. 5:31 AM 3.6 ft. 6:01 AM High 1.2 ft. 10:37 AM 1.1 ft. 11:17 AM 1.0 ft. 12:01 PM 0.5 ft. 12:08 AM 0.8 ft. 12:48 AM 1.2 ft. 1:36 AM 1.5 ft. 2:37 AM Low 3.9 ft. 4:24 PM 3.7 ft. 5:03 PM 3.5 ft. 5:49 PM 3.6 ft. 6:33 AM 3.6 ft. 7:10 AM 3.5 ft. 7:57 AM 3.5 ft. 8:57 AM High 0.1 ft. 11:04 PM 0.3 ft. 11:34 PM 1.0 ft. 12:52 PM 0.9 ft. 1:56 PM 0.8 ft. 3:13 PM 0.5 ft. 4:35 PM Low 3.3 ft. 6:44 PM 3.0 ft. 7:55 PM 2.8 ft. 9:27 PM 2.8 ft. 11:05 PM High Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 2.7 ft. 4:55 AM 2.7 ft. 5:23 AM 2.7 ft. 5:53 AM High 0.9 ft. 10:48 AM 0.8 ft. 11:28 AM 0.8 ft. 12:12 PM 0.4 ft. 12:19 AM 0.6 ft. 12:59 AM 0.9 ft. 1:47 AM 1.1 ft. 2:48 AM Low 2.9 ft. 4:16 PM 2.8 ft. 4:55 PM 2.7 ft. 5:41 PM 2.7 ft. 6:25 AM 2.7 ft. 7:03 AM 2.7 ft. 7:49 AM 2.7 ft. 8:49 AM High 0.1 ft. 11:15 PM 0.2 ft. 11:45 PM 0.7 ft. 1:03 PM 0.7 ft. 2:07 PM 0.6 ft. 3:24 PM 0.4 ft. 4:46 PM Low 2.5 ft. 6:36 PM 2.2 ft. 7:47 PM 2.1 ft. 9:19 PM 2.1 ft. 10:57 PM High Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 3.3 ft. 5:39 AM High 1.1 ft. 11:41 AM 0.1 ft. 12:08 AM 0.2 ft. 12:38 AM 0.5 ft. 1:12 AM 0.7 ft. 1:52 AM 1.1 ft. 2:40 AM 1.4 ft. 3:41 AM Low 3.6 ft. 5:00 PM 3.3 ft. 6:07 AM 3.3 ft. 6:37 AM 3.3 ft. 7:09 AM 3.3 ft. 7:46 AM 3.3 ft. 8:33 AM 3.3 ft. 9:33 AM High 1.0 ft. 12:21 PM 1.0 ft. 1:05 PM 0.9 ft. 1:56 PM 0.8 ft. 3:00 PM 0.7 ft. 4:17 PM 0.4 ft. 5:39 PM Low 3.5 ft. 5:39 PM 3.3 ft. 6:25 PM 3.0 ft. 7:20 PM 2.8 ft. 8:31 PM 2.6 ft. 10:03 PM 2.6 ft. 11:41 PM High Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 2.8 ft. 4:47 AM 2.8 ft. 5:15 AM 2.8 ft. 5:45 AM 2.8 ft. 6:17 AM High 1.1 ft. 10:16 AM 1.1 ft. 10:56 AM 1.0 ft. 11:40 AM 1.0 ft. 12:31 PM 0.8 ft. 12:27 AM 1.2 ft. 1:15 AM 1.5 ft. 2:16 AM Low 3.0 ft. 4:08 PM 2.9 ft. 4:47 PM 2.8 ft. 5:33 PM 2.6 ft. 6:28 PM 2.8 ft. 6:55 AM 2.8 ft. 7:41 AM 2.8 ft. 8:41 AM High 0.1 ft. 10:43 PM 0.2 ft. 11:13 PM 0.5 ft. 11:47 PM 0.9 ft. 1:35 PM 0.7 ft. 2:52 PM 0.5 ft. 4:14 PM Low 2.3 ft. 7:39 PM 2.2 ft. 9:11 PM 2.2 ft. 10:49 PM High Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 3.6 ft. 5:00 AM 3.7 ft. 5:28 AM 3.7 ft. 5:58 AM High 1.3 ft. 10:34 AM 1.2 ft. 11:14 AM 1.1 ft. 11:58 AM 0.5 ft. 12:05 AM 0.9 ft. 12:45 AM 1.3 ft. 1:33 AM 1.7 ft. 2:34 AM Low 3.9 ft. 4:21 PM 3.8 ft. 5:00 PM 3.6 ft. 5:46 PM 3.7 ft. 6:30 AM 3.6 ft. 7:08 AM 3.6 ft. 7:54 AM 3.6 ft. 8:54 AM High 0.1 ft. 11:01 PM 0.3 ft. 11:31 PM 1.1 ft. 12:49 PM 1.0 ft. 1:53 PM 0.8 ft. 3:10 PM 0.5 ft. 4:32 PM Low 3.3 ft. 6:41 PM 3.0 ft. 7:52 PM 2.9 ft. 9:24 PM 2.9 ft. 11:02 PM High Thu Jul 11, 13 Fri Jul 12, 13 Sat Jul 13, 13 Sun Jul 14, 13 Mon Jul 15, 13 Tue Jul 16, 13 Wed Jul 17, 13 Date 2.7 ft. 5:36 AM 2.7 ft. 5:56 AM 2.8 ft. 6:18 AM 2.9 ft. 6:44 AM 2.9 ft. 7:13 AM High 1.4 ft. 10:05 AM 1.3 ft. 10:50 AM 1.1 ft. 11:41 AM 1.0 ft. 12:43 PM 0.8 ft. 1:57 PM 1.2 ft. 12:16 AM 1.5 ft. 12:52 AM Low 2.7 ft. 3:55 PM 2.5 ft. 4:46 PM 2.3 ft. 5:45 PM 2.1 ft. 6:59 PM 1.9 ft. 8:34 PM 3.0 ft. 7:47 AM 3.1 ft. 8:27 AM High 0.2 ft. 10:17 PM 0.4 ft. 10:42 PM 0.6 ft. 11:10 PM 0.9 ft. 11:42 PM 0.5 ft. 3:18 PM 0.2 ft. 4:33 PM Low 1.9 ft. 10:40 PM High Gulf Coast Weekly AlmanacJuly 11 July 17First July 15 Full July 22 Last July 29 New Aug. 6Major Times 10:50 AM 12:50 PM 11:14 PM 1:14 AM Minor Times 3:51 AM 4:51 AM 5:50 PM 6:50 PM Major Times --:---:-11:38 AM 1:38 PM Minor Times 4:35 AM 5:35 AM 6:39 PM 7:39 PM Major Times 12:02 AM 2:02 AM 12:26 PM 2:26 PM Minor Times 5:23 AM 6:23 AM 7:26 PM 8:26 PM Major Times 12:50 AM 2:50 AM 1:13 PM 3:13 PM Minor Times 6:12 AM 7:12 AM 8:10 PM 9:10 PM Major Times 1:37 AM 3:37 AM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM Minor Times 7:04 AM 8:04 AM 8:51 PM 9:51 PM Major Times 2:23 AM 4:23 AM 2:46 PM 4:46 PM Minor Times 7:57 AM 8:57 AM 9:29 PM 10:29 PM Major Times 3:09 AM 5:09 AM 3:31 PM 5:31 PM Minor Times 8:50 AM 9:50 AM 10:05 PM 11:05 PM Average Good Better Best Best Better++ Better6:44 am 8:41 pm 9:45 am 10:41 pmMoon rise/set Sun rise/set Brightness Brightness Brightness Brightness Brightness Brightness Brightness Moon rise/set Sun rise/set Moon rise/set Sun rise/set Moon rise/set Sun rise/set Moon rise/set Sun rise/set Moon rise/set Sun rise/set Moon rise/set Sun rise/set6:44 am 8:40 pm 10:39 am 11:15 pm 6:45 am 8:40 pm 11:34 am 11:49 pm 6:45 am 8:40 pm 12:31 pm --:-6:46 am 8:39 pm 1:29 pm 12:24 am 6:46 am 8:39 pm 2:29 pm 1:03 am 6:47 am 8:39 pm 3:32 pm 1:45 am18% 25% 31% 38% 44% 51% 58% City of St. Marks St. Teresa, Turkey Pt. Alligator Point, Ochlockonee BayDog Island West End Shell Point, Spring Creek St. Marks River EntranceTide charts by Zihua Software, LLCFor tides at the following points add to Dog Island Listings: High Tide Low Tide Carrabelle 28 Min. 25 Min. Apalachicola 1 Hr., 53 Min. 2 Hrs., 38 Min. Cat Point 1 Hr., 13 Min. 2 Hrs., 31 Min. Lower Anchorage 1 Hr., 36 Min. 2 Hrs., 3 Min. West Pass 1 Hr., 26 Min. 2 Hrs., 39 Min.
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 13ABy BRANDON LARRABEETHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATALLAHASSEE, July 5 During a week that seemed almost as notable in Tallahassee for its monsoon-like conditions as for the Fourth of July celebrations, most of the attention seemed focused on planning. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett began planning for how to handle the fallout from a slew of changes to the states accountability system that could hold school grades down. The state passed a key milestone in its planning for future gambling policies by receiving a study on gaming. And a Panhandle representative abruptly dropped his plans to run for a Senate seat in 2016. Elsewhere, the week was largely quiet, except for the odd Supreme Court ruling and a challenge to state labor practices by the union for corrections workers. As the rst half of 2013 began fading into the rearview mirror, most people already seemed to be looking at the second half and planning. WILL THEY GET ALONG ON THE FLOOR NOW? Perhaps the most surprising news of the week came Monday, when Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, said he was bowing out of the race for a seat held by Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, whos required to leave the Legislature due to term limits in 2016. Patronis was the rst candidate to le for the 2016 race in Senate District 1, but also faced a potentially bruising primary battle against the incumbents son, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach. With Patronis leaving the race, Matt Gaetz becomes the uncontested early favorite to keep the district, which includes all or parts of six counties, in family hands. The race between Patronis and Gaetz, who didnt of cially open an account for the race until May, had provided blog and Twitter fodder for months. Some observers even saw the outlines of the race when Patronis and Gaetz clashed on the House oor or voted differently on legislation. But Patronis said politics did not play a role in the discussion. I have a strong desire to continue to serve the people of the Northwest Florida another eight years in the state Senate, Patronis said in a prepared statement. However, an overwhelming part of me has come to realize it is not whats best for me and my family at this time in our lives. So I have decided I will no longer be a candidate for state Senate. The 41-year-old lawmaker, who will leave the House due to term limits next year, did not close the door on a future campaign. I am not stepping away from community service, and I have not ruled out a future run for public of ce, Patronis said. For now, I have decided this is not the right time to run, and Im looking forward to nishing strong during my last year in the Florida House of Representatives. GRADING ON A CURVE? As news of Patronis decision was beginning to lter out, Education Commissioner Tony Bennett was trying to avoid the second botched rollout in two years of the states report cards on individual schools. He met with ve superintendents, as well as a researcher and a couple of Department of Education of cials, to brainstorm ways of minimizing confusion about the school grades. Its a touchy issue for the agency. While Bennetts predecessor, Gerard Robinson, said he resigned in 2012 to spend more time with his family, it happened in the middle of a months-long controversy about the states testing regimen and errors on school grades that forced the department to change the marks for dozens of schools. Many educators blame what appears to be a wave of falling scores detected in the early calculations that school districts run to a spate of changes in the states accountability system for schools, including 13 this year alone. In addition to making it more dif cult to meet the standards, they say, the number of changes makes it more dif cult to gure out whats causing the drop. If we had just done one or two of these, it might have been digestible, said Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. But the fact that were doing all of this ... it has become very traumatic. Bennett was noncommittal about one of the superintendents preferred suggestions, limiting the drop in each schools grade to one letter level for example, allowing the grade to drop from a C to a D, but not to an F. That policy was temporarily used in 2012 in the middle of the snafus during Robinsons tenure. Superintendents say they arent opposed to accountability, and expressed frustration at the fact that the state hasnt spent more time trying to educate the public on the possibility that school grades could fall even as students were learning more. The canvas is still blank, and when you have a blank canvas, all kinds of people start painting on it, said MiamiDade County Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. ODDS ARE, GAMBLING WILL INCREASE Perhaps even more closely watched than the release of school grades, at least among the lobbying industry in Tallahassee, was the rst part of a study looking at whether Florida should take a chance on an expansion of gaming that could be at the center of one of the biggest battles of the 2014 legislative session. The rst part of the statecommissioned study largely focused on the current gambling industry in Florida. The New Jersey-based Spectrum Group didnt put all its cards on the table with the 307-page report, but made it clear that Florida doesnt need $2 billion destination casinos in Southeast Florida or a Native American group opening venues along Interstate 10 to be considered a major gambling state. And the study said the gaming industry is going to grow, with or haphazardly without state regulation. Intentionally or not, the policies established by lawmakers or the lack thereof play a critical role in the evolution and expansion of gaming, Spectrum stated. Indeed, in the views of many, the evolution and expansion of gaming are largely synonymous. The industry rarely shrinks, and quite often, expands as a result of expansion. Gambling generated $2.47 billion last year in tax revenue for Florida, and if nothing changed with the current gaming options, including the massive drop already experienced in play on the horses, dogs and humans tossing the jai-alai pelota against a wall, that jackpot would still double by 2060. The rest of the $388,845 study is expected to look into the potential economic impacts of changing gaming across Florida, such as the impacts of ending or altering the exclusive Seminole Indian compact and allowing international casino operators into the state. It is due by Oct. 1. TIME TO PART WITH EX PARTE? While lawmakers considered their next move in the upcoming gambling battle, one of the ghts from the 2013 session went to court. Just hours after changes took effect, plaintiffs attorneys Monday filed five lawsuits challenging a key part of a new state medical-malpractice law, contending it violates the privacy rights of patients. The lawsuits, in state and federal courts, argue that the new law could lead to the improper disclosure of personal health information to defense attorneys representing doctors or other health providers. Such disclosure could happen without attorneys for the patients being present, a concept known in the legal world as ex parte communications. When no one is present to protect the victim, sensitive medical information may be disclosed, no matter how irrelevant, personal, or embarrassing it may be to the patient, said Debra Henley, executive director of the Florida Justice Association, which represents plaintiffs attorneys and lobbied against the law. What is worse is that the (defense) attorney can do whatever he or she wants to with that sensitive information. Those who support the law brushed off the challenges as nothing more than an attempt to re-litigate the issue through, well, litigation. It is hardly surprising that the trial bar would challenge this, as they were content with the extremely uneven playing eld that existed before this legislation was enacted, Timothy J. Stapleton, executive vice president of the Florida Medical Association, said in a prepared statement. STORY OF THE WEEK: The Spectrum Group issued the rst part of its highly-anticipated study of gambling in Florida, which could set the framework for a erce battle over the issue during next springs legislative session. QUOTE OF THE WEEK: At the end of the day, this is a federal government bait-andswitch situation. They want to dangle money in front of us, get us to take it, and then three or four years from now, expect us to pay for it.-House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, once again try to tamp down talk of a special session on Medicaid expansionWEEKLY ROUNDUP (Recap and analysis of the week in state government)A deluge of planning as the rains keep comingBy DAVID WHITE Now that Independence Day is behind us, the summer is in full swing. Barbecues, hikes, and lazy days at the pool abound. And most of us are itching to leave town -eager to spend some time away from work, escaping from it all. Wine enthusiasts are fortunate in that we get to go somewhere virtually every night. How? As food, wine, and spirits expert Anthony Dias Blue once explained, wine is a passport to the world. Consider Muscadet, a French white wine produced around the city of Nantes, where the Loire River ows into the Atlantic Ocean. Made from a grape called Melon de Bourgogne, the wines are marked by subtle-yetprecise aromas of apples, limes, and seawater. Thanks to extended contact with the dead yeast cells left over after fermentation, Muscadet is also known for exhibiting a creamy mouthfeel. Nantes local cuisine takes full advantage of the Loire River and the Atlantic, so unsurprisingly, these wines are perfect with shell sh and seafood dishes. Ive never been to Nantes, but every time I open a bottle of Muscadet, Im taken to the coast of western France and nd myself craving mussels and fries. Similarly, whenever I sip Australian Shiraz, I picture myself at a camp re in the Outback with a giant slab of beef. The list goes on. Rioja inspires visions of a tapas crawl in the Spanish city of Logroo. When I drink Fiano -a crisp, Italian white -I nd myself in southern Italy enjoying a fresh caprese salad. Beer might be the most popular pairing for bratwurst, but when I drink Riesling, I envision myself in Germany enjoying pan-fried sausage over sauerkraut with spicy mustard. Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc takes me back to those perfect evenings Ive had in wine country dining al fresco with friends. Wine is also a connection to the past. Ill never forget the evening some friends and I opened a perfectly cellared bottle of Bordeaux from 1919. For starters, the wine still had life in it savory, dark fruit was backed by notes of roasted nuts, eucalyptus, and cedar. More importantly, though, the wine inspired a conversation about the lives of those who made it. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, of cially ending World War I. So that wine was made while cleaning up from the wreckage of the rst global war and hoping for a brighter future. That experience can easily be replicated. Many forti ed wines think Port and Madeira can literally age for centuries. Opening one is like opening a time capsule. This romanticism the understanding that wine is a window to other places and cultures isnt unique. A few years ago, I interviewed David Denton, a wine educator and sommelier in Washington, D.C. In explaining how he developed his passion for wine, Denton eloquently summarized this very concept. Wine is like travel in a bottle, he explained. For the cost of a bottle of wine, you can escape to somewhere exotic. You can get lost in the label, thinking about where the wine came from and who made it. Vacation season has arrived. But if youre into wine, theres no need to wait for your next adventure.David White is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com, and president of the American Wine Consumer Coalition. His columns are housed at Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine (PalatePress.com). WHITES WINESTravel in a bottle -Janet
On June 29, Roger Nathaniel Rosier, 37, of Sopchoppy was observed on his property as deputies attempted to serve outstanding warrants for his arrest. Rosier refused to obey commands to stop and ran into the woods. Sgt. Ryan Muse pursued Rosier for 70 yards into the woods before losing him. A warrant was issued for resisting arrest without violence. The next day, Sgt. Jeremy Johnston, and deputies Elisee Colin, Anthony Paul and Will Hudson received permission from the property owner where Rosier was living to serve an arrest warrant. Rosier refused to comply with law enforcement commands and began to physically resist attempts to arrest him. Control was eventually gained over the suspect with the help of a relative who spoke to Rosier. Rosier faces charges of two failures to appear on trespass charges, battery, obstruction without violence and providing a false name to law enforcement officers. The June 30 incident resulted in Rosier being charged with resisting arrest with violence. In other activity reported by the Wakulla County Sheriffs Of ce this week:THURSDAY, JUNE 27 William Turner of Crawfordville reported the theft of a real estate sign. A $50 sign on Wakulla Beach Road was stolen. Deputy Mike Zimba investigated. Sonja Moseley of Crawfordville reported the theft of copper tubing. Copper tubing was cut off an air conditioning unit at a Crawfordville property she manages. The copper is valued at $100. Deputy Scott Powell investigated. Gregory McInnis of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. The vehicle was burglarized overnight and a GPS unit was stolen. The unit is valued at $150. The vehicle was left unlocked. Deputy Scott Powell investigated.FRIDAY, JUNE 28 Amy Lynn Michalski, 33, of Crawfordville was arrested for two counts of attached tag not assigned and driving while license suspended with knowledge. Deputy Stephen Simmons was running radar in Crawfordville and clocked Michalski driving 45 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Deputy Simmons determined that the tag did not belong to the vehicle he was following. The tag had already expired despite having a decal attached that was not expired. The unexpired decal came back to a stolen tag from a Winn-Dixie parking lot incident in February 2013. The stolen tag came back to a couple in Tallahassee. Verbal warnings were given on the other violations. She was transported to the Wakulla County Jail without incident. Deputy Scott Powell also investigated. Cliff Brown of Crawfordville reported a forgery. The victim reported receiving a counterfeit $20 bill from a Crawfordville business. The bill was seized. Deputy Marshall Taylor investigated. Jeanine Posey of Crawfordville reported a credit card fraud. The victim reported 14 unauthorized charges on her bank card for $432. The charges were created through Apple iTunes store. Sgt. Ray Johnson investigated. Randy Brazier of Crawfordville reported the theft of miscellaneous household yard items. The victim returned to his property and discovered items missing from his yard. Power cords were severed to an air conditioning unit and washing machine. The missing items were valued at $200 and damage to the property was estimated at $25. Deputy Will Hudson investigated. Paul Wildey of Crawfordville reported a theft of cash from Winn-Dixie. The victim was distracted by an employee and forgot to take $40 he requested from the cash dispenser. The victim returned to the store a short time later and discovered the money was gone. Deputy Ward Kromer investigated. Sgt. Ryan Muse observed Brandon Janorris Rosier, 22, of Sopchoppy driving an automobile in Sopchoppy. Sgt. Muse had previous knowledge that Rosier did not have a valid driver license. It was determined that the tag on the vehicle was not assigned to it. Rosier was given a notice to appear in court for unassigned tag attached. He was given verbal warnings for operating the vehicle with a learners permit and no licensed driver in the vehicle and not having vehicle insurance.SATURDAY, JUNE 29 Bobby Allred and Pamela Allred, both of Crawfordville reported an animal incident. The two victims suffered injuries to their hand and arm as a result of attempting to break up a ght between their dog and a neighbors dog. Wakulla Animal Control took possession of the neighbors dog and conducted an investigation of the incident. Wakulla EMS treated the victims at the scene. Deputy Marshall Taylor investigated. Dana L. Rosier of Maido Street in Crawfordville reported a structure re at her mobile home. It was determined that juveniles set the re by igniting a pile of clothing. The home was a total loss, but there were no injuries. The re was ruled intentional but accidental due to the age of the juveniles, ages 3 and 9, and no criminal intent. The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist the victims. The property owner advised that she did not have insurance on the home. Temporary lodging was arranged for the victim. The property loss was estimated at $10,000. Deputy Will Hudson and Detective Matt Helms investigated. Hoyt Herring of Crawfordville reported a credit card fraud. The victim reported that someone attempted to obtain a credit card in his name. The credit card request was cancelled by the credit card company when it was discovered that it was fraudulent. Deputy Elisee Colin investigated. William A. Lawrence, 24, of Panacea was charged with possession of marijuana less than 20 grams and possession of narcotics equipment after Deputy Alan Middlebrooks responded to a disturbance call. Deputy Middlebrooks observed marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside the home. The marijuana weighed 6.5 grams. The marijuana and paraphernalia were seized as evidence.SUNDAY, JUNE 30 Miranda McClendon of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. The vehicle was left unlocked overnight at the victims home. A satchel was reported missing from the vehicle. The satchel and miscellaneous items inside are valued at $458. Deputy Marshall Taylor investigated.MONDAY, JULY 1 Joshua Manning of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. Tennis shoes, glasses and a CD player were stolen from the victims vehicle which was unlocked. The stolen items are valued at $669. Deputy Richard Moon investigated. Eric Damron of Crawfordville reported a vehicle theft as two marine batteries were stolen from the victims truck. The victim observed his missing property and property owned by other vehicle burglary victims near a power pole in the area. Some of the property matched the missing property reported by Joshua Manning. Damrons batteries were valued at $400. Deputy Richard Moon investigated. Joan Chasteen of Crawfordville reported recovering property while she walked in Wakulla Gardens. A halogen light was found just inside a wood line. The property is valued at $100 and turned into the Evidence and Property Division. Deputy Richard Moon investigated. Arlene Swore of Crawfordville reported recovering property in Wakulla Gardens. Tools were found on the victims property. The tools were valued at $200 and turned over to Evidence and Property. Deputy Scott Powell and Deputy Richard Moon investigated. Deputy Scott Powell recovered drill bits and tools in Wakulla Gardens. The items are valued at $125 and were located near a vacant home. Fred Mohrfeld of Crawfordville reported a fraud. The victim observed three unauthorized transactions on his bank account from California. The charges totaled $560. Deputy Mike Zimba investigated. Millie Harrison of Crawfordville reported a fraud. Ten unauthorized charges were observed on the victims bank account. The charges totaled $619 and were made in Tampa and Wesley Chapel. Deputy Scott Powell investigated. Millie Hilliard of Crawfordville reported a fraud. A $300 transaction was observed on the victims bank account. The transaction occurred in Stamford, Conn. Deputy Richard Moon investigated. Carla Chouinard of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. A backpack with a computer and electronics was stolen from the victims vehicle. The property is valued at $625. The suspect was tied to the use of a stolen credit card and Shawnteves Tyre Stokes, 19, of Crawfordville was arrested for burglary and grand theft. Three other cases were solved during the course of the investigation. Deputy Clint Beam investigated. Jamie Ropp of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. The victim reported the loss of $218 worth of currency and personal items from her unlocked vehicle. Deputy Sean Wheeler investigated. Austin Pfeufer of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. A pipe wrench was stolen from the back of the victims vehicle. The wrench is valued at $250. Deputy Vicki Mitchell investigated.TUESDAY, JULY 2 Deputy Mike Zimba conducted a traffic stop due to a motorist driving with a cracked windshield. Anthony Lafayette Carnivale, 33, of Crawfordville did not possess a valid driver license. He was charged with knowingly operating a motor vehicle while license was suspended or revoked. Two juveniles with the driver were turned over to a relative along with the vehicle. Kimberly Gilhousen of Crawfordville reported the theft of a rearm from her vehicle. It has not been determined when the rearm, valued at $200, was stolen. Deputy Mike Zimba investigated. Michael Lance Skinner, 21, of Crawfordville was determined to be overdue for registering with the WCSO as a sexual offender. Detective Josh Langston attempted to make contact with Skinner in his probation of cers of ce but Skinner ed on foot. A warrant was requested for failure to register as a sexual offender. James Harvey of Crawfordville reported a criminal mischief at Pilgrim Rest Primitive Baptist Church. Someone damaged the church grass with a vehicle. Damage to the property was estimated at $150. Deputy Billy Metcalf investigated.WEDNESDAY, JULY 3 Teresa Harden of Sopchoppy reported a fraud. A suspect was paid $2,461 to make a headstone for a relative of the victim and after more than three months the stone has not been delivered to the cemetery. A suspect has been identi ed. Sgt. Ray Johnson investigated. Limon Poppell of Crawfordville was involved in a one vehicle traf c crash at Shadeville Highway at Bloxham Cutoff Road. The vehicle left the roadway due to rainy conditions and ended up in a ditch lled with water. There were no injuries. Deputy Ian Dohme investigated. Marj Schroeder of Tallahassee reported the theft of a generator from her reworks stand on Mike Stewart Drive. The generator was set outside her tent. The generator is valued at $400 and has been entered into the NCIC/FCIC data base. Deputy Marshall Taylor investigated.THURSDAY, JULY 4 Ian Tuttle of Crawfordville reported a vehicle burglary. A GPS unit was taken from the vehicle that is valued at $130. The vehicle was unsecured. Deputy Ward Kromer investigated. Dorothy Harris of Crawfordville reported damage to her vehicle on Shadeville Highway. The victim pulled her vehicle off the road due to inclement weather and while she was parked, a tree fell on her vehicle. Damage to the vehicle included the hood, roof and antenna. Neither the victim nor a passenger in the vehicle was injured. Once the tree was cleared from the vehicle the victim was able to drive the vehicle away from the scene. Deputy Ian Dohme investigated. The Wakulla County Sheriffs Of ce received 1,136 calls for service during the past week including 28 residential and business alarms; 96 citizen contacts; 15 disturbances; 30 E-911 abandoned cell calls; 10 E-911 abandoned regular calls; 28 E-911 regular calls; 69 investigations; 11 electrical lines down; 15 loud music/noise complaints; 45 medical emergencies; 329 business and residential security checks; 39 special details; 19 subpoena services; 12 suspicious people; 12 suspicious vehicles; 26 traf c enforcements; 98 traffic stops; 21 trees down; and 29 wanted people. Page 14A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.comreports Law Enforcement and CourtsSheri s ReportSpecial to The NewsA 27-year-old Crawfordville man accused of possessing 272.5 grams of marijuana in a June 28 bust has been arrested a second time, this time with an additional 149.8 grams of marijuana, according to Wakulla County Sheriff Charlie Creel. James Joshua Williams was arrested as part of an undercover narcotics operation where WCSO narcotics detectives received information that Williams was in possession of a suspicious package that had received a hit from a K-9 narcotics dog. Williams was arrested in Panacea without incident and charged with possession of more than 20 grams of high grade marijuana which had an estimated street value of $7,000. Williams was transported to the Wakulla County Jail where he later posted a $3,000 bond and was released. As the investigation continued, narcotics detectives discovered a second parcel belonging to Williams that was suspected to contain additional high grade marijuana. WCSO detectives acquired a search warrant on July 1 to open the second package and discovered an additional 149.8 grams of similar quality marijuana. The street value of the marijuana was estimated at $3,000. Williams was charged with possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to sell. He was arrested on Monday, July 8 during a traf c stop and transported to the Wakulla County Jail. He remains in the county jail on a $25,000 bond. Crawfordville man charged second time in marijuana caseJames Joshua Williams The Wakulla Newswww.thewakullanews. com F o r l o c a l For local n e w s news a n d and p h o t o s photos v i s i t u s visit us o n l i n e online w w w T h e W a k u l l a N e w s c o m www.TheWakullaNews.com HARRISON BAIL BONDS850-926-2299Franklin County 850-670-3333Locally Owned & Operated by Mike Harrison Since 1995 3039 Crawfordville Hwy., Crawfordvillewww.wakullabailbonds.comA-AAA
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 15ABy JENNY ODOMSpecial to The NewsA sea of colorful umbrellas dotted Rose Street as the annual Independence Day celebration in Sopchoppy began with a parade. Lights and sirens of emergency vehicles started the lineup one halfhour behind schedule. The delay was caused by a heavy rainfall and strong winds. The diehard huddled under storefront awnings along the short route as the rain did not let up throughout the morning. Kids, with parents and grandparents in tow, dashed to the streets for tossed candy. After the parade, a caravan traveled to Myron B. Hodge City Park, located a couple of miles down the road on the Sopchoppy River. The crowd was adorned in the traditional red, white and blue, along with panchos, rain jackets and rubber boots. Some didnt even bother trying to stay dry. The celebration was dedicated to the memory of Bill Stephens, also known to many as Mr. Sopchoppy. Family members all marched in the parade and wore bright red T-shirts with his photo as Uncle Sam. Some braved the muddy dance oor as the rain subsided momentarily. Many festival goers huddled under vendor tents to keep from getting soaked. The Currys, a trio of brothers from Port St. Joe, played bluegrass, and invited the dedicated crowd to join them under the bandshell as they played, creating a small concert in the round. A group of men, some willing and some coerced, donned the stage to show off their nely cut calves as Sopchoppys annual Mr. Legs Contest was held. In the end, it was Freeman Pigott, who nally won the honor after having been a contestant, and runner up, in past contests. Some vendors cancelled due to the weather. The ones who showed up were greeted by thin, but thankful, crowds. Smells of funnel cakes, fresh seafood, and barbecue slinked through the air. LeAnne Goodwin of Crawfordville, who owns Lil Cindy Lou Whos Bakery, was selling whole cakes and slices. Not far down the row of soggy canopies, in a display of colorfully topped canning jars We Can Jam & Salsa was offering tastes of their homemade salsas, jams and pickles. Later in the evening, the rain took a reprieve long enough for the reworks show to take place. The colorful display topped off the 2013 Independence day celebration with a boom.Soggy Sopchoppy on Fourth of July Rain doesnt dampen the spirit of the Independence Day celebrationJENNY ODOM LYNDA KINSEY LYNDA KINSEY LYNDA KINSEY LYNDA KINSEY JENNY ODOM JENNY ODOM JENNY ODOM JENNY ODOMA rain-dampened parade down Rose Street in Sopchoppy. Fireworks went on as planned. Headliner Billy Dean with some fans. Above and below, families watching the pyrotechnics. At a booth to raise money for Jenna Strickland, selling lemonade. The family of Bill Stephens, all with T-shirts with his picture as Uncle Sam. A mom and daughter dance, catching raindrops on their tongues. Some people huddling in The Wakulla News tent during a rainstorm.
Page 16A THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.comThe good news is the rains have come. There is plenty of water for Wakulla Countys lawns, gardens, ponds, swamps and the aquifer. Citizens who are dependent upon a residential well are breathing a collective sigh of relief as the water soaks into the soil. The major concern of a dry year is the practices required to avoid running short of water. Municipal water system managers are pleased too. They face the same challenges, but on a much larger scale. The bad news is water standing in ditches, pastures, swamps and any water-tight container exposed to the open environment is a likely breeding site for mosquitoes. Florida is home to about 80 native mosquitoes, many of which live in Wakulla County. Additionally, there are some exotic mosquitoes which have been inadvertently imported, such as the Asian Tiger Mosquito. Contrary to popular perception, not all of these dine on humans. Some target only birds, others only frogs, and still others will target any animal which can provide a blood meal. The blood meal is sought only by the females as part of the reproductive process. The nutrients found in the blood of host are critical to producing viable mosquito eggs. Both adult male and female mosquitoes consume plant nectar as a source of high sugar energy during their lives. Most males live about a week and are easy to identify with a magnifying glass. They have distinctly bushy antennae on their heads. While many of the mosquitoes are considered pest, only about 20 are disease vectors or bridge vectors. A sudden increase in their population after a storm or ooding event will cause concern with public health of cials. Bridge vectors do not directly infect humans or livestock with a pathogen. They do prey on carriers, such as birds, which act as the disease reservoir and spread the infection within the carrier species. When the diseaseridden carrier contacts a mosquito which will take a blood meal from any source, then the disease may reach humans, livestock and even pets when the female mosquito seeks another blood meal to support the next batch of eggs. Disease outbreaks typically come later in the mosquito season. The preceding cold season will always kill off some of the disease reservoir animals and thin the mosquito population. As mosquito season progresses, the mosquitoes increase their numbers and improve their chances of contacting a diseased animal. The odds of a disease outbreak grow with each blood meal the mosquito consumes. Mosquito mitigation methods are simple. Remove standing water from around homes, barns, and other mosquito-prone areas. Use repellents per label directions and wear protective clothing. Avoid exposure to mosquitoes during dusk and dawn when they are most likely feeding. Take extra precautions when working or playing natural areas with ponds, swamps and marshes. While mosquitoes can be a major impediment to enjoying summer in Wakulla County, they t in the environmental balance. Some sh ngerling and dragonflies are dependent upon mosquito larva as a source of food. Purple martins, bats and toads use adult mosquitoes as a major dietary staple. To learn more about living with mosquitoes in Wakulla County, contact your UF/IFAS Wakulla Extension Of ce at 850-926-3931 or http://wakulla.ifas.u edu/. Les Harrison is the Wakulla County Extension Director. He can be reached by email at harrisog@u .edu or at (850) 926-3931.We needed the rain, but not the mosquitoes Natural WakullaBy Les Harrison PHOTO BY LES HARRISON/SPECIAL TO THE NEWSA mosquito. Not all mosquitoes dine on human some target only birds, others only frogs, while some will target any animal which can provide a blood meal. TM TM
Green SceneSection B THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Thinking Outside the Box Page 3B WEEK IN WAKULLA Page 2B Mosquito-borne disease and pollutionEarthTalk, Page 10B By LES HARRISON and SHELLEY SWENSONOf the Extension Of ceJune and July have seen the end of many spring garden crops in Wakulla County. The 90 degree plus temperatures and high humidity do not agree with the production requirements of popular items. While nearing the end of their seasonal run, cantaloupe vines at the UF/IFAS Wakulla County demonstration garden are still delivering these tasty, nutritious melons. This popular melon grows well in Wakulla Countys moderate climate. Cantaloupes are part of the Cucurbitaceae plant family which includes cucumber, squash, pumpkins and watermelons. Historically, cantaloupes were rst cultivated in Persia about 5,000 years ago. These early open-pollinator varieties performed well in the semi-arid climate and delivered a generous volume of food per acre. They had the additional bene t of being easily transported and had a reasonable shelf-life. With the advent of improved transportation routes and population shifts, the cantaloupe gradually made its way west to Europe. It proved a popular crop on the central Italian peninsular where it acquired its current common name. The town of Cantalupo, translation howling wolf, became known as the European origin of the cantaloupe. Todays gardener has an excellent selection of cantaloupe cultivars from which to choose. These melons can be cultivated using either seed or transplants. Transplants will take 70 to 90 days to produce melons. Seed will take about two weeks longer. The plants require about an inch of rain per week during their growing season, and pollinators are very important to insuring the vines successfully set melons. Cantaloupes are rich in vitamin A which aids in normal vision, healthy skin, and protects against infections. Additionally, it is high in vitamin C, important for healing cuts and keeping teeth and gums healthy. The potassium in cantaloupes bene ts blood pressure control and they are free of cholesterol, low in sodium and calories. Select cantaloupes with a soft stem end and a creamy yellowcolored rind. These are ripe and at their peak avor. Choose ones that are heavy for their size, without bruises, soft spots or cracked rinds. This popular melon is commonly eaten as part of breakfast, but is also used in chilled salads and other dishes. To learn more about growing and using cantaloupes in Wakulla County, contact your UF/IFAS Wakulla Extension Of ce at 850926-3931 or http://wakulla.ifas. u .edu.Les Harrison is UF/IFAS Wakulla County Extension Director and Shelley Swenson is UF/IFAS Wakulla County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. They can be reached at 926-3931. Although we have gone through a series of days this summer with more rain than sunshine, it is important that we protect our skin while spending time in the sun. The sun can also cause sun-stroke while spending time outside in sunny Florida. You dont have to get to the point of sunburn to have the UV rays hurt your skin they can cause damage in as little as 15 minutes. It does not even have to be a sunny day for you to be exposed to UV rays. Follow these UF/IFAS suggestions for UF protection: Use sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or greater and that has both UVA and UVB protection. Check the expiration date and honor it. Apply 30 minutes before going outside and reapply very two hours and after swimming or heavy sweating. Some cosmetics now use some sunscreen compounds. If a product does not have at least SPF 15, also apply a regular sunscreen. Cover exposed skins with clothing. Sounds like an unlikely suggestion in Florida temperatures but consider loose-fitting long pants and long-sleeve shirts. If wearing a T-shirt or cover-up, be sure to still use sunscreen. Wear a hat. Hat brims cover the face, ears and back of your neck. Choose a hat with no holes to help to protect your scalp. Yes, UV rays can penetrate through hair many skin cancers result on the scalp from overexposure. Wear sunglasses to reduce the risk of cataracts and to protect the sensitive skin around your eyes. Choose sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays. If possible, stay out of the sun during the times of greatest risk for UV exposure, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Keep babies younger than 1 year old out of the sun. If you cannot find shade, apply sunscreen to any exposed places such as the face and the back of hands. Dress them in lightweight clothing that covers their bodies, including hats. Stay cool. Even a native Floridian can become overheated if the conditions are right which can quickly develop into heat-related illness if you dont pay attention. Drink water, even if you do not feel thirsty. Your body needs water to cool off. Avoid alcohol it dehydrates you. No air conditioning in your home? Why not go to a movie, walk in a mall, or read in the public library? Be aware of your body in the heat and watch for heavy sweating, confusion, dizziness, weakness and nausea all symptoms of heat exhaustion. Many Wakulla County families spend hours at the ball fields. Protect players and spectators through proper hydration and sunscreen to keep everyones body and your skin healthy and cool. Shelley Swenson is UF/IFAS Wakulla County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. She can be reached at (850) 9263931. By SHELLEY SWENSONWakulla Extension ServiceGREEN LIVING Safe in the sun I n t h e g a r d e n n o w : In the garden now: C a n t a l o u p e s CantaloupesPHOTOS BY LES HARRISON/ SPECIAL TO THE NEWS A s p l i t c a n t e l o u p e i n t h e g a r d e n A split canteloupe in the garden. A c a n t e l o u p e b l o o m a n d b e e A canteloupe bloom and bee. 750MLCROWNROYAL $ 19 99Prices Good Through July850926-3212375MLWOLFSHMIDTVODKA $ 3 99 1.75LSVEDKAVODKA $ 19 99 $ $ 1.75LLORD CALVERT $ 16 99 $ $ 1.75LSEGRAMS GINN $ 16 99 S BUDLIGHT $ 14 99 18PK IF WE DONT HAVE IT WE CAN GET IT! ALL YOUR MARINE SUPPLIES FOR 26 YEARS OPEN Main Store: Mon. Sat. 8-6 Bait Shop: Mon. Sat. 6-6 Sun. 6-12 3026 Coastal Highway, Medart (850) 926-3114 (800) 726-3104 Bait Shop (850) 926-1162 SCALLOP SEASON IS SCALLOPSEASON IS As always, client service is our ultimate priority. Frances Casey Lowe, Attorney Guilday, Schwartz, Simpson, West, Hatch & Lowe, P.A. 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Page 2B THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com Clubs, Groups, Regular Meetings Thursday, July 11 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets at 6 p.m. at the 26 Walker Street, Panacea. For more information call 524-9103. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 8 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. COASTAL OPTIMIST CLUB will meet at noon at Poseys Steam Room in Panacea. FAMILY TO FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP will meet at 6 p.m. at the NAMI Wakulla of ce. ROTARY CLUB meets at the senior center at noon. WAKULLA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 24 High Drive, Crawfordville. NAMI FAMILY TO FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP will meet at 6 p.m. at the NAMI Wakulla of ce, 2140C Crawfordville Highway. This group is for family members and friends of people diagnosed with mental illnesses and is free of charge.Friday, July 12 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets at 8 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. Call 5451853 for more information. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS holds open discussion at noon at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. Call 545-1853 for more information. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 8 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. BOOK CLUB meets at the public library from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS meets at St. Teresas Episcopal Church in Medart from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PICKIN N GRINNIN JAM SESSION will be held at the senior center from 10 a.m. to noon. (Also on Tuesdays) WAKULLA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 24 High Drive, Crawfordville. QUILTERS GUILD OF WAKULLA COUNTY will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the library. Join them for the fun of quilting. Quilters of all skill levels are invited. Contact Anne Lopez at 294-0832.Saturday, July 13 LUPUS SUPPORT NETWORK meets every second Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the B.L. Perry Library located at 2817 South Adams in Tallahassee. This group provides information, education and mutual support for people with lupus and related autoimmune diseases. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets at 5:30 p.m. at Mission by the Sea Church on Alligator Drive in Alligator Point. Call 545-1853 for more information. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 8 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 3106 Shadeville Highway, across from the volunteer re department, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 224-2321. SOPCHOPPY GROWERS MARKET will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of Posh Java, Organics & Gifts, on the corner of Rose St. and Winthrop Ave., in downtown Sopchoppy. The market features locally grown organic produce and other food items. To participate in the market, contact Posh Java at 962-1010 or email [email protected] for details. WAKULLA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. The museum is located at 24 High Drive, Crawfordville.Sunday, July 14 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS holds open discussion at 6 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. For more information, call ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 6 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information.Monday, July 15 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets at 6 p.m. at the 26 Walker Street, Panacea. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 6 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. LINE DANCING will be held at the senior center at 1:30 p.m. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS FOR WOMEN will meet at 6 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. For more information call 545-1853. YOGA CLASSES with Tamara will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Senior Citizens Center. This is a gentle restorative class focusing on the breath. RESPITE CARE is offered by The Alzheimers Project of Wakulla at Lake Ellen Baptist Church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Bring a loved one to be cared for. Lunch will be provided. There is no cost. The church is located at 4495 Crawfordville Highway. Call Pat Ashley for more information at 984-5277.Tuesday, July 16 VFW LADIES AUXILIARY BINGO is starting up its weekly occurrence. Bingo will be held at the VFW Post on Arran Road from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 18 years and up only please. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 6 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS holds open discussion at 6:30 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. For more information, call 545-1853. BOOK BUNCH meets in the childrens room at the public library at 10:30 a.m. NAMI CONNECTION, a support group for people diagnosed with a mental illness, will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the NAMI Wakulla of ce. CRAWFORDVILLE LIONS CLUB will meet at 6 p.m. at Myra Jeans Restaurant. CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP will be held at 9 a.m. at Myra Jeans Restaurant in Crawfordville. Call Pat Ashley for more information at 984-5277. NAMI CONNECTION, a support group for people diagnosed with a mental illness,will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the library.Wednesday, July 17 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS welcomes newcomers at 6:30 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. For more information, call 545-1853. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS holds open discussion at 8 p.m. at 54 Ochlockonee Street in Crawfordville. For more information, call 545-1853. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets at Ochlockonee Bay UMC on Surf Road at noon. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 8 p.m. at the Station House, 3106 Shadeville Highway. Call 544-0719 for more information. BOOK BABIES, storytime with activities for toddlers, will be held at the public library at 10:30 a.m. BRAIN GYM CLASS will be held at the senior center at 10:30 a.m. KNITTING GROUP meets at the public library from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For information, call 491-1684. LINE DANCING will be held at the senior center at 2 p.m. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS will meet at 6:30 p.m. at NAMI Wakulla, 2140-C Crawfordville Highway. Call 224-2321 for more information. BEADING CLASSES with Tamara will be held at 12:45 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center. Choose from glass and stone beads to create your masterpiece. There is a $3 to $5 fee for the materials. KNITTING CLUB will meet at 4 p.m. at the public library. Anyone interested in the art of knitting are encouraged to attend. Mah Jongg Club meets every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Precinct 7 voting house on Whiddon Lake Road. Newcomers are welcome; you do not need to know how to play. Government MeetingsThursday, July 11 CITY OF ST. MARKS will hold a budget workshop at 6:30 p.m. and a public hearing at 6:45 p.m. at 788 Port Leon Dr. Monday, July 15 COUNTY COMMISSION will hold its regular board meeting at 5 p.m. in the commission chambers.Monday, July 22 COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD meeting will be held at 5:45 p.m. in the school board room. For information call 926-0065. CITY OF SOPCHOPPY will be holding a Budget Workshop for the 2013-14 scal year.Monday, August 5 WAKULLA COUNTY COMMISSION will hold its regular board meeting at 5 p.m. in the commission chambers. Thursday, August 8 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP for scal year 2013/2014 will take place in the commission chambers at 5 p.m. AIRPORT MASTER PLAN MEETING at the Welcome Center in Panacea 6 p.m. FLOW MOBILE Senior Center 10 a.m. 2 p.m. SO FUN TO SEW YOUTH SUMMER CAMP $60 7:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. BAD LAWN & BUGS WORKSHOP Extension Of ce $5 7 p.m.ThursdayFridayMonday ThursTuesday W e e k Week i n in W a k u l l a akulla W a k u l l a akullaEmail your community events to jjensen@ thewakullanews.net Weekly meetings Special EventsThursday, July 11 AIRPORT MASTER PLAN MEETING will be held at the Wakulla Welcome Center in Panacea from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the citizens of Wakulla County and other interested parties an opportunity to provide input on the development of the Wakulla Airport Master Plan. Friday, July 12 THE FLOW MOBILE (Florida Licensing On Wheels) will be at the Wakulla Senior Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. FLOW Mobile provides a convenient method to renew a driver license, obtain a replacement, change a name or address on a license, get an identi cation card, renew a vehicle registration and purchase a specialty license plate. They also offer the departments critical safety services such as emergency contact information registration and safety campaigns. No written or driving tests are given from mobile units, all normal fees apply. For more information about the FLOW Mobile you can go to: http://www. hsmv.gov/of ces/FLOW.htm, or call secnior center at 926-7145. Saturday, July 13 35th ANNUAL SWAMP STOMP music festival will be held from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Tallahassee Museum. The festival is a staple of the Big Bends cultural calendar and features Americana and bluegrass performances by the regions best musicians. Returning to stage this year are Swamp Stomp veterans Del Suggs and Sarah Mac, as well as talented new acts. There will be plenty of activities to keep all ages busy, from zip lining on Tallahassee Museums exhilarating Tree to Tree Adventures course and live Animal Encounters to face painting and discovery tables. Admission is free for members and included in general admission ticket purchases on the day of the event. For more information visit www.tallahasseemuseum.org or call 850-575-8684. Monday, July 15 Thursday, July 18 SO FUN TO SEW 4-H Youth Summer Day Camp will be held at the Extension Of ce. Summer Day Camp programs are held from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mon Thurs. For more information visit wakulla. ifas.u .edu or call 926-3931. Tuesday, July 16 WAKULLAS BAD LAWN & GARDEN BUGS workshop will be held at the Extension Of ce. Cost is $5. For more information visit wakulla. ifas.u .edu or call 926-3931. Thursday, July 18 WAKULLA COUNTY CANCER SUPPORT GROUP meets in the Education Center of the Crawfordville United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. This group meeting is for men and women, regardless of the type of cancer. For more information, call 926-6050.Upcoming EventsFriday, July 19 GIRLS UNITY DAY will be held at the TCC Wakulla Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Girl Scouts of the Florida Panhandle invites girls entering grades 1-5 to a fun lled day. Bring your friends to learn how Girl Scouting helps girls to discover, connect, and take action to make the world a better place. The event is free. For more information contact Lynda Contreras-Thomas at lcontreres@ gscfp.org or 386-2131. Friday, July 20 WHS CLASS OF 1993 is holding their 20 year reunion on July 20. There will be a family fun day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wakulla Springs. Lunch and games for the kids will be provided. Dinner and socializing will take place that evening at Wildwood Resort, 3896 Coastal Hwy. Cost is $45 per person for the evening. For additional information please visit The Wakulla High School class of 1993 Facebook page, email [email protected], or call (850) 508-8623.Wednesday, July 24 SENIOR CENTER CHRISTMAS IN JULY luncheon will be held beginning with a silent auction at 11:30 a.m. while lunch will be served at noon. Proceeds will help meet the needs of the seniors food program. Any and all donations are appreciated. Please call the Wakulla Senior Citizens Of ce for ticket information. 926-7145 ext. 229 will get you Teri Harless, or ext. 221 for Shelly Homan. Saturday, July 27 APALACHEE BAY VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT is having a yard and bake sale fundraiser from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 1557 Shell Point Rd. Saturday, August 17 CATHERINE CAMERON BOOK LAUNCH will be held at the Crawfordville Womans Club from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. to celebrate the release of her book Are You Looking for an Administrative Job? Refreshments, books for sale and, of course, great fellowship will be offered. RSVP to [email protected] by August 10. If you cannot make it, the book is available on www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. Monday, July 22 Thursday, July 25 ADVANCED QUILTING 4-H Youth Camp will be held at the Extension Of ce. Summer Day Camp programs are held from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mon Thurs. For more information visit wakulla.ifas.u .edu or call 926-3931. July 11 July 18 FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE Our Friday Night Movie this week is the action packed re-telling of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. This PG-13 (for intense scenes of fantasy action violence, frightening images, and brief language) film tells the tale of the ancient war between giants and humans getting restarted by a boy accidently opening the portal between the two worlds. Starring Nicholas Hoult (X-Men First Class), Ewan McGregor (the Star Wars prequels), among others this new telling of the classic story is packed with thrills and excitement. Some scenes may be a little intense for our youngest patrons. Join us at 7 p.m. this Friday for all the fun! Doors open at 6:45. MAMA KOKU RETURNS TO WCPL! Were excited next week to bring back Mama Koku to WCPL as part of our Summer Program of Events. Kokus great storytelling skills and songs bring her words to life as she gets the entire audience involved in all the fun while she teaches us about life lessons and the world around us. Kokus performances have always been popular here and the kids leave buzzing about all the fun they had and all that theyve learned. All the fun kicks off Thursday, July 18 at 7 p.m. so please come out and join us! SUMMER PROGRAM UPDATE Were about at the halfway point of the summer and still have a lot of fun in store. In addition to our Summer Programs well have an archaeologist from the State of Florida come down to do a program as well as people from the Tallahassee Museum of Natural History (the Jr. Museum to longtime residents of the area). Well be ending the summer with our 2nd annual talent show for our younger patrons along with a screening of a lm made by the participants in our teen program. There is still a lot of fun to be had so please come by and check us out! Brochures with more detailed information are available at the front desk, on our Facebook page, or can be emailed to you so please contact us with any questions! SUMMER READING BOOKS UPDATE As we have passed into July and the rst day of school being the 15th of August, we strongly recommend that, if your child hasnt at least put themselves on the waiting list for their grades summer reading, that they do so as soon as they can. While we have purchased multiple copies of each summer reading book, due to increasing longer wait lists, we are rapidly approaching a date where we cant guarantee that your child will be able to get the book before school begins. If you or your child has an account with us were more than happy to add you to any waiting list over the phone. We also have copies available of some of the books via e-book for those who have a reader. Please dont hesitate to contact us at 926-7415 if we can help you in any way.By SCOTT JOYNER Library Director Library News...
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 3B The Wak u l la News F o r l o c a l n e w s a n d p h o t o s For local news and photos w w w t h e w a k u l l a n e w s c o m www.thewakullanews.com Absorb Acted Atomic Belly Brief Broken Clash Crest Doing Edged Eighth Error Event Garbage Industry Issue Jacket Jewel Lying Masks Mills Moves Nanny Nicer Noted Phase Posts Raise Reeds Revolutionary Ribbon Safer Scored Screw Sentry Shock Slides These Toast Topics YOUR AD HERE Treat Uncomfortable Understands Unless Vocal Walked Weigh White Wires The Wakulla News
Page 4B THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com py Todays New Ads AQUARIUM 125 gallon, rigged for salt or fresh water w/cabinet, pump & accessories $375. firm, no calls after 8pm (850) 926-5511 CRAWFORDVILLENewly Remodeled 3BR/2BA; W/D hook-up, $850 month plus Dep. (850) 228-0422 Stop scratching & gnawing. Promote healing & hair growth. Stamp out ITCHAMCALLITS! Shampoo with Happy Jack Itch No More, apply Skin Balm add Tonekote to diet... Ashley Fee & Hardware (850) 421-7703 (www.happy jackinc.com) Blue Sony Camera lost at Sopchoppy fireworks, was on the dock at about 8pm, I put down while helping a lady who pasted out. Please call (850) 766-9469 reward offered Raker FarmsVegetables are Here! U Pick -We Pick peas, squash & cucumbers 850-926-7561 or 850 -274 -8033 Calico Cat, female, name Shug, jumped out of truck at St. Marks Centennial Bank on 7-3 about 4pm please calls (850) 766-9469 Advertise in newspapers across Florida One phone call puts your ad in 117 newspapers. Reach millions of Floridians for one low cost by calling 866.742.1373 or visit www .AdNetworks Florida.com AIRLINE CAREERSbegin here -Get FAA approved Aviation Maintenance Technician training. Housing and Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 866-314-3769 Florida Certified Teacher(Crawfordville) Substitute Florida Certified Teachers wanted for innovative summer program. Experience in Project Based Learning a plus. Salary starts at $20/hr. Email resume: charrlottecobb2011@ gmail.com or call (850) 745-4680 Paraprofessional (Crawfordville)Paraprofessionals wanted for summer program. Salary starts at $8/hr. Flexible schedules available for qualified applicants. Email resume: charrlottecobb2011 @gmail.com or call (850) 745-4680 DRIVER TRAINEES NEEDED NOW!Learn to drive for US Xpress! Earn $700 per week! No experience needed! Local CDL Training. Job ready in 15 days! (888)368-1964 EARNING BETTER PAYIS ONE STEP AWAY! Averitt offers Experienced CDL -A Drivers Excellent Benefits and Weekly Hometime. 888-362-8608, Recent Grads w/a CDL-A15/wks Paid Training. Apply online at A verittCareers.com Equal Opportunity Employer Experienced OTR Flatbed DriversEarn 50 up to 55 cpm loaded. $1000 sign on to qualified drivers. Home most weekends. Call: (843)266-3731 / www .bulldoghiway .com EOE FULL TIME MAINTENANCE/ OPERATIONSSUPERVISORDuties include, but are not limited to, providing 24 hour/ 7 day per week availability to respond to and perform all maintenance needs of the water system; routine maintenance; building maintenance; and emergency repair. Installation of new service taps, meters, & fire hydrants. Line flushing and water testing as necessary. Monthly cust meter reading. Presenting maintenance reports at scheduled Board of Directors meeting. Order and maintain inventory of all parts & supplies. Oversees the maintenance of the districts well sites, chorine buildings, backhoe, Kawasaki mule, and other mechanical and electrical equipment. Monitors District SCADA system on a daily basis and other duties as assigned. Job Requirements include High School diploma or GED certificate. Technical training in water distribution systems maintenance or equivalent preferred. Knowledge of FDEP requirements for operation of public water systems. One year of field maintenance work or equivalent; able to operate and perform routine maintenance on backhoe and other equipment. Holds a State of Florida Class C Water Distribution Operator license or a Class C Water Treatment Operators license or obtain one within one year. Valid Florida Drivers License and have a satisfactory driving record. The selected candidate must be available to attend monthly Board meetings on Saturdays. Please submit cover letter and resume, with references, education, and professional work experience history to Alligator Point Water Office Manager at P.O. Box 155, Panacea, FL 32346 by Monday July 22, 2013, by 11:00am. Applications will be reviewed by the Board of Directors and top candidates must be available to interview on July 23, 2013 beginning at 2:00 pm to determine the most qualified applicants. Inquires should be made to the District office at (850) 349-2274 during normal business hours. Consistent with Florida Law, all applications may be made available for public inspec-tion upon request. Criminal background checks and drug screenings are required. Alligator Point Water Resources District is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employer. DRIVERS:Guaranteed Home EVERY Weekend! Company: All Miles PAID (Loaded or Empty)! Lease: To Own NO Money Down, NO Credit Check!.CALL: 888-880-5911 PART TIME HANDY MAN WANTEDHistoric Wakulla Springs Lodge is looking for a jack of all trades to assist with facility and grounds upkeep. Job includes: responding to trouble calls preventative maintenance tasks, and janitorial duties. Experience in carpentry, painting, plumbing, and electrical required. HVAC experience preferred. Qualified applicants may pick up an application at the Lodge front desk, located inside Wakulla Springs State Park, 550 Wakulla Park Drive. Wakulla Springs, FL 32327. Wakulla Springs is an EEO/Drug Free Workplace. YARD MAN/ HANDY MANOn an as needed basis. Odd jobs, painting, palm tree maintenance, yard work. Must have transportation and references. 850-567-3732 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TRAINEES NEEDED! Become a Certified Microsoft Office Professional! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! SC Train can get you job ready ASAP! HS Diploma/GED PC/Internet needed! (888)212-5888 Premium Metal Roofing, Manufacturer Direct! 8 Metal Roof profiles in 40+ colors Superior customer service, same day pick-up, fast delivery! 1-888-779-4270 or visit www.gulfcoast supply.com MULTI FAMILY YARD SALE43 Provo place crawfordville Saturday July 13th starting at 7:00am. Home decor, baby items, china, & small furniture. WAKULA STATIONSat & Sun 8am-4pm Household items, clothing and other Misc. Items. 539 Rock Rd off HWY 267, West of Wakulla Station AQUARIUM 125 gallon, rigged for salt or fresh water w/cabinet, pump & accessories $375. firm, no calls after 8pm (850) 926-5511 Stop scratching & gnawing. Promote healing & hair growth. Stamp out ITCHAMCALLITS! Shampoo with Happy Jack Itch No More, apply Skin Balm add Tonekote to diet... Ashley Fee & Hardware (850) 421-7703 (www.happy jackinc.com) SHELLPOINTAmazing views from 3rd story deck. Studio apartment with full size kitchen, huge bath, W/D, and king Murphy bed. Fully furnished. $650/month plus utilities, 6month lease minimum. Linda 850-591-3306 PANACEA SUMMER TRACE APARTMENTS 45 Otter Lake Rd 1 Bedroom UnitsNow Available with rental assistance if qualifyCall (850) 984-4811TDD 1-800-955-8771This institution is an Equal Opportunity Pr ovider and Em ployer Equal Housing Opportunity. WAKULLALive in a beautiful Wakulla River neighborhood w/access to the community docks, boat ramp & park. Upscale 2 br 1 1/2 ba home situated on a secluded wooded lot. The house includes a 2 car carport, wraparound porch, hardwood floors, 6 burner Jenn-Aire stove, fireplace, skylights, ceiling fans thru-out w/d hook-up in a huge storage area. $950. mnth + $900.dep sml pets considered 850-926-4217 CRAWFORDVILLENewly Remodeled 3BR/2BA; W/D hook-up, $850 month plus Dep. (850) 228-0422 RENTAL WANTED 3 or 4 Bedroom House at Least 2 Baths and screened back porch, Northern Part of Crawfordville preferred (850) 363-2361 after 10am FOR SALE:2 Bdrm. 1 Bath House on 2 acres2243 Curtis Mill Rd Sopchoppy FL. Financing available with easy terms. Call 855-847-6807. Seth Scotts Heat & Air State Lic.Contractor #CAC1817434 Honest & Dependable Service, Installation, Repair & Maintenance: Residential & Commercial 12yrs Exp. 850-509-2405 5733-0711 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE WAKULLA COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SPRING CREEK HIGHWAY WIDENING & RESURFACING Request for Proposal No. ITB 2013-25 Advertisement Begin Date/Time: June 28, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. Board Decisions will be available at: 3093 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL 32327. Sealed responses for Spring Creek Highway Widening and Resurfacing addressed to the Wakulla County Purchasing Director, at 3093 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL 32327 will be received until August 2, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at which time all proposals will be publicly opened. Any responses received after the time and date specified will not be accepted and shall be returned unopened to the Proposer. Please direct all questions to: Deborah DuBose Phone: 850.926.9500 Ext 707, FAX: 850.926.0940 e-mail: [email protected] Copies of the Invitation to Bid and the Plans and Specifications Packages may be obtained at the Wakulla County Purchasing Office at 3093 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL 32327 for a non-refundable deposit of $100.00 beginning June 28, 2013, 8:00 a.m. Checks or money orders only please -made payable to: Preble-Rish, Inc. No pre-bid meeting will be held for this project. All Bidders are encouraged to visit the site to become familiar with the project area. Any person with a qualified disability requiring special accommodations at the 5750-0711 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE ADVERTISEMENT FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION TO BID CONSTRUCTION WAKULLASCHOOLDISTRICT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTREQUESTING PRE-QUALIFICATIONS FROM QUALIFIED GENERALCONTRACTORS PRE-QUALIFICATION PROPOSALS ARE REQUESTED FROM QUALIFIED GENERAL CONTRACTORS BYTHE WAKULLACOUNTYSCHOOLDISTRICT. PROJECT:Guidance Office Renovations at Wakulla High School 3237 Coastal Highway Crawfordville, Florida 32327 SCOPE TO INCLUDE: The project consist of selective demolition, construction of new walls and partitions, installation of new doors, frames and door hardware, installation of finishes including floor coverings, base, ceilings, drywall, painting and installation of new casework. Mechanical work includes the replacement of one HVAC unit and the installation and redistribution of HVAC duct. Electrical work includes new light fixtures, duplex outlets and telecom outlets, and the relocation of existing light fixtures. GENERALINFORMATION: Provide four (4) copies of the Pre-Qualifications Package to the Wakulla County School Board Office, 69 Arran Road, Crawfordville, Florida 32327. Submittals must be received at the office of the Superintendent of Wakulla County Schools by 2:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Facsimile (FAX) and submittals received after 2:00 p.m. will not be considered. Apre-submittal meeting will be held to review the pre-qualification procedures and requirement and the scope of the project on July 15, 2013 @ 2:00 p.m. at the site, Wakulla High School, 3237 Coastal Highway, Medart, Florida. Completed packets and a Public Entity Crimes Statement must be returned to the office of Robert Pearce, Superintendent of Wakulla County Schools, 69 Arran Road, Crawfordville, Florida 32327, ATTENTION: William R. Bristol no later than July 17, 2013 @ 10:00 a.m. The School Board of Wakulla County Florida reserves the right to waive or reject any informality in the selection process and to reject any or all pre-qualification packets when such a waiver or rejection is in the best interest of the Wakulla County School Board. Pre-Qualification Packets may be obtained free of charge upon request to William R. Bristol, Executive Director of Facilities, 69 Arran Road, Crawfordville, Florida 32327, telephone (850) 926-0065. Wakulla County School Board is an equal opportunity agency. Robert Pearce, Superintendent July 4 & 11, 2013 2Br 2Ba Town House $750 mo. RENTALS: Wakulla Realty850926 5084Sonya HallLic. Real Estate BrokerSTORAGE RENTALS AVAILABLESpecializing in Wakulla Co. Pelican Post Post your classi ed line ad in The Wakulla News and it will run on our website thewakullanews.com for FREE! Post it! Buy it! Sell it! Deadline Monday 11:00 A.M.CLASSIFIED ADS Starting at just $12.00 a week! Cars Real Estate Rentals Employment Services Yard Sales Announcements 877-676-1403 Years of Excellent ServiceCongratulations BILL TURNERTOPPRODUCER JUNE2013 WWW.REALESTATEWAKULLA.COMCoastwise Realty,Inc. (850) 926 8038 ~ (850) 926 2390 fax 3295 Crawfordville Hwy., Crawfordville, FL 850 510 [email protected] Denises ListCall today to get your ad in our services directory!850-926-7102 [email protected] A-1PRESSURE CLEANING 850-926-3399 24 HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK C & P T OWING AND RECOVERY 2 2 C C C & & P P OW O W W OW HOME COMFORT INDUSTRIESCENTRAL HEATING & AIR: Sales, Installation & Service ELECTRICAL SERVICES: Fans, Lighting, Wiring for Electrical, Phones, TV, Computer & SoundLocated in Crawfordville. Doug & Sherry Quigg, owners850-926-5790Lic. #s ER0010924, CAC1814368LLC 850290-4058 # T156394LUXURY CRUISES & TRAVEL, INC. Linda Carterwww.Luxury-Cruising.comfor ALL Your Travel NeedsTrust your Vacation to your Local Agent! Munges Tree ServiceProfessional Work done at Affordable Rates! 24-HR EMERGENCY SERVICE Mike Mongeon, ISA certified arborist FL-6125850-421-8104 O.C.D. ONE CALL. DONE! O.C.D. ONE CALL. DONE! HOME REPAIRS & IMPROVEMENTSPROFESSIONAL, DEPENDABLE SPECIALIZING IN COASTAL PROPERTIESLICENSED& INSURED TERRY NELSON, JR. 850 933-0057 TERRY NELSON, JR. 850-933-0057 for All of Your Lawn Care Needs! Free Quotes! (850) 528-2371 or (850) 926-7461 f f f f f A A A ll ll ll ll f f f f f Y Y Y Y Y Y L L L C C C C C N N N d d d d d ! ! Call PAT GREEN S LAWN SERVICE Locally Owned and Operated Licensed and Insured T ree T rimming Stump Grinding Yard Maintenance Flower Beds Special Touch Cleaning ServicePolly NicholsConstruction Cleanup, Commercial, Residential519-7238 926-3065pray like its up to God, Work like its up to youLICENSED AND INSUREDSelling Something? Advertise with a Classified Ad in For As Little As $12 A Week 877676-1403 Selling Something? Advertise with a Classified Ad in For As Little As $12 A Week 877676-1403
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 5B bid opening shall contact purchasing at the phone number listed above at least 5 business days prior to the event. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact this office by using the Florida Relay Services which can be reached at 1.800.955.8771 (TDD). The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids or accept minor irregularities in the best interest of Wakulla County. Randy Merritt, Chairman Deborah DuBose, Director, Employee Support Services July 4 & 11, 2013 5758-0711 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE 7/29/13 sale date NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Vehicle will be sold for towing and storage. Charges pursuant to F.S. 713.78 Date of Sale: 07/29/13 Time: 9:00 AM 2004 FORD VIN # 1FTRX14W04KD94620 Hobbys Towing & Recovery reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or bids. 1498 Shadeville Rd Crawfordville, FL32327 850-926-7698 July 11, 2013 5748-0725 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF SUSPENSION Case No: 201301598 TO: Michael K. Smith, ANotice of Suspension to suspend your license and eligibility for licensure has been filed against you. You have the right to request a hearing pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes, by mailing a request for same to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, Post Office Box 3168, Tallahassee, Florida 32315-3168. If a request for hearing is not received by 21 days from the date of the last publication, the right to hearing in this matter will be waived and the Department will dispose of this cause in accordance with law. July 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5759-0711 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE REGISTRATION AND NOTICE TO SHOW CAUSE Pursuant to Section 98.075(2), Florida statutes, notice is given to the following person(s) to show cause why they should not be disqualified as a registered voter: Jason P. Harper Last known address of: 44 Richland Rd., Crawfordville, FL32327 The above individual(s) is/are notified to show cause why his/her name should not be removed from the voter registration rolls. Failure to respond within 30 days of this published notice will result in a determination of ineligibility by the Supervisor of Elections and removal of your name from the statewide voter registration system. For further information and instructions, contact the Supervisor of Elections at (850) 926-7575. Henry F. Wells, Wakulla County Supervisor of Elections P. O. Box 305 Crawfordville, Florida, 32326 July 11, 2013 5757-0711 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE 7/26 sale date NOTICE OF SALE Public Notice is hereby given that the C & P Towing will sell at Public Auction for towing and storage, pursuant to Florida Statutes section 731.78. C & P Towing reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all bids. To be held at C & P Towing at 2235 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, Florida 32327, on 7/26/13 at 9:00 a.m. on the following vehicle(s): 2002 FORD VIN # 3FAFP13P22R149149 July 11, 2013 5727-0711 TWN Vs. Forde, Erin Case No: 2012 CA000204 Notice of Foreclosure Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO: 2012 CA000204 JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, vs. ERIN FORDE A/K/AERIN M. FORDE A/K/AERIN MOLLIE FORDE; BAKARI SAMPSON A/K/ABAKARI BERNARD SAMPSON; UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF ERIN FORDE A/K/AERIN M. FORDE A/K/AERIN MOLLIE FORDE; UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF BAKARI SAMPSON A/K/ABAKARI BERNARD SAMPSON; UNKNOWN TENANTI; UNKNOWN TENANTII, and any unknown heirs, devisees, grantees, creditors, and other unknown persons or unknown spouses claiming by, through and under any of the above-named Defendants, Defendants. NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE is hereby given that the undersigned Clerk of the Circuit Court of Wakulla County, Florida, will on the 25th day of July 2013, at 11:00 a.m. at the Front door of the Wakulla Courthouse located in Crawfordville, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for cash, the following-described property situate in Wakulla County, Florida: LOT 42, BLOCK Q, MAGNOLIAGARDENS, ACCORDING TO THE MAPOR PLAT THEREOF AS RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE(S) 37, PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. pursuant to the Final Judgment entered in a case pending in said Court, the style of which is indicated above. 5728-0711 TWN Vs. Flynn, Ruth Case #: 2011CA-000332 Notice of Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT IN AND FOR WAKULLA COUNTY. FLORIDACIVILDIVISION Case #: 2011-CA-000332 JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association Plaintiff, -vs.Ruth Flynn Defendant(s). NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to an Order dated June 11, 2013, entered in Civil Case No. 2011-CA-000332 of the Circuit Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit in and for Wakulla County, Florida, wherein JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Plaintiff and Ruth Flynn are defendant(s), I, Clerk of Court, Brent X. Thurmond, will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash ATTHE FRONTLOBBYOF THE WAKULLACOUNTYCOURTHOUSE LOCATED AT3056 CRAWFORDVILLE HWY., CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDAAT11:00 A.M. on July 25, 2013, the following described property as set forth in said Final Judgment, to-wit: LOT 8, BLOCK 4, WAKULLAGARDENS, UNIT TWO, ASUBDIVISION AS PER MAP OR PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE 42, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. ANYPERSON CLAIMING AN INTERESTIN THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE, IF ANY, OTHER THAN THE PROPERTYOWNER AS OF THE DATE OF THE LIS PENDENS MUSTFILE ACLAIM WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER THE SALE. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the ADACoordinator; 301 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301; (850) 577-4430 at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification of the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days. If you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. Brent X. Thurmond, CLERK OF THE CIRCUITCOURT Wakulla County, Florida (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, DEPUTYCLERK OF COURT Submitted By: ATTORNEYFOR PLAINTIFF: SHAPIRO, FISHMAN & GACH, LLP 2424 North Federal Highway, Suite 360 Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 998-6700 (561) 998-6707 July 4 & 11, 2013 5729-0711 TWN Vs. Mitchell, Amanda Case No: 2012-CA-000304 Notice of Foreclosure Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO: 2012-CA-000304 JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONALASSOCIATION Plaintiff, vs. AMANDAN. MITCHELLA/K/AAMANDAMITCHELL; TIMOTHYW. MITCHELLA/K/ATIMOTHYMITCHELL; UNKNOWN TENANTI; UNKNOWN TENANTII, and any unknown heirs, devisees, grantees, creditors, and other unknown persons or unknown spouses claiming by, through and under any of the above-named Defendants, Defendants. NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE is hereby given that the undersigned Clerk of the Circuit Court of Wakulla County, Florida, will on the 25th day of July 2013, at 11 A.M. at the Front door of the Wakulla Courthouse located in Crawfordville, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for cash, the following-described property situate in Wakulla County, Florida: THE SOUTH HALF OF LOT 35 AND ALLOF LOT 34, BLOCK 54, WAKULLAGARDENS, UNIT 5, AS PER MAPOR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE 56 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. pursuant to the Final Judgment entered in a case pending in said Court, the style of which is indicated above. Any person or entity claiming an interest in the surplus, if any, resulting from the foreclosure sale, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens, must file a claim on same with the Clerk of Court within 60 days after the foreclosure sale. WITNESS my hand and official seal of said Court this 11th day of June, 2013. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: If you are a person with a disability who needsany accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact: Susan Wilson, ADACoordinator; 301 South Monroe Street; Tallahassee, FL32301; 850.577.4401; at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. CLERK OF THE CIRCUITCOURT (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, Deputy Clerk DefaultLink, Inc., Attn: Publication Department 330 North Andrews Ave., #102, Ft Lauderdale, FL33301 [email protected] (954)-779-2766 ATTORNEYFOR PLAINTIFF: Latasha Moore-Robinson Butler & Hosch, P.A., 3185 S. Conway Rd., Ste. E., Orlando, Florida 32812 (407) 381-5200 July 4 & 11, 2013 5751-0711 TWN Vs. Bassin, Donna Case No. 12-438-CANotice of Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT, IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDACASE NO.: 12-438-CA DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONALTRUSTCOMPANY, AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF ACE SECURITYCORP. MANUFACTURED HOUSING TRUST, SERIES 2003 MH1, ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, acting by and through GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, as Servicing Agent 7360 S. Kyrene Road, Tempe, AZ 85283, Plaintiff, v. DONNAJ. BASSIN A/K/ADONNACHAMBERS BASSIN, SANTANAM. BASSIN, THE UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF SANTANAM. BASSIN, JOHN T. GAY, and THE UNKNOWN PARTYIN POSSESSION OF 1347 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MEMORIALROAD, formerly known as 1347 LOWER BRIDGE ROAD, CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA32327, Defendants. 5753-0711 TWN Vs. Nichols, Elizabeth Case No. 12-364-CANotice of Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT, IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDACASE NO.: 12-364-CA THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUSTCOMPANY, N.A., AS TRUSTEE GREENPOINTMANUFACTURED HOUSING CONTRACT TRUST, PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATE, SERIES 1999-3, acting by and through GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, in its capacity as Servicer 7360 S. Kyrene Road, Tempe, AZ 85283, Plaintiff, v. ELIZABETH A. NICHOLS, et al. Defendants. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN THAT pursuant to Plaintiffs Final Summary Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above-captioned action, I will sell the property situated in Wakulla County, Florida, described as follows, to wit: LOT 4, OF SHADEVILLE SOUTH, ASUBDIVISION AS PER MAPOR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 3, PAGE 19 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA; TOGETHER WITH THAT CERTAIN 1999 GENERAL MANUFACTURED D6648, 24 x 52 MOBILE HOME SERIALNUMBER: GMHGA4109923361A/B. Commonly known as: 76 SOUTHERN DRIVE, CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA32327 at public sale, to the highest and best bidder, for cash in and online sale at the Wakulla County Courthouse, 3056 Crawfordville Hwy, Crawfordville, Florida 32327, at 11:00 AM (ET), on the1st day of August, 2013. If you are a subordinate lien holder claiming a right to funds remaining after the sale, you must file a claim with the Clerk of Court no later than 60 days after the sale. If you fail to file a claim, you will not be entitled to any remaining funds. Notice to Persons With Disabilities: If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the Court Administrators office not later than seven days prior to the proceeding. BRENTX. THURMOND, CLERK OF COURT (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, Deputy Clerk Attorney for Plaintiff: Timothy D. Padgett, P.A. 6267 Old Water Oak Road, Suite 203, Tallahassee, FL32312 Tel: (850) 422-2520 Fax: (850) 422-2567 [email protected] July 11 & 18, 2013 5754-00718 TWN vs. Chrisco, Chad, Case No. 652009CA000391CAXXXX Re-Notice Foreclosure Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT, IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDACIVILDIVISION, CASE NO.: 652009CA000391CAXXXX CITIMORTGAGE, INC SUCCESSOR BYMERGER TO ABN AMRO MORTGAGE GROUP, INC Plaintiff, vs. CHAD CONROYCHRISCO A/K/ACHAD CHRISCO, et al Defendants. RE-NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE RE-NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to an Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion to Reschedule Foreclosure Sale filed April 30, 2013 and entered in Case No. 652009CA000391CAXXXX of the Circuit Court of the SECOND Judicial Circuit in and for WAKULLACOUNTY, Florida, wherein CITIMORTGAGE, INC. SUCCESSOR BYMERGER TO ABN AMRO MORTGAGE GROUP, INC., is Plaintiff, and CHAD CONROYCHRISCO A/K/ACHAD CHRISCO, et al are Defendants, the clerk will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, beginning at 11:00 AM at the WAKULLACounty Courthouse, the FRONT LOBBYof the Courthouse, at 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL32327, in accordance with Chapter 45, Florida Statutes, on the 1st day of August, 2013, the following described property as set forth in said Lis Pendens, to wit: North Half of Lot 50 of Rainbow Acres, as per the map or plat recorded in Plat Book 1, Book Page 66 Aof the Public Records of Wakulla County, Florida, being more particularly described as follows: Commence at an iron pipe marking the Southwest corner of Lot 50 of Rainbow Acres, as per the map or plat recorded in Plat Book 1, Page 66Aof the public Records of Wakulla County, Florida, and proceed North 00 degrees 12 minutes 35 seconds East along the West boundary of said Lot 50 a distance of 316.93 feet to the Point of Beginning. From said Point of Beginning thence continue North 00 degrees 12 minutes 35 seconds East 316.93 feet to an iron pipe marking the North West corner of said Lot 50, thence run South 89 degrees 54 minutes 50 seconds East 330.47 feet to an iron pipe marking the Northeast corner of said Lot 50, thence run South 00 degrees 15 minutes 33 seconds West along the East boundary of said Lot 50 a distance of 317.07 feet, thence run North 89 degrees 53 minutes 23 seconds West 330.20 feet to the Point of Beginning. Together with an Easement for ingress and egress over and across the West 30.00 feet of the South one-half of Lot 50 of Rainbow Acres, a subdivision as per map or plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 1, Page 66Aof the Public Records of Wakulla County, Florida. Any person claiming an interest in the surplus funds from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale. Phelan Hallinan, PLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff 2727 West Cypress Creek Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL33309 Tel: 954-462-7000 Fax: 954-462-7001 Service by email: [email protected] By: /s/ Sim Singh, Phelan Hallinan, PLC Sim Singh, Esq., Florida Bar No. 98122 Emilio R. Lenzi, Esq., Florida Bar No. 0668273 If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in a court proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact: Danny Davis, Court Technology Office, Office of Court Administration, 301 S Monroe St, Rm 225, Tallahassee, FL32303 850.577.4401 at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. July 11 & 18, 2013 5755-0718 TWN vs. Celebrate Coastal Development, Case No. 12-352-CANOS Pursuant to Chapter 45 PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUITCOURTOF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUITIN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO;12-352-CA CADC/RADCVENTURE 2011-1, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company Plaintiff, v. CELEBRATE COASTALDEVELOPMENT, LLC, et. al., Defendants. NOTICE OF SALE PURSUANT T O CHAPTER 45 NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to the Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered on this 11th day of June 2013 in Case No.12-352-CAof the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Wakulla County, Florida, wherein CADC/RADC Venture 2011-1, LLC is Plaintiff, and Celebrate Coastal Developments, LLC and Lakes at Shell Point Homeowners Association, Inc. are Defendants the Clerk of the Court will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash at the courthouse located at Room 136 of the Wakulla County Courthouse, 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, Florida at 11 am on the 1st day of August, 2013, the following described property as set forth in said Final Judgment, to wit: LOTS 24 AND 25 OF THE LAKES AT SHELLPOINT, ASUBDIVISION AS PER MAPOR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 4, PAGE 8, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. APERSON CLAIMING AN INTERESTIN THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE, IF ANY, OTHER THAN THE PROPERTYOWNER AS OF THE DATE OF THE LIS PENDENS MUST FILE ACLAIM WITHIN (60) DAYS AFTER THE SALE. Adam Cervera, Esq., BECKER & POLIAKOFF, P.A., Attorneys for Plaintiff Alhambra Towers, 121 Alhambra Towers, 121 Alhambra Plaza, 10th Floor Coral Gables, Florida 33134 (305)262-4433, (305)442-2232Fax, Primary: acervera@becker poliakof f.com July 11 & 18, 2013 5756-0718 TWN vs.Bromley, Lori L.. Case No. 65-2010-CA-000145 Notice of Foreclosure Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT IN AND FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDACIVILACTION CASE NO.: 2010-CA-000145 CHASE HOME FINANCE LLC, Plaintiff, vs. LORI L. BROMLEYA/K/ALORI BROMLEY, et al, Defendant(s). NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to an Order Rescheduling Foreclosure Sale dated June 11, 2013 and entered in Case NO. 65-2010-CA-000145 of the Circuit Court of the SECOND Judicial Circuit in and for WAKULLACounty, Florida wherein JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, successor by merger to Chase Home Finance LLC1, is the Plaintiff and LORI L. BROMLEYA/K/ALORI BROMLEY; are the Defendants, The Clerk of the Court will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash at FRONTFOYER OF THE WAKULLACOUNTYCOURTHOUSE at 11:00AM, on the 1st day of August, 2013, the following described property as set forth in said Final Judgment: LOT 8, BLOCK 10, WAKULLAGARDENS, ASUBDIVISION AS PER MAPOR PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE 39 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. A/K/A40 FEATHER TRAIL, CRAWFORDVILLE, FL32327 Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within sixty (60) days after the sale. WITNESS MYHAND and the seal of this Court on June 11, 2013. (SEAL) Brent X. Thurmond Clerk of the Circuit Court By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, Deputy ClerkRonald R Wolfe & Associates, P.L. P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, Florida 33622-5018 **See Americans with Disabilities Act Any persons with a disability requiring reasonable accommodations should call Clerk of Circuit Court at (850) 926-0905. July 11 & 18,2013 F10022209 5760-0718 TWN Vs. Yomes, Gregory Case No. 13-28 -CANotice of Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT IN AND FOR WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA. CIVILDIVISION CASE NO.13-28-CAUCN: 652013CA000028XXXXXX DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONALTRUSTCOMPANY, AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF THE HSI ASSETSECURITIZATION CORPORATION TRUST 2007 HE2, Plaintiff, vs. GREGORYG. YOMES, et al., Defendants, NOTICE OF SALE PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 45 NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to an Order or Summary Final Judgment of foreclosure dated June 11, 2013, and entered in Case No. 13 28 CA 652013CA000028XXXXXX of the Circuit Court in and for Wakulla County, Florida, wherein Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee on behalf of the certificateholders of the HSI Asset Securitization Corporation Trust 2007 HE2 is Plaintiff and GREGORYG. YOMES; CYNTHIADENISE RICHTER YOMES; UNKNOWN TENANTNO. 1; UNKNOWN TENANTNO. 2; and ALLUNKNOWN PARTIES CLAIMING INTERESTS BY, THROUGH, UNDER OR AGAINSTANAMED DEFENDANTTO THIS ACTION, OR HAVING OR CLAIMING TO HAVE ANYRIGHT, TITLE OR INTERESTIN THE PROPERTYHEREIN DESCRIBED, are Defendants, I will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash in the Front Foyer of the Wakulla County Courthouse, 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL 32327 County, Florida, 11:00 a.m. on the 1st day of August,2013, the following described property as set forth in said Order or Final Judgment, to-wit: LOT 36, EDGEWOOD, ASUBDIVISION AS PER MAPOR PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 2, PAGE 83, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA. ANYPERSON CLAIMING AN INTERESTIN THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE, IF ANY, OTHER THAN THE PROPERTYOWNER AS OF THE DATE OF THE LIS PENDENS MUSTFILE ACLAIM WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER THE SALE. DATED at Crawfordville, Florida, on June 11, 2013. BRENTX THURMOND, As Clerk, Circuit Court (SEAL) By:/s/ Tiffany Deschner, As Deputy Clerk SHD Legal Group P.A., Attorneys for Plaintiff PO BOX 11438, Fort Lauderdale, FL33339 1438 Telephone: (954) 564 0071 Service E-mail: [email protected] July 11 & 18, 2013 1162 122415 NOTICE OF ACTION TO:DONNAJ. BASSIN A/K/ADONNACHAMBERS BASSIN, SANTANAM. BASSIN, THE UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF SANTANAM. BASSIN, JOHN T. GAY, and THE UNKNOWN PARTYIN POSSESSION OF 1347 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MEMORIALROAD, formerly known as 1347 LOWER BRIDGE ROAD, CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA32327, YOU ARE NOTIFIED that a civil action has been filed against you in the Circuit Court, County of Wakulla, State of Florida, to foreclose certain real property described as follows: Commence at the Northwest corner of Lot 1, Block 29 of Wakulla Gardens, Unit 3, a subdivision as per map or plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 1, Page 43 of the Public Records of Wakulla County, Florida and thence run North 71 degrees 18 minutes 30 seconds East 212.56 feet to a 1 inch iron pipe marking the POINT OF BEGINNING. From said POINT OF BEGINNING continue North 71 degrees 18 minutes 30 seconds East 147.45 feet to a concrete monument (marked #2919), thence run North 18 degrees 53 minutes 17 seconds West 262.72 feet to a concrete monument (marked #2919) lying on the Southerly right-of-way boundary of County Road #S-368, thence run South 86 degrees 53 minutes 32 seconds West along said right-of-way boundary 20.80 feet to a re-rod (marked #6475), thence leaving said right-of-way boundary run South 18 degrees 54 minutes 22 seconds East 145.92 feet to a re-rod (marked #6475), thence run South 71 degrees 18 minutes 03 seconds West 127.51 feet to a re-rod (marked #6475), thence run South 18 degrees 54 minutes 01 seconds East 122.37 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING. The above described parcel being a portion of those lands as described in Official Records Book 22, page 196, Official Records Book 22, page 197, Official Records Book 37, page 477 and Official Records Book 66, page 764 of the Public Records of Wakulla County, Florida, with that certain 2001, 28 x 65, Cavalier Homes, 32815, Serial Number: ALCA0599560S32865A, ALCA0599560S32865B. You are required to file a written response with the Court and serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on Timothy D. Padgett, Plaintiffs attorney, whose address is 6267 Old Water Oak Road, Suite 203, Tallahassee, Florida 32312, at least thirty (30) days from the date of first publication, and file the original with the clerk of this court either before service on Plaintiffs attorney or immediately thereafter; otherwise, a default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. Dated this _____ day of _____________________, 2013. BRENTX. THURMOND, CLERK OF COURT (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, Deputy Clerk Attorney for Plaintiff: Timothy D. Padgett, P.A. 6267 Old Water Oak Road, Suite 203, Tallahassee, FL32312 Tel: (850) 422-2520 Fax: (850) 422-2567 [email protected] July 11 & 18, 2013 850926-8777 www.bluewaterrealtygroup.comRENTALS 47B Dispennette 3 BR/2BA, $750 mo., $750 security dep. No smoking, only outdoor pets with approval and $250.00 pet fee. 14 Windy Court 3 BR/2BA, $850 mo., $850 Dep. No smoking, no pets. Available August 1. 260 Magnolia Ridge 3 BR/2BA, above ground pool, hot tub, $1,200 mo. $1,200 dep.. Available end of July. 52 Deer Run 1BR/1BA on the Sopchoppy River. $700 mo. $700 dep. Available August 1st. Tallahassee Rentals: 1309 Larette 2 BR/2.5 BA $725 per mo., $725 dep. 1519 Jacks Drive 2 BR/2BA $850 mo. $850 dep. Pets ok with approval and pet fee $250. Long-Term & Vacation Rentals Wakulla & Franklin Counties! 850-984-0001 146 Coastal Hwy. Panacea, FL 32346 [email protected] www.obrealty.com W 8 Need to rent your house?Ochlockonee Bay Realty has been in the rental management business for 25 years and has a dependable, experienced rental team.Let our experience work for you!6 River Cove $550 mo., 2 BR/1BA, BAY VIEW. Near Community Boat Ramp. Pets Considered. 4395 Hwy. 319 SMALL COMMERCIAL OFFICE on Crawfordville Hwy, in Medart. $550. mo. 1119 Alligator Dr. Beachfront home Alligator Point 2BR/2BA Furnished, w/ replace, deck on the Gulf of Mexico $1,200 mo./$1,200 Security Deposit. No smoking. No Pets. 2797 Surf Rd. 2BR/1A Block, Bay front home. 1,140 Sq. ft. heated area Newly remodeled, No pets, No smoking, $1,050 mo. 3049 Crawfordville Hwy. Commercial building in downtown Crawfordville. Across from the courthouse, perfect building for professional of ce.
Page 6B THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com Any person or entity claiming an interest in the surplus, if any, resulting from the foreclosure sale, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens, must file a claim on same with the Clerk of Court within 60 days after the foreclosure sale. WITNESS my hand and official seal of said Court this 11th day of June, 2013. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact: Susan Wilson, ADACoordinator; 301 South Monroe Street; Tallahassee, FL32301; 850.577.4401; at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. CLERK OF THE CIRCUITCOURT (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, Deputy Clerk DefaultLink, Inc., Attn: Publication Department 330 North Andrews Ave., #102, Ft Lauderdale, FL33301 [email protected] (954)-779-2766 ATTORNEYFOR PLAINTIFF: Latasha Moore-Robinson, Butler & Hosch, P.A. 3185 S. Conway Rd., Ste. E., Orlando, Florida 32812 (407) 381-5200 July 4 & 11, 2013B&H #294208 5726-0711 TWN vs. Jessup, Ashlee Case No. 11-367-CANotice of Foreclosure Sale PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIALCIRCUIT IN AND FOR WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA, GENERALJURISDICTION DIVISION, CASE NO.11-367-CA CitiMortgage, Inc., Plaintiff, vs. Ashlee M. Jessup f/k/a Ashlee M. Shealy; John B. Jessup; Crawfordville Homeowners Association, Inc. a/k/a East Gate of Crawfordville Homeowners Association, Inc.; Penny McKinney; Unknown Tenant #1; Unknown Tenant #2, Defendants. NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN pursuant to AN Order dated May 22, 2013, entered in Case No. 11-367-CAof the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, in and for Wakulla County, Florida, wherein CitiMortgage, Inc. is the Plaintiff and Ashlee M. Jessup f/k/a Ashlee M. Shealy; John B. Jessup; Crawfordville Homeowners Association, Inc. a/k/a East Gate of Crawfordville Homeowners Association, Inc.; Penny McKinney; Unknown Tenant #1; Unknown Tenant #2 are the Defendants, that I will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash at, the front door of the courthouse, 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, FL32327, beginning at 11:00 AM on the 18th day of July, 2013, the following described property as set forth in said Final Judgment, to wit: LOT 23 OF EASTGATE SUBDIVISION (UNRECORDED) AND BEING MORE PARTICULARLYDESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS; COMMENCE AT ACONCRETE MONUMENT MARKING THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 59 OF THE HARTSFIELD SURVEYOF LANDS IN WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDAAND RUN SOUTH 72 DEGREES 30 MINUTES 30 SECONDS WEST ALONG THE NORTH BOUNDARYOF SAID LOT 59 ADISTANCE OF 2365.0 FEET TO ACONCRETE MONUMENT; THENCE SOUTH 17 DEGREES 52 MINUTES 45 SECONDS EAST 1050.52 FEET TO ACONCRETE MONUMENT MARKING THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SAID EASTGATE SUBDIVISION; THENCE ALONG THE NORTH BOUNDARYOF SAID EASTGATE SUBDIVISION RUN SOUTH 72 DEGREES 40 MINUTES 45 SECONDS WEST 1000.00 FEET TO ACONCRETE MONUMENT ON THE EASTERLYRIGHT OF WAYBOUNDARYOF ACOUNTYROAD (GRIFFIN ROAD); THENCE ALONG SAID RIGHT OF WAYBOUNDARYSOUTH 17 DEGREES 51 MINUTES 45 SECONDS EAST 933.50 FEET TO ACONCRETE MONUMENT MARKING THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SAID EASTGATE SUBDIVISION; THENCE LEAVING SAID RIGHT OF WAYRUN NORTH 72 DEGREES 40 MINUTES 45 SECONDS EAST ALONG THE SOUTH BOUNDARYOF SAID EASTGATE SUBDIVISION 150.00 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING. FROM SAID POINT OF BEGINNING CONTINUE NORTH 72 DEGREES 40 MINUTES 45 SECONDS EAST 75.00 FEET; THENCE NORTH 17 DEGREES 51 MINUTES 45 SECONDS WEST 130.58 FEET TO THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARYOF A 50 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY(EASTGATE WAY); THENCE ALONG SAID RIGHT OF WAY SOUTH 72 DEGREES 40 MINUTES 45 SECONDS WEST 75.00 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, CONTAINING 0.22 ACRES, MORE OR LESS. Dated this 18thday of June, 2013. Brent Thurmond, As Clerk of the Court (SEAL) By:/s/Tiffany Deschner, As Deputy Clerk If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Susan Wilson, ADACoordinator, at 850.577.4401, 301 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL32301at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. Jessica L. Fagen, Esquire, Brock & Scott PLLC 1501 NW 49th St, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, FL33309 [email protected] July 4 & 11, 2013 5731-0711 TWN In Re : Estate of Jones, Myles Case No: 13-48-CPNotice to Creditors PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA, PROBATE DIVISION CASE NO: 13-48-CP IN RE : ESTATE OF MYLES WESLEYJONES a/k/a MYLES W. JONES Deceased, NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Myles Wesley Jones, deceased, File 13-48 CPis pending in the Circuit Court for Wakulla County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, Florida 32327. The name and address of the personal representative and the personal representatives attorney is set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedents estate including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRSTPUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF ACOPYOF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and persons having claims or demands against decedents estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRSTPUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALLCLAIMS NOTSO FILED WILLBE FOREVER BARRED. This date of the first publication of this notice is July 4, 2013. Personal Representative: Opal E. Howell 4214 Erie Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32305 Attorney for Personal Representative: Frances Casey Lowe, Esq., Florida Bar No. 521450 Guilday, Schwartz, Simpson, West, Hatch & Lowe, P.A 3042 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, Florida 32327 (850) 926-8245 July 4 & 1, 2013 5732-0711 TWN The Estate of Susan Roberts Case No. 13-58-CP Notice To Creditors PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION CASE NO. 13-58-CP In Re: The Estate of:Susan Walker Roberts Deceased. NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Susan Walker Roberts, deceased, whose date of death was December 30, 2012 File Number 13-58-CP, is pending in the Circuit Court for Wakulla County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 3056 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, Florida 32327. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representatives attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedents estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this Court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedents estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENTS DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of the first publication of this Notice is July 4, 2013. Personal Representative: Lee Walker 1815 Hernando Dr., Tallahassee, Florida 32303 5752-0718 SCT Estate of Brim, Donald, File No. 13-42-CP, NTC IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, FOR WAKULLACOUNTY, FLORIDA, PROBATE DIVISION, FILE NO.: 13-42-CP IN RE: ESTATE OF DONALD BARRYBRIM, Deceased NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Donald Barry Brim, deceased, whose date of death was April 10, 2013, is pending in the Circuit Court of Wakulla County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 3056 Crawfordville Hwy., Crawfordville, Florida 32327. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representatives attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedents estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRSTPUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE, OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF ACOPYOF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against the decedents estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRSTPUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALLCLAIMS NOTFILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SETFORTH IN SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDAPROBATE CODE WILLBE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SETFORTH ABOVE, ANYCLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENTS DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this Notice is July 11, 2013. Personal Representative :Patricia Brim Walker 425 Tennyson Knl.Grayson, Georgia 30017 Attorney for Personal Representative: Susan L. St. John, FLBar No: 0640808 St. John Law Firm, P.L., 113 South Monroe St., First Floor Tallahassee, FL32301 850-201-7250 July 11 & 18, 2013 5762-0718 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE Seminole Self Storage LEGALNOTICE NOTICE IS GIVEN PURSUANTTO FLORIDASELF STORAGE FACILITYACT, FLORIDASTATUES, CHAPTER 83, PARTIV THATSEMINOLE SELF STORAGE WILLHOLD A SALE BYSEALED BID ON JUL Y 26, 2013 at 1 1:00a.m AT2314 CRAWFORDVILLE HWY, CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA 32327, OF THE CONTENTS OF MINI-WAREHOUSE CONTAINING THE PERSONAL PROPERTYOF: CARYMILLER ROSS LANGFORD, JR. REBAMcKENZIE ALFONSO GUERRA KENNETH REDDING DANIELPRYOR TED CASH Before the sale date of JULY26, 2013 The Owners may redeem their property by payment of the Outstanding Balance and cost by mailing it to 2314 Crawfordville Hwy, Crawfordville, Florida, 32327 or Paying in person at the warehouse location. July 11 & 18, 2013 5734-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO.2013 TXD 026NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10 L, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate # 1278Year of Issuance2010Description of Property: Parcel #:17-3S-01E-096-05369-000TOWN OF WANETA SQUARE 57 LOTS 4, 5 & 6 OR 408 P 3 OR 444 P 380 Name in which assessed PATTIE E SMITH said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day ofAugust, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 3 day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, Florida July 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5735-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 027 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #795 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:22-2S-01W-000-03942-014P-1-14-M-61 A 2 AC TRACT LOCATED IN THE NE CORNER OF THE NW 1/4 OF SECTION 22 OR 224 P 821OR 754 P 396 Name in which assessed DENZEL OR RUTH DOCKERY TRUST said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 3day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, Florida 5736-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 028 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #177 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:13-4S-02W-000-01935-00113-4S-2W P-14-1-M-50A 1.25 AC KNOWN AS TRACT 2 OR 89 P 682 OR 329 P 199 Name in which assessed RONA LAVON HAWKINS SR said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 3day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, Clerk By: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5737-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 029 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate # 1014Year of Issuance2010Description of Property: Parcel #:09-3S-01W-000-04349-0009 3S 1W P-9-M-63 SW 1/4 OF NE 1/4 OF SE 1/4 OR 527 P 129 OR 555 P 894 Name in which assessed L B INVESTMENTS LLC said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 3day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, Florida July 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5738-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 030 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #543 Year of Issuance Description of Property: Parcel #:24-5S-02W-057-03224-000 PANANCEA MINERAL SPRINGS UNIT 1 BLOCK 37 LOTS 1 & 2 OR 169 P 709 OR 557 P 127 Name in which assessed JER BE LOU DEV CORP said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificate shall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be sold to the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 3day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, Clerk By: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, Florida July 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5739-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 031 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10L, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate # 1323Year of Issuance2010Description of Property: Parcel #:02-4S-01E-000-05547-0002-4S-1E P-1-M-83B 2 ACRES IN SW COR OF N 1/2 OR 151 P 771OR 312 P 294 Name in which assessed JOHN T & JENNIFER A MOCK said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be sold to the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, Clerk By: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5740-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 032 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10L, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate # 2264Year of Issuance2010Description of Property: Parcel #:00-00-077-014-10519-006GREINERS ADDITION SUB. BLOCK 24 LOTS 1 OR 289 P 262 OR 342 P 832 Name in which assessed SECRETARY OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5741-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 033 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10L, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate # 1509Year of Issuance2010Description of Property: Parcel #:00-00-035-008-06981-000WAKULLA GARDENS UNIT 1 BLK 9 LOTS 13 & 14 OR 2 P 943 Name in which assessed WILLIAM T BECK III & REBECCA B STANLEY, TRUDY B THURMOND & MARY B PARKER said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificate shall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be sold to the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5742-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 034 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #75 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:35-5S-03W-000-01293-00035-5S-3W P-19-M-28 RAILROAD R-W LESS COUNTY ROAD OR 25 P 109 OR 488 P 696 Name in which assessed HOBERT S MCCLANAHAN said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5743-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 035 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #400 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:07-5S-02W-000-02675-0007-5S-2W P42-M-32B E 1/2 OF SW 1/4 OR 175 P 939 OR 211 P 288 Name in which assessed MICHAEL PORTER said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5744-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 036 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #390 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:05-5S-02W-000-02612-000 5-5S-2W P-8-M-32 A PARCEL OF LAND IN SEC 5 OR 45 P 600 Name in which assessed WALTER DICKSON said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5745-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 037 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #624 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:25-5S-02W-046-03462-001AQUA DE VIDA S/D LOT 33 BLK M PB 1 PG 12 OR 775 P 371 Name in which assessed BOBBY R & PATTIE F SMITH said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6 day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5746-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 038 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued, thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #246 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:24-4S-02W-192-02077-16ALAKE ELLEN PARK SUBD. LOT 16 UNRECORDED OR 187 P 60 OR 525 P 858 Name in which assessed GERALD HANDLEY & DOROTHY M MILEY-HANDLEY said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013 ,at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 5747-0725 TWN NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED TAX DEED FILE NO. 2013 TXD 039 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, thatTC 10U, LLC the holder of the following certificate has filed said certificate for a tax deed to be issued thereon. The certificate number and year of issuance, the description of the property, and the names in which it was assessed are as follows: Certificate #254 Year of Issuance2010 Description of Property: Parcel #:25-4S-02W-000-02083-00025-4S-2W P-3-3-M-51 A PARCEL OF LAND 207 X 415 FT OR 260 P 593 OR 339 P 465 & 467 Name in which assessed DANIEL & JANET DAILEY said property being in the County of Wakulla, State of Florida. Unless such certificateshall be redeemed according to law the property described in such certificate shall be soldto the highest bidder at the courthouse door on the 14 day of August, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Dated this 6 day of May, 2013 Signature: Brent X. Thurmond, ClerkBy: Donna Richardson, Deputy Clerk Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wakulla County, FloridaJuly 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2013 Tax Deed Notices Tax Deed Notices Tax Deed Notices Tax Deed Notices Tax Deed Notices Tax Deed Notices 5710-0718 TWN PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO: 13-DR-273 NOTICE OF ACTION Wendy Walker Gregory, Petitioner Jose Miguel Gregory, Respondent. NOTICE OF ACTION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (NO CHILD OR FINANCIAL SUPPORT) TO: Jose Miguel Gregory, Last Known Address: 529 Cooperwood Road, Crawfordville, FL 32327 YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action for Dissolution of Marriage has been filed against you and that you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on Wendy Walker Gregory, the petitioner, whose address is 531 E. Miracle Strip Parkway, #8, Mary Esther, Florida 32569 on or before July 25, 2013, and file the original with the Clerk of this Court at 3056 Crawfordville, Hwy., Crawfordville, Florida 32327 before service on the Petitioner or immediately thereafter. If you fail to do so, a default may be entered against you for the relief demanded in the Petition. The action is asking the court to decide how the following real or personal property should be divided: NONE Copies of all court documents in this case, including orders, are available at the Clerk of the Circuit Courts office. You may review these documents upon request. You must keep the Clerk of the Circuit Courts office notified of your current address. You may file Notice of Current Address, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.915. Future papers in this lawsuit will be mailed to the address on record at the Clerks office. Dated: June 17, 2013. CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT (COURT SEAL) By:/s/ Glenda Porter, Deputy Clerk June 20, 27 and July 4 & 11, 2013 Attorney for Personal Representative: T. WHITNEY STRICKLAND, JR., 3360 Capital Circle NE Suite B, Tallahassee, Florida 32303, Tallahassee, Florida 32303 (850) 222-2888 Florida Bar No. 0287350 July 4 & 11, 2013 Selling Something? Advertise with a Classified Ad in For As Little As $12 A Week 877676-1403
www.thewakullanews.com THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page 7B 1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the largest country in area that borders on only one other country? 2. MOVIES: What art is featured in the movie The Red Shoes? 3. GAMES: How many letters are drawn to begin a game of Scrabble? 4. FOOD: What kind of bean is usually featured in the dish succotash? 5. LANGUAGE: What is a quidnunc? 6. TELEVISION: Who is Marys best friend and neighbor in The Mary Tyler Moore Show? 7. HISTORY: Which city hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics? 8. FLAGS: What nations flag features a Union Jack and a seven-point star on a blue background? 9. ART: What artist painted the work titled Water Lillies? 10. MUSIC: Who recorded and released the hit song Maybellene in 1955? 2013 King Features Synd., Inc. Answers 1. Canada 2. Ballet 3. Seven 4. Lima 5. Busybody 6. Rhoda 7. Berlin 8. Australia 9. Claude Monet 10. Chuck Berry Keep Wakulla County BeautifulLeave Nothing But Your Footprints
Page 8B THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, July 11, 2013 www.thewakullanews.com Dear EarthTalk: Is there a link between the recent spread of mosquito-borne diseases around the world and environmental pollution? Meg Ross Lantana, Fla. If by pollution you mean greenhouse gas emissions, then definitely yes. According to Maria Diuk-Wasser at the Yale School of Public Health, the onset of humaninduced global warming is likely to increase the infection rates of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus by creating more mosquitofriendly habitats. The direct effects of temperature increase are an increase in immature mosquito development, virus development and mosquito biting rates, which increase contact rates (biting) with humans, she reports. To wit, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a record number of West Nile virus infections in the continental U.S. in 2012 with some 5,674 documented cases including 286 deaths. The virus uses insects as hosts where they reproduce and then are transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. It can also be transmitted via blood transfusions, organ transplants and breast feeding. While its still far less common, U.S. cases of mosquito-borne dengue fever also known as breakbone fever for the feeling it gives its victims rose by 70 percent in 2012 as compared with 2011. The CDC reports 357 cases of dengue fever in the continental U.S. in 2012, up from 251 in 2011. The majority, 104, was in Florida, but New York had 64 and California 35. Most of the infections were imported on people travelling to the U.S. Puerto Rico played host to 4,450 dengue fever cases in 2012, up from only 1,507 in 2011. But some of the cases in Florida likely came from mosquito bites there. The virus behind dengue fever thrives in tropical and sub-tropical environments. The increased warming predicted for the southern U.S. along with increased flooding means dengue fever will no doubt be spreading north on the backs of mosquitoes into U.S. states that never thought they would have to deal with such exotic outbreaks. West Nile and dengue fever arent the only mosquito-borne diseases on U.S. public health of cials radar. Chikungunya, which hitches a ride on the ever expanding Asian tiger mosquito and can cause high fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle and joint pain, and a nasty rash in humans, comes from tropical Africa and Asia. But cases have started appearing in Western Europe in recent years and are expected to make it to the U.S. East Coast at anytime. Likewise, Rift Valley fever, which brings with it fever, muscle pain, dizziness, vision loss and even encephalitis, was limited to Kenya only a decade ago but today has spread across the entire African continent and is expected to make an appearance in Europe and the U.S. soon. While researchers are hard at work to nd vaccines against these diseases, concerned Americans can take some basic precautions to minimize their chances of getting mosquito bites. Keep screens on all the windows and doors in the house that can open. Outside, wear long pants and long sleeved shirts when possible and cover up with an insect repellent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says only those formulations containing the chemical DEET have been proven effective but there are plenty of all natural alternatives out there. In the meantime, our best defense against these diseases may be keeping our carbon footprints down, as the less global warming we cause, the less well have to deal with an onslaught of tropical mosquito-borne diseases. CONTACTS: Maria Ana Diuk-Wasser PhD, publichealth.yale.edu/ people/maria_diuk-3.pro le; CDC Mosquito-Borne Diseases, www.cdc.gov/ ncidod/diseases/list_ mosquitoborne.htm. Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine. com.EarthTalk is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E The Environmental Magazine (www. emagazine.com). com/ trial. Is there a link between mosquito-borne diseases and pollution? According to Maria Diuk-Wasser at the Yale School of Public Health, the onset of human-induced global warming is likely to increase the infection rates of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus by creating more mosquito-friendly habitats.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Re-StoreShadeville Highway926-4544Open Tues. 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FLA & VA Bankruptcy | Divorce | Custody | Wills | Probate Bankruptcy | Divorce | Custody | Wills | Probate Celebrating 8 Years in Wakulla 850-926-2700 Join The Nature Conservancy to plant a billion trees, one tree at a time, in the ght to end climate change at plantabillion.org | <urn:uuid:f7004f35-d665-4931-964d-60b98088204d> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028313/00471 | 2017-08-19T01:54:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00680.warc.gz | en | 0.924814 | 57,791 |
‘War is a Racket’
by Major General Smedley Butler, 1935
I. War Is A Racket
War is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.
How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?
Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few -- the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.
And what is this bill?
This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.
For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.
Again they are choosing sides. France and Russia met and agreed to stand side by side. Italy and Austria hurried to make a similar agreement. Poland and Germany cast sheep's eyes at each other, forgetting for the nonce, their dispute over the Polish Corridor.
The assassination of King Alexander of Jugoslavia complicated matters. Jugoslavia and Hungary, long bitter enemies, were almost at each other's throats. Italy was ready to jump in. But France was waiting. So was Czechoslovakia. All of them are looking ahead to war. Not the people -- not those who fight and pay and die -- only those who foment wars and remain safely at home to profit.
There are 40,000,000 men under arms in the world today, and our statesmen and diplomats have the temerity to say that war is not in the making.
Hell's bells! Are these 40,000,000 men being trained to be dancers?
Not in Italy, to be sure. Premier Mussolini knows what they are being trained for. He, at least, is frank enough to speak out. Only the other day, Il Duce in "International Conciliation," the publication of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said:
"And above all, Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace. . . . War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the people who have the courage to meet it."
Undoubtedly Mussolini means exactly what he says. His well-trained army, his great fleet of planes, and even his navy are ready for war -- anxious for it, apparently. His recent stand at the side of Hungary in the latter's dispute with Jugoslavia showed that. And the hurried mobilization of his troops on the Austrian border after the assassination of Dollfuss showed it too. There are others in Europe too whose sabre rattling presages war, sooner or later.
Herr Hitler, with his rearming Germany and his constant demands for more and more arms, is an equal if not greater menace to peace. France only recently increased the term of military service for its youth from a year to eighteen months.
Yes, all over, nations are camping in their arms. The mad dogs of Europe are on the loose. In the Orient the maneuvering is more adroit. Back in 1904, when Russia and Japan fought, we kicked out our old friends the Russians and backed Japan. Then our very generous international bankers were financing Japan. Now the trend is to poison us against the Japanese. What does the "open door" policy to China mean to us? Our trade with China is about $90,000,000 a year. Or the Philippine Islands? We have spent about $600,000,000 in the Philippines in thirty-five years and we (our bankers and industrialists and speculators) have private investments there of less than $200,000,000.
Then, to save that China trade of about $90,000,000, or to protect these private investments of less than $200,000,000 in the Philippines, we would be all stirred up to hate Japan and go to war -- a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and mentally unbalanced men.
Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit -- fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.
Yes, they are getting ready for another war. Why shouldn't they? It pays high dividends.
But what does it profit the men who are killed? What does it profit their mothers and sisters, their wives and their sweethearts? What does it profit their children?
What does it profit anyone except the very few to whom war means huge profits?
Yes, and what does it profit the nation?
Take our own case. Until 1898 we didn't own a bit of territory outside the mainland of North America. At that time our national debt was a little more than $1,000,000,000. Then we became "internationally minded." We forgot, or shunted aside, the advice of the Father of our country. We forgot George Washington's warning about "entangling alliances." We went to war. We acquired outside territory. At the end of the World War period, as a direct result of our fiddling in international affairs, our national debt had jumped to over $25,000,000,000. Our total favorable trade balance during the twenty-five-year period was about $24,000,000,000. Therefore, on a purely bookkeeping basis, we ran a little behind year for year, and that foreign trade might well have been ours without the wars.
It would have been far cheaper (not to say safer) for the average American who pays the bills to stay out of foreign entanglements. For a very few this racket, like bootlegging and other underworld rackets, brings fancy profits, but the cost of operations is always transferred to the people -- who do not profit.
II. Who Makes The Profits?
The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war.
The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits -- ah! that is another matter -- twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent -- the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it.
Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket -- and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples:
Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people -- didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something? How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find! Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent.
Take one of our little steel companies that patriotically shunted aside the making of rails and girders and bridges to manufacture war materials. Well, their 1910-1914 yearly earnings averaged $6,000,000. Then came the war. And, like loyal citizens, Bethlehem Steel promptly turned to munitions making. Did their profits jump -- or did they let Uncle Sam in for a bargain? Well, their 1914-1918 average was $49,000,000 a year!
Or, let's take United States Steel. The normal earnings during the five-year period prior to the war were $105,000,000 a year. Not bad. Then along came the war and up went the profits. The average yearly profit for the period 1914-1918 was $240,000,000. Not bad.
There you have some of the steel and powder earnings. Let's look at something else. A little copper, perhaps. That always does well in war times.
Anaconda, for instance. Average yearly earnings during the pre-war years 1910-1914 of $10,000,000. During the war years 1914-1918 profits leaped to $34,000,000 per year.
Or Utah Copper. Average of $5,000,000 per year during the 1910-1914 period. Jumped to an average of $21,000,000 yearly profits for the war period.
Let's group these five, with three smaller companies. The total yearly average profits of the pre-war period 1910-1914 were $137,480,000. Then along came the war. The average yearly profits for this group skyrocketed to $408,300,000.
A little increase in profits of approximately 200 per cent.
Does war pay? It paid them. But they aren't the only ones. There are still others. Let's take leather.
For the three-year period before the war the total profits of Central Leather Company were $3,500,000. That was approximately $1,167,000 a year. Well, in 1916 Central Leather returned a profit of $15,000,000, a small increase of 1,100 per cent. That's all. The General Chemical Company averaged a profit for the three years before the war of a little over $800,000 a year. Came the war, and the profits jumped to $12,000,000, a leap of 1,400 per cent.
International Nickel Company -- and you can't have a war without nickel -- showed an increase in profits from a mere average of $4,000,000 a year to $73,000,000 yearly. Not bad? An increase of more than 1,700 per cent.
American Sugar Refining Company averaged $2,000,000 a year for the three years before the war. In 1916 a profit of $6,000,000 was recorded.
Listen to Senate Document No. 259. The Sixty-Fifth Congress, reporting on corporate earnings and government revenues. Considering the profits of 122 meat packers, 153 cotton manufacturers, 299 garment makers, 49 steel plants, and 340 coal producers during the war. Profits under 25 per cent were exceptional. For instance the coal companies made between 100 per cent and 7,856 per cent on their capital stock during the war. The Chicago packers doubled and tripled their earnings.
And let us not forget the bankers who financed the great war. If anyone had the cream of the profits it was the bankers. Being partnerships rather than incorporated organizations, they do not have to report to stockholders. And their profits were as secret as they were immense. How the bankers made their millions and their billions I do not know, because those little secrets never become public -- even before a Senate investigatory body.
But here's how some of the other patriotic industrialists and speculators chiseled their way into war profits.
Take the shoe people. They like war. It brings business with abnormal profits. They made huge profits on sales abroad to our allies. Perhaps, like the munitions manufacturers and armament makers, they also sold to the enemy. For a dollar is a dollar whether it comes from Germany or from France. But they did well by Uncle Sam too. For instance, they sold Uncle Sam 35,000,000 pairs of hobnailed service shoes. There were 4,000,000 soldiers. Eight pairs, and more, to a soldier. My regiment during the war had only one pair to a soldier. Some of these shoes probably are still in existence. They were good shoes. But when the war was over Uncle Sam has a matter of 25,000,000 pairs left over. Bought -- and paid for. Profits recorded and pocketed.
There was still lots of leather left. So the leather people sold your Uncle Sam hundreds of thousands of McClellan saddles for the cavalry. But there wasn't any American cavalry overseas! Somebody had to get rid of this leather, however. Somebody had to make a profit in it -- so we had a lot of McClellan saddles. And we probably have those yet.
Also somebody had a lot of mosquito netting. They sold your Uncle Sam 20,000,000 mosquito nets for the use of the soldiers overseas. I suppose the boys were expected to put it over them as they tried to sleep in muddy trenches -- one hand scratching cooties on their backs and the other making passes at scurrying rats. Well, not one of these mosquito nets ever got to France!
Anyhow, these thoughtful manufacturers wanted to make sure that no soldier would be without his mosquito net, so 40,000,000 additional yards of mosquito netting were sold to Uncle Sam.
There were pretty good profits in mosquito netting in those days, even if there were no mosquitoes in France. I suppose, if the war had lasted just a little longer, the enterprising mosquito netting manufacturers would have sold your Uncle Sam a couple of consignments of mosquitoes to plant in France so that more mosquito netting would be in order.
Airplane and engine manufacturers felt they, too, should get their just profits out of this war. Why not? Everybody else was getting theirs. So $1,000,000,000 -- count them if you live long enough -- was spent by Uncle Sam in building airplane engines that never left the ground! Not one plane, or motor, out of the billion dollars worth ordered, ever got into a battle in France. Just the same the manufacturers made their little profit of 30, 100, or perhaps 300 per cent.
Undershirts for soldiers cost 14¢ to make and uncle Sam paid 30¢ to 40¢ each for them -- a nice little profit for the undershirt manufacturer. And the stocking manufacturer and the uniform manufacturers and the cap manufacturers and the steel helmet manufacturers -- all got theirs.
Why, when the war was over some 4,000,000 sets of equipment -- knapsacks and the things that go to fill them -- crammed warehouses on this side. Now they are being scrapped because the regulations have changed the contents. But the manufacturers collected their wartime profits on them -- and they will do it all over again the next time.
There were lots of brilliant ideas for profit making during the war.
One very versatile patriot sold Uncle Sam twelve dozen 48-inch wrenches. Oh, they were very nice wrenches. The only trouble was that there was only one nut ever made that was large enough for these wrenches. That is the one that holds the turbines at Niagara Falls. Well, after Uncle Sam had bought them and the manufacturer had pocketed the profit, the wrenches were put on freight cars and shunted all around the United States in an effort to find a use for them. When the Armistice was signed it was indeed a sad blow to the wrench manufacturer. He was just about to make some nuts to fit the wrenches. Then he planned to sell these, too, to your Uncle Sam.
Still another had the brilliant idea that colonels shouldn't ride in automobiles, nor should they even ride on horseback. One has probably seen a picture of Andy Jackson riding in a buckboard. Well, some 6,000 buckboards were sold to Uncle Sam for the use of colonels! Not one of them was used. But the buckboard manufacturer got his war profit.
The shipbuilders felt they should come in on some of it, too. They built a lot of ships that made a lot of profit. More than $3,000,000,000 worth. Some of the ships were all right. But $635,000,000 worth of them were made of wood and wouldn't float! The seams opened up -- and they sank. We paid for them, though. And somebody pocketed the profits.
It has been estimated by statisticians and economists and researchers that the war cost your Uncle Sam $52,000,000,000. Of this sum, $39,000,000,000 was expended in the actual war itself. This expenditure yielded $16,000,000,000 in profits. That is how the 21,000 billionaires and millionaires got that way. This $16,000,000,000 profits is not to be sneezed at. It is quite a tidy sum. And it went to a very few.
The Senate (Nye) committee probe of the munitions industry and its wartime profits, despite its sensational disclosures, hardly has scratched the surface.
Even so, it has had some effect. The State Department has been studying "for some time" methods of keeping out of war. The War Department suddenly decides it has a wonderful plan to spring. The Administration names a committee -- with the War and Navy Departments ably represented under the chairmanship of a Wall Street speculator -- to limit profits in war time. To what extent isn't suggested. Hmmm. Possibly the profits of 300 and 600 and 1,600 per cent of those who turned blood into gold in the World War would be limited to some smaller figure.
Apparently, however, the plan does not call for any limitation of losses -- that is, the losses of those who fight the war. As far as I have been able to ascertain there is nothing in the scheme to limit a soldier to the loss of but one eye, or one arm, or to limit his wounds to one or two or three. Or to limit the loss of life.
There is nothing in this scheme, apparently, that says not more than 12 per cent of a regiment shall be wounded in battle, or that not more than 7 per cent in a division shall be killed.
Of course, the committee cannot be bothered with such trifling matters.
III. Who Pays The Bills?
Who provides the profits -- these nice little profits of 20, 100, 300, 1,500 and 1,800 per cent? We all pay them -- in taxation. We paid the bankers their profits when we bought Liberty Bonds at $100.00 and sold them back at $84 or $86 to the bankers. These bankers collected $100 plus. It was a simple manipulation. The bankers control the security marts. It was easy for them to depress the price of these bonds. Then all of us -- the people -- got frightened and sold the bonds at $84 or $86. The bankers bought them. Then these same bankers stimulated a boom and government bonds went to par -- and above. Then the bankers collected their profits.
But the soldier pays the biggest part of the bill.
If you don't believe this, visit the American cemeteries on the battlefields abroad. Or visit any of the veteran's hospitals in the United States. On a tour of the country, in the midst of which I am at the time of this writing, I have visited eighteen government hospitals for veterans. In them are a total of about 50,000 destroyed men -- men who were the pick of the nation eighteen years ago. The very able chief surgeon at the government hospital, at Milwaukee, where there are 3,800 of the living dead, told me that mortality among veterans is three times as great as among those who stayed at home.
Boys with a normal viewpoint were taken out of the fields and offices and factories and classrooms and put into the ranks. There they were remolded; they were made over; they were made to "about face"; to regard murder as the order of the day. They were put shoulder to shoulder and, through mass psychology, they were entirely changed. We used them for a couple of years and trained them to think nothing at all of killing or of being killed.
Then, suddenly, we discharged them and told them to make another "about face" ! This time they had to do their own readjustment, sans mass psychology, sans officers' aid and advice and sans nation-wide propaganda. We didn't need them any more. So we scattered them about without any "three-minute" or "Liberty Loan" speeches or parades. Many, too many, of these fine young boys are eventually destroyed, mentally, because they could not make that final "about face" alone.
In the government hospital in Marion, Indiana, 1,800 of these boys are in pens! Five hundred of them in a barracks with steel bars and wires all around outside the buildings and on the porches. These already have been mentally destroyed. These boys don't even look like human beings. Oh, the looks on their faces! Physically, they are in good shape; mentally, they are gone.
There are thousands and thousands of these cases, and more and more are coming in all the time. The tremendous excitement of the war, the sudden cutting off of that excitement -- the young boys couldn't stand it.
That's a part of the bill. So much for the dead -- they have paid their part of the war profits. So much for the mentally and physically wounded -- they are paying now their share of the war profits. But the others paid, too -- they paid with heartbreaks when they tore themselves away from their firesides and their families to don the uniform of Uncle Sam -- on which a profit had been made. They paid another part in the training camps where they were regimented and drilled while others took their jobs and their places in the lives of their communities. They paid for it in the trenches where they shot and were shot; where they were hungry for days at a time; where they slept in the mud and the cold and in the rain -- with the moans and shrieks of the dying for a horrible lullaby.
But don't forget -- the soldier paid part of the dollars and cents bill too.
Up to and including the Spanish-American War, we had a prize system, and soldiers and sailors fought for money. During the Civil War they were paid bonuses, in many instances, before they went into service. The government, or states, paid as high as $1,200 for an enlistment. In the Spanish-American War they gave prize money. When we captured any vessels, the soldiers all got their share -- at least, they were supposed to. Then it was found that we could reduce the cost of wars by taking all the prize money and keeping it, but conscripting [drafting] the soldier anyway. Then soldiers couldn't bargain for their labor, Everyone else could bargain, but the soldier couldn't.
Napoleon once said, "All men are enamored of decorations . . . they positively hunger for them."
So by developing the Napoleonic system -- the medal business -- the government learned it could get soldiers for less money, because the boys liked to be decorated. Until the Civil War there were no medals. Then the Congressional Medal of Honor was handed out. It made enlistments easier. After the Civil War no new medals were issued until the Spanish-American War.
In the World War, we used propaganda to make the boys accept conscription. They were made to feel ashamed if they didn't join the army.
So vicious was this war propaganda that even God was brought into it. With few exceptions our clergymen joined in the clamor to kill, kill, kill. To kill the Germans. God is on our side . . . it is His will that the Germans be killed.
And in Germany, the good pastors called upon the Germans to kill the allies . . . to please the same God. That was a part of the general propaganda, built up to make people war conscious and murder conscious.
Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the "war to end all wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United States patents. They were just told it was to be a "glorious adventure."
Thus, having stuffed patriotism down their throats, it was decided to make them help pay for the war, too. So, we gave them the large salary of $30 a month.
All they had to do for this munificent sum was to leave their dear ones behind, give up their jobs, lie in swampy trenches, eat canned willy (when they could get it) and kill and kill and kill . . . and be killed.
Half of that wage (just a little more than a riveter in a shipyard or a laborer in a munitions factory safe at home made in a day) was promptly taken from him to support his dependents, so that they would not become a charge upon his community. Then we made him pay what amounted to accident insurance -- something the employer pays for in an enlightened state -- and that cost him $6 a month. He had less than $9 a month left.
Then, the most crowning insolence of all -- he was virtually blackjacked into paying for his own ammunition, clothing, and food by being made to buy Liberty Bonds. Most soldiers got no money at all on pay days.
We made them buy Liberty Bonds at $100 and then we bought them back -- when they came back from the war and couldn't find work -- at $84 and $86. And the soldiers bought about $2,000,000,000 worth of these bonds!
Yes, the soldier pays the greater part of the bill. His family pays too. They pay it in the same heart-break that he does. As he suffers, they suffer. At nights, as he lay in the trenches and watched shrapnel burst about him, they lay home in their beds and tossed sleeplessly -- his father, his mother, his wife, his sisters, his brothers, his sons, and his daughters.
When he returned home minus an eye, or minus a leg or with his mind broken, they suffered too -- as much as and even sometimes more than he. Yes, and they, too, contributed their dollars to the profits of the munitions makers and bankers and shipbuilders and the manufacturers and the speculators made. They, too, bought Liberty Bonds and contributed to the profit of the bankers after the Armistice in the hocus-pocus of manipulated Liberty Bond prices.
And even now the families of the wounded men and of the mentally broken and those who never were able to readjust themselves are still suffering and still paying.
IV. How To Smash This Racket!
Well, it's a racket, all right.
A few profit -- and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.
The only way to smash this racket is to conscript capital and industry and labor before the nations manhood can be conscripted. One month before the Government can conscript the young men of the nation -- it must conscript capital and industry and labor. Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our munitions makers and our shipbuilders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all the other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted -- to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.
Let the workers in these plants get the same wages -- all the workers, all presidents, all executives, all directors, all managers, all bankers -- yes, and all generals and all admirals and all officers and all politicians and all government office holders -- everyone in the nation be restricted to a total monthly income not to exceed that paid to the soldier in the trenches!
Let all these kings and tycoons and masters of business and all those workers in industry and all our senators and governors and majors pay half of their monthly $30 wage to their families and pay war risk insurance and buy Liberty Bonds.
Why shouldn't they?
They aren't running any risk of being killed or of having their bodies mangled or their minds shattered. They aren't sleeping in muddy trenches. They aren't hungry. The soldiers are!
Give capital and industry and labor thirty days to think it over and you will find, by that time, there will be no war. That will smash the war racket -- that and nothing else.
Maybe I am a little too optimistic. Capital still has some say. So capital won't permit the taking of the profit out of war until the people -- those who do the suffering and still pay the price -- make up their minds that those they elect to office shall do their bidding, and not that of the profiteers.
Another step necessary in this fight to smash the war racket is the limited plebiscite to determine whether a war should be declared. A plebiscite not of all the voters but merely of those who would be called upon to do the fighting and dying. There wouldn't be very much sense in having a 76-year-old president of a munitions factory or the flat-footed head of an international banking firm or the cross-eyed manager of a uniform manufacturing plant -- all of whom see visions of tremendous profits in the event of war -- voting on whether the nation should go to war or not. They never would be called upon to shoulder arms -- to sleep in a trench and to be shot. Only those who would be called upon to risk their lives for their country should have the privilege of voting to determine whether the nation should go to war.
There is ample precedent for restricting the voting to those affected. Many of our states have restrictions on those permitted to vote. In most, it is necessary to be able to read and write before you may vote. In some, you must own property. It would be a simple matter each year for the men coming of military age to register in their communities as they did in the draft during the World War and be examined physically. Those who could pass and who would therefore be called upon to bear arms in the event of war would be eligible to vote in a limited plebiscite. They should be the ones to have the power to decide -- and not a Congress few of whose members are within the age limit and fewer still of whom are in physical condition to bear arms. Only those who must suffer should have the right to vote.
A third step in this business of smashing the war racket is to make certain that our military forces are truly forces for defense only.
At each session of Congress the question of further naval appropriations comes up. The swivel-chair admirals of Washington (and there are always a lot of them) are very adroit lobbyists. And they are smart. They don't shout that "We need a lot of battleships to war on this nation or that nation." Oh no. First of all, they let it be known that America is menaced by a great naval power. Almost any day, these admirals will tell you, the great fleet of this supposed enemy will strike suddenly and annihilate 125,000,000 people. Just like that. Then they begin to cry for a larger navy. For what? To fight the enemy? Oh my, no. Oh, no. For defense purposes only.
Then, incidentally, they announce maneuvers in the Pacific. For defense. Uh, huh.
The Pacific is a great big ocean. We have a tremendous coastline on the Pacific. Will the maneuvers be off the coast, two or three hundred miles? Oh, no. The maneuvers will be two thousand, yes, perhaps even thirty-five hundred miles, off the coast.
The Japanese, a proud people, of course will be pleased beyond expression to see the United States fleet so close to Nippon's shores. Even as pleased as would be the residents of California were they to dimly discern through the morning mist, the Japanese fleet playing at war games off Los Angeles.
The ships of our navy, it can be seen, should be specifically limited, by law, to within 200 miles of our coastline. Had that been the law in 1898 the Maine would never have gone to Havana Harbor. She never would have been blown up. There would have been no war with Spain with its attendant loss of life. Two hundred miles is ample, in the opinion of experts, for defense purposes. Our nation cannot start an offensive war if its ships can't go further than 200 miles from the coastline. Planes might be permitted to go as far as 500 miles from the coast for purposes of reconnaissance. And the army should never leave the territorial limits of our nation.
To summarize: Three steps must be taken to smash the war racket.
1. We must take the profit out of war.
2. We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war.
3. We must limit our military forces to home defense purposes.
V. To Hell With War!
I am not a fool as to believe that war is a thing of the past. I know the people do not want war, but there is no use in saying we cannot be pushed into another war.
Looking back, Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president in 1916 on a platform that he had "kept us out of war" and on the implied promise that he would "keep us out of war." Yet, five months later he asked Congress to declare war on Germany.
In that five-month interval the people had not been asked whether they had changed their minds. The 4,000,000 young men who put on uniforms and marched or sailed away were not asked whether they wanted to go forth to suffer and die.
Then what caused our government to change its mind so suddenly?
An allied commission, it may be recalled, came over shortly before the war declaration and called on the President. The President summoned a group of advisers. The head of the commission spoke. Stripped of its diplomatic language, this is what he told the President and his group:
"There is no use kidding ourselves any longer. The cause of the allies is lost. We now owe you (American bankers, American munitions makers, American manufacturers, American speculators, American exporters) five or six billion dollars.
If we lose (and without the help of the United States we must lose) we, England, France and Italy, cannot pay back this money . . . and Germany won't.
So . . . "
Had secrecy been outlawed as far as war negotiations were concerned, and had the press been invited to be present at that conference, or had radio been available to broadcast the proceedings, America never would have entered the World War. But this conference, like all war discussions, was shrouded in utmost secrecy. When our boys were sent off to war they were told it was a "war to make the world safe for democracy" and a "war to end all wars."
Well, eighteen years after, the world has less of democracy than it had then. Besides, what business is it of ours whether Russia or Germany or England or France or Italy or Austria live under democracies or monarchies? Whether they are Fascists or Communists? Our problem is to preserve our own democracy.
And very little, if anything, has been accomplished to assure us that the World War was really the war to end all wars.
Yes, we have had disarmament conferences and limitations of arms conferences. They don't mean a thing. One has just failed; the results of another have been nullified. We send our professional soldiers and our sailors and our politicians and our diplomats to these conferences. And what happens?
The professional soldiers and sailors don't want to disarm. No admiral wants to be without a ship. No general wants to be without a command. Both mean men without jobs. They are not for disarmament. They cannot be for limitations of arms. And at all these conferences, lurking in the background but all-powerful, just the same, are the sinister agents of those who profit by war. They see to it that these conferences do not disarm or seriously limit armaments.
The chief aim of any power at any of these conferences has not been to achieve disarmament to prevent war but rather to get more armament for itself and less for any potential foe.
There is only one way to disarm with any semblance of practicability. That is for all nations to get together and scrap every ship, every gun, every rifle, every tank, every war plane. Even this, if it were possible, would not be enough.
The next war, according to experts, will be fought not with battleships, not by artillery, not with rifles and not with machine guns. It will be fought with deadly chemicals and gases.
Secretly each nation is studying and perfecting newer and ghastlier means of annihilating its foes wholesale. Yes, ships will continue to be built, for the shipbuilders must make their profits. And guns still will be manufactured and powder and rifles will be made, for the munitions makers must make their huge profits. And the soldiers, of course, must wear uniforms, for the manufacturer must make their war profits too.
But victory or defeat will be determined by the skill and ingenuity of our scientists.
If we put them to work making poison gas and more and more fiendish mechanical and explosive instruments of destruction, they will have no time for the constructive job of building greater prosperity for all peoples. By putting them to this useful job, we can all make more money out of peace than we can out of war -- even the munitions makers.
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Applying mild electrical currents to your head could take away pain, help memory and improve attention – and the US military is very interested. Emma Young reports.
In the summer of 2010, Ryan Clark twisted his ankle during a gym class. It was painful, but inconvenient more than anything. He was put on crutches for a week and his ankle healed. Then, six weeks later, the pain returned – only this time, it was a lot worse. Ryan ended up in a wheelchair, unable to bear the agony of walking. Drugs and rehab helped and after six weeks or so he recovered. Then he injured himself again, and a third time, each minor accident triggering pain that became horrendous. "They were just normal injuries for a nine-year-old," says Ryan's father, Vince, "but for him it was huge. As well as the pain, he got tremors. His muscles locked up. He'd go into full body spasms, and just curl up on the floor."
Ryan was eventually diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, a disorder that affects one in a million children his age. Vince Clark, who directs the Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, threw himself into understanding the syndrome and finding ways to help Ryan. Traditional painkillers had provided no relief, so Clark wondered about what he'd been researching in his lab. It's called transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) and it involves applying mild electrical currents to the head.
TDCS belongs to a group of techniques known as 'non-invasive brain stimulation' because they don't involve surgery. It is still experimental, but even in 2010, it was showing promise not only for alleviating pain, but for boosting the brain, improving memory and attention in healthy people. The US Department of Defense (DoD) wondered whether it might benefit military personnel. By the time Ryan became sick, Clark had led DoD-funded studies that explored this question, and produced remarkably good results.
The Royal College of Surgeons, London, January 1803. An audience watches in anticipation as the maverick Italian scientist Giovanni Aldini strides into the room. Someone else is on display before them: George Forster, a convicted murderer, who was earlier hanged at Newgate Prison. Using a primitive battery and connecting rods, Aldini applies an electrical current to the corpse. To the spectators' amazement, it grimaces and jerks. In response to rectal stimulation, one of its fists seems to punch the air.
Aldini was fascinated by the effects of electricity on both the body and the mind, Clark tells me. After claiming to have cured a 27-year-old depressed farmer using electrical stimulation, Aldini tried it on patients with 'melancholy madness' at the Sant'Orsola Hospital in Bologna. He had only limited success, in part because the patients were terrified of his apparatus.
Aldini's experiments with electricity were the beginning of a long and storied episode in the history of psychiatry. Electroconvulsive shock therapy, which requires currents strong enough to trigger seizures, was introduced in the late 1930s. But with the rise of effective new drug treatments as well as public criticism in books like Ken Kesey'sOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, electrical therapies fell out of favour. "At some point, our culture became worried about electricity and its effects," says Clark. "It was something scary. There was a general anxiety about it, and people weren't willing to look at it in a rational, calm way."
Clark is animated as he recounts the rise and fall, and subsequent rise, of electrical stimulation of the brain. While the use of electricity on people became frowned upon, neuroscientists still studied the effects on animals – "A lot of my professors in grad school had played with the effects of electricity in living tissue," Clark says. In the 1960s, scientists found that tDCS, which involves currents up to a thousand times less powerful than those used in electroconvulsive shock therapy, could affect brain-cell 'excitability' and help with severe depression. But drugs still seemed more promising as psychiatric treatments, so tDCS was abandoned.
Then in the 1980s, electroshock therapy enjoyed a resurgence. It became clear that it could treat some patients with severe depression for whom the drugs did nothing. Around the same time, interest was growing in something called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A patient undergoing TMS sits very still while a wand held above the skull generates a magnetic field that penetrates their brain. This can relieve depression and also help in rehabilitation after a stroke or head injury.
In 2000, Michael Nitsche and Walter Paulus at the University of Göttingen, Germany, reported that tDCS could alter a person's response to magnetic stimulation. While TMS forces brain cells to fire, tDCS "primes the pump", as Michael Weisend, a former colleague of Clark, describes it, making it more likely that a brain cell will fire in response to a stimulus.
Neuroscientists' interest in tDCS was reignited by the Göttingen studies. But what really got people talking were the serendipitous findings that tDCS could change the brain functioning not only of patients but also of healthy people, who had been included in the trials only for comparison. This work was hugely influential, Clark says. Researchers began to investigate the potential of tDCS to boost healthy brains. Results showing that it could enhance learning and memory were some of the first to come in. Other teams looked at using tDCS to treat pain. Like many of his colleagues, Clark found it fascinating.
After a postdoctoral role at the National Institute of Mental Health, working in part on TMS, Clark had moved to Albuquerque in a joint appointment with the University of New Mexico and the Mind Research Network (MRN), a non-profit neuroscience research institute. His work focused on brain imaging and schizophrenia. By 2006, he was promoted to Scientific Director at the MRN. Clark was keen to work on tDCS but also needed to get the MRN out of financial difficulties. The institute had over-spent badly. "We were in a financial black hole," he says. "We needed a lot of money fast."
Around this time, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the part of the DoD responsible for developing new technologies for military use, put out a call for proposals for research in an area they dubbed "Accelerated Learning". A general call like this attracts ideas from scientists from across the nation, each hoping that DoD dollars will flood their way. Clark and the MRN got the go-ahead. "We put a proposal together to use tDCS. And it was funded. And a lot of money came in quickly. A lot of people's jobs were saved."
It's clear that to Clark, the preservation of jobs by this influx of cash – which ultimately totalled $6 million – helped to justify the use of military funds. He talks positively about the way DARPA does business. "I do really like their philosophy. They want to promote research that is very cutting-edge and very risky; a 90 per cent failure rate in their portfolio is okay, because the 10 per cent that works will change the world. We got lucky to be in that 10 per cent."
Brian Coffman smiles reassuringly as he leads me into a small room. He's had tDCS done plenty of times, he says, and he's administered it to around 300 people so far. Some report itching, heat and tingling, but nothing serious. Rarely, someone develops a headache.
Coffman, a PhD student who works with Clark, uses adhesive tape to attach the non-stimulating cathode electrode to my left upper arm and the anode, which delivers the current, to the side of my head, up between my ear and my eye. This positioning is designed to maximise the current that is drawn through the target region of my brain. The electrodes are inside sponges that have been soaked in conductive salt water, so a little of the saline drips down my face. They're connected by wires to a 9 volt battery. When Coffman switches on the battery, I feel a tiny spark on my arm. Static discharge, he explains, and apologises.tDCS and me
As Coffman turns the current up to 2 milliamps, the maximum level used in most tDCS studies, I feel a scratchy sensation on my arm, but that's it. Coffman checks that I'm comfortable, then I'm put to work on a computer-based task. The software is called DARWARS, and it was designed to help familiarise US Army recruits with the types of environments they might encounter in the Middle East. Clark and his team modified it, adding hidden targets to half the 1,200 still scenes. Fairly crude computer-generated images flash up briefly, showing derelict apartment blocks, desert roads, or streets filled with grocers' stands. I have to press buttons on a keyboard to indicate whether there's a threat in the scene or not. Occasionally, it's pretty obvious. Mostly, it isn't. A training period helps the user learn what can be dangerous and what is likely to be benign. When I miss an enemy fighter who's partially concealed, one of my virtual colleagues drops to the dust and I'm verbally admonished: "Soldier, you missed a threat. You just lost a member of your platoon."
I didn't feel that the stimulation helped me, though Coffman tells me later that my performance did improve afterwards. This means nothing scientifically – but I can at least attest that while I didn't feel any mentally sharper during or after the tDCS, I didn't experience any negative effects, either.
The MRN team used this software in part of their DARPA-funded research. First, they imaged volunteers' brains to see which regions were active as they learned to spot threats. Then they applied 2 milliamps of direct current for 30 minutes to that crucial region – the inferior frontal cortex. They found that stimulation halved the time it took volunteers to learn. This was a huge surprise, says Clark. "Most tDCS studies don't achieve a huge effect. A lot are borderline."
This is one of the criticisms that has been levelled at tDCS: the results aren't always that good. Clark is convinced this is because a lot of the studies haven't involved imaging the brain first, to pinpoint the regions that really need stimulation. "A lot rely on common knowledge about how the brain is meant to be organised. I've learned in 33 years of looking at the brain that we still have a lot to learn," he says. Michael Weisend, who collaborated on the study, agrees – he calls the imaging work "the secret sauce".
Despite the impressive results, feedback from colleagues was mixed. And by then, Clark was feeling uncomfortable about several things, not least his benefactors.
"It's big. Oh yeah, it's big," agrees Estella Holmes, an Air Force public affairs representative, who has just driven me in through the gates of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in a minivan. Wright-Patt, as it seems to be referred to by anyone who knows the place, is near Dayton, Ohio, and is the largest of all the US Air Force bases, employing some 26,000 people. It is rich in aviation history. In and around this area, Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted pioneering experiments into flight. What they helped to start continues here, at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
The AFRL includes the 711th Human Performance Wing, whose mission is to "advance human performance in air, space and cyberspace". Wright-Patt is so vast, not even Holmes is quite sure where we're going. We have to ask a passing airman for help. He's dressed in fatigues, even though it's a Monday. On Mondays, Holmes has informed me, it's protocol to wear the blue uniform, unless a grimy task is scheduled. When we get inside, though, everyone seems to be in fatigues. A group of airmen – the term is used for both men and women – are holding an informal meeting at a café in the atrium, while others are walking to their various tasks. Previous Air Force Surgeons General survey the scene from oil paintings hung along one long wall. The atmosphere is quietly busy.
When a young man approaches us, incongruous not only because he's in civilian clothing (a grunge-cool three-piece suit) but because of his long, wavy hair and goatee beard, I'm momentarily thrown. "When I first met Andy, he looked like he could be active military, while I had a ponytail down to my belt," Weisend tells me later. "I like to think I got him on the long-hair path and I'm proud of that!"
Andy McKinley is Weisend's research partner and the military's principal in-house tDCS researcher, leading a lab at the Human Performance Wing. His father was a biomedical engineer in the AFRL. "I guess I followed in his footsteps," McKinley says. "I also liked the fact that my research could lead to the development of technologies that could continue to give us a strategic military advantage and improve national security." He joined two years after finishing his bachelor's degree and started out investigating the effects of high G-forces on pilots' cognitive performance. After a PhD in biomedical engineering, minoring in neuroscience, he began work on non-invasive (not involving surgery) brain stimulation. "We began noticing a lot of the medical literature suggesting that cognitive functioning could be enhanced," he says. "And particularly in control groups, which were normal, healthy participants. We began thinking: if it could help with those healthy participants, it could potentially be an intervention tool we could use here in the military to help advance cognitive function."
McKinley has anywhere from six to ten people working on this with him (the number fluctuates according to whether he has summer students or not). And as far as he is aware, his is the only team within the US military, or any other military, investigating non-invasive brain stimulation. Other countries are certainly interested – the UK's Defence Science and Research Laboratory, part of the Ministry of Defence, is paying for research at the University of Bangor, Wales, on whether tDCS can enhance learning by observation, for example, and for PhD students at the University of Nottingham to conduct studies on enhancing cognition and performance, in part using tDCS.
As a technology, tDCS is unusual in that its effects on healthy people were discovered by accident. So McKinley's research has two prongs. The first is to better understand the basic neuroscience. The second is to develop practical applications.
The day I visit, a tDCS trial is underway in one of McKinley's small labs. An airman sits at a monitor, wired up with electrodes, his jacket slung over the back of his chair. Plane-shaped icons keep entering his airspace. He has to decide whether each incoming plane is a friend or a foe. If it's a foe, he must send a warning. If it flies off, fine. If it doesn't, he must bring it down. The lab is silent, apart from the bleeps as he hits the buttons, and the smash as a software missile destroys an uncooperative plane.
The task obviously involves decision making, but it also has a physical 'motor' component: you must press the buttons in the correct sequence, and you must do this quickly, to get a good score. After a while, this kind of task becomes pretty automatic. "If you imagine learning to ride a bike or a manual vehicle, your process is very conscious at first because you're thinking about all the steps. But as you do it more often, it becomes more and more unconscious," McKinley says. "We wanted to see if we could accelerate that transition with tDCS."
Brain imaging suggested that the best way to do this would be to stimulate the motor cortex while the volunteer was doing the task. But McKinley and his team added a twist: after the stimulation, they use tDCS in reverse to inhibit the volunteers' prefrontal cortex, which is involved in conscious thinking. The day after the stimulation, the volunteers are brought back for re-testing. "The results we're getting are fantastic," McKinley says. People getting a hit of both mid-test and inhibitory stimulation did 250 per cent better in their retests, far outperforming those who had received neither. Used in this way, it seems that tDCS can turbo-boost the time it takes for someone to go from being a novice at a task to being an expert.
In theory, this two-step process might be used to speed all kinds of training, in everything from the piloting of a plane to marksmanship. But for now, image analysis is high on McKinley's list. This is painstaking work that requires a lot of attention. Image analysts spend their whole working day studying surveillance footage for anything of interest.
In other studies, McKinley's team have also used tDCS to supercharge attention, which could help the image analysts too. Volunteers were asked to engage in a rudimentary simulation of air traffic monitoring. Performance at this type of task usually declines over time. "It's a pretty linear decrement," McKinley says. But when they stimulated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of volunteers' brains, an area they had found to be crucial for attention, they found absolutely no reduction in performance for the entire 40-minute duration of the test. "That had never been shown before," he says enthusiastically. "We've never been able to find anything else that creates that kind of preservation of performance."
TDCS is not the only brain stimulation tool that he finds interesting. As well as ongoing work into magnetic stimulation, other teams are looking at ultrasound and even laser light, as well as different forms of electrical stimulation, using alternating current, for example. McKinley is about to start looking at ultrasound too, and he's interested in how alternating current can influence brainwaves. But while he says he's agnostic about what type of stimulation might turn out to be best for cognitive enhancement, tDCS has some advantages. For a start, unlike ultrasound or magnetism, electricity is a natural part of brain-cell communication, and it's cheap and portable. He thinks tDCS is the best bet for a wearable brain-stimulating device.
Ultimately, McKinley envisages a wireless cap incorporating electroencephalography (EEG) sensors as well as tDCS electrodes. This two-in-one cap would monitor brain activity and deliver targeted stimulation when necessary – boosting the wearer's attention if it seems to be flagging, for example. The basic technology is already available. And McKinley and Weisend are working to improve and refine it. With help from materials specialists at the AFRL, they have developed EEG-based electrodes that use gel, rather than a wet sponge, and which they say are more comfortable to wear. They also now favour an array of five mini-electrodes within each cathode and anode, to spread the current and reduce the risk of any damage to the skin.
Along with improvements in learning and attention in normal situations, McKinley has found that tDCS can combat the kinds of decline in mental performance normally seen with sleep deprivation. Other researchers have found that, depending on where the current is applied, tDCS can make someone more logical, boost their mathematical ability, improve their physical strength and speed, and even affect their ability to make plans, propensity to take risks and capacity to deceive – the production of lies can be improved or impaired by tDCS, it seems. While much of this work is preliminary, all of these effects may potentially be exploited by any military organisation – though McKinley is at pains to point out that 'soldier mind control' is not what he's about. The biggest barriers to rolling out a tDCS cap for routine use by US military personnel – or anybody else, for that matter – are related not so much to the technology or even the effects it can engender, but to unanswered questions about the fundamental technique.
"Let's talk about skulls!"
I'm sitting with Mike Weisend in Max & Erma's, an all-American restaurant about a five-minute drive from his new office at the Wright State Research Institute, which itself is only about ten minutes from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Also at the table are Larry Janning and David McDaniel from Defense Research Associates, a local company that creates technologies "to support the Warfighter".
In the car on the way over, Weisend told me about his early, gruesome attempts to get a better idea of what happens to electricity when it's applied to the skull. "First, I allied with a company that does acoustic damage research on cadaver heads. The idea was we'd get the heads afterwards. It was an incredibly messy, unpleasant business. I couldn't handle it." But this kind of data is high on his and McKinley's wish list.
No one yet knows what duration of electrical stimulation or what number of stimulations has the biggest impact on performance, or what level of current is optimal. Nor does anyone know whether stimulation might produce permanent change – which might render the two-in-one cap unnecessary, McKinley says, but which may or may not be desirable, depending on the application. There are hints from various studies that even a single session of tDCS might have long-lasting effects. No one knows how long the impacts on attention persisted after the 40-minute cut-off in the air traffic control study, he says.
Another thing nobody knows for sure is where the electricity actually goes when it's applied to various parts of the skull. Certainly, it's a pretty broad, imprecise type of stimulation – a "shotgun" approach, rather than a "scalpel", as Weisend describes it. But while there are models that indicate where neuroscientists think the electricity goes in the brain, and so exactly which parts it's affecting, this isn't good enough, says McKinley. You can't put electrodes throughout a living person's head to find out. "So what we want," McKinley tells me, "is a phantom skull."
Today, Weisend wants to talk to Janning and McDaniel about building this phantom – a model of a human head. The idea is to use a real skull, but with a gelatinous, conductive, brain-mimicking goo inside.
At first, no one's quite sure how to fit the skull with sensors in a way that might produce realistic results, particularly as Weisend wants it to be useful for research with a range of stimulation techniques. Over black-bean burgers and soup, there's talk about multiplex receivers and problems with pulsing signals. Then McDaniel comes up with the idea of inserting a folded fan-type circuit board into the hole at the base of the skull, then opening it up once it's inside. Weisend jumps on the idea. He holds his fists together, the phalanges of his knuckles in contact. "This is like the brain," he says. "You've got fibres running like my fingers." A fan shape would be a decent mimic for the fibres, he decides. "I like this idea. I like it a whole lot!"
Both McKinley and Weisend are interested in the basic neuroscience of precisely what tDCS does to the brain, as well as the technology – and the question of safety. This is clearly a big concern when you're talking about zapping the brain with electricity, even if the current is very small. The positive tDCS findings, and the relative cheapness of the kit, has made do-it-yourself tDCS a popular topic for discussion on the internet. You can buy what you need for under $200, and, judging by the online forums, plenty of people are. But Weisend has some major concerns about this. For a start, the electrodes themselves.
"See this?" He rolls up his right sleeve to reveal a small scar on his inner forearm. "I test all the electrode designs myself before we do it on regular subjects," he says. "I don't like to do anything to other people I don't do to myself." After trying out one particular new electrode, a research assistant wiped his arm and a plug of skin the size of a dime came out. "It was the consistency of phlegm," Weisend says. "I could see the muscle underneath." The problem was the shape: the electrode was a square, and the current had concentrated at the corners. This was one of many, mostly less unpleasant, results that helped lead McKinley and him to develop the current-spreading five-electrode array.
Nicely packaged consumer tDCS kits, aimed at the public rather than scientists, are already on sale. But Weisend and McKinley – and every other tDCS researcher I've talked to – think it's too early for commercial devices. In fact, they all seem worried. If something goes wrong and someone gets hurt, perhaps by an imperfect electrode design or using the kit for 'too long' – a duration that has yet to be defined – not only will that be regrettable for the individual but tDCS as a concept will be stigmatised, McKinley says.
So far, there seem to be no harmful effects of tDCS, at least, not at the levels or durations of stimulation that are routinely used. Weisend believes there's no such thing as a free lunch, and admits there could be side-effects to tDCS that no one knows about yet. Others are more optimistic. Felipe Fregni, Director of the Laboratory of Neuromodulation at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, says there's no reason to think even long-term use will cause problems, provided that it's at the low levels and durations that are typically used in the lab studies. "Being a clinician, one thing we are taught at medical school is that treatments that work well have huge side-effects. Then you see something with literally no side-effects, and you think, are we missing something, or not? TDCS is only enhancing what your system is doing. I feel confident that it is pretty safe, based on the mechanisms."
The absence of side-effects – which most drugs can't boast – is one of the reasons tDCS is so exciting as a clinical tool, says Vince Clark. In many cases, a drug will be more appropriate. But tDCS can relieve pain without making an addict of the user. It can affect the brain without also damaging the liver. As there seem to be no side-effects, tDCS is at least as safe as many drugs that are currently approved for use on kids. Eleven per cent of children in the USA have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and many are on stimulants such as Ritalin. No one knows for sure that there are no very long-term effects of using tDCS – but the same may be said for Ritalin, Clark says.
While tDCS is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for any medical use, anecdotal reports lead Clark to believe that its 'off-label' use (when doctors recommend something which they think can help their patient but which isn't officially recognised as a treatment) is growing, particularly for chronic pain and depression. Hospitals are starting to use the technique clinically. In Boston, Fregni and his colleague León Morales-Quezada recently began to use tDCS during rehab on young patients with brain injuries. With one boy, a three-year-old who had suffered severe brain damage after a near-drowning in a swimming pool, they got "fantastic" results, Morales-Quezada says. After the treatment, the boy had much better control over his movements, and he was able to speak.
There's another 'risk': that the device won't help everyone, and people will say tDCS doesn't work. In fact, people do not respond equally to stimulation, and no one yet knows exactly why. This is just one of the areas that needs more research – which requires money.
To Clark, his studies aren't fundamentally about helping to teach a soldier how to spot a threat and deal with it – which, in the real world, might involve identifying and killing an enemy – but about investigating how the brain detects threats. "A lot of people who've reviewed my work will say that it's good work – but does it have to be about the military? That makes them unhappy. A lot of intellectuals are made uncomfortable by war. Which I am."
There's something else, which clearly bothers him still. In 2003, Joseph Wilson, a former US diplomat, published a piece in the New York Times arguing that President George W Bush had misled the public about claims of Iraqi purchasing of uranium in Africa, part of the wider furore over the decision to go to war in Iraq. A week later, his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson – a friend of Clark – was outed as a CIA agent. This was retribution, her husband claimed, for his article. "I'd known Valerie for ten years before this, not knowing she was a CIA agent," Clark says. "She was a wonderful patriot, and I was really unhappy that because people were angry at her husband, she lost her career and her ability to do that work… So here were my friends, going through this. And here was I, being pressured to use this technology for weapons development."
Weapons development? Around the time of the DARPA grant, the focus of the Mind Research Network had begun to shift more and more towards developing tools the military could use, Clark says. "I'm not allowed to say what was discussed, but I can mention some possibilities," he says. "A device that makes enemy troops unconscious, or makes them too confused or upset to fight, might make a weapon. Weapons that alter thoughts or beliefs, or directly affect decision-making or 'reward' pathways in their brain to alter their behaviour, or that keep someone conscious while they are being tortured, might be achieved." He'd also heard talk of using tDCS to help improve sniper training, which he didn't approve of. "I had my principles and goals, and they had theirs, and they were in direct conflict."
In 2009, an error was found in bonus payments to the research assistants on the DARPA project. Clark says that it wasn't that serious, but against the background of his disputes with colleagues over the direction of the institute, it became a big problem. Soon after, he lost his position as principal investigator on the DARPA work.
After enthusiastic handshakes and promises of further discussions with the men from Defense Research Associates, Weisend yawns, and apologises. He's been in Ohio for only six weeks. It's been a busy period of settling in, getting to know new colleagues and meeting potential collaborators. Also, he and his wife finally got a TV last night, he adds. He couldn't resist staying up to watch old Star Trek episodes. Back inside his office, we sit down and talk about tDCS, his current projects, the Mind Research Network, Vince Clark, the Department of Defense, and the "colour of money".
Weisend's cousin David was in the US Special Operations Forces. His sister, Joan, was a career corpsman in the US Navy. She completed numerous tours around the world, including to Iraq and Africa. A shipboard fire on one of her tours resulted in multiple operations on her wrist, neck and shoulder. Between 1997 and 2004, Weisend also worked at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Hospital, running a magnetoencephalography (MEG) centre, which performed highly detailed scans of patients' brains. He remembers one patient in particular, a woman who'd received a head injury after falling from a moving vehicle during the first Gulf War. As a result, she had epilepsy. MEG scanning of her brain allowed the medical team to perform surgery that stopped the seizures, with the least possible damage to healthy tissue. "I personally saw the health effects [of military action] on soldiers at the hospital, and my sister, and my cousin," he says. "Anything I can do to help those guys and gals, I'll do."
When Clark lost his position, Weisend was asked to take the lead, and it was he who developed and supervised the second phase of the research. DoD funding forms a big part of his lab income at the Wright State Research Institute, says Weisend – it's for "exciting, fun" projects he can't talk about. He's well aware that not everyone is comfortable about military-related grants. "There are people, particularly in university departments, that get worried about the 'colour of money' – Defense money, rather than NIH [National Institutes of Health] money for pure science," he says. His opinion is that you never know how basic research is going to be used, and if it is used for harm, it's the agency doing the harm that should be open to blame, rather than the researcher who did the original science.
What about the tDCS research on sniper training that Clark had heard about? That belongs to the category of research that has appeared "in the popular press" but not "in the lab", Weisend says, though adding that he isn't opposed to it, in theory. "The bottom line is that Vince and I see the world differently, with respect to the DARPA work and the directions it took," he says. "If Vince had conversations about weaponising our results, I was not privy to those conversations. Could the results be weaponised? Undoubtedly. But then again, so could a ballpoint pen. We have always focused on performance enhancement as measured by reducing errors and uncertainty. We never did any experiments on weapons at MRN."
For a long time, it was difficult to get military volunteers for the DARPA-funded studies, Weisend tells me. Unlike civilians, they couldn't be paid for taking part. Then he hit on the idea of ordering a special coin. He passes one over to me. It's weighty and impressive, the size of a medal. On one side is a raised relief of the exterior of a human brain, on the other the full-colour emblems of both the 711th Human Performance Wing and the Air Force Research Laboratory, with "The Mind Research Network" printed underneath.
Coins like these are really popular within the military, Weisend says. He shows me his collection. There's one from a friend at the Pentagon, another from his cousin, from his time with the 20th Special Operations Squadron of the Air Force, the Green Hornets. "We couldn't figure out how to get military people in the door," he says, "then we came up with these. And they came out of the woodwork to get them."
While the MRN-led studies involved a mix of military and student volunteers, Andy McKinley recruits his volunteers from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. At the moment, tDCS is still experimental, McKinley stresses. It is not yet a routine part of US military training. But some researchers are worried.
Bernhard Sehm, a cognitive neurologist at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, has a list of concerns about tDCS and the military. For a start, he says he's far from convinced that lab results would transfer to real-world scenarios, with complex demands – such as combat. Also, "some researchers have argued that the enhancement of one specific ability might result in a deterioration of another," he says. "To use non-invasive brain stimulation in soldiers poses a risk both to the person receiving and to other persons who might be harmed by his actions." Sehm is also worried about soldiers' autonomy. "In general, people in the military cannot really decide voluntarily whether to accept a 'treatment' or not," he says.
As the DoD continues its funding of tDCS research, some researchers in the field have decided to take a firm stand against military-related money. Chris Chambers, a psychologist at Cardiff University, in Wales, conducts research into magnetic brain stimulation. When he was approached by representatives from QinetiQ, a British defence technology firm, who told him that funding might be available for joint collaborations, he says he rejected their overtures, on a point of principle.
This isn't necessarily an easy decision. Pharmaceutical companies aren't interested in paying for the research, because not only is tDCS not a drug but in some cases it could be in direct competition with a drug, and may even have big advantages. "It doesn't circulate through the body, so it won't affect other organs that most drugs can damage," Clark says. "It's not addictive. If there's any problem, you can turn it off in seconds. It's also cheap." These benefits, unfortunately, restrict researchers' options to public funding bodies (who haven't exactly thrown money at tDCS), private defence-related companies, or the military.
In the past, DoD funding has produced innovations that have had a huge impact on civilian life – think of the Global Positioning System of satellites or even noise-cancelling headphones. Andy McKinley hopes a safe, effective form of tDCS will join that list. While the DoD doesn't have enough in-house specialists to do the research, it does have cash.
Clark still acts as a research supervisor at the MRN, but works mostly at the university. He is currently gathering "whatever little pieces of money I can find" to pursue medical-related research: to investigate whether tDCS can cut drinking in alcoholics, reduce hallucinations in people with schizophrenia, and calm impulsive behaviour associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. While this research is relatively cheap, funding is still a problem. Given the recent rapid rise in tDCS research published in academic journals, Clark hopes the NIH will soon start taking tDCS research seriously, and pay for large-scale, controlled studies.
Among the promising leads are further findings that tDCS also seems to work well with types of pain that don't respond well to conventional painkillers, like chronic pain, and pain from damaged nerves. In these cases, the target is usually the motor cortex, and the idea is to reduce pain signals. Which brings me back to Ryan, one of the biggest motivations for Clark's research. Did Clark eventually try it on his son? When Ryan first got sick, "none of the doctors here had heard of tDCS," he tells me, "and without medical help, I decided I wasn't going to do it". He also came across a low-tech approach: an 'orthotic', similar to the mouthguards people used to stop night-time teethgrinding. To Clark's surprise, this relieves Ryan's pain and eases his movement. But Clark says he'd be happy for Ryan to try tDCS. If the mouthguard stopped working and he could find a clinician who would work with the technique, "I don't think it would be any problem".
Clark raves about its potential to aid sick people, like his son, and healthy people alike. But he says he's clear now about his position on what funds to accept and what research to do. "I want to see tDCS used to help," he says, "not to harm."
- Author: Emma Young
- Editor: Mun-Keat Looi
- Fact checker: Cameron Bird
- Copyeditor: Tom Freeman
- Photographer: Brea Souders
- Set design: Gemma Tickle
- Art director: Peta Bell
- Editorial on neuroenhancement co-authored by Vince Clark and published in the journal NeuroImage.
- Rewiring your brain: a talk by Michael Weisend at TEDx Dayton.
This article first appeared on Mosaic and is republished here under Creative Commons license. Mosaic is dedicated to exploring the science of life. Each week, it publishes a feature on an aspect of biology or medicine that affects our lives, our health or our society; it tells stories with real depth about the ideas, trends and people that drive contemporary life sciences. Mosaic is published by the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation that seeks to drive extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It covers subjects that fit with the Trust's mission and vision, but isn't limited to the research the Trust funds. | <urn:uuid:33e386f8-37ee-423e-8593-0ce31a7e1c1b> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://gizmodo.com/can-you-supercharge-your-brain-with-electricty-1585278622 | 2017-08-20T21:45:58Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106990.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820204359-20170820224359-00120.warc.gz | en | 0.975878 | 8,456 |
Top 10 Best Weight Bench Reviews in 2018 – A Detailed Buying Guide
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- What’s my personal research about Exercise Bench?
- What are the benefits of best Exercise Benches?
- How to choose the best Workout Bench?
- How to properly use a Weight Bench at home?
- My pick for top 10 best Weight Bench reviews
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- Why Should Buy a Good Quality Weight Bench?
- Top 5 Things to Consider Before Buying the Best Workout Bench
- Final Recommendation
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My Personal Research for You About Exercise Bench
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You Can Get the Benefits from This Types of Workouts by Using a Weight Bench at Home & Gym.
After all, an exercise method is easy to continue because you won't get bored with these. Since they do not consume a lot of time and you have the flexibility of working out at your own convenience, there is no doubt that you are working out a schedule that is going to stay for a longer time. In fact, many individuals fail to keep up with their workout schedule a bit because it is very demanding or they fail to find adequate time for exercises. With exercise benches you do not have to spend a lot of time or even money and doing your workouts can be a great experience.
How to Use a Weight Bench at Home?
A weight bench is used for strength training workouts. It allows you to perform a number of compound exercises by sitting, lying, or standing on the weight bench while adjusting the racks that come with it.
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- Try different angle inclination: If you want to work out your upper body, you should incline the bench at an angle that is not too high so as not to cause unnecessary injuries. If you want exercises that specifically target the lower chest, you should decline the bench. For various exercises, you should try different angles of the bench.
- Weight bench for support: The bench is ideal and can provide amazing support when you are doing bicep curls and overhead lifts. You should adjust it to sit upright so as to get excellent support for your back, which will prevent injuries and cheating. This makes sure that your body is not moving back and forth and as such, all the weight lifting depends on your muscle power.
- Weight bench is for lifting exercises only: Do not use the weight lifting bench for other activities besides weight lifting. Even when lifting weights, only use the bench for weights that are more than 30 pounds.
- Proper posture: Your feet should be flat, either on the bench or the floor, depending on the type of exercise that you are engaged in. If you are a beginner, you should not raise your feet up in the air when exercising as this may cause instability and possible injuries.
How to Choose the Best Workout Bench?
Basic motive is to provide you all the details about the weight benches that are available for you to have the best and ultimate fitness. To incorporate the best and top lists of the benches and other exercising machines we do have our own strategy and procedure that is followed by the experts. As a whole, there is a team of professionals with the great interest in the exercise benches and other machines who review all the top most favorable and reliable weight benches in a list and ensure that you will get the best.
To select the top products, we use the following hardcore strategy that let us know about the best and prior products available to you:
- POPULAR BRANDS
The best brands always provide you the best products and our experts make sure that you will only get the best and reliable products. I follow all new promotions and developments that are introduced by the brands and leading companies. In all these new promotions it is noted that what is new and special into it and how it will make things better. The product is rated along with its functions, quality, price and other specifications that make it perfect for you use.
- OCCUPYING SPACE
For the best weight bench, it is important that you look for space it occupies on a general level, if it is too much space occupying one then will be difficult for you to adjust it in the small space.
The other thing you have to look for is the weight of the bench, if the weight of the bench is itself too much then it will be difficult for you to move it from one place to other.Make sure that the weight of the bench will be nominal and it could handle the weight range according to your need.
- WORKOUT OPTIONS
The next thing to look for is the workout range that is offered by the weight bench for you. You should pick up the one that will let you have the ultimate workout moves.
The durability of the bench matters a lot, you need to consider that the bench will be strong enough to support your workout requirements and also last with you for a longer period of time.
For instance, there are basic adjustable-rate benches and these benches come with a very simple design.
These benches are designed to provide back support and they are targeting those users who want to work out their upper body. For those who are working out their chest or other muscle groups on their upper body, basic adjustable benches are one of the best choices because they do not need a sophisticated that adjustable mechanism for workouts.
Top 10 Best Weight Bench Ultimate Reviews Of 2018
I have spent countless hours on researching and analyzing the best weight bench and finally built a list of weight bench that you check . I’m going to review these weight bench. I know you will enjoy.
XMark Fitness 11-Gauge FID bench is designed with sheer strength in mind as this supports a maximum overall weight capacity of 1,500 pounds. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need anywhere near this limit, it clearly indicates that stability and quality are built in this weight bench. With its FID design, it also means that its weight limit is being supported through its extensive array of positions, starting from decline through vertical.
As a match for this range of different back support positions, the seat’s angle is adjustable to help in keeping you properly supported as you perform the heavier pressing kinds of exercises. To offer some extra support with the bench’s high weight limit, the back support and the seat are both upholstered and well padded for you to stay comfortable as possible while performing your workout routines.
Apart from the strength, the 7 different adjustments for the back pad angle from flat to full military press position also increase the range of available exercise options, which means that there is no longer a need for you to buy a different bench just to support your decline training.
If the ergonomically designed back support and seat and the undeniable strength are not enough for you, the extra thick 3” Duracraft pad also does a wonderful job in ensuring that you stay well supported and comfortable during all your workouts.
Even if XMark 11-Gauge FID Flat Incline Decline Bench XM-7472 can be utilized for dumbbell workouts if needed, its commercial grade weight capacity enables you to slide this under a power rack or a smith machine for more intense barbell workouts.
Some of the exercises you can do with this weight bench when combined with a set of dumbbell handles or barbells, a weight plate set, and a simple squat rack are decline flys, lying triceps extensions, pullovers, decline bench press, incline hammer curls, incline flys, flat bench press, and incline barbell press. XMark 11-Gauge FID Flat Incline Decline BenchXM-7472 will provide you the comfort and stability necessary when working out with heavy weights that help to ensure this is the bench that’ll last for many years to come
Xmark 11-Gauge Fid Flat Incline Decline Bench Xm-7472 Features
- The Xmark weight bench made of heavy duty 11- gauge steel for the main frame and coated with scratch-free powder making it the best home weight bench.
- The bench is an adjustable and can incline and decline to your preferred angle, which give you the comfort that you would need when working out.
- This is the best adjustable weight bench as it has 3 seating positions and 7 workout levels. This will give you excellent support for a wide range of exercises
- There is a 3-inch thick duracraft pad that has a tear and sweat resistant duraguard back cushion, seat cushion and vinyl cover.
- Xmark 11-Gauge Fid Flat Incline Decline Bench Xm-7472 comes with built-in transport wheels which will make it easier to move from one point to another. The bolted-on skid resistant feet will keep it in place while in use.
Thе Bowflex SelectTech Adjustable Bеnсh 3.1 Series iѕ аn оutѕtаnding addition tо аnу wоrkоut ѕрасе. It оffеrѕ positioning ѕuрроrt whеn exercising and fоr mаximum workout vеrѕаtilitу. Simрlу adjusts the bеnсh tо оnе of ѕix роѕitiоnѕ and you саn аdd a variety оf new аnd роwеrful еxеrсiѕеѕ. It'ѕ thе perfect wау tо transform уоur ѕрасе intо a реrѕоnаl fitnеѕѕ center.
This wеight bеnсh adjusts tо different роѕitiоnѕ, 45 dеgrееѕ, 90 degrees, flаt аnd decline. Thе SеlесtTесh 3.1 Bеnсh соmеѕ with alеghоld-dоwnbrасе, ѕо you hаvе аddеd ѕuрроrt in the dесlinе position. Assembly оf the SеlесtTесh 3.1 Bеnсh iѕ fаѕt аnd раinlеѕѕ. Changing the аnglеѕ оf thе bench does not rеԛuirе a рin аnd rоd ѕуѕtеm fоr aѕmооth аnd quick trаnѕitiоn.
Thе BоwflеxSelectTech 3.1 Adjuѕtаblе Bеnсh iѕ mаdе frоm ѕtееl comes with a rеmоvаblе leg hоld-dоwnbrасе, and with whееlѕ fоr еаѕу ѕtоrаgе.
Assembly rеԛuirеѕ washers and bolts, whiсh is ԛuiсk and еаѕу. Uѕеrѕ note thаt thе SеlесtTесh 5.1 bеnсh is ѕturdу but hаѕ оnе design flаw. Thеrе’ѕ anореning in thе bеnсh where the ѕеаt meets thе bасk pad which iѕ unсоmfоrtаblе. Onе glаring downside, аѕ reported by several uѕеrѕ, iѕ the ԛuаlitу оf customer service.
Bowflex SelectTech 3.1 Adjustable Bench Features
- The standard removable leg that comes with the Bowflex SelectTech 3.1 Adjustable Bench, holds down the brace to give you more decline position, making it the best weight bench for home
- With the ergonomic design and compact dimensions, you can convert any space into a fitness center
- As far as adjustability and flexibility goes, this is one of the best adjustable weight bench as it adjust into 4 position to allow for over 30 different workout exercises
- The patented technology on this bench enhances the consistency and smooth flow and wide range motion to help you develop strong muscles
- The Bowflex 3.1 adjustable bench is a modern weight bench that relies on modern technology in that is will correct your posture and stabilize the position
- High quality
- Solid bench
- Solid bench
- Easy to assembly
- Upholstery is held onto the board with staples and is made of vinyl, which isn’t very durable.
- The leg hold-down brace is not very comfortable.
- The SelectTech 3.1 Bench requires a lot of floor space as well.
If уоu’rе looking fоr a соmрасt wеightѕ bench thаt also offers a high wеight сарасitу, vаriеtу of incline settings, аnd wеll раddеd back ѕuрроrt, thе GFID225 could bе уоur bеѕt option.
The back ѕuрроrt iѕ tареrеd, with anаrrоwеr section аt thе top (8″) аnd widеr where it mееtѕ thе ѕеаt (9.5″). Thiѕ offers grеаtеr freedom of motion in your back аnd shoulders during pressing еxеrсiѕеѕ and ресflys, but аlѕо аddѕ extra bасk ѕuрроrt tо limit thе ѕtrаin рlасеd on уоur lumbаr region whеn lifting.
As for thе frаmе, thе 2″ x 3″ оvаl tubing ensures you have аll thе strength, ѕtаbilitу, аnd соnfidеnсе уоu nееd tо рrеѕѕ heavier weights, with 2.5″ раdding оn the ѕеаt аnd bасk ѕuрроrt thаt won’t bоttоm out.
Trаnѕроrt whееlѕ hаvе also bееn аddеd tо thе rеаr bаѕе stabilizer, mаking it еаѕiеr tо roll the bеnсh inѕidе a роwеr саgе оr bеtwееn thе uрrightѕ оf a ѕquаt rack if уоu wаnt tо реrfоrm bаrbеll exercises.Having seven adjustment positions makes thе GFID225 a mоrе versatile bеnсh thаn thе BFFID10, аnd allows уоu tо fullу dеvеlор upper bоdу muscle grоuрѕ by working thеm from avаriеtу of different аnglеѕ, inсluding flаt and incline
Body Solid GFID225 Folding Adjustable Weight Bench Features
- If you want the best home weight bench, this is the right one as it will be delivered when it is fully assembled and ready to use as it designed to be used straight away.
- Body Solid GFID225 Folding Adjustable Weight Bench comes with 7 adjustment positions which will give you great flexibility and comfort when you are working out.
- The 2 by 3 inches tubing is an assurance of excellent support and also durability of this weight bench. This frame makes it possible for the bench to support even the toughest workouts.
- There are built-in wheels that will come with this model and as such, you will not have any problems transporting it. It also folds flat, which makes it easy to store.
- Body Solid GFID225 Folding is a commercial rated weight bench due to its portable, compact and durable nature and as such, you can rest assured that you have the best weight bench.
- Nо аѕѕеmblу rеԛuirеd
- Sеvеnаdjuѕtmеnt positions
- Trаnѕроrt wheels fоr mоbilitу
- In Uѕе Dimеnѕiоnѕ: 18"H x 57"L x 16"W
- FоldеdDimеnѕiоnѕ: 9"H x 57"L x 16"W
- In-Hоmе Lifetime Wаrrаntу
- Larger sized design
- Limitеd tо uѕing dumbbеllѕ for exercises
- Pооrlуроѕitiоnѕ front leg shoulders
- Sеаt dоеѕn’t аdjuѕt
Tо begins with this Bоwflеx Bеnсh Sеriеѕ 5.1 iѕ mаdе frоm very durable mеtаl and mаtеriаl to lаѕt thе wеight оf pretty muсh аbоut аnуоnе. It allows frоm 6 diffеrеnt роѕitiоnѕ rаnging frоm incline tо dесlinе tо optimize any еxеrсiѕе уоu are willing tо do.
The ѕuрроrt thаt соmеѕ with thiѕ bеnсh iѕ еѕѕеntiаl as thеrе nееdѕ tо be a gооd durаblе foundation to bе аblе tо withstand the continuous amount оf weights that you will be еxеrting when wоrking оut. If уоu are lооking fоr ѕоmеthing mоrе than juѕt a bеnсh thеn hаvе awesome news!
What mаkеѕ thiѕ bеnсh uniquе and better than most of it’ѕ соmреtitiоn is thе fасt thаt you саn аdарt grips, bаrѕ , аnd еvеn аdjuѕtаblераdѕ. Thiѕ bench ѕеriеѕ 5.1 iѕ рuѕhеd аѕ a оnе ѕizе fits all еԛuiрmеnt аnd rightfullу so. You can rеаllу do an lоt on this bench if you аrе ѕеriоuѕ аbоut wоrking out.
The BоwflеxSеlесtTесh 5.1 is an аdjuѕtаblе wеight lifting bеnсh thаt саn be uѕеd in six positions on an incline оr dесlinе. It iѕ made оf heavy dutу mеtаl ѕо аimѕ to hаvе a vеrу solid and ѕtаblе build, аnd iѕ dеѕignеd to bе used for exercises that involve bаrbеllѕ and dumbbеllѕ. Lооking for the bеѕt аdjuѕtаblе dumbbеllѕ tо buy?
Bowflex SelectTech 5.1 Adjustable Benchа llоwѕ thе uѕе оf frее wеightѕ with a ѕturdу ѕuрроrt ѕуѕtеm thаt has bееn designed tо hоld wеight аѕ wеll аѕ аѕѕiѕt in thе асtiоnѕ of раrtiсulаr free weight еxеrсiѕеѕ. Thе company markets the bеnсh series 5.1 as bеing a оnе-ѕizе fits аll rеԛuirеmеnt for people who аrе into lifting heavy frее wеightѕ, аѕ a lаrgе numbеr оf diffеrеnt exercises саn be реrfоrmеd оn it
Bowflex SelectTech 5.1 Adjustable Bench Features
- The Bowflex 5.1 Adjustable Bench is the best adjustable weight bench as it has a compact design making it possible to transform any space to be a weight fitness center
- It comes with a functional leg, which is removable. The hold-down brace is ideal as it will give you additional support for decline position workouts.
- The 17° decline to 90° incline is quite ideal when it comes to the flexibility of the Bowflex 5.1 weight bench. This allows it to adjust to 6 different positions without any problems.
- You will enjoy muscle-building free-weight workout with the Bowflex SelectTech 5.1 Adjustable Bench as it will correct the posture and stabilize your position. This is a patented technology that is incorporated.
- Due to the amazing Bowflex SpiralFlex resistance technology, this is ranked as the best weight bench that is also used by astronauts.
- Adjuѕtаblе tо ѕix levels
- Vаriеtу of еxеrсiѕе options
- Lеg brace
- Eаѕу assembly
- Exсеllеnt warranty
- Defective parts
- Dаmаgеd расkаging
Body-Solid Powerline Folding Bench is a multipurpose bench that will allow you to perform dumbbell workout on it as well. It means that you can exercise on this bench using the other tools as well. The best feature that makes it a unique gym tool is that it will provide you with seven different adjustments so you can perform different workouts in the different folding of the bench.
It will support each of your exercises like the chest presses, crunches, shoulder presses and several others. You can adjust the folding bench and your body in many different positions like the incline, decline, flat and almost vertical. It also has transport wheels adjusted so that you can take it anywhere you like without much effort.
Therefore, we can say that forget about the old gym machines, as this bench is the future of exercise.
Body-Solid Powerline Flat Incline Decline Folding Bench Features
- The reason why this passes as the best home weight bench is the fact that it is multi-purpose and will allow you to perform a number of dumbbell and barbell workouts
- You will not need to worry about the setting up as Body-Solid Powerline Flat Incline Decline Folding Bench comes fully assembled and you can use it straight from the box, which is quite convenient.
- There are 7 adjustment positions on the weight bench folding, which are easy to achieve so as to get the best comfort and flexibility for personalized workout exercises.
- It weighs only 57 pounds and comes with transport wheels that are easy to move around from one place to another.
- This folding weight bench is easy to mount and dismount this weight bench and the positions available include flat, decline, incline and almost vertical. You can also fold it up easily for storage purposes.
- Give the performance it is built for
- Easy to fold and handle
- Versatility in performance
- Not very comfortable padding
- Some of the positions are not stable
Its full-size bench fully adjustable allows you to hit those muscles from every single angle by having the options to set it up inclined, declined and flat. For beginners, it means that you can work out your muscles completely and with hundreds of options to training every single muscle.
The inclusion of attachments is probably the best benefit of this weight bench with weights because it will save you valuable money. It’s a complete bargain because for its price you can find only a bench without attachment. In addition, this bench represent a really good product to buy because it has features and attachments to work out every single muscle in your body, you won’t have parts neglected.
Its high resistance built with top-notch materials allows you to make a long-term investment, probably you will inherit it to your sons before it breaks or something. Think about it, you will buy just one equipment for the rest of your life, it’s cheaper to pay a gym membership for years. Only a few benches include a rack to do squats, which is extremely positive because some benches neglect the legs and we all know how disgusting it is to see a well-developed upper body with chicken legs
Phoenix 99226 Power Pro Olympic Bench Features
- This is a full Olympic size weight bench which has flat, decline and incline bench positions which you will be able to make the most of with this best weight bench for home use.
- There are a number of essential attachments that are included on this Phoenix 99226 Power Pro Olympic Bench including preacher curl, lat tower and leg lift attachments. As such, you will have the opportunity to work out different parts of the body.
- It is made of heavy duty 3” steel frame, which is an assurance of long life and exceptional stability.
- There are 3 Olympic weight plate adapters and spring clips in addition to the inbuilt squat rack in the rear side of the Phoenix 99226 Olympic Bench.
- You will get storage stands for each of the leg lift and the curl bar attachments, which prolongs the lifespan of these components as they are stored in a safe manner.
- Really affordable price, with tons of attachments.
- It covers all kind exercise regardless the part of your body you want to train.
- Resistant structure. The squat rack includes.
- 1 year of warranty.
- Lack of weight plates.
- Difficult to assembly.
- Small for taller people.
The Marcy adjustable utility bench SB670 has numerous of features which provide you with the more effective workout. Made by Impex Fitness, this training equipment is basically designed for garage or home gym. The following is the main features of this bench.
Design – weight benches are the most popular fitness equipment that can be found mostly in home or garage gym throughout the country. Using the weight bench will help you gain strength. The Marcy SB670 weight bench is designed for total body workout. The back support can be adjusted to 6 different settings ranging from decline to nearly vertical. Due to the wide choice of the adjustable position; makes this fitness tool is suitable for numerous exercise need.
Besides the back support that can be adjusted, the seat angle is also adjustable downwards or upwards for maximal support when exercising in the incline position. Even if the equipment does not feature leg developer; however, most users are completely fine without it. it features convenience handle and also transport wheel which makes it easier to store after a workout.
Angles – the Marcy SB670 features adjustable backrest up to 6 levels such as decline which provide your needs for incline presses, decline presses, and also chest presses. For fly position, the bench can be adjusted into flat position. Besides the backrest, the seat is also adjustable into three more different positions which provide support for every angle.
Materials – The Marcy weight bench is produced using the high-quality steel for a commercial product. It is made of 14 gauge steel frame which makes it sturdy and able to resist the users’ body weight. In addition, the steel frame is also coated with certain powder to avoid rust and scratches. The backrest and seat are made of high-quality foam with high density to provide maximal support and comfort during a workout. It also prevents the users’ muscle to get fatigue. The overall look for this bench is different from the conventional benches in which the Marcy bench features black with white stripes for a cooler looking. You will surely look this look which appears differently from the ordinary great and black bench options.
Dimension – this weight bench has the dimension of 52”x25”x46.5” and the overall weight is 46lbs which mean that the Marcy bench is not too heavy or too light. One of most highlight feature is easy to store a function which makes it suitable for those who live in an apartment.
Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench Features
- Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench SB670 must be the best adjustable weight bench as it is flexible to accommodate any type of work out due to the deluxe utility features.
- It is made of a superior quality and heavy gauge steel frame, which is powder coated to make it durable and stable. It also has heavy duty foam upholstery, which is not only comfortable, but also long lasting.
- It comes with a 6 position back pad that will adjust properly to allow you to achieve the flat, chest press, incline press, decline press and military press positions.
- There is a handle grip and transport wheels that will facilitate easy movement from one place to another. It also folds, without a struggle and this will make it easy to store the Marcy Adjustable Utility Bench.
- Can be used to train targeted certain area of the body such as shoulder, chest, back, abs, arms, and much more.
- It is made with boxed upholstery with 6 position adjustable pads and also fit into tight storage space.
- 2-year manufacturer warranty.
- Even if the bench sounds very brilliant; however it does not come without flaw.
- When you decline the bench, it has no padded rollers which beneficial to wrap the legs.
- This is prone to make you fall during training.
This Weight Bench by Body Champ has amazing features, and as you can tell, it’s not an entry level equipment because it has everything you will need. Its multi-function and adjustable structure allow you to develop all the muscles of your body with only one equipment.
The importance of training your legs is superlative, it’s disappointing to have an enviable upper body with chicken legs. It allows you to perform the best legs’ exercise, squats.
Body Champ Olympic Leg Developer Weight Bench Top-notch quality and supreme durability are granted, with its robust and firm tubing mainframe, you will have an equipment for the rest of your life. So, you will be doing a kind of investment.
Some weight bench doesn’t includes safety aspects, something essential when you are training with heavy weights, it can causing potential injuries. Fortunately, this company is committed to safety by including a locking safety hook and a non-pinch grip.Its comfortableness can avoid you to get blisters and other issues in your hand, which can reduce your performance while exercising, and even force you to take some days and even week to cure them. Go Here for In depth information about Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench.
Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench Features
- This is also the best weight bench as it is made of two pieces and has 5 different adjustment positions which will give you remarkable convenience and flexibility
- The Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench has a dual-action leg developer feature that has adjustable foam rollers as well as lock pins. This means that you can work out your legs as well and achieve a full body workout.
- The backrest is fully adjustable due to its flexible design and as such, you can choose the position that best suits your workouts, including military, flat, decline and incline bench positions.
- There is a U-shaped stabilizer at the front side, which is quite essential as it offers great support when working out. On either end there is anti-skip and anti-skip caps which enhance the stability of the bench.
- The locking safety hooks and non-pinch desire on the best Olympic weight bench will give you an enhanced grip and ensure that all the works are effective and safe.
- Good reputations and score in every online store.
- Versatile and multi-use.
- Allows you to train legs.
- Heavy-duty quality.
- Comfortable equipment.
- Safe to use
- It doesn’t include a weight set or bars.
- High price.
The CAP Barbell Deluxe Utility Bench thrives with a really good size for taller and smaller persons. Its size also provides a really comfortable surface with plenty space to execute the most demanding exercises without any loss of comfortableness.
It can be used with the favorite equipments of everybody, barbells, and dumbbells. It’s a bench that doesn’t include attachments and nothing that can be used to put weight on it. However, dumbbells and barbells work really well for training any part of your body.
A durable and resistant equipment is mandatory because you'd want to inherit it to your sons and grandsons. You will spend less money by buying a bench that will last forever. Besides, it will give you a solid and pretty surface to perform any kind of exercises.
Its weight capacity allows you to perform any kind of exercises using plenty of weight without worrying if it might break. You can use as much weight as you want, in challenging exercises like bench presses. CAP Barbell Deluxe Utility Weight Bench adjustable position is ideal to strike every muscle in your body from any angle, you can perform inclined and flat exercises to not neglect many important muscles. It gives you the possibility to perform a wide repertory of exercise to prevent the monotony and never getting bored.
CAP Barbell Deluxe Utility Weight Bench Features
- Being made of an all-steel construction, this is the best home weight bench as it will serve you for a very long time due to its durable nature.
- CAP Barbell Deluxe Utility Weight Bench is a full size utility weight bench that will be ideal for a number of workouts, especially in the upright positions.
- This weight bench is meant to be used for dumbbell workouts or the resistance tunes and bands, which can be done conveniently from your home.
- The deluxe utility bench can be adjusted to a number of positions, which you can take advantage during your work outs.
- There are anti-skid caps that are fitted on the legs of the CAP Barbell Weight Bench so as to ensure that the bench remains intact and stable when in use.
- Strong and durable structure.
- Can be used with dumbbells and barbells.
- Plenty of adjustable positions.
- Flat and inclined positions.
- Too expensive.
- It doesn’t have decline positions.
- A little bit uncomfortable due lack of memory foam pads.
- You will need a weight set of weights.
By having a really firm and durable structure, You can count on a piece of equipment that will last forever, even you will inherit it to your sons and grandsons. Also, you will be doing a fantastic investment because you'd be spending less by buying a replacement.
Ironmaster super bench versatility allows you to buy some equipment to have a full repertory of exercising. By getting the attachments you will be able to touch every single inch of muscle in your body. You have dumbbells, a rack, bars and bunch of others weights? It doesn’t matter, they will complement perfectly with this high-quality weight bench.
Some people has the issue that the bench they bought doesn’t fit with their height, and sometimes that limitation means less comfort. In fact, with 3 levels of adjustable height you won’t have that problem anymore, also its incredible resistant structure can support any weight.
Its lightweight structure makes it incredibly portable to carry it to wherever you go. In addition, the innovative design will let you have a bench that is functional and good looking. The cutting-edge mechanism based on a ring provides you with a suitable, convenient and safe bench to work with.
Ironmaster Super Bench Adjustable Bench Features
- You can easily adjust the Ironmaster Super weight Bench to 11 different angles that allow you to enjoy upright, decline, incline and flat workouts.
- This is a heavy duty weight bench as it comes with a powder coated metallic frame, which is grey in color and has chrome components.
- The Ironmaster Super Bench Weight Lifting Bench has a unique adjustment ring that has a foot lever. This allows you to operate it from both sides and will lock in place securely.
- Due to its versatile nature, this weight bench can accommodate a number of additional components without any fuss. As such, you can enhance your workouts by getting the right components.
- While it is quite sturdy in terms of the construction, it only weighs 65 lbs, making it easy to lift and thus eliminates the need to have wheels to move it around.
- High-quality structure.
- Incredible resistance of 1000 lbs.
- Adjustable size for every height.
- Can be attached with many accessories.
- Minimalist design with an outstanding and innovative design.
- Prestigious brand and incredible reputation in Amazon
- High price tag.
- It doesn’t include the attachments.
Why Should Buy a Weight Bench?
There is no wonder to ensure your perfect workout and achieving your fitness goal you need to get the best equipment in your hand. A weight bench is something that will let you have a number of moves and acts together to be fit and achieve your fitness goals. By the help of the weight bench, you can do the weights, pull ups, pushups, uplifts and much more. If you are using the prior quality weight bench then you can do a number of things with it and all the information you can easily get from here only.
Things To Consider Before Buying the Best Workout Bench
Purchasing the right type of fitness bench can be a difficult task for those who haven't done fitness purchase before. However, with proper knowledge and sufficient information it is very easy to spot the right type of fitness bench. Irregular weight bench is not only designed to provide you a platform to work out your muscles but they are also built considering certain safety norms in mind.
* Look for All New Innovations
Innovation does have a great importance in making anything new when it comes to your fitness the same innovation is necessary and important. If there is not an innovation then achieving new and improved fitness goals are not possible and will keep everything average.
But, we are in search of something good and innovative for you and in that regard, we make sure that you will get to know about all the innovations that come to the fitness benches. The Gold’s Gym xrs20 Weight Bench the ever best fitness solution.
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Despite a minor, yet expected, decline following the bustling holiday season, metro Phoenix home prices continued on their steady incline during the first month of 2013, surging 35.3 percent year-over-year, according to Arizona State University’s latest housing report released today.
In actual figures, that’s a median single-family home price of $163,000 in January — up from $120,500 a year ago, the report said. The average price per square foot — a key metric used by Realtors — climbed by 28.5 percent to an average $106.20.
Michael Orr, a real estate expert at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business and author of the report, said the price gains are sure to stay strong through the spring when home-buying season kicks in.
“Pricing is almost always weaker in January, but February signals the start of peak buying season that lasts until the end of June,” Orr said in the report. “Make no mistake – prices are going to rise significantly during this period. There is nowhere else for them to go until a significant new source of active listings enters this supply-constrained market.”
While this is good news for Valley homeowners, the cause of the dramatic price gains, as Orr stated, has subsequently sucked home buyers and agents into a quagmire that is unlikely to ease over the next few months.
The Valley is still facing a widespread shortage of homes for sale, a problem that has had a stronghold on the housing market for the past several months.
There were 13,093 active listings (that were not under contract) on the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service in metro Phoenix on Feb. 1. While that’s up 3.7 percent since Jan. 1, it was basically unchanged from a year ago, he said.
Additionally, the shortage continues to be most severe in the lower-price ranges, where demand is also the highest. About 77 percent of the inventory on Feb. 1 was priced above $150,000. That’s only a 43-day supply, which is way below normal levels but still significantly better than the 18-day supply Phoenix saw in June.
The supply problem thus instigated a 12.8 percent drop in sales from December, he said.
“We still have a long-term supply shortage with only about 50 percent of the active listings (without contracts) that we would expect to see in a normal market,” says Orr. “Consequently, the trend is for prices to continue to rise across most sectors. Most homes priced reasonably below $500,000 continue to attract multiple offers in a short time. Sellers are firmly in control.”
Foreclosures went up slightly in January, but Orr said this is a normal post-holiday season bump that has since been reversing.
Cash and large, corporate investors have thus been less active as the downward trend in both foreclosures and short sales continues, he said. In fact, investor purchases throughout Maricopa County fell from 39.2 percent of all sales in January last year to 31.8 percent in January this year.
“Some commentators have suggested that the presence of large investors is causing the recent price rise,” Orr said in the report. “This vastly exaggerates their effect on our market. Large investors account for only around 8 percent of purchases, and if they disappeared overnight, there still would not be enough homes on the market to satisfy the small investors, second-home buyers and regular owner-occupiers.”
Source: Phoenix Business Journal – K. Hansen
Metro Phoenix home prices are expected to continue climbing during the next few years.
Housing analysts agree that demand for homes in the region is strong, and many don’t appear to be concerned about prices rising too fast and shutting the door on regular homebuyers or investors.
Several experts are looking for metro Phoenix home prices to climb more than 10 percent annually during the next three years.
“We think Phoenix home prices will appreciate 12 percent in 2013, 12 percent in 2014 and 10 percent in 2015,” said national housing analyst John Burns of Los Angeles.
He said the price increases will be driven by “boomerang” buyers who purchase after waiting three years — as required under new credit standards — following a foreclosure or short sale.
“Our major assumption is continued strong economic growth (for Phoenix) and low mortgage rates,” said Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
The Phoenix area’s median home price has jumped by 35 percent during the past year, boosting the number of sales by homeowners who are not facing foreclosure or a distressed sale. The price gains in recent months have been smaller than earlier this year.
Matt Widdows, CEO of HomeSmart, Arizona’s largest residential-real-estate brokerage, is also bullish on a further rebound in home prices.
“I would say that in the next five to seven years, we will see (home) prices back to levels we saw in 2005,” he said. “Many (Phoenix-area) homes dropped to one-third of their value in 2005, and I have no doubt that we will be right back to those levels.”
These might sound like aggressive forecasts, but even Arizona economist Elliott Pollack, whose forecasts are often conservative, recently projected Phoenix-area home prices would climb 50 percent by 2015-16.
Metro Phoenix’s median home price is currently $150,000, so it would have to increase at least 11 percent annually over the next four years to reach $225,000, a 50 percent increase.
In May 2005, the median existing-home price in metro Phoenix was $228,000.
Other analysts aren’t as bullish.
Mike Orr, an analyst with the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, tracks home sales daily but never forecasts home prices more than a month out.
“At the moment, pricing pressure is upwards, but there is always the potential for prices to dip,” he said. His monthly report on prices is due out this week.
An unknown for the housing market is what the handful of large investors who are buying thousands of homes in metro Phoenix plan to do with them.
If they decide to sell around the same time, the supply of homes could jump, dampening prices.
That’s unlikely to happen, at least in the short term, industry experts say.
“We wouldn’t sell now,” said Justin Chang, a principal with one of the biggest residential investors in the country, Los Angeles-based Colony Capital. “We think (Phoenix) home prices will recover more.”
He said the company wants to create a real-estate investment trust next year and put its metro Phoenix rental homes in the trust, then sell shares to individual investors.
Mark Stark, CEO of Prudential Arizona Properties, believes the increase in home prices has slowed and the market has steadied.
“If additional price increases do happen, I feel they will be gradual,” Stark said. “We’re not looking at any dramatic pricing changes.”
Homebuilding in metro Phoenix was a dominant factor in the housing market until the crash. Many buyers once again are opting for new homes so they don’t have to compete in bidding wars for inexpensive existing houses.
New-home building has more than doubled this year, and the price of new houses is climbing.
“We originally forecast 10,000 permits for new homes this year, but we are going to go well past 11,000,” said Greg Burger, co-publisher of the Phoenix Housing Market Letter.
He said he expects the trend of rising new-home prices to continue for the next few years. The median price for a new Phoenix-area home is $222,000.
“Buyers waiting for the bottom of the market missed out months ago,” Orr said.
Source: The Arizona Republic, 10/28/2012
Buying sprees by billion-dollar hedge funds and real-estate investment firms have investors owning nearly 20 percent, or one out of every five, of the region’s single-family houses and condominiums, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of recent sales data.
That’s double the number of rentals considered normal in metro Phoenix in 2000, according to housing-market analysts.
Although it is too soon to gauge the impact of such a large increase in rental properties, the jump in investor-owned properties has the potential to change the character of neighborhoods, influence the options available to other homebuyers and ultimately alter the trajectory of the region’s housing recovery.
Since 2009, deep-pocketed buyers have snapped up tens of thousands of houses in all-cash deals, helping to stanch the bleeding in metro Phoenix’s real-estate market. Their purchases have driven up the region’s median home price 40 percent in the past year and significantly cut the supply of houses for sale.
While real-estate analysts laud investors for buying when others wouldn’t, analysts also express concern about the potential impact of so many buying in such a short time.
In Avondale’s 85323 ZIP code in the West Valley, with many relatively new, affordable homes, 32 percent of the houses are investor-owned rentals. That’s one of the highest rates for single-family homes in metro Phoenix.
In several other West Valley neighborhoods, more than 30 percent of all homes are rentals. About 32 percent of houses and condos in north Glendale ZIP code 85301 are rentals.
But the trend isn’t limited to the West Valley. In the East Valley, 30 percent of all homes in central Mesa’s 85210 ZIP code are owned by investors. And large swaths of the Valley’s core include ZIP codes where 25 percent or more of all residential properties are investor-owned.
Market analysts worry about investors’ impact on traditional buyers, who are finding it extraordinarily difficult this year to close a deal. Sellers, especially those of distressed properties and of homes priced below $150,000, often take the simpler route, accepting bids from investors paying cash instead of from traditional buyers who need to get a mortgage. Bidding wars on the moderately priced houses are the norm, and investors usually win.
What investors plan to do with nearly 225,000 homes they own in metro Phoenix is the multibillion-dollar question. When a handful of major investors, who together have purchased more than 10,000 Phoenix-area homes this year, decide to buy, sell or hold, their decisions will affect the rest of the market. Now, the majority of investors are renovating and renting out the properties. But if the big companies decide to take their profit in five to seven years and move on, real-estate insiders worry that a flood of houses back on the market could send prices spiraling down again.
“Investors helped stabilize Phoenix’s housing market,” said Mark Stapp, director of real-estate development for Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. “My concerns are that too many investors are treating Phoenix’s homes as a commodity, and not the area as a community.”
Investors have purchased more than 30 percent of all single-family houses and condominiums sold this year, and their purchases have grown to an even bigger percentage of all sales in the past few months.
The type of investor has shifted dramatically this year, from small and large local investors to billion-dollar funds based in New York and Los Angeles. A Republic analysis of purchases, provided by real-estate data firm Information Market, found that in some areas of metro Phoenix, the most active three or four investors own more than half of the rentals.
The most prolific homebuyers are New York-based Blackstone Real Estate, Los Angeles-based Colony Capital and Scottsdale-based American Residential Properties. Those groups alone have purchased more than 3,000 houses in the area so far this year.
Local investor and real-estate agent Julie Bieganski is selling a 2,000-square-foot south Phoenix house for $82,000. The day the house went on the market in early October, a real-estate agent representing Tempe-based Treehouse Group made her a full-cash offer to buy the house “as is” for cash and close within 30 days. Treehouse is buying homes for Blackstone and other investors.
“According to the contract, the buyer has purchased 1,400 houses in Maricopa County in the past 90 days and plans to own the home and rent it out for five to seven years,” she said.
The investor-buying frenzy in metro Phoenix began with smaller investors like Bieganski with the cash to pick up a couple of houses as foreclosures peaked more than two years ago. With auctions running all day in front of the Maricopa County Courthouse, large out-of-state buyers’ interest in the market grew. As foreclosures slowed, many of these investors turned to short sales. But those deals must be lender-approved and take longer to close. Now, the biggest and richest of the investors have stepped in, often purchasing foreclosure houses previously bought by those earlier investors. Still bullish on the Phoenix market even as prices rise, these big investors sometimes buy one home at a time — and often 50 to 100 homes at once.
Investors now own 225,000 homes, the same number of all homes typically found in a city the size of Glendale. Their profit-focused strategy is a key issue for everyone else with a stake in the housing market.
Because of the high demand for rental homes and relatively low prices to buy, most are making 5 to 10 percent annual returns on houses by leasing them to tenants. But investors don’t hold on to properties forever, and those that control hundreds or thousands of properties can have outsize impact. If too many big property-holders try to sell at the same time, it could lead to another drop in Valley home prices.
Large investors are guarded about strategies. Publicly traded companies such as Blackstone can’t talk about future plans because that violates shareholders’ rights. Many of the latest investors in the Phoenix market want to become publicly traded real-estate investment trusts to attract smaller investors looking to grab a stake in real estate.
Colony said it plans to keep most of its metro Phoenix homes as rentals for five to seven years. The company is planning to go public next year. “We started looking at investing in housing a year ago. There’s a real opportunity to renovate homes and lease them to people who need them,” said Justin Chang, principal of Colony Capital and acting CEO of Colony American Homes. “We like what we have bought in Phoenix and the value there.”
American Residential also has a long-term buy and hold strategy. “We are not in business to flip real estate. American Residential hasn’t sold one of the 1,000 houses it has purchased in Phoenix since 2008,” said Steve Schmitz, CEO and founder of the firm. “We are in the business of providing nice, clean housing to families.”
Mike Orr, who analyzes real-estate information for ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, is another market analyst with concerns about the investor influx. “We don’t know their plans. They don’t want their competitors to know their plans. But they clearly have a lot of money to spend.”
The rental market
In Avondale ZIP code 85323, Liz Moad, who said she has owned her home there for three years, pointed across the street and said, “This house has had four families move in and out in the last two years.”
Empty houses that had been foreclosed on and auctioned are now rentals, said Chris Sammons, who said he has owned his home there for five years.
“Definitely you don’t want to see them just sitting there empty,” Sammons said.
“Probably within the last month there’s been half a dozen different houses where the ‘for rent’ signs have come up.”
“I think eventually when the economy picks up more, you are going to have more people that will take the next step to actually owning their own home,” he said.
Renter demand so far has kept up with the number of investor-home purchases in metro Phoenix, mostly because there are now more potential tenants. In addition to the typical renter who can’t afford to purchase a home, and newcomers moving to Arizona from out of state, former homeowners who lost houses to foreclosure must rent to rebuild their credit. Then there are the prospective homebuyers who are getting outbid by investors. Finally, there is a new group of people who can afford to buy but choose to rent.
A record 3,500 leases a month for rental homes in the Valley were signed in June, July and August, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. Houses in the best locations often draw competing offers.
“We were astounded by the rental market here,” said Mara Lewis, who relocated to Phoenix from Wisconsin. “Not only the up-front fees, and the methods by which they had to be paid (cashier’s checks), but the rules for what a (rental) house has to have here is very lax. We had to purchase our own washer and dryer.”
She and her husband own rental properties in Wisconsin and chose to rent here instead of buying. Lewis leased through a real-estate agency and isn’t sure who owns the house.
Jennifer Taylor said she moved out of a north Phoenix condominium because most of the units in the building were owned by different investors, and the maintenance varied by condo, as did the type of tenant. “The neighbors were messy, and I always had my stuff vandalized,” said Taylor, who recently moved to a central Phoenix condo. “Now I know my landlord, and the issues I had since moving in were all fixed that same week.”
Forecast for future
Before the boom, investors owned 8 to 10 percent of metro Phoenix’s houses. The current rate of 18.2 percent is double that. The shift is so new that it’s difficult to predict what might happen.
Stapp said, “A valid concern is whether people will want to buy homes in neighborhoods where there are the most rentals. We don’t know yet.”
But market analysts offer some scenarios.
The best-case scenario is for investors to hold onto houses for at least a few years and slowly sell to regular buyers before home prices soar. It wouldn’t have too large of a negative impact on the market if one major investor sold all of its homes as long as other major investors continued to hold on and lease out their properties until the supply of houses stabilizes again, market analysts said. Then there’s the worst-case scenario: Home prices continue to climb, and all of the major investors want to lock in their return and try to sell at once.
“It was good when all of the investors came into metro Phoenix and bought when no one else was buying,” said Orr, an early investor himself. “But it might be time for investors to take a rest, and let regular buyers have a chance.”
Source: Arizona Republic. Includes information from data reporter Matthew Dempsey and 12 News reporter Melissa Blasius.
The housing market continues to gather strength, and the biggest gains in price now appear to be among the least expensive homes, whose values fell the most in the downturn and have weighed against any would-be recovery.
Over all, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index showed an annual gain of 1.2 percent in the price of single-family homes across 20 cities in July, according to data released Tuesday. In addition, all 20 cities showed price increases from the previous month, the third monthly gain in a row, supporting the idea that the nation’s housing market has bottomed out and, some analysts said, contributing to an unexpected bump in consumer confidence.
Luxury homes lost less value in the housing crisis and began to rebound more quickly, but lower-price homes are catching up, rising slightly faster in value than homes in the middle and upper tiers, according to an analysis of the Case-Shiller data by Patrick Newport and Michelle Valverde of IHS Global Insight, a private research firm in Lexington, Mass.
The typical lower-price home rose at an annualized rate of 1 percent from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis. The middle tier posted a one-month gain of 0.4 percent, and the highest tier inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the last three months, Mr. Newport said, the lowest tier has been rising in value more than twice as fast as the other two categories. For the least expensive homes, “prices just shot up too fast on the way up and then went down more sharply,” he said. “We’re seeing the correction from that.”
The price cutoffs for each tier vary widely depending on the city. The cutoff for the lowest tier ranges from $86,000 in Atlanta to $349,000 in San Francisco.
Other data supports the trend. According to a report from Zillow, a real estate Web site that divides homes into three price groups, the gap in price changes between the top and the bottom of the market is narrowing. “It’s less that the top tier is cooling than that the bottom tier is strengthening,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. “The bulk of the recovery is due to the changes in the bottom and middle tiers.”
Even in Las Vegas, where housing prices are still slightly down over the last year, lower-end homes have ticked up in value, which may be good news for sellers but can be a hurdle for buyers. Mark Graham, a youth pastor who has been looking for a house for his family there for months, said buying a home for less than $150,000 could be a challenge.
“Houses are going on the market and within a day have multiple offers already on them,” Mr. Graham said, adding that most of the offers were from investors who did not need financing. “It’s more or less a heartbreaking market, because you get your heart set on a house, and then someone walks in with cash.”
Not every market is showing improvement on the low end, according to Case-Shiller. Atlanta and Chicago are still lagging, but in places like Boston and San Diego, the bottom third of houses are doing better.
“The majority of the cities have been more like Boston and San Diego,” said Maureen Maitland, a vice president at S.& P. Dow Jones Indexes, which produces the Case-Shiller index.
In Phoenix, which has shown the strongest recovery in housing prices of the 20 cities surveyed, the lowest third — homes under $127,000 — gained 33.5 percent from July 2011 to July 2012, while the top tier — homes above $211,000 — posted an 11.5 percent increase in that period.
Prices have been bolstered by a decline in the number of foreclosure sales and strong interest from investors, who are buying low-price properties and converting them to rentals.
In the Sarasota, Fla., area, investor demand has driven up prices for lower-end homes, said Roxanne Moore, a real estate agent with Green Lion Realty there.
“Investors are finding properties that they used to be able to buy for $80,000 or $90,000 are now going for $100,000,” she said. In addition, after a long absence, first-time home buyers are beginning to trickle back in.
Over all, home values in the first seven months of the year rose 5.9 percent, the best year-to-date performance in seven years. Nevertheless, the broad housing market is still nearly 30 percent below its high in 2006.
In four cities — Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas and New York — prices are lower than they were a year ago. In New York, including the surrounding suburbs, prices increased 1.2 percent from June to July, but remain 2.6 percent lower than they were in July 2011. Prices at the low end of the market — houses below $271,000 — have dropped 3.9 percent in the last year, while high-end homes — $437,000 or more — have dropped 2.5 percent.
But in an optimistic sign, consumer confidence rose in September to its highest level since February, according to a report released Tuesday by the Conference Board, a private group.
The consumer confidence index reached 70.3 points, well above economists’ expectations of 63 and a significant improvement from the upwardly revised level of 61.3 in August. Some analysts attributed the bump to gains in the stock market, while others credited the improved outlook for housing.
Source: New York Times
Yesterday, Michael Orr at the W.P. Carey School of Business released his July 2012 Greater Phoenix Housing Report, which includes data from Maricopa and Pinal Counties.
The market continues to evolve and certain trends are clear. In the Greater Phoenix real estate market, we’re seeing increased investor activity (especially in the lower-priced outlying areas), fewer foreclosure completions, more short sales, rising prices (despite a tiny drop between June-July 2012), and continued tight supply.
Here are some of the more interesting highlights:
- Priced dipped slightly in both the single family and multi-family segments between June and July (Avg sales price down $6,000/Median down $1,000)
- Compared to July 2011, median prices are up 31% for single family homes and 17% for Phoenix area condos/townhouses
- Distressed inventory supply (short sales, foreclosures) is down 69% year-over-year
- Total supply of Phoenix real estate is down 26%
- New home sales in the Greater Phoenix area are up 58%
- “Normal” resales are up 68%
- Single family unit sales were down about 7.5% in July 2011 vs July 2012 (likely due to limited supply)
I want to make a comment about inventory supply. In the world of economics, most agree that an unemployment rate of around 4% is considered “full employment,” because there’s a certain number of people at any given time who will never work because they don’t want to or face some condition that prevents them from doing so.
I believe the housing market has a similar dynamic. I don’t pretend to know what a “zero housing level” looks like, I do believe there are a certain number of properties that will always be for sale. The specific properties themselves will change, but at any given time X percentage of “available” inventory is considered unsellable. Location, property condition, defects in title, silent marketing, unrealistic seller expectations, Realtors who neglect to update listing status in the MLS, etc., can all contribute to this condition.
I don’t see any options to change this dynamic because it’s tough (impossible?) to isolate the properties that fall into this category, but the implication to real estate buyers (and sellers!) is that your true competition is greater (or less, for sellers) than the inventory numbers might imply. When Phoenix real estate inventory dips to 10,000, perhaps 10% of that number is actually unsellable…
When it rains, it pours.
Though I’m not featured as prominently (or with a photo!) as I was in my recent interview with the Phoenix Business Journal, I was contacted out of the blue by The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON) to comment on rising investor participation in the Greater Phoenix real estate market. Pleasant surprises like this are uncommon and I am privileged by the opportunity. I do not advertise in either publication, so this was truly “earned media coverage.”
Read the full article here or below. They saved the best comments for last… 😉
In hard-hit cities like Phoenix, the home market rises
Foreclosures are down and bidding wars are back as U.S. real estate begins to bounce back in areas like Arizona, Miami and southern California
The Phoenix real estate market is suddenly experiencing something it hasn’t seen in years: Bidding wars.
Phoenix used to represent just about the worst of the U.S. housing market, with suburbs full of empty homes and foreclosures running so high that investors gathered like vultures at the county courthouse to snap up distressed properties.
But like its namesake, Phoenix’s housing market is rising. Foreclosures have dropped 20 per cent in the past year and the median house price has climbed about 25 per cent, making the city one of the hottest real estate markets in the U.S. But perhaps the most telling sign of a recovery is the return of heated bidding that has been a long time coming for agents like Maureen Porter.
“A good house in a good neighbourhood will go on the market for two days and they’ll already have five or 10 offers,” Ms. Porter said. “When I started my business [four years ago]there were around 56,000 homes for sale in Maricopa County [which includes Phoenix] Now there’s about 12,000 homes for sale.”
Ms. Porter said she recently took two clients from Vancouver to look at a 70-lot housing development in Goodyear, a community outside Phoenix.
“It was all dirt, there were maybe two homes built,” Ms. Porter recalled. “We walked into the presentation centre and everything but two lots were sold out.”
The housing market is showing signs of life across the U.S., with existing home sales and the median price up about 10 per cent year-over-year, hitting levels not seen since the summer of 2010. Sales and prices have been rising steadily for months, proof that the long-suffering real estate sector may have finally turned the corner. Buyers are returning thanks to an improved employment picture, record-low mortgage rates and near-bottom prices.
Housing is a critical component to the U.S. economy and improvements in the sector usually lead to a boost in consumer confidence, employment and spending. All of which is good news for the Canadian economy, as well.
The real impact of the recovery can be seen in places like Phoenix, Miami and southern California, which were among the hardest hit during the recession. The supply of homes for sale has dropped in all three locations as banks move quickly to unload troubled properties, often through “short sales” where mortgage holders get permission from lenders to sell their property for less than the amount owed. Banks often prefer short sales to foreclosures because they are a faster way to deal with borrowers.
In Miami, the median price is up 15 per cent from a year ago and the occupancy rates in downtown condominiums is 94 per cent. Southern California has a four-month supply of homes for sale, roughly two months less than what is considered a healthy market, and foreclosure sales have reached a four-year low.
Phoenix offers some of the most dramatic evidence of the turnaround. This is a city where house prices fell by up to 50 per cent during the recession and people walked away from their homes in droves, leaving vast stretches of empty neighbourhoods. Today the number of homes listed for sale has dropped by 64 per cent in the last year and foreclosures have fallen by 20 per cent. The market has tightened up so much that prices are jumping 5 per cent each month and buyers are competing fiercely for just about anything that’s available.
“We’ve now got a fully fledged buying frenzy going on while people try to buy something before they miss the boat,” said Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at Arizona State University.
Last week there were roughly 12,000 homes listed for sale across the city. That compared to more than 50,000 around the same time last year.
Despite the current boom, the market still has a long way to go. The median price is now about $135,000 (U.S.). That’s still well below the peak in 2006, when it reached $265,000, and it puts prices at about the same level as in 2000. And although the number of existing homes sold in April across the country rose to an annualized rate of 4.6 million, economists say a healthy U.S. housing market would see almost 6 million sales of existing homes a year.
Much of the activity is also being driven by outsiders, many from Canada, eager to snap up investments. In Phoenix, the number of “investor flips,” people who buy houses and then re-sell them quickly for a profit, has increased 31 per cent year-over-year, according to Mr. Orr.
But with prices rising quickly, good deals are harder to find. Three years ago, dozens of investors lined the steps of the courthouse in downtown Phoenix to bid on foreclosed properties, many going for well below $100,000. This week only a handful of bidders showed up for the auction and just four houses sold.
“The days of getting a property under $125,000 are slim to nil,” said Diane Olson, a real estate agent who caters largely to Canadians.
The question for many agents like Justin Lombard is whether this is a blip or a real recovery. He is cautiously optimistic.
“We’ve seen such steady progress in the way of inventory absorption that I’d be really surprised if we took a big backward step,” he said. “We hit bottom a long time ago. It’s just that a lot of people didn’t realize it because our bottom was so bad.”
Every now and then I have a media opportunity that’s too exciting not to share.
Recently, I was interviewed by the Phoenix Business Journal, complete with photo op. The Phoenix Business Journal is the leading business publication in the state with wide readership and I do not advertise in the Journal, so this was a great honor. Unfortunately, full online access to the story is limited to subscribers, so I can only include the preview.
Investors returning to Phoenix housing market, driving prices up
Real estate investors and short-term flippers are back in town — for better or worse — and once again they’re dominating the housing market for sales of less than $250,000.
Investors are buying those homes with cash, which is pushing up prices in the long-downtrodden local market, tightening inventories and squeezing out traditional home buyers.
Justin Lombard, owner of Stone House Realty of Arizona, says cash sales are starting to dominate the local housing market, preventing many buyers from finding homes.
“It’s very much like 2005 all over again at the entry-level segment,” said Justin Lombard, owner of Stone House Realty of Arizona in Phoenix.
Lombard said cash sales are starting to dominate the market for less expensive homes, as some sellers are looking specifically for …
Only subscribers can read the remainder of the article…click here if you’re a subscriber.
There are few absolute certainties when it comes to Phoenix real estate, and the debate about the so-called “shadow inventory” is no exception. If you’re not aware of that term, it refers to real estate that the banks have already acquired via foreclosure and are holding onto for the perfect moment to dump them back on the market.
Many real estate aficionados believe that the shadow inventory is not only going to quell our current market recovery, but is actually going to lead to a double-dip housing bust.
The truth will only be borne out in time, as it is impossible to accurately determine numbers of properties being held across all the different lending institutions, as well as the status of negotiations with existing homeowners in default.
A number of details seem to indicate that the Phoenix area housing market won’t be subject to a shadow inventory effect.
- Mike Orr, real estate analyst at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, recently reported, “There is still no sign of any significant new supply of homes coming onto the market, and those who anticipate a flood of bank-owned ‘shadow inventory’ are likely to be very disappointed.“
- The Mortgage Bankers’ Association reported last week that Arizona’s mortgage delinquency rate fell from 6.5% to 6.2% since the start of 2012, placing Arizona 35th in the nation in delinquency rates.
- Filing of Notices of Trustee Sales in Maricopa County fell again to 3,219 in July 2012. It was 4,328 in May and 3,711 in June.
- Bank owned sales as a percentage of total monthly sales has also fallen steadily, despite a very tight inventory supply. Here’s a graphic from R.L. Brown Reports that illustrates the trend:
At the moment, most indicators point towards the fact that there will not be a shadow inventory dump in the Greater Phoenix housing market, but only time will tell. If the banks are holding significant inventory, with a 25% rise in the median sales price in the last 12 months and continued tight inventory levels, now would be a good time to start selling it off.
What do you think? Are we going to see a shadow inventory release in the upcoming months?
This article from FoxNews.com highlights one of the main attractions to the Greater Phoenix area real estate market — even as our supply dwindles, prices remain low relative to “the boom years” of the mid-2000’s. For those who qualify for financing, interest rates remain close to all-time lows. Neither of these dynamics will last forever.
Here’s the article:
It’s hard to make any firm categorical statements about today’s economy, but recent data and anecdotal evidence suggests that the battered housing market is finally on the rebound.
Homeowners, if they’re still fortunate to own a home through the past few years, have endured precipitous drops in valuation, and many still have homes that are worth less than what is owed to the bank. Nonetheless, in places across the country there’s evidence that prices are on the rise.
Analysts report that historically low interests rates, foreign investors and natural market forces are driving home prices back up. This week’s report by S&P/Case-Shiller showing prices in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas up by 2.2 percent gives credence to the sense that at least in some places the housing market is on an upward trend.
After delaying her retirement by a year because of the economy, Sheri Gingerich is now a new homeowner in one of the hottest places in the country–Phoenix. The housing market there is heating up, too.
“To find [a home] on a golf course that was affordable compared to five years ago was to me astronomically the exact thing that worked out to our benefit,” Gingerich said while taking a break from moving into her new home outside Phoenix. The Minnesota native paid $240,000 for the home far enough from the fairway–she hopes–not to attract wayward golf balls. She says the house would have cost considerably more a few years ago and that she wouldn’t have been able to afford it then. But now, the perfect retirement home fits perfectly into her budget.
Gingerich’s realtor says business really picked up at the start of the year and has kept on going strong even into the usually slow summer months. “Oh my God, it’s just been a really great experience the last couple of months with people coming in and really feeling like this is the time to buy,” Kathleen McMullen said. “So I think [buyers] attitudes are all upbeat and I think the economy is taking a shift and Phoenix is really coming back–bouncing back quickly.”
McMullen’s data shows homes that once were on the market for nearly a year are now selling in a month or two and that Gingerich is part of a trend. “Right now, the good news is, in the Phoenix area — all the cities around Phoenix — all of the home values have increased up to 3 percent. And in other places [too]. So, this is not a unique experience at all.”
The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors says while Phoenix may be a hotter market than other places it’s not too far out of line from the national picture. “The market is showing improving signs,” Lawrence Yun recently told Fox News. “We have seen the home sales rise roughly 10 percent higher this year compared to last year. And it looks to close out the year at a five-year high. So we are beginning to see a much improved condition after some tough years in the prior years.”
Yun attributes the rise in prices to an influx of buyers from overseas or investors with lots of cash who are able to buy homes as investments. Nonetheless, he added, “the first time buyer still comprise about one-third of the market. So you are seeing a very broad-based recovery. Everything from New England, Florida, middle America to the Western coast, the sales are improving.”
As for the rest of the year, Yun predicts a modest increase in home prices and bases that on historical trends of supply and demand about inventory.
“Historically, the supply and demand balance has been about a six month supply of inventory. Now in the past few years it’s been in the double digit months of inventory so there are too many sellers in relation to the buyers. Now the market is roughly in balance and historically when that is the case home values rise roughly three to five percent annually.”
This article from CBS News discusses the fact that the Phoenix real estate market is serving as a “beacon of hope” for other housing markets that were crushed by the real estate bubble. Much of the success of the Arizona housing market in rebounding so quickly is being credited to the streamlined non-judicial foreclosure process, which has helped the inventory absorption rate.
Here’s the article:
PHOENIX — The Phoenix metro housing market is seeing a rise in home prices and a decline in the number of houses on the market, putting the area ahead of most other U.S. cities on the road to recovery, according to real estate experts.
Economists say the upward trend in the Phoenix area may serve as a beacon of hope for other cities across the nation that suffered when the housing bubble burst.
“The Phoenix market will be a benchmark city to monitor for residents in Las Vegas, the Inland Empire of California and … the Florida market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors.
The median price for Phoenix-area homes in May was about 30 percent higher than it was the same time last year, according to a monthly report released by the W. P. Carey School of Business’s Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at Arizona State University. The report also shows there are about half as many houses on the market as there were the same time last year.
The Phoenix area market was one of the hardest hit in the nation in terms of distressed properties, but the state’s foreclosure system allows it to work through the backlog more quickly than states in which foreclosures have to go through the judicial process. Banks and mortgage companies have the power in Arizona to foreclose homes without a judge’s approval.
Nevada’s foreclosure system is largely the same. Nasser Daneshvary, director of University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, said speedy foreclosures are healthy for the market. Too many foreclosures can sink home prices, as happened in both Phoenix and Las Vegas, but Daneshvary said a return to the depths experienced during the housing collapse isn’t likely in either city.
Arizona’s job market, with an unemployment rate that’s down to 8.2 percent from its March 2010 peak of 10.8 percent, is also a factor in real estate improvements. Yun said other areas that have sluggish job markets are likely to see slower real estate recoveries, with fewer people able to buy homes.
Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at ASU’s Carey school, said dwindling housing inventory, coupled with prices that are still relatively low, means sellers now hold the power in the Phoenix-area market, and receive multiple offers, many of which come from investors who are looking to buy and rent out houses.
“Now we’ve got too few homes. Everybody’s wishing the investors would go away and stop buying, but the investors are still here buying everything they can with cash, which makes it pretty difficult for ordinary home buyers to compete,” Orr said.
Sandy and Luis Solis said they found that to be true. The couple, who moved from Los Angeles to Scottsdale last year, said the rapid decline in homes available in their price range made them feel hurried to buy. They made offers on three homes but were outbid by cash offers twice, the second time by an investor. They’re in the final stages of closing on a house in Phoenix.
“We were kind of losing hope that we were going to find the right home for us,” Sandy Solis said.
Las Vegas and some cities in California are seeing similar situations. Daneshvary said investors who buy housing for the purpose of renting are better for the market than others in the past who have purchased houses just to flip them. He said by the time investors stop buying, the market will be healthy enough to remain stable.
With houses in short supply, the construction industry will step in to fill the void. Orr said home building in the Phoenix area is slowly beginning to pick up, but it will likely be stifled by a shortage of construction workers in the state. He said Arizona has lost “80 to 90 percent of that skilled workforce” in the last six or seven years because workers have gone elsewhere or left the industry altogether.
Orr said the Phoenix-area’s home market recovery will likely level out over the next few months.
“I just don’t want people to think the next quarter is going to accelerate at the same rate,” Orr said. “That’s not likely to happen.”
That, Yun said, is a sign that the market will recover in a more healthy way.
In the long term, some city’s housing markets may end up in better shape than they were before the housing market crash. Yun said parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and the Dakotas didn’t experience huge housing market losses but are benefiting from widespread improvements in economies. | <urn:uuid:eb457671-2e61-45b7-87aa-e33f67b76f9a> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://www.trust-in-justin.com/tags/greater-phoenix-housing-stats/ | 2018-08-17T03:35:18Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211664.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817025907-20180817045907-00280.warc.gz | en | 0.965023 | 10,024 |
Category Archives: it is a silly place
It’s funny: when we speak of someone being “unstrung,” we typically mean it in the sense that a harp or a piano that has been unstrung is usually having a pretty bad day.
We don’t typically mean it in the other sense—that a bow (the old-fashioned kind made from wood and/or horn and/or bone) should be unstrung regularly, lest the tension of the string ruin its strength.
I think I’m experiencing a bit of both right now.
It’s deeply unpleasant to miss a week of class. By day three, I begin to suffer from the sneaking suspicion that I’m losing my figure if I eat at all (please note, if you’re new to this blog: this a criticism I apply solely to myself—I’m not generally prescriptive about dancers’ bodies, unless the dancer in question is me). My history of anorexia is still, essentially, history … but I’d be lying if I failed to admit that its voice speaks louder when I’m forced to sit down for a while.
This is complicated by the fact that my internal mirror, my mental representation of my body, is updating slowly: that I’m starting to see myself as this rather athletically-built kind of boy, possibly the sort that runs to fat by current professional ballet standards (though perhaps not by any saner standard in the world).
Likewise, I begin to feel frustrated: I know I’ll have to work back into my body a bit; that ballet in particular is an art that demands constant practice. If I miss class for six days, I, my director, the audience, and even the spiders in the stairwell will know. And I’ll really, really know. My deep rotators are, by this point, slowly morphing back into deep potaters (though I am at least feeling well enough to do simple turnout exercises now, provided I do them lying down or in small batches).
And yet it would be impossible and unhealthy to dance through the illness I’ve had this week—I might have milked a few more classes out of myself, but it’s probable that for every hour I strained to charge forward, I’d pay back a day in interest. The show must go on, but at the same time it’s stupid to feck about with a fever and an aggressive infection that has already colonized your upper respiratory system and is eyeing your lungs. If you have to do a show and you don’t have a second cast, you do it; if you’ve got a slow week of class and rehearsals, for goodness’ sake, just take a minute and heal.
Now is no time to get sick—at least, not sicker than I have been. If there’s a good week to take a hit from North Tonsilia, for that matter, this was it: next week is PlayThink, then it’s tech week for Weeds. This week we had fewer rehearsals than usual, and none that were unusually demanding. There was time to sleep and recover.
Time to sleep and recover also means time to review video of Tenebrae and think about work and consider how to move forward.
It’s still a little weird to think about myself as a professional dancer and as a nascent choreographer. It’s really weird in this way that it’s not as weird as it once was. I’m starting to think about the long game; to consider strategies for working as much as I can for as long as I can. It doesn’t seem as ludicrous, anymore, to think seriously about choreographing projects and so forth.
In that light I should think about trying to avoid, say, choking to death. I sliced up some steak to eat with a salad today (now that I can eat salad again :P), but I failed to account for being pretty much unable to breathe through my nose, still. I wound up aspirating a longish piece of steak in the process of trying to bite through it, and D had to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Obviously, it worked: out came the steak, and after a few minutes I was able to go eat my lunch, which I’d literally just started.
Still, it gave me pause. I’ve managed to choke on things before, as one does, but never so badly that I couldn’t sort it out myself. It was less scary than one might expect: like, the initial feeling was, “Oh, I’m choking, I should sort this out,” followed by futile attempts to somehow dislodge this strip-o-steak, um, psychically or something?
The problem being that by the time I staggered into the living room where D was, I was kind of redlining and started to panic as I realized I couldn’t remember the universal sign for “choking,” which apparently is not instinctive :O
That said, I was still able to make a faint gurgling hiss somehow: apparently that, combined with the usual hand-waving that I do when I can’t find words, prompted D to realize that I was choking.
The actual experience of being Heimlich-ed was interesting: there was a moment of, “This isn’t worki—” and then all at once it had worked and I was holding a disgusting, slimy strip of meat in one hand. Weird. After that there was a brief episode of the physical rage that’s my universal response to physical threats, but in a particularly helpless-feeling fashion that made me sit down on the floor and say some colorful words.
And then I realized it was just that—the same reflex I always have—and that I was fine and D had basically just saved my life by correctly reading a particular form of interpretive dance that I do when my language coprocessor crashes.
Which, in retrospect, is really rather funny. So now I have another amusing story to tell at dancer parties, which are basically the only parties I attend, about how interpretive dance saved the day.
You guys, I swear my life is not normally this interesting.
You may now proceed with the obvious jokes related to choking on huge meat, biting off more than I can chew, etc.
Last night I kept choking on water (and tea, and everything else). That should’ve told me something.
Here’s a quick recap of this week!
Dr. B ordered a shot of prednisone and a round of antibiotics. I was actually still running a fever this morning, and was apparently a thermonuclear reactor last night when I was sleeping. Hmm.
Evidently, that repeatedly-choking-on-water thing is sometimes a sign that your tonsils have decided to annex the greater portion of your nasopharynx in the name of Prussia.
On the upside, my lungs (though fairly annoyed by the repeated coughing fits induced by my tonsils’ aggressive assault on South Pharyngia) have chosen to remain diplomatically neutral. Which is to say that they’re slightly wheezy, but we caught this before “slightly wheezy” could develop into “a goop-filled colony of Upper Tonsilia.”
Also on the upside, the medrol injection has started doing its job, which has both reduced the pain in my throat and made breathing, coughing, and drinking easier.
Provided, of course, that I don’t attempt to do all three at the same time.
Insta thinks I’m into:
- cats & dogs
2 outta 3 ain’t bad (not that I mind body bodybuilders or anything)
I got back to aerials today. Worked on rope for the first time since Intro class (so very, very long ago, that seems!) and realized, holy heck, I like rope. We did some trapeze, too, and I learned a new sequence that works for my bendy, snaky body.
After, we chatted about the personality of the apparatuses. Ultimately, we decided that rope is like that big, kinda rough punk kid who maybe doesn’t shower enough but will stop and help you change a tire in the rain, while silks are totally Mean Girls (pretty, but bitchy as hell and complicated, and they’ll drop you like a hot potato if you set a foot wrong). Trapeze, which we didn’t discuss, strikes me as a little aloof and superior. Probably a bit kinky, too. Dance trap is definitely kinky.
After, L and I set a new phrase for my incredibly complicated acro-ballet-ball piece.
Tonight in class, my body remembered how to ballet (though my right quad decided to involve itself in an relevé lent devant one, which was weird and annoying and promptly made it cramp right up the rectus femoris o_O). We were a little boisterous, but still BW gave us some challenging combinations and some good corrections. I did the petit allegro as if I was, like, actually decent at petit allegro. Go figure.
I have, at most, a few more classes with him. I’ll miss him rather more than I care to admit.
At the same time, I’m trying to look forward and plan the next phase of my training. I’ve had a stellar mentor in him, and while hope we’ll keep in touch a bit, it makes sense to build that kind of connection with someone local. I think Killer B might be a good fit. Did I say that already? Predictive Text seems to think so.
Oh. Lastly, I submitted my proposal for a piece for the next choreographers’ salon thingy. Now I need to round up my dancers and get to scheduling. I’ve decided to set the piece for seven dancers, and I think I have enough
victims volunteers, but whether I can lay hands on all of them at once remains to be seen.
But, first: Good Pesach, y’all!
…Assuming that it is in fact still Saturday. Honestly, being off sick has really screwed up my internal calendar. (I dare not even contemplate what it’s probably doing to my internal- and external rotators .__.,)
Dear Northern Hemisphere,
I’ve officially switched to my springtime header, so if winter decides to repeat its coda* yet again, sorry about that.
You may lodge any complaints with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration**, which is clearly losing its battle with the capricious demiurges of weather, who in turn don’t want any snot-nosed dance blogger*** telling them what to do.
Your Humble Danseur
*Prolly the Nutcracker Prince, amirite? Because obvs. Winter. Always showboating. SMH
**These are the folks who run the US weather machines, yesno?
***Who hopes to be slightly less snot-nosed soon, through the miracle of modern medicine?
Yesterday I checked in with my GP, who is awesome on numerous levels (not every doctor closes out an appointment with, “When’s your next show?! You have to tell me so I can get tickets!”). She confirmed my sinus infection and sent me off with a ton of prescriptions—specifically, levofloxacin and pseudoephedrine, plus the usual generic Adderall—which I proceeded to fill at the usual CVS.
I’m sure my local band of intrepid pharmacists think I’m basically a crank addict or running a meth lab or whatevs. (Crank is speed, right? Yesno? Why, of course there’s an answer for that question on the internet.) I can see why they might think that, given my prescriptions and the fact that this end of town is sort of known for that sort of thing.
Really, though, I just want to be able to breathe through my nose and adult.
At the same time, even.
And, sadly, while psuedoephedrine marginally improves my adulting abilities, it doesn’t do so effectively enough that I could, say, skip the Adderall for now. Adderall, meanwhile, does exactly nothing for my congestion, as best I can tell.
So, there you have it.
Normally, the combination of psuedoephedrine and Adderall doesn’t actually make me feel like anything other than a person who can both breathe and efficiently accomplish important goal-directed behaviors pertaining to daily life. Apparently, however:
(psuedoephedrine + Adderall + coffee) * feververtigo resulting from inner-ear wonkiness
= high AF
>_____> o_____O’ <_____<
At least, to be honest, I assume that’s what being high AF feels like. My illicit substance-use history comprises, in short, the occasional glass of wine and a few beers (and never more than two in one day) prior to age 21. At one time, it was because I was that annoying judgmental straightedge kid; at other times, it was a function of fear of addiction; now it’s just basically force of habit. Which just goes to show that anything can become a habit.
- I did get very tipsy at my Mom’s New Year’s Eve party when I was 17, which involved exactly one flute of champagne. I then went upstairs and proceeded to watch Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, because OMFG I was so embarrassingly Serious and Earnest in high school, and senior year was peak Serious & Earnest territory.
- Not that all straightedge kids are annoying and judgmental. Some are awesome and humble and all that. I just wasn’t one of them. Ugh. Can you tell I’ve been watching The Mortified Guide…?
Anyway, I’m just not sure how else to describe the weird state of consciousness in which one is both somehow very, very like awake but also … floaty. Spacey.
Not, like, Kevin Spacey. More like this kind of spacey:
Admittedly, I probably could’ve skipped the coffee … but I decided, as one does, that since I was officially not contagious I should peel myself out of bed and go to rehearsal, and that involved driving, which involved staying awake.
Which was a problem, because awake was the one thing my body absolutely, positively did not want to be. (Actually, there are a whole host of other things it didn’t want to be, but they’re all basically subsets of awake.)
Honestly, the single most alarming thing about this particular sinus infection has been the absolutely crushing fatigue.
Like, driving home from my doc’s office, I was constantly fighting the urge to just close my eyes and go to sleep. Not, mind you, just thinking, “Gosh, I’m really sleepy, *yawn*” but actively having to tell myself:
DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EFFING EYES, MORON. NO. NO. OPEN THEM BACK UP. IT IS NOT OKAY TO BLINK FOR 5 SECONDS AT A TIME.WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
This, remember, is me: the Boy Who Stayed Awake. I do the driving on all our road trips because I can stay awake more or less indefinitely as long as I’m sitting upright (read: I can only sleep sitting up with assistance from modern pharmacology, and have been like that my entire life).
The same person for whom achieving a night’s rest typically involves less “going to sleep“ than “lying there in hope that sleep will eventually trip over me on its way to meet someone in the Pacific Time Zone.”
Like, literally, I only realized last year that people can actually, you know, actually go to sleep.
ON PURPOSE!!! (You guys! I’m serious! What even is that?!)
So having to fight to stay awake … WHILE DRIVING, no less … is something of a novelty.
One that I addressed by drinking WAY THE HECK TOO MUCH COFFEE.
Anyway, basically I floated my way through rehearsal in a state that resembled somehow experiencing that hypnagogic sense of falling through space whilst remaining upright and alert (well … more or less).
Fortunately, the part of the show that we worked last night mostly takes place sitting at a group of tables, and I was able to mark it without actually having to fall on the floor (technically called for at various points, but not necessary when marking). Which is good, because had I made it to the floor it’s highly unlikely that I would then have made it back off the floor.
Then I ate a bunch of chicken-flavored crackers, recopied my choreography notes (you guys, I have never done a piece that involves this much writing: this thing is complicated), and went back to bed. Exciting, right?
Amazingly, I’m pretty sure I actually learned the choreography I needed to learn. See all those letters in circles at the bottom of the right-hand column? Those are 4-count phrases. There are six of them, continuously mixed and re-mixed throughout the piece, comme Rosas Danst Rosas (speaking of which: if you haven’t seen Rosas yet, you can watch the whole thing there … and then, if you’re feeling inspired, you can create your own take on it as part of a worldwide project).
The longer I spend in the rarified climes of the dance world, the more I realize that I am the kind of dancer who learns modern choreography best by, in short, brute force.
Show me a phrase once, and I’ll feck it right up. If I’m lucky, I’ll have shot a good mental video so I run over it again and again in my head and have learned it by the time I’m halfway home.
Show me a phrase, then walk me through it three times, and I’ll start to give it back to you accurately. Let me run it around six times, and I’ll start adding musicality and nuance.
- I pick up ballet choreography much, much faster: usually I need one demonstration, and I’m good. That doesn’t mean I’ll do it correctly after seeing it once, but it does mean I know what I’m supposed to be doing and can hypothetically fix my own errors.
This means, in short, that I struggle at modern auditions, but I quickly become an asset in rehearsal.
The downside is that it makes me very hesitant to rehearse modern choreography on my own, because I’m afraid I’ll misunderstand part of the demo and train myself into a step that isn’t there, or that goes somewhere else, or whatever. I develop pretty strong motor patterns, and fixing them can be a challenge.
I also managed to come up with my own special shorthand notation for the set phrases that are remixed and sequenced throughout the piece:
That felt like rather a stroke of genius, to be honest.
I’m not primarily a verbal learner, but in ballet contexts I use the names of steps (or, well, sometimes the nicknames I’ve privately given them) synchronized to the rhythm of the music (or the counts) as a backup system for when I’m missing a piece of my visual and kinaesthetic maps. This little cheat-sheet of four-counts represents a surprisingly successful attempt to create that same kind of backup system in a modern-dance context.
The sort of tablature of notes further up evolved over the course of the first day of rehearsals, though I’ve refined it a bit since the first iteration. It acts as a framework; kind of a score, if you will, to keep track of what happens when.
At the beginning, for my group, so much of this piece is counting like crazy, then throwing in some small-but-important gesture. Even “PAUSE” has a specific meaning entirely disparate from “HOLD.”
… And stays home.
I’ve had a sinus thing going on for a while, and it has finally run me to ground.
I’m just flat-out exhausted despite having slept 10 hours plus per night for the past several days, and since sinus pressure and fatigue are key indicators of sinus infection, I’ve made an appointment with my doctor for Friday morning.
To be fair, I really meant to do this sooner. I got through theater week and the week that followed purely by the good graces of pseudoephedrine, basically, which allowed me to keep going without really solving the underlying problem (which, to be fair, pseudoephedrine isn’t designed to do). Oh, well.
That said, I’m also bored stiff. It’s possible that there’s nothing as ridiculous and pathetic as a dancer who currently lacks the energy to dance. You would think a lifetime of recurrent sinus infections would have inured me to the mental restlessness associated with being physically “on the bench,” but no.
Even though I escaped yesterday evening to help transport some stuff from CL’s old headquarters to our new ones, I’ve reached that point at which one begins to entertain bad ideas (“Maybe I’ll just do barre!”) in order to allay the weird restlessness.
And if this all sounds like so much First World Whining, don’t worry—it 100% totally is, and I know that. It’s not really that horrible to be a sick dancer, just annoying and inconvenient.
Per husband’s orders, I’m playing it safe and most cooling my heels until I can see the doc (though I do have to go to rehearsal tomorrow, because work). With any luck, she’ll declare me fit to fly while we’re getting this sinus thing handled.
This morning, perhaps due to the time change but perhaps also due to the fact that we’re all up to our eyeballs in alligators right now, the struggle was really, really real.
Barre was … well, meh about sums it up. It wasn’t the worst I’ve ever done, but I also wasn’t entirely awake, and my legs felt like they weighed about 48 kilos each.
Center tendus were … ugh. More like tendon’ts. I got through the first version without too much awfulness, but when we ran the reverse I kept changing the facing of my hips when I shouldn’t have and, as a result, winding up on the wrong leg, and then having to do this tendu-failli-tendu thing, and then sometimes I’d have faillied the wrong leg somehow and I’d still be wrong, and I’d just go, “Feck it,” and coupé over in whatever way would get me to the right place ’cause ain’t nobody got time for dat.
Adagio was at least back to meh, instead of actively WTF-worthy. When I’m “on,” adagio feels fairly effortless. When I’m off, I adage like a spatially-challenged stork with some kind of substance-use disorder. I still get through it, but it’s … um.
So basically I made it through the adage at a more-or-less acceptable level while lamenting Thursday’s effortless extensions and wondering why my legs continued to experience enhanced gravity, whether last night’s sleeping pill would ever wear off, and exactly how much postnasal drainage could actually dump itself down my throat before something horrible happened (the answer: a lot, apparently, as nothing particularly horrible happened during the remainder of class, regardless of the constant stream of sinus goop working its way down the back of my throat).
Going across the floor, things finally began to improve. First off, the talking-to L’Ancien gave all of us about using our weight and our plié shook free of the cobwebs (I think it probably happened while we were doing 6th port de bras in the adage) and rolled into play, and some very, very nice turns resulted (though there was that one triple with way too much force … sometimes I get excited about turns and forget that you don’t need to use all the grand allegro booster rockets).
Second off, I realized that we were all struggling along together.
To whit: uur first turns combination was exceedingly simple—tombé-pas de bourrée to 4th-en dehors-repeat-repeat-rotation-en dedans, then straight into the second side—and did exactly what we all expected it to do so nobody had to think.
Our waltz, on the other hand, was simple but remixed familiar elements in a new way.
We’re all good friends with balancé-balancé-waltz turn-waltz turn-tombé-pas de bourrée and then whatever.
This time, JMH gave us:
balancé-balancé-waltz turn-waltz turn–CHAÎNÉ-CHAÎNÉ-CHAÎNÉ (petit developpé)-tombé pas de bourrée to fourth-en dehors-tombé back-en dedans (dancer’s choice: I did attitude turn en dedans because it’s in our Showcase piece; finished to arabesque allongé).
We all had to mentally yell at ourselves to keep from going balancé-balancé-waltz turn-waltz turn-tombé-pas de bourrée… I suspect that must’ve been pretty funny to watch. There was much visible gnashing of teeth, though we mostly kept the wailing on the inside.
Still, the waltz overall managed, amidst great struggle, to somehow turn out quite nicely. Against all odds, the repeat was rather lovely.
By the time we got to little jumps, my brain was beginning to light up, and the major mistake I kept making was adding extra jumps—in one combination, I kept adding extra changements when the prescribed step was a simple sussous balance. WTF.
I actually yelled at myself about this out loud at one point. Specifically, I said, “Why am I punishing myself?!” as I failed, yet again, to prevent myself from putting in extra changements. Jeez. On the other hand, they were quite decent jumps, so there’s that.
Moreover, my petit assemblé has stopped being a disaster area (my legs actually assemble in the air like they’re supposed to, you guys!), and I finally seem to have programmed that weird coupé-coupé weight shift into my brain somewhere along the way. We finished with jeté-temps levée-coupé coupé-brush jeté, and it was just … there. Like magic.
Anyway, today’s Theater Week Prep Day, during which I will Make All The Food and Clean All The Catbox and Wash All The Dishes and Finish The Stray Laundries and basically prepare for the fact that for the next six days I am unlikely to accomplish anything other than dancing.
The primary goal, really, is to make enough food in advance that I won’t have to really cook until a week from today: instead, I’ll just be able to throw things in to reheat as needed. Obviously, things like scooping the catbox that can be done quickly will still happen. Just not a lot of cooking, because I am unlikely to feel like cooking, but extremely likely to feel like eating, when I get home after rehearsals.
So that’s it for now. My legs feel like blocks of lead, and I plan to soak them in epsom salt solution for as long as my conscience permits later on. If the cat ever deigns to return the use of my left arm to me, anyway.
My schedule has officially gone plaid again, so I’ll probably be brief for the next couple of weeks.
We’re in the theater next week, and with a little good grace from the Powers That Be, our piece will be lovely.
Here’s my epic developpé near the end:
… And here’s what happens when I wind up too close to the column right next to BG:
In other news, I thought I would hate having to wear jazz pants, but actually I kinda like these ones?
“Dear heavens, it’s 8 AM already,” he said.
Or, at any rate, he tried to. What came out, instead, sounded more like, “Mrrrghghhhh.”
You’ve probably guessed that today wasn’t the best day I’ve ever had in class. I don’t think it’s so much the getting in at 1:30, which isn’t the end of the world really, or the getting up at 8 on slightly less than 6 hours of sleep.
I suspect that it was the combination of NyQuil (taken to fend off a sinus headache and extra congestion brought on by dry air and so forth: not sleeping was not a viable option) and getting up at 8 on slightly less sleep than it would’ve taken to give the NyQuil time to wear off.
Possibly adding Adderall, a further decongestant, and a cup of coffee to the mix this morning wasn’t the greatest idea.
On the other hand, I made it to class without dying, killing myself, or forgetting my shoes, so there’s that.
At any rate, I wasn’t alone. In one way or another, everyone was heroically Living The Struggle this morning, including L’Ancien, who was mysteriously detained (he apologized profusely).
I do think, however, that I was the sole member of the class who began barre with legs that trembled like the voice of an ancient soprano on Easter morning.
Even standing in fifth was, erm, challenging. I mean, standing in fifth is inherently challenging, and some days your body does it better than other days … but I can’t remember any other specific day on which the challenge in question involved, like, vibration.
So that pretty much alerted me to the fact that it was going to be an interesting class.
By the time we got to the section of our highly-compressed barre that I’ll call “fondu de rondu,” the trembling had stopped. I was grateful for that, and because frankly it was, in fact, a little frightening: imagine balancing, for example, at passé in the midst of a rolling earthquake, for example.
However, the end of the tremors and the lovely high extensions that showed up out of nowhere (and with no conscious effort on my part) conspired to lull me into a false sense of security.
I should’ve realized it when I could tour lent in the mark, but not in the actual run. Obviously, something was rotten in Denmark.
Still, I bulled my way through the adage, through some not-great turns, and through the little jumps (in which I made L’Ancien a little happy by actually jumping, which his the one thing I can do reliably, almost (see below).
And then came the grand allegro. It was simple: pique, chassé, entrelacé, failli, tombé, pas de bourré, glissade, grand jeté, then four more grand jetés just for the hell of it, en manège.
Except when L’Ancien gave us the combination, somehow my amazing brain decided that the first phrase (pique, chassé, entrelacé) was performed left, and that it changed directions via a fouetté or something.
Evidently that wasn’t at all correct, and I can now tell you that it’s quite alarming to fund that you are unexpectedly grand-allegroing yourself towards the person on the next corner and yet, simultaneously, that you can’t seem to make yourself stop…?
That’s not where the mystery comes in, though.
The mystery is that we ran it again, and I did the same thing.
I DID THE GRAND ALLEGRO BACKWARDS TWICE, YOU GUYS.
So, all told, far from the best class I’ve ever had. Not quite Depths of Despair quality, just a whole lot of WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME THIS MORNING?.
To which the answer is obvious. I’m cooked, and perhaps too many drugs. In short, the equivalent of taking class with a hangover, minus the headache.
At any rate, I’ve managed to eat some lunch and now I’m thinking about having a lie down before my audition (though, at present, only thinking, because I’m horrible at taking naps and I’d really rather just power through and get it behind me).
Here’s hoping that things will go a little better this afternoon. We’ll see, eh?
I needed a new headshot, so I asked my friend Christina, who’s a photographer, to shoot some for me. She agreed and asked if I wanted some action shots as well, and I thought that sounded awesome. Anyway, we went out on a grey afternoon with temperatures in the 50s (fahrenheit) and worked for about an hour.
Even though it was hard to get sufficiently warmed up, Christina managed to snag some great shots … and a couple that I asked her to keep because, frankly, they’re kind of hilarious. So here are a few: one funny one, one that’s a great picture of something that’s not very good ballet (but might be pretty good action-movie Kung Faux!), and one that’s just plain beautiful.
So here they are:
You know that effort face I keep talking about? Well, THIS IS IT. This is the face that I CONSTANTLY MAKE during petit allegro and also, apparently, whilst attempting to do grand allegro outside in the cold with my shoulders swallowing my neck.
Also, just noticed I have developed a terrible case of Starfish Hand in this one.
TEACHERS: TALK TO YOUR DANCERS ABOUT STARFISH HAND BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
One more thing: I learned in this process that even if you know you’re going to destroy your shoes by wearing them to a damp outdoor dance shoot in the middle of a drizzly Kentucky winter, you should STILL WEAR SHOES THAT FIT.
First, dancing outside in the cold is hard enough without worrying that you’re going to slide out of your shoes when you launch or when you land.
Second, if you actually do get ’round to pointing your toes, oversized shoes make your beautiful dolphin feet look like bricks anyway.
Mad props to Christina for making this shot look beautiful even though I did my best to make everything look ridiculous 🙂
Nobody ever posts their Pas De Don’t moments: you know, those times when only one leg is turned out, only one foot is trying to be pointed (to be fair, the bottom one hasn’t had time to get there yet in this shot), you’re making A+ For Effort Face, and the jump you’re doing is great if it’s either modern dance or Kung Faux, but not so great if it’s supposed to be Pas de Chat Italien and actually ballet.
For the good of humankind, then, here’s another of mine.
My épaulement is janky as heck in this shot—and while that makes for some heckin’ awkward ballet, it makes for some really cool Kung Faux, so I’ll take it. Besides, you never know when you might need exactly the right photo to go with your audition application for an international spy thriller ballet.
Christina spotted this one in the mix and kept it for exactly this reason—it totally looks like an action-movie still (presumably from some weird action movie about a random ballet boy just trying to get home from class after all of his street clothes were stolen by ninjas or something). I kind of love it, to be honest.
Y’all. Can I just say that I freaking love this?
The pose is from the piece BG is setting on us right now, only we use parallel fifth instead of parallel fourth. Between the surface and the wind, parallel fourth was hard enough to manage; parallel fifth was … umm, yeah. But we both liked the parallel fourth version better anyway.
Never mind the fact that I’m still working off my, ahem, “winter coat.” (That is, the extra coating of insulation that you get when you go visit your parents house and there is no class and your Mom keeps stuffing food down your gullet and you were already still getting back in shape from your last break … oy.)
Never mind the fact that it’s cold and I’m tired as all heck in this picture. I look like I know what I’m about. And I kinda think I look pretty good. Like, if this was a FumblR picture or whatevs, I’d swipe right.
Or … you know, whichever way you’re supposed to swipe if you think someone looks good.
There’s also a color version of this pose shot against the backdrop of the same facade as the first two…
- …All that remains of an historical house whose name escapes me at the moment; I’ll fix that some time when I’m not trying to get to bed.
…that I like quite a lot, so I’m going to slap that down here, as well, even though I was only going to post three shots.
There’s a version of this in which I’m not staring directly into the camera, but I like this one better, so here you go. If you know me well enough you can tell by my eyebrow that I’m basically about to dissolve into a fit of laughter. I almost pulled off the Imperious Gaze, but was borderline slap-happy by this point.
Also, I really need to learn to do this port de bras without hyperextending my fingers, because that looks kinda weird. Though it may not actually be entirely possible for me to do that: my third (ring) finger on both hands only seems to offer “bent” and “hyperextended” as options. Oh, well.
But most importantly, my feet look pretty bangin’ here, even with the oversized shoes.
I think I’m probably going to badger Christina to do a shoot of the same basic jumps and poses and so forth in about three months, when the weather is awesome and I’m in peak shape.
So, brief recap. Here’s what I learned doing this photo shoot:
- If it’s cold, bring something warm to wrap around yourself between shots. Also probably a thermos full of something hot and possibly alcoholic, unless you have to drive or are underage in your region or whatevs, in which case skip that alcoholic thing.
- WEAR SHOES THAT FIT
- WEAR SHOES THAT FIT
- FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY WEAR SHOES THAT FIT (you can thank me later)
- You will look weird giving yourself a barre and so forth in the middle of the street in the middle of the afternoon. Do it anyway, even if it means getting there early. I didn’t because I was actually really fracking depressed the morning of the shoot and didn’t get there early enough (or at all), and I regretted it for the entire shoot, but especially when I was doing the eleventy-ninth pas de chat from a standstill 😛 | <urn:uuid:84d19a06-8310-4c07-adee-8bcc4b284759> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://danseurignoble.com/category/it-is-a-silly-place/ | 2018-08-14T14:17:47Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209040.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814131141-20180814151141-00320.warc.gz | en | 0.956387 | 8,743 |
Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a relatively rare cancer frequently linked to prior exposure to asbestos. Approximately 3,000 new cases of MM are diagnosed annually in the United States. As a cancer of the mesothelial cell lining that surrounds various organs, the majority of MM (~80%) occurs in the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs, whereas most of the remaining (peritoneal) tumors arise in the abdominal cavity. Prognosis is generally very poor with a median survival of ~9–12 months for pleural cases (1,2). Similar to other cancers, MM is a disease that can result from the interactions between environmental carcinogenic factors (e.g., asbestos) and genetic predisposing factors, only one of which has been identified to date. At the somatic genetic level, losses of chromosome regions 3p21.1, 9p21.1, and 22q12.2 are frequently observed in MM. The critical driver genes located at 9p21.1 and 22q12.2 were first reported more than 2 decades ago as being the tumor suppressor loci CDKN2A and NF2, respectively (3,4). Only relatively recently was the BAP1 gene determined to be the driver gene at 3p21.1 that is frequently somatically inactivated (5), and germline mutations of BAP1 predisposing to MM were reported independently at about the same time (6). Numerous studies have confirmed that BAP1 is a major MM susceptibility gene (see below), and that most MMs (>80%) harbor somatic alterations of the CDKN2A locus, which encodes the tumor suppressor proteins p16INK4A and p14ARF (regulators of the critical Rb and p53 pathways, respectively), 60% harbor somatic mutations and exonic deletions of the BAP1 gene and 30–50% show inactivation of NF2.
Somatic and germline mutations of BAP1
A seminal paper by Jensen et al. described the localization of the BAP1 gene to chromosomal region 3p21.2–p21.31, a region that is frequently deleted in lung carcinomas and many other cancers (7). The group identified somatic BAP1 deletions/mutations in two non-small cell lung cancer and one small cell lung cancer cell lines. Although several noteworthy functional studies would ensue between 2008 and 2010 (8-12), more than a decade would pass before the seminal genomic report of frequent (~85%) involvement of somatic BAP1 mutations in metastatic uveal melanomas (UM) (13). These ocular tumors are categorized as either class 1 (low metastatic potential) or class 2 (high metastatic potential tumors), the latter strongly correlated with monosomy 3. Utilizing exome and Sanger sequencing technology, somatic BAP1 mutations were identified in 26 of 31 (84%) class 2 primary UMs but in only 1 of 26 class 1 primary tumors, thus implicating BAP1 mutations in UM metastatic capacity. Of particular interest to us was the discovery of a germline BAP1 mutation in one of the patients with a class 2 UM, though no extended family history studies were performed (13). Somatic BAP1 mutations in MMs were first reported in 2011 by Bott et al. (5). They used a candidate gene sequencing approach to scrutinize tumors for mutations in genes located in chromosomal region 3p21 and discovered that BAP1 was mutated in 12 of 53 (23%) MMs.
At about the same time, the first description of germline BAP1 mutations being associated with familial MM was reported (6). We described two U.S. families with a high incidence of MM and other types of cancers, such as renal carcinoma; additionally, two UMs were seen in one family. A germline splice site mutation in BAP1 intron 6 in DNA from one family (W family) was shown to lead to aberrant skipping of exon 7 during mRNA processing and a predicted protein truncation. A nonsense mutation in exon 16 was present in the second (L) family, also leading to a predicted protein truncation. Published simultaneously in the same issue of Nature Genetics, another report described germline mutations of BAP1 in two families with atypical melanocytic tumors, UMs, and cutaneous melanomas (CMs) (14). In a subsequent report published later in 2011, a third independent study reported results of a mutation screen of 53 unrelated UM patients with known high risk for hereditary cancer, and notably, a single patient was identified with a germline BAP1 truncating mutation that was associated with UM and multiple other cancers in this patient’s family (15). Biallelic inactivation of BAP1 and decreased BAP1 expression were identified in the UM, lung adenocarcinoma and meningioma from three family members who were mutation carriers. Notably, other cancers observed in this family include MM, CM, and meningioma. Since then, numerous reports have expanded on the discovery of germline mutations in families or individuals with these and other cancers [BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome (TPDS)] (16-29). In the OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) database, the disorder is now referred to as TPDS #614327 (http://www.omim.org/entry/614327?search=bap1&highlight=bap1), which is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with individuals carrying a heterozygous BAP1 mutation being at high-risk for various tumors, including benign melanocytic tumors (atypical Spitz tumors) and multiple malignant tumors, such as UM, CM, “MM on exposure to asbestos”, and other cancer types (i.e., lung adenocarcinoma, meningioma, and renal cell carcinoma). A list of the tumors that are associated with the BAP1 TPDS was recently summarized by Pilarski et al., 2016; (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390611/) (30). Confirmed BAP1-TPDS tumors include the following: atypical Spitz tumors, UM, MM, CM, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma. Unconfirmed neoplasms (with conflicting evidence regarding inclusion in the syndrome) include the following (in alphabetic order): breast cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, meningioma, neuroendocrine tumors, non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma, and thyroid cancer.
Unique MM clinical characteristics associated with BAP1 mutations
A comprehensive analysis of MM high-risk families has led to the discovery of some interesting differences in the clinical features of MM patients with or without germline BAP1 mutations (16). We examined the germline BAP1 mutation status of 150 MM patients with a family history of cancer, 50 asbestos-exposed control individuals with a family history of cancers other than MM, and 153 asbestos-exposed control individuals without familial cancer. No BAP1 mutations were identified in the control cohorts, but were identified in 9 of 150 (6%) individuals with a family history of cancer. Firstly, the median age of MM diagnosis was significantly younger among the 9 BAP1 mutation carriers as compared to non-carriers (58 vs. 68 years). This earlier age of tumor onset is similar to that observed in other cancer predisposition syndromes (31), such as Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome (32) and Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (33). Secondly, there was an overrepresentation of peritoneal MMs (5 of 9) and a tendency for epithelioid MM among the mutation carriers compared to non-carriers (16). Finally, but very remarkably, these 9 MM individuals have a better overall survival after MM diagnosis (60 vs. 17 months among the non-carriers) (16), which is similar to survival data findings from another group of investigators (34). This notable clinical characteristic is likely due to the mutation carriers being younger and predominantly having peritoneal, epithelioid disease, which has an overall better prognosis than pleural and sarcomatoid MM, respectively (1,2). Collectively, these findings suggest that MM patients presenting with a family history of cancer should be considered for BAP1 mutation screening to identify carriers who might benefit from routine monitoring for the purpose of early detection and intervention.
Sanger sequencing has revealed somatic BAP1 point mutations in 20–25% of sporadic MM samples (5,6,35-37). Subsequent studies using next-generation and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) platforms have revealed a significantly higher incidence (~60%) of BAP1 alterations in MMs from both BAP1-TPDS individuals, sporadic cases and cell lines, with most of the additional alterations consisting of deletions of one or more BAP1 exons, which was not detectable by Sanger sequencing (5,6,35-37). MMs with either point mutations or deletions were each found to exhibit loss of nuclear BAP1 staining due to protein truncation and loss of the BAP1 carboxyl-terminal nuclear localization signal (NLS) (38). Tumors harboring somatic BAP1 alterations were also found to possess unique pathological and clinical characteristics. Thus, BAP1 immunohistochemical analysis of 123 MM samples indicated that high BAP1 expression (indicative of no mutations) correlated with a shorter survival time (39), which is similar to findings from studies of MM patients with germline BAP1 mutations (16,34). Also comparable, was the association of somatically inactivated BAP1 with the epithelioid MM subtype (36). Since BAP1 can influence the regulation of gene expression epigenetically or through deubiquitination of transcription factors (see below), it is plausible that these different patterns of gene expression can lead to variations in MM tumor subtypes (35,40,41).
Similar to Li-Fraumeni syndrome (33), there are a number of reported BAP1 mutation families where individuals are afflicted with more than one type of primary tumor (23,42-44), strongly suggesting multiple tissue lineages being targeted by BAP1 deficiency. Cancer incidence data from published papers reporting germline BAP1 mutations indicated that the two most common primary tumors observed together are MM and UM (7 cases), melanocytic tumors and CM (7 patients), CM and basal cell carcinoma (7 patients), and MM and CM (6 cases) (Table 1).
BAP1 gene, protein structure, and function
Rauscher, Prendergast and colleagues were the first to clone and characterize the BAP1 gene (7). BAP1 was discovered through a yeast two-hybrid screening for BRCA1 ring finger domain interacting proteins. Cloning of the full-length BAP1 cDNA and analysis of the predicted protein product indicated that gene encodes a 729-amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 81 kDa, although subsequent immunoblot studies revealed a protein 90 kDa in size, likely due to post-translational modifications. The amino terminus of the BAP1 protein has amino acid homology with a class of thiol proteases, designated Ubiquitin C-Terminus Hydrolases (UCH). A BARD1 binding site and HCF-1 (host cell factor 1) binding domain are located at the amino terminus and middle of the BAP1 protein, respectively. The C-terminal region encompasses protein interacting domains for YY1 (Ying Yang 1), BRCA1 and ASXL1/2. A NLS is positioned near the very end of the protein at residues 717 to 722. Similar to the better-known post-translational modifications through phosphorylation, ubiquitination can play a role in modifying proteins to cause changes in cellular signaling. As a nuclear localized, deubiquitinating enzyme, the BAP1 protein complexes with ASXL1/2 to form the Polycomb repressive group deubiquitinase Complex (PR-DUB) that functions in epigenetic regulation of gene expression through chromatin structure modifications (11,45). The PR-DUB complex functions in the deubiquitination of monoubiquitinated histone H2A K119 to promote gene expression via chromatin relaxation. The PR-DUB works in opposition to the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) that catalyzes the monoubiquitination of H2A, which plays a physiological role in stem cell pluripotency, differentiation, and embryonic development (11,45).
A role for BAP1 in cell proliferation has been suggested from studies showing BAP1’s ability to deubiquitinate the HCF-1 transcriptional cofactor (8,9,12). HCF-1 normally associates with E2F1, E2F3, and E2F4 transcription factors to help recruit repressors and activators to promote cell cycle progression at different stages. BAP1 was shown to deubiquitinate HCF-1 leading to a modest increase in HCF-1 protein levels (8,9). BAP1 and HCF-1 were also shown to be recruited to promoters to control gene regulation through the ability of the two proteins to bind to the YY1 transcription factor (12). Gene pathway analysis indicated that this interaction appears to control a number of different processes including cell cycle progression, cell survival, and metabolism (12).
A functional RNAi screen identified BAP1 as being a central player for efficient BRCA1 and RAD51 recruitment to ionizing radiation (IR)-induced foci in DT40 cells, a chicken B cell lymphoma cell line (46). Further studies using Bap1 knockout DT40 cells demonstrated that the cells had decreased survival after DNA damaging IR treatment. Accordingly, increased chromosomal instability was also observed in BAP1 KO cells, as indicated by chromosomal breakage. Furthermore, ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) analysis demonstrated that BAP1 proteins are located at regions of double strand DNA breakage (DSB) (46). An independent study by Ismail et al. similarly revealed that BAP1 protein was co-recruited with phosphorylated histone H2AX (γ-H2AX; a marker for DSB) after human U2OS cells were laser microirradiated (47). ChIP assays also showed that BAP1 and γ-H2AX were recruited to sites of endonuclease-induced DSB (47).
The BAP1 protein was recently demonstrated to play an important role in inhibiting apoptosis caused by metabolic stress such as glucose deprivation (48). The unfolded protein response (UPR) protects cells from stress caused by misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (i.e., glucose deprivation), and if the stress is unresolved, this leads to induction of apoptosis by depleting ATP and generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). The investigators demonstrated that under metabolic stress, BAP1 complexes with PRC1 to promote the expression of genes essential for UPR by directly binding to the genes’ promoters (48). Studies performed with several BAP1-null lung and renal cancer cell lines showed increased apoptotic induction following glucose deprivation, suggesting that the increased survival reported in patients with BAP1-negative MM may be due to the inability of these cancer cells to actively proliferate due to the stress caused by the high demand for glucose (48). Accordingly, it would be important in future work to test if BAP1-null MM tumor cells are more sensitive to ROS-promoting therapeutics.
Lessons from mouse models
The use of Bap1 genetically engineered mouse models provided undeniable evidence for BAP1 being an important tumor suppressor gene. Utilizing zinc-finger mediated genomic DNA modifications, we created three Bap1 mouse models (49,50). In the first study (50), a heterozygous Bap1-null model in the FVB mouse strain was created by introducing a deletion of exons 6 and 7. Similar to a previous study (51), homozygous mice were found to be embryonic lethal, indicating an essential embryonic function for the gene. More importantly, was the discovery that heterozygous Bap1 knock out (KO) mice were more susceptible to MM development after peritoneal injection of crocidolite asbestos (50). Compared to wild type (WT) littermates, there was a greater than 2-fold increased incidence of MM tumors in Bap1 KO mice (32% versus 72%, P<0.01) as well as an overall decrease in survival after asbestos exposure (55 versus 43 weeks median, P<0.0001). Moreover, MM tumors from KO mice were more aggressive than the tumors from WT mice. Greater staining for Ki-67, larger tumor sizes, and increased metastasis to the pancreas, liver, and intestine were observed in the tumors from KO mice. Moreover, RT-PCR analysis of MM cell lines derived from ascites demonstrated loss of expression of p16Ink4a, p19Arf, and p15Ink4b genes in MM cells derived from three WT mice but not in MM cells from two KO mice. Notably, however, normal mesothelial cells and MM cells from Bap1 KO mice showed downregulation of Rb through a p16Ink4a-independent mechanism, suggesting that predisposition of Bap1 KO mice to MM may be facilitated, in part, by cooperation between Bap1 and Rb. Finally, PCR analysis of genomic DNA indicated loss of the WT copy of the Bap1 gene from the MM cells of two KO mice but not in the MM cells of WT mice, consistent with Bap1 being a cancer predisposition gene (50). These unbiased genetic findings in an experimental model suggest that humans carrying a germline BAP1 mutation may likewise be predisposed to the carcinogenic effects of asbestos fibers.
Similar phenotypic differences were observed between WT mice and two other Bap1 mutant mouse models in FVB background that harbor knock-in mutations analogous to the germline L and W mutations reported in humans (49). The median survival of asbestos injected W and L mice was significantly shorter than in WT mice (48 and 46 vs. 60 weeks, respectively). Moreover, the incidence of MM development was at least 2-fold higher among the Bap1 knock-in mice compared to WT mice (74% and 71% vs. 35%, respectively). Interestingly, combining the data from all three mouse models (KO, L, and W) revealed that about two-thirds of the Bap1 mutant mice developed spontaneous tumors, with the majority of the tumors comprising ovarian sex cord stromal tumors (SCSTs) (49). Virtually all female mice developed SCST (some bilaterally) within 12–30 months of age. Array CGH and immunoblot analysis showed loss of the wild type copy of Bap1 in three SCST tested, indicating the importance of the Bap1 gene in SCST tumorigenesis. MMs were found in one KO (pleural and biphasic) and one W mouse (peritoneal and biphasic) that were not exposed to asbestos, i.e., spontaneous MMs. While no MMs were seen in a cohort of WT littermates, the difference in the incidence of MM between WT and Bap1-mutant mice was not statistically significant. Based on the very high incidence of MM formation in asbestos injected Bap1-mutant mice, there thus appears to be a very strong role for gene-environment interaction (i.e., exposure to asbestos) in MM development. A study published the following year provided further support for the increased susceptibility of Bap1 KO mice to asbestos-induced MM, including upon exposure to relatively low doses of these carcinogenic fibers (52).
Additionally, a study by a separate group of investigators demonstrated increased H3K27me3 levels in bone marrow cells from Cre-induced homozygous Bap1 KO mice (53). The tri-methyl modification of histone H3 has been previously shown to be accomplished by the EZH2 subunit of the PRC-2 complex. Other experiments showed that BAP1 mutant human MM cell lines were more susceptible to shRNA and small molecule targeting of EZH2, suggesting a novel therapeutic approach for BAP1-mutant malignancies (53). Interestingly, the use of BAP1 and EZH2 staining was proposed as a diagnostic tool to differentiate epithelioid/biphasic MM from benign mesothelial lesions in humans (54). The researchers reported combined loss of BAP1 staining and high EZH2 staining in the majority of MM specimens examined, but not in any benign lesions (54).
Quantitative proteomic analysis of tissues from inducible Bap1 KO mice revealed a role in metabolic homeostasis in the pancreas and liver (55). Elevated cholesterol biosynthesis but reduced expression of gluconeogenic and lipid homeostasis proteins were observed in the liver. In the pancreas, expression of pancreatitis protein markers was increased whereas expression of mitochondria proteins was decreased. These mice also exhibited hypercholesterolemia, hypoglycemia, lipid reduction in the liver, and pancreatic acinar cell degeneration (55). How such metabolic dysregulation is related to cancer predisposition or tumorigenesis is yet to be determined. However, it is known that increased cholesterol and lipid synthesis is required in cancer progression due to the high demand for both membrane lipids as well as for cell signaling [reviewed in (56,57)]. As a consequence, it may be possible to identify possible molecular targets for therapeutic and/or preventative regimens in MM patients and BAP1 mutation carriers, respectively. For example, Hedgehog inhibitors, such as GDC-0449 already available for basal cell carcinoma treatment, can be evaluated for efficacy in BAP1 deficient MM cells (57).
Preventative and therapeutic strategies for MM
Since MM, CM, and UM are universally lethal diseases, the best approach would be to prevent the development of these cancers in BAP1 mutation carriers through appropriate proactive measures. It has been suggested that these individuals avoid asbestos and smoking to decrease the possibility of developing MM (30). Furthermore, arc welding and excessive sun exposure should be avoided to decrease the likelihood of developing UM and CM, respectively. BAP1 mutation carriers are at risk of developing additional primary tumors during their lifetime. Thus, cancer survivors should have regularly scheduled dermatologic, ophthalmologic, pulmonary and renal evaluations to enhance the possibility of early detection and timely intervention.
Due to the important role BAP1 has with BRCA1 in homologous recombination repair (46), poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors were tested for their efficacy in BAP1-null tumor cells. In one report, no differential sensitivity was observed between BAP1 WT and BAP1-mutant MM cells with the MK4827 (Merck) inhibitor (5). In another study using chicken DT40 cells (46), increased sensitivity to the PARP inhibitor, Olaparib, was observed in homozygous BAP1-null cells as compared to WT and heterozygous BAP1-null cells. A recent study implicated the importance of the levels of an alternative splice variant of BAP1 in conferring sensitivity to PARP inhibition (58). This alternative splice isoform leads to the loss of 12 amino acids within the catalytic and BARD1 binding domains. Transfection of BAP1-deficient ZL55 MM cells with this BAP1 isoform resulted in a 2- to 3-fold increased sensitivity to Olaparib compared to cells transfected with the full length BAP1 construct (58). Additional tests were carried out to determine if phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibition, which can deplete BRCA1 protein levels, could have an additive effect with PARP inhibition. MM cells wild type for BAP1 were separated into two groups based on the ratio of the expression of the BAP1 splice isoform to that of the full-length isoform. Cells with higher splice isoform expression showed greater cell viability inhibition after combination treatment with Olaparib and GDC0980, a dual PI3K-mTOR inhibitor (58).
A histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, vorinostat, was previously evaluated in a phase 3 clinical trial involving MM patients who previously progressed after chemotherapy (59). Unfortunately, no improvements in overall survival resulted from vorinostat treatment (59). A recent study of MM cells and HDAC expression may have provided a reason for this disappointing clinical study result (60). The authors demonstrated that BAP1 can transcriptionally promote the expression of HDAC2. BAP1 knockdown led to a decrease in HDAC2 but an increase in HDAC1 expression (60). Interestingly, this altered HDAC imbalance led to an increase in MM cell sensitivity to vorinostat and other HDAC inhibitors. Thus, clinical trials of MM with HDAC inhibitors might prove more successful if recruitment of patients were to take into account the BAP1 mutation status of individual tumors.
As mentioned previously, EZH2 was proposed as a possible therapeutic target in MM tumors with BAP1 mutations (53). A clinical trial using an EZH2 inhibitor is already underway to test efficacy in human MM patients (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02860286). This Phase 2 trial is recruiting patients with relapsed or refractory MM using the drug, Tazemetostat (EPZ-6438), which was developed by Epizyme. The study has been split into two parts. Part 1 involves a pharmacokinetics study of MM patients, without regard to BAP1 status, following a single drug dose. The second part of the study will recruit MM patients with BAP1-deficient MM tumors for continuous Tazemetostat treatment.
The steadily increasing number of reports of germline BAP1 mutations in high-risk cancer families has led to the discovery of a novel autosomal dominant, highly penetrant hereditary cancer syndrome that frequently predisposes to MM, UM, CM, atypical melanocytic tumors, and RCC, as well as other cancers such as basal cell carcinoma and meningioma. The tumor suppressor function of the BAP1 gene in MM has been definitively demonstrated genetically through in vivo experimental studies with Bap1-mutant mouse models. Although spontaneous MMs are rare in these mice, exposure to asbestos induced a highly significant increase in the incidence of aggressive MM in several different mouse models tested. Collectively, these findings provide genetic evidence that Bap1 is a bona fide tumor suppressor gene and offer key insights into the contribution of carcinogen exposure to enhanced cancer susceptibility. The continuing interest in elucidating mechanisms by which BAP1 inactivation contributes to cancer susceptibility and tumorigenesis has led to the discovery of a number of different BAP1 substrates and functions. Collectively, recent investigations suggest that BAP1 is a multifunctional protein that plays a role in cell cycle progression, DNA damage response/repair, and genomic instability in MM tumorigenesis. In turn, these novel findings have led to several proposed treatment options for this dreaded disease, such as the use of an EZH2 inhibitor in an ongoing clinical trial. Finally, the findings suggest that BAP1 mutation carriers who develop UM or atypical melanocytic tumors are at high risk of developing MM, CM or other cancers and, thus, should be closely monitored, with the goal of early intervention.
Funding: BAP1-related work performed by MC and JRT is supported by NCI grants CA175691 and CA06927, NIEHS grant P42 ES023720 (UPenn Superfund Research and Training Program Center), a grant from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation—The Anderson Family Grant, an appropriation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a gift from the Local #14 Mesothelioma Fund of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators & Allied Workers.
Conflicts of Interest: JRT has served as a genetics consultant, and on one occasion, as an expert witness in a case involving the role of inherited mutations of BAP1 in mesothelioma. Both authors have a pending patent application on BAP1 genetic screening.
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Since independence in 1960, insecurity has been a feature of the Nigerian State as conflicts in different parts of the country have continued to make life insecure. In the Niger Delta, violence has been the bane of the region where conflicts have been occurring for over four decades. Beginning from the pre-colonial period, the region has witnessed a series of conflicts, which had their roots, initially in the protest against injustice, and in recent years in the quest for resource control. All efforts to resolve conflict in the region failed until 2009 when amnesty was declared by the Yar’adua/Jonathan administration and some form of uneasy peace prevailed. However, seven years down the line, there is renewed militancy in the region and effort is once again geared towards finding lasting peace. This article assesses the efforts made by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address conflicts in the region from the early 1960s to date. It is based on a literature study and on the author’s knowledge of the issues in the Niger Delta. Findings from the work show that the Federal Government’s approach to resolving conflict in the region has not been successful because it has not adequately addressed the issues that gave rise to the conflict, and because of its emphasis on the use of force. The article therefore recommends a Collective Non-violent Conflict Management approach – involving a group of negotiators, both international and local, an international mediator, as well as all the parties to the conflict – as the means for resolving conflict in the region. There is no doubt that a viable resource conflict strategy based on an alternative framework of multilateral cooperation is necessary for resolving and preventing a recurrence of future conflict in the Niger Delta region.
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria, located in the south-south zone of the country, is the region that produces oil – the lifeline of the Nigerian economy. Since 1956, when oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in present day Bayesa state, Hydrocarbon resources have been the engines for Nigeria’s economy, as oil provides 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and 80% of the government’s budgetary revenues (Davis 2010:1–2). According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Nigeria’s oil production accounts for 8% of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Corporation’s (OPEC) total daily production and 3% of the world’s volume. However, the discovery of oil, which was expected to improve the lot of the communities where it is sourced, has become a curse rather than a blessing because of oil exploration activities and its attendant hazards, such as air and water pollution. This has led to the indigenous people demanding compensation as well as control of the oil wealth. This demand has led to a confrontation between activists and Multinational Oil Companies operating in the region as well as the Federal Government. The struggle which started as a peaceful protest metamorphosed into armed conflict after the killing of a renowned activist and playwright in the region, Ken Sara-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni men. The new wave of protests after this has included the abduction of foreign oil workers, bombing of oil installations and destruction of lives and property.
In 2009, the Federal Government interceded with an amnesty programme under former President Musa Yar’adua and his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan. The amnesty, which was proposed to last for five years, required that repentant militants surrendered their arms in return for unconditional national pardon. This exercise witnessed a total of 26 808 militants surrendering their arms and ammunition and being granted amnesty, which involved co-opting or integrating them into the society as well as training them (Ajodo-Adebanjoko 2016:1). While amnesty lasted, there was some reprieve as militants sheathed their swords. However, there has been recourse to arms in the region in recent times as new militant groups emerged in 2016 with various demands. While the new names that emerged this time differ from the past ones, there is no doubt that this was old wine in new bottles. The new militants are still insisting on resource control and bombing of oil installations, which is re-immersing the country in conflict once again. The Federal Government in its bid to check this has been returning fire for fire by constituting a military operation code-named operation ‘Crocodile Smiles’, which the militants and many analysts feel is not the answer to the problem of conflict in the region. This article is an attempt to assess the Federal Government’s approach to tackling the new wave of militancy in the region. The study proposes a Collective Non-violent Conflict Management approach involving local and foreign negotiators, an international mediator and the parties to the conflict working together to find a lasting solution to the conflict. The choice of this approach is based on the fact that many of the strategies (violent and non-violent) adopted in the past to resolve conflict in the region have not achieved the purpose.
Conflicts and insecurity in the Niger Delta
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria comprises the nine states Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers. About 31 million people live in the region which is renowned as one of the World’s ten most important wetland and coastal marine ecosystems. The Niger Delta is rich with a diverse mosaic of ecological zones, five of which are the Mangrove Forest and Coastal Vegetation Zone, the Fresh Water Swamp Forest Zone, the Lowland Rain Forest Zone, the Derived Savannah Zone and the Montane Zone. The Niger Delta is also the location of massive oil deposits, which have been extracted for decades by the government of Nigeria and by Multinational Oil Companies (MNOCs) (Ajodo-Adebanjoko and Ojua 2013:2). Since 1970, the country has earned at least $300 billion from energy development and in 2005 it made $450 billion. With about 40 million barrels of proven oil reserves, it currently produces 2.4 million barrels of oil per day, which constitutes about 90% of the government’s revenue and 95% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings (Ajodo 2002:6). Nigeria is West Africa’s biggest producer of petroleum and the sixth largest supplier of oil in the world, thanks to oil from the Niger Delta. Oil wealth has been instrumental to Nigeria’s emergence as a leading player in world and regional politics. Specifically, Nigeria has been playing a leading and dynamic role in African politics as a member of several regional organisations, such as the Africa Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and an active role in global politics under the United Nations. With the oil boom in the early 1970s, Nigeria began to assert her influence around the globe and to date whatever influence Nigeria has, is credited to the discovery and exploration of oil.
However, the region which bears this economically important oil has been enmeshed in conflicts for more than four decades – owing to the negative impact of oil exploration. The region is a tale of poverty, squalor and gross underdevelopment in the midst of plenty, due to environmental degradation which has affected the people’s agricultural means of livelihood. The effect of oil spills and gas flares has been death to aquatic lives and waste to farm lands. It is on record that more gas is flared in Nigeria than anywhere else in the World (Nore and Turner 1980). It is on record that the oil industry in the Niger Delta is one of the worst cases in the world of gas flaring. Nigeria is the second largest offending country, after Russia, in terms of the total volume of gas flared and the resulting emission of about 70 million tons of CO2 a year, higher than the emissions in Norway (Worgu 2000). In the case of oil spills, Nigeria has the highest number of oil spills in the world; between 9 million and 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta (although the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) puts the amount of petroleum spilled in the area between 1976 and 1996 at 1.8 million out of a total of 2.4 million) (Ajodo 2012). A UNDP report states that more than 6 800 spills were recorded in the area between 1976 and 2001 while the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) places the quantity of petroleum spilled into the environment yearly at 2 300 cubic metres, with an average 300 industrial spills annually. The World Bank however believes that the amount of oil spills could be ten times higher than the officially released figures. Erosion, canalisation, intra- and inter-communal conflicts between host communities are also some effects of oil explorations in the region. This has led to protests by the indigenous people, leading in turn to full blown conflicts.
Conflicts in the Niger Delta have been occurring as far back as the pre-colonial period and the early 1960s when there were protests against the marginalisation of the region. In the early 1990s, there were also non-violent protests in Ogoniland to protest against the degradation of the environment by Oil companies. After these series of uprisings, a new wave of protests characterised by militancy began in 2003. Violence during this period grew out of the political campaigns in 2003. As they competed for office, politicians in Rivers State manipulated the Niger Delta Vigilantes (NDV), led by Ateke Tom, and the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), led by Alhaji Asari Dokubo, and used these groups to advance their aspirations, often rewarding gang members for acts of political violence and intimidation against their opponents (Bekoe 2005). This eventually witnessed the emergence of other militant groups, such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), and the Niger Delta Liberation Front (NDLF) which unleashed mayhem on the region. This introduced militancy into the region which was characterised by armed attacks, bombing of oil installations and hostage taking, particularly of foreign oil workers – thereby ushering in a Hobbesian Niger Delta (Ibeanu 2006:9). For several years, the region was characterised by insecurity; and at the height of the crisis, the situation was dreaded by Nigerian citizens and foreigners alike. As a result, many people fled their communities and many foreign businesses were relocated to their home countries.
To address the state of insecurity in the region, the Federal Government in 2009 proposed an amnesty programme which witnessed a large number of militants surrendering their arms in return for training by the government. Under the programme, many repentant militants were trained within and outside the country and during the period, relative peace returned to the region. However, this has been short-lived as there has been the emergence of new militant groups such as the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the Red Egbesu Water Lions, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), Niger Delta Red Squad (NDRS) and the Adaka Boro Avengers in 2016. These new groups have continued from where the former militant groups left off with renewed bombing of oil installations and abduction of oil workers. Several lives have been lost including those of militants and security operatives, and insecurity has become the order of the day once again in the Niger Delta. Apart from death that has occurred as a result of confrontation with the militants, security operations have failed due to the risks involved.
For instance, in 2016, about four members of the Operation Crocodile Smile died when their boat capsized while they were on patrol. There has also been destruction of property worth millions of naira. Militancy was indeed taking its toll on the Nigerian economy with the country losing over N1.8 billion daily due to attacks on oil installations by militants (Okinbaloye 2016). The government has responded to the attacks by matching force with force, a step which analysts have criticised as not helping to achieve the goal of enduring peace in the region.
Amnesty represented an opportunity to stabilise the region for constructive conflict resolution negotiations. It was not the first time that an amnesty initiative had been put forward to resolve the violence in the region, but this time it was an offer backed with solid proposals for the necessary disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of the region’s militants (Davis 2010). Despite this, however, the programme was not able to address regional violence, largely due to the lack of attention to the peculiar type of conflict in the Delta and the issues that gave rise to it. Thus, in order to fully appreciate the task of conflict resolution there, it is important to look at past attempts at conflict resolution in order to consider ideas for the future.
Theorising conflict in the Niger Delta region
Scholars are unanimous in their views that the end of the Cold War and economic globalisation in the 1990s have had a significant impact on warfare globally and that the search for appropriate theories to explain this has contributed to the growing debate on the importance of natural resources as drivers of violent conflicts (Kaldor 1999; Duffield 2001; De Soysa 2002:1; Berdal 2003). Empirical studies have also shown that natural resources underlie territorial struggles which have been the most prevalent form of conflict all through history (USIP 2007:11; Alao 2007:1). Extant literature on conflicts, particularly in Africa, suggests that an overwhelming percentage of these conflicts are resource-based (De Soysa 2002; Blench 2006). According to a recent United Nations report in Sylvester (2012), in the last sixty years at least 40% of civil wars on the African continent have been connected with natural resources. Even in the natural sciences, there is a consensus that competition over scarce natural resources is one of the key drivers of violent conflict within and across species (Bhattacharyya 2015). Similarly, studies by the World Bank (2003) and others have shown that countries whose wealth is largely dependent on the exportation of primary commodities (Nigeria, Sudan, Chechnya, Liberia, Indonesia and Angola for instance) are highly prone to civil violence, and that those with oil and natural gas are the most conflict prone (Bannon and Collier 2003:ix). Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of petroleum and its 8th largest exporter worldwide. Resource-related conflict in Nigeria revolves around oil with about 95% of violent conflict in Nigeria since 1997 being resource-related (Kishi 2014). Studies also found that the fight for resource control strengthens the segmentation around already existing ethnic or linguistic cleavages thereby escalating conflict (Gleditsch and Urdal 2002:286; Gurr and Harff 1994). Against this background, this work adopts a combination of eco-violence and psychological primordial theories.
Eco-violence, also known as environmental conflict, theory was developed by Homer-Dixon (1999:30) in his attempt to explain the causal relationship between natural resource endowment and the outbreak of violent conflict.
According to him,
Decrease in the quality and quantity of renewable resources act singly or in various combinations to increase the scarcity, for certain population groups, of vegetation, farmland, water, forests etc. This scarcity of ecological resources can reduce economic productivity, both for the local groups experiencing the scarcity and for the larger regional and national economies. Consequently, the affected people may migrate or be expelled to new lands … while decreases in wealth can cause deprivation conflicts (Homer-Dixon 1999:30).
The central argument of the theory is that declining availability of renewable natural resources, which results in competition over scarce resources, engender violent conflict (Ajaero et al. 2015:471). This view was expressed by Annan (2006) when he stated that ‘environmental degradation in forms such as desertification, resource depletion and demographic pressure exacerbates tensions and instability …’. Michael (2001) also noted that:
Competition over the control of valuable oil supplies and pipeline routes has emerged as a particularly acute source of conflict in the 21st century. With the demand for oil growing and many older sources of supply (such as those in the United States, Mexico, and China) in decline, the pressure on remaining supplies, notably those in the Persian Gulf area, the Caspian Sea basin, South America, and Africa, is growing ever more intense.
This is seen from competition in Africa over the revenue generated from scarce natural resources which has led to violent conflict in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan and Nigeria (Bhattacharyya 2015). The foregoing aptly describes the situation in the Niger Delta where oil exploration activities leading to environmental degradation such as shortage of farmlands, death of aquatic life, air and water pollution, oil poisoning causing respiratory ailments and destruction of mangrove forests, often without adequate compensation, have resulted in conflict. This was why the late environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, lamented that the people of the region faced extinction in what he described as an ecological war (Saro-Wiwa, cited in Na’Allah 1998).
Increasing frustration emanating from oil exploration has led to violent resistance which has culminated in conflict in the region between locals represented by militants and oil corporations operating in the region.
Psychological/primordial theorists, on the other hand, are of the view that humans have a deep-rooted psychological need to dichotomise and to establish enemies and allies, which leads to the formation of ethnic and national group identities and behaviours. How a group perceives itself and its relationship with those outside the group determines whether their relationship will be based on cooperation, competition or conflict. Usually those within the group are regarded as better than those outside, and this leads to ‘me-you’, ‘we-they’ ‘insiders-outsiders’ and ‘minority-majority’ sentiments. In the Niger Delta, conflicts are generated by grievances about natural resources (which border on demands for ownership of the resource concerned), the distribution of resource revenues and about environmental and social damage caused by extracting the resource. In Nigeria, the Federal Government is the one responsible for resource allocation and control, but conflict has arisen over the most appropriate revenue sharing formula with the Niger Delta people who demand that a special proportion be given to them due to their oil richness – just as it was done for the north when agricultural produce was the mainstay of the economy (Sheriff et al. 2014:75). This demand has however been refused by Nigerians in the rest of the country and by some of the leaders. The result was the above-mentioned primordial sentiments of group versus group, which led to the creation of ethno-nationalism-identities (Kasomo 2012:1; Alao 2007:159). We see this in the confrontation between foreign oil companies and local communities in the Niger Delta and between the Niger Delta people who view themselves as minorities being marginalised and oppressed and the ‘majorities’ in the other parts of the country that do not produce oil but reap the benefits of revenue allocation. Consequently, there have been violent agitations in the form of militancy and a call for secession by the Niger Delta buttressing the argument of Bannon and Collier (2003:5) that violent secessionist movements are statistically much more likely if a country has valuable natural resources, especially oil.
Efforts by the Nigerian government to address conflicts in the Niger Delta
Various efforts, beginning even before independence, have been made by the Federal Government to end the conflicts in the region. In 1957, the government established the Willink Commission to look into the problems of the minorities, and this Commission acknowledged the utter neglect of the region and, among other proposals, recommended the creation of the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB). This Board could not achieve its aims for many reasons, one of which was the fact that its headquarters were located in Lagos, far from the problem area. With the creation of twelve states in 1967 and the establishment of the Niger Delta River Basin Authority (NDRBA), the NNDB became obsolete. In the second republic, a 1.5% Federation Account for the development of the Niger Delta region was set up for the oil producing areas, but because of the constraint of operating from its secretariat in Lagos it was not able to achieve its purpose.
In spite of recurrent failures, and in order to show its commitment to ending the crisis and ensuring the development of the area, the Federal Government established some other Commissions such as the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) which was in operation from 1992 to 1999. OMPADEC was set up by the Ibrahim Babangida Administration under the chairmanship of Chief Albert Horsefall. Like its predecessors, it failed to achieve its mandate owing to official profligacy, corruption, excessive political interference and lack of transparency. After this, the Niger Delta Environmental Survey was set up in 1995, followed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, established in 2000 by President OlusegunObasanjo with a vision ‘to offer a lasting solution to socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta Region’ and a mission ‘to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful’ (Niger Delta Development Commission 2000:103). The government also put in place other mechanisms such as the Task Force on Pipeline Vandalisation (April 2000) operated by the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the NNPC (Niger Delta Development Commission 2001). Similar task forces were also set up by the navy, army and State Security Service (SSS) in various states of the Niger Delta. In Delta state, the government passed a law in August 2001 banning militant groups blamed for the disruption of oil activities in the state. The Special Security Committee on Oil Producing Areas was also set up by the Federal Government in November 2001 to address the prevailing situation in the oil producing areas. Other efforts include the convening of the first Niger Delta peace conference in Abuja in 2007, a Joint Task Force (JTF) in 2008, and a Technical Committee made up of stakeholders and the Niger Delta ministry in 2008.
Amnesty and post-amnesty era
Following criticisms of the military option, especially when it became obvious that the use of force by the JTF was aggravating rather than resolving the conflict, an amnesty programme was set up by the Federal Government on 25 May 2009 under the leadership of a former president, Umar Musa Yar’Adua. Amnesty was the Federal Government’s effort towards bringing enduring peace, security, stability and development to the region.
It involved granting of national and unconditional pardon to all armed militants in the Niger Delta region who in turn were to surrender their arms and ammunition, sign an undertaking not to return to the creeks and continue with the struggle and also sign the military re-unification forms. Amnesty followed the recommendations contained in the 2008 report by the Niger Delta Technical Committee (NDTC) initially established by the Federal Government, and chaired by MOSOP president Ledum Mitee, to assess initiatives taken in the region and provide for a comprehensive report and recommendations. The 45-member committee was inaugurated on 8 September 2008 to collate and review all past reports in the Niger Delta, appraise their recommendations and make other proposals that will help the Federal Government achieve sustainable development, peace, human and environmental security in the Niger Delta Region (Mitee 2009). The amnesty programme included a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process.
The first stage of the programme led to 26 808 ex-combatants accepting the offer. Of them, 20 192 accepted the offer on or before 4th October 2009 and 6 616 during November 2009 (Ejovi and Ebie 2013). The second stage involved government setting up demobilisation camps for the demilitarisation and rehabilitation of the ex-militants; while the third stage involved government’s engagement with the leadership of the combatants and ex-combatants, as well as non-combatant youths, for employment and socio-economic empowerment. This therefore brought an end to the spate of bombing and kidnappings in the region, and led to an increase in oil outputs. Despite this seeming success, amnesty was alleged to be riddled with cases of corruption which made it less effective than it should have been. As a result, five years after amnesty new militant groups emerged in the region, namely; the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), The Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), the Niger Delta Red Squad (NDRS), the AdakaBoro Avengers (ABA) and the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM). In response, the Federal Government deployed 3 000 military personnel to the region with a plan to deploy 10 000 more by the year 2017 in addition to launching Operation Crocodile Smileaimed at restoring peace to the region (Utebor 2016). Criticisms have however followed the deployment of troops and particularly the use of force in the region. Critics are of the view that the new security measures will further worsen the security situation in the region and they therefore called for dialogue. In response to this call, the government proposed a $10 billion (N4 trillion) infrastructural rebirth investment programme for the region. Leaders and stakeholders from the region rejected this, however, on the grounds that they were not consulted before it was proposed (Omotayo 2016). In addition, the Federal Government in November 2016, convened a peace dialogue in which President Buhari met with leaders from the region in Abuja to discuss the way forward. At the meeting, leaders of the region led by Edwin Clark presented a 16-point agenda to the Federal Government and although the president welcomed the requests in addition to stating that the reports of amnesty would be implemented, peace remains elusive. Some critics have attributed the rise in militancy to the failure of the 13% derivation principle and amnesty to produce development in the region. The result has been pressure and a call for ‘resource control’ or ‘fiscal federalism’ (Akintunde and Hile 2016).
Recommending the collective non-violent approach to conflict management in the Niger Delta
There is no gainsaying that many strategies have been put in place to resolve the ongoing imbroglio in the Niger Delta. However, these efforts have failed to have the desired effect of ushering in the needed peace. The failure of the various strategies is probably due to the fact that they lacked sufficient elements of democracy, accountability, equity and active public participation of all stakeholders (Ako 2011), which is why Abidde (2009) opined that ‘peace cannot be dictated; it has to be a natural born child of a just and humane environment’. In view of this situation, this article proposes Collective Non-violent Conflict Management (CNCM) as an alternative approach. This approach is based on collective or cooperative problem solving to conflict management. CNCM is a multilateral non-violent and democratic approach to conflict resolution involving a team of negotiators, a mediator and parties to a dispute working together to find a lasting solution. It is an emerging phenomenon in international relations and combines the elements of non-violence such as dialogue, negotiation and mediation in resolving conflict, building trust and seeking a ‘win-win’ solution (Crocker et al. 2011:51). Non-violence as an ideology and a practice is not a new approach to conflict resolution but has been accepted for decades. It rejects the use of violence as a conflict resolution mechanism and serves as a potent force for resolving conflict and bringing about social change (Jaspreet 2012:7). CNCM as an approach is similar to the Collective Conflict Management (CCM) approach of Crocker and others (2011:51), which involves countries, international and regional/sub-regional organisations, and, importantly, Non-governmental Organisations or private actors addressing potential or actual security threats in a concerted action to:
- control, diminish or end violence associated with conflict through combined peace operations and/or mediation, conflict prevention and avoidance;
- assist, where appropriate, with a negotiated settlement through peacebuilding, cross-border management and other cooperative efforts and measures;
- help address the political, economic and/or social issues that underlie the conflict; and/or
- provide political, diplomatic and economic guarantees or other long-term measures to improve local security conditions which involve international, regional/sub-regional and local actors and institutions supporting negotiation to end a conflict.
CNCM is a multilateral arrangement involving all parties in the conflict management process working together with parties to the conflict to find solutions to their problems. Negotiation is facilitated by a mediator acceptable to both parties. The mediator is a neutral person and a national of another country. The approach is voluntary, informal, improvised and adapted to the ad hoc situation; and because of the peculiarity and distinctiveness of each region, it is most effective when it occurs within regions (Crocker et al. 2011:51). Negotiations should preferably take place on neutral ground, for instance in a neighbouring country. In the case of the Niger Delta conflict, Ghana provides an appropriate location for negotiations.
The multilateral approach to conflict resolution has been found to be best suited for resolving natural resource conflicts in the 21st century (Mwanika 2010:7; Pynn 2011). Multilateral non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms have been successfully used in the Liberia peace process, the Philippines–Mindanao talks, the Afghanistan–Pakistan border dispute and the Horn of Africa Piracy (Crocker et al. 2011:46–49).
Characteristics of the collective non-violent approach
- It is usually undertaken by an ad-hoc arrangement or coalition that deals with specific security challenges and immediate conflict management needs in the situation concerned.
- It is a democratic problem-solving approach that gives parties to a conflict equal opportunity to participate in finding common solutions to their problems. It involves communicating face-to-face with one another, dialoguing, and negotiating, thereby building trust. This is very important in the Niger Delta case as the issue of lack of trust on both sides has impeded the process of dialogue.
- It is particularly effective when one or more key actors at the official or unofficial level are prepared to take the lead and mobilise partners who are willing to support a shared undertaking.
- It comprises peacebuilding and conflict transformation processes from their inception to their conclusion, including the implementation of formal peace settlements which has been lacking in the peace processes in the Niger Delta so far.
Challenges of the collective non-violent approach
It needs a supportive environment as parties to the dispute must agree to the process and cooperate with the team otherwise it would not succeed. Because of the issue of sovereignty, a State may be reluctant to adopt an approach that may been seen as foreign interference in its domestic politics.
It is expensive as it requires using a neutral location such as another country and paying members of the team of negotiators and the mediator.
It requires members to have the right skills and resources for the success of the task at hand and as a result it needs long-term planning, training and mobilisation of resources which depend on availability of funds.
It is ineffective where one or more key actors are not prepared to take the lead and mobilise partners for the task.
Five years after the declaration of amnesty, there has been a resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region. Although many claim it is in response to the government’s anti-corruption stance, the new wave of militancy is worrisome as the region is once again back to the old days of violence and insecurity characterised by abductions and vandalism of oil and gas pipelines. Conflict in the region is adversely affecting the Nigerian economy at a time when the price of crude oil has plummeted and there are calls for diversification of the economy. Furthermore, insecurity in the region is compounding an already tense and insecure political climate in the country and this is further being heightened by the use of force by federal troops. The use of force has never been found to be a solution for problems such as those of the Niger Delta and therefore a multilateral non-violent approach is recommended. A cooperative approach to resource conflict management is not only necessary for avoiding conflict and addressing social and environmental crises, but it would also salvage significant financial resources and foster goodwill among parties to the dispute.
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- World Bank 2003. World development indicators 2002. CD-ROM. Washington, D.C., World Bank. | <urn:uuid:c612763f-6451-4e32-a5f3-2687ae1ef448> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/towards-ending-conflict-insecurity-niger-delta-region/ | 2018-08-21T19:23:53Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218899.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821191026-20180821211026-00520.warc.gz | en | 0.940035 | 8,701 |
Freedom on the Net
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June 2015–May 2016
- The Cuban government launched its first-ever paid public Wi-Fi hotspots in June and July 2015, promising to further expand access points in 2016. While these hotspots have become a popular way to access the internet, limited and expensive connections still constitute a major barrier (See Availability and Ease of Access).
- Since the United States and Cuba officially reestablished diplomatic relations, new regulations have eased restrictions on U.S. telecom companies to start offering services on the island. Larger scale telecommunications initiatives however, such as a reported proposal by Google to further expand access on the island, remained unanswered by Cuban government (See ICT Market).
- Bloggers and independent journalists continued to face censorship, intimidation and arrests. Several removals of content on the government-sponsored blog platform, Reflejos, were reported during this period (See Content Removal and Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).
- Despite severe censorship of content deemed to be “counter-revolutionary,” Cubans have launched a number of independent web-based information sites, offering alternative discourses about the Cuban reality (See Media, Diversity and Content Manipulation).
Despite modest steps to increase internet access, Cuba remains one of the world’s most repressive environments for information and communication technologies.
High prices, old infrastructure, prohibition of home connections, and extensive government regulation have resulted in a pronounced lack of access. The normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States and the opening of ICT trade has eliminated the Cuban government’s ability to blame low levels of internet access on the “blockade.” Even with the embargo still in place, policy changes have opened the way for U.S. telecommunications companies to start offering services to the island. Propelled by U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the island in March 2016, this shift in relations has inspired optimism among many observers, who believe it may entail an opening for ICTs in Cuba.
Cuba has taken some tentative steps to reinforce this optimism by improving internet access on the island, but it is still just a drop in the bucket when it comes to alleviating the most draconian restrictions on internet freedom in the Western hemisphere. Access to the high-speed internet provided by the new ALBA-1 fiber-optic cable was finally extended to citizens in late 2013 via the opening of new “navigation halls.” In a more recent move in July 2015, the government opened its first public Wi-Fi hotspots, and has been expanding them across urban centers in 2015 and 2016. However, home internet connections were still banned for the vast majority of Cubans, and even with reduced prices, public internet access points still cost US$2 per hour to use, which is equal to one-tenth of minimum monthly wages. Even for those who might be able afford the new access points, the supply of internet access, mostly concentrated in the capital, is grossly out of proportion with the needs of a country of more than 11 million people.
While the Cuban government faces increased pressure from its own citizens and the international community to expand access to the global internet, the optimism derived from normalization of relations with the U.S. and the increasing access may be premature. Many worry that the Cuban policy is inspired by the example of China and that new infrastructure will not mean an end to government-controlled access. Despite the noteworthy emergence of several web-based information sites offering alternative discourses about the Cuban reality, the government has continued to exert control over the digital landscape by blocking critical independent news sites, removing certain content deemed to be “counter-revolutionary,” and arresting or harassing online writers.
Penetration rates and internet speeds continue to lag behind regional averages, and access to the global internet in Cuba is extremely restricted, due to high prices and government regulation of access points. Many users are still relegated to a tightly controlled government network and related email service. Nevertheless, some openings have taken place over the past years, and more Cubans have gained access to the global internet or to other channels for sharing information with fellow citizens. Email access via mobile devices has been enabled and hundreds of state-run access points are now available, including the first paid public Wi-Fi hotspots. A thawing in U.S.-Cuban relations has fueled optimism that ICT connectivity will further improve in the coming years.
Availability and Ease of Access
According to Cuba’s National Statistics Office, there were 3.9 million internet users in Cuba in 2015, representing 34.8 percent of the population, up from 27 percent in 2014.1 The latest data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) places Cuba’s internet penetration at 31 percent as of 2015, up from 28 percent in 2013 and only 14 percent in 2009.2 These numbers, however, also include users who can only access the government-controlled intranet, and experts have estimated that a much smaller percentage of Cubans have periodic access to the global internet.3
For years, most Cubans have been denied internet access or relegated to a government-controlled intranet, which consists of a national email system, a Cuban encyclopedia, a pool of educational materials and open-access journals, Cuban websites, and foreign websites that are supportive of the Cuban government. The intranet can be accessed through government-run internet access centers, the offices of the state-owned Telecommunications Company of Cuba S.A. (ETECSA), or state-run cybercafes. Although most foreign websites are now available at state-run access sites, the cost of accessing non-Cuban sites remains higher.
Select categories of users such as Cuban officials, doctors, or trusted journalists and intellectuals have been authorized to access a broader, but still limited, portion of the global internet or other ICT tools. Resolution 92/2003 prohibits email and other ICT service providers from granting access to individuals who are not approved by the government, and requires that they enable only domestic chat services, not international ones. Entities that violate these regulations can be penalized with suspension or revocation of their authorization to provide access.4 The government claims that all schools have computer labs, but in practice, internet access is usually prohibited for students or limited to very short periods of access, certain email accounts, or supervised activities on the national intranet. In May 2015, the Minister of Higher Education announced upcoming internet access for teachers, researchers, and students at four universities on campuses and in residences, but implementation remains to be seen.5
While home connections are virtually non-existent, the government has taken modest steps to enable public access to wired and wireless internet over the last few years. According to ETECSA in September 2016, there were more than 1,000 public access points on the island, including state-run cybercafes, public Wi-Fi hotspots, and Wi-Fi at hotels and airports.6 In a recent move towards increasing public access to the internet, the government launched its first paid public Wi-Fi hotspots in urban centers in June and July 2015, accessible through the government platform Nauta.7 The number of hotspots increased from 35 to 65 in 2015, with promises for some 80 more in 2016.8 These Wi-Fi hotspots have become a popular way to access the internet, despite the high cost and complaints about the quality of service. ETECSA has boasted that some 200,000 users connect daily at Wi-Fi zones.9
The opening of these hotspots followed an initial experiment with public Wi-Fi in early 2015, when the first free public Wi-Fi access point in Cuba opened in January 2015 in the art studio of Cuba’s visual artist Alexis Leyva, better known as “Kcho.”10 In March 2016, Kcho’s studio hosted Google’s first online tech center on the island, offering faster internet speeds and equipment.11 While currently enabling a minor subsection of the general public to access the global internet for free, reports have still pointed to certain pages being blocked at the center, and certain restrictions placed on the use of USB flash drives and external hard drives.12
Access also expanded somewhat after the connection and activation in 2013 of ALBA-1, a 1,600 km high-speed undersea cable stretching between Cuba and Venezuela,13 although not as impressively as many had hoped. Broadband service became selectively available on the island at government offices and state-owned access points, but not for home connections.14 In June 2013, citizens began being able to access the internet through broadband connections to the new fiber-optic cable at 118 government-run “navigation halls.” In December 2015, ETECSA counted 339 state-run cybercafes, and announced 100 more for 2016.15
To overcome access limitations, some Cubans have in turn developed improvisational underground networks, setting up illegal antennas, and systematically passing around USB flash drives with content downloaded from the internet (see Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation). Informal local area networks use wired or wireless technology to exchange information, mostly entertainment content in the form of cybergames, music, and photos. For years, an informal network known as Street Net (SNET) has been connecting users through Ethernet cables and makeshift Wi-Fi antennas.16 Some recent experiments have even managed to bring ETECSA’s hotspots to homes through the use of street nets.17 The Cuban authorities appear to largely turn a blind eye to such efforts since much of the content shared on these networks appears to be apolitical, but news has emerged of selective dismantling of these networks in some Havana neighborhoods.18 The underground economy of internet access also includes account sharing, in which authorized users sell access to those without an official account for one or two convertible pesos (CUC) per hour.
High costs and slow speeds also constitute major barriers, mainly due to weak domestic infrastructure. Most Cubans continue to face extremely slow connections of up to 1 Mbps, even at Wi-Fi hotspots.19 While the government has cut prices for internet access points, hourly charges still amount to roughly 10 percent of the average monthly salary.20 In February 2015, ETECSA temporarily reduced the hourly charge for using the internet at state-run cybercafes from US$4.50 an hour to US$2.00 per hour.21 For a much lower fee of US$0.60 an hour, Cubans were able to access domestic websites only.22 According to one blogger’s account, users at navigation halls can access foreign news sites like the BBC, El País, and the Financial Times, as well as Miami-based El Nuevo Herald and Diario de las Américas if they can afford the higher fees for international websites.23 However, sites such as Radio/TV Martí, the U.S. government broadcaster that transmits to the island, have been blocked (see Blocking and Filtering). The price cut received little attention in the state media, and news spread by word of mouth. ETECSA later announced that the lowered price would go into long-term effect beginning July 1, 2015, including the new Wi-Fi access points that were opened in parks and other public venues around the island.24
Users pay for government-run internet service directly at navigation halls or by purchasing a “Nauta” card (a pass that links to ETECSA’s interface of the same name and can only be used at specific locations), which allows them to access temporary accounts, valid for 30 calendar days as of the date of the first session. They are also able to open permanent accounts upon request, complete with username, password, and email address, if they can afford the cost of the service—and the high level of surveillance associated with such accounts. ETECSA monitors the accounts and retains the right to end a user’s access for a sweeping range of violations (see Surveillance, Privacy and Anonymity).
In early 2008, after a nearly decade-long ban, the government began allowing Cubans to buy personal computers, but prohibitively high costs place computers beyond the reach of most of the population.25 Out of a country of more than 11.3 million people, the number of computers was only a little over one million in 2014 according to the National Office of Statistics, and, of these, only about half had connectivity.26 Phones that utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) technology or satellite connections are explicitly prohibited by Cuban customs regulations.27 Additional restrictions are placed on modems, wireless faxes, and satellite dishes, which require special permits in order to enter the country.28
Although Cuba still has the lowest mobile phone penetration rate in Latin America, the rate is rising due in part to changes in government-imposed restrictions on telecommunications. According to ETECSA, by January 2016, approximately 3.3 million Cubans owned mobile phones lines, or about 30 percent of the population.29 As the number of mobile phone users has grown, the state-owned ETECSA has begun implementing small changes that benefit users. In 2012, ETECSA eliminated fees for receiving phone calls from within Cuba, cut the cost of sending a text message (from US$0.16 to $0.09), and reduced the daytime cellphone rates from US$0.60 to $0.35 per minute.30 In January 2014, ETECSA also announced it would allow balance transfers on cards between prepaid users.31 In July 2014, ETECSA in turn said that the minimum mobile phone service fee—which had been US$5 per month—would be eliminated.32
Despite price cuts and occasional promotions, the cost of mobile service is still too high for the vast majority of Cubans. The government’s strategy seems to be predicated on convincing Cuban exiles to pay for these services for their relatives in Cuba—viewed by many as an attempt to attract new funds. Since January 2014, friends and relatives living abroad can use an online service to pay the phone bills of users living on the island.33 Through this system of refilling credit on cell phones from outside the country, the Cuban diaspora (including almost three million Cubans living abroad) covers all or part of the cost of cell phone use for their families in Cuba. According to the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group in 2014, 54 percent of mobile payments to ETECSA come from the Cuban diaspora.34
Due to second generation cell phone infrastructure, most mobile phone users are unable to browse the web, but it is possible to send and receive international text messages and images with certain phones. Moreover, a growing number of Cubans have more advanced smartphones, often gifts from wealthier relatives living abroad.35 In March 2014, a new Nauta service was launched, which allows users to send and receive emails on their mobile phones but only with a .cu email account. The cost of the service (US$1 per 1Mb of data transfer) is taken from the mobile phone’s credit rather than from the balance of the users’ Nauta internet account.36 Despite the fact that users can only activate this service at few locales in Havana and that it is still very expensive, the service, which is the cheapest option for email to date, quickly proved popular.37 The Nauta email service has occasionally encountered disruptions, and was temporarily inaccessible for several days in November 2015, which ETECSA attributed to a technical failure.38
While some announcements have anticipated increasing connectivity and expanding network capabilities on the island, significant infrastructure upgrades are still needed, prompting speculation among observers as to whether such plans are realistic. In June 2015, an internal document outlining a national strategy for broadband connectivity in Cuba was leaked online, which outlined an objective to connect 50 percent of households to broadband internet and 60 percent to mobile internet connections by 2020.39 In February 2016, ETECSA announced a pilot project to provide fiber-optic home internet service in two Havana neighborhoods, operated by Chinese telecom operator Huawei.40 A more recent report indicated that a free trial would be taking place in Old Havana in August 2016.41 However, details on the actual implementation of these projects and their potential expansion to other areas remain unknown.
Restrictions on Connectivity
The backbone structure of the internet in Cuba is entirely controlled by the government, and state authorities have the capability and the legal mandate to restrict connectivity at will. At times of heightened political sensitivity, the government has used its complete control of the cell phone network to selectively obstruct citizens’ communications. All calls and SMS from dissidents’ cell phones are monitored and service is sometimes cut for those working as freelance or citizen journalists voicing views the government does not condone.42
While recent years have seen an expansion in the number of internet and mobile phone users, the ICT sector remains dominated by government firms. There are only two internet service providers (ISPs) in Cuba: The Center for Automatic Interchange of Information (CENIAI) and ETECSA (sometimes called ENET).43 Both are owned by the state. Cubacel, a subsidiary of ETECSA, is the only mobile phone carrier.
Following the announcement of a normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba in December 2014, regulatory amendments have opened the way for U.S. ICT companies to start offering services to the island. Showcasing U.S. business interest in penetrating Cuba’s ICT market, in March 2015, IDT Corp reached the first U.S. deal with ETECSA to provide direct international long distance calls between Cuba and the United States.44 In September 2015, Verizon was the first U.S.-based wireless company to offer roaming in Cuba, quickly followed by Sprint and others.45 Companies whose services are closely related to internet use, such as MasterCard, Airbnb, or Netflix, also announced their entrance into the Cuban market.46 In March 2016, PayPal also announced it would start offering money transfer services to and from Cuba.47
However, large-scale offers to expand internet access on the island have faced more skepticism. In June 2015, Google reportedly offered to quickly expand Wi-Fi internet access across the island.48 Demonstrating lingering distrust, the only official Cuban reference to the proposal was a statement by Ramón Machado Ventura, first secretary of the Communist Party, in July 2015: “We must have internet, but our way, knowing that the intention of imperialism is to use the internet in another way, to destroy the Revolution.”49
These developments come after a period of domestic changes in Cuba, as the government began implementing limited market reforms. Restrictions on private enterprise were eased under the 2012 “update” of Cuba’s economic model. Recent data from the Cuban National Statistics Office reports a near tripling of registered .cu domain between 2012 and 2014, which may reflect the growing use of websites by companies after laws permitting private sector businesses were liberalized.50 Although proposed reforms did not initially extend to the communications sector,51 in November 2013, ETECSA announced that it would allow private workers to market local and long-distance telephone services to the population as self-employed communications agents. The agents may also sell prepaid cards for fixed and mobile telephone services and internet access.52 The Cuban government also began to allow the limited creation of private cooperatives by computer science graduates in 2012, but tight internet restrictions, along with prohibitively high computer and software pricing, resulted in a nonexistent official market, although a black market for such commodities exists.53
No independent regulatory body for managing the ICT sector exists in Cuba. In 2000, the Ministry of Informatics and Communication (MIC) was created to serve as the regulatory authority for the internet. Within the MIC, the Cuban Supervision and Control Agency oversees the development of internet-related technologies.54
Cuban law places strict limits on free speech and outlaws independent media. Although many foreign news websites are accessible from internet access points, websites focused on Cuban news and websites from Cuban dissidents or expats are often blocked. Various institutions, such as universities, further restrict content by frequently blocking social media sites. Despite connectivity limitations, Cubans have been able to access content through improvisational underground networks and USB flash drives containing content downloaded from the internet. Several independent web-based information sites have also emerged, offering alternative discourses about the Cuban reality.
Blocking and Filtering
Rather than relying on the technically sophisticated filtering and blocking used by other repressive regimes, the Cuban government continues to limit users’ access to information primarily via lack of technology and prohibitive costs. Restrictions on email in the workplace, however, have been growing in recent years, and dissident websites and blogs continue to be subject to periodic disabling or blocking. Moreover, a series of recent tests conducted by 14ymedio found that ETECSA’s cellphone network, Cubacel, has been systematically filtering domestic SMS containing specific words, such as references to “democracia” (democracy) and “derechos humanos” (human rights).55
The wording of certain government provisions regarding content regulation is vague and allows for a wide array of posts to be censored without judicial oversight. Resolution 56/1999 stipulates that all materials intended for publication or dissemination on the internet must first be approved by the National Registry of Serial Publications.56 Meanwhile, Resolution 179 (2008) authorizes ETECSA to “take the necessary steps to prevent access to sites whose contents are contrary to social interests, ethics and morals, as well as the use of applications that affect the integrity or security of the state.”57
The websites of foreign news outlets—including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), El País, the Financial Times, and El Nuevo Herald (a Miami-based Spanish-language daily)—are accessible in Cuba. However, ETECSA commonly blocks dissident or independent news sites, such as Cubanet, Penúltimos Días, Diario de Cuba,Cubaencuentro, Hablemos Press, and 14ymedio.58 The sites of some Cuban activists and dissident organizations based on the island, such as the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), and the civic project Estado de SATS, also face blocking. Revolico, a platform for posting classified advertisements for products circulating on the black market was only recently unblocked, according to reports in August 2016.59 Beginning in 2007, the government systematically blocked core internet portal sites such as Yahoo, MSN, and Hotmail. As of 2015, some of these sites remain blocked in some government institutions,60 although they are largely accessible from hotels.
Blocking occurs not only at the national level but also at the level of various intranet networks and at access points. In March 2015, the Nauta intranet banned Larry Press' blog, The Internet in Cuba, one of the best sources about Cuban ICTs.61 In January 2015, the University of Computer Sciences (UCI) banned Fernando Ravsberg's blog Cartas desde Cuba, which had been hosted on the BBC Mundo platform from 2008 to 2013 until becoming independent.62
Social-networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are sometimes blocked at certain universities and government institutions, but may be accessed—with consistent monitoring and varying reliability—from Wi-Fi hotspots, some cybercafes and hotels. Restrictions continued to inhibit the use of certain Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype, although VoIP is not blocked at Wi-Fi hotspots and apps such as IMO have become a popular way to video chat with relatives abroad.63 In recent years, the government also increased its control over the use of email in official institutions, installing a platform that restricts spam and specifically prevents the transmission of “chain letters critical of the government.”64
In February 2016, Cuban blogger Yasmín Silvia Portales Machado reported on her Twitter account that a blog on sexual diversity called “Proyecto Arcoiris” (Rainbow Project) was censored by Reflejos. Platform moderators claimed that the blog was censored because a specific paragraph “slandered the Revolution” and therefore violated the website’s rules. The paragraph in question referred to labor camps that existed in Cuba from 1965 to 1968, where thousands of men were imprisoned, mainly accused of homosexuality.67
Yoani Sánchez's 14yMedio blog was also removed permanently from Reflejos in March 2015. Although the government said that there were no prohibited topics on the platform, which was open to all Cuban users, they required bloggers to register with information cards and prohibited the publication of unlawful or counter-revolutionary content. During the short time in which it was active, Sanchez’s blog published a variety of content that ranged from cultural commentary to recipes to opinion columns.68
Media, Diversity, and Content Manipulation
Cuba has one of the most restrictive media environments in the world. The constitution prohibits privately owned media, and restricts any speech that is deemed counter-revolutionary. The government closely monitors users who post or access political information online and delivers harsh penalties to those it perceives as dissidents. Demand for access to content among the Cuban population, however, has led to elaborate underground networks of internet access.
The cost of access to technologies that facilitate information sharing continues to be high, and the Cuban government has pursued individuals who violate telecommunications access laws. Nonetheless, many Cubans find ways to access restricted content, and a vibrant community of bloggers in Cuba utilizes the medium to report on conditions within the country. Cubans are often able to break through infrastructural blockages by building their own antennas, using illegal dial-up connections, or developing blogs on foreign platforms. There is also a thriving improvisational system of “sneakernets,” in which USB flash drives and data discs are used to distribute materials (articles, prohibited photos, satirical cartoons, video clips) that have been downloaded from the internet or stolen from government offices.69 The “Paquete Semanal” (“Weekly Package”) has become a popular offline alternative for accessing music, movies, TV series, mobile phone apps, magazines and classifieds.70
Despite severe censorship in official media, some journalists have started using the internet to disseminate content that the official press is reluctant to publish. In May 2014, Yoani Sánchez launched an independent online news site, 14ymedio. Although the site is blocked in Cuba, the editorial team is able to post content by emailing it to friends abroad. Users access content from the site through proxies and offline versions that are shared via USB flash drives.71 While the government policy on political content is still very restrictive, this past year has seen a significant change in the number of sites and independent information produced by Cubans, although not necessarily linked to political themes or opposition groups. Sites such Periodismo de Barrio and El Estornudo have produced critical reports, while other media sites (El Toque, Vistar Magazine, OnCuba) have provided information on various topics, entertainment, and cultural programming, expressing a multitude of views on social issues in Cuba today.72
On the other hand, the government has tried to direct popular demand for videos, games, and online social networking to government-controlled platforms. Following in the footsteps of other repressive regimes contending with a highly literate and digitally interested audience, the government launched its own copycat versions of popular websites, such as Wikipedia, Twitter, and Facebook. This allows the government to direct citizens to closely monitored, censored versions of these platforms. In 2010 the government launched Ecured, a copycat version of Wikipedia,73 and in 2013 they launched the social networking site La Tendedera, which is accessible from youth centers.74 In March 2015, the Cuban government launched the blogging platform Reflejos, where content can only be published from a Cuban IP.75
A report on digital journalism published by Fundación Telefónica also notes how Cuban authorities have activated “defense mechanisms” online, by accusing critical and independent sites of perpetrating a constant media campaign against the island. The authors explain how such a narrative “converts independent voices into ‘mercenaries’ or traitors, with the ultimate objective of criminalizing dissent.” A product of this “cyberwar” is the creation of networks of progovernment journalists nicknamed “El Enjambre” (“The Hive”) who disseminate content online to counter alternative discourses about the Cuban reality.76
Along with low internet penetration, social media access continues to be limited and Cubans have not been able to organize large-scale campaigns around political objectives. Available at Wi-Fi hotspots, Facebook has become a popular platform for social networking, while other platforms such as Twitter are less widely used.77 New initiatives to create platforms for free speech and information access—such as the creation of the first public Wi-Fi network in the studio of artist Kcho, with government permission, and the emergence of independent information sites—have tested the boundaries of the government’s restrictions on speech over the past year.
Political activists seeking to raise further awareness via social media, however, have encountered government clampdowns. Cuban activists inside and outside Cuba launched the campaign #TodosMarchamos (We All March) in mid-2015 to denounce human rights violations on the island and recurring repression against the "Ladies in White,” a dissident group that protests against the Cuban government every Sunday.78 Members of #TodosMarchamos have been arrested during protests, including ahead of President Obama’s visit to Cuba in March 2016.79
In December 2014, in the aftermath of pronouncements by President Obama and President Raul Castro about a rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, performance artist Tania Bruguera published a public letter to the two presidents and the Pope in which she proposed relocating her 2009 performance Tatlin’s Whisper #6 to the Plaza of the Revolution, thereby offering an open mic to the Cuban citizenry to express their views about their country’s future.80 Her project used the hashtag #YoTambienExijo (I Also Demand) on social media platforms to promote the performance from outside the island. Upon traveling to Havana on December 26, however, she was summoned to a meeting with government officials and told that she did not have authorization for the performance. When she publicly stated that she intended to go ahead with the performance, she was detained by authorities, along with a number of other online and offline activists who expressed support for her project (see Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities).
Cuba outlaws a wide range of speech deemed to be counter-revolutionary or a threat to the public order. In recent years, the Cuban government has moved from issuing long, multi-year sentences to using short term detentions as a means of harassing independent journalists and bloggers. Several episodes of censorship and intimidation against bloggers and independent journalists were reported during this coverage period.
The Cuban legal structure is not favorable to internet freedom. The constitution explicitly subordinates freedom of speech to the objectives of a socialist society, and freedom of cultural expression is guaranteed only if such expression is not contrary to “the revolution.”81 The penal code (Law 62, Fifth Section) sets penalties ranging from a few months to 20 years in prison for any activity considered to be a threat to the Cuban state or public order, including a provision that authorizes the state to detain, reeducate, or monitor anyone who shows a “proclivity to commit crimes” by violating the norms of the socialist society.82 Meanwhile, the Law to Protect Cuba’s National Independence and Economy (Law 88), passed in 1999, punishes any activity that threatens Cuban sovereignty or facilitates the U.S. blockade. Anyone who passes information to the U.S. government that could bolster the blockade can face up to 15 years in prison. Spreading subversive materials can incur a penalty of three to eight years in prison, while collaborating with foreign media outlets is punishable by up to five years in prison. 83
In 1996, the government passed Decree-Law 209, which states that the internet cannot be used “in violation of Cuban society’s moral principles or the country’s laws,” and that email messages must not “jeopardize national security.”84 In 2007, a network security measure, Resolution 127, banned the use of public data-transmission networks for the spreading of information that is against the social interest, norms of good behavior, the integrity of people, or national security. The decree requires access providers to install controls that enable them to detect and prevent the proscribed activities, and to report them to the relevant authorities.85 Furthermore, access to the internet in Cuba generally requires complete identification, rendering anonymity nearly impossible.86
Prosecutions and Detentions for Online Activities
Under Raúl Castro, the Cuban government appears to have shifted its repressive tactics from long-term imprisonment of bloggers to short-term detentions, interrogations, and legal harassment.87 Reporters associated with independent online newspapers or forums, including Hablemos Press, Somos Mas, Foro por los Derechos y Libertades or UNPACU have faced significant harassment.
On February 17, 2016, independent journalist Juan Carlos Fernández was arrested in Pinar del Río province. Four agents from the political police (Seguridad del Estado) threatened him with prosecution under Law 62 of the Criminal Code, for the offense of “professional intrusion.” The agents also said that the journalist’s computer would be confiscated “the next time we see you on the street reporting something,” and defined as illegal the two information projects Recio contributes to: independent newspaper 14ymedio and magazine Convivencia (see also Intimidation and Violence).88
Short-term arrests and detentions of activists tend to increase surrounding key political and social events. Coinciding with Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba in the month of September 2015, the dissident group Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) registered 882 arbitrary arrests and detentions.89 Continuing an upward trend in recent years, these numbers were again exceeded in November 2015 with 1,447 reported arrests, and in March 2016, CCDHRN recorded 1,416 cases, with 498 of these taking place during President Obama’s visit to the island.90 In December 2015, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed concern with such high numbers of arbitrary arrests and short-term detentions.91 Bloggers and online activists are often caught up in such crackdowns. Because it is difficult to distinguish between independent blogging and political activism in Cuba, however, it is often impossible to accurately pinpoint whether detentions were in retaliation for online speech specifically.
The government has also prosecuted individuals associated with underground cyber-networks. In 2012, the government opened a criminal investigation of two highly profitable cyber-networks illegally using ETECSA’s fixed and mobile networks. The defendants, who are being prosecuted for illegal economic activity and fraud, face fines coupled with sentences of three to 10 years in prison.92 In May 2014, Cuban authorities raided and seized equipment from another underground Wi-Fi network with 120 members.93
Despite the continued policy of legal harassment and detentions of bloggers, the government recently released two prominent political prisoners. In July 2015, the government released the well-known blogger and writer Ángel Santiesteban Prats, who had been jailed on trumped-up charges since early 2013.94 Santiesteban was arrested in connection with his political views several times prior to his December 2012 trial. Such harassment increased after Santiesteban’s creation of the blog The Children No One Wanted, in which he criticized the government. Santiesteban reported mistreatment and torture during his imprisonment.95 In December 2014, as part of negotiations with the United States, the Cuban government released the American USAID contractor Alan Gross, who had been held for over five years on charges that he distributed illegal communications technology to Cubans.96
Surveillance, Privacy, and Anonymity
Surveillance of ICTs in Cuba is widespread, and dissident bloggers are subject to punishments ranging from fines and searches to confiscation of equipment and detentions. Anonymity and encryption technologies are strictly prohibited in Cuba,97 and web access points, such as Wi-Fi hotspots, cybercafes and access centers, are closely monitored and users are required to register with their identification information.98
Despite constitutional provisions that protect various forms of communication and portions of the penal code that establish penalties for the violation of the secrecy of communications, users’ privacy is frequently violated. Tools for content surveillance are likewise pervasive. Under Resolution 179/2008, ISPs are required to register and retain the addresses of all traffic for at least one year.99 The government routes most connections through proxy servers and is able to obtain all user names and passwords through special monitoring software called Avila Link, which is installed at most ETECSA and public access points.100 In addition, delivery of email messages is consistently delayed, and it is not unusual for a message to arrive censored or without its attachments.
Web use at Wi-Fi hotspots and “navigation halls” remains tightly controlled. A recent decree from the Ministry of Communications reaffirmed the government’s continued monitoring of internet traffic, stating that ETECSA will immediately end a user’s access if he or she commits “any violation of the norms of ethical behavior promoted by the Cuban state.”101 Users must show their national ID cards and sign an agreement stating that they will not use the service for anything “that could be considered …damaging or harmful to public security”—a vague term that could presumably extend to political dissent.102 Wi-Fi hotspots similarly prompt users to enter their national ID numbers.
If users attempt to send an email with attachments, ETECSA’s own NAUTA interface system greets them with a pop-up window reminding them that “other people may see what you are sending” and asking if they wish to continue. Although the pop-up window is marked “Internet Explorer” and appears to be a real message generated by the search engine, several Cuban online users have said that they had never seen such a message when using internet cafes in Havana’s tourist hotels. Such claims suggest that ETECSA may have programmed computers at its new access points to prompt users as a reminder that the government is monitoring their online activities.
Intimidation and Violence
Although the majority of cases of physical violence against activists in Cuba appear to be in retaliation for public protests rather than online activity, prominent online users have faced violence from police forces, and users who have been jailed for extended periods of time report being mistreated and tortured. For example, In March 2016, the Cuban blogger and activist Valle Roca, who runs the blog Yurielconteston and a YouTube channel, was beaten while covering a protest by the Ladies in White group and detained for five days. This was not the first time he had been targeted while covering protests.103
Those jailed for their online activities have also denounced abuse and harsh prison conditions. Released in July 2015, the prominent blogger Ángel Santiesteban Prats, who was jailed on trumped up charges, reported severe mistreatment and torture during his detention.104
Technical attacks do not appear to be a primary method of censorship in the country, but have targeted some online outlets. In May 2014, 14ymedio was hacked one day after it was launched. Users who tried to access the site were redirected to a site called Yoani$landia, which insulted the director of the outlet, Yoani Sánchez.105 The site was restored shortly after the hack.
3 Exact estimates of the number of individuals who access the “global internet” in Cuba are hard to come by, as methodologies used to define and calculate access are often unclear. Some of the independent estimates from 2011 and 2012 put the number at around five percent. A more recent public opinion study conducted in March 2015 found that 16 percent of respondents out of 1,200 Cuban adults surveyed had access to the internet, via cyber cafes (43 percent), at work (34 percent), at school or university (22 percent), at home (21 percent), or elsewhere (8 percent). See: “International Survey of Cubans Living in Cuba,” Bendixen & Amandi International Poll for Univision Noticias/Fusion in Collaboration with The Washington Post, April 2015, http://fus.in/2czwMGg.
4 According to the resolution, “Cuban websites that offer e-mail services cannot implement the creation of e-mail (Webmail) via an automatic process for natural persons or entities that are not duly authorized.” Legislación para el Sistema Nacional de Salud, Resolución Ministerial No 92/2003, July 18, 2003, http://bit.ly/1jhSxdD.
11 “Google abre en Cuba su primer centro tecnológico en el estudio del artista Kcho,” [Google opens its first technological center in Cuba in the studio of the artist Kcho], EFE, March 23, 2016, http://bit.ly/1RzWYjI.
13 “Llega a Cuba el Cable Submarine de Fibra Optica para Ofrecer Internet de Banda Ancha” [Underwater Fiber Optic Cable Arrives in Cuba to Offer Broad Band Internet] El País, February 10, 2011, http://bit.ly/1R5IuUp.
15 “Cuba: Se incrementan posibilidades de acceso a Internet,” [Cuba: possibilities for internet access increase], Cubadebate, December 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/2cgioST; See also: Cubasí, “Exclusiva con la Presidenta de ETECSA: Crece penetración de internet en Cuba” [Exclusive interview with the president of ETECSA: internet penetration grows in Cuba], Ministry of Communications, http://bit.ly/2flhZ3T.
18 “El régimen desmantela una red Wi-Fi clandestina en Víbora Park” [Regime dismantles a clandestine Wi-Fi network in Vibora Park], Diario de Cuba, May 31, 2014, http://bit.ly/1m8kE92; Sheyla Delgado Guerra, “The “messy” and costly result of illegality,” ed. Walter Lippmann, WalterLippmann (blog), December 7, 2012, http://bit.ly/1VdF8V6; See also Juan O. Tamayo, “Cuba clamps down on Wi-Fi networks,” Miami Herald, June 16, 2014, http://hrld.us/1iAp91C.
29 “Cuba cerró el 2015 con más de tres millones de líneas móviles,” [Cuba ended 2015 with more than three million mobile lines], Cuba Debate, February 5, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cpTnGQ.
33 “ETECSA Informa Nuevos Servicios de Pagos por Internet para Cubanos” [ETECSA announces new internet payment services for Cubans], On Cuba, January 20, 2014, http://bit.ly/1G77ggd; José Remón, “ETECSA a la carga: Pagando la factura de mi pariente en Cuba” [Payment the bill for my family member in Cuba], Café Fuerte, January 22, 2014, http://bit.ly/1R5LPTs.
40 “Cuba says it will launch broadband home internet project,” Associated Press, February 1, 2016, http://apne.ws/1nZf15t; “Internet in Cuban homes: connection bit by bit,” OnCuba, February 10, 2016, http://bit.ly/2e6jrGe.
42 Yoani Sanchez, “Another Tiny Crack in the Wall: Email on Cellphones But State Security Is Likely Reading It,” Latino Voices, Huffington Post, May 24, 2014, http://huff.to/1MNIQjC; See also Yoan David González Milanés, “Cortan el servicio del cellular a periodista independiente de @HablemosPress,” Háblalo Sin Miedo (blog), January 20, 2012, http://bit.ly/1Lb5oKX.
43 The private firm Telecom Italia previously held shares of ETECSA until February 2011, when the state-owned company Rafin S.A., a financial firm known for its connections to the military, bought Telecom Italia’s 27 percent stake for US$706 million. Since then, the telecom company has been completely owned by six Cuban state entities. See: Jerrold Colten, “Telecom Italia Sells Etecsa Stake to Rafin SA For $706 Million,” Bloomberg Business, January 31, 2011, http://bloom.bg/1YFxlyo.
50 Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información, Tecnología de la Información y las Comunicaciones (TIC), August 2015, http://bit.ly/2cwntFX; “Cuban ICT statistics report for 2014,” The Internet in Cuba (blog), August 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Lb11Qd.
55 “Cubacel censura los SMS con las palabras "democracia" o "huelga de hambre"” [Cubacel censors SMS with the words “democracy” and “hunger strike”], 14ymedio, September 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bS1VE2.
58 “Cuba internet access still severely restricted,” BBC News, March 21, 2016, http://bbc.in/2d11BG9; See also: “Cubans are using simple hacks to get around limited and expensive internet,” Quartz, August 21, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bDxE9F; “El Wi-Fi público les da una primera prueba de Internet a los Cubanos,” [Public Wi-Fi gives Cubans a first internet trial], Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/2d97v6L .
59 “El Gobierno levanta la censura contra Revolico” [Government lifts censorship against Revolico], 14ymedio, August 12, 2016, http://bit.ly/2eH7pVK; See also: Jason Koebler, “Cuba’s Black Market Is a Website That Exists Primarily Offline,” Motherboard (blog), Vice, August 27, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Q3uKJf.
60 Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa, Inc., (Inter American Press Association), “Cuba,” in Reports and Resolutions.
62 Fernando Ravsberg, “La UCI censura “Cartas desde Cuba”,” Cartas Desde Cuba (blog), January 29, 2015, http://bit.ly/1Kzr3t5; See also Cuba Red, “Otra censura. Fernando Rasverg.Increible,” posted by elapap, February 2, 2015, http://bit.ly/2d4rMf5.
63 “The Cuban Internet: Letter from Havana,” Foreign Affairs, April 19, 2016, http://fam.ag/2cV544o; see also: Sayli Sosa, “IMO in Cuba: Shortening Distances Between Relatives,” Havana Times, July 30, 2015, http://bit.ly/2e7qezq.
65 Reflejos is a government-sponsored platform for blogs created and managed within Cuba. It belongs to the Youth Club of Computing and Electronics (JCCE), an institution of the national Ministry of Communications.
66 María Matienzo Puerto, “Guerra contra las subculturas en la plataforma 'Reflejos'” [War against the subcultures on the plaform Reflejos], Diario de Cuba, June 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/2d6Lfrh; See also: “Censura en Cuba se cobra otra víctima en la plataforma bloguera,” [Censorship in Cuba claims another victim on blogging platform], Cibercuba, May 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cIgd7V.
69 Jonathan Watts, “Cuba’s ‘offline internet’: no access, no power, no problem,” The Guardian, December 23, 2014, http://gu.com/p/44dcf/stw; See also: Emilio San Pedro, “Cuban internet delivered weekly by hand,” BBC, August 10, 2015, http://bbc.in/1TjpO8x; Jack Karsten and Darrel M. West, “Cuba slowly expands Internet access,” Tech Tank (blog), Brookings Institute, July 2, 2015, http://brook.gs/1KDrxLF.
72 Daniel Wizenberg, “New Cuban journalism emerges on the internet, beyond the official and opposition media,” Journalism in the Americas (blog), July 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/29Zw3tO; See also: “Millennials lead private media opening in Communist-run Cuba,” Reuters, September 16, 2016, http://reut.rs/2cvgQnk.
75 Dirección de Comunicación Institucional Joven Club, “La plataforma de blog “Reflejos” tuvo hoy su lanzamiento oficial en el Palacio Central” [Reflejos blog platform officially launched today at the Central Palace], news release, Ministry of Communications, March 18, 2015, http://bit.ly/1NRxREB.
77 A survey conducted by Ding found that 95 percent of users go on Facebook for social purposes at local Wi-Fi hotspots: “New survey finds 70% of Cuban internet users use local Wi-Fi hotspots every week,” Ding, June 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cInNiz.
78 “Activistas organizan un 'tuitazo' para denunciar la represión del régimen,” [Activists organize a Twitter campaign to denounce the regime’s repression], Diario de Cuba, May 30, 2015, http://bit.ly/2d9o0zZ.
79 “'The oppression is high': Cuban police break up protest ahead of Obama's visit,” The Guardian, March 20, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cG20d5; See also: “Decenas de detenidos durante jornada de “Todos Marchamos”” [Dozens detains during Todos Marchamos day], Cubanet, February 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/2cm10Mq.
85 Giovanni Ziccardi, Resistance, Liberation Technology, and Human Rights in the Digital Age, (Netherlands, Springer, 2013) 220.
87 Human Rights Watch, “Cuba,” in World Report 2016, accessed September 18, 2016, http://bit.ly/1ZNmEc1; See also: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), After the Black Spring, Cuba’s New Repression, July 6, 2011, https://cpj.org/x/4472.
89 “Comisión opositora denuncia 882 detenciones políticas en Cuba en septiembre,” [Opposition Commission denounces 882 political detentions in Cuba in September], El Nuevo Herald, October 5, 2015, http://hrld.us/2cHtK2O.
94 Angel Santiesteban, “#PapaEnCuba [Pope in Cuba]: A Shout for Danilo Maldonado (El Sexto),” trans. Alicia Barraqué Ellison, Translating Cuba (blog), April 23, 2013, http://bit.ly/1iQgV6c ; See also: Angel Santiesteban, “Prison Diary VI: Inside View of the Trial,” Translating Cuba (blog), March 28, 2013, http://bit.ly/1KHj6Q9.
97 According to the Cuban Mission to the United Nations, encryption is only permissible if authorized by the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of the Interior. Letter from the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the ONU to the High Commission on Human Rights, 2015, República de Cuba Misión Permanente ante la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas en Ginebra y los Organismos Internacionales con sede en Suiza, “Nota No. 211/2015,” [Note No. 211/2015], http://bit.ly/1JtNsUE; See also: Rolando Cartaya, “Crítica Relator de ONU Control a Cifrado de Datos Personales en Cuba,” MartiNoticias, June 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/1R5ZzgY.
98 Ellery Roberts Biddle, Rationing the Digital: The Policy and Politics of Internet Use in Cuba Today, July 2013, Internet Monitor (The Berkman Center for Internet & Society), http://bit.ly/1LCRoID; See also Isbel Diaz Torres, “Wi-Fi for Cubans and Mobile E-Mail Service,” Havana Times, March 10, 2014, http://bit.ly/1G7q7b7; See also Yoani Sánchez, “Unos días con nauta,” 14ymedio (blog), March 24, 2015, http://bit.ly/1G7q7b7.
100 Lorenzo Franseschi-Bicchiera, “The Internet in Cuba: 5 Things You Need to Know,” Mashable, April 3, 2014, http://on.mash.to/1Fmi1Rg /; Infosurgents: Tracking the Information Revolution, “Internet Filtering” University of Michigan, http://bit.ly/1KHrM9m.
104 Reporters Without Borders, “Ángel Santiesteban-Prats (Cuba) en libertad condicional desde julio de 2015” [Ángel Santiesteban-Prats (Cuba), conditionally released since July 2015], http://bit.ly/2cwD8Di.
105 Associated Press, “‘Hackeado’ portal digital de la bloguera cubana Yoana Sánchez,” Miami Diario, May 21, 2015, http://bit.ly/1R6cway; See also: Amnesty International, “Cuba,” Amnesty International Report 2014/15, http://bit.ly/1Bm8EI5.
(0 = Best, 100 = Worst)
(0 = Best, 25 = Worst)
(0 = Best, 35 = Worst)
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- Research article
- Open Access
- Open Peer Review
The training needs of Turkish emergency department personnel regarding intimate partner violence
© Aksan and Aksu; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007
- Received: 09 February 2007
- Accepted: 13 December 2007
- Published: 13 December 2007
Violence against females is a widespread public health problem in Turkey and the lifetime prevalence of IPV ranges between 34 and 58.7%. Health care workers (HCW) sometimes have the unique opportunity and obligation to identify, treat, and educate females who are abused. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of the emergency department (ED) staff regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) at a large university hospital in Turkey.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in a large university hospital via questionnaire. The study population consisted of all the nurses and physicians who worked in the ED during a two month period (n = 215). The questionnaire response rate was 80.5% (41 nurses and 132 physicians). The main domains of the questionnaire were knowledge regarding the definition of IPV, clinical findings in victims of IPV, legal aspects of IPV, attitudes towards IPV, knowledge about the characteristics of IPV victims and abusers, and professional and personal experiences and training with respect to IPV.
One-half of the study group were females, 76.3% were physicians, and 89.8% had no training on IPV. The majority of the nurses (89.5%) and physicians (71.1%) declared that they were aware of the clinical appearance of IPV. The mean of the knowledge scores on clinical knowledge were 8.84 ± 1.73 (range, 0–10) for acute conditions, and 4.51 ± 3.32 for chronic conditions. The mean of the knowledge score on legal procedures and the legal rights of the victims was 4.33 ± 1.66 (range, 0–7). At least one reason to justify physical violence was accepted by 69.0% of females and 84.7% of males, but more males than females tended to justify violence (chi square = 5.96; p = 0.015). However, both genders accepted that females who experienced physical violence should seek professional medical help.
The study participants' knowledge about IPV was rather low and a training program is thus necessary on this issue. Attention must be given to the legal aspects and clinical manifestations of IPV. The training program should also include a module on gender roles in order to improve the attitudes towards IPV.
- Emergency Department
- Intimate Partner Violence
- Domestic Violence
- Health Care Worker
- Knowledge Score
Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a deteriorating influence on society by affecting victims, their children, families, and friends, as well as social and financial relationships. Abused females who have poor physical and mental health suffer more injuries and use more medical resources than non-abused females [1–3]. Females who have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence suffer a range of health problems, often in silence. Gender-based violence is widely recognized as an important public health problem, both because of the acute morbidity and mortality associated with assault and its longer-term impact on women's health, including chronic pain, gynecologic problems, sexually-transmitted diseases, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide [2–4].
Health care workers (HCW) have the opportunity and obligation to identify, treat, and educate females who are abused. Health care institutions can make significant contributions to addressing violence against females by supporting clinicians and victims . As it has been mentioned by different researchers, emergency services have the highest probability of encountering female victims of IPV [5–7]. The prevalence of current IPV among female emergency department (ED) patients has been estimated to be between 2 and 12% and many patients are at high risk for future violence . Universal IPV screening is recommended in the ED, [1, 5, 8] but Eliot et al. stated that the screening rates are as low as 10%.
Although the health system has a vital role in dealing with IPV victims, there are many barriers to assisting IPV victims in healthcare institutions. These barriers include the lack of proper training of HCW in caring for victims of IPV and the time constraints in the ED. On the other hand, HCW might share the same cultural norms and prejudices with victims or perpetrators of IPV, which would affect their professional attitudes. Moreover, some physicians might think that IPV is a private family matter and not a health issue. In addition, while the resources allocated to this field are inadequate, some HCW might feel desperate, leading them to professional reluctance [1, 10, 11].
There are a number of approaches to overcome these barriers. Elliot et al. reported that any training in this field makes physicians more likely to screen possible victims. Campbell also proved that a system-change model of IPV training in the ED was effective in improving staff attitudes and knowledge about battered females and in protocols and staff training, as well as patient information and satisfaction.
Situation in Turkey
Violence against females is a widespread public health problem in Turkey and the lifetime prevalence of IPV ranges between 34 and 58.7% [13–16]. According to the results of different studies, 9.7–36.4% of females have been beaten by their partners, even during their pregnancies [17–19]. The females in Turkey have relatively equal legal rights with males, but they face inequalities both in public and private areas. Although education is a compulsory legal right for all Turkish citizens, in 2000, 19% of females were illiterate and participation of females in the workforce was 25.9 % in 2001 . In particular, considering social-ethical values and the social honor attached to a female's body in Turkish society, although there is not reliable and precise statistical data, practices like 'virginity control' and 'honor murders' (i.e., the murder of a person who has been perceived as having brought dishonor to their family) are not unusual or unexpected .
Unfortunately, neither medical nor nursing curricula comprehensively cover IPV-related issues, such as legal rights of females and the medical consequences of IPV and intervention strategies in Turkey. A few collaborative training projects were carried out by different organizations financed by the Ministry of Health and European Union funds after 2004, but very few HCW participated in these programs. Neither clinical guidelines nor specific recommendations with regard to IPV have been implemented.
According to the Turkish Penal Code, reporting of IPV is mandatory for HCW. Additionally, as stated by the Protection of the Family Law, the offenders are subject to various punitive measures, including imprisonment, but even for life-threatening injuries, the reporting rate is very low. The official reporting process is rather complicated in Turkey. In order to write an official report for IPV victims, a public prosecutor's request through the police is obligatory. This process is easier said than done. Besides the possible reasons mentioned above, the widespread social tolerance for violence in police stations, public prosecutor offices, courts, and health care institutions should also be considered in the causality of the low reporting rate in Turkey [13, 17]
There are many surveys which have assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding IPV in different HCW in developed countries [22–24]. Some of the surveys have focused on the identification and management of abused patients and attitudes towards partner abuse screening [22–24]. In Turkey, no study has been conducted in the ED evaluating HCW knowledge, attitude, and behaviors about IPV.
The objectives of the current study were as follows: 1) to evaluate the approach of the ED staff to the definition of IPV in terms of sexual, physical, emotional, and economic violence; 2) to determine the level of knowledge on legal procedures and clinical findings in victims of IPV; 3) to record the attitudes of the ED staff about IPV victims; and 4) to identify barriers to effective intervention for victims of IPV at Ege University Hospital.
Study Design and Population
This cross-sectional study was conducted in the ED of Ege University Hospital. Ege University Hospital is a large institution with 1800 beds and it is one of the most important health service providers and referral centers in western Anatolia. The target population of the study was the staff of the ED. There are three types of physicians who work in the ED. The first group of physicians (n = 5) is the specialists who work permanently in the ED; the second group (n = 12) is the research assistants of the faculty, who work under a two month clinical rotation program; and the third group (n = 154) works as consultant clinicians who are called when required. All nurses are permanent staff of the ED. The study population consisted of all the nurses (n = 44) and the physicians who worked in the ED between September and October 2002.
The response rate was 80.5 % (41 nurses, 47 female physicians, and 85 male physicians). The non-respondents were visited three times, but did not complete the questionnaire.
Survey Content and Administration
Content of questionnaire items grouped under 7 categories
Knowledge on definition of IPV
Content: This part consist of 42 statements grouped under four main titles (sexual, physical, emotional and economic violence) and respondents were asked to evaluate the degree of violence for each of these items,
Question format: Statements rated on a Likert scale (1 = not violence through, 5 = severe violence)
Scoring: For every group of statements under each title, mean scores calculated. Higher scores for definition of IPV indicated that these statements were considered as more severe violence. Low scores showed that the respondents were to perceive the statements lesslikely as violence.
Cronbach's alfa = 0,960
Knowledge on clinical findings of IPV
Content: Following a self evaluation question on their knowledge on clinical findings of IPV, a list of health conditions under 4 main categories: chronic conditions (n = 6), acute conditions (n = 12), psychiatric diseases (n = 8), reproductive health(n = 8) adopted from Heise et al. was prepared
Question format: True, false, don't know questions
Scoring: Each correct answer was scored as one point. The maximum score the respondents would take was the total item number of each category (eg. for acute conditions it was 12). The respondents score for each category was then converted to a ten point scale scoring by multiplying the original score by ten and dividing it by the maximum score of that category (eg. if the respondent achieved 6 points from the acute conditions category it was converted to 5 in the ten point scale.) The mean scores of each category were calculated by this way.
Cronbach's alfa = 0,924
Knowledge on legal aspects of IPV
Content: Following a self evaluation question on their knowledge on legal aspects of IPV seven statements about legal responsibilities and important headings on reporting procedure was prepared.
Question format: True, false, don't know questions
Scoring: Each correct answer was scored as one point. Mean score was calculated.
Cronbach's alfa = 0,703
Attitudes towards IPV
Content: 14 statements were prepared about justifications of physical violence that the respondents found acceptable.
Question format: Statements rated on a Likert scale (1 = disagree, 3 = agree)
Scoring: "partially agree" answers were categorized as "agree" in analyses.
Cronbach's alfa = 0,905
Knowledge about IPV victims and abusers
Content: Evaluations on seven statements about the general characteristics of victims and abusers were asked.
Question format: Statements rated on a Likert scale (1 = disagree, 3 = agree)
Scoring: Data given as percentages
Cronbach's alfa = 0,653
Professional and personal experiences
Content: Frequency of dealing with IPV patients, screening frequency (n = 4), personal experience on having IPV cases in their families were asked.
Question format: Yes/no questions and frequency of screening rated on a Likert scale (1 = every time, 5 = never)
Scoring: Data given as percentages
Training on IPV
Content: Questions on educational background in terms of graduate and in service training on IPV were asked. (n = 5)
Question format: Yes/no questions and multiple choice questions.
Scoring: Data given as percentages
The general content and specific items of the questionnaire were initially derived after a literature review [4, 16, 25]. After the questionnaire was prepared, a psychiatry professor working with victims of violence evaluated the instrument in terms of the approaches to the definition of violence and attitude sections. At the same time, two forensic medicine specialists and a lawyer who works in this field evaluated the section on the knowledge on legal aspects of IPV and statements written for true/false questions had been prepared based on the emerging issues. The questionnaire was pilot-tested on 10 physicians who work in the Department of Public Health.
There was one open-ended question regarding the barriers to appropriate interventions for IPV victims. The answers were analyzed and categorized using qualitative content analysis. Both of the authors read the statements thoroughly in order to reach a global understanding of the content. Then the authors organized the statements into codes and further into main themes encompassing the initial codes. To ensure reliability, this thematic analysis was done through an iterative consensus-building process in which writing was coded independently. Disagreements about coding were resolved in face-to-face meetings. Tabulations were used to determine frequencies and distribution of differing themes and codes.
Chi square and t-tests were used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was taken at the 5% level (p < 0.05).
Of the study group, 50.9% were females and 34.1% were married. Of the respondents, 23.7% were nurses and 76.3% were physicians. The mean age of the study subjects was 27.45 ± 4.18 years (range, 21–50 years). The median of the total duration of employment of the respondents was 3 years. The duration of work was one year or less for 19.1% of the respondents and 41.4% of the group had been employed more than three years.
Knowledge on Definition of IPV
The participants scored 42 statements using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not violence through, 5 = severe violence). The average of the degree of violence scored by the respondents for all statements was 3.93 ± 0.72 (range, 2.1–5.00). The highest scores were attributed to "forcing to prostitution" and "beating with a thick stick;" "restrictions on dressing," "isolation from friends and family," and "financial restrictions" received the lowest scores.
Relation between gender and means of knowledge scores of IPV definition categories
Female physicians, followed by nurses, gave the highest scores in each category.
Knowledge on Clinical Findings and Legal Procedures
According to the self-declarations of the HCW, 89.5% of the nurses and 71.1% of the physicians declared that they were aware of the clinical appearance of the females who experienced domestic violence. Although the study participants declared that they were aware of the clinical appearance of IPV victims, the mean knowledge scores based on their answers to the questionnaire differed. The mean knowledge scores were 8.84 ± 1.73 (range, 0–10) for acute conditions, 7.85 ± 2.48 (range, 0–10) for psychiatric diseases, 5.01 ± 3.34 (range, 0–10) for reproductive health problems, and 4.51 ± 3.32 (range, 0–10) for chronic conditions. There was no relationship between the mean knowledge scores of the clinical appearance of the IPV victims and the study participants' occupation, gender, marital status, and working years.
The percentage of the participants who declared that they didn't know the legal procedure which should be followed in case of an IPV patient was 78.8%. The mean of the knowledge score on legal procedures and the legal rights of the victims was 4.33 ± 1.66 (range, 0–7). There were frequent mistakes made by the participants. Although there is a need for a public prosecutor's request, 77.3% of the group declared that there was no need for this request in order to write a forensic report in case of an IPV victim and 15.7% declared that they didn't know the answer. Of the study group, 91.9% thought that it was not necessary to define the injuries of the IPV victim in detail so as to enable the victim to ask for her legal rights and 20.9% of the study participants declared that if the woman did not apply through a legal procedure, the findings of violence may not necessarily be recorded. There was no significant relationship between the knowledge scores regarding the legal aspects of the IPV victims and the gender, occupation, age groups, marital status, and years of employment of the study subjects.
Attitudes towards IPV and Knowledge about IPV Victims and Abusers
The study participants believed the following: 1) females who experienced domestic violence frequently came from the lower socio-economic classes (52%) and had lower education levels (52.4%), 2) males who beat their wives were usually aggressive in all their social relationships (75.6%), and 3) pregnancy would prevent women from being subjected to violence (45.9%).
Relation between gender, occupation and attitudes on justification of physical violence (%)
Women deserve physical punishment under these situations
Not agreed (%)
Lying to husband
Talking too much
Criticizing the manner of men
Not keeping her promise
Reminding her husband's weaknesses
Refuse of sexual intercourse
Failure in care of children
Sometimes women learn with physical punishment because of their former learning experiences
Professional and Personal Experience on Domestic Violence
The percentage of the participants who had at least one professional experience with an IPV victim as their patient was 66.1%. When asked about current screening practices, 63.9% of the study group declared that they included questions about IPV when they worked with an injured patient, but when the frequency of screening examined; only one-fourth of the study group stated that they screened each injury case from this point of view. In addition, a striking finding was that 41.9% of the respondents had at least one of their relatives as an IPV victim.
Evaluation of the health personnel's attitudes on the management of IPV victims (%)
Not agreed (%)
Women who experienced physical violence must take professional medical help
Health professionals can't help domestic violence victims, because they will return to the same social environment
Domestic violence is a private issue, and patients are ashamed to talk about it
Dealing with IPV means interfering with the privacy of the family
Both genders accepted that females who experienced physical violence should receive professional medical help. Of the female physicians, 53.3% thought that HCW could not help victims of IPV because the victims ultimately return to the same social environment. The majority of the participants declared that dealing with victims of IPV requires interfering with the privacy of the family and patients who are ashamed to talk about it. There was not a gender difference of attitudes towards the management of victims of IPV. There was no significant relationship between professional attitude, occupation, years of employment, and age groups.
Classification of barriers defined by the participants
Related to health staff
Related to the victim
Lack of legal arrangements (n = 29)
Lack of proper place to interview the victim (n = 12)
Lack of training (n = 17)
Hide and endure abuse despairingly (n = 18)
Lack of social support institutions (n = 15)
Lack of multidisciplinary approach (n = 4)
Lack of knowledge on legal aspect of the issue (n = 13)
Turning back to the same environment (n = 12)
Low socioeconomic status of women (n = 12)
Lack of safety measures for health care workers (n = 4)
Time constraints (n = 8)
Afraid of the repeat of abuse (n = 9)
Insufficiency in the juridical system (n = 8)
Lack of social care workers in ED (n = 4)
Heavy workload of health care workers (n = 6)
Lack of knowledge on legal rights (n = 7)
Operational structure of the security forces (n = 6)
Lack of job descriptions and procedures (n = 2)
Health staff can not help (n = 8)
Shame (n = 3)
Cultural structure (n = 6)
Lack of staff (n = 1)
Health staff share common prejudices (n = 5)
Feudal & traditional families (n = 5)
Health staff experience the same abuse (n = 3)
Low education level (n = 4)
Need of increased authorization (n = 2)
Religion (n = 1)
Shame of asking questions about abuse (n = 1)
For a very long period of time, the attitudes and beliefs about IPV have been identified as a barrier to effective clinical responses by medical professionals. According to the results of the current study, in spite of their relatively higher level of educational, a strikingly large group of HCW justified IPV in certain circumstances and their attitudes towards physical violence were unexpectedly negative.
Easteal and Easteal reported that a physician's attitude regarding etiology (e.g., attributing IPV to a victim's personality) and professional role resistance (e.g., limiting the focus of care to injuries only) militate against effective intervention. The study group was among the key health staff in dealing with IPV victims. The results of the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) of 2003 about attitudes towards physical violence were better than our study, but nevertheless 39% of females accepted at least one reason as a justification for wife-beating . One important reason for this difference may be due to the difference in the wording of the questionnaires.
Our questionnaire included the statement, "deceiving the husband," as a reason for justifying wife-beating. Unfortunately, 72.5% of the nurses, 55.3% of the female physicians, and 78.8% of male physicians declared that they agreed with the justification of violence in the case of this statement. Deceiving the husband is a taboo in Turkey and it is among the most important reasons of honor murders . In a report about honor murders in Turkey, it was stated that for some females, even divorcing was considered immoral and unacceptable . However, our results regarding the attitudes towards violence were similar with the study of Weiss et al. who worked with ED HCW. According to their results, only 50% of the group knew that the victim was not responsible for the abuse before their educational intervention. In another study carried out by the International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates, who participated in a gender-based violence project, 53% of the participants felt that inappropriate behavior of some females provoked their husband's aggression .
In this study, female physicians stated the most positive attitudes. Rose and Saunders suggested that female providers may have more empathic attitudes towards victims of IPV. Even when the victims were identified, a physician's attitude about the etiology of battering and their perception of the limited role they should play further mitigated against effective intervention [30, 32, 33] There is increasing research showing that preventive care services for females rendered by female professionals increases the acceptability and efficiency of medical services [32, 34]. The increase in the employment of female HCW could help solve this problem in Turkey.
The efficiency of training programs in managing victims of IPV has been shown in different studies [35–37]. According to the results of previous studies, the content, frequency, and timing of training are as important as the presence of training. For example Elliot et al. declared that 41% of the specifically trained physicians who work in the ED stated that they usually forgot to routinely ask about domestic violence. They found "any history of training" made physicians more likely to screen, but training within the previous year had a stronger influence. In their study, Sitterding et al. found that receiving lectures during residency training was found to be a significant predictor of screening every patient for spouse/partner violence among respondents. It has been demonstrated that clinicians with specific training in abuse assessment are more likely to suspect and screen for it [39, 40].
When the content of the training program in Turkey is considered, the relationship between violence and reproductive health problems and chronic diseases should be emphasized. Since lack of knowledge is a prominent feature for both nurses and physicians, an initiative is needed for developing curricula for both graduate and postgraduate training programs. Training of HCW might have a dramatic effect on diminishing the gender effect on the justification of violence, creating positive attitudes towards the issue and realizing effective interventions for IPV victims.
Barriers to the management of IPV victims defined by our respondents were consistent with the literature [41–43]. Although the most common barrier defined by the group was lack of legal arrangements, at the same time, the knowledge score of the participants about the legal aspects of the issue was not satisfactory. The legal context is complicated and not protective enough for the victims. There are no clear procedures to manage the IPV victims in the ED in Turkey. However, informing the victims about their legal rights and starting the legal procedure right after the incident could be a life-saving intervention. The lack of referral social care centers and lack of social care workers in ED were barriers defined by the respondents. At the time of this study, there was only one shelter for females with a capacity of 24 in a city with 2.5 million inhabitants
The work presented here represents an initial effort to provide basic information about the knowledge and attitudes of HCW about victims of IPV. We did not analyze the validity of the questionnaire, but the main domains of the questionnaire were consistent with most of the domains of Sugg et al., except the items about batterers, proper referrals, and written guidelines. In this study, we did not assess domains, such as workplace issues and victim autonomy and knowledge regarding causes of violence (e.g., alcohol and drugs), as mentioned in the comprehensive questionnaire developed by Short et al.. In the questionnaire developed by Sugg et al., all the domains were self-evaluated and reported and focused in the screening capacity of the HCW . However, in this study, we assessed the actual knowledge on clinical manifestations and legal statements concerning IPV. As is the case in the Short et al. questionnaire, our questionnaire did not assess actual behaviors; however, it presented us valuable information prior to developing a training program in the ED in Turkey. There were various limitations in this study, such as the low coverage among the physicians (65.0%) due to the difficulties in approaching the consultant physicians, which was the biggest group. Nevertheless, this study was carried out in one of the largest university hospitals of the country and brought up the main obstacles of the HCW dealing with IPV victims.
Few HCW feel that they have sufficient training in managing IPV victims and many of them share the common prejudices which hinder them from appropriate interventions. There is a growing need for written procedures and guidelines to assist them in case management. At the same time, there should be continuous and relevant training programs on clinical, legal, and cultural aspects of the problem. In addition, a training program should include a component about gender roles in order to diminish the gender effect on the justification of violence and improve the attitudes of HCW towards IPV. We believe that training programs will guide HCW in the management IPV and underline their professional roles.
We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Isil Vahip for her contributions to the initial discussion on designing the part about knowledge on defitions of violence.
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Differential Interference Contrast
Digital Image Gallery
Thin unstained, transparent specimens are excellent candidates for imaging with classical differential interference (DIC) microscopy techniques over a relatively narrow range (plus or minus one-quarter wavelength) of bias retardation. The digital images presented in this gallery represent a wide spectrum of specimens, which vary from unstained cells, tissues, and whole organisms to both lightly and heavily stained thin and thick sections. In addition, several specimens exhibiting birefringent character are included to demonstrate the kaleidoscopic display of color that arises when anisotropic substances are imaged with this technique.
American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) - The American dog tick is a member of the hard tick family Ixodidae. Hard ticks are responsible for transmitting nearly all of the major tick-borne diseases in North America. Though generally not believed to be vectors of Lyme disease, American dog ticks are the primary carriers of the Rocky Mountain spotted fever bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. They are also capable of transmitting tularemia, Colorado tick fever, and anaplasmosis, and may cause paralysis when a neurotoxin they produce is secreted into a host's blood stream.
Amphipods (Grammarus) - Approximately 4,600 species of amphipods exist, but they are often known by other names. Amphipods that live in sandy beaches are frequently called sand hoppers or sand fleas, while those that thrive in freshwater habitats and marine beaches are commonly referred to as scuds. Yet, no matter what name they are known by, most amphipods are brightly colored and are similar in appearance to petite shrimp, generally ranging in size from four to ten millimeters. In the deep sea, however, some scavenger species of amphipods may obtain lengths of up to 140 millimeters.
Ancylostoma Hookworm - Hookworm infestation is known as ancylostomiasis and serious cases can result in as much as 200 milliliters of blood loss per day. The condition tends to be most prevalent in tropical regions and may affect animals, such as dogs and cats, as well as humans. Symptoms of ancylostomiasis vary by host, but often include diarrhea, weight loss, and severe anemia. In fact, during the late 1800s an epidemic referred to as miners' anemia occurred among Italian laborers building the Saint Gotthard railway tunnel in the Swiss Alps. The hookworm species Ancylostoma duodenale was responsible for the outbreak.
Aurelia Jellyfish (Strobila Stage) - Primarily found in coastal waters, the mature marine invertebrates may grow as large as 40 centimeters in diameter. Their medusoid bodies are bell-shaped, but some species lack the long, stinging tentacles frequently associated with jellyfish. In fact, Aurelia aurita, better known as the moon jelly, has tentacles so small that few notice them on first sight. Close inspection reveals, however, numerous short, fine structures lining the bell margins of the organisms. Since their tentacles are not well suited for capturing prey, moon jellies often ensnare zooplankton with the mucus that covers their outer surfaces, transporting the food to their mouths with the help of cilia.
Canine Tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus) - The mature E. granulosus worm consists of three to five segments, generally reaching approximately five millimeters in length. The scolex of the organism is globular in shape and features a prominent projection known as a rostellum that is lined with a double row of hooks. The hooks enable the parasite to firmly lodge itself into the tissues of its host. The eggs produced by the adult parasites and expelled from the definitive host with bodily wastes are extremely resilient, surviving for up to a year even in very poor environmental conditions. Over that time, suitable intermediate hosts may accidentally consume them, which allows the parasitic lifecycle to continue on unabated.
Cat Testes Stained Thin Section - Members of the family Felidae, cats are carnivorous and are highly reputed for their hunting abilities. In fact, their finesse at capturing fish, birds, and rodents played a large part in their domestication and their early sacred status. Also, when cats became unpopular in Europe and their numbers decreased, the flourishing of rat populations that resulted helped lead to the spread of a great number of plagues and epidemics. By the seventeenth century, Europeans began to realize their mistake and cats became accepted household companions once again. Yet, even in modern times, vestiges of their former persecution remain, as is evidenced by the continued association of black cats with Halloween and bad luck.
Chicken Embryo - In the laboratory, chicken embryos and cultured cells are of great use to scientists. Most chickens have genes that are similar to those found in humans and, therefore, chicken cells may be utilized to achieve a better understanding of human biology and mammalian development in general. Chicken embryos are normally better suited to controlled studies than other laboratory animals, such as mice and rats, because they develop inside an egg rather than in the body of the mother. In fact, the relatively recent increase in the scientific use of chicken embryos may help reduce animal testing by replacing exposure trials on mice and rats.
Chicken Embryo Lens - Although initially all cells within a chicken embryo look alike, they quickly begin to develop into specialized structures. Within the first 24 hours of embryonic development, the head becomes distinguishable, the foregut forms, blood begins to accumulate in areas that will become parts of the vascular system, and the eye starts to take shape. Developmental progression moves swiftly, and on the second day the lenses of the eyes materialize, the vascular system takes a definite form, and the heart begins beating. The lightning-fast pace of growth and change continues, each feature developing within a set period of time, until a few short weeks later a full-formed and functional baby chicken, complete with claws and feathers, taps it way out of its shell to first see the light of day.
Chinese Liver Fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) - Similar to many other parasites, Chinese liver flukes have a three-host lifecycle and must, therefore, reside in two intermediate hosts before infecting a definitive host. The first hosts of the species are snails, which ingest the eggs of the flukes from contaminated water. The eggs complete their gestation in the snails before hatching and exiting the organisms. The trematodes then burrow into fish, their second intermediate hosts, where they become encysted inside muscle tissue. Humans, or other animals, become the final hosts of the flukes when they eat the raw flesh of an infected fish.
Chironomid Fly Larva - The metamorphic lifecycle of a chironomid consists of several phases, including egg, larval, pupal, imago, and flying adult stages. It is only in their larval form that the flies can feed, so during that time they must consume enough nutrients to last them the rest of their lives. Worm-like in appearance, chironomid larvae typically inhabit the sediments of freshwater bodies where they feed upon algae and other small organisms. They may also exist, however, in marine or terrestrial environments. One unusual species, aptly nicknamed the ice worm, actually proliferates in the icy cold waters of New Zealand's west coast glaciers.
Commercial Sponge Fibers - Sponges do not naturally exhibit the fresh, golden appearance that they have when modern consumers buy them from stores. In fact, when divers first bring them up from the sea they are black and rather unpleasant. A systematic process of washing and pressing the sponges must be followed in order to break down their external membrane and tissues. When only the skeletal fibers of the creatures remain, they are trimmed, dried, and frequently immersed in a mixture of water and hydrochloric acid, a procedure that gives them a blonde coloring, before being sold by merchants.
Ctenoid Fish Scale - Three general types of ctenoid scales have been categorized, but each type is composed of two key sections; a rigid surface layer chiefly consisting of crystallized calcium salts and a deeper layer that is formed by collagen-type fibrils. The distinction between the ctenoid scale types, therefore, is primarily based upon their form. Crenate scales, for instance, feature simple indentations on their edges, while spinoid scales are characterized by a cluster of spines that extend from the main scale body. Basic ctenoid scales, on the other hand, exhibit ctenii, which are formed as separate bony growths distinct from the main body of the scale.
Cucumber Tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) - Proglottids, which are actually closer in size and shape to grains of rice, are a primary indicator of cucumber tapeworm infection. They contain egg cases and may be found in the bodily waste of definitive hosts, such as canine and feline species and, occasionally, humans. Definitive host infection occurs through the accidental ingestion of a contaminated intermediate host, which may be either a flea or a louse. Adult lice and larval fleas become infected by swallowing eggs released from the proglottids of a mature cucumber tapeworm.
Cycloid Fish Scale - The primary types of fish scales include placoid, cosmoid, ganoid, ctenoid, and cycloid scales. Placoid scales, which consist of an outer layer of an enamel-like substance, an inner stratum of dentine, and a pulp cavity, are exhibited by sharks. Most primitive bony fish species, however, generally possess scales of ganoid or cosmoid type, which are thick and composed of several layers of bone, enamel, and related substances. Some advanced fishes also exhibit bony scales, but these typically allow more freedom of body movement than the earlier-evolved varieties. Thin, translucent, and lacking enamel as well as dentine, these modern structures are known as cycloid and ctenoid scales.
Deer Tick (Ixodes dammini) - Deer ticks have a complex, two-year lifecycle that consists of several stages. Eggs are generally deposited in the spring and tiny larvae emerge several weeks later. The larvae attach to small mammals, such as field mice, and feed before falling to the ground and overwintering. The following spring, the larvae molt into nymphs that feed on mice or larger mammals during the summer. It is in this stage that deer ticks are most likely to bite humans. After their blood meal, the nymphs molt again, achieving their adult form in the fall. Adult ticks normally attach themselves to white-tailed deer, or other large mammals, to mate. Afterwards, males fall from the host and die, while females feed once more in order to successfully produce eggs.
Desmid Algae - Since they are so small, the beauty of desmids tends to go unnoticed unless they are examined through a microscope. Strikingly symmetrical, each individual desmid is divided into two mirror-image halves, or semicells, which are connected by an isthmus that contains the nucleus. The semicells may be globular, disc, spindle, or crescent shaped, and can feature a cell wall ornamented with spines or spectacular patterns of granules and tubercles. Desmids have an even more unusual appearance when they are in the process of dividing. During this time, two new semicells are created in between the old semicells, often remaining attached for a short period.
Diatom Frustule - Diatoms are unicellular phytoplankton that may be found in all of the Earth's aquatic environments. However, most species occur solely in areas that meet specific physical, chemical, and biological requirements. This habitat specificity is frequently utilized by ecologists to ascertain the state and quality of a body of water. Furthermore, the extensive fossil record of diatoms provides scientists with a unique historic record of changes in marine ecosystems.
Digenetic Trematode (Echinostoma) - The life cycle of digenetic trematodes is complex, involving one or more intermediate hosts and a primary host. The endoparasites of the genus Echinostoma often infect avian species, such as ducks, geese, and pigeons, as well as humans. These animals become contaminated by ingesting raw freshwater snails or frogs that act as intermediate hosts of the trematodes. In their final adult forms, the flatworms use oral and ventral suckers to hold onto the lining of the bird cecum or human rectum. Since these hermaphroditic flukes cannot biosynthesize their own fatty acids and sterols, they must depend on parasitism to fulfill their nutritional needs.
Down Feathers - There are three basic types of feathers, each with its own set of specific functions. Contour feathers line the wings, tails, and backs of birds, giving them a defined shape and acting as aerodynamic structures. Beneath them, lie the soft, fluffy feathers commonly referred to as down. As anyone who has ever used a down comforter or sleeping bag should know, down feathers are excellent insulators. Thus, their primary function is to maintain the proper body temperature of birds, a task that they are aided in by hair feathers. Sometimes alternatively known as filoplumes, hair feathers are also believed to function as pressure and vibration receptors that sense the location of other feathers so that they can be appropriately adjusted.
Earthworm Muscle Tissue - Earthworms vary in length depending upon species and belong to the phylum Annelida, which contains the segmented worms. The common earthworm Lumbricus terrestris, known as the night crawler in the United States, rarely exceeds lengths of more than ten inches. However, some tropical species of earthworm can be up to eleven feet long. In order to move such long, tapered bodies forward, earthworms exhibit peristalsis, a wave-like motion achieved through rhythmic muscular contractions. With the additional aid of the setae that line each of their body segments, earthworms are relatively adept at wriggling their way through the soil and across the ground.
Earthworm Nervous Tissue - Earthworms do not have eyes or ears, but are perceptive of light and sound. This strange phenomenon is possible because the earthworm nervous system is connected to a variety of sensory cells that are capable of detecting different environmental factors. Earthworms also have a developed sense of touch, a sense of taste, and can perceive the amount of moisture in surrounding soil. Some studies have even shown that earthworms can store simple memories, such as which branch of a Y-shaped tube should be taken to avoid an electrical shock.
Euchlanis Rotifer - In addition to a ciliated corona, or head, Euchlanis species have transparent bodies and two strong toes used for swimming. They are also sheathed in a glassy shell secreted by their outer skin. Inside, each tiny individual rotifer is surprisingly complex, possessing a brain, bladder, reproductive organs, intestines, and a stomach. They are not endowed, however, with a circulatory system.
Fat-Stained Adipose Tissue - The body fat that human dieters are generally concerned about is stored in white adipose tissue. Excessive body fat can lead to health problems, but a certain amount of white adipose tissue is necessary for the proper functioning of the body. In addition to storing energy, the tissue, which is usually located directly below the skin, protects the body from impact-related damage to the organs and acts as a heat insulator. In addition to exercise and diet, there are a number of factors that have an apparent effect on the distribution and amount of white adipose tissue stored in a body, including gender, genetics, and race.
Fern (Polypodium) Leaves - More than 10,000 species of fern have been scientifically catalogued, some of which date back 360 million years ago to the Carboniferous period. Man has utilized the plants in various ways since he first began to walk on the Earth. Ferns, or parts of the ferns, have been used as a food source, as bedding and stuffing for cushions, as medicinal treatments, as material for roof thatching, and as ornamentals. Most recently, ferns have acted as a subject of study in biological research, scientists being extremely interested in their retainment of a primitive lifecycle that involves two separate, generally independent generations.
Frog Heart Muscle Tissue - Unlike most mammalian species, frogs and other amphibians possess nucleated blood cells, which is an indication of their less evolved nature. Moreover, their circulatory systems feature a heart that has only three chambers, rather than the four possessed by humans and other more advanced species. The combination of two atria and a single ventricle complicates circulation because blood returning to the heart from the lungs is combined with incoming blood from the body, resulting in mixing between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Frogs handle this situation, however, by having a very slow metabolism and by absorbing some oxygen through their skin. There is also some directional control of the distribution of blood flow by the ventricle.
Frog Testes (Meiosis) - Typically, male frogs desiring to breed use mating calls to attract females, who are able to differentiate their own species based on the sound and location of the call. When a potential mate arrives, the male clasps her from behind in a copulatory embrace known as an amplexus. Sperm is ejected onto the eggs as they are released by the female. The eggs, which vary in number depending on species, then float or sink in the tranquil water until they eventually hatch into tadpoles.
Fungus (Sordaria fimicola) Fruiting Bodies - Ascomycetes are known as sac fungi because of the characteristic shape of their asci, which each contain four to eight ascospores in the sexual stage. The specific attributes of the asci and the method of release of the ascospores is what primarily determines which subgroup ascomycete species are placed in. Other differences do exist between the fungi, however, which may follow very different paths of existence. Some ascomycetes are pathogens that cause disease in plants or animals, while others are edible or harmlessly live on dead organic matter. Perhaps the ascomycete most important to man is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the common yeast that is used around the world to leaven bread and ferment the grain that produces beer.
Human Cerebrum - Modern science has revealed that the human brain is divided into several sections that work together to complete the complex functions of humans. The three primary regions of the brain are the brain stem, the cerebellum, and the cerebrum. The cerebrum is currently the largest part of the human brain, comprising approximately 85 percent of its total weight and weighing almost three pounds. The cerebrum of early man, however, was not as developed as it is today, encompassing only about a third of its current weight. Thus, as the composition of the brain has changed dramatically over the last 100,000 years, so have the mental processes of humans.
Human Cheek Epithelial Cells - Cheek cells are often studied in school laboratory settings because they can be easily obtained through a mouth rinse or simple swab. Yet, though the individual cells appear very simple under the microscope, they each contain the genetic make-up of the entire body. Thus, they are often used for DNA fingerprinting studies, as well as paternity testing. Interestingly, a group of Australian researchers have recently found another use for human cheek cells. They have devised a test that utilizes cheek cells to measure an individual's proclivity for high blood pressure.
Human Erythrocytes - Human erythrocytes generally only live for about 100 days and, therefore, must be periodically replenished. The majority of new erythrocytes develop in the bone marrow through a several stage process and are stored in the spleen. Beginning as a hemocytoblast, a cell that has multiple development potentials, in the mesenchyme, the structure slowly turns into an erythroblast, which then loses its nucleus and mitochondria and gains hemoglobin. A later stage of the cell known as a reticulocyte, is what finally develops into an erythrocyte. The entire progression from hemocytoblast to red blood cell requires two to five days to complete.
Human Flea (Pulex irritans) - The human flea is mainly a nuisance, an enzyme in their saliva producing an allergic reaction in their victims that causes an itching sensation. However, the parasite can also be a vector of a variety of diseases. Though it was not the primary species responsible for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, the human flea is capable of transmitting it. The species may also transmit murine typhus, tularemia, and tapeworm, but such occurrences are relatively rare.
Hydatid Cyst - Hydatid cysts are typically spherical in shape and have the ability to achieve rather large sizes. The insides of the cysts are filled with fluid, brood capsules, daughter cysts, and protoscolices that have the capability to grow into adult worms if consumed by a definitive host. If a cyst is ruptured, which may occur through a sharp blow or during surgery, each protoscolex released may form a new cyst. Also, the fluid within the hydatids is highly allergenic and may cause anaphylactic shock and rapid death if freed inside the body.
Indian Muntjac Deer Skin Fibroblasts - Generally solitary creatures, muntjacs can be extremely competitive. Males frequently fight over mates and territory, using their antlers and canine teeth, which are elongated into tusks, as weapons. Although they are diminutive in size, they are capable of inflicting serious injuries to other animals. They cannot easily defend themselves against humans, however, and are often hunted for their skins and meat. Thus, some species of muntjacs are endangered, although the Indian muntjac appears to remain relatively abundant.
Intestinal Fluke (Heterophyes) - Humans and other mammals become infected with the digenetic trematode by eating contaminated raw or undercooked fish. Thus, most cases of heterophyiasis occur in the Far East, the Middle East, and Egypt due to the characteristic diets of inhabitants of these areas. True levels of incidence are difficult to discern, however, because cases are often asymptomatic and signs of serious occurrences, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and the frequent appearance of eggs in feces, are similar to those of other types of parasite infection. In rare instances, H. heterophyes can cause the lining of the small intestine to break down, and the eggs produced by the parasite enter into the blood stream. Once in the blood stream the eggs may be carried to other organs where they can instigate acute medical problems.
Intestine Thin Section - In humans, the most prominent structure of the digestive system is the small intestine, which is generally more than 20 feet long. In nonhuman primates, however, the large intestine is a more central component to the digestive process. This divergence between humans and creatures such as gorillas and orangutans reflects the vast differences in their diets. As omnivores, humans generally consume high quality foods that contain significant amounts of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. The slower moving, nonhuman vegetarian primates, however, eat lower quality plants that contain a higher proportion of roughage.
Jellyfish Sensory Organs (Aurelia Tentaculocysts) - One of the jellyfish most familiar to humans is the moon jelly, scientifically known as Aurelia aurita. The species is easy to recognize because of the four round, or horseshoe-shaped, reproductive organs that can be clearly seen through their transparent pink or bluish hued bodies. The tentacles of moon jellies are short and fringelike, and their sting is much less toxic than many other types of jellyfish. Also, the stinging action of their nematocysts is not powerful enough to pierce the thick skin of humans, though they can occasionally catch small aquatic animals. Most of their food is instead gained by trapping plankton in the layer of mucus that coats their bells.
Kapok Fibers - In order to prepare kapok fiber for export, the material is removed from the pod by hand and then dried and separated from the seeds. Though too brittle and inflexible to be spun into thread, importers have found other uses for the substance. Since kapok fibers are cellulose tubes that contain a small quantity of air, they are extremely buoyant and can support up to 30 times their own weight in water. The material, therefore, is often used in life preservers and other water-safety gear. Due to its other commendable qualities, such as its non-allergic, non-toxic, and odorless nature, kapok fiber is also popular for stuffing items like pillows, mattresses, and sleeping bags.
Kevlar Fibers - Sometimes referred to as a Space Age material, it is the chemical structure and processing of Kevlar that makes it so strong. More specifically, Kevlar contains both aromatic and amide molecular groups. When molten Kevlar is spun into fibers at the processing plant, the polymers produced exhibit a crystalline arrangement, with the polymer chains oriented parallel to the fiber's axis. The amide groups are able to form hydrogen bonds between the polymer chains, holding the separate chains together like glue. Also, the aromatic components of Kevlar have a radial orientation, which provides an even higher degree of symmetry and strength to the internal structure of the fibers.
Lancelets (Amphioxus) - Amphioxi, which are also often referred to as lancelets, are invertebrates that were mistaken for slugs when they were first discovered in 1778 by Piotr S. Pallas. The misidentification is understandable since the marine animals have tapered forms without eyes or distinct heads. The creatures also do not have well developed brains or hearts and are not buoyant. They can swim side to side by contracting the staggered muscle blocks that line the flanks of their bodies, but whenever they cease to do so, they sink.
Lancelet (Amphioxus) Pharynx - Though capable of swimming, lancelets typically remain buried in the sand or mud that lines the ocean floors. To feed, they extend the anterior portion of their bodies upward out of the muck and the cilia that line their gill slits direct water toward their mouth openings. From the mouth, the water moves into the pharynx, the mucous membrane of the gill basket capturing edible organisms in the water and passing them onto the gut, where digestion begins with the aid of various enzymes. Unlike other chordates, lancelets are capable of phagocytosis, a digestive process in which individual cells consume food particles.
Lily Flower Buds - Herbaceous flowering monocots, lilies are usually raised from bulbs and grow best in loamy soil. Although the belief in their medicinal value seems to have been unfounded, the plants were used for many years to treat fever, rheumatism, and arthritis, as well as to clean wounds, burns, and sores. Such medical applications of lilies were especially popular in England during the Elizabethan period.
Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) - Many animals are potential hosts for the lone star tick, which needs three blood meals in order to develop into its adult form. In their immature stages, the ticks prefer to feed on birds and small mammals, though they may also feed on larger animals. Bovines and white-tailed deer are favorite hosts of fully mature lone star ticks. All life stages of the creatures, however, will feed on humans as well.
Mammalian Liver Thin Section - Essential to life, the liver, which is susceptible to many diseases and infections, can lead to serious medical problems if it is damaged. One of the most obvious signs of liver impairment is the yellowing of the skin and eyes known as jaundice. Jaundice may occur from a variety of liver malfunctions and, therefore, tests must be carried out to make an accurate diagnosis. In many instances of liver damage, as in cases of cirrhosis or hepatitis, bed rest and complete avoidance of alcoholic beverages may result in a remarkable improvement of health.
Moss Antheridia - In the gametophyte form of mosses, reproduction is generally sexual and is seasonally controlled. Male sex organs known as antheridia and female sex organs, which are referred to as archegonia, are typically located at the tips of the main shoots of gametophyte mosses. Whether shoots are unisexual or bisexual is a species dependent characteristic, but many mosses are designed to discourage inbreeding. The reproductive process itself can only take pace when the plant is wet, sperm released from antheridia swimming to female archegonia to penetrate ova and create a zygote.
Moss Bulbils - Wide distribution of mosses has played an important part in making Earth inhabitable for more advanced life forms. Mosses have existed for more than 200 million years, appearing sometime after the algae and fungi. The mosses survived in the small amount of nutritive soil that was formed by the decaying material of the more primitive plants, breaking down exposed substrata and releasing nutrients. The remnants of dead mosses then created an even thicker layer of rich soil, making it possible for more complex plants to grow on the surface of the planet.
Mouse Kidney Thin Section - The close mammalian relationship between mice and humans means that many of their organs function in the same way, even though they may vary in size or location. The kidneys, for instance, maintain water balance and expel metabolic wastes in both species. They also have a similar appearance; bean shaped, brownish red, and granular. The outer region of both human and mouse kidneys is called the cortex and the inner area is known as the medulla. Nephrons, which are the functional units of the kidneys, stretch across both sections and are responsible for filtering blood, reabsorbing water and nutrients, and secreting wastes.
Mushroom (Polyporus) Fungus - Several varieties of fungus are associated with mushrooms, although many of them are not safe to eat. In fact, poisoning by wild mushrooms is a fairly common occurrence and can be fatal. Thus, it is extremely important that all mushrooms that are to be eaten are first clearly identified. Some prominent cases of mushroom poisoning, however, may have been intentional. The Roman emperor Claudius, for instance, is often said to have died in 54 AD from eating a dish of poisonous mushrooms given to him by his ambitious wife and niece, Agrippina, who wanted her son Nero to rule.
Nucleic Acid Stains - In modern times, the process of staining cells to observe their features is widespread, and scientists have an array of stains, generally composed of heterocyclic organic dyes, to choose from. In order to make a suitable stain selection, the chemical and electronic properties of the dye molecules with respect to their interaction with cellular components must be considered. For instance, stains that have a net positive charge in aqueous or buffered solutions have an affinity for negatively charged biological structures and selectively bind to them. Hydrophilic stains, on the other hand, tend to stain hydrated biological bodies, such as the exterior of proteins and nucleic acids. Contrariwise, stains hydrophobic in nature concentrate on membranes, lipids, and the interior of proteins.
Obelia Hydroid - The polyp members of Obelia are asexual, stalk-like, and usually attached to the ocean floor, rocks, shells, or other surfaces. The polyps generate additional polyps by budding, creating a branching colony of the organisms that has a structure similar to that of a tree. A transparent sheath known as the perisarc encases the colony. Dimorphic, some of the polyps are responsible for feeding, while others concentrate their energy on reproduction. The feeding polyps feature tentacles and share the nutrients they imbibe with the rest of the colony after digestion in the gastrovascular cavity. Reproductive polyps, however, lack tentacles and are club-shaped.
Pennaria Hydrozoa - Many hydrozoan species exist in colonies that are formed by the asexual budding of members. Generally, the buds in the colonies remain attached to the parent polyp, but some specialized reproductive polyps may produce free-swimming medusae. Hydrozoan medusae are bell-shaped and propel themselves forward by alternately constricting and relaxing muscles, which causes water to shoot out of a constricted opening in their bodies.
Pine Tree Pollen - Pollen is generally released by pine trees in the spring or early summer. The substance has the appearance of a fine yellow or green dust, and when it covers large areas, it is sometimes mistaken for a chemical spill. However, though pollen may cause allergic reactions in humans, it is for the most part harmless, and even beneficial to some species. In fact, pine pollen acts as a source of food for a variety of fungi and microscopic animals.
Planaria Cross Section - Planaria are generally carnivorous night feeders that consume aquatic insects, snails, microcrustaceans, and proteinaceous detritus, though a few species are parasitic. The mouths of the flatworms are located on their ventral side more than halfway toward the tail, an opening through which they may extend the pharynx. Typically, enzymes secreted by the mouth partially digest prey while it is pinned outside the body by the pharynx. Once softened, the mouth sucks in the food and digestion continues within a three-branched gastrovascular cavity.
Polypropylene Fibers - Polypropylene fiber has many positive characteristics that dictate its wide range of applications. The material is strong, quick drying, colorfast, stain resistant, thermally bondable, and hardy against chemicals, perspiration, mildew, and weather conditions. Moreover, polypropylene fiber has the lowest specific gravity of all synthetic fibers, which makes it lightweight and enables it to float in water. Due to such qualities, the material is used in an array of items, including baby diapers, hygiene products, sportswear, carpeting, upholstery, ropes, and automotive interior fabrics. Also, recently polypropylene fiber has become a common additive in concrete, believed to be an effective method of controlling shrinkage cracking.
Portuguese Man-of-War Tentacles - The dreaded tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war belong to the dactylozooid polyps it contains. Their stinging nematocysts can paralyze small prey and cause immense pain to humans, which is sometimes accompanied by powerful allergic reactions that lead to fever and shock, as well as heart and lung problems. In fact, the toxin exuded by the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war is about 75 percent as powerful as the venom of a cobra. Even when they are washed up on the beach, the tentacles remain dangerous and should not be touched with bare skin.
Ragweed Pollen - Approximately fifteen species in the genus Ambrosia are commonly referred to as ragweed. The plants feature rough stems, small yellow-green flowers, and lobed leaves. They often grow in disturbed soil that cannot support other types of vegetation and flourish in conditions of low humidity and high heat. In North America, ragweed is most abundant in the midwest and central United States, but few areas are free from it altogether. However, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, which claim that they do not have ragweed seasons, could be considered safe havens for hay fever sufferers.
Rocky Mountain Wood Tick - The lifecycle of the Rocky Mountain spotted wood tick generally takes two to three years to be completed and requires the parasitism of three different hosts. After each blood meal, the tick drops to the ground and molts into its subsequent form, or dies if it has already successfully completed the mating process. To find an appropriate host, the Rocky Mountain spotted wood tick climbs grass, bushes, and other foliage, where it waits for chemical cues that indicate the presence of a mammal. The parasite then drops itself onto the mammal and briefly moves about before attaching its mouthparts to the host's skin.
Silver Stained Human Cerebellum - In humans, the cerebellum is a peach-sized, lobed structure located near the base of the brain. It is primarily involved in controlling bodily movement and the development and recollection of physical skills. In order to function properly, the cerebellum must receive information from several parts of the body, such as the eyes, the ears, the limbs, and the cerebrum. The cerebellum, the name of which means "little brain" in Latin, then coordinates all incoming information and makes fine adjustments in motion at the subconscious level. This is how good tennis players can meet the ball in the right place at the right time and return it with appropriate force without having to willfully consider the motions of their muscles.
Spirogyra Filamentous Algae - More than 400 species of Spirogyra are known to be in existence and most are found free-floating in freshwater environments. The algae are particularly abundant in nutrient-rich environments and large populations can be an indication of over-fertilization caused by contaminated storm water. At night or when it is overcast, it may be difficult for the casual observer to determine the level of algae in a pond or other body of water. However, on sunny days, oxygen bubbles produced during photosynthesis cause Spirogyra to rise to the surface of the water, often in thick, tangled mats.
Sponge Skeleton - Sponges do not naturally exist in the soft, golden form that they exhibit on the shelves of modern bath stores. In fact, sponges grow in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some varieties are as small as coins, while other may grow several feet in height. Sponges may be flat, smooth, branching, rough, soft, or prickly. They may also be shaped like cones, spheres, or tubes and colored red, yellow, green, blue, or almost any other color imaginable. Some of the pigments, however, are a result of algae that inhabit the inside of the sponge or that have been consumed by it.
Stained Chinese Liver Fluke Eggs - Adult members of the species reside in the bile ducts of the liver, generally growing to lengths of approximately one inch. They may live for more than 20 years and can produce a prolific number of eggs, as many as 4,000 in a single day. The eggs have a characteristic flask-like shape that features a prominent operculum at one end and a spine at the opposite extremity. They are passed through the intestines and are voided from the body with feces. Though the miracidium held inside the eggs is already well developed at this point, it does not hatch until it is ingested by an intermediate snail host. When their gestation is complete, the newly formed trematodes exit the snail and burrow into fish, where they encyst inside muscle tissue.
Stained Hydra - Often hermaphroditic, hydras may alternatively produce offspring sexually. Eggs and sperm are stored in separate swellings in the outer body layer of individual hydras. Fertilization occurs in the water after gametes of opposing sexes are released by two different hydras. The young embryos then attach to the hydra from which the eggs were donated and stay there until their mouths and tentacles develop. Subsequently, the new hydras break away from their mother to carry out the rest of their lives autonomously. Hydras generated in this manner tend to be better suited to surviving harsh environmental conditions than their asexually produced brethren.
Sun Animalcules (Actinosphaerium Heliozoans) - Heliozoans are generally freshwater creatures and can frequently be found in lakes and ponds. Depending on conditions and food supplies, areas may contain large populations, the heliozoans quickly reproducing asexually through binary fission or budding. Suitable food sources for the organisms include algae, protozoans, and other tiny life forms. However, heliozoans generally will try to consume most anything that comes across their paths since they have little locomotive ability.
Taenia Tapeworm - The lifecycle of tapeworms can be complex and may involve multiple hosts, but their anatomy is simple. Species either consist of a single segment or of a succession of identical segments called proglottids and a definite head, known as a scolex. The scolex lacks a mouth, but features suckers and often hooks which are used to attach to the internal organs of a host. Tapeworms also possess a simple nervous system, though they do not have a digestive tract and must absorb nutrients directly from an external layer of tough cuticle. The creatures are typically hermaphrodites and may produce offspring independently.
Timothy Grass Pollen - Sometimes referred to as herd's grass, timothy typically grows about three feet high and features non-branching panicles, or clusters of flowers. Each dense panicle is about 2 to 3 inches long and cylindrical in shape. The stems of timothy grass generally grow in large tufts and exhibit distended, bulb-like bases. The vascular plants also tend to shed large amounts of pollen and primarily pollinate in the morning hours of late spring or early summer, depending on geographical location.
Trematode (Fasciolopsis buski) Rediae - Humans become infected with F. buski, a condition known as Fasciolopsiasis, by consuming uncooked aquatic vegetables, such as lotus, water chestnuts, and water bamboo, contaminated with metacercariae. Generally settling in the duodenum, the metacercariae become adult worms in approximately 3 months. Though infection is sometimes asymptomatic, at the site of attachment deep inflammatory ulcerations often occur, usually accompanied by nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, alternated with periods of constipation. Particularly large populations of F. buski can also involve mucus discharge, general body weakness, and fluid retention that may result in severe consequences if left untreated.
Triacetate Fibers - Derived from cellulose, triacetate is formed by combining cellulose with acetate from acetic acid and acetate anhydride. The cellulose acetate is then dissolved in a mixture of methylene chloride and methanol for spinning. Spinning, the oldest method of preparing man-made fibers, involves pumping a viscous polymer solution through a filter and subsequently passing it through the tiny holes of a spinnerette. Afterward, the solvent is removed and only a synthetic fiber remains.
Tubifex Worms - Tubifex worms are capable of thriving in oxygen-poor environments, such as sewage treatment ponds, because they possess a much more efficient manner of assimilating dissolved oxygen than most other organisms. The worms, which generally range in length from 1 to 8.5 centimeters, reside in mud tubes that they create out of a mixture of mud and mucus. However, they often leave their posterior segments outside of the tubes, waving them about and creating a current that enables them to collect any surrounding trace amounts of dissolved oxygen.
Vas Deferens Thin Section - The primary target of most permanent or semi-permanent types of male contraception is the vas deferens. The traditional vasectomy, for instance, involves the severing and sealing of each of the reproductive tubes. The surgical procedure is considered safe, simple, and may be completed by most physicians in less than 15 minutes. However, an even more refined method has been developed. Many doctors now offer a less invasive, no-scalpel method of vasectomy that has helped increase the acceptance of male sterilization in many parts of the world where conventional vasectomies were not highly regarded.
Vorticella Ciliates - Though they are frequently present in groups, each vorticella possesses its own unciliated stalk. The stalk enables the organisms to attach to aquatic plants and animals, submerged objects, or surface scum. A contractile fiber known as a myoneme is contained within the stalk, causing it to coil up like a spring when it is stimulated or disturbed.
Water Flea (Daphnia) - Generally, Daphnia are filter feeders that consume microscopic particles from surrounding water, though a few species are predatory. The small creatures are a significant and ubiquitous link in the food chain, serving as fare for many larger animals, including several important commercial varieties of fish. Populations of Daphnia are produced parthenogenetically most of the year, but in stressed conditions they may also reproduce sexually. The fertilized eggs that result are resilient and can overwinter, withstanding freezing or drying conditions until better circumstances indicate that it is time to hatch.
Whipworm (Trichuris) Eggs - The sole cause of whipworm infection is ingestion of Trichuris eggs. The eggs, which are expelled by infected individuals with bodily wastes, are quite resilient, however, and may survive in soil or on other surfaces for significant periods of time. When a suitable host ingests an infective egg, it hatches in the small intestine and the juvenile worm migrates to the large intestine. There the parasite embeds its anterior end into the intestinal lining where it reaches sexual maturity and remains for the rest of its lifecycle, which may be several years long.
Wild Silk Fibers - An animal fiber, most commercial silk is produced by the caterpillars of several moth species belonging to the genus Bombyx and are commonly referred to as silkworms. Virtual eating machines, cultivated silk worms can increase their body size up to 10,000 times their original dimensions in less than a month. When they are ready, they begin cocooning and extrude a semi-liquid mixture of protein and a sticky substance known as sericin. Hardening upon exposure to air, this liquid silk becomes the fiber that enshrouds them from the outside world while in their cocoon.
Zygnema Filamentous Algae - Capable of proliferating in several different ways, reproduction of Zygnema species is primarily dependent upon environmental conditions. When nitrates and phosphates are readily available, Zygnema generally reproduce vegetatively by fragmenting to create new strands. However, when conditions are less favorable, Zygnema often asexually produce akinetes, spore-like bodies that have very thick cell walls that enable them to survive harsh conditions. In poor environments, members of the genus may also reproduce sexually to create a zygospore that sinks into the sediment at the bottom of the body of water, where it waits to emerge until more propitious circumstances arise.
Shannon H. Neaves, John D. Griffin, and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.
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The new managing agents (Park Aspen) have kindly provided an electronic copy of their first newsletter. Click the link below to download the PDF.
This is a transcript of a forum of leaseholders of Baltic Quay Management (1994) Limited held on November 30, 2015. It is based on a telephone recording and as the acoustics in the atrium are not very good there may be some gaps in the transcript.
We trust you will find this transcript useful.
Yvonne: The purpose of the forum today is to discuss the status of the management of the building and provide an update on the ongoing freehold purchase transaction. This is not an official meeting of the Baltic Quay Management (1994) but what we wanted to keep you updated given we are now six weeks into having our interim management agency, we thought it would be helpful if you could receive an update as to understand what’s happened since the tender process came to an end. Also, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce Parkgate Aspen, who the board would like to appoint as the managing agents for the buildings (based on a recommendation from JAR who handled the independent tender process) and they have some views as to what they can do that would be of benefit to us. And we’re delighted to also have Michael Flemming – John – why did I call you Michael? Sorry. John, who is an architect and is connected with a firm of surveyors, and he also has some views for this space and for the building in general. We’d also like to take your views as to what you think are the really immediate steps that need to be taken so that you can really feel that you’re receiving value for the service charge; we’re keeping a very strong eye on keeping the service charge under control but also showing that the value for that. And following that; not a major part but just for those who are interested; I will then give you an update on the stages of the freehold purchase action. Okay? Right so, I’d like to hand over to Ed Buxton, our assigned property manager from James Andrew Residential, just to give us a brief update as to what has happened today and what they plan for the next remaining six weeks of their tenure.
This section covers the update from JAR, our interim managing agents
Ed: Do you want me to stand up?
Yvonne: It’s up to you.
Ed: Hi, nice to meet you all. My name’s Ed Buxton. I work for James Andrew Residential; you may or may not have spoken to me so far by phone or over the email. But our main jobs since we’ve taken over from (inaudible) Jones have been obviously to provide some stability and to get a handle of the accounts. Unfortunately, as is with every handover that you have with previous managing agencies, it’s never easy to be honest with you. It is always a difficult process. The handover from (inaudible) Jones has been rather poor to be honest with you. The information that we received has been you know, spits and spats; we still haven’t got the majority of the financial information that we would ideally like, which is probably why maybe some of you here tonight, have received a letter from us the end of last week for arrears. So unfortunately, we are finding there are quite a few people who are in arrears on their account for service charge and sinking fund, which obviously does not help towards the maintenance for the building because we are low on funds. So we are trying to get a handle of the accounts and I feel we’re doing a good job so far; we’ve managed to gain some of the information, obtain some of the information like I say, from using (inaudible) over time. And our aim really is to re-tender lots of contracts. I think you may agree that the cleaning contract needs to be re-tendered, which is what we’ve done. The current cleaners, Mara, do a fantastic job for the hours they’re given. I think there’s only one cleaner on site here and he only works four and a half hours per day, which is twenty two and a half hours per week and I think you agree, for a building of this size, we should really have three main sectors; not people. It’s not enough. And I’ve noticed that several areas where they’re a bit neglected and I feel that the cleaning standard is not up to scratch for that reason. So we have re-tendered to three different companies; actually two different companies, plus Mara – we gave them the opportunity to re-tender. But what we would like to do is to increase the number of cleaners from one to three and keep the same number of hours; so four and a half hours per day; but it would be obviously three operatives, so it will increase the time in terms of pay from one to three. We thought that was the only way to get the standard of cleaning right up to where it should be and improve the overall image of the building. We’ve also tendered to the same companies for a deep clean of the building. I feel the deep clean is necessary, especially on the carpeted areas and the hard floor areas in communal parts of the building. They could definitely do with… they definitely need to be tended to; there’s a lot of areas that, like I say, have been neglected purely because one person has had the duty to carry out that work for a number of years now. Another area we’ve tendered in is for the car park. The car park’s not been cleaned; as far as I’m aware; for fifteen years and it’s not becoming rather dirty and could really do with bringing the image up and bringing the standard up by quite a bit. So we’ve re-tendered to these contractors and we presented the quotes to the board of directors. I had a meeting with Yvonne and David less than a couple of weeks ago; we’ve gone through them and we’re quite happy to proceed with a company called Office & General, known as O&G, to carry out a deep clean to the building. We’ve actually got some dates, probably for next Thursday and Friday now, so they’ll use four operatives for two days to do a deep clean of the whole building. And we’ve also asked them to do the deep cleaning of the car park. Their quotation compared to Templewood, who also tendered, and Mara; they were much cheaper. A lot more competitive. We used O&G on a number of big sites when I was in Kings Cross and they did a fantastic job so I trust that their work’s going to be the same for this building as well. So we would like them to proceed with the deep cleaning of the car park but that would be a much harder task than the overall cleaning for the building because the deep clean for the building, they can just get on with that and they don’t really need to notify you all, although we will put notices up in the communal areas. The car park one is a lot more difficult, purely because first of all, we’re going to have to get people to move their vehicles once we do sections at a time and I’m aware that some people may not be around or people could be on holiday or cars that have been there for a period of time, we don’t know who the actual owner is so it could be a hard task. But the best thing we can do is to write to all (inaudible), notify them that we intend to carry out a deep clean to the car park, which we can do in two weeks, three weeks; depending on what the board of director’s preferences are. Like I say, this will require the cooperation of everyone so that we can, like I say, bring up the standard.
Yvonne: Ideally, on the deep clean of the building, that’s next week; Thursday, Friday; great. So that going into early December, we have much cleaner common areas and then it’s also easier then for ongoing maintenance and you know, we can see whether we really need three operatives going forward or whether actually we could use a smaller number. With respect to the car park, of course this will have to be done in stages. There’s a bit more logistics involved in terms of either asking you to move to park in certain bays for a day while your section of the parking is being cleaned and then you can move back but I mean, if you’ve got any… or you could leave your keys at reception and then your car could be moved into another available parking space or else, failing that, the cleaners will clean around your car to the best of their ability but we accept no liability if there is any damage to your car as a result of that.
Ed: We feel, like I say, the deep clean is really necessary for the car park and we will write to everyone. If no one responds and doesn’t move their car, as Yvonne has mentioned, the cleaners will have to clean around your vehicle. So okay, the car park will certainly look a lot better than it is in its current state but your vehicle may be damaged by the chemicals that are used on the flooring so we would hope that we can get your cooperation on that and get people to move. It won’t all be done in one time; it’ll probably take about five days to do the deep clean because it is a huge area; you know, you’re talking two levels of car park. So it will probably be done over five days and four operatives will be used for that process as well. Does anyone have any questions on that particular aspect?
Audience: What about the storage boxes in the parking spaces?
Ed: We’ve talked about that as well because I’ve noticed obviously on my inspections, there are a number of items that there that shouldn’t be. For a start, they’re against health and safety. Clearly, nothing’s been done in the past about that. The only thing we can do again is to write to everyone and ask them to move these particular items. Now I don’t know whether those items, if they’re in a certain bay, they belong to the person who owns that bay – I’m guessing they do but I hope the board of directors know more than that. We can write to everyone and ask them to move those items and perhaps if they don’t within 14 days of the letter, then we can ask someone to remove them.
Yvonne: Well, I think given that people are going into the holiday period and whatever, I think fourteen days is not necessarily enough time to get people then to move their stuff. So what I would say is yes, if you can move your green box… your storage box around, that would be great. If you can’t, we will clean around it. When Parkgate Aspen come in, in January, we’re going to have the resident guys in, and based on their assessment of the building, they’ll also give us guidance as to what kind of storage we can have. So that then people have time to actually organise their storage in their spaces and whatever.
Ed?: The only reason why I touched on that point about (inaudible) is because it is against health and safety and it’ll be brought up in the health and safety report. The car park shouldn’t have any items in there at all, just the same as the communal areas for the building itself.
Yvonne: We want to comply with health and safety but at the same time, we don’t want to be Draconian so I think it’s important if we identify which other ones are against the health and safety that would need to be moved or adjusted for health and safety rules, we can then contact those particular lease holders. Melyvn do you have a question/comment?
Melvyn Simonson: Elsewhere, we have a problem with abandoned bikes because people leave them in the bike racks from before. So we put coloured tape on the ones that are obviously abandoned, with flat tyres and whatever, and we give them a couple of weeks. After which we go around with bolt cutters and just remove them, have them dumped.
Ed: That’s quite a normal procedure. We do this in a lot of buildings. Especially with a building of this size, you get tenants moving in and out and they may leave a bike behind that they have no use for anymore; it’s old and they naturally just don’t care, they leave it. So again, if you write to people and say please remove your bike if it is yours and if they don’t, then like you say, you can give them two weeks and then have them removed.
Yvonne: Now, on the bikes; just as a general point; we are looking at improving bike storage in the building so that’s one of the things… I don’t think we’ll get there by Christmas but it’s something that we hope to get to as part of the initial day plans for Park Aspen’s early days, to sort out bike storage because we know a lot of people in the building have bikes and it would just be easier to have them more accessible and out of those spaces.
Audience: This is a question related to the green plastic boxes… (inaudible)
Ed: Can I ask you who gave you that information?
Audience: The managing agent. (Inaudible)
Ed: I’m surprised they said that but then again, I don’t know why they said that but all I can say is that if you look at your lease, it would be against the terms of your lease to leave storage items in the car park. But as Yvonne said, I don’t want to be Draconian straightaway and just come in… We just want to manage the building effectively and efficiently for you, the lessees, and we want to get value for money for you; that’s why we’re re-tendering certain contracts but those sort of issues; health and safety wise; they need to be addressed, whether it’s now or within a few months, they do need to be addressed. But I can tell you now that they shouldn’t be there.
Yvonne: Is there nothing you can put in there; no storage?
Ed: Not in the car park, no because a health and safety assessor would see that as flammable items. So in the event of a fire, everyone’s trapped in the car parks. Health and safety assessors are very strict on all those sort of issues. You know, you could have a plant in a communal area and they would see that as a health and safety hazard or a fire risk and sometimes you have to address certain issues in a different way. I mean obviously I personally think a plant may be going over the top but if it’s brought up in the health and safety assessment, you still have to address it.
Yvonne: Okay, so what we have is if we had a health and safety assessment done, because that was the cause of some friction in the past, I would say that we’ll have a look at that report. I don’t recall – because Keith and David and I are all looking at each other – I don’t recall that it specifically gave us bad marks for those but I know that as part of the handover to Parkgate Aspen, they will give us information about what we can and can’t do. And the good news is because we are hoping to go through the freehold transaction purchase, if we can then explicitly say it is against the terms of the lease, we could look at then saying what we can say is acceptable storage in your parking space. That’s part of the advantage of our being in control of the building completely; otherwise we are dealing with third party … I’m just conscious of time and it’s cold. So I think the key message, to summarise, is you’re focused on the accounts, focused on arrears. I must say I was surprised when James Andrew – as you know, we previously did not have a transparency into the financials – and discovered that there are a number of lessees who are actually two years behind on their service charges and the board was never informed of this. So we’re going to be working with James Andrew to try and get that up to date as soon as possible. I think when we move onto the new regime, because as you know, our bank accounts are not currently held in accordance with the landlords and tenants’ act, we’re the ones who control the money and actually it should be in a trust account and the managing agents are generally supposed to provide the trust account that they control. So we will be looking to be compliant and have all the direct debits into that; all of us pay into the trust account because then we have greater protections. And when we do that, the goal is that then you will all be able to, if you wish, pay by direct debit, without having to incur paying a monthly fee for the privilege of paying by direct debit. You know, most companies, when you pay by direct debit, you get a discount on your fees but we’re not in a position to give you a discount but at least we can say we won’t charge you extra for that. So of course we will consult with you as we make those moves so that you’re aware and of course your feedback is always welcome.
Audience: I’ve just got one naïve question.
Audience: It’s about this deep clean in the garage and the basement. There are obviously a lot of leaks in the various basements and are we sure that with the toxic solutions in the top garage, it won’t seep down onto the cars parked underneath? There are some strange holes in this building and you might think you’re very safe doing it.
Ed: That’s something that the company, O&G, says. They’ve already been here a few times and had a look over the building because they’ve also, like I say, tendered for the actual cleaning for the building as well so that’s something they’ll assess.
Yvonne: And they will be working with Callows, so Callow services, who are currently the firm that do most of the plumbing work. They’ve been dealing with the leaks that we have had. Most of the leaks we’ve had in the last six to eight weeks – months, have actually been tenant originated as opposed to something from the building. But we also have had leaks that we are responsible for fixing, which goes down to because the guttering isn’t well or we have blocked pipes because again, the cleaning of certain – you’ve got blockages etc and that’s then caused leaks in other parts of the building. So that’s something that is a separate project; looking at all of that. Any other questions for Ed on what’s happened in the last six weeks or next six weeks? I mean the goal is we’re trying to get the financial accounts finalised by Christmas but that again depends on whether the queries that the accountant has will be answered to a satisfactory degree or not. At this stage then, I’d like to hand over to – to introduce you to Sol (inaudible) from Parkgate Aspen, and he can then introduce Shanaya and also his firm, and if you have and questions for him, please feel free to pose them to him.
This section contains remarks made by the incoming managing agent
Sol: It’s certainly very nice to see so many people being involved. I go to many tenants’ meetings and apathy is the key word there. It is a lot of things to worry about and certainly this building is coming up for its thirtieth birthday and it’s having a kind of mid-life crisis. We made a name for ourselves as a private management company; probably the most established private firm specialising in quality blocks in London. Many others have sold out and are unrecognisable, some are involved in sales and lettings with a totally management operation, My colleague here, Shanaya Prakeh is one of twelve management surveyors in our company, which has thirty-five plus staff who are focused purely in terms of management accounting administration (inaudible). We made a name for ourselves mainly in makeovers of blocks of flats. This one is most certainly one that is ripe for makeover, not because it necessarily would be pleasing but also it’s essential with what’s going on around you. You have a new development coming up across the street, which is going to quickly outshine and outgun all of your values, and you currently have a rather non-inviting and unattractive entrance that you come through every night; this very very cold atrium over here. We see that based on makeovers that we have done to other buildings that every thousand pounds that is invested in the threshold of the building, especially one with so many flats served by that threshold, the maths is just a no brainer; it adds (inaudible) value to your flats. And you need to underpin your values, particularly since that building over there will be without the amazing view that you have, is going to outshine you. You can’t let that happen. Now you have issues from without and within. From within, you have your porterage facilities here; you have great staff but we found them to be very very unsupported and unmotivated and unappreciated for many years. We have something like a hundred and fifty – two hundred porters within our portfolio of blocks of flats and we run them through regular training programmes throughout the year. We take a venue, our managers send specific porters who will probably start, to these training sessions, and it’s not just training, it’s the interaction between porters and porters, and they really feel that they are part of an important industry, which is serving a precedent. So we want your staff to go through that, feel supported, feel valued, and eventually get them proper uniforms so that they will have pride in appearance and you will have pride in their appearance within hopefully, a new environment. (Inaudible) We will also bring in architects, which is general practice; architects and a team of surveyors. And John has made over a hundred buildings for us in St John’s Wood, in Bayswater; details of which you can find on our website; before and after pictures. In the case of the Bayswater property, very similar in age to this building, although not in the same style but certainly the same age bracket; which had been neglected; was a church commissioner’s building; which had been neglected, and once John had finished with it, it was being advertised as probably the best block on the Hyde Park estate. And I think we have that advert somewhere on the website as well. We want to produce this for you and we think we can do this, we have the experience to do this, we’re very excited about doing this. We also want to make this particular building a centrepiece for other buildings that we would hope to do similar work for in this neighbourhood. Right now, we’re in central London; we have a number of blocks in the neighbouring postal districts; two very large new developments there. As far as the water side is concerned, we would like to make an example, show a great example. You will be the beneficiaries of that example and we’ll b the beneficiaries; it’s all in one solution. So over the next coming weeks as we all work up to our (inaudible) takeover, we will be sending round a newsletter to explain where we’re going; what our first one hundred day’s plan is going to be and John will hopefully have some visuals to upload and give you access to; you can vote on things that you like and suggest the things that you would like to see added to that. We’d like as much feedback; this is a really combined effort to bring this place to the next part of its life. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.
Audience: It sounds great but (inaudible)
Sol: Well, you know, as I say, ten thousand spent on a threshold is… the math is a no brainer. There are reserves which are there but we can’t use all of those reserves up for just the cosmetics. You have some serious problems out there; we’ve got leaks from high gutters, which is causing staining and algae and so forth, and so we’ll have to get in abseilers or failing that, scaffolding. But those things are going to have to be addressed. There’ll have to be an initial cleaning to get all those horrible contaminated light bulbs and things cleaned out, cobwebs and stuff. So all that is going to happen hitting the ground, while John is working on his designs. He will produce a Capex capital works plan through which over a period, the most important priorities will be dealt with; front end, and you’ll know exactly how the budgeting’s going to go forward and hopefully with a straight line, you’ll get more bang for your buck in terms of the current service charges and you’ll have best use of money in the bank for the Capex programme.
Yvonne: And so that Capex… that John’s production of a ten year Capex plan, will then allow us to see whether the rate at which we’re currently collecting the reserve fund, whether that needs to be adjusted, either up or down.
John (surveyor): We say, your ten thousand equates roughly, on average, about sixty pounds a flat and I’m sure the value of your flat will have been enhanced by a bit more than sixty pounds with an impressive threshold. (Inaudible) Spend a hundred pounds if you wish. There’s no question; whatever you do spend, within reason obviously… In our sensible view, whatever you do spend on that entrance out there, to warm up this atrium, is going to immediately flow into-
Yvonne: When we talk about the atrium, we’re talking about the porter’s office and everything so we’re looking at completely reconfiguring this space so there’s enough space for storage of the parcels, so it doesn’t look like the Amazon warehouse in there as it will in the run up to Christmas. You know, the back area here, you don’t want to walk past going there but of course to do that within reason. Because I really don’t understand why a flat in Tavern Key… you know, take out the new build discount, why should it get more per square foot than a flat here when most flats have much better views than the one at Tavern Key?
Sol: There’s no way, from a sensible view, you can possibly lose. Whatever you invest in your threshold… and we’ve learnt this from other buildings. And I think after forty-five years managing blocks of flats in London, I’m absolutely convinced that flats in London are undervalued by shoddy common parts, for the want of a lick of paint or the want of a little bit of new lighting and tiling thresholds; they would all go up. But there’s no vision there.
Yvonne: Yeah, no vision yeah. You should be seeing that vision placed before you in about a month’s time.
Audience: Will the (inaudible) of the roof be addressed? (Inaudible) When you approach those flats and also from that side, you can see that the roof has been patched and repaired and filled with various (inaudible) in the last few years? Is that part of the plan?
Sol: Yes, John’s actually eyeballed that.
John: Yeah, it does look as though the roof is coming to the end of its useful life really. We can carry on patching it but at some point we’ll have to bite the bullet and thinking about renewing it. There’s the issue of insulation as well. This was built thirty years ago for artistic merit but not a lot according to how people were going to be doing underneath these roofs. So that would obviously need to be looked at.
Yvonne: Yeah, I know and just to let you know… Was it in early summer? We met one of the project architects on this original project and we met him a couple of times and he showed us some plans which we’re hoping to see how much use they are to us. But he was frankly amazed at the fact that some of the stuff had survived this long. He thought that a lot of things were past their useful life so of course for us, because we know that – March is the halfway through the service charge year – we send out the demand for the second half of the year; if we have a better handle on understanding what the ten year plan is and we can see how much it costs to do the roofs, what would be the best way to do it etc, we can have that transparency and we can then see how much of the existing funds, plus what we’re building up. We’ve got quite a healthy fund being built up; we don’t want to use it unwisely but at the same time, let’s be realistic as to whether it really is enough or not.
Audience: I think in terms of actual purposes, when I was looking at ten year plans… (inaudible) I could see somewhere in the plan, maybe further down, there was going to be expenditure to improve the general appearance. I was spending money on a part of the building that could be affected by the fact that the roof leaks and is well beyond this budget. I think we just need to be careful with the plan.
John: It will be priority then. We will obviously want to have information to which flats are being leaked into as part of that-
Yvonne: Well, part of the problem here is that a leak upstairs can even miss, can go down the side of that and go down a few floors and appear somewhere else. You know, there’s no rhyme or reason to the way the plumbing in this building works.
Audience: So you hope to take over, if you have all the information, from Newton Jones?
Shanaya: Yes, we’ve had instances where we’ve had to hand everything over; we’ve had drips and drabs and eventually we just had to take the lead and identify the issues ourselves but yes, we will be able to.
John: So I was just going to make a point that essentially, what we’re saying is that just so that everyone understands, the capital value of the properties will increase but it’s in a cash flow circumstance to make that happen by paying into the service charge.
Sol: Yeah, I think once you have the ideas in a visual form, and you like them, I think everybody will become interested and enthusiastic about seeing things moving forward on a number of different fronts and when we have that atrium out there, we have this entrance over here so don’t forget (inaudible).
Yvonne: Yeah, the podium and the tower so it’s not only going to be concentrated on here. The whole building is going to be taken care of in terms of common parts.
Sol: And buyers will notice this; noble estate agents will notice that this is part of a programme and this place is being remade. And then again, it all comes down to values, whether it’s sales values or otherwise.
Yvonne: Any other questions for Parkgate Aspen? Also Sol, would you like to comment… you know, in your proposal and you said subject contract, you were going to set up an office in the area. So can you just update us on what’s the progress with that?
Sol: Where are we going to be?
Shanaya: Well, we’ve found an office in Canary Wharf, which is one stop from Canada Water. So that’s the plan to start on the first of January. We take over on the 21st but we obviously need a couple of weeks to get set up, after which you will have our contact details, you’ll have my direct email address and it’ll be a lot easier to come to and fro, as an when. Obviously, I’ll do my weekly inspection but I’m always on the other end of a phone or on email. That’s where we are with that.
Sol: Another thing, in the review of all the contracts we’ve got, we’ll be looking at things like coverage for when the porters are away or sick or so on. At the moment, as you all know, it’s been a bit patchy with some people being good and other people not so good. We want to try and sort that kind of thing out so all the reviews of all the contracts, we’ll be looking at everything that we have here by way of service provision, to make sure that we get really good value for money and that people are reliable and the work they do here is worth what we’re paying them because that hasn’t always been the case.
Audience: Are there any plans for installing fibre optic, because I mentioned it two years ago and nothing has ever been done?
Sol: It is actually in the works at the moment. We’re looking at, at the moment as we use Hyper Optic in a number of other sites and more recently, on a very large development; 360 flats; the (inaudible) asked us to go council to check the (inaudible) green, which is the Wayleave agreement, which they use. And bearing in mind that you’re going to become your own freeholders soon, we felt it’d be useful to plagiarise that council’s agreement; just make sure that whatever we sign up is not (inaudible) is what you want to do here as owner freeholders. So it’s definitely in the works to happen and hyper optic are a very good organisation.
Yvonne: And they’re very keen and so yes, you know, you may recall that yes, we started this discussion about hyper optic two years ago. Before the last AGM, we said we actually had an agreement, we’d agreed the Wayleave agreement but we, the board, Baltic Quay Management, couldn’t sign it. It had to be signed by the freeholder; the freeholder decided not to sign it because he wanted to sell the freehold to us. We’ve kept in touch with hyper optic and what they’ve now done is said that… We said we’ve got the freehold processes better, it’s going on course and everything, and what they’ve said is that they’re willing to take the risk and actually order, put the order in to BT, because it takes 3 months for BT to then plumb the fibre out here. To do that, because we hope to have the freehold within 3 months, and so that as soon as we have the freehold, we can sign the Wayleave agreement but in principal, the position we’re in now with Parkgate Aspen is that at least if we can say right, the Wayleave agreement is ready to go, it’s just a question of we need to have… We have the freehold companies set up; that was done last week; but to be ready to go for that. Hyper optic also realise that as David or Tom had mentioned a while ago, that… I think one of you said hyper optic are aware that BT is planning to put in fibre optic in this area and so, hyper optic accept that eventually some people might switch away from their service, right? Because the deal with hyper optic is that they will put it into the building and they will run the cables to everyone’s front door, and then it’s up to you to decide whether you want to sign up and get it into your flat or not. That’s at their cost and of course there’s an advantage to signing up initially, as part of the first wave, as opposed to signing up later. And we’ve dealt with the concerns over what happens if you have a tenant who wants it and the landlord doesn’t want to pay for it, the tenant’s paying for it and then the tenant moves out part way through their contract period with hyper optic; that’s all being taken care of. So we’re really hopeful that we will have the service in place in the next few months like as a reality.
Sol: We just want to make sure that in a year, two years, something doesn’t come up which we miss and it’s because hyper optic are so keen, we need to make sure that we cover all our bases before signing.
Audience Speaker: You just move from hyper optic installation; I’m still on the Facebook group and it isn’t going at all well. But I think it’s mainly because this is a group of five or six squares and how to cable it appropriately. They’ve done a lot of external work and there’s been lots of complaints about the visual appearance of the cables on the outside of the buildings and that needs to be addressed.
Sol: And that’s the problem; they want to get in straightaway and they start putting cabling everywhere and you kind of have to take a step back because for them, they’re in the building and that’s fine but for everyone else they have to look at these cables. So yeah, we just want to make sure that like Yvonne said, it’s in the pipeline and it’s almost there; we just need to make sure the legalities on the Wayleave are up to scratch.
Yvonne: Okay, any other questions? No? Okay.
Audience: Sorry, I have one more question. So it’s a bit of a controversial topic probably. So I have a pet policy at work and I want to bring up the potential of having small dogs in the premises.
Melvyn: You say small dog and then someone will come with a Labrador. Who’s going to measure the size of a dog; let alone the noise they make? And much as I’m a cat lover; we have a cat at home; and that is a difficult question, I can assure you. Sorry. I wanted to get in just in case.
Yvonne: That’s all right, thank you, Melvyn. You’re always welcome back on the board again next year. Your health seems to have recovered quite well.
Melvyn: Yes, thank you.
Yvonne: I mean in terms of animals it’s against the terms of the lease. When we require the freehold, we can look at it. But there are many reasons why in… this building especially also has a problem with echoing. So I know someone has told me well, babies make noise too. I said yes but babies don’t cry forever and they grow up and we have lots of young kids who don’t make noise in this building. So you can train them etc… But I think for now we’re not in a position to promise anything about that question, that’s a question for a different time, for a different company, not for Baltic Quay Management; the lease holders.
Melvyn: Even if you had freehold, you won’t be able to change those leases.
Audience: Or a 163 wouldn’t agree and then you’d have to pay.
Yvonne: Right, exactly.
Audience Speaker: Can I suggest instead of a dog we had a hawk?
Yvonne: That’s a very good idea; the hawk. We’ll talk about that. I think some of you also have these pigeon spikes which are very unsightly and if you have balconies in a tower, you have the (inaudible)… So both John and Sol were talking about some more recent… Well, we think are brand new; innovations of dealing with this that don’t involve such ghastly spikes.
Audience Speaker: There are new systems, like a very tight steel thread, which keeps the pigeons off so we certainly want to get rid of all those unsightly spikes.
Yvonne: And fake hawks apparently do the trick.
Audience Speaker: And the genuine ones.
Yvonne: And the genuine ones. Maybe we should get some fake hawks for Christmas and see if they work.
Audience: There are a few places where pigeons roost. So if the pigeon has a roosting spot, then they’re much harder to deter. If you get rid of the roosting spots, there’s much more chance of it being effective.
Shanaya: We’ll definitely look at all this. When we start going through our list of what needs to be done.
Sol: Going back to the building across the road, going back to hyper optic for a moment, recently particularly there have been similar problems with TV reception in the building. The system here’s pretty old and it’s not been kept up to date; it’s not been maintained as it should’ve been, which what’s caused some of the problems. I think hyper optic are saying that they would also be able to perhaps have an alternative facility for TV reception as well, which might help.
Yvonne: Yeah but I mean the TV-
John: That’s later on, that’s further down the line. We’re trying to get that accelerated in some of our other buildings but we’ve had to install digital and TV reception, which are some very very good systems, Again you know, as our needs basis, if that’s what you wanted to do much earlier on, between 163 flats, the kit will be comparatively cheaper than it would be on some of the buildings we’ve done.
Audience speaker: In relation to the white foam pads as you walk into each door, they get broken as the wind kind of flies out-
Yvonne: You mean in each flat?
Audience speaker: Yeah, as you walk in. I’ve seen some pigeons in there for a number of months; I feel like I’m making pigeon omelettes in the morning. Who’s responsible for that; is that-?
Sol: As managing agents, we’d want to treat those areas as common parts because if we don’t, and everybody does something different, and we wind up with complete patchwork. So we want to find a solution to that.
Yvonne: Pigeons are high on the list. In addition to also the CCTV; camera and security.
Yvonne: The CCTV system here again, is old. It’s not digital so the recording here is not very good. Most of the cameras are only black and white and don’t produce clear images of car numbers and so on. The two most up to date ones are the ones that were put into the porter’s office to keep an eye on the porters, which I think speaks volumes. The police often come here because obviously in this area, there is quite a lot of activity during day and night. As you know, from time to time, we get spates of street robberies and so on. George is (inaudible) he is, but he does need a CCTV system that works properly as well. So that when the police come here, they can look at these recordings and they can see what’s going on rather than a blurred black and white image that doesn’t really tell much at all. And it’s also for the protection of the porters because they petrol around the building and so they really need to see who’s outside and what’s going on outside before they step outside themselves, which is fair enough.
Shanaya: That’s one of the things we saw when we first came here. I’ve actually got in one of my buildings a really good system; state of the art cameras, the imagery’s really clear and actually the police came to that block – there was an incident in the street and our camera was facing it. And now everything is wireless so I have access to the system as well from my desk. Again, it’s on the list.
Sol: Again, if we make a comparison with the building opposite, they probably have up to date CCTV covering much the same bit of road, which would be quite useful. I don’t know how far away they are from completion.
Yvonne: Don’t know. Okay, thank you.
Audience: I have a question for Sol. (Inaudible) some things you’ve mentioned in terms of success over the next 12-18 months… would you want to have surgeries and consultations? (Inaudible).
Sol: Well, we certainly would want to have surgeries in the early parts in order to get the handover; no fault of JAR, has been sparse. We would much rather have surgery sessions so that people can tell us, quarterly, if they’ve got a problem with insurance payments, they’ve got issues with floors; whatever happens to be; we need to go through that process. In our experience, surgeries eventually peter out when people’s problems are dealt with. And then everyone will pretty much know; Shanaya and I and other representatives, will be around here; of course we will be. We won’t know exactly when that will be but yeah, it will be an ongoing process.
Yvonne: (Inaudible), have you got any questions?
Audience: I pretty much haven’t. Just referring back to what JAR said about the process (inaudible); the selected view, there’s a paragraph under ‘services commitment’, I was curious about your response to us. I’m quite a fan of SLAs and I like the idea of seeing timelines and (inaudible)…
Sol: It doesn’t work very well and probably in practice, the SLA. It works very well as a service… Basically, what we have is that we have a totally dedicated management staff. All of the service personnel; the porters, the directors, have mobile phones and everyone who’s going to be involved with this; everything will be responded to pretty much the same day. We have a 24/7 business line; we have a live answering facility. So Sunday morning over Christmas, somebody’s got a leak in their flat, they’re going to be speaking to a (inaudible) surveyor by calling our main telephone number and the operator who’s answering that is a property manager and that property manager has a list of all the approved contractors that we use in this building for whatever particular purpose. That’s how it gets dealt with. It’s a very very different set up. So we could create all kinds of SLA statistics and targets and so forth but actually it’s not an issue; we do things in a very very different way to others. It’s the best way I can explain it. I think SLAs would probably cramp our style. Am I explaining it right?
Shanaya: Yeah, I mean in terms of… Are you talking about responses to emails or calls?
Audience: Calls… (inaudible)
Shanaya: For example, say it’s going to be me; I’m going to be the designated manager. So if I was in the office and it’s something I can deal with straightaway, i.e.: you emailed me and said I have a statement of account for my flat, I would respond to you straightaway, if I was in the office. If I was out, I would send you an email that same day saying I’m out at the moment but I’ll get my assistant to do it or I’ll do it tomorrow morning or whenever I get back. You’ll never, and I don’t know if I should say this now, there’ll never be a week goes by or four-five days where you just get ignored. You’ll always get either a holding email if I can’t deal with it straightaway or I’ll refer you to the office and say give them a call, they’ll help you. But Sol’s right, working like that, it does cramp our style because there may be a time when I get sent an email at 10pm. If I can reply to it, I will. If I don’t think I need to reply, it can wait till the morning, then I’ll do it in the morning. So we don’t really work in that way but I mean always if you send an email and it’s not replied to that same day, you can always give us a call and it could be that I wasn’t working that day or I was out of the office or an emergency came up, but we always endeavour to reply to you the same day or at least within 24 hours.
Sol: And everyone will have, through our newsletters and whatever… online website that we have, a road map of which of our thirty-five staff are particularly dedicated or most commonly associated with your block. So it will be colour coded; this person is responsible as the portfolio manager of the accounts department, this person is the manager’s assistant, whose dealing with Shanaya. This is Shanaya, this is me, here is my FD, and so forth. You will have the DDI numbers and the email addresses of all of those. So it won’t be a situation where if you need a statement of account, you wouldn’t know where to get a statement of account.
Shanaya: And we understand that communication is a big failure of some managing agents and Sol has hammered that into all of us. So even if we can’t help you straightaway, we need to make it known that we’ve received what you’re saying and that we’ll get an answer to you as soon as we can.
Audience Speaker: (Inaudible)
Shanaya: In terms of units? Not including Baltic Quay… about 560. My second biggest one is 157 flats. So similar in size but not similar in age. Not actually much similarity, just size.
Audience Speaker: Do you set a target for (inaudible) property management to have so many units?
Sol: Because we’re a private… And we haven’t got people managing us for all kinds of things like shareholders, we’ve got the lowest ratio of blocks to managers of pretty much any firm; any similar firm to us. At the end of the day, a manager’s got two ears and there’s so many hours in a day and (inaudible) he or she is going to respond to calls. You can’t just say to them you’re managing 560 units this week and next month you’re going to be managing 1200 units, which does happen in the industry but it certainly doesn’t happen with us. We have 12 management surveyors and the burden is very nicely shared out between them.
Audience Speaker: I’m just trying to gauge what the optimum number was or will be.
Sol: I think it should certainly not be any more than 750 flats and again, some buildings are different to others. You know, our largest estate is 360 flats so sometimes a block of 7 flats will cause more problems than bigger ones.
Shanaya: I was going to say one block of thirteen flats causes more hassle than a block of 70 that I have. Hassle, I mean work…
Sol: It’s the 80/20 principle, you know.
This section was chaired by Yvonne and continues the discussion on the main agenda items
Yvonne: But as part of the handover and moving to our mid-life or past our midlife crisis, we’ve had really great support from you in terms of giving us your up to date email addresses so we can contact you by email. It’s faster. We are putting internet in the porter’s office and you will be able to communicate with them by email and they are hopefully going to be emailing you when you get a package so that you don’t have to think do I have a package, do I not have a package etc? And we’d like to also have that communication; back up communication also with Parkgate Aspen in addition to the telephone calls and the onsite visits. But I know some of you here are not resident in the building and you are renting a flat; we need up to date details for the tenants. You know, partly it’s because we’ve started… the porters are receiving packages and they don’t recognise the names; they’re addressed to a flat in Baltic Quay; they don’t know the name. We really don’t want to be taking packages for people who don’t live here. And then also because they are resident in the building, they also have a right to know about some of these changes that we’re putting through and so we’d like to at least have a mechanism by which they’re also part of our community, who are aware of what’s going on because landlords won’t always tell them and may not always feel the need to tell them. And if they want to put into common parts or what we share then why not? So for those of you who are landlords; actually, just for everyone; can you please make sure that we have up to date – you’ll maybe get sidetracked by George asking you to just confirm that we’ve got the right telephone numbers; mobile telephone number; for you? We’re only missing a few email addresses for the 163 owners, which is quite good but then for the tenants, it’s very patchy because of course for some flats, they have more turnover than others. So we’re just asking for your help in that. Then just coming onto… So thanks very much from a managing agent perspective. Just now coming back to company business. A few people have remarked that they noticed Keith Duncan’s name disappeared off the last newsletter and we didn’t actually formally announce it. So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Keith Duncan for his contribution. You may recall that at the AGM he did signal… We were voting on whether he should stay on as a director or not; he did signal that irrespective of the decision, he was going to step down by the end of the year. So Keith… some people are questioning if you’re stepping down because we appointed Parkgate Aspen.
Yvonne: And at the same time, I’d like to take the opportunity to welcome Jane … We’ve co-opted Jane Bowey onto the board so Jane, perhaps you just want to introduce yourself to the rest.
Jane: Hello. I’m going to stand up. Hello everybody. My name’s Jane Bowie and I’ve lived in this building for three years. I’m high up in the tower so very cold and very interested to see what we can do to insulate it if possible. I’m an insurance underwriter and my background in insurance is five years plus so I hope to be able to help the board with any insurance issues that we may have and may have going forwards. And I’m just really looking forward to being a part of this and getting to know everybody so thank you.
Yvonne: Thank you, Jane. Ed – I think you can leave now. We just have a break in the meeting because then we can talk about the freehold; brief freehold update. It’s only going to take a few minutes so if you want to hang around, you’re welcome to but if you want to go, I don’t want you to… Okay. Just a quick update on other things. You may recall that we had said about the… we increased the service charge slightly. The explanation we gave is that the increase was mainly to help us with the payroll… the view towards paying the porters a living wage because I think most of you recognise porters, in addition to feeling undervalued and demotivated, are also poorly paid. Some of them are basically paid minimum wage and that may contribute to part of the situation that we have now. So of course we’ve taken some… JR have given us some ideas as to what he going rate is for a porter. We know that we have a deadline by which we have to start paying a living wage or something… And we also have a pension enrolment but we’re not due on the pension enrolment until 2017. Okay, so we have to take that into account when we look at the age of people like George etc. What we would like to do is, given that we’ve increased the service charge a little bit, is give the porters an increase but not a full increase to where we think they should be because part of this; we did have a review of the job descriptions and that was also causing a lot of pain in the last 12-18 months. Parkgate Aspen, as part of their standard management charge, do cover health and safety assessments, they do cover payroll, HR issues so we will not have to pay an external consultant for support in these areas. What we would like them to do is, you know once our porters have gone through their training course etc and have a better appreciation of what is expected for the role, you know then we would seek to then tie the increase up, to get them gradually to actual improvement in performance. We don’t want to just increase your service charge, you know ask you in March to pay an extra… I don’t know how many hundred pounds on top because we’ve increased the salaries from a very low starting point. So we recognise we have to be fair to the porters and we are going to be fair to them but it’s just that we may not get to where we need to get to immediately. But the goal is we are going to give them an increase that will be back dated to the start of the service charge year and we will give them… They did receive a Christmas bonus last year for the first time ever but this year they will receive a slightly larger one. So that’s on company business. In terms of the freehold, as you can see Chris McCartney isn’t here; he wasn’t able to make it but in terms of… We sent out the update and in the update you will have seen that he gave some ideas as to the different companies’ structure. At the time he wrote that letter, we had not formed the (inaudible) that would buy the freehold. We have formed it; it’s registered and we have notified the freeholder and they have confirmed receipt of the notification of the (inaudible) so now they’re in the process of preparing the contracts for the purchase and for us to be able to exchange because then we have the statutory 2 month period to exchange contracts. And they’re also going to respond to some enquiries around the parking. Alongside that, the council was already instructed on the parking issue, to talk about some ways… The key question, do I take on an extra liability if I become a freeholder and also how can we really solve the problem in a painless way; the least painful way? I spoke with Chris McCartney on Friday and then following that, he briefed me on the updates he’d had; the discussion he had with the council. I spoke again with one of his team this afternoon and I have a call with him early tomorrow morning. There is a letter we then hope to be able to; once it goes to the council; we’re going to summarise for you so you can see where we are at the moment. So I can’t say that we’ve got the magic solution but we’re not going to do anything that would mean we’re taking on additional personal liability for that issue. There are a number of different options of dealing with the parking issues; some more timely than others. Yes, it affects only twenty percent of the flats, but if you’re in that group of twenty-twenty five percent who are affected, it is a big issue for you. If you’re not in that group, if you’re in the majority not affected by the issue, of course you’re concerned about do you take on any extra costs by participating in freehold? That would not be the case.
Audience speaker : If you’re in that group, would you know it?
Yvonne: You may know it but I can send you the parking report that was done earlier this year that could tell you if you are in it. Yes, so happy to do that. And we’re hoping to on our Baltic Quay London website a library for all this freehold related stuff; so all the communications and emails and the documents that we’ve sent; just have a library there that you can access. The issue… Tom is our communications person. The issue we have is that at the moment, the website is open; it’s not fully protected. We wouldn’t want some of those documents to be available in the public domain and so the question is how we can make a part of the website protected so that only people who have a right to access that information can.
Yvonne: No, he’s doing a great job in supporting us on that so just be a little bit patient with us to get some of that stuff but when we do have that part of the site, we will have things like you know, you need a copy of the insurance request policy for your remortgage and also the basic information that you need for a sale pack… You know, should be able to have it accessible to you. And also the financial things because that was one of the things Parkgate Aspen assured us, as part of the (inaudible), yes, they can produce quarterly accounts no problem and those should be available to us within a certain period at end of the quarter. So at least then we can understand what is happening with our money here and where we are. So happy to take any questions, otherwise I’ll close the meeting because we’re all going to become ice blocks.
Audience speaker: I don’t really understand. Which of the four ideas is going to be adopted? I don’t know the subtleties to it.
Yvonne: We’re going to have a vote on it. I think what we’re going to do is we want to give people a bit more information. At the moment the company that we formed is called Baltic Quay London Freehold Limited; we thought we’d do Baltic Quay London because there is a Baltic Quay I think in Newcastle or somewhere. We don’t want to confuse the two. Plus it also is easy to remember with our website. That’s a company limited by shares but companies’ law has changed so much now that you can set up a company with one structure and then you can change it relatively easily.
Audience speaker: So you haven’t yet decided?
Yvonne: So we haven’t yet decided, no.
Audience speaker : We’ll get some more info on it.
Yvonne: We’ll get some more information and then we’ll let people give us an indication as to which option they prefer. There may be a third option, I don’t know. But to that end, I’d also like to invite people to put themselves forward to be on the board of the Freehold Company. It is a separate legal entity to the Baltic Quay management. Yes, we have a lot of crossover because now we have about 123-124 flats who are participating and we’ve had some more queries come in in the last few days. So we’re hoping that that number will continue to increase and we think some people are just waiting to see where we land clearly on the parking issue before they decide to go in or not. Just to reassure you on some of the concerns around the costs… I mean, we had asked people to contribute to the budget up to £1000, if we were splitting the cost equally. You remember the freehold evaluation report indicated that there are a number of flats that are in short-term leases and they’re the ones who are actually driving most of the cost of the freehold. You know, of the £24,450 and it’s common practice that you would then allocate that share according to your flat’s percentage of the independent valuation of the freehold, which is about £65,000. So basically if you’re in flats 7-17, you’re going to pay more than 150 for your share of freehold plus legal costs. If you’re in other flats, you’re going to pay less and some of you will pay considerably less than that for your share of freehold. But the legal costs are allocated equally across the piece because there is no difference in work based on what your floor size is.
Audience speaker: Am I right in thinking all the parking spaces will be redistributed?
Yvonne: Not all of them. Not all of them will be redistributed but there are some people who are going to have to move back to where their lease originally said they should be parking because they moved onto a space that wasn’t available for them to move onto.
Audience speaker: I’m only asking this because I don’t have a space.
Yvonne: But are you in a flat that never had a space or are you in a flat that actually has a-?
Audience speaker: I’m in flat xxx. (Inaudible)
Yvonne: So one of the things that the barrister is looking at and this is in the next piece of advice that has come out, he’s explored the idea of applying to the tribunal… We can take on the freehold knowing what we need to do but one of the ideas with fixing as opposed to having to vary everybody’s lease individually would be to actually get the tier one tribunal to vary everyone’s lease onto a particular plan. And that variation would be filed at land registry so then when you come to sell your flat, they’ll pull out the original lease and then they will pull down this one with the new plan because eventually, over time, you remember we have 4 different versions of even the same parking plan. We need to get to, over time, an ideal world, one consistent version because then you’re not going to be in a situation where you buy a space not knowing that somebody actually had a deed of variation over your space because most surveyors will not actually do a search of the whole title and get all the title deeds, all the deeds of variation and then work through that as part of the standard fee that you pay for selling your flat or buying a flat. They just won’t do that. It’s not within the terms of what they normally do. But we’re hoping also that the overall improvements we make to the building will benefit everyone and offset any potential reduction in the price of your flat because you might still have a dispute, a potentially disputed parking space.
Audience: So are you notifying everyone who (inaudible)?
Yvonne: We will notify everyone; that’s part of my pre-Christmas… No, I’ll do it after Christmas; I won’t spoil anyone’s Christmas. Everyone had access to the report but they may not have paid attention to it because it was at a time when we had a lot of communications going out and ping pong and everything but yes, we will be notifying those particular flats involved. In the interests of transparency, everyone gets a copy of all the documentation so you will be able to see it as part of making your final decision. Well, thank you for coming. | <urn:uuid:206fb3d6-09b8-4d6c-afee-46789169eaed> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.balticquay.org.uk/2016/01/ | 2018-08-17T18:40:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212768.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817182657-20180817202657-00520.warc.gz | en | 0.971295 | 14,749 |
Laddie, A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter
Chapter XV. Laddie, the Princess, and the Pie
"O whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad."
Candace was baking the very first batch of rhubarb pies for the season and the odour was so tempting I couldn't keep away from the kitchen door. Now Candace was a splendid cook about chicken gizzards--the liver was always mother's--doughnuts and tarts, but I never really did believe she would cut into a fresh rhubarb pie, even for me. As I reached for the generous big piece I thought of Laddie poor Laddie, plowing away at his Crusader fight, and not a hint of victory. No one in the family liked rhubarb pie better than he did. I knew there was no use to ask for a plate.
"Wait--oh wait!" I cried.
I ran to the woodshed, pulled a shining new shingle from a bale stacked there, and held it for Candace. Then I slipped around the house softly. I didn't want to run any one's errands that morning. I laid the pie on the horseblock and climbed the catalpa carefully, so as not to frighten my robins. They were part father's too, because robins were his favourite birds; he said their song through and after rain was the sweetest music on earth, and mostly he was right; so they were not all my robins, but they were most mine after him; and I owned the tree. I hunted the biggest leaf I could see, and wiped it clean on my apron, although it was early for much dust. It covered the pie nicely, because it was the proper shape, and I held the stem with one hand to keep it in place.
If I had made that morning myself I couldn't have done better. It was sunny, spring air, but it was that cool, spicy kind that keeps you stopping every few minutes to see just how full you can suck your lungs without bursting. It seemed to wash right through and through and make you all over. The longer you breathed it the clearer your head became, and the better you felt, until you would be possessed to try and see if you really couldn't fly. I tried that last summer, and knocked myself into jelly. You'd think once would have been enough, but there I was going down the road with Laddie's pie, and wanting with all my heart to try again.
Sometimes I raced, but I was a little afraid the pie would shoot from the shingle and it was like pulling eye teeth to go fast that morning. I loved the soft warm dust, that was working up on the road. Spat! Spat! I brought down my bare feet, already scratched and turning brown, and laughed to myself at the velvety feel of it. There were little puddles yet, where May and I had "dipped and faded" last fall, and it was fun to wade them. The roadsides were covered with meadow grass and clover that had slipped through the fence. On slender green blades, in spot after spot, twinkled the delicate bloom of blue-eyed grass. Never in all this world was our Big Creek lovelier. It went slipping, and whispering, and lipping, and lapping over the stones, tugging at the rushes and grasses as it washed their feet; everything beside it was in masses of bloom, a blackbird was gleaming and preening on every stone, as it plumed after its bath. Oh there's no use to try--it was just spring when it couldn't possibly be any better.
But even spring couldn't hold me very long that morning, for you see my heart was almost sick about Laddie; and if he couldn't have the girl he wanted, at least I could do my best to comfort him with the pie. I was going along being very careful the more I thought about how he would like it, so I was not watching the road so far ahead as I usually did. I always kept a lookout for Paddy Ryan, Gypsies, or Whitmore's bull. When I came to an unusually level place, and took a long glance ahead, my heart turned right over and stopped still, and I looked long enough to be sure, and then right out loud some one said, "I'll do something!" and as usual, I was the only one there.
For days I'd been in a ferment, like the vinegar barrel when the cider boils, or the yeast jar when it sets too close to the stove. To have Laddie and the Princess separated was dreadful, and knowing him as I did, I knew he never really would get over it. I had tried to help once, and what I had done started things going wrong; no wonder I was slow about deciding what to try next. That I was going to do something, I made up my mind the instant Laddie said he was not mad at me; that I was his partner, and asked me to help; but exactly what would do any good, took careful thought.
Here was my chance coming right at me. She was far up the road, riding Maud like racing. I began to breathe after a while, like you always do, no matter how you are worked up, and with my brain whirling, I went slowly toward her. How would I manage to stop her? Or what could I say that would help Laddie? I was shaking, and that's the truth; but through and over it all, I was watching her too. I only wish you might have seen her that morning. Of course the morning was part of it. A morning like that would make a fence post better looking. Half a mile away you could see she was tipsy with spring as I was, or the song sparrows, or the crazy babbling old bobolinks on the stakes and riders. She made such a bright splash against the pink fence row, with her dark hair, flushed cheeks, and red lips, she took my breath. Father said she was the loveliest girl in three counties, and Laddie stretched that to the whole world. As she came closer, smash! through me went the thought that she looked precisely as Shelley had at Christmas time; and Shelley had been that way because she was in love with the Paget man. Now if the Princess was gleaming and flashing like that, for the same reason, there wasn't any one for her to love so far as I knew, except Laddie.
Then smash! came another thought. She had to love him! She couldn't help herself. She had all winter, all last summer, and no one but themselves knew how long before that, and where was there any other man like Laddie? Of course she loved him! Who so deserving of love? Who else had his dancing eyes of deep tender blue, cheeks so pink, teeth so white, such waving chestnut hair, and his height and breadth? There was no other man who could ride, swim, leap, and wrestle as he could. None who could sing the notes, do the queer sums with letters having little figures at the corners in the college books, read Latin as fast as English, and even the Greek Bible. Of course she loved him! Every one did! Others might plod and meander, Laddie walked the tired, old road that went out of sight over the hill, with as prideful a step as any king; his laugh was as merry as the song of the gladdest thrush, while his touch was so gentle that when mother was in dreadful pain I sometimes thought she would a little rather have him hold her than father.
Now, he was in this fearful trouble, the colour was going from his face, his laugh was a little strained, and the heartache almost more than he could endure--and there she came! I stepped squarely in the middle of the road so she would have to stop or ride over me, and when she was close, I stood quite still. I was watching with my eyes, heart, and brain, and I couldn't see that she was provoked, as she drew rein and cried: "Good morning, Little Queer Person!"
I had supposed she would say Little Sister, she had for ages, just like Laddie, but she must have thought it was queer for me to stop her that way, so she changed. I was in for it. I had her now, so I smiled the very sweetest smile that I could think up in such a hurry, and said, "Good morning," the very politest I ever did in all my life. Then I didn't know what to do next, but she helped me out.
"What have you there?" she asked.
"It's a piece of the very first rhubarb pie for this spring, and I'm carrying it to Laddie," I said, as I lifted the catalpa leaf and let her peep, just to show her how pie looked when it was right. I bet she never saw a nicer piece.
The Princess slid her hand down Maud's neck to quiet her prancing, and leaned in the saddle, her face full of interest. I couldn't see a trace of anything to discourage me; her being on our road again looked favourable. She seemed to think quite as much of that pie as I did. She was the finest little thoroughbred. She understood so well, I was sorry I couldn't give it to her. It made her mouth water all right, for she drew a deep breath that sort of quivered; but it was no use, she didn't get that pie.
"I think it looks delicious," she said. "Are you carrying it for Candace?"
"No! She gave it to me. It's my very own."
"And you're doing without it yourself to carry it to Laddie, I'll be bound!" cried the Princess.
"I'd much rather," I said.
"Do you love Laddie so dearly?" she asked.
My heart was full of him right then; I forgot all about when I had the fever, and as I never had been taught to lie, I told her what I thought was the truth, and I guess it was: "Best of any one in all this world!"
The Princess looked across the field, where she must have seen him finishing the plowing, and thought that over, and I waited, sure in my mind, for some reason, that she would not go for a little while longer.
"I have been wanting to see you," she said at last. "In fact I think I came this way hoping I'd meet you. Do you know the words to a tune that goes like this?"
Then she began to whistle "The Merry Farmer Boy." I wish you might have heard the flourishes she put to it.
"Of course I do," I answered. "All of us were brought up on it."
"Well, I have some slight curiosity to learn what they are," she said. "Would you kindly repeat them for me?"
"Yes," I said. "This is the first verse:
"`See the merry farmer boy tramp the meadows through, Swing his hoe in careless joy while dashing off the dew. Bobolink in maple high----'
"Of course you can see for yourself that they're not. There isn't a single one of them higher than a fence post. The person who wrote the piece had to put it that way so high would rhyme with reply, which is coming in the next line."
"I see!" said the Princess.
"`Bobolink in maple high, trills a note of glee Farmer boy a gay reply now whistles cheerily.'
"Then you whistle the chorus like you did it."
"You do indeed!" said the Princess. "Proceed!"
"`Then the farmer boy at noon, rests beneath the shade, Listening to the ceaseless tune that's thrilling through the glade. Long and loud the harvest fly winds his bugle round, Long, and loud, and shrill, and high, he whistles back the sound.'"
"He does! He does indeed! I haven't a doubt about that!" cried the Princess. "`Long, and loud, and shrill, and high,' he whistles over and over the sound, until it becomes maddening. Is that all of that melodious, entrancing production?"
"No, evening comes yet. The last verse goes this way:
"`When the busy day's employ, ends at dewy eve, Then the happy farmer boy, doth haste his work to leave, Trudging down the quiet lane, climbing o'er the hill, Whistling back the changeless wail, of plaintive whip-poor-will,'--
and then you do the chorus again, and if you know how well enough you whistle in, `whip-poor-will,' 'til the birds will answer you. Laddie often makes them."
"My life!" cried the Princess. "Was that he doing those bird cries? Why, I hunted, and hunted, and so did father. We'd never seen a whip-poor-will. Just fancy us!"
"If you'd only looked at Laddie," I said.
"My patience!" cried the Princess. "Looked at him! There was no place to look without seeing him. And that ear-splitting thing will ring in my head forever, I know."
"Did he whistle it too high to suit you, Princess?"
"He was perfectly welcome to whistle as he chose," she said, "and also to plow with the carriage horses, and to bedeck them and himself with the modest, shrinking red tulip and yellow daffodil."
Now any one knows that tulips and daffodils are not modest and shrinking. If any flowers just blaze and scream colour clear across a garden, they do. She was provoked, you could see that.
"Well, he only did it to please you," I said. "He didn't care anything about it. He never plowed that way before. But you said he mustn't plow at all, and he just had to plow, there was no escaping that, so he made it as fine and happy as possible to show you how nicely it could be done."
"Greatly obliged, I'm sure!" cried the Princess. "He showed me! He certainly did! And so he feels that there's `no escaping' plowing, does he?"
Then I knew where I was. I'd have given every cent of mine in father's chest till, if mother had been in my place. Once, for a second, I thought I'd ask the Princess to go with me to the house, and let mother tell her how it was; but if she wouldn't go, and rode away, I felt I couldn't endure it, and anyway, she had said she was looking for me; so I gripped the shingle, dug in my toes and went at her just as nearly like mother talked to her father as I could remember, and I'd been put through memory tests, and descriptive tests, nearly every night of my life, so I had most of it as straight as a string.
"Well, you see, he can't escape it," I said. "He'd do anything in all this world for you that he possibly could; but there are some things no man can do."
"I didn't suppose there was anything you thought Laddie couldn't do," she said.
"A little time back, I didn't," I answered. "But since he took the carriage horses, trimmed up in flowers, and sang and whistled so bravely, day after day, when his heart was full of tears, why I learned that there was something he just couldn't do; not to save his life, or his love, or even to save you."
"And of course you don't mind telling me what that is?" coaxed the Princess in her most wheedling tones.
"Not at all! He told our family, and I heard him tell your father. The thing he can't do, not even to win you, is to be shut up in a little office, in a city, where things roar, and smell, and nothing is like this----"
I pointed out the orchard, hill, and meadow, so she looked where I showed her--looked a long time.
"No, a city wouldn't be like this," she said slowly.
"And that isn't even the beginning," I said. "Maybe he could bear that, men have been put in prison and lived through years and years of it, perhaps Laddie could too; I doubt it! but anyway the worst of it is that he just couldn't, not even to save you, spend all the rest of his life trying to settle other people's old fusses. He despises a fuss. Not one of us ever in our lives have been able to make him quarrel, even one word. He simply won't. And if he possibly could be made to by any one on earth, Leon would have done it long ago, for he can start a fuss with the side of a barn. But he can't make Laddie fuss, and nobody can. He never would at school, or anywhere. Once in a while if a man gets so overbearing that Laddie simply can't stand it, he says: `Now, you'll take your medicine!' Then he pulls off his coat, and carefully, choosing the right spots, he just pounds the breath out of that man, but he never stops smiling, and when he helps him up he always says: `Sorry! hope you'll excuse me, but you would have it.' That's what he said about you, that you had to take your medicine----"
I made a mistake there. That made her too mad for any use.
"Oh," she cried, "I do? I'll jolly well show the gentleman!"
"Oh, you needn't take the trouble," I cried. "He's showing you!"
She just blazed like she'd break into flame. Any one could fuss with her all right; but that was the last thing on earth I wanted to do.
"You see he already knows about you," I explained as fast as I could talk, for I was getting into an awful mess. "You see he knows that you want him to be a lawyer, and that he must quit plowing before he can be more than friends with you. That's what he's plowing for! If it wasn't for that, probably he wouldn't; be plowing at all. He asked father to let him, and he borrowed mother's horses, and he hooked the flowers through the fence. Every night when he comes home, he kneels beside mother and asks her if he is `repulsive,' and she takes him in her arms and the tears roll down her cheeks and she says: `Father has farmed all his life, and you know how repulsive he is.'"
I ventured an upward peep. I was doing better. Her temper seemed to be cooling, but her face was a jumble. I couldn't find any one thing on it that would help me, so I just stumbled ahead guessing at what to say.
"He didn't want to do it. He perfectly hated it. Those fields were his Waterloo. Every furrow was a fight, but he was forced to show you."
"Exactly what was he trying to show me?"
"I can think of three things he told me," I answered. "That plowing could be so managed as not to disfigure the landscape----"
"The dunce!" she said.
"That he could plow or do dirtier work, and not be repulsive----"
"The idiot!" she said.
"That if he came over there, and plowed right under your nose, when you'd told him he mustn't, or he couldn't be more than friends; and when you knew that he'd much rather die and be laid beside the little sisters up there in the cemetery than to not be more than friends, why, you'd see, if he did that, he couldn't help it, that he just must. That he was forced----"
"The soldier!" she said.
"Oh Princess, he didn't want to!" I cried. "He tells me secrets he doesn't any one else, unless you. He told me how he hated it; but he just had to do it."
"Do you know why?"
"Of course! It's the way he's made! Father is like that! He has chances to live in cities, make big business deals, and go to the legislature at Indianapolis; I've seen his letters from his friend Oliver P. Morton, our Governor, you know; they're in his chest till now; but father can't do it, because he is made so he stays at home and works for us, and this farm, and township, and county where he belongs. He says if all men will do that the millennium will come to-morrow. I 'spose you know what the millennium is?"
"I do!" said the Princess. "But I don't know what your father and his friend Oliver P. Morton have to do with Laddie."
"Why, everything on earth! Laddie is father's son, you see, and he is made like father. None of our other boys is. Not one of them loves land. Leon is going away as quick as ever he finishes college; but the more you educate Laddie, the better he likes to make things grow, the more he loves to make the world beautiful, to be kind to every one, to gentle animals--why, the biggest fight he ever had, the man he whipped 'til he most couldn't bring him back again, was one who kicked his horse in the stomach. Gee, I thought he'd killed him! Laddie did too for a while, but he only said the man deserved it."
"And so he did!" cried the Princess angrily. "How beastly!"
"That's one reason Laddie sticks so close to land. He says he doesn't meet nearly so many two-legged beasts in the country. Almost every time he goes to town he either gets into a fight or he sees something that makes him fighting mad. Princess, you think this beautiful, don't you?"
I just pointed anywhere. All the world was in it that morning. You couldn't look right or left and not see lovely places, hear music, and smell flowers.
"Yes! It is altogether wonderful!" she said.
"Would you like to live among this all your life, and have your plans made to fix you a place even nicer, and then be forced to leave it and go to a little room in the city, and make all the money you earned off of how much other men fight over business, and land and such perfectly awful things, that they always have to be whispered when Jerry tells about them? Would you?"
"You little dunce!" she cried.
"I know I'm a fool. I know I'm not telling you a single thing I should! Maybe I'm hurting Laddie far more than I'm helping him, and if I am, I wish I would die before I see him; but oh! Princess, I'm trying with all my might to make you understand how he feels. He wants to do every least thing you'd like him to. He will, almost any thing else in the world, he would this-- he would in a minute, but he just can't. All of us know he can't! If you'd lived with him since he was little and always had known him, you wouldn't ask him to; you wouldn't want him to! You don't know what you're doing! Mother says you don't! You'll kill him if you send him to the city to live, you just will! You are doing it now! He's getting thinner and whiter every day. Don't! Oh please don't do it!"
The Princess was looking at the world. She was gazing at it so dazed-like she seemed to be surprised at what she saw. She acted as if she'd never really seen it before. She looked and she looked. She even turned her horse a full circle to see all of it, and she went around slowly. I stepped from one foot to the other and sweat; but I kept quiet and let her look. At last when she came around, she glanced down at me, and she was all melted, and lovely as any one you ever saw, exactly like Shelley at Christmas, and she said: "I don't think I ever saw the world before. I don't know that I'm so crazy about a city myself, and I perfectly hate lawyers. Come to thing of it, a lawyer helped work ruin in our family, and I never have believed, I never will believe----"
She stopped talking and began looking again. I gave her all the time she needed. I was just straining to be wise, for mother says it takes the very wisest person there is to know when to talk, and when to keep still. As I figured it, now was the time not to say another word until she made up her mind about what I had told her already. If Pryors didn't know what we thought of them by that time, it wasn't mother's fault or mine. As she studied things over she kept on looking. What she saw seemed to be doing her a world of good. Her face showed it every second plainer and plainer. Pretty soon it began to look like she was going to come through as Amos Hurd did when he was redeemed. Then, before my very eyes, it happened! I don't know how I ever held on to the pie or kept from shouting, "Praise the Lord!" as father does at the Meeting House when he is happiest. Then she leaned toward me all wavery, and shining eyed, and bloomful, and said: "Did you ever hurt Laddie's feelings, and make him angry and sad?"
"I'm sure I never did," I answered.
"But suppose you had! What would you do?"
"Do? Why, I'd go to him on the run, and I'd tell him I never intended to hurt his feelings, and how sorry I was, and I'd give him the very best kiss I could."
The Princess stroked Maud's neck a long time and thought while she studied our farm, theirs beyond it, and at the last, the far field where Laddie was plowing. She thought, and thought, and afraid to cheep, I stood gripping the shingle and waited. Finally she said: "The last time Laddie was at our house, I said to him those things he repeated to you. He went away at once, hurt and disappointed. Now, if you like, along with your precious pie, you may carry him this message from me. You may tell him that I said I am sorry!"
I could have cried "Glory!" and danced and shouted there in the road, but I didn't. It was no time to lose my head. That was all so fine and splendid, as far as it went, but it didn't quite cover the case. I never could have done it for myself; but for Laddie I would venture anything, so I looked her in the eyes, straight as a dart, and said: "He'd want the kiss too, Princess!"
You could see her stiffen in the saddle and her fingers grip the reins, but I kept on staring right into her eyes.
"I could come up, you know," I offered.
A dull red flamed in her cheeks and her lips closed tight. One second she sat very still, then a dancing light leaped sparkling into her eyes; a flock of dimples chased each other around her lips like swallows circling their homing place at twilight.
"What about that wonderful pie?" she asked me.
I ran to the nearest fence corner, and laid the shingle on the gnarled roots of a Johnny Appleseed apple tree. Then I set one foot on the arch of the Princess' instep and held up my hands. One second I thought she would not lift me, the next I was on her level and her lips met mine in a touch like velvet woven from threads of flame. Then with a turn of her stout little wrist, she dropped me, and a streak went up our road. Nothing so amazing and so important ever had happened to me. It was an occasion that demanded something unusual. To cry, "Praise the Lord!" was only to repeat an hourly phrase at our house; this demanded something out of the ordinary, so I said just exactly as father did the day the brown mare balked with the last load of seed clover, when a big storm was breaking--"Jupiter Ammon!"
When I had calmed down so I could, I climbed the fence, and reached through a crack for the pie. As I followed the cool, damp furrow, and Laddie's whistle, clear as the lark's above the wheat, thrilled me, I was almost insane with joy. Just joy! Pure joy! Oh what a good world it was!--most of the time! Most of the time! Of course, there were Paget men in it. But anyway, this couldn't be beaten. I had a message for Laddie from the Princess that would send him to the seventh heaven, wherever that was; no one at our house spent any time thinking farther than the first one. I had her kiss, that I didn't know what would do to him, and I also had a big piece of juicy rhubarb pie not yet entirely cold. If that didn't wipe out the trouble I had made showing the old crest thing, nothing ever could. I knew even then, that men were pretty hard to satisfy, but I was quite certain that Laddie would be satisfied that morning. As I hurried along I wondered whether it would be better to give him my gift first, or the Princess'. I decided that joy would keep, while the pie was cold enough, with all the time I had stopped; and if I told him about her first, maybe he wouldn't touch it at all, and it wasn't so easy as it looked to carry it to him and never even once stick in my finger for the tiniest lick--joy would keep; but I was going to feed him; so with shining face, I offered the pie and stood back to see just how happy I could get.
"Mother send it?" asked Laddie.
People were curious that morning, as if I had a habit of stealing pie. I only took pieces of cut ones from the cellar when mother didn't care. So I explained again that Candace gave it to me, and I was free to bring it.
"Oh I see!" said Laddie.
After nearly two weeks of work, the grays had sobered down enough to stand without tying; so he wound the lines around the plow handle, sat on the beam, and laid aside his hat, having a fresh flower in the band. Once he started a thing, he just simply wouldn't give up. He unbuttoned his neckband until I could see his throat where it was white like a woman's, took out his knife and ate that pie. Of course we knew better than to use a knife at the table, but there was no other way in the field. He ate that pie, slowly and deliberately, and between bites he talked. I watched him with a wide grin, wondering what in this world he would say, in a minute. I don't think I ever had quite such a good time in all my life before, and I never expect to again. He was saying: "Talk about nectar and ambrosia! Talk about the feasts of Lucullus! Talk about food for the Gods!"
I put on his hat, sat on the ground in front of him, and was the happiest girl in the world, of that I am quite sure. When the last morsel was finished, Laddie looked at me steadily.
"I wonder," he said, "I wonder if there's another man in the world who is blest with quite such a loving, unselfish little sister as mine?" Then he answered himself: "No! By all the Gods, ant half-Gods, I swear it--No!"
It was grand as a Fourth of July oration or the most exciting part when the Bishop dedicated our church. I couldn't hold in another second, I could hear my heart beat.
"Oh Laddie!" I shouted, jumping up, "that pie is only the beginning of the good things I have brought you. I have a message, and a gift besides, Laddie!"
"A message and a gift?" Laddie repeated. "What! More?"
"Truly I have a message and a gift for you," I cried, "and Laddie--they are from the Princess!"
His eyes raised to mine now, and slowly he turned Sabethany-like.
"From the Princess!" he exclaimed. "A message and a gift for me, Little Sister? You never would let Leon put you up to serve me a trick?"
That hurt. He should have known I wouldn't, and besides, "Leon feels just as badly about this as any of us," I said. "Have you forgotten he offered to plow, and let you do the clean, easy work?"
"Forgive me! I'm overanxious," said Laddie, his arms reaching for me. "Go on and tell carefully, and if you truly love me, don't make a mistake!"
Crowding close, my arms around his neck, his crisp hair against my lips, I whispered my story softly, for this was such a fine and splendid secret, that not even the shining blackbirds, and the pert robins in the furrows were going to get to hear a word of it. Before I had finished Laddie was breathing as Flos does when he races her the limit. He sat motionless for a long time, while over his face slowly crept a beauty that surpassed that of Apollo in his Greek book.
"And her gift?"
It was only a breath.
"She helped me up, and she sent you this," I answered.
Then I set my lips on his, and held them there a second, trying my level best to give him her very kiss, but of course I could only try.
"Oh, Laddie," I cried. "Her eyes were like when stars shine down in our well! Her cheeks were like mother's damask roses! She smelled like flowers, and when her lips touched mine little stickers went all over me!"
Then Laddie's arms closed around me and I thought sure every bone in my body was going to be broken; when he finished there wasn't a trace of that kiss left for me. Remembering it would be all I'd ever have. It made me see what would have happened to the Princess if she had been there; and it was an awful pity for her to miss it, because he'd sober down a lot before he reached her, but I was sure as shooting that he wouldn't be so crazy as to kiss her hands again. Peter wasn't a patching to him!
That night Laddie rode to Pryors'. When he brought Flos to the gate you could see the shadow of your face on her shining flank; her mane and tail were like ravelled silk, her hoofs bright as polished horn, and her muzzle was clean as a ribbon. I broke one of those rank green sprouts from the snowball bush and brushed away the flies, so she wouldn't fret, stamp, and throw dust on herself. Then Laddie came, fresh from a tubbing, starched linen, dressed in his new riding suit, and wearing top hat and gauntlets. He looked the very handsomest I ever had seen him; and at the same time, he seemed trembling with tenderness, and bursting with power. Goodness sake! I bet the Princess took one good look and "came down" like Davy Crockett's coon. Mother was on his arm and she walked clear to the gate with him.
"Laddie, are you sure enough to go?" I heard her ask him whisper- like.
"Sure as death!" Laddie answered.
Mother looked, and she had to see how it was with him; no doubt she saw more than I did from having been through it herself, so she smiled kind of a half-sad, half-glad smile. Then she turned to her damask rose bush, the one Lucy brought her from the city, and that she was so precious about, that none of us dared touch it, and she searched all over it and carefully selected the most perfect rose. When she borrowed Laddie's knife and cut the stem as long as my arm, I knew exactly how great and solemn the occasion was; for always before about six inches had been her limit. She held it toward him, smiling bravely and beautifully, but the tears were running straight down her cheeks.
"Take it to her," she said. "I think, my son, it is very like."
Laddie took her in his arms and wiped away the tears; he told her everything would come out all right about God, and the mystery, even. Then he picked me clear off the ground, and he tried to see how near he could come to cracking every bone in my body without really doing it, and he kissed me over and over. It hadn't been so easy, but I guess you'll admit that paid. Then he rode away with the damask rose waving over his heart. Mother and I stood beside the hitching rack and looked after him, with our arms tight around each other while we tried to see which one could bawl the hardest. | <urn:uuid:2a4d6a62-c7ce-46bb-9cd3-43facba2d338> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.classicreader.com/book/2876/15/ | 2018-08-22T06:56:42Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219692.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822065454-20180822085454-00200.warc.gz | en | 0.993377 | 8,061 |
#80: Bellamy Young - TV's "Scandal" Star
“[My] job is to prepare, know your lines, and have thought about story arc and have ideas about character, but your job is to go in there, relax, open your mind, live in the other person’s eyes, and just react to what’s happening in the moment. That’s what a meditation practice can bring you. That sort of utter calm and utter presence. You’re not in the future and you’re not in the past. You’re just living this moment,” says Bellamy Young, known by many for her starring role as Mellie Grant in ABC’s Scandal. Bellamy tells Dan about her meditation practice, which she has made part of her bedtime routine, along with conversation of Scandal’s season six finale (Spoilers beginning after 30:00), and questions from Twitter.
- Bellamy talks about developing her own meditation practice method, and the benefits it brings to her work as an actor.
- Bellamy talks with Dan about her adopted mother’s tragic loss of four husbands
- Dan tells of his history as a problem child, including his first arrest and his career as a graffiti artist.
- Bellamy tells how her life is all built off of talents she pursued based on erroneous information about her birth parents.
- Bellamy tells about her proudest accomplishment in her life, which happened this year.
Q&A with Twitter followers:
- Spoiler Alert: Bellamy discusses the Scandal season finale, and her becoming emotionally invested in the outcome of her character Mellie’s election campaign.
- What Bellamy would do in her first 100 days as President
“I focus on just getting a little space at first between my atoms. Then a little more space between my atoms, and a little more, and eventually I just dissolve into everything, and I'm reminded that that's our actual natural state. And I stay there, thoughtless and suspended and complete, for as long as I can.” -Bellamy Young
“I started in a lot of different ways, because you must. I started with the breath. I tried with a candle. I tried so many different things. It really came back to a visceral experience of oneness, for me. It's been so helpful, so fulfilling, so grounding.” -Bellamy Young
“I've been studying, recently, some of the science around behavior change. You wisely intuited a very important thing, which is you've got to know yourself. If you're not a morning person, don't do it in the morning. If you're not a night person, don't do it in the night. Experiment, find the time that works for you, be willing to fail, and start again. That's how we make abiding habits.” -Dan Harris
“Our answers, what we seek is always within us. So we have the answers. We're asking the questions because the answers exist and want to get out of us, right? So just get calm and listen and you'll know what you need.” -Bellamy Young
“You learn not to identify with the thoughts… Fundamentally, you have the thought, but you know that you are not those thoughts, so you have the option to disengage. You have the objectivity to forgive yourself, right? … Really those thoughts are something that are happening to you that you can just love and release.” -Bellamy Young
“What I've always thought was one of the coolest things about being an actor is you get to live like a thousand lifetimes in one lifetime.” -Bellamy Young
“Your body, when you're acting, has no idea you're acting. You're going through something. You're going through it. It just doesn't know the difference. ... My body doesn't know I'm lying, so you really have to have a way to process and have a way to learn and move forward.” -Bellamy Young
“I love trying to find another person’s soul, center, whatever. Be handed a bunch of lines and try and really find the human behind them is my favorite crossword puzzle ever.” - Bellamy Young
Other Content Mentioned:
How to learn more about Bellamy:
Introduction from Dan:
Dan: A little bit of housekeeping as we start this new podcast. You may remember Sebene Selassie from episode 43, really, really interesting teacher who has also had some harrowing health experiences. She has just posted some free guided meditations on the 10% Happier app, including a five-minute one called "Working With Anxiety," and a one-minute meditation called, "For an Anxious Moment." This is a woman who knows a little bit about anxiety, and these meditations are great. And again, they're free on the 10% Happier App.
All right, now down to business. This week we have Bellamy Young, who is one of the stars of a show called Scandal, which happens to air on a network called ABC, which is where I also work. Let this one unfurl. I was really ... I didn't know much about Bellamy and I learn over the course of this interview, and she became ... She started interesting, and just got increasingly so as the thing progressed, and there were a lot of little surprises along the way. So really just let this one unfurl and enjoy it. Here we go, Bellamy Young.
Conversation with Bellamy & Dan:
Dan: How, when, where, why did you start meditating?
Bellamy: It has been many years. My mom has buried four husbands and it was after the third, who was a very lovely, lovely man named Barry, that I really went through a time of finding myself, finding my roots, finding my anchor in this life. I didn't want to feel so upended and untethered. At the time a friend was studying TM in L.A., and although I'm not a subscriber to a particular branch of meditation, I really saw transformation in her life, and was so very interested in the experience of it and started to read a little bit. I'm a science geek, started to read a little bit about how it changes your brain and finding my way for myself with it.
For me, I can't ... I'm a very lucid dreamer and I never want to take the day into my dreams. I feel like that's a time to get higher knowledge, to receive other information, messages, whatever ... guidance.
I like to give the day away right as I'm getting into bed. It's a simpler process for me, maybe than some. I start on my breath, I breathe in on three words, "Yes," and out on, "Yes," and in on, "Love," and out on, "Love," and in on, "Thank you," and out on, "Thank you." Then I literally, you know, we all suffer with the thoughts that come and go and associate with the space between or a higher self or whatever. For me, it's more molecular. I focus on just getting a little space at first between my atoms. Then a little more space between my atoms, and a little more, and eventually I just dissolve into everything, and I'm reminded that that's our actual natural state. And I stay there, thoughtless and suspended and complete, for as long as I can.
Dan: So this is a pre-bedtime ritual?
Bellamy: Yeah. Yeah, and then I find I can go to sleep clear, you know? I don't ... this nattering mind, because gosh do I have one, it doesn't go into whatever that state of consciousness is that allows us to rest, rebuild, renew, receive.
Dan: So did you just make this up on your own? Because if you did, that's great!
Dan: Where did you get it from? Because your friend was studying transcendental meditation. You didn't want to go down that road? You just made up your own thing?
Bellamy: For me, and it's such a personal path.
Dan: Yes, absolutely.
Bellamy: And there's no wrong or right ... For me, that journey seemed so personal, and it seemed like you would intuit what you needed. That's just where I wound up. I started in a lot of different ways because you must. I started with the breath. I tried with a candle. I tried so many different things. It really came back to a visceral experience of oneness, for me. It's been so helpful, so fulfilling, so grounding. I really ... there's some reason, you know, press days like this week, anything like that that I think I don't have time, there's never a time that I don't time because if I don't have time, I really lose the rest of my weekday life. It really is destabilizing.
Dan: But it sounds like the way you've structured it, doing it right before you go to sleep, you don't have to find time for it during the day, you just have to make sure that you do it before you go to bed.
Dan: That's smart.
Bellamy: Well, I don't know, because I'm a night person. Some people are morning people and they'll do better to meditate in the morning.
Dan: Yes, yes.
Bellamy: I'm definitely a night person. It's right for me.
Dan: I've been studying, recently, some of the science around behavior change. You wisely intuited a very important thing, which is you've got to know yourself. If you're not a morning person, don't do it in the morning. If you're not a night person, don't do it in the night. Experiment, find the time that works for you, be willing to fail, and start again. That's how we make abiding habits.
Bellamy: Yeah, and our answers, what we seek is always within us. So we have the answers. We're asking the questions because the answers exist and want to get out of us, right? So just get calm and listen and you'll know what you need.
Dan: You mentioned this is a press week. We should say that I am interviewing you on the morning after Scandal's big season finale.
Bellamy: Yeah, season six finale! If I sound little ... wreck, we've had such a beautiful week. They announced this week, also, that next year is our final season. So it's been such a bittersweet week, to share this ... My cast is such a family. Cast, crew, writers, all of us. There's so very much love, it's an unbelievably heart-based endeavor. This is the last week we'll share in New York, together, seeing plays, doing press, being the Scandal family. It was all just very, very rich yesterday.
Dan: I have a million Scandal questions.
Bellamy: Come on, Dan, bring it.
Dan: Before I bring it, I just want to stay on meditation for a second.
Dan: When did you institute this nightly ritual? How many years ago? What did it do for you?
Bellamy: It was probably, like, 2003 or '04?
Dan: That's a while ago! Okay, yeah.
Bellamy: Yeah, a minute ago.
Dan: So back in 2003 or '04, okay.
Dan: So this is a good long run.
Bellamy: Yeah. Well, you know, you know it's life changing, and then it becomes like breathing.
Dan: Yes. Of course.
Bellamy: You're like, "Why would I not breathe? That would be crazy." Yeah, it's been so helpful.
Dan: Do you feel like, you talked about your nattering mind ... Do you feel like you have some distance from some of the unhelpful things that the mind is offering up? What is the impact in your daily life?
Bellamy: Definitely my sleep improved. I had much unrest in my sleep because I would just take all of the thoughts in there with me and wrestle them all night long. That makes your life better immediately. Also, I, as you do, you learn not to identify with the thoughts. So even when they come during the day, those old tapes, or self-doubt, or obsessing about things that are out of your control. You know, fundamentally, you have the thought, but you know that you are not those thoughts, so you have the option to disengage. You have the objectivity to forgive yourself, right? Your mind is not driving this little horse and buggy. Really those thoughts are something that is happening to you that you can just love and release.
Dan: (laugh) That's great.
Bellamy: You know? And if you don't, then you're choosing, right? Then you're choosing. And I make that choice as often as other people do. I get something on my mind, and I'm like, "You know, you could let this go." And I'm like, "No, I have to see it through." I feel like we're always learning, life is a journey, but once you know that you're making choices and that life isn't running you, this is such a gift, this time on the planet, and that you get to go through it in the way that seems right for your heart, your soul, your spirit. Even the moments that you might deem failure are lessons, and just to embrace it all and really be gentle with yourself.
Dan: I've interviewed a bunch of actors on this podcast, and I've found that this practice is really useful, I don't want to say especially, but it's very useful for actors because you have so much insecurity baked into what you do. You don't know what your next job is going to be. You just found out. You're going to the last season of this massive hit show, and what are you going to do after that? And you're subject to the slings and arrows of television critics and random people on Twitter, and people who you might feel like you are competitive within the acting space. There's all of this stuff going on. So I was just wondering if I'm diagnosing correctly the water in which you swim and whether meditation has helped with all of the aforementioned.
Bellamy: Absolutely, yeah. As actors, we live the life or rejection. Rejection and unemployment are our constant companions, then jobs are our blessings. You really have to find something deeper to root to, or it's complete mayhem. If you start identifying with the lack, then you're lost. Because there's such abundance around us all the time. When you can remind yourself that we are one and that we're all connected, and that no one has less or needs more-
Dan: How do you feel like you're one, though, when somebody else is getting a job you want? Don't you feel pretty separate from that person in that moment?
Bellamy: You know, I'm blessed because I was not born competitive. Except with myself. I ride myself hard, so that's why it's really fruitful for me to make friends with my mind, or its workings, understand how it works. I really, for myself and all of the people that I know and I love, you get the hand you're supposed to get. All of our lives, and maybe it's just a little more obvious metaphor when you're an actor ... You get handed the job you're supposed to get. Your soul needs to go through this journey, and there are no mistakes.
So when you don't get a job, it just wasn't your job. There will be a different job, or there won't be. I've never thought, "That should have been mine!" Because clearly, it shouldn't have. I've always wound up so, sort of, breathless with how perfect everything is for the jobs that I've had, be they tiny or just the gift of this, for seven years, to be with these people, to play this unbelievable part. This is the part of a lifetime, and I'm so lucky. But it was always right on time. Like everything else, if your mind and heart and eyes are open, your spirit is open, then you get to have that lesson and move on to the next thing.
What I've always thought was one of the coolest things about being an actor is you get to live like a thousand lifetimes in one lifetime.
Dan: Yeah, that's pretty cool.
Bellamy: It's unbelievable. And your body, when you're acting, has no idea you're acting. You're going through something. You're going through it. It just doesn't know the difference. I do worry for folks that have to do a lot of horror movies or very, very, very dark material. I would not do well with that, and I don't know how they keep their spirit clear and clean and keep themselves safe. Because that, you know, when I lost my son on the show, or even going through the divorce with Tony, whatever ... My body doesn't know I'm lying, so you really have to have a way to process and have a way to learn and move forward.
Dan: I don't think I could do it. I wouldn’t ever be able to convince myself.
Dan: Yeah. The times when I’ve had to act, in any way. I had to play myself on Conviction, that short-lived ABC show.
Bellamy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.
Dan: Just was doing an interview with the lead actress.
Dan: I was terrible. I cannot act.
Bellamy: What were you terrible? Like, what do you think?
Dan: I just, I got all in my head, self-conscious, and I don’t like pretending. I don’t mind just being myself because that’s all I really know. But if you ask me to even be a slightly different version of me, or recite lines, pretend like I know that I mean it, I can’t do it.
Bellamy: I love trying to find another person’s soul, center, whatever. Be handed a bunch of lines and try and really find the human behind them is my favorite crossword puzzle ever.
Dan: But isn’t it a little schizophrenic?
Bellamy: Sure, whatever. You know, potato, po-tah-to, Dan. Do you live a super honest life? Do you ever lie? Are you a good liar?
Dan: I’m not a good liar, no.
Bellamy: Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Dan: I’m a terrible person in many, many ways, but I’m not really into lying.
Bellamy: Yeah. (laugh) A terrible person! (laugh)
Dan: I don’t want to hold myself up as some avatar of morality, but even my wife, both of us are pretty open about my flaws, not so much hers … That’s not true. We’re open about both of our flaws. But one of the things that even she will concede is that she can trust that if she asks me a question, I’ll tell her the truth, even if she doesn’t want to hear it.
Bellamy: That’s cool.
Dan: Yeah. So I guess that also feeds into me being a terrible actor.
Bellamy: Yeah, yeah.
Dan: Can you lie?
Dan: You can probably lie really well!
Bellamy: I mean, I lie for a living, right?
Bellamy: I just don’t make a practice of it in my life, because there was a time that I did. There was a time in my twenties where my self-esteem was so low that it wasn’t even, like, lying to get ahead, because like I said, I want everybody very kumbaya. I just would lie because I thought my life was so shameful. So I’d lie and make up a better life.
And lying is exhausting because you have to remember everything.
Dan: Yes, yes.
Bellamy: While I’ve got killer short-term memory, boy that long-term memory does not support a life of duplicity. Really, it’s not cool. I can’t hang w it anymore.
Dan: What was wrong with your life? You were an aspiring actor and just weren’t getting roles?
Bellamy: Yeah, you know, I mean, what’s wrong with any of our lives? Nothing, they’re perfect. But I just had no self-esteem, so I just thought the life I was living was shameful. I just thought I would tell people better stories than that. Yeah.
It hurts my heart to even think about. I just want to hug my young self, and anybody that’s out there, I want to hug them too, because we’re all, wherever we are, we’re perfect, and the more honest you are with people, the more connection you can make. Lying only keeps the separation. It keeps such a gulf between you, a chasm between you and connection and humans and remembering the oneness.
But yeah, no, I lived there forever.
Dan: Yeah, but what a victory that you can look back and say, “That’s not me anymore.”
Bellamy: Thank heavens.
Dan: I’ve got to ask about your mother. Four husbands?
Bellamy: God bless her, yes. My sweet mom, if you’re listening, I love you.
Dan: Is she onto number five?
Bellamy: She has a lovely boyfriend named Bill.
Dan: Okay, well, you can’t bring her down.
Bellamy: No! It’s the best, it’s a talent I don’t have. I respect it.
Dan: It’s not four divorces, it’s four deaths.
Bellamy: No, they passed. Yeah, Dan, no, they passed. Yeah, my first step died when I was 15. She married the guy who had been her boyfriend in seventh and eighth grade. His wife had died the year before, both of cancer.
Dan: So your dad died of cancer?
Bellamy: He did.
Dan: I’m very sorry. 15, that’s a really hard age to lose a parent.
Bellamy: It was. Yeah, it was a confusing time. You don’t know at the time, but it was.
Dan: Just to set the scene, this was in North Carolina.
Bellamy: Asheville, North Carolina.
Dan: Asheville, yeah, beautiful town.
Bellamy: That’s exactly right when I was in high school. Then Bob was her second husband and he passed away. Then she was alone for a little while and went on match.com like ten years later and met the best guy in the world, named Barry. He was from Brockton.
Dan: Brockton, Massachusetts.
Dan: Did he retire to Asheville?
Bellamy: His wife had gotten sick and he’d moved south to Columbia. Columbia? Is that right? South Carolina? He had brought her there for her convalescence, and she had passed. My mom is also not … geographically confined. She was living in Asheville, but Barry was in South Carolina, and she was all good with it.
Same thing now. Bill is in Tennessee sometimes, it’s all, you know …
Dan: Do you think she’s going to get married for her fifth time?
Bellamy: I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. It’s her journey. We’ll see what happens. And then there was Bobby Lee, and he passed away of liver cancer last year … two years ago.
Bellamy: I know!
Dan: The resilience! The romantic resilience of your mom, who I have never met-
Bellamy: Yeah, amen.
Dan: But still.
Bellamy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely, definitely.
Dan: Do you have clear memories of your dad?
Bellamy: Spotty. Yeah, yeah. It was a disorienting time. That was a very disorienting time. He was very sick and we kept him at home. Bless him, he’d been an alcoholic before that, so it wasn’t so white picket fence before that. So my memories are … But you know, I can remember him teaching me accuracy throw for field day. We had this old Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors and he’d drive me around, I was a little pageant child and he’d drive me around in little parades in that. Just different things. He wore a toupee and I loved to put on his toupee and use a cane and pretend to be the entertainer or something.
Dan: He wore a toupee and was open about it like you could get it off him-
Bellamy: Oh yeah, he didn’t care, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. (laugh)
Dan: So you were a pageant child?
Bellamy: Yeah, Dan. Were you?
Dan: I was the opposite of a pageant. Problem child? Yeah.
Bellamy: No, really? Were you a problem child?
Dan: I was a horrible kid.
Bellamy: Tell us the worse thing you ever did.
Dan: My mother will tell you lots of bad stories.
Bellamy: Tell us one now.
Dan: Okay, just randomly.
Dan: My first time I got arrested-
Dan: Was when I was 14. My friends and I were vandalizing a T station in suburban Boston, a train.
Bellamy: Oh! (laugh)
Dan: MBTA, Metro Boston Transportation Authority-
Bellamy: Copy that.
Dan: We were throwing rocks at stuff. I actually think the cops just brought me home that night. It was the first time I was in a cop car.
Dan: Yeah, they didn’t arrest us. But that was number one.
Bellamy: Who, why, why with the stones?
Dan: I was 14.
Bellamy: We weren’t up to spray paint yet, right?
Dan: Oh, I did that too. I had a robust graffiti career.
Dan: My tag was, “Ace.” Yeah. I was brilliant at that.
Bellamy: Amazing! I’m going to make you draw it for me later.
Dan: Actually, my tag, I still do it when I’m doodling-
Bellamy: Yeah you do!
Dan: I’m better at it now than I was when I was a kid.
Bellamy: Of course you are.
Dan: And all of my friends say the same thing.
Bellamy: (laugh) I love it!
Dan: I was really into this. Because when I was in … I’m 45, so when I was in junior high, rap really broke. I was obsessed with Run DMC, the first concert I ever went to was the Beastie Boys.
Dan: Or actually the second concert, the first was Whitney Houston.
Bellamy: Wow! Okay.
Dan: So we were really into it.
Dan: Everybody was beat boxing and-
Bellamy: I’m going to make you do that later, in a minute, too.
Dan: I couldn’t break dance.
Bellamy: Could you beatbox? Because we have a microphone.
Dan: Not really. I’ll do it with my son a little bit.
Dan: But I was into the graffiti, I was into it. So I used to spray paint at the train stations too, but on this particular night we were mostly destroying, rather than creating.
Dan: Yeah. So I was a bad boy.
Dan: Anyway, but you were a pageant child.
Bellamy: I was a pageant child. Well, I was a singer. I’m adopted and we didn’t, of course, have any information about my birth parents, but we had a page, it had a paragraph on my mom and like two lines on my dad, birth parents, and part of the paragraph said that she loved us so and was a singer and all of this sort of stuff. So my mom tried to give me opportunities that she thought were genetically within my-
Dan: Oh, that’s cool
Bellamy: Yeah. I’ve come to meet them since love them so much.
Dan: Oh, you have?
Bellamy: I have, and that’s wonderful.
Dan: Oh wow.
Bellamy: All of that information is wrong. When they met me they were like, “So, your parents are doctors.” And I was like, “No.” And I was like, “So you sing?” And she’s like, “No.” We were like, “Whoa.” Because I spent six weeks in foster care, so I think we all just … I think the papers got shuffled.
Dan: As an infant?
Bellamy: Yeah. And so I sit here a product of erroneous information living a life that I love so deeply I can’t even imagine … I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if it weren’t this. I’m so grateful for my life. But yeah, it was all a product of a bad tip.
Dan: Biological parents, your biological parents, you’ve actually connected with them?
Bellamy: I have. I don’t really talk about them too much because I keep them private, out of respect.
Bellamy: Not everybody knows their story. They didn’t tell everybody and they didn’t ask for this.
Dan: They didn’t ask for this, yeah.
Bellamy: But I will say they’re the best people in the world.
Dan: Oh, wow, wow.
Bellamy: Yeah. And meeting them was so … cellularly transformative. It was just very grounding and orienting in life and space and heart. They’re terrific.
Dan: You don’t get this … the rich pageant of your life does not come through on your Wikipedia page.
Bellamy: (laugh) I’ll have to see to that, Dan.
Dan: You need to write a memoir!
Bellamy: Do I?
Dan: You’ve got … Yeah! These are pretty colorful biographical details.
Bellamy: Well I give them freely. Yeah, so my mom tried to find something, somewhere, anywhere that I could sing. So we did church choir and we did little things at school, and I did Summer Stock up at Parkway Playhouse in North Carolina. And it’s the South, so pageants, you know? I did them for a minute, and then, as I said, I am the least competitive human alive, so I was not down with the competition of it. But my mom, we had friends, we were ensconced. And so I would go and I would M.C.
So I would be like, “Scarlett is wearing an islet dress with a fuchsia cummerbund and she will be singing, ‘Climb Every Mountain.’” (laugh)
Dan: (laugh) And so you went off on the acting route.
Bellamy: I did. I went to Yale, I went from North Carolina. My dad had died and I knew I’d need a really solid reason to leave the state and leave my mom like that.
Dan: Yeah. But Yale has a legendary acting program, right?
Bellamy: They do, graduate level. When I was there the undergraduate was a bit underdeveloped.
Dan: I see.
Bellamy: I went for Physics though. I went to Yale because I knew I could sing. They have-
Dan: Hence all the references to atoms.
Bellamy: Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean I’m a failed Physics major. I was pretty good in North Carolina, but not on the world stage. So I wound up with a double major in English and Theater. But, you know, Physics was my dream, dream, dream.
But I knew I could sing. I was in an a cappella singing group. So I knew I could get a great education and I could sing and my mom would understand that I wanted to … You know, it was Yale, I want to go to Yale. And I got the chance!
Dan, I got to do the coolest thing this year. When I graduated college because I was scholarship kid because my dad was dead and my mom was a high school teacher. I just assumed there was a big sea of money somewhere and I was getting two-quarters of it. But I graduated and they said, “So, here’s the name of the person who has been paying for your education. Maybe you want to write him a Thank You note.”
Dan: Oh wow.
Bellamy: His name was Dr. Richard Light. The first thing I did out of school was a national tour of Meet Me in St. Louis. We went through, it was not a fancy tour, we went through Kalamazoo, where he lived, and I got to meet him and thank him. He was one of those Renaissance men that had been a surgeon and a pilot and a cartographer, just everything. He was incredible. He was 93 when I met him with his little 60-year-old wife. They were the most inspiring people.
Dan: Wait, 93 with a 60-year-old wife?
Bellamy: You know how it works.
Dan: He’s a player!
Bellamy: Playaaaaaa. Yeah. Then I thought, how must that feel, to put people through college? To give people college. And I got to endow a scholarship this year.
Dan: Oh, wow! Good for you. Paying it forward.
Bellamy: Yeah, paying it forward.
Dan: That’s great! Good for you!
Bellamy: It’s the thing I’m proudest of in my life.
Dan: That’s amazing. Congratulations.
Dan: So, Scandal.
Bellamy: Scandal. What do you want to know? What do you want to know? What do you want to know? (laugh)
Dan: You’re going to kill me.
Dan: Because I work for ABC, and I’ve never watched the show.
Bellamy: Life is short, you’re allowed!
Dan: My wife is a big fan.
Bellamy: You work a lot. Alright, so your wife is smarter than you are. That’s okay.
Dan: Yes, yes.
Bellamy: We can get that out. It’s not a problem.
Dan: So I hit up my Twitter folks this morning and I asked for questions.
Bellamy: Yeah. I Retweeted you. Did anybody give you stuff?
Dan: Yes, a lot of people got back to me.
Bellamy: Look, we have the best fans in the world, Dan. That’s what you have to understand is that our gladiators are ride or die.
Dan: You call the gladiators?
Bellamy: Yeah. And they’re incredible. It’s just big hearted and they are just in this ride with us. And they’re the only reason we have these jobs. They’re who got us the second season. We were a bubble show, but Kerry figured out we should live tweet.
Dan: Oh wow. Bubble show, meaning on the bubble, like you might not make it.
Bellamy: On the bubble, yeah. But Kerry had figured out social media was the next how the world was going to work.
Dan: Kerry Washington.
Bellamy: Yeah. So we were the first show to live tweet, and instead of, you know, TV had sort of become a thing you DVR and do at 2:00 a.m., and we brought back appointment television. Our gladiators were so ferocious and wonderful and lion-hearted that that’s what got us a second season, and then it just built from there.
Dan: I really hope Ben Sherwood is not listening to this podcast. I love you Ben, but I’m sorry I didn’t watch the show.
Bellamy: I’ll spank him.
Dan: It’s okay. First question, from @MelissaMermaid: Well definitely ask Bellamy Young who she uses for inspiration as Mellie. With a little smiley face and a wink.
Bellamy: (laugh) Melissa, I like your winky. Gosh, the honest truth is it comes to me on the page. I literally just have to honor the script. I did a lot of research. Our history has a white male perspective, a patriarchal perspective, so you learn about presidents in school, but you don’t learn about the women behind them or beside them, or sometimes ahead of them. So I did a lot of research when I got the job. I know, if you could see me in the studio it’s like I’m thinking about you, Melissa, as I’m answering now. We’ll look back at you, Dan.
Dan: It’s okay.
Bellamy: I did a lot of research when I got the job, learning about my first ladies. Mellie’s place in that lineage. Then our writers pulled a lot of stories, like Julia Grant or Dolly Madison. There were a lot of homage storylines. But Mellie is her own beast. I really just have to honor what’s brought to me. Sometimes it’s brought to me at rehearsal, so sometimes my reaction is very immediate and honest. It really … she’s built herself, Mellie, yeah.
Dan: Very cool. Alright, Kerry Freeman, @comicsdaughter: Has a meditation practice influenced your acting in any way? Do the benefits interfere or help with performing a highly dramatic scene?
Bellamy: Oh, Kerry, it’s so helpful. Because once you know how to quiet your mind, much less your body, relaxation is essential for acting. If you are at all seized up, either in your mind or in your body, you just can’t … it doesn’t flow through you. So your only job … Of course your job is to prepare, know your lines, and have thought about story arc and have ideas about character, but your job is to go in there, relax, open your mind, live in the other person’s eyes, and just react to what’s happening in the moment. That’s what a meditation practice can bring you. That sort of utter calm and utter presence. You’re not in the future and you’re not in the past. You’re just living this moment. And in acting you’re living it with someone. With meditation you’re living it with all eternity, you know? You’re just in the oneness.
It’s been transformative, at least for me, in my acting.
Dan: What is the physics argument for one-ness? Is there one? Or is that just an intuition you have?
Bellamy: Yeah, that’s always just been my experience of things, you know, in an E equals MC squared way, I don’t know why you would end and I would begin. It’s sort of just arbitrary. I very, very, very much believe the energy is shared. This table, this microphone, you and I, the thoughts, anyone listening, time being a construct, all of it is simple oneness, not discretion, not discrete little packets. I think that’s what I’m always aiming for, is to have that sacred communion.
That’s always what I loved about physics. It felt like looking at the face of God, asking the big questions.
Dan: Physics is, quite literally, mind-blowing. This one, maybe not a long answer: If you were asked to be hired to sing at a fan’s wedding, would she do it?
Bellamy: (laugh) What do you want to hear?
Bellamy: You want Guns ‘n Roses? Is that it? Because I’m your girl!
Dan: How does it feel to finally be president?
Bellamy: It feels really good. I don’t ever get invested in storylines, because-
Dan: That was, by the way, from Eleen.
Bellamy: Eleen, lovely, beautiful.
Dan: You don’t get invested in storylines-
Bellamy: Yeah, because that’s not my job, and I don’t write. It’s not a gift I have. And Shonda is like a once in a generation storyteller. Our writers, our Scandal staff writers, are incredible. They bring things so surprising and relevant and galvanizing every week. I sit like a gladiator and I just wait to see what’s going to happen.
But, that being said, Mellie, all her life, that’s been her dream. It’s just been her dream. Even in this finale episode, she was like, “I don’t know, people always say women dream about weddings. I dreamed about this!” It’s always been her dream.
At some point during the campaign, it just seeped deep into my marrow, and all I wanted was for Mellie to be president. I think last summer … This was a bifurcated season. We did five episodes in the summer. Kerry had to have a baby, so we took some time off and then we came back in January. The world changed while we were away. This season, what they had intended for this season got completely thrown in the garbage. Everything went a different way.
Shonda’s gone on record as saying they thought the season was going to arc out with one of the bad guys all of the sudden speaking Russian and “Oh, the Russians hacked the election.” But the Russian’s hacked the election! So they had to trash it all. I just don’t think Mellie was going to win, and so I think that’s different. Shonda has not gone on record with that, so that’s speculative. But I can tell you there was a scene in the finale with Mellie just quietly sitting in her Oval, and it meant the world to me. I know it meant the world to Mellie, but it also meant the world to me.
I seldom allow myself to get that … I just seldom have a dog in the hunt. I honor what the story is and I want to tell the story in the best way possible. But gosh, that moment felt good.
Dan: This is from Vicky Dummer: What would she want to focus on as president during her first 100 days?
Bellamy: Vicky, good question. And I don’t know. I don’t even know that we’re going to come back and move forward in time. I don’t take anything for granted on this job. I wouldn’t even know what to say. She’s been very … historically, Mellie’s agenda has been very children and family and education. I think she would keep to that, but I don’t know. I would never…
Dan: Yeah, but what if you were president?
Bellamy: Oh, me?
Bellamy: Oh my goodness. Well, arts and education would be big for me, animal right would be big for me. Maybe you don’t … I probably would be a terrible president because all of my issues would be, like, I just want everyone to feel loved and included.
Dan: Do you have pets?
Bellamy: I do, I have three cats and a dog.
Dan: Nice. We have three cats.
Bellamy: Oh yeah?
Dan: Yeah, no dog, but a two year old.
Bellamy: That’s alright, there’s room for that … Oh, that’s okay, that counts.
Dan: Yeah. He poops more than a dog.
Bellamy: (laugh) Well, congratulations.
Dan: Thank you, yeah, he’s a prodigious pooper.
Bellamy: Well done.
Bellamy: What’s his name?
Dan: His name is Alexander. He’s now going through a phase where he won’t let us wipe him, so I have to give him a bath every time he makes number two.
Bellamy: Oh, Dan, that’s hard. What do you think his thinking is there?
Dan: I think that he’s his own man.
Dan: I don’t want to scare that out of him.
Bellamy: Was that a phase you went through?
Dan: Not that particular phase. He’s also going through a phase that apparently I did not go through when I was a kid, where he’s incredibly flirtatious with women.
Bellamy: Really?! Wow!
Dan: Yes. Just, if a female walks into the room, he will drop me like a hot potato. He just loves women.
Dan: And then if another woman walks in after the one he’s flirting with right now, he will drop that one.
Bellamy: Wow! They come out their own little people, man.
Dan: Yeah, that’s how he rolls. Yeah, he’s like the 93 year old who funded your education. Alexander’s a player.
Dan: Yeah, yes, yes.
Dan: Okay, so your first 100 days would be animal rights, which I strongly support.
Bellamy: Animal rights, arts and education, LGBTQ, everything that’s, you know, people right now are being, not even slowly, but definitively disenfranchised. If the next 100 days were mine, it would be to build all of that back. We were going in such a beautiful direction. I just never thought, in my lifetime, and obviously I am of a Democratic bent, I naively assumed progress was ever marching forward. I didn’t think I’d see us go backwards in our lifetime. It hurts me every day. It makes my chest tight to even think about it. So, it would be all about the people.
Dan: Here’s the final one, from Bellamy Young Web, @BYoungWeb: Even though we have yet to experience it in America, how proud was she to portray a character becoming the first female president?
Bellamy: Aw, Anna, thanks for asking. It was really important to Shonda and all of the people that I work with. I think they really … America is behind the rest of the world in this regard. We just have not had our fair share of woman leadership. To work in a matriarchy, as I do now, I know how different it can be, and how wonderful. It’s also a fact that Mellie was also a incredibly qualified candidate. So it happens to be that she’s a woman, but if you take people on their merit, she’s also very much earned it.
I loved, in the season finale, that she really went through a period where it just really had to burn away all her frivolity, there’s been a long (Dan doesn’t watch, so I’ll tell him), there’s been a long thing about Mellie being ornamental, not functional, even though she’s been behind the scenes running a lot of it, and has a mind that’s expertly capable. But she, you know, when you get told something all your life, you tend to take it on. So in the season finale, really burned that away. It was a life and death situation, whether or not she should have the inauguration, because someone was trying to assassinate her. I think she had to surrender that this dream that she had had was no longer just hers, and that, as holding public office should be, that it was a service and that America needed to see this, and if she had to give her life so that America could witness a female someone being inaugurated, that that was a good enough reason to have been alive. I hope she carries that courage and humility and nobility into her time, her tenure as President.
Dan: What a fun guest you’ve been.
Bellamy: Dan, it’s really been great to be here with you. Thanks for telling me some T on you too.
Dan: (laugh) I learned “T,” by the way, recently. Ru Paul was a previous guest.
Bellamy: Oh, delicious!
Dan: That guy is amazing.
Dan: He’s an avid meditator, really interesting guy.
Bellamy: I didn’t know that!
Dan: That’s where I learned the term, “T,” from him.
Bellamy: Everybody, I’m going to make Dan sign his tag, and I will tweet it.
Dan: Okay. Actually, that’s fine. That’s fine. I’m an open book. Just finally, if people want to learn more about you, where do they go?
Bellamy: Oh my goodness. Well, I mean, I’m on Twitter, @BellamyYoung, also Instagram, the same. And Facebook, and they can get my album, “Far Away, So Close,” because my whole heart is in there. You know, I’ve got a website. Just all the normal places.
Dan: Okay, cool. Thank you, appreciate it.
Bellamy: Thanks so much, Dan.
Dan: Absolute pleasure.
Bellamy: Thanks for what you do. You’ve found a beautiful way to inspire people to go on their own journey, so thanks for that.
Dan: Now I gotta watch Scandal. | <urn:uuid:60fcf4d0-79b0-4edc-ad9b-caf31498510b> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/bellamy-young-scandal | 2019-08-18T17:06:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00160.warc.gz | en | 0.976192 | 10,896 |
I call this my 'dossier' on President Obama because while I was writing about Indigo adults in The Monstaville Memoirs I included a section on Barak Obama to which I added updates as further information was received from channelled sources. I also added an appendix comprising several longer excerpts from channelled articles.
And all of this while most people I knew or encountered were buying into the lies and hate spread not only by the mainstream media but by truth movement icons as well. The situation has been that, as with other presidents in the modern era, Obama has been prevented from pushing through all but the smallest portion of his policies because the criminal cabal has all the power. And these good intentions are then easily made to look as though he is either a puppet or on the side of those dark forces because they have been hijacked and turned into yet more methods of patriarchal control. We are told that Obama's destiny is to serve as a bridge to the new world, politically, and that 2001 was meant to have marked the changeover from dark to light but the global shadow government has fought tooth and nail to hold on to power and enslave humanity, or bring down as many people as possible, as they fall. Many have been leaving their ranks as they have realised that their ambitions are futile. Meanwhile, Obama (who has been protected from assassination after attempts were made on his own and his family's lives) has become aware of the unseen forces assisting humanity and met with other political leaders around the world whom I expect are working towards a new economy through BRICS. So, all is not lost and the positive changes that Mr Obama envisions are still on the cards. It is my sincere hope that the information shared via these two pages will help to restore faith in some of the people who have been exercising their rational minds more than their hearts and falling for appearances but are now starting to see the light...
“Yes, I agree, there are some governments that do not work with us and do not wish to cooperate with us. But there are a lot of countries that do. Now, as Obama, he is part of that too. I know that people think he is not of the light, but he is. I can assure you. He is just not in the easiest position. He has been threatened by all of the cabal and the worst enemies that you can have.
And even though most of them are removed, there are still influences from the astral realms. You need to take that into account as well. He wants to bring all of the new world into light but he needs to play along as well for his own safety. And I know many of you will not resonate with that but this is my truth that I bring to you as I work closely with him. You may disagree with me and that is fine as well.“
- St. Germain (channelled through Méline Lafont, 23 August 2013, www.awakeningtohigherlove.com/2013/08/23/series-of-live-channeling-saint-germain-serie-1-part-4-about-disclosure-where-we-are-at-the-point-of-view-of-ascension-august-1-2013-by-meline-lafont).
“A reader asked this related question: To what extent is race a factor in US President Obama’s very low rating in his country’s polls? We don’t know the percentage, but we do know that race is not a major factor, and it exists only in his own country. His election was met with exultation and hopeful expectations on a global scale, as if he could fix all the wrongs in his country and cure all the ills of the world - those expectations haven’t been met. Few foresaw the sustained opposition he would encounter, and while that quickly became clear in Congress, the Illuminati’s influence within and behind that body isn’t known. When that truth comes forth, all will understand what President Obama has had to deal with in his efforts to uplift his country’s peoples and bring peace to your world. Furthermore, the many strides he has made despite formidable opposition aren’t being heralded even by his own party.” – Matthew (channelled through Suzanne Ward, 2 June 2014, www.matthewbooks.com).
“A few things to consider. The Rockefeller Initiative between 1993 involving Laurance Rockefeller, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta and John Podesta were set in place for Bill Clinton to be the Disclosure President. Following that the Clinton Administration including Bill, Hillary and their staff were attacked in a way no other President has been. Laurance Rockefeller is Bill Clinton’s natural Father. Hillary is a Rothschild and the granddaughter of Hitler through a mistress. The dark cabal did not arrange their marriage just so they could end their control on the many. The dark cabal first murdered President John F. Kennedy (actually his clone) when he was going to be the Disclosure President. Bill Clinton felt sufficiently threatened. After many years of attacks in 1998 Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice at this time President Clinton stepped down from the role as Disclosure President fearing for his very life and those of his family. Bill Clinton was acquitted of these charges in 1999 and went on to sign the National Economic Security and Reformation Act into law before he left office, 10 October 2000 after it was passed by both the House and Senate. NESARA Law stated in order for it to be put into effect it must first be announced publicly. That was to occur 11 September 2001 which is why 911 Truth and Full Galactic Disclosure go hand in hand. This is one of the reasons WHY IT HAS BEEN TAKING SO LONG. NESARA has to be enacted publicly, however, certain actions have been carried out within NESARA Law so that when it is enacted, the actions are completed that are needed to enable easy movement forward...George W. Bush’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a financial collaborator with the enemy in WWII. He was the president of a bank which financed the German Nazi war effort, making a large profit for its efforts…The 4th Reich who have been making money from the Nazi’s control since the 1920’s would love to carry on business as usual. President Obama is not part of a regime. He is a fully adept Enlightened Being of Light. I would not be able to carry out this Plan without his deft work and constant devotion in the face of constant danger. He also has to deal with discrimination and hate such as being called a ‘regime.’” - St Germain (channelled through Elizabeth Trutwin, ‘Prepare for Change,’ 12 March 2014, www.cosmicascension.org/prepare-for-change-a-message-from-st-germain-through-elizabeth-trutwin-march-12-2014/#sthash.8dUQgQdx.GCY1riWc.dpbs).
Rick G: Dial Dear St. Germaine, Do you have direct communication with President Obama…or do you leave contact with him to other Masters??
St. Germain: You could say I have a supervisor function for both the KOS and President Obama (on NESARA related matters). They report to me. I have offices in Virginia and Washington D.C. and we work together regularly on many different aspects of the Plan. I report directly to Mother Sekhmet.
(As above: channelled through Elizabeth Trutwin, ‘Prepare for Change,’ 12 March 2014).
Obama Part One
Antraeus de Herschia
“Master Imhotep had a science team of four powerful Elven to guide and be of service to him through this journey. They arrived in a craft, disembarked and went to work right away. They didn’t need to sleep or eat for days at a time. These Elven energies helped with the building of the pyramids, which are still standing. The Elven society is one of the most powerful to have ever visited this little planet, Earth. They rarely come here in their pure form. Your current president is closest to being in pure Elven form. He was a dark Elven. When I say dark, I am not referring to dark energy. I am referring to a dark colour. It is no coincidence that he came back as a black man.” - Master Guide Kirael (‘More on the Journey to the Shift,' channelled through Kahu Fred Sterling, www.kirael.com/content/view/557/38).
Interestingly, according to a friend, the word ‘elf’ originates from albi meaning a white or 'shining one.’ From albi, he adds, derives the French Cathar name Albigensian (albi plus gens) meaning 'of the elven blood.' A channelled message from Lady Master Nada through Beth Trutwin (28 November 2009) claims that “Barack Obama is President of the United States and the Member Representative on the Council of Nine at Sirius representing the Gaia Collective Consciousness.” She also states, “He is also known as The Sirian Commander and he is a Member on The Council of Nine on Sirius, here in this building. Barack Obama is a Galactic Human, as are many of us living on the Earth at this time of Change Point. He has adept skills and abilities and spent the last 1000 lifetimes preparing for this one.” (www.galacticroundtable.com). Another message, apparently channelled from the Council of Mushaba, through Anakhanda Shaka Mushaba (15 September 2008), states that Obama is from ‘planet Mushaba,’ and is of the Mushaba race. According to this transmission, the reasons many channels say that Obama is from Sirius is that the energy of Sirius is similar and is derived in some way from the Mushaba Force Energy. This message adds that a highly evolved soul by the name of Ambrose has been with/within him since 16 July 2008 (‘a little after 4 p.m. PST’). “He will be a ruler of the people who says that he is not their ruler and that they are his instead…Once he is in office, some darkly-intentioned persons expect to control him just as they and others before them have controlled a succession of U.S. presidents and many members of Congress. However, that vicious kind of governing is at an end. Therefore, the Obama family members are among the most intensely Light-protected persons on Earth.” (www.mushabacenter.com).
There is no question that President Obama is an inspiring leader with a broad appeal, an example to people all around the globe, of all races. A true individual who has ‘intellect, focus and compassion’ and who “represents the best and brightest of all of us.” (Newsnight, BBC2, 20 January 2009). People of all races, colours and classes came together to support him in his campaign for the presidency. He has been referred to as a bridge between government and society and between different peoples as well as a bridge between the old consciousness and the new, ‘to a whole new reality,’ including a new era of racial integration. A man who had travelled from Nigeria to see Obama’s inauguration said that the new President could inspire African nations to adopt democracy (potential democracy at least since we have yet to see true democracy).
“My friends, you are part of an historic moment on Earth, as a new President moves into the White House. For the first time in ages, you will have one who is the people’s choice, and not the Illuminati’s. Our support is with him as are many Beings of Light, and his service to mankind will be according to his life plan, to lead you out of the darkness and into the Light. We will be with him every step of the way, and offer our help whenever it is required. At last we have someone we will be able to approach with confidence, knowing that he will have the best interests of everyone at heart.” – SaLuSa (channelled through Mike Quinsey, 19 January 2009, www.gfbymikequinsey.blogspot.com).
90 million new people voted in the U.S. elections, half of them being under 25. Obama, hopefully, represents a broader vision of the world that reflects the new consciousness that younger generations are attuning to. Cultural wars are over, says Jerry Springer, because people under 30 are not concerned with issues of race relations, prejudice against homosexuals, and so forth. They judge people on the ‘content of their character’ (Martin Luther King). This is the ‘beginning of a post-racial society.’ (This Week, BBC1, 6 November 2008). Indeed, there are many Indigos in their 20s and 30s all around the world, some moving into influential positions and others leading those whom they meet through example and triggering changes in them. Indigos are essentially old souls who are born in readiness for self-awakening to some degree. The younger Indigo generations are different from older Indigos most notably because they incarnate in greater numbers and bring with them the collective wave of energy of their particular age group. As one wave clears the way for the next, so it is refined and able to take collective consciousness further. This progression facilitates the expression of the Crystal Children, the Christed Masters, and their creation of the Golden Age which will also be further established by those after generations who will bring the ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Diamond’ energies to Earth. The younger Indigos are taking on a different stage of the cultural revolution. These ‘gladiators’ are dismantling the old system even further to make way for the new. ‘You won't fool the children of the revolution,’ as Marc Bolan sang in 1974.
During the early 60s, a woman named Nancy Ann Tappe, who believed she could see people’s auras, noticed that children were appearing with Indigo auras and that these children were aware of their mission on Earth. When she sees a colour, it conveys a personality its characteristics to her. This was a new colour to her. Prior to this, she saw only primary colours. However, it turned out that she has a condition called sinesthesia which, in her case, means that she sees colours around people (another example is that the person may see numbers as colours). It is confusing of the senses. It was, therefore, on the basis of her condition that the term 'Indigo' was used. Lee Carroll, who wrote the first book on Indigo Children, has stated that the colours this lady sees are the result of sinesthesia, not auras. There are no coincidences so perhaps either the name or the colour do have some relevance. The definition of such souls, regardless (I have never found this aspect to be either interesting or revealing personally), was introduced by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober in their book. Indeed, however, Kryon, through Carroll, has confirmed that Indigos (not being limited to the children of new consciousness who are now in their 20s and 30s) like Obama have some Indigo colour in their aura which can be seen clairvoyantly. Kryon must have had a reason for doing so regardless of 'appearances' or what humans like to call 'facts.' This was plausibly the destined route to information in the absence of heightened perception. The ‘divine’ connection was, apparently, more direct in terms of the so-called ‘crystal’ children, being more of a New Age creation.
“Just being yourself, being who you are, is a successful rebellion.” - Author Unknown.
I have seen a list of 25 adult Indigo traits – a test by Lee Carroll who channels Kryon - and I have 24 of them: the ‘only Indigo in the village’ – in Lost Britain. Someone recently ‘found me out,’ observing that being interested in spirituality and liking Marilyn Manson must make me an Indigo, which is a perfectly legitimate observation (although it is usually me who informs other people that they are Indigos since most do not know). In truth, however, I have added this word to the subtitle titles of these books as a ‘warning’ that Monstaville possesses a unique, multidimensional format and contains layers of unconventional thought and spiritual truth. [OK, I changed the subtitle eventually] Those Indigos born prior to the Seventies usually ‘embody various degrees of this energy’ and have been the forerunners of the revolution that is likely to pick up momentum from 2009 onwards. In other words, most are not full Indigos express a degree of this energy with them in order to influence collective consciousness in some way. Every bit helps. All races and cultures are going to be affected by this inner revolution. For that reason, we must lay down our suspicions and have faith in the future rather than hold onto fears that are rooted in past and current patterns of behaviour. Britain is perhaps the most tolerant and racially-mature nation on Earth even if our sense of justice includes a strong element of feudal (or Satanic!) fear and conformity. A friend who travels around the world reports that people in many parts of the world, particularly China and Eastern European countries, distrust black people. This surely results from lack of exposure (‘who are these aliens?). ‘Arabs hate blacks,’ he reports (well, Arabs would, one might add). In Russia, racism in general has really started to surface. There have been 80 racist killings this year, 50 people have been beaten to death by violent gangs of youths just for having slightly darker skin and some groups are demanding that all foreign workers be expelled from the country. Soon, however, one hopes to see evidence of Indigo individuality, integrity, leadership and spiritual ‘royalty’ in every race and every nation on Earth, inspiring change in those around them, and producing more prominent black people who evoke admiration both in other black people and other races. It is all about power. A vacuum of positive, creative expression is an invitation to destructive forces to run wild.
“My longing for truth is my only prayer.” - Edith Stein.
When Indigos experience intensity of emotion it shoots directly into the Earth’s magnetic grid of collective consciousness. All starseeds are here to project their vibration, with all its nuances of ascent towards freedom and illumination, out to affect the species as a whole as Plashdar explains. A starseed’s energy is sent out and is picked up by other people “because your thoughts are meant to be picked up on. Starseeds must be especially careful what they are thinking about at any given time. They are here to bless the Earth, and they are here to send out thoughts and emotions that other people will pick up on. It is in their programming. What I mean is, it is in their DNA. Starseeds are here to affect people’s minds, to give them new ideas.” - Plashdar (channelled through Allinduath, 25 August 2010, www.crystalchildmessages.typepad.com/crystal-child-messages/2010/08/plashdar-answers-a-question-about-money.html).
“The people of your times are benefitting dramatically from the experiences of those generations that preceded you, for through the experiences that they lived, and the desires that were generated within them, the summoning began. And today, you are the ones on the Leading Edge of reaping the benefits of what those past generations asked for; at the same time, you are continuing to ask, and you are now summoning…and on it goes. So you can see how, if you can find a way to allow it, there is an avalanche of Well-Being at your fingertips, ripe for your plucking – provided you are in vibrational alignment with it? (And can you not see why – since there is never a crowd on the Leading Edge – you are not going to have a lot of people you can talk to about this?).
These days, there are some people experiencing intense hardships or traumas, and because of how they are living right now, their asking is in a heightened and intense place. And because of the intensity of their request, Source is responding in kind. And although the person who is doing the asking is usually so involved in the trauma that they are not personally receiving the benefit of their own asking, future generations – or even current generations who are not, right now, disallowing – are receiving the benefit of their asking.
We are giving this to you by way of helping you understand: There is an unlimited Stream of Well-Being and an abundance of all manner of things available to you at all times – but you must be in alignment with the receiving of these things. You cannot stand in resistance of them and receive them at the same time.”
– Abraham Hicks (Ask and it is Given. Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks, Hay House, Inc., Carlsbad, CA., U.S., 2004, p.35-36).
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” – Bruce Lee.
I do believe that one reason I am living here is to help raise the vibration in this region, shining my Light through the dense energies of London. My ‘crazy’ Indigo energy is probably sweeping through genes across Asia as we speak, through my subtle contact with the populace in these parts! I know that when a person meditates and does energy work it has a positive effect on the consciousness of the neighbourhood, helping to reduce the tension and negative emotions that would otherwise erupt in the form of quarrels and so forth.
“Everything that you do in meditation, spiritual practices, with your intentions and loving actions throughout the day influences those around you as well as enhancing your own spiritual growth. When you meditate you are not only meditating for yourself but for all of humanity, for all that is the Creator on the Earth and inner planes. Know that you are being of service at all times through your simple desire to connect with the Creator. Many people ask us what their purpose is. We say to you that you are already living your purpose now you are already being of service; you just have to realise and believe this.” – The Ascended Masters (channelled through Natalie Glasson, ‘Being of Service, Part 3,’ 28 March 2011, www.omna.org).
Speaking in the Commons, our own Opposition leader affirmed: "This is a really important moment. To have gone from the horror of segregation to the election of a black President in just four decades is an incredible transformation. It shows the U.S. is a beacon of hope, opportunity and change." It would certainly be good to move both beyond racial prejudice and the defensive inferiority complexes of some ethnic minorities. Of course it is encouraging to see such progress. That progress, however, is not that there is now a ‘black family in the White House’ but surely that there is an American President who relates to the issues of all groups of people: I mean that his election is a triumph over exclusivity and monopoly. Yet, few people appear to be talking about his policies. His skin colour is more important, apparently. I would argue that it is meaningless. It is always what’s inside that counts. His success does not simply show that you can make it regardless of your skin colour in the ‘free (fantasy) world.’ Obama is proof that we should forget the past and understand that, in the modern world, there is scope for people to achieve their goals if they are self-aware and individual and do not identify with external conditions. He is also an adult Indigo according to Kryon which is no surprise (as are the Williams sisters, Tiger Woods and as were the boxers Joe Louis - 1930s - and Muhammad Ali). [See Appendix II: President Obama].
"George Bush has fucked up so bad he's made it hard for a white man to run for President! People are like, 'Give me a black man or white woman or a giraffe or zebra. Anything but another white man! That last one fucked up my roof!" - Chris Rock (Kill the Messenger tour, 2008).
Obama Part Two
byAntraeus de Herschia
“We work with the Sirian Commander, U.S. President Barack Obama. He has prepared many lifetimes for the role he now plays. He has special abilities and will carry Earth into a new era of One Race. We help coordinate the Master Plan for Worldwide Peace.” - Mother Sekhmet (channelled through FatherMotherGod, ‘Prepare for the Mass Decloakings,’ 7 February 2011, www.soundofheart.org/galacticfreepress/content/galactic-free-press-breaking-news-prepare-mass-decloakings).
I believe it is possible that Tupac Shakur’s life was part of a spiritual design for shifting society away from the clutches of the dark and into the Light to make way for Barack Obama, the presidential bridge to the New Age politically. He was an Indigo hip-hop prophet who taught the Elite that they needed to do more than just indoctrinate black people through rap music (which they did after his death) which basically means that they must have become more insecure having been reminded of the power of just one man and that people like Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Mahatma Gandhi and John Lennon are always going to be here. In fact, regardless of the Elite’s drastic measures to counteract this reality, we now have millions of Indigos in place to change the System once and for all! Some are in the forefront and others are working behind the scenes, each expressing their individual truth regardless of the conventional wisdom and demonstrating better ways in which people can live and work on this planet, dedicating themselves to more worthwhile activities regardless of the status quo and the conforming masses. The old world, the old way of thinking and of doing things, is being thrown out with the rubbish.
I see no changes all I see is racist faces
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races…
And only time we chill is when we kill each other
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And although it seems heaven sent
We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact
The penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks
But some things will never change
- Tupac (from the song ‘Changes’ written by Tupac Shakur and Bruce Hornsby, 1992).
Obama was in place, destined for the role reserved for him alone, and the Elite agreed to it partly because it would appease the black community even though he would not be free to really aid them either economically or politically, or so they believed.
Prodigy, of Mobb Deep, for whom I have great respect, said, in 2008, that Obama was a ‘phony’ and a ‘plastic President’ but wished him ‘only love and happiness.’ I myself, at the beginning, looked at the people around him and thought there was no way he could represent anything good. It wasn’t long, however, before I realised that his position is very delicate and his cards must be played very carefully. Consequently, all is not as it appears, and much has had to remain hidden from public view (not to mention that of the Illuminati themselves as well). “But he’s either gonna be assassinated to create chaos and bring about Martial Law,” Prodigy said in an interview for www.ballerstatus.com, “or he’ll live and then, years down the line, at the end of his term, everybody will see that he’s just like the rest of these plastic Presidents who does absolutely nothing good. Just another puppet for the Royal Family.”
“A mystery always holds sway over those who don’t understand it. And the priesthood was born. No king ever existed without the permission of the priesthood. I don’t care what religion you’re talking about or what period of history you’re talking about. It is the truth. The kings never had the power and don’t to this day. Kings exist at the whim of the power which is the priesthoods standing behind the throne. And when the kings ceased to be of benefit to the priesthood they would simply poison him or get rid of him some other way. ‘The King is dead. Long live the King’ and there would be another king appointed.” - William Cooper (from his speech in Lansing, Michigan, 1996).
Being President of the United States does not mean that one is in charge. He is powerless to intervene in the Elite’s repressive domestic measures and hostile relations abroad. However, there is a revolution emerging which involves Freemasonry and various political leaders. Barack Obama is a 32nd degree Freemason of Prince Hall Rite, apparently, and therefore, in theory, subject to Illuminati control; that is, to the dictates of the satanic Jewish supremacists (or ‘religious Zionists’ - haha) who have corrupted the 33rd degree and above. Professor Griff, best known as the Minister for Information for the hip-hop group Public Enemy, says he thinks that the blue blood secret societies let Obama through, gave him a pass, because he’s black and they want to go into Africa for the minerals for the next couple of hundred years. So “they have to go through a phase of galvanising the masses of dark-skinned people that truly believe that change needs to come. But the change that they’re talking about is not necessarily change for the better as far as the masses of the people. It’s probably a better change for them. It’s not going to change for us, the little man on the totempole.” (YouTube video: Interview in Nubian Bookstore, Morrow, Georgia, July 2008).
At least since the Sixties, according to Andrew Basiago, the U.S. government has had time-travel technology that allows them to observe major events in the future. He himself has experienced time travel in secret U.S. government programmes (notably Project Pegasus) and even teleported a million years into the past. Consequently, he himself was informed of his future discovery of life on Mars (in 2008) when he was just a boy although it meant nothing to him then. He also says that he met Barack Obama in the early eighties and that Obama had also received information that he was destined to become a U.S. president. Intelligence Services were watching to see how their lives – and careers – unfolded and also provided them with guidance. In 1981, Basiago, for instance, at the age of 19, teleported to Mars courtesy of the CIA. (YouTube videos by Jessica Mystic: ‘A Conversation with Andrew D. Basiago about the Hidden History of His Discovery of Life on Mars,’ August 2009).
"I have this feeling man, 'cause you know there’s just a handful of people who run everything, you know. That's true. It's provable. It's not…I'm not a fucking conspiracy nut. It's provable. A handful, a very small elite, run and own these corporations, which include the mainstream media. I have this feeling that whoever's elected president, like Clinton was, no matter what you promise on the campaign trail – ‘blah, blah, blah’ – when you win, you go into this smoke-filled room with the twelve industrialist capitalist scum-fucks who got you in there. And you're in this smoky room, and this little film screen comes down – rrrrrrrrr - and a big guy with a cigar goes, ‘Roll the film.’ And it's a shot of the Kennedy assassination from an angle you've never seen before…that looks suspiciously like it's from the grassy knoll. And then the screen goes up, and the lights come up, and they go to the new president, ‘Any questions?’ ‘Er, just what my agenda is.’ ‘First we bomb Baghdad.’ ‘You got it.’" – Bill Hicks.
The Illuminati allowed Barack Obama to become President because they knew it was going to happen regardless of their consent. However, the president of the United States does not run the country. There is a (secret) government inside the government, as Bill Clinton put it. Since he does not run the country and they are ultimately in control, they trust that they will get what they want. If a President resists their agenda and is more influential than they can bear, however, they consider removing him by force. In the case of Obama, an Elite insider stated prior to Obama’s election as president that they did not believe he would last long in office anyway. I was going to suggest earlier that Obama is a black leader who is not on the COINTELPRO hit list (I recommend watching the documentary ‘COINTELPRO 101,’ www.freedomarchives.org/Cointelpro.html). According to Ashtar, however, our space family are finding it necessary to give him protection (see below). We need all the help we can get. Even our ET allies are finding that the Elite's dark web is so complex that they've had to do more research, having believed that they would have succeeded in their operation by now. The core of the Elite is fighting tooth and nail even though many have deserted them and are scattered and fighting each other.
The Cabal could not corrupt Barak Obama or his family and Ashtar has informed us that they have also tried to assassinate him. Our space family will not allow that, he says, because his vision of truth and unity is destined to be realised. President Obama knows about Ascension and understands what he is here on Earth to accomplish. He has steadily talked about peace, love and oneness in his speeches and he the legislation he has seen passed has been greater than previous US presidents. As a result, we are now close to NESARA and Official First Contact Announcements. In this teleconference, dated 2 November 2010 (channelled through Susan Leland, who refused me permission to quote from it directly), Ashtar told us it was no accident that 22-11 was chosen as the day for the assassination of ‘one who wanted to do all of these things that Obama is now doing’ – namely, John F. Kennedy, whom, he added, is with our space family on the ships.
And there’s more:
"Steve, this is Hatonn. Greetings and salutations! The missiles were incapacitated - we're taking NO chances with anything leaving the surface. The missiles are U.S.-based, but in some cases the troops are specialty forces under Illuminati commanders.
No government [that is, in contradistinction to the Illuminati] with military might is willing to initiate an 'incident' in this global economic climate and their people's growing unrest, and any show of power is by order of the Illuminati to their 'shadow' force.
I can tell you, they are frustrated beyond imagining because no nuclear warheads check out to be viable and none of the missiles achieves its objective.
Obama now knows we have him covered and he can proceed without fear for his family's safety and his own. Media report what they are told, of course, but the truth is, now that he knows Earth's ascension timetable, he's negotiating with powers that be either personally or via safe communication channels to shut down Illuminati strongholds in his country, Europe and the Orient.
Some of our colleagues on the planet have made their presence known undeniably because they appeared in their real forms. They are meeting with powerful individuals, including some who operate out of public view, to inform them about our on- and off-planet network, and rats are starting to abandon the ship around the world. You won't hear about that or the mopping up that's underway.
Don't interpret this as our taking control! Our colleagues among you are working with Obama and others with influence to dislodge the Illuminati's remaining strongholds and establish groundwork for wide-scale reforms.
It's a matter of all that must be accomplished within a comparatively short time and the dark resistance has to be dismantled before that can happen. We've been telling you that for some time to prepare you for the massive changes coming. The next several months will be quite a ride - stay in the light and you'll navigate the rough waters in good STEAD."
“Our support of him has been total at all times, and he is a most special soul that together receives our full protection. There have already been a number of attempts on his life, and why Dear Ones – because he is seen for what he really is as a great Being of Light. He will when able to fully express and act on his plan, bring peace to the world. We know that there are campaigns to undermine Obama and have him removed, as the dark Ones were expecting to get their choice for President into the White House. That was not to be, and your expanding consciousness and successful attempts to bring Light and Love to the planet was in part responsible. The Law of Attraction is perfect, and when the Light becomes the dominant force there is no place for the lower energies. In that respect you are to be complimented for your untiring work to bring Light to the Earth…I am SaLuSa from Sirius and love you all as you are as great souls of Light. See that in all those you meet, see the perfection that is there and not the outer skin of duality that will soon be transmuted.” - SaLuSa (channelled through Mike Quinsey, 22 November 2010, www.gfbymikequinsey.blogspot.com).
“Obama, as you know, got rid of most of the Wall Street Mossad crowd in his cabinet…Apparently, Obama has gone off script…The Pentagon is backing Obama…and there’s going to be eight more people purged from his government probably after November…They’re using Obama for the time being. At the same time, I’ve heard that the same people who assassinated Kennedy and Martin Luther King have put a formal hit order on Obama.” – Benjamin Fulford (interviewed on Jeff Rense Radio, October 2010. Note: A year later, Fulford said he was disappointed that Obama had not done more to defy the Elite).
“Because a particular issue is in the forefront of so many minds around the world, we shall speak of it. President Obama will be reelected, and this is no more a matter of politics now than it ever was. Often we have told you that the Golden Age master planners requested this soul from a highly evolved civilisation to come to the planet specifically to fill one of the most strategic positions during this phase of Earths' ascension out of third density and entry into fourth. And all of you agreed with this when you enthusiastically chose your own roles in this lifetime.
We also have spoken about the formidable opposition to Obama's endeavours to bring about greatly-needed reforms in his country and to achieve peace in the world. What we didn't disclose before is that light warriors came from his homeland to protect him and his family from the band of dark reptilians, also from another planet, that the Illuminati hired to kill the Obamas. This shows the extent of the dark ones' fear that this president would end their long reign, and they are right. Very soon they will have no more means to buy assassins, members of Congress or multitudes of lobbyists - then all will see the light in Obama and herald his wise leadership and actions toward world unity.”
- Matthew (channelled through Suzanne Ward, 4 July 2012, www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=150&z=2).
Apparently, ancestry.com (according to CNN News) traced the bloodline of Obama's mother and learned that her lineage (which they believed was white European and is not) is African. She is, in fact, a direct descendent of John Bunch who was the first African enslaved in America. So, the First African American President is a direct descent of the First African Man ever enslaved. A friend, Trinity Marion, posits: “What if Obama is the reincarnation of the first African ever enslaved. There is a Native American prophecy that the world will start over when a slave becomes king and all the kings become slaves and both St. Irenaeus and Nostradamus predicted that a slave will become king someday. This is just something to wonder.” My response to this possibility: Kryon says Obama was born in Hawaii because he has been actively serving this planet since the days of Lemuria. In his case, since he spent so many lifetimes preparing for this one with a specific role to play, sure it's very possible he chose appropriate genes to get the job done right since it would be so difficult what with the Jesuits and mafia trying to assassinate the guy! Apparently, his own people from back home in the stars wherever he's from had to come and protect him here. Or perhaps he wanted his mission to have more potency by making an energetic statement like this. It's message, part of a ritual. Obama represents justice and equality and he's ahead of the game. The Rockefellers knew he was destined to be President so they went and found him in 1982 or whenever it was. But he knew they were going to try and get in his way before being born so he came not only with deep, deep roots spiritually but also physically.
Channelled through Suzanne Ward, 1 September 2012
We've been in readiness for a decade to get this show on the road!
But getting on to when we'll be ‘announced,’ safety still is an issue, of course, but the new key is the November presidential election in the United States. It's essential that the Obama presidency continues. This has nothing at all to do with politics in that country or any other! It has everything to do with the Golden Age master plan!
The plan is according to what Gaia, Earth's soul, wants. She wants a peaceful world with everyone having a fair share and everyone respecting all of her Nature realm. The highest universal council chose as a major player a soul with highly evolved spiritual status, ancient wisdom and world leadership experience in many lifetimes. That soul is Barack Obama.
He was born with and has retained Gaia's vision of Earth, and he has the inspiration and qualifications to achieve it. His reelection is imperative to the plan going forward because his opponent isn't capable of or interested in making the changes the plan requires…
According to the original plan, by now all of that would have been long gone. It was intended that when Obama became president, he'd have worldwide support in unifying people of all nations and leading your world into the Golden Age. The plan called for you and us to meet up ten years ago and work together to clean up the mess on your planet caused by greedy, uncaring power players.
Well, we're still waiting and Obama's efforts to get reforms going have been blocked by his foes in the Congress or the moneyed individuals who control most members. Through either death threats to his family or bloc voting, Obama has been forced into decisions that are against his conscience and his world vision. After he knew that he and his family had our protection, his mind was relieved of that deep concern, but he still has had to deal with unyielding partisanship and blatant lies or distortions of facts.
That's what's on centre stage in the U.S. right now and what should be there is how that nation will cooperate with other countries to fix the sorry state your world is in! If our making an appearance becomes pivotal to Obama keeping his position, we'll do that in sufficient time before the election. If we see that his reelection is certain, we'll show up soon afterwards.
Again, this is NOT political! Once we're there, political differences won't be an issue in any country. The truth about us and many other situations that will be disclosed will be.
I think what matters is Barak Obama’s intent and the fact that he's been trying to push through the changes he envisions. Presidents no longer have any power but Obama is not just a puppet. Removal of the Elite is a grand operation involving millions of people. Once the new financial system comes online they will be rendered impotent and Obama will have more power and say. We will then start to see the changes we need. | <urn:uuid:fc5230ef-4945-4816-804b-42f7690c801e> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.antraeus.co.uk/obamaramai.htm | 2019-08-17T11:09:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312128.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817102624-20190817124624-00440.warc.gz | en | 0.977044 | 9,482 |
I'm told that I have to take my birthday decorations down in my office today. Really? Why? I never want to let birthdays go…
It was a great birthday this year, despite having this icky cold. Last night it felt like I had been swallowing broken glass. I have that thing where you feel sort of sleepy/dizzy/out of body… runny nose… cough… but no, Jeanne, no fever. I don't think I'm a risk to public health at this point.
I got some great birthday surprises - roses from Ryan, dinner and a cake from Cody and Marquee, flowers from my friend Mary in Alabama, cupcakes and a gift bag of bath and body works stuff from my co-workers, a cake and flowers from one of our vendors, a Willow Tree figurine from my nieces…
Jim and Angie are fixing my laptop as my birthday gift! It should be ready on Monday… they had to get some parts in for it… but that's such a great gift for me! I miss my friends who live in my computer! I was looking at being without it for *at least* several more weeks OR not paying something I need to pay to be able to have it back. I'm so excited that it's being fixed.
I really, really, really just wanted to curl up in the bed yesterday - this time not from sadness but just because I feel horrible. I soldiered on… *pause to straighten my halo*… and went to church last night. It was worth it to be greeted by Abbie with her "Happy Birthday 41 year old!"… and Jamie and Sarabeth and even little Eli bouncing around with excitement over my birthday - or whatever they were excited about. Another lady in our church was celebrating her 40th yesterday… and my friend Michelle's little girl, Emma, was celebrating her ninth. (Emma is Eli's sister). The fellowship hall was decked out for Sherri's 40th and they sang to her… and then to Emma… and then to me… which was really sweet.
Austin's report card came in the mail yesterday. He was excited to have a "c" average. *eyeroll* But of course, those of you who have been with me for awhile will remember the end of Cody's 9th grade year - about three weeks before the school year ended we found out he was failing pretty much every subject and he had to scamper and scurry and I had to beg and plead for him to just pass. Not that he's not a bright kid. He was just mega-lazy. With Austin's study skills class and tutoring once a week he is pretty much unable to have uncompleted assignments. Austin tries to be lazy but it just doesn't work out for him.
Today is pay day. I got a small raise. My salary will still be heavily dependant on commissions. We haven't gotten the final word on the commission increase yet and I was hoping for that for this pay period. Times are still hard. I'm glad for every little bit, of course. Somehow it keeps working… I've had some stressful moments… my budget strategy has been "putting out fires"… but I'm hanging in there.
Austin wants to get a summer job and I appreciate his enthusiasm but the logistics of him working make me dizzy. He REALLY wants to work in this little toy shop in Helen. It's in the heart of the tourist area and they sell lots of cutesy little gimmicky things, magic tricks, novelty toys. He would REALLY be a good salesperson for this shop because he's so enthusiastic about the stuff they have. I'm not sure he has the people skills to work with the general public… especially the vacationing public (certainly a different perspective, wouldn't you say?) and the store is waaaay out of the way for me in the mornings/afternoons but… if he can get a job, I'll do what I can to make it work for us. He definitely needs the experience…
Our little office is limping along today. Shirley is out taking her mom and other elderly relatives to doctors appointments. Theresa didn't sleep last night so she's a zombie. Ginger has some major back pain. I've got this creeping crud. Duane is leaving at noon to go camping for the weekend. Kevin said we could all leave and he'd handle it. *eyeroll* Riiiiight!
Ok… thankful Thursday items for this week:
1. that my laptop is getting fixed
2. surviving my turbulent 40th year
3. flowers! Birthday cakes! Birthday presents! Birthday dinners!
4. "c" averages
6. my new white tea and ginger body lotion from bath and body works - it smells great!
7. my new office, my raise, possible increased bonus and all those things that bit by bit make my work life easier
8. Sammy the dog - Cody and Marquee's sweet little puppy
9. Stubby the 3legged cat - who had a great time playing with Sammy the dog Tuesday night. Well. Reverse that. Sammy had a great time doing what he THOUGHT was playing… Stubby was in attack cat mode, defending his territory. Stubby has learned to look forward to my morning bowl of cereal and has learned that if he waits patiently, that I will put the bowl down on the floor for him to have a little milk once I'm finished. This is a huge accomplishment. In the past his nosy little three legged self was trying to battle me for my breakfast. He finally has figured out that there's a much bigger payoff if he will wait.
I'm including, without permission, the devotion that my dad wrote yesterday. I didn't see it until today because - no email at home yet. Tissue alert! I'll close with this… love and hugs and happy Thursday!
I had just gotten in bed about eleven o’clock on 04/28 and nestled down when Norma told me that it was time. I immediately told her she had to wait a week because my vacation wasn’t scheduled to start until the next Monday. She informed me that babies don’t wait on vacation schedules – and we were headed to Dekalb General Hospital right away. At 2:09 a.m. the next morning, Heather Nancine Gant came into this world – and both Mom and Dad were thrilled. Jim Jr. slept through it, under the watchful eye of Grandma Ward.
I was counting earlier – we have a lot of birthdays to celebrate in the Gant family. There are the five children; three spouses, one significant other, eleven (soon to be twelve) grandchildren and one great-grandchild. And that’s not counting my Mother, brother, sister and the other in-laws and outlaws.
God is so good to all of us. For me, Heather’s birthday is very special this year. In late September, it looked like we might not be able to celebrate it with her again. The call came on Friday evening – about 5:30. Mom and I held each other as we contemplated the unthinkable – that one of our precious ones might die. And ALL of our children and grandchildren are precious to us – each one. I cannot explain the pleasure I get with a “chew on you” or a “lady finger” snack with one of my grandchildren.
I cannot tell you how long the drive is from Atlanta to Jacksonville – it seemed like forever. And the whole weekend was difficult as we made the daily trip to the hospital. We had to return to Georgia before she was released – but God blessed Heather with brothers who step up to the plate when it is time. And He blessed her with two good close friends who came to her aid in a difficult situation. And now she is back in Georgia and thriving (according to her own accounts on her blog). I think - no, I know God has a lot to do with where she is today as opposed to where she was at this time last year. And I know she reads our Good Morning messages each day - and will probably be objecting to the spotlight – but for me, this birthday is special because she is here with us. So ---- HAPPY Birthday Heather!
Unless the LORD Builds the House
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.2It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children[a] of one’s youth.5Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.[b]
Psalm 127:4 Or sons
Psalm 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I'm told that I have to take my birthday decorations down in my office today. Really? Why? I never want to let birthdays go…
Posted by Heather at 10:49 AM
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
I have conquered the evil 40th year and am now proudly 41-derful years old! God is good, my friends!
Let me preface this entry by saying I have some kind of creeping crud illness that I would normally self-diagnose as flu but I don't want to send anyone off for their surgical masks before they read my infected blog. I have a sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, cough and feel really draggy. It's not swine flu. Not that serious... It might be guinea pig flu... or hamster flu... but nothing whole hog. Just enough to make me want to climb into bed and sleep for a month but I can't because...
It's my BIRTHDAY!!!!
Angie tells me I have lots and lots of facebook wishes. I can't access facebook so thank you... I look forward to seeing them one day when I have access to the internet. In the meantime, I have warm fuzzies thinking of the warm fuzzies...
I can access this blog... and I can get tweets...
My beloved laptop is in the capable hands of some kindly gentleman(men) who work for Truett McConnell College. Parts are ordered and repairs will be made and then I will be back online full time. Well, as usual. I still have to work full time.
My office is decked out in birthday decorations. It's a party! Duane is at a training class today but stopped by long enough to wish me a happy birthday. I got a lovely gift bag from the wonderful people I work with. And cupcakes!
I got roses yesterday from my oldest son - red, pink, white, yellow... they're beautiful. Austin thought it would be a great idea to "arrange" them for me.... I was a little aggravated that he did a butcher job on my roses but... well, that's life with Austin. Austin also said - while handing me the card - "these are from Ryan... and me... yeah, that's the ticket... "
Cody and Marquee came up yesterday afternoon and surprised me with a birthday dinner. They made spaghetti, garlic bread, salad... Marquee made a cake with the most amazing fudge icing... good stuff!
Purple Michael sent me a "mix tape" (cd) that came in the mail yesterday. I started listening to it on the way to work and got all misty.... *sigh*... I have had so many great loves in my life... I'm so greatful....
Sarabeth and Jamie called me at 7:15 this morning to sing "happy birthday"... and then I talked to both of them... they're so sweet. Tonight they're doing a presentation of their mission trip over spring break for their classes. Since my class ended last week, I'll be able to go in with them and listen to their presentation. I may need the surgical mask... oy...
People dread turning 40... I embraced it... not realizing that 40 would be the most difficult and yet the most transformational year of my life. God is faithful. He has provided everything I've needed along the way and given me a sense of wonder - and a sense of humor! - that I might never have developed otherwise. My prayer is that my 41st year is far less eventful, traumatic, dramatic and difficult - but that I still continue to grow in wisdom and strength and continually lean on the Lord. I want to lean on Him as completely in times of plenty and joy as I have had to in times of desperation. That will be, for me, real growth.
time to earn a living... love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 8:37 AM
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I got the most amazing letter from Purple Michael yesterday... best gift I can ever remember receiving.... and I've gotten some doozies. I'll post the poem he included in this entry at the bottom.
Also got an amazing and sweet card/letter from my grandmother. She's 85 and she just lost a close relative, her sweetheart and her best friend all in the space of a month. Yet, she is incredibly upbeat and positive. I'll treasure that card forever!
And this... cryptic yet interesting comment from my mama...
be aware of the day before your birthday, good things might happen
April 28, 2009 5:43 AM
Hmmmm... that could be exciting.
Austin is really sick. I'm sick too but not as bad... sore throat, runny nose, fever. Last night I felt all flu-ey and wiped out but this morning I'm ok. I left Austin home so i'm planning to cut work a little short to get back and assess to see if we need to get him to a doctor.
Written on my hand today "all things" for two reasons:
I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me
All things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.
I am placing my hope today in "all things".
And now for my poem...a few Easters ago, I had silver bands engraved for Purple Michael, my kids and myself that said, "CHARM" and wrote an essay about how before he entered our lives we were char (Cody, Heather, Austin, Ryan) - burned, used up, worthless - but when he entered our lives, we became a magical group... CHARM'ed. (Cody, Heather, Austin, Ryan and Michael). So the word "charm" is a precious word between Michael and I... so this poem is perfect!
BELIEVE ME, IF ALL THOSE ENDEARING YOUNG CHARMS
Author: Thomas Moore
Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And they cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear;
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose.
Have a great day, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 7:55 AM
Monday, April 27, 2009
I'm a google celebrity… according to the fabulous Robert Drake,
And in other news, if you type 'tightening' and 'corset' in to google, your blog heads the list.
That's pretty hard core! Austin always tells people that my blog is in the top ten. Well. I mean… Stellan's blog and Bring the Rain and Living Proof Ministries and about a million other blogs are more popular. I'm just there. Maybe Austin meant "top ten embarassing things my mom does to me".
Not even one hour in this morning and I've already handled two claims. Good times.
My back is KILLING me! I did something to it Saturday… by the time I went grocery shopping Saturday afternoon I could barely walk. I think something is pinched because I'm having these crazy pains down my left leg. Getting old. I also have major sinus stuff going on so I'm less than 100% today… but I'm at work. That's my accomplishment for the day!
It's my friend A.T's birthday today! Happy Birthday T!!!
Austin and I did some major cruising through the mountains this weekend. I wanted him to see how close we are to some really amazing sites. We're about thirty minutes (give or take a bit) from the Appalachian Trail. He didn't really understand what the big deal was but then we went to the Walasiyi trail store and he could see all the paraphenalia and old retired hiking boots and different products and he started putting it together. http://www.mountaincrossings.com/ Check out the store… some beautiful views from this place. We really don't take advantage of the fact that we're minutes away from some of the most scenic places in the state of Georgia.
Austin's favorite "scenic" view, however, was Goat on the roof. Seriously. Check them out at www.goats-on-the-roof.com . It cost me a little driving time and 50 cents for him to feed the goats and he talked about it all the day. We also went to Tallulah Gorge and the small little mountain towns around and up that way. We stopped in a half dozen little antique stores and general stores. Austin loves all that stuff but we have a hard time with the "see with your eyes and not with your fingers" concept. We went in one antique store and wandered around in what seemed dim lighting. There was a lady asleep on the front porch with a book in her lap… she was in a rocking chair… we didn't bother her, it seemed appropriate for the day, to be napping in the warm spring air. As we were leaving the store the owner came in and turned on the lights and apologized profusely. His girlfriend was supposed to have opened the store - but she was asleep on the front porch. I thought it was funny… the poor guy was steamed…. We left before they got into it. She didn't cost him any sales - we weren't buying anyways.
I don't think I've blogged yet about my car drama. Oy. I went and had a nice little car picnic at Piedmont College in a remote area of the baseball field parking lot and when it was time to go back to the office my car wouldn't start. It was that "one more thing" that sent me over the edge. God bless Theresa, our new employee, I called the office and she came right away to pick me up. I was bawling… and she was so sweet… such a mother hen… "we can fix this…". I boohoo'ed for about an hour before we got ahold of Ginger's husband. He went with me to check the car out - it was the battery - and it just needed jumping off. He said I need to budget for a new one soon, the one I have is original to the car - which is five years old and has *almost* 100,000 miles on it. God has been good.
I had done so much crying about the car Friday afternoon that I was all red faced and blotchy and puffy. I looked a pitiful mess. Purple Michael always says I look pretty when I cry but I think he's just being nice. At any rate… Duane and I finally chatted about salary - had my six month review - with me looking all sad and pitiful - Friday afternoon. Duane said some nice things, which made me feel better. When he hired me I was quite a wild card, more than he knew at the time. He knew I had moved around quite a bit over the previous two years - really, between October 2006 and October 2008 I worked for 4 different agents! He knew that I had been working only part-time with Kathy and that I had a spotty attendance record. Honestly, I couldn't tell him anything more than that it was my intention to do better… be more stable… put down roots… I couldn't tell him then what I had been through and I had no idea of how well I would handle things. But now… six months in, we both know that I'm far stronger than I had thought. And he knows more about what made me sketchy back then… and why it's not a factor now. It looks like there will be an improvement in my earnings, although I don't yet know to what degree. Again, I will say that God has been good. I have seen so many "loaves and fishes" miracles lately… things that last beyond what seems possible… tires…gas… food… energy… Resources that appear from nowhere and last beyond comprehension. And a teenage son that eats like a goat - as in, will eat anything I fix without complaining. He's just as happy to have a bowl of cereal for dinner as a steak. That's a blessing in itself!
Ok.. Time to focus and sell! I miss my facebook friends! Hope you have a great week! Love and hugs!
Posted by Heather at 9:59 AM
Friday, April 24, 2009
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
The sun is shining. We're expecting warm weather all weekend. It will be a great time to head to the mountains to explore for a bit. I just walked out to take some trash outside and there was a little bird sitting on the street sign… so very Disney! This can be such an idyllic place. I hope I never lose my sense of wonder and excitement at the world around me.
I saw a lizard yesterday and laughed… it reminded me of Florida…. Seemed like I could never make it from the car to the condo without encountering some slithering beast.
Here I can't make it home without coming across some sort of roadkill. Yesterday evening it was something - I couldn't quite figure out what - that was belly up on the side of the road with all four paws STRAIGHT up in the air. I know dead animals aren't funny but the position of that animal just cracked me up! Just like last Sunday - there was a little bambi on the side of the road with it's neck broken. His head was completely cocked back underneath of him. It reminded me of "in case of emergency, put your head between your knees… and kiss your butt goodbye".
Sorry to make light of roadkill. It's just everywhere around here. More wildlife by the square yard, I imagine.
I also thought it was pretty funny when I passed a bank yesterday with a sign out front advertising an upcoming customer appreciation day. Free tomato plants for everyone. I realized that Austin is really assimilating when he said, "are you going to stop and get one?" He likes the little hanging bag dealie that they keep advertising on tv. We walked through the gardening section of the Ingles last weekend. Austin wanted to take all these poor homeless plants home with us. "Why son? Why would you want to condemn a plant to death?". I can't grow anything.
Yesterday I was driving home from work with my window down and I heard a little thud like a rock hitting the edge of the car door… then I felt something land on my right hand and looked down expecting to see a pebble or something… it was a bee… a big bee… that was either dead or knocked unconscious. I didn't wait to find out, I shook him off. And laughed.
That's my Disney nature environment here - roadkill and dead bumblebees.
Austin has apparently been under an IEP for too long at school. The ninth graders went on a trip to Washington DC. His school is ONLY 9th grade so that took a big chunk of the school. Austin moved here after the sign up and deposit deadline had passed and … honestly… I couldn't have afforded the trip anyways. Our pastor's daughter Abbie, and her friend Mary (our deacon's daughter) both are at the 9th Grade Academy with Austin and both have downs syndrome. I missed Abbie on Wednesday night and asked Austin where she was. He said, "she has already left for DC. She and Mary have an ACCOMODATION on their IEP that prevents them from riding the bus with the other kids on the field trip so they left earlier". I cracked up! He knows way too much about "accomodations" and "IEPs". Abbie and Mary are so sweet together. I'm glad they have one another…
We've done so well on our no spending diet. I'm really proud of us. Last night we had grilled cheese sandwiches and roasted chickpeas for dinner. I've really stretched a dollar farther than I ever imagined possible! There are still some tough budgeting decisions ahead of me but I'm encouraged. The trick is to stay on the no spending diet even when we have a little cash on hand so that we're living cheaper. Last Saturday our splurges were boiled peanuts and a carrot raisin muffin from the German bakery. This Saturday I'm going to plan to take a little picnic into the mountains. I want to take Austin to Blood Mountain. It was a special place for his dad and I… I'd like him to get the connection. It will be a great weekend to walk in the woods… which is free! I've also been doing a good job of brown-bagging, carrying leftovers for lunch and I actually REALLY like it better, not having to try to figure out what I want to eat at lunch time. Today I'm having an egg salad sandwich with mango on the side. It's a perfect day for a car picnic.
Better get back on track… been marketing pretty hard today and needed to take a break from rejection, voice mail and hang ups. *laugh* Hope you have a great weekend! Love and hugs!
Posted by Heather at 11:40 AM
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Linky-dinky day for you… I haven't taken you guys on a linking expedition lately. Here are some that I enjoy:
Charming local inn - http://www.suttonmill.com/
My news fix - www.drudgereport.com
You know I'm a home-teamer - www.statefarm.com - There are seriously some great calculators and tips on there!
Thought about getting the laptop repaired here www.yonahelectronics.com hoping that being small town, local, etc that their price would be better but their estimate was higher than Geek Squad. Que Sera!
I also looked at this place - www.laptoprescue.com but it makes me a little nervous to just put my precious laptop in the mail.
Ultimately - it's not a financial priority. I'm going to Jim and Angie's this weekend to catch up on email and facebook. Otherwise, I'll just keep doing my sharpie drawings to entertain myself in the evenings and will follow what I can from the office on blogs and will enjoy the twitter text updates that I get. I gave away a ton of sharpie pictures last night at church. Some of my long time blog readers have been recipients of my previous artistic endeavors.
I never watch things when they're new/current. I've been flipping the channel whenever Friends ends every night instead of watching House of Payne. Then the other day I was distracted and just let it keep playing and there was my goofy friend Jamie Moore… playing a Richard Simmons sort of character… so I started watching and now I love the show! http://www.tbs.com/shows/houseofpayne/
Need info about your drivers license or tag in Georgia? Try www.dds.ga.gov
http://www.gatrees.org/CommunityForests/Stormsafety.cfm This is a good resource for caring for trees on your property and advice for clearing trees after a storm. After Georgia's drought - followed by a wet and windy season - there are a lot of trees coming down on homes, cars, streets, etc. This website was recommended on the local radio station and it looks interesting.
Is it a full moon? Seems like I'm coming across all kinds of crazy today.
I'm still loving Mamma Mia the musical. We listen to an "oldies" station at work and everytime an old ABBA song comes on, I'm doing office karaoke. I have the CD in my car and it pairs nicely with bright sunshine and with windows rolled down and singing at the top of your lungs.
Although, unfortunately, the pollen is ridiculous right now. My eyes feel like they're full of gravel. They're so puffy you'd think I had an all night cry. Jamie complained of a sore throat last night so Angie put her through the Aunt Heather "Jamie's getting sick" test. I can always tell by her eyes. Her eyes were bright and shiny last night, full of giggles, if you can imagine giggly eyes… Jamie has sort of a cocker spaniel joy about her. I took one look at her and she grinned and I said, "you're not sick!" I shared her spoon at dinner so I hope she's not, anyways! Although, I seem to have build up a tolerance to her illnesses, if you'll remember her bout with the flu back at the beginning of March.
Have I mentioned the "new" girl here at work? She worked here before and then basically had to quit due to some medical issues. She's much better and was able to come back to work. Duane had some reservations about our "alpha female" personalities possibly being in conflict but I quite enjoy her. She's got a strong faith and she's a good listener. We connected right off the bat and I am glad to have her around.
Our office environment is currently very thumbs up. There are definitely worse ways to make a living. I'm loving my new *private* office with the big window and pretty blue flowers outside… I'll post some pictures whenever I get a chance.
My boss' sweet wife gave me a new conditioner to try on my hair - expensive stuff. The result - still - no matter what I try, no matter what it costs, my garnier fructisse always works best and it's cheap. I use the cream when my hair is curly and the oil when it's straight and it does just fine for about $4 a bottle.
I know that it's spring time because my winter stockings are all starting to wear out and get holes in them. I don't wear "pantyhose" because they run too easily. I wear tights. They look better (I think) and last longer. I've had six pair of tights to last me since I got here - so six months worth of wearing four days a week, plus Sundays. That's a pretty good bargain.
My power bill is lower now. We've gotten the power bill down to below $50 a month, which I think is great, considering our place is total electric.
I've been brown bagging to work all week due to my "no spending diet". I forgot this morning. Gonna hit the dollar menu. I've been eating nutrigrain bars for breakfast. I bought a case of them from Costco back in February... living off the bounty of the pantry... but they don't keep me that full... so I have to eat a decent lunch. Grilled cheese is on the menu for dinner. Austin doesn't complain. We had a good dinner at church last night - ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, biscuit and some of that awesome sweet tea.
Ok. That's enough for now. Have a great Thursday! Love and hugs!
Posted by Heather at 12:14 PM
Robert - it's "Sautee Nacoochee". Takes some getting used to. Austin no longer snickers at the word, "Nacoochee". I think he's getting used to being here.
Church last night was awesome. It was the last night for our Breaking Free bible study. I tripped up on all kinds of frustration trying to get there.... tried to go to Gainesville to cash a check and couldn't find the bank... so I had driven an hour and a half for nothing.... got home and the dish network was out and the phone was out. It took me about five minutes to realize that they needed to be paid. I scraped together enough and paid that... wondering what else we might miss out on because of that expense but... I'm either at work or church or home. When I'm home, my only entertainment is the internet or tv. The laptop's kaput for now so it's just tv. I paid it. Traffic around the town square was completely blocked as they were hanging new traffic lights... dozens of little frustrations like that... but God's grace is greater. Usually I would have curled up in a little ball and not bothered... but I'm glad I went. My hen party bible study was awesome. Just awesome.
Time to start work already... will be in touch later... love and hugs!
Posted by Heather at 7:55 AM
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
A few more things - quickly - I'm on my lunch break but it's about to end!
The guy who had the kidney transplant is doing well. It was Theresa's BIL who was donating the kidney - I had it backwards - but all are well.
Stellan is reportedly doing well.
Child support came. Not what it should be... hopefully I'll stay aggravated long enough to follow through with child support recovery. He's been shorting it by about $150 a month and I'm supposed to just "deal". I want to be compassionate but my creditors are not. Ultimately - he's going to have to figure out a way to pay what he owes. I'm far past being the bitter ex-wife. But geez. Participate, already. Austin eats UH-lot!
I meant for this to be a short and positive post. Really. The sun is shining. Back to work now.
Posted by Heather at 11:59 AM
It's a beautiful spring day... just wanted to check in and say hello before I start work...
Nothing new really to report. I'm doing pretty good. Been doing lots of sharpie drawings since I don't have the laptop in my lap all evening.
My birthday is in one week! Woohoo! I can't wait to be... 41...
I remember when my friend A.T. and I were 14. She was arguing with her mom about something and her mom said something to the effect that her numbers were reversed... she was 41 and we were 14 so she knew better. A.T. might remember the exact context better than me... but it stuck with me. A.T. will be 41 next Monday, I'll be 41 on Wednesday. We made it, Miss Anne! Of course now Miss Anne is... 68? So I guess she still knows more than us...
I am MISSING my cyber world so much! It feels like another divorce. anyone got a computer they want to loan/sell cheap? No? Oh well. It looks to be another month before the budget will allow me to fix/replace mine and get back online at home. Even then... it's probably going to come down to wisdom teeth or computer.
But... still... life is good... I've been feeling pretty good... been cooking a lot to save money... work has been slow/boring. I met with a father of triplets yesterday about some life insurance for himself. Other than that... no pending sales. Gotta jump in there today and try to make it happen... love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 8:09 AM
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I'm working therefore I should not be blogging...
I just wanted to menti0n a few *quick* things.
If you're not praying for Stellan, please do so... he's in surgery today... www.mycharmingkids.net
My co-worker Theresa's brother in law is having a kidney transplant today in Jacksonville. Of all places. She is tearful... but faithful... lift up their family as the day will be long and the outcome is uncertain.
God brings us to and brings us through so many times of trial. If you haven't seen my comments from yesterday... go check 'em now. the fabulous Mr. Drake quoted a beautiful passage from Psalms... along with his incredible words of wisdom. Have I told you lately that I love you?
In the - literally sixty seconds - since I started typing this entry I received an email from my sister Angie and a phone call from my friend Michelle (hello! blast from the past!). God is faithful.
Child support has not come. There has been no child support the entire month of April. I called the childrens' father last night and he was dismissive and insulted and said he was doing the best he could... and said the check is in the mail. I do not know... but I know that God provides and in the time of waiting for God to provide and wondering how He will provide, we grow stronger, just as the fabulous Mr. Drake said in his comment yesterday. (go read it, already!)
Back to work... time to make the donuts... er... sell the insurance! love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 8:41 AM
Monday, April 20, 2009
The laptop seems to be really down for the count this time. It's been revived 3-4 times before when I thought we were done for but I don't think it's gonna happen for us this time. It may be a month or so before I can get it repaired/replaced. In the meantime… I can post here but can't read email or get on facebook. It bothered me *only slightly* over the weekend. I've spent a lot of time coloring with my sharpie markers. I've made a ton of bookmarks.
I'm in my new office now with a door and window and everything. Haven't had our "green stuff" conversation yet. That was supposed to be Friday but didn't happen. I trust God's timing….
And I'm praying that child support shows up. Usually I get it every two weeks and it's been three weeks. This is the worst possible time for him to sketch out on me again. But it's also about that time again… he sketches out every couple of months "not getting any work" or whatever excuse he has. I guess he still hasn't figured out that his kid eats even if his dad doesn't work. Every time this happens I decide I'm going to go through child support recovery to collect on the many many thousands of dollars he owes me from all his "sketchy times" over the years. And then he pays and I get too busy to deal with it. I can guarantee you that even though it's been three weeks since he last paid that he'll pay two weeks worth of child support… that's how it always works with him.
We're nickel and diming our way through to next payday. I just get up every morning and ask that God provide "our daily bread". So far, so good! It's requiring careful planning but honestly, if I could learn to spend as carefully all the time, we'd be better off. Like with Kelli and her "no spending diet". I'm just trying to make good use of my resources.
I made a great casserole Saturday night - penne pasta, ground beef, ro-tel tomatoes, red and orange peppers and american cheese. This was stuff I had on hand. It made enough for 2 1/2 meals for us… and we ate until we were stuffed!
Today I have pintos in the crockpot and we'll have cornbread with 'em! Oddly, my child loves beans with fresh onion. He's easy. I bought a case of nutrigrain bars and a case of instant oatmeal back in February and we're able to use that for breakfast. I'm doing either leftovers or pb&j for lunch. I'm sorta proud of myself for being resourceful.
Interesting conversation with Barry via text Saturday night. I haven't really talked about him much lately because the situation is pretty much … as it has been forever… in a holding pattern. We were talking about my birthday - whether or not we could get together. (my birthday is on the 29th!) I'm not holding my breath.
I've had great birthdays over the past few years. Purple Michael and I took that fabulous bed and breakfast weekend for my 37th birthday… which still ranks among my most favorite trips in my whole life! Then there was Michael and the trip to Boston for my 38th birthday… and even though my other two birthdays with Michael were scaled down from the initial "bait and switch" of that weekend… Michael was always incredibly generous with me on birthdays. I'm grateful for those times with him.
I'm also grateful to be in a place now where I remember the pain/frustration much less and remember the good times more often. That can be tricky… that white hot anger kept me from missing him. Remembering good stuff makes me regret that we couldn't get the rest of it right. I would rather miss him than hate him. It's easier for me to forgive and feel an occasional sting than it is to remain bitter and angry.
Austin and I were talking about numbers in the bible and the fact that 40 is the number of testing/trial/tribulation. Whenever you see 40 - you know the people are "going through". Think about it - 40 years in the wilderness for the Israelites. Noah in the ark for 40 days. Jesus being tempted for 40 days.
So it was with 40 for me… it was a time of trial. I'm glad to be turning 41. I hope I'm past that time of trial. Not that bad things will never happen to me again - we should all be so lucky, right? I was praying about someone special and sort of whining before the Lord out of fear / uncertainty / hesitancy and God spoke so clearly to my heart and said, "I'll never let you be hurt like that again". Ok… let me clarify a bit… if I trust God and stay within His will for my life and don't try to put cart before horse and if I use what I've learned from the past three years.
Better post this and get my nose back to the grindstone. I need to sell something in the worst way! Love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 11:12 AM
Thursday, April 16, 2009
This will show you both the power of prayer and the reach of the internet...
Stellan is a baby who has a heart defect. His mother's blog is another tear-jerker...
people have been sending in "praying for Stellan" pictures from all over the world... check out the link http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2008/08/eventually-these-photographs-will-be-in.html
Posted by Heather at 9:10 PM
How do I convince Stubby that "the boy" likes him WAAAAY mre than me and that he should be rubbing his nub on him and not me?
Remember the odd knee pain I mentioned last weekend? Today I remembered why my knee was hurting... my desk is not a desk, it's two tables put together and last week I slammed my knee into the leg of the table... I remembered this when I did it again today!
I have a sore throat.
End of complaints... because today has been another really awesome day.
I just talked to Angie... they're on their way to Myrtle Beach. Our youth group went to Myrtle Beach every summer and it was such a great time. Jim takes his youth group there too... and he has to go to some training or something or other. I'm taking care of Princess the cat while they're gone... which means I run by their house and dump cat food and water in her bowls. Princess is incredibly anti-social. She gets excited about seeing me since I feed her.
Sarabeth gave a presentation at school yesterday about their mission trip to Brunswick, GA over spring break. They worked at a mission that helps sailors (I think... sorry, I haven't seen the presentation). Sarabeth did great... which is huge for her because she's really shy. But she had a couple of meltdowns last night. It was like the stress of it all got to her. I SOOOOO get that! I'm not the least bit shy but I definitely feel sapped after dealing with people and being social. I have to balance social time with nest time. Bless her sweet little heart...
I mentioned that there are some things changing in our office. It's sort of like pulling back the layers of an onion... looking at the threads in a colorful tapestry... bit by bit things fall into place in ways that we can't begin to comprehend. Ginger will be moving into the desk in the lobby where she can assist with payments, routing customers to the other agents and doing lots of other administrative things that she enjoys and excels at. I will be moving into an office where I can concentrate more on marketing and sales and doing things that I'm trained to do... and that will *hopefully* increase my commissions. Ginger is really excited because she doesn't enjoy sales. (I've been there, God has really helped me become more bold and confident in sales and I'm completely in a different place there than I was a year ago!) I'm really excited because constantly being distracted by taking payments and interruptions while I was on the phone trying to market... and being interrupted as people came into the lobby made it HARD for me. I'm relieved. She's relieved. Everyone is happy and people are in the roles that they're best at in our office. I think that's very God.
Tomorrow we're gonna talk about some of the other stuff. The green stuff. Praying that goes well... really, at this point, anything will help... my salary is not my validation. I don't expect to become rich doing what I do. I just want to pay my bills and not have to be worried that the lights will be cut off or that the repo man will pick my car up while I sleep. I just want to make enough money to honor the debts I have and to support myself and my kid.
I think they don't even need to do the last few weeks of American Idol. The biggest standout this season is Adam Lambert. I think he's just amazing... I don't always like his arrangements but I love his voice. And he's a cutie patootie! I know there are other people on the show but they seem like such amateurs in comparison.
Purple Michael got a job doing a summer theatre program. They're doing Kiss Me Kate. I'm so excited for him! I can't tell you how badly I want to just pick up and move to Chicago to do this show with him... if Michael's doing a show... I should be there by his side.... we're a team... except... I have to stay here and be a responsible adult and keep my day job.
It's time for TMZ! I love it!
Hope you have a great Thankful Thursday! love and hugs!
Posted by Heather at 7:01 PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Why is it that every time I sit down to type a blog entry, the first thing that pops into my head is, "wow, what a day!".
Isaiah 52 rocks. More about that in a minute.
Today was payday. I took care of some things that were really hanging heavy over my head. I'm broke until next payday *grin*... but I'm not stressed. Today.
My wisdom teeth will be taken out on June 4th. One was bad enough that the health insurance will cover it. The other three are covered under dental insurance. Even though I have an insurance license, I don't quite understand how that all works. All I know is that *fortunately* my health insurance will cover the sedation and all that stuff which is really expensive... so my out of pocket isn't too bad. I will need to bank some comp time between now and then so I'm not missing out on income.
The real problem is not the day to day expenses for me. It's the fact that I don't make enough money to pay my bills and have anything left over for anything the least little bit beyond. There's no savings. No credit cards. No retirement. That's what gets stressful. When the money is gone, it's really gone.
BTW... thanks for the offer of a "Save Heather" fundraiser, Robert. I have visions of my smiling face scotch taped to a mason jar on the counter of a seven-eleven store *laugh*... I think the real issue is not ME and my constant budgetary shortfall, it's ALL the single moms/underpaid/working poor around us. Seriously. If anything, I would support anything that helps the working poor. People who just need a hand up, not a hand out. I am good at what I do. I work hard. I am just underpaid. I fall in between... I make too much money to qualify for any "handouts" but I don't make enough money to get by. It's frustrating.
But I did have a great chat with Duane last night about the stress situation... and we talked again this morning... he's going to change our bonus structure so that I'm getting bonus for more of the stuff I do... and our office structure is going to change a bit so that I'll be able to do more agent stuff and less receptionist stuff... and we're going to sit down on Friday and talk about my base salary. The thing is... I don't WANT a handout... I want to be paid what I'm worth. I'm good at what I do, I'm well trained, I'm a valuable employee. Duane reiterated that to me today, which was nice. And seriously, anything helps.
The cool/God part of that is that last Thursday night when Angie and I sat and talked at North Georgia BBQ and I just boohoo'ed and had a complete emotional breakdown... one thing we agreed to pray about was that Duane would increase my salary. It ain't done yet... but it looks positive. I'll tell ya... having a sister (not sister in law, she's a real sister to me) who will let you get all sobby and snotty and pray with you specifically .. that's a huge blessing.
Having a boss who asks sincerely, "what can I do to help your stress?" and responds when you answer. That's a huge blessing.
I wrote on my hand today, "Isaiah 52:2"... the cool/God part of that... this woman came into my office this afternoon - a divine appointment - and she shared a little of what she has been going through: heartbreaking divorce, financial struggle, issues with her teenager - seriously, how did she end up at MY desk? And she asked what the reference on my hand meant. I told her that was my verse for the day. Here's what it says:
Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.
Good stuff, right? Let me give you the Heather translation:
Get your pouty butt out of bed. Realize who you are - get on your throne, Princess! Realize that you're not a prisoner.
She said, "Oh! That's MY verse for the day! I think God meant for you to share that with me!" She had just come from the courthouse where she had been dealing with a child custody issue. I gave her the index card that I wrote the verse on. She asked me to sign and date it for her.... like an artist.... *grin*... my handwriting is pretty cool... and I used a pretty blue marker.... but the real work of art is how God weaves these kind of experiences into our lives. And that warm, fuzzy feeling wouldn't have happened if I hadn't had a time of trial... and if she hadn't had a time of trial... how many things happen so that we will know that He is God?
Austin is cooking dinner - french fries. We're skipping church tonight because my class isn't meeting - my leader is at the Tea Party in Atlanta. And it was spaghetti night. God bless the sweet ladies who fix our Wednesday night meals. I just really don't care for the spaghetti. I'm not sure french fries are a more nutritious option... I'll fix something else to go with it.
Anyways... I share my down in the dumps moments with you so that I can share the good stuff too. Today was lots of good stuff. Love and hugs, y'all.
Posted by Heather at 4:57 PM
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Is it still Monday?
No. Really. It's ok. My facebook status is, "It's gonna be ok". That's more wishful thinking than knowledge at this point but...
I think I freaked everyone out with my phrase from Rich Mullins' song... Hold Me Jesus... it's a beautiful song. It's been released by Big Daddy Weave.... a Christian group that I really like.
I went to the oral surgeon today. The short version of his diagnosis is stress. If I can stop being stressed, I will stop clenching my jaw and the pain will stop. Surgically, he can't do anything to allieviate stress. He said at this point that surgery will just add to my stress and if I'm still stressed, it won't completely solve the problem. He offered a psych referral and valium.
Ok. That's not entirely true. He wants to take out my wisdom teeth because that is part of the problem and they should have been taken out twenty years ago. He said twenty five years ago but I don't know anyone who had their wisdom teeth out at fifteen. At least not when I was that age. They may do it that young now. At any rate... I was having babies at twenty and not able to afford time off of work. Oh. Sort of like being forty!
His office is checking to see how much of the cost my health insurance will cover. If I can afford it and can manage to afford a day or two off of work, I'll have my wisdom teeth out. They sure haven't made me any wiser! The valium was actually my pre-surgery medication. I ended up not taking it for two reasons: 1. I would have used it before surgery. I just would have. 2. They charge a flat ten dollar fee to fill prescriptions. I got burned on that deal before when I paid twenty dollars for two prescriptions that - when I got them refilled at my pharmacy up here under my insurance - only cost me 94 cents. Seriously. That's some hefty mark up! He prescribed TWO pills... two valium... and they wanted to charge me ten dollars for those two pills. I refused. They said that since they had already filled the prescription that they were mine, whether or not I took them and I would owe for them. I told them there was no way I was paying ten dollars for two pills that likely would cost me pennies... they said they wouldn't make my appointment for surgery until I settled that account. So I guess I'll be finding a new oral surgeon before I get my wisdom teeth out.
Why am I stressed again? Oh yeah. Things like that. I think that when you're already in pain and already stressed out and when you don't have good coping skills that every little aggravation like that sends you over the edge. I cried the whole 45 minutes home. It didn't help anything.
I tried to make payment arrangements on a bill that I'm behind on. I was not successful. I'm trying. The lady on the other end of the phone was sweet... and kind... and actually encouraging... she was a Christian... she said, "Honey, don't give up, God is still working in your life...." but her supervisor demanded more money than I could pay. I could hear her trying... and I had prayed for someone compassionate so... it just is what it is. I can't do anything to change it at this point. I have to wait until I get paid on Thursday to settle up.
Child support better not be late this time!
As frustrated as I get with my little irritations and inconveniences... they are temporary. I mean... it's stressful now but ultimately it will be ok. I will be ok. I still have a job. I still am healthy enough to work. I have a job. I have great kids... two of 'em with great girls... I have some amazing, beautiful nieces that are the daughters I never had... I have incredible friends...
And now I have a discipline issue with a teenage boy... *ugh*
Love and hugs, y'all....
Posted by Heather at 6:02 PM
Monday, April 13, 2009
Words are coming back. Maybe that only makes sense in my head. I have been in such a "blue" place lately that I haven't even been able to think. I have just been blah. Void. Empty. I've done a good job (I think) of going through the motions. I got up and went to work every day. I missed church one Sunday... but otherwise, I did the things I had to do. Maybe just the bare minimum. This is what it was like in those last few months with Michael... time passed. I got up. I went to work. I came home. I went to bed. Anything else was asking too much.
Over the past week I haven't even wanted to talk on the phone. Ok... I know I rarely EVER want to talk on the phone. Those who get me on the phone should know that it requires an enormous amount of effort on my part. I hate the phone. I have to chat it up and be friendly and charming all day long and when I am not being paid to be friendly and charming, I don't want to have to do it. I mean... it may seem effortless... but it's not. But there is one person I genuinely adore talking to on the phone and I have avoided their calls this past week. I even declined a conversation with Purple Michael this weekend. But he knows. He gets it. He knows what it's like to just not have the energy to speak. Or the wit or creativity. It shouldn't be that hard but sometimes it is.
That continuous stream of consciousness was so that I can say... I'm feeling better. Less numb. Less overwhelmed. Less frustrated/moody/sad/whatever... there are still some things that are troubling me.... I'm still feeling a little bit of "woe is me"... "what's the point?"... "will it ever end"... but I'm able to articulate those feelings now. I found my words again. The real fear for me begins when I am unable to feel without tears... or when I am unable to feel at all. That happens sometimes. By the grace of God, that doesn't happen often but it does. So if I seem distant, rude, less than entertaining... if I seem like a slacker... if I seem like I don't respond / answer / comment / participate... if you think I don't care... if it seems like my blog entries are boring or scarce... please know that it's not you, it's me. Please know that there are times that the words are gone.
Austin spent the day with the youth group on some outing. Sadly, I don't even know exactly where they went or what they are doing. He needed to be at the church at 7:45 - but since I had staff meeting this morning, I dropped him off at Bubba's at 7:15... I am supposed to pick him up around 8pm.... I checked deep enough to find out the time parameters and whether or not he needed money. I'll be there to pick him up. It was just something that I knew Bubba was handling and therefore I didn't need to add it to my stress list.
Work was busy and stressful. I'm really discouraged at work right now. Part of it is pride... part of it is frustration... I'm still stuck out in the lobby, and in a way it's a compliment in that Duane wants me to be the friendly face people see when they come through the door. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm back at "start"... back to being a receptionist... after seven years at my job, being licensed in two states, knowing more than just about anybody else in the office... I mean, it's sometimes ridiculous when I have to leave the "receptionist desk" to go answer questions for people in big cozy offices. That's a completely selfish perspective but it's how I feel. I'm not feeling the whole job satisfaction thing. I'm not making near the money I made before. Even when I sell stuff, the commission just isn't making the difference. I'm working hard... working Saturdays... trying to be positive and appreciative ... yes, I know that I'm lucky to have a job. I don't know where i'd be WITHOUT my job... but it still sucks that one bad relationship set me back so far in my career. It's just wrong.
And in that whole ... lack of job satisfaction / not being able to pay my bills on what I make / feeling like I've lost ground careerwise because of "one bad relationship"... it makes it really frustrating to put so much time and energy into work that I don't have time or energy for anything. else. in. life. I'm definitely having some quality of life issues! And that takes me back around to feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and trapped... what do I do? I'm trained to do what I'm trained to do... I'm living life on a bare bones budget... there's no room to cut corners, there ARE no corners... I'm praying that things don't get cut off or repo'ed or turned over to creditors... I'm praying to be able to pay doctor bills and keep my head above water and all along, I'm a bit bitter that I'm in the position I'm in... again, because of ONE BAD RELATIONSHIP. It's like it all heads back to that one grave mistake. Not in marrying Michael, that wasn't the mistake. The mistake was that FIRST date. Second date. The date after the first time he showed me what he's really made of. The date after the first time he made me cry. The date after the first time he told me my kids' cat was a deal breaker. The date after his kid was a brat and he let him be. The date after Michael punched my kid. It's not just about regrets... it's not about moving on... it's about the constant prison of consequences for allowing him access to my heart and life. It's about the prison of being afraid to ever give anyone else that kind of access. It's about the prison of having my skills and abilities taken for granted, not being appropriately compensated and not. having. the option to do anything else.
Again. I'm finding words... as long as I'm talking, you don't have to worry about me. When I stop talking, that's when it's hitting too deep for me to be able to function. So far, I'm functioning.
Tomorrow I go back to see the Oral Surgeon. Hopefully he'll have some miracle cure short of surgery to make this ear/jaw pain go away. Being in pain makes everything else seem so much more oppressive. It wears you down and wears you out. I don't want to be "that person" with the chronic pain issues... I'm too young for that! The really sad thing is that I'm excited about going to the doctor just because it means leaving work early. I SSSOOOO need a vacation!
Ok... time to hit save and get ready to go get Austin... Monday is almost over!
Posted by Heather at 6:41 PM
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Posted by Heather at 6:40 PM
Saturday, April 11, 2009
So far today I have....
woke up at 6:30
watched the news
caught up on email
started a load of laundry
stopped by McDonalds for a medium nonfat hazelnut latte (it's not quite starbucks but it will do)
went to Walmart for pantyhose, toilet paper and Austin's easter basket stuff
bought myself a new pack of sharpies (always cheers me up)
bought Krispy Kreme donuts for Austin's breakfast in the morning from a Pastor who was raising money for his church. Is it tax deductible?
went to the office
had my usual fruit and yogurt for breakfast
calculated my hours and realized that if I worked more than 2 hours I would be over my "limit" for this pay period
turned on the phones and unlocked the front door but didn't put the "agent on duty" sign in the yard (not feeling that ambitious)
talked to a guy whose car got impounded for no insurance
met with a lady who wants to buy four life insurance policies (say a prayer, that's good bonus money!)
met with a couple who needed to review their auto and homeowner's insurance
helped a guy who had two cars damaged by hail last night
talked again with the guy whose car is impounded - the owner of the car moved back to Laos before they signed the title over to him, explained what he needed to do (basically, he's out of luck until Monday)
realized I had exceeded my two hours
left the office
went to the Amish bakery for multi-grain bread, dinner rolls and a treat for Austin
(it almost sounds like I'm excited to have him back home, doesn't it?)
found the LAST parking spot at Ingles and grabbed the LAST shopping cart
bought essentials for the week (meat, milk, frozen dinners)
waited in line for twenty minutes while the three fat ladies in front of me bought $500 worth of groceries, most of it with food stamps (I'm not bitter but geez... I'm working six days a week and barely getting by)
loaded groceries in car
realized my left knee is tender
remembered we need cat litter
carried a load of trash to the dumpster
checked the mail - nothing good
went back to the little walmart knockoff store and bought cat litter
came home and discovered that Austin has been just pouring new litter on top of old litter
discovered that there is a pile of litter three inches thick around the litterbox
swept up most of it
tried to vacuum the rest
burned up the motor in my vacuum cleaner
swept up what I could
added "buy a new vacuum" to the list of things I need to do and can't afford
gathered dirty dishes from around the house
put fresh litter box together for the cat
changed his food and water
cleaned out fridge
discovered soured load of towels in dryer, took them out
took out load I washed this morning from washer and put in dryer
put load of sour towels in the washer to wash again
discovered I had washed a shoe in the load of wash this morning
put together Austin's easter basket and hid it
checked email and facebook again
emptied trash can in my bathroom
debated cooking lunch
decided to do blog entry instead
It's 1pm. Ask me why I'm tired all the time. I would love to have another bill-paying, kid-minding, chore-doing adult in the house.
Posted by Heather at 12:46 PM
Friday, April 10, 2009
(started at work this morning....)
Friday burnout. Can't focus on work… just want to focus on the weather. We're having crazy storms this morning. My ear is KILLING me… and I'm here at work mostly staring out the big storefront windows watching the skies grow darker and darker. The radio is playing, "She's a bad mamma jamma". What does that mean, exactly? I wish we could get the Christian station here. We can really only pick up two stations - country or oldies. We do the oldies. They also play the Braves games. I missed watching the Braves while I was in Florida. Now I miss watching Sportscenter with Bobby. That kid never developed a healthy appreciation for cartoons - it was always sports. I'm hoping that he and his dad are having a good time together this Easter weekend. I asked if I could send Bobby a basket and Michael asked that I not… so that he can "move on". Funny how the words "move on" translate in my head as "forget you ever existed". How unfair for everyone…. Poor kid has lost too many people in his life… but I guess it's inconvenient for him to remember a step-mother that his father would like to forget.
Did I tell you guys about the worm farmers who came into my office yesterday? This blog sometimes writes itself. Two gay men who are going from interior design to worm farming. This is not a joke. I've never written a farm policy before so I did a bit of research. You can add an endorsement to your farm policy that includes sperm and frozen embryos of animals that you're breeding. I had no idea.
I have a friend who says, "Like I said…" all the time, before every sentence. Even if she hasn't said anything yet. It's a nervous little habit. It's endearing.
There is a girl starting work with us on Monday who has worked for Duane before. She had a chronic illness that is now under control and she is well enough to work full time again. Duane debated over whether or not to rehire her since we're both - as he so delicately put it - "alpha females". I think we'll do fine. I like people with strong personalities. Sometimes too much for my own good - that may be why there's always drama in my life. Come to think of it, though, I really haven't had much drama lately. There are the same stressful things that everyone deals with - trying to pay bills and stay afloat, not having enough time to do everything I want to do, having to work too much and play too little, things that break and kids that don't mind. I don't really consider that drama, though, that's just life. Drama would be having major conflict in your life. I just don't. Maybe it's the meds. Ha!
Anyways… this new/old girl reminds me of my friend Amy at my uncle's office. Strong personality, straightforward, tell it like it is… I'm looking forward to getting to know her. I think we'll have a good time together. I hope so, anyways, I don't know that I have the strength for drama any more. I shared with her a little bit last week about what brought me here. I know that sometimes I seem sort of out of context… all of a sudden I'm this girl with a strange past… at least here… I'm a stranger… I wasn't born and raised here. Everyone who lives here was either born here or has a story of why they came. People don't just "happen by".
Last night while I was waiting with Jim and Angie, the couple I was sitting with tried to tell me about a new restaurant that had just opened up. The guy said, "it's in that place that… so and so's used to be"… and his wife scolded him, "she hasn't been here but just six months… she doesn't know what used to be where". That's part of my problem with directions. Everyone gives directions by landmarks. I don't know enough history to know where stuff was.
There is this guy who walks back and forth in front of our office all day. Kinda weird. I mean - he doesn't just pace or stalk or anything but we're obviously in the path of wherever he is going. At first he used to look in the window but I guess me staring back at him made him uncomfortable so he doesn't look now.
Taco Bell for lunch. Big mistake. It always seems like a good idea - but then I end up dropping something on myself… and I end up feeling icky the rest of the afternoon.
We had pea sized hail for a few minutes. I doubt that it was enough to cause any damage but… you never know. I've done more hail damage claims in the last year than the rest of my time put together. Of course, part of that time was in Florida and the weather is just different there. It's rained all day so far… I keep checking the radar… looks like we'll have a break for the next few hours. The worst of it is over Nashville right now (it's currently 2:10pm eastern).
I've been writing this entry all day. I'm just so worn out by the time I get home in the evening that all my creativity has dissipated. Or never existed? I don't know… all I want to do this week is sleep… I can't even drag myself out of bed in the morning and that's really unusual for me. I am usually up with the chickens. Of course… I'm not going to sleep at 9pm like I used to in Jax either.
I'm home now... 7:16pm... tornado warnings, green sky, hard rain and bad thunderstorms. I imagine that things are going to be a bit busier at work tomorrow than I had anticipated. I have two appointments scheduled back to back, both could take awhile... which means it will be hard to help folks with claims...
This durn cat is glued to me... every time the thunder sounds he jumps out of his fur. Scaredy cat!
I wanted to do some deep introspective post on the meaning of Good Friday but I'm really only doing that surface thinking thing today. I'm feeling peaceful... there's an issue that has been sort of hanging over me but I'm not stressed out about it today... whatever will be... feeling protected and loved... God is good. Gonna hit "save" before I lose internet or power... have a great evening. Love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 7:14 PM
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wow. What a day! I think I'm starting my blog entries like that an awful lot lately...
The weather was gorgeous. It's surreal to go from snow to sunshine in two days... but that's Georgia for you!
I had a car picnic for lunch... a burger king kids meal with apple slices and apple juice.
After work I went to North Georgia BBQ with Jim, Angie and the girls. North Georgia BBQ is basically a little bbq shack with some picnic tables outside in Helen. Warm weather means that we can get bbq! I got there a little ahead of Jim and Angie but (of course) there was a couple there that I knew from church so I just sat and chatted with them while I waited. Then we just joined this couple...
One of the great things about being a "full-time aunt" instead of just a holiday/birthday aunt is the little routines we develop. Sarabeth always shares my meal at N Ga BBQ... she eats the garlic bread and the fries, I eat the meat and the cole slaw... as soon as I sat down she came over to take her place by my plate.
Jim went on to church for the Maundy Thursday service. They didn't have child care so Angie had planned not to go. Angie and I just sat there and soaked up the springtime sunshine... and caught up a bit... I'm so blessed to have a sister. That may not make sense to most of you but being the only girl out of five kids... I never really had that "sister" relationship. It's also great to watch the girls and their silly sister relationship... they're so sweet!
I gave the girls their big castle rug that mawmaw bought them... and sent home with me last weekend.... Sarabeth was amazed by it... Jamie was distracted by having to go potty.
I can't even remember what this post was supposed to be about. I'm chasing rabbits tonight, for sure. I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning... better get on to bed so I don't have trouble tomorrow too.
Sorry for the boring post... love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 8:41 PM
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
I couldn't do it every day but I do love my "leave work early" Wednesdays! The flip side is that I have to work on Saturday but... eh.... it's ok. I left work today and the sun was shining and everything was in bloom and colorful... I picked up some mushy veggies from the Cottage House... a little "meat and three" home cooking place... I picked up a loaf of bread from the Amish bakery... I came home, straightened up just a tiny little bit and then changed into my pjs. I'm in my nest with the *thankfully* still functioning laptop... my bible... my remote... my new Good Housekeeping magazine. God is good.
I'm watching old episodes of Jon and Kate. The kids are so cute but there's so much dysfunction that I never really noticed before. Reality tv is the modern day freak show. I don't mean that Jon and Kate are freaks... I just mean that we have this fascination with things that are out of the ordinary.
I know that I'm the dealer of a lot of "internet crack" and that I have gotten my long time blog readers hooked on a lot of cyber-addictions... but I have to say that I'm enjoying the twitter thing. At first I didn't really get it... it's better now. I have my "tweets" going straight to my cellphone now... which is cool. I hate to talk on the phone but I enjoy texts. Especially when the work day gets long and tedious...
I do have Whitney to keep me company during the workday, even though she's in Jacksonville. We bounce marketing ideas off of each other... ask each other questions... brag on our little successes... and just in general keep up with each other. I miss her! There's not much I miss about Jacksonville but I do miss Whitney!
I made the mistake of going into Austin's room this afternoon. I thought for one BRIEF second about cleaning it and then thought... why put myself through that stress? It will wait for him. We really do need to do a deep spring cleaning here.... but not today. I'm having one... more.... day... to rest. This is my "stay-cation" since I can't take a vacation... I'm chillin' out... ignoring the phone... ignoring the mess... having a break.
Hope you're all safe and happy and feelin' the love...
Posted by Heather at 5:27 PM
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Do you hear that sound? *sigh* It's peace. I miss Austin. I promise, I do. Ok, the truth is that I have never been the kind of mom who mourns for her kids when they're away. I don't need to talk to them every day. I don't worry about them. The only exception to that is when I left Cody behind and moved to Jacksonville... but that was different... I didn't know that everything would be ok.... I didn't know anything would ever be ok in my life again. A week here and there... it's good. It's healthy. From the minute your babies are born you have to start preparing for the day they will leave the nest. So I miss Austin... the last one in my nest... but I'm enjoying a break.
His stupid cat, on the other hand, may not survive. My "inspirational thought for the day that gets written on the back of my hand" has been "CAT" for the past two days. I have to remember to feed Stubby the 3legged Wondercat and also Princess, Angie's completely unsociable cat. Princess comes with a disclaimer from Jamie, "don't touch her, she doesn't like people". However, Princess has learned that when I get to her house, her bowl gets filled. She welcomes me and it almost sounded like she was purring today. I still don't touch her. Stubby, on the other hand, is my siamese twin. Ick.
We had snow flurries all day. I love that - since I'm such a southern girl - that falling snow still makes me giggle like a sixth grade girl passing a note. The snow didn't accumulate at all and it never snowed very hard but it was SNOW! In April!
My ear/jaw pain has been off the charts today... coming in waves that take my breath away. I see the doctor next Tuesday. Meanwhile I'm sorta halfway doing the things that are supposed to make it hurt less but ... I've also sorta halfway given up on it.
Max on TMZ - the blonde one that I think is so cute - just made a comment that he is "no good at insurance". They were talking about how kids of sports stars usually grow up to be good at sports. Apparently he has a parent who sells insurance. *sigh* That endears him to me even more...
Such interesting characters come through my office. We had an article on the company website today that talked about how people in corporate America are getting themselves into trouble with facebook and twitter... so maybe I shouldn't share my "interesting client" stories. But I will. Last week I quoted insurance for an elderly man who was illiterate. It broke my heart. He needed to take the quote home to show his wife and I tried to make sure he understood it all. How? How in the world are there people living around us who are illiterate? Today I visited with a man whose son is a missionary to China. The son is coming home for a few months and needed a car - and insurance.
Time for American Idol... love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 7:47 PM
Monday, April 6, 2009
There is a beautiful song that has been posted on Angie Smith's blog http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ with a new and incredibly powerful message. Because the song is from Selah's cd that will not be released until August, Angie only has permission to post the song until Tuesday, April 7th.
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the day that Audrey Caroline was born and died. Many of you have followed Angie's story with me... so you can appreciate how beautiful this song must be to her.
I don't know what the copyright limitations are so I'm not posting all the lyrics as I normally would but here's a precious line from the song...
But when anything that’s shattered
Is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Today I talked to an old friend (ok, she's not THAT old... we're the same age... what I mean is that I've known her a long time). She has been through a situation very similar to what I went through... down to the strange text... looking at the verizon bill and realizing that something isn't right... having her husband bring his girlfriend around the family. The difference is that her marriage lasted 21 years and she had three children with this guy. I cannot. Really can. not. imagine the heartache. People tell me all the time that I am strong. I think the strong ones are the ones who don't overdose because their husband tells them he doesn't love them. I think the strong ones are the ones who keep going and stay put and make a normal life for their kids. I ran. I fled. I bailed. I quit. It was one year of marriage for me. God bless the women who lose the love they shared for a lifetime. I can't imagine that kind of pain.
I'm not blue today. I'm just uniquely aware of pain around me. Feeling empathy. Knowing what it means to feel shattered. And also knowing the amazing strength that comes from surviving to put the pieces back together!
Today was another crazy Monday at work. I don't know what it is. I'm glad we have a lot of work, a lot of clients, I'm glad that there is stuff to do... but my head is spinning. My house, however, is blissfully quiet! I'm going to bed early tonight but tomorrow I have to actually do things like take out the trash and hang up my clean laundry and wash dishes. Not tonight. Tonight I'll nest.
Have you guys checked out my son Ryan's blog yet? It's sorta edgy so I haven't exactly pimped him... he writes honestly, just like I do... and sometimes I cringe at the "we were so trashed" sort of things. I'm also reading the blog of a certain young lady who has captured Booboo's heart. I'm posting both links here because I know my blogger babes/mother hens will enjoy these blogs like I do. I'm still waiting for Joshy to update his blog since returning from his honeymoon. I'm posting his link too. If you stop by one of these blogs, tell 'em I sent ya!
They're predicting snow for us tonight. I refuse to believe it. It is bitterly cold outside. Not Minnesota cold. But cold for April in Georgia. The wind is howling!
I have some emails and some comments to answer but I'm brain dead tonight.... gonna curl up in the nest and zzzzzzzzzz.
Love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 7:01 PM
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Power cord #3 has crapped out on me but miraculously, power cord #2 is working again. I don't understand it but can't afford to fix things now. Anyone who wants to donate to the "Repair Heather's Laptop" fund are welcome to. I was ready to drop it off at the Geek Squad yesterday and all of a sudden their promise of $50 same day repair ballooned to $159 and three weeks. Thanks but no thanks. I'll just have to leave work early one day this week to go see the local guy and take my chances there.
Incidentally, there is also a "catch Heather's car payment up" fund and a "buy new tires" fund. *laugh* I'm stretched thin financially but God is good. I'm staying afloat although I may not be building the best credit rating, I'm hanging in there!
I have discovered (after six months, yes, I'm a slow learner) that my DISH network includes Sirius radio. I have been alternating between Broadway show musicals and Christian pop. Good times! My tv is pre-programmed to take me to the shows I want to watch. At 6pm TCM is playing one of my all time favorite movies - the original "Yours, Mine and Ours" starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. If you haven't seen it, you MUST! It's adorable!
I skipped church this morning. Jim and Angie and Austin are all out of town. I just wanted to sleep until I couldn't sleep any more for once. I slept until 9am. It felt amazing! I had bought coffee yesterday (after being out for over a month) and an Atlanta Journal Sunday paper (early edition) and some of those incredible cinnamon twists at Publix so I had breakfast in bed with my newspaper. Indulgent, yes, but why not? Once in a blue moon...
Yesterday was just a wonderful day. Austin and I headed south to take him to mawmaw and pop's for a week. We stopped at Oodles of Noodles, this little restaurant that we discovered that serves (guess what?) all kinds of noodle dishes. They do asian (I had pad thai) and italian (he had shrimp scampi). We went to the Christian book store and I bought two books... one is on bible customs and curiousities - which is really interesting and makes the bible make more sense.
Once I dumped my kid on my parents... I went into my old hometown and just soaked up some of the old sites... the wisteria is in bloom so I visited all my favorite wisteria patches. I paid a bill. Went to the thrift store and bought two pairs of capris, two new dresses, four new shirts - all for $21! I spent quite awhile in the thrift store but it's great think time for me.
As I left the thrift store I got a call from Cory... he had too much to do to hang out with me but offered to meet me for a few minutes.... we spent those few minutes shopping at Walmart! We spend hours on the phone every day so it was kinda weird to be live and in person but you know... if you enjoy the person, even the mundane is fun.
I headed back to the hills but stopped off at the last Publix before leaving civilization and stocked up with a few of my favorites... then drove thru Chickfila for dinner (and a salad for lunch today!) I had a great time just singing along to the radio and having some time of uninterrupted thought and meditation and prayer. Really... a very good day!
Barry gave me a half-hearted "maybe" about coming up to visit today. He also said he'd let me know when he got off work yesterday so we could hang out for a bit and I haven't heard from him yet. It's just how it works with him. I'm not the least bit concerned. God brings the right people into my life at the right time and I'm more than happy. God is good.
I'm not sure how much this craptop will cooperate... but I have the twitter thing posted to my blog so you can get those updates. I haven't been able to figure out how to get tweets on my cellphone or how to update the facebook status from my cell... but there's at least a way that you'll know I'm still alive! I'm looking forward to a peaceful week - even if I'm not off work.
have a beautiful Sunday! love and hugs, y'all!
Posted by Heather at 10:37 AM
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The phone is ringing and I'm not answering it so if it's you, I'm sorry.
People are getting on my nerves today. Ok. Not all people. But enough people that I am done with people for the day. Email me. Oh. I have a couple of emails that I haven't responded to. I will. Later. Right now I'm just grumpy.
I am so sick of Austin not doing his chores. So sick. Today I screamed myself hoarse at him. I'm not really a screamer. Usually when I'm angry I speak soft and slow thru clenched teeth. Austin has had the same chore expectations since the day we moved in here. He has YET to have completed them before I get home. What's worse... when I come home and get on to him about his chores he gets mad at ME for fussing at him. I'm so done. I feel like I traded one prison for another. I'm not a slave driver. His chores essentially consist of him cleaning up behind himself. Horrible things like... not throwing his clothes and shoes in the middle of my living room.... Yes, I'm a mean mother. Today I told him that if his chores were done when I got home that we'd order pizza. They weren't done. We aren't ordering pizza. He asked if we could order once he finished his chores. That wasn't the offer... if his chores were DONE when I got home. He just doesn't get the whole concept of following directions. When he got ugly with me about his no pizza punishment I told him he could spend his spring break at home learning how to do chores.
Now. Seriously. I am not really interested in keeping him here during spring break. He wants to see his dad - who he hasn't seen since Thanksgiving since his dad stood him up on Christmas. He wants to visit with mawmaw and pop. I want/need a break. I went from the hospital to the stress of finding a job and a home to the stress of being in the midst of being a single, full-time working mom. I haven't had the opportunity to catch my breath. I've dealt with a series of illnesses for the past year that have been unrelenting. I. need. a. break. But I also need something that will get his attention.
So now... he's in his room pouting. Not cleaning, not trying to earn grace... just having a good old fashioned tantrum. That's ok. You can't out-tantrum me!
Whatever happened to thankful Thursday? Hmmm... let me see what I can work up... it was another crazy busy day at work. I sold a life policy... it's about $50 worth of commission... not huge but it's $50 I didn't have before. If I could sell one policy like that a day, I would actually be able to pay all my bills in the same month I incurred them. What a novel idea!
I really wanted pizza for dinner. That whole thing, "this hurts me more than it hurts you..." sometimes holds true.
Posted by Heather at 6:20 PM
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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Sermon 3269. A Frail Leaf
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1911.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Will You break a leaf driven to and fro?" Job 13:25.
POOR Job! Who could have been brought lower than he? He had lost his possessions, his children, his health-he was coveredwith sore boils-and he was aggravated by the unkind speeches of his friends. In his deep distress he turns to God and findingno other plea so near at hand, he makes a plea out of his own distress. He compares himself to the weakest thing he couldthink of and then he says to God, the Great and the Merciful, "Will You, so glorious in power and so matchless in goodness-willYou break me, who am like a poor leaf fallen from the tree, sere and dry, and driven to and fro in the wind?" Thus he drawsan argument out of his own weakness. Because he is so low and insignificant and powerless, he lays hold upon the Divine strengthand pleads for pity.
It is a common figure he uses, that of a leaf driven to and fro. Strong gusts of wind, it may be in the autumn when the leaveshang but lightly upon the trees, send them falling in showers around us. Quite helpless to stay their own course, flutteringin the air to and fro, like winged birds that cannot steer themselves, but are guided by every fitful blast that blows uponthem, at last they sink into the mire to be trodden down and forgotten. To them Job likens himself-a helpless, hopeless, worthless,weak, despised, perishing thing-and he appeals to the awful Majesty on High and he says to the God of thunder and of lightning,"Will You put out Your power to destroy me? Will You bring forth Your dread artillery to crush such an insignificant creatureas I am? With all the goodness of Your great heart-for your name is God That Is Good-will You turn Your Almighty power againstme? Oh, be that far from You! Out of pity upon my utter weakness and nothingness, turn away Your hands and break not a leafthat is driven to and fro!"
The apprehension is so startling, the appeal so forcible that the argument may be employed in a great many ways. How oftenhave the sick used it, when they have been brought to so low an ebb with physical pain that life, itself, seemed worthless?Stricken with disease, stung with smart and fretted with acute pains and pangs, they feel that if the affliction continuesmuch longer, it were better for them to die then live! They long for the shades of death, that they might find shelter there.Turning their face to the wall, they have said, "O God, as weak as I am, will You again smite me? Shall Your hand again fallupon me? You have laid me very low. Why do You lift up Your rod again? Break not, I beseech You, a leaf that is driven toand fro!"
Not less applicable is the plea to those who are plunged into the depths of poverty! A man is in trouble arising from destitution.Perhaps he has been long out of work. Bread is not to be found. The children are crying, hungry, starving! The habitationhas been stripped of everything which might procure a little nourishment. The poor wretch, after passing through seas of trouble,finds himself no nearer a landing place than before, but-
"Sees each day new straits attend, And wonders where the scene will end." Passing through the streets he is hardly able tokeep his feet from the pavement or his skin from the cold by reason of his tattered garments. Homeless and friendless, likea leaf that is driven to and fro, he say, "O God! Will You continue this much longer? Will You not be pleased to stop Yourrough wind, mitigate the sharpness of the winter, ease my adversity and give me peace?"
So, too, with those who are in trouble through bereavement. One child has been taken away and then another. The shafts ofdeath flew twice. Then came sickness with threatening omen upon one that was still nearer and dearer. Still did not the desolationstay its gloomy portents. It seemed at length as though the widow would be bereft of her last and only
child and then she cried, "O God! I am already broken. My heart is like a plowed field-cross-plowed-till my soul is readyto despair! Will You utterly break me? Will You spare me no consolations, no props for my old age? Must I be altogether drivenaway before the whirlwind and find no rest?"
Perhaps it is even more harassing in cases of mental distress for, after all, the sharpest pangs we feel are not those ofthe body, nor those of the estate, but those of the mind. When the iron enters into the soul, the rust thereof is poison."The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" You may be surrounded with all the comfortsof life and yet be in wretchedness more gloomy than death if the spirits are depressed. You may have no outward cause whateverfor sorrow and yet if the mind is dejected, the brightest sunshine will not relieve your gloom. At such a time, you may bevexed with cares, haunted with dread and scared with thoughts which distract you. You fear that your sins are not pardoned,that your past transgressions are all brought to remembrance and that punishment is being meted out to you in full measure.The threats rise up out of God's Book and seem to lift sharp swords in their hands with which to smite you. Time is dreadfulto you because you know it is hurrying you to eternity-and the thought of eternity stings as does an adder because you measurethe future reckoning by the present distress. At such a time, when you are faint with longing, ready to despair and drivento the verge of madness, I can imagine your crying out, "O Lord God of Mercy, I am as a leaf that is driven to and fro-willYou quite break me and utterly destroy me? Have compassion, and show Your favor to Your poor broken creature!"
Many a child of God may have used this, and if he has not used it yet, he may still use it. There are times when all our evidencesget clouded and all our joys are fled. Though we may still cling to the Cross, yet it is with a desperate grasp. God bringsour sins to remembrance till our bones, as David puts it, "are sorely broken by reason of our iniquity." Then it is that,all broken, we can turn to the Strong for strength and use the plea of the text, "Will You break a leaf driven to and fro?"And we shall get for our answer these comforting words, "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench."
I. THE PLEA IS SUCH AS ARISES FROM INWARD CONSCIOUSNESS.
What plea is more powerful to ourselves than that which we draw from ourselves? A man may not be sure of anything outsidehim, for eyes and ears may deceive-but he is always pretty well assured of anything within him, for that which he perceivesin his own consciousness he is very tenacious about. Now, in this case, Job was quite certain about his own weakness.How couldhe doubt that? He looked upon his poor body covered with sores. He looked upon his friends who had perplexed and vexed himso much and he felt that he was, indeed, just like a sere leaf. I trust that many of us have been brought by God the HolySpirit into such a humble frame of mind as to feel that, in a certain sense, this is true of us. O God, if we know ourselvesright, we are alllike withered leaves! We once thought ourselves fresh and green-we reckoned that we were as good as others,we made a fine and verdant profession-but, lo, You have been pleased to deal with us and all the fresh verdure of what wethought to be our piety-the natural piety which we thought we possessed-has faded and withered and now we are convinced thatwe are altogether as an unclean thing, and that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags! No, the hope that we clung toas the leaf clings to the tree, we have had to give up. We are blown away from that. We were once upon the tree of good works-weseemed as if we had life and would always be happy there, but the winds have taken us away and we cannot hold on to our frailhope. We once thought that we could do everything- we now perceive that without Christ we can do nothing! We are cast forthas a branch separated from the vine-we are withered! What can a leaf do? What power has it to resist the wind? Just so wefeel now-we can do nothing-even the sin that dwells in us, like the wind, carries us away and we are like the leaf in thewind, subject to its power.
O my Brothers and Sisters, what a great blessing it is to be made to know our own weakness! To empty the sinner of his folly,his vanity and conceit is no easy matter. Christ can easily fill him with wisdom and prudence, but to get him empty-this isthe work! This is the difficulty. To make a man know that he is in himself utterly lost, ruined, and un-done-this is the Spiritof God's own work! We ministers cannot make a man see that, however diligently we may point it out. Only the Spirit of Godcan enlighten the heart to discern it and yet, until a man does see it, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, for thereare none within the pearly gates who were not once brokenhearted sinners! Who could possibly come there and sing, "Unto Himwho loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood," but those who once said, "Pardon my iniquity, for it is great"?
While it is a confession of weakness, it is also an acknowledgment of God's power to push that weakness to a direful conclusion."Will You break me?" says the text-"Lord, You can do it. In one minute You could take away hope from every one of us now inthis House of Prayer." Some there are who are in the house of doom, where prayer can never be answered, and where Mercy'sproclamation can never be heard! God could break us. It is an easy thing for Him to destroy! And more, He is not only able,but He has the right to do it if He will, for we are such worthless creatures through our disobedience that we may say, inthe words of the hymn-
"If my soul were sent to Hell,
Your righteous Law approves it well." When we feel this, then let us make a proper use of our own consciousness, not to despondand faint, but to arise and go to our Father! So we shall come to God and say, "You can destroy me. You may destroy me justlyand I cannot resist You. I cannot save myself from Your vengeance, nor can I merit anything at Your hand. I am as weak aswater and altogether as perishing a thing as a poor withered leaf-but will You destroy me? I plead for pity. Oh, have pityupon me! O God, let Your heart yearn towards me and show me Your great compassion! I have heard that You delight in mercyand as Ben-Hadad of old, with the rope about his neck, went in unto the king and confessed that he deserved to die, so doI confess! And as the king forgave him, even so do You with me-a guilty culprit trembling in Your Presence!-
"Show pity, Lord! O Lord, forgive!
Let a repenting rebel live."
II. This is also A PLEA FULL OF PITY.
Though there is weakness, yet there is also power, for weakness is, for the most part, a prevalent plea with those who arestrong and good. I trust you could not see on your road home tonight a poor fainting woman, and pass her by. You could nothave brought in before your presence a half-starved child who could not drag its weary limbs along without feeling that youmust give relief. The mere sight of weakness draws pity. As a certain town was being sacked, one of the rough soldiers issaid to have spared a little child, because it said, "Please, Sir, don't kill me, I am so little." The rough warrior feltthe urgency of the plea. You may yourselves plead thus with God. "O God, do not destroy me! I deserve it, but oh, I am solittle! Turn Your power upon some greater thing and let Your heart move with compassion towards me!"
The plea gathers force when the weakness is confessed. If a man shall have done you some wrong and shall come and acknowledgeit, and bow down before you and confess it, why, then, you feel that you cannot take him by the throat, but you say, "Rise,I have forgiven you!" When weakness appeals to strength for protection and confession of guilt is relied on as an argumentfor mercy, those who are good and strong are pretty sure to be moved with compassion.
But, best of all, going from the positive to the comparative, and from the comparative to the superlative, how a confessionof weakness touches your heart when it comes from your own child. If your child has been chastised, has confessed his wrongand pleads with you, how you stay your hand! Or, if the child is sick and something is done to it which pains it, if whilethe operation is being performed he should look you in the face, and say, "Father, spare your child! I can bear no more!"you have already felt more than you can make him feel, forthwith your own tears blind you and you stay your hand. "Like asa father pities his children, even so the Lord pities them that fear Him." If you have faith to bring your weakness beforeGod with the sense of a child towards Him, you surely must prevail. Come, them, you timid trembling children of your Fatherwho is in Heaven, use this plea-"Will You break a leaf that is driven to and fro?"
III. This PLEA IS RIGHTLY ADDRESSED.
It is addressed to God. As I thought it over, it seemed to me as if I could use it with reference to each Person of the BlessedTrinity in Unity. Looking up to the great Father of our spirits, from whom every good and perfect gift comes down, it seemedto me that out of weakness I could say to Him, "Will You, whose name is Father, will You break a leaf that is driven to andfro? You are the God that made us-will You utterly destroy the earthen vessel which You have fashioned on Your wheel? Yourname is 'Preserver of Men.' Will You annihilate us and break us into shivers? Have You not revealed Yourself as delightingin mercy? Are You not the 'Lord God, merciful and gracious, passing by iniquity, transgression and sin'? Have you not said,' Come, now, and let us reason together; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they arered like crimson, they shall be as wool'? O God, the Father of Heaven, will You break a leaf that is driven to and fro?"
And then, I thought I could address myself to the blessed Son of Godwho is also our Brother in human flesh, and say to Him,"Will You break-O You 'faithful High Priest, touched with a feeling of our infirmities'-'bone of our bone, and flesh of ourflesh'-Brother of our soul, by whose stripes we are healed-will You break a leaf that is driven to and fro? No, by Your thorn-crownedhead and Your bloody sweat, by Your Cross and passion, by Your wounds and by Your death cry, You cannot, will not, be unmercifuland unkind! Surely they who in confidence turn to You and lay hold upon You, shall find that Your strength shall be readyto help-for though Your arm is strong to smite-it is no less strong to save."
Again, it comes across me sweetly, "O blessed Spirit! Could You break a leaf that is driven to and fro? You are no eagle-youdid descend on Christ in Jordan as a dove-your influences are soft and soothing. Your name is, 'The Comforter.' You take ofthe things of Christ, not to blast us, but to bless us therewith. You are not a destroying Spirit, but a quickening Spirit,not a terrifying but an enlivening Spirit-will You break a leaf that is driven to and fro?"
Yes, I address You, You Triune God, You who are so full of mercy, and love, and Grace, and truth, that those who have knownYou best have been compelled to say, 'Oh, how great is Your goodness which You have laid up for them that fear You! Oh, thedepths of Your loving kindness!' is it possible that You can cast away a poor, broken-hearted trembler, a poor, fearing, doubtingone who would gladly be saved, but who trembles lest he should be cast away?"
IV. THIS PLEA IS BACKED UP BY MANY CASES OF SUCCESS.
We will not give many, for we have not time, but there is one case which we will mention. There was a woman whose life wasexceedingly sorrowful. She was an Eastern wife and her husband had been foolish enough to have a second mistress in the house.The woman of whom we speak, a holy woman, a woman of refined and delicate mind, a poetess, indeed, of no mean order-this poorwoman, having no children was the constant butt of her rival, whose sneering spiteful remarks chaffed and chafed her. Heradversary, it is said, "vexed her sore to make her afraid." Though her husband was exceedingly kind to her, yet as with asword that cut her bones did she continually go. She was a woman of a sorrowful spirit, her spirit being broken. Still, "shefeared the Lord exceedingly," and she went up to God's House, and it was in God's House that she received what was to her,perhaps, the greatest blow of her life! If it was from her rival that she received the harshest word, it was from the HighPriest of God that she received this hardest blow! As she stood there praying, using no vocal sound, but her lips moving,the High Priest-an easy-going soul who had brought his own family to ruin by his slackness-little knowing her grief, toldher that she was drunk! Being a woman to whom the thought of such a sin was as bitter as gall, it must have smitten her aswith the chill blast of death, that God's Priest had said she was drunk! But, as you will all remember, the Lord did not breakthe leaf that was driven to and fro. There came to her a comfortable promise. Ere long that woman stood there to sing! Themercy of God had made the barren woman to rejoice and to be the joyful mother of children! The song of the Virgin Mary wasmodeled after the song of Hannah-that memorable poem in which she sang of the Lord who had filled the hungry with good things,while the rich He had sent away empty. In that case the Lord did not break the leaf that was driven to and fro!
In later years-to take an example of another kind-there was a king who had sinned desperately, slaying God's servants withboth hands. But he was taken captive by a powerful monarch and thrown into prison-such an offensive prison that he was amongthorns-in mental as well as in material darkness. Then, troubled in spirit, tossed to and fro, and without power to help himself,Manasseh sought the Lord and he found the Lord-he prayed unto the Lord and the Lord heard him! Out of the low dungeon He didnot break the leaf that was driven to and fro!
Take a later case, in our Savior's time. The picture of those proud Pharisees hurrying into our Savior's Presence a poor fallenwoman is even now in your mind's eye. Yes, Sirs, she was taken in adultery. There was no doubt of it. She was "taken in thevery act," and there she stands-no, she kneels-all covered with blushes before the Man who is asked to judge her! And youremember His words? He never said a word to excuse her guilt-the Savior could not and would not condone her shame! Nor wouldHe, on the other hand, lend Himself to crush the woman who had sinned, but He said- "Where are those, your accusers? Go andsin no more!" Let His words come unto you, poor leaf, driven to and fro! Oh, if there should be such a leaf as that drivenhere tonight, driven in, perhaps, by stress of weather! Men despise you-from your own sex you get faint pity-but Jesus, whenyou appeal to Him-will not break such a leaf that is driven to and
Shall I tell another story of the woman who came behind the Master, in the press, and stole a cure by touching His garment?She thought she would receive a curse, but He said-"Be you of good cheer. Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace." Itwas poor faith-it was very much like unbelief, but yet it was rewarded with a rich acceptance, for He will not break a leafthat is driven to and fro!
V. Once more, my text is A FAINT PLEA WHICH INVITES FULL SUCCOR.
"Will You break a leaf that is driven to and fro?" O Job! There is much wrapped up in what you have said!
He meant this-"Instead of breaking it, You will spare it; You will gather it up, You will give it life again." It is likethat text, "A bruised reed He will not break." Oh, it means more than that-it means that He will heal its bruises. "A smokingflax He will not quench." That is good, but it means more! It means that He will stoop down to it and with His soft breathHe will blow that smoking flax into a flame-He will not let it go out! He will preserve its heat and make something more ofit. O you who are brought to the very lowest of weakness, use that weakness in pleading with God, and He will return untoyou with such a fullness of blessing that you shall receive the pardon of sin! You shall be accepted through the righteousnessof Christ! You shall be dear to the heart of God! You shall be filled with His Spirit and you shall be blessed with all thefullness of God!
My Lord is such an One that if a beggar asks a penny of Him, He gives him gold! And if you ask only for the pardon of sins,He will give you all the Covenant blessings which He has been pleased so bounteously to provide for the necessities of Hispeople! Come, poor guilty one-needy, helpless, broken and bruised-come by faith and let your weakness plead with God throughJesus Christ!
VI. WE MAY USE THIS PLEA-MANY OF US WHO HAVE LONG KNOWN THE SAVIOR.
Perhaps our faith has got to be very low. O Lord, will You destroy my little faith? I know there is sin in it. To be so unbelievingas I am is no little crime, but Lord, I thank You that I have anyfaith. It is weak and trembling, but it is faith of Yourown giving. Oh, break not the poor leaf that is driven to and fro!
It may be your hope is not very bright. You cannot see the golden gates, though they are very near. Well, but your hope shallnot be destroyed because it is clouded. You can say, "Lord, will You destroy my hope because it is dim?" No, that He willnot!
Perhaps you are conscious that you have not been as useful, lately, as you once were, but you may say, "Lord, will You destroymy usefulness because I have been laid aside, or have not done what I ought to have done in Your service?" Bring your littleGraces to Christ as the mothers brought their little children, and ask Him to put His hands upon them and to bless them. Bringyour mustard seed to Christ and ask Him to make it grow into a tree, and He will do it! But never think that He will destroyyou, or that He will destroy the works of His own hands in you!
Oh, that I could so preach as to give the comfort to you which I have felt in my own soul while musing over these words! Iwish that some who feel how lost, how empty and how ruined they are, could now believe in the great and the good heart ofmy Lord Jesus Christ. Little do they know how glad He will be to save them. You will be glad to be saved, but He will be moreglad to save you. You will be thankful to sit at the feast, but of all that come to the banquet, there is no heart as gladas the heart of the King! When the King came in to see the guests, I know there were gleams of joy in His face which werenot to be found in the faces of any of the guests. He has the joy of benevolence! Perhaps you have sometimes felt a thrillof pleasure when you have done some good to your poor fellow creatures. Now, think what must be the joy of Christ, the joyof the Father and the joy of the Holy Spirit-the joy of doing good to those who do not deserve it, the joy of bestowing favorsupon the wicked and the unthankful, the joy of showing that He does good because He is good-not because youare good, but becauseHe is good! Thus the Lord God will leap over the mountains of your sins, your prejudices and the rivers of your iniquities,that He may come unto you and display the full Glory of His loving kindness and His tender mercy!
Oh, that some might now for the first time be drawn to Jesus, put their trust in Him and find pardon and peace!
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM 130:1-8; 1 JOHN 1:1-10; 2:1-2.
Verse 1. Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O LORD. The most eminent of God's saints have been in the depths. Why, then,should I murmur if I have to endure trials? What am I that I should be exempt from warfare? How can I expect to win the crownwithout first carrying a cross? David saw the depths and so must you and I. But David learned to cry to God out of the depths.Learn, therefore, that there is no place so deep but prayer can reach from the bottom of it up to God's ear, and then God'slong arm can reach to the bottom and bring us up out of the depth! "Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O Lord." Do notsay, "Out of the depths have I talked to my neighbors and sought consolation from my friends."-
"Were half the breath thus vainly spent To Heaven in supplication sent, Your cheerful song would oftener be Hear what theLord has done for me!"
2. LORD, hear my voice: let Your ear be attentive to the voice of my supplications. Now a main part of prayer must be occupiedby confession and the Psalmist proceeds, therefore-
3. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?That is to say, apart from Christ, if God exercises His Justiceto its utmost severity, the best of men must fall, for the best of men, being men at the best, are sinners even at their best!
4. But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. If there were no mercy, there would be no love in any humanheart-and that would be an end to religion if there were an end to forgiveness! Here let us observe that the best of men darenot stand before an absolute God-that the holiest of God's saints need to be accepted on the footing of a Mediator-to receiveforgiveness of sins.
5. I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His Word do Ihope. There is a waiting of expectancy. We believe that Heis about to give us the mercy, and we hold out our hands for it. There is a waiting of resignation, we know not what God maydo nor when He may appear, but we wait. Aaron held his peace. It is a great virtue to wait for God when we know not what Hedoes, but to wait His own explanations and be content to go without explanations if He does not choose to give them.
6. My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.Andmany a mariner has watched for the morning with an awful anxiety, for he could not know where his vessel was until the dayshould break! Many a weary patient tossed upon the bed of pain has waited for the morning, saying, "Would God it were morning,for then, perhaps, I might find ease." And you know that sometimes the watchers upon the castle top, who have to be guardingthe ramparts against the adversary by night, watch for the morning. So does David's soul watch. Lord, if I may not have You,permit me to watch for You. Oh, there is some happiness even in waiting for an absent God! I recollect that Rutherford said,"I do not see how I can be unhappy, for if Christ will not love me, if He will but permit me to love Him, and I feel I cannothelp doing that-the loving of Him will be Heaven enough for me." Waiting for God is sweet, inexpressibly delightful-
"To those who call, how kind You are, how good to those who seek! But what to those who find? Ah, this, nor tongue nor pencan show The love of Jesus, what it is, none but His loved ones know!" Happy are they who, having waited patiently, at lastbehold their God!
7. 8. Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption and He shall redeemIsrael from all his iniquities.He shall do this in a double and perfect way-He shall redeem us from the effect of all ouriniquities through the atoning Sacrifice and from the presence of all iniquity by His sanctifying Spirit. They are withoutfault before the Throne of God! "I will purge their blood that I have not cleansed, says the Lord that dwells in Zion." Maymy soul have a part and lot in this precious promise!
1 John 1-Verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon,and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life. The fact that Christ was really in the flesh, that He was no phantom, noshadow mocking the eyes that looked upon Him, is exceedingly important and, therefore, John-(whose style, by the way, in thisEpistle is precisely like the style which he uses in his Gospel)-John begins by declaring that Jesus Christ, the Son of God,who in His eternity was from the beginning, was really a substantial Man, for he says-"We have heard Him"-hearing is goodevidence. "Which we have seen Him with our own eyes"-
certainly eye-sight is good, clear evidence. "Which we have looked upon"-this is better, still, for this imports a deliberate,careful, circumspect gaze! But still better-"which our hands have handled," for John had leaned his head on Jesus Christ'sbosom and his hands had often met the real flesh and blood of the living Savior! We need have no doubt about the reality ofChrist's Incarnation when we have these open eyes and hands to give us evidence!
2. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was withthe Father, and was manifested unto us).That same eternal Being who is Very God of Very God, and is worthy to be called essentiallyLife, was made flesh and dwelt among us, and the Apostles could say-"We beheld His Glory."
3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you- See how he does hammer this nail as if he will drive it fast! Howhe rings this bell that it may toll the death-knell of every doubt!
3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. But John, what is thevalue of fellowship with you-even you and your brethren-a parcel of poor fishermen? Who wants fellowship with you-hooted,despised, mocked and persecuted in every city-who wants fellowship with you?
3. And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ What a leap from the fisherman to the Father'sThrone! From the poor, despised son of Zebedee up to the King of Kings! Oh, John, we would have fellowship with you now! Wewill have fellowship with your scorn and spitting, that we may have fellowship with you and with the Father and His Son, JesusChrist!
4. And these things write I unto you that your joy may be full Some Christians have joy, but there are only a few drops inthe bottom of their cup. But the Scriptures were written, and more especially the Doctrine of an Incarnate God is revealedto us, that our joy may be full! Why, if you have nothing else to make you glad, the fact that Jesus has become Brother toyou, arrayed in your flesh, should make your joy full!
5. This, then, is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darknessat all.Not alight, nor thelight, though he is both, but that He is Light! Scripture uses the term, light, for knowledge, forpurity, for prosperity, for happiness and for truth. God is Light and then, in his usual style, John, who not only tells youa Truth of God but always guards it, adds-"in whom is no darkness at all."
6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not speak the truth Mark here, this doesnot mean walking in the darkness of sorrow, for there are many of God's people that walk in the darkness of doubts and fearsand yet they have fellowship with God! No, they sometimes have fellowship with Christ all the better for the darkness of thepath along which they walk, but the darkness here meant is the darkness of sin, the darkness of un-truthfulness. If I walkin a lie, or walk in sin, and then profess to have fellowship with God, I have lied and do not speak the truth.
7. But if we walkin the light, as He is in the light-Not to the same degree, but in the same manner-
7. We have fellowship, one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from allsin. So you see thatwhen we walk the best-when we walk in the light, as He is in the light-when our fellowship is of the highest order, yet stillwe need daily cleansing. It does not say-mark this, O my Soul-it does not say, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleansed," but,"cleanses." If guilt returns, His power may be proved again and again-there is no fear that all my daily slips and shortcomingsshall not be graciously removed by this precious blood! But there are some who think they are perfectly sanctified and haveno sin-
8, 9. If we say that we have no sins, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithfuland just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh, those words, and more especially that gloriousword, "all"! This must include the vilest sin that ever stained human nature, the blackest grime that ever came from the blackheart of man! And now John is very careful when he strikes a blow, to hit completely. He has already smitten those who saythey have no sin, and now he smites those who say they did not, at one time, have any-
10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, andHis Wordis not in us. 1 John 2:1-2
Verse 1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. He is anxious that they should not sin. He knowsthey do, and that if they say they do not, they lie. Still the Christian's objective is sinless perfection, and though hewill never have it till he gets to Heaven, that is all the better because he will always, then, be pressing forward and neverreckoning that he has attained it!
1, 2. And if any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. And He is the Propitiation forour sins: and not for ours, only, but also for the sins of the whole world. By which is meant, not only that Jesus Christdied for Gentiles as well as Jews, and for some of all nations, but that there is that in the Atonement of Christ which mightbe sufficient for every creature under Heaven if God had so chosen every creature! The limitation is lying not in the valueof the Atonement, itself, but in the design and intention of the Eternal God. God sent His Son to lay down His life for Hissheep. We know that Christ redeemed us from among men, so that the redemption is particularly and especially for the elect.Yet at the same time the price offered was so precious-the blood was so Infinite in value- that if every man that ever livedhad to be redeemed, Christ could have done it. It is this that make us bold to preach the Gospel to every creature, sincewe know there is no limit in the value of the Atonement, though we also know that the design of it is only for the chosenpeople of God! | <urn:uuid:a60b518c-4210-48e7-9ed8-33228a700db7> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://liveprayer.com/spurgeon-sermons-reference.cfm?s=189937 | 2019-08-24T05:30:20Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.97222 | 8,305 |
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- You may also be looking for Pop Culture in Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes has been mixed in popular culture for decades with many references, spoofs, and parodies of the characters.
Note: Some topics marked with an asterisk (*) are not suitable for people under 18.
101 Dalmatians: The Series
- In the episode "The Making of.." there is a parody of the Road Runner cartoons where Cruella de Vil takes Wile E. Coyote's place and Spot takes Road Runner's place.
- The back of the VHS cover for the episode "Trouble on Planet Wait Your Turn" describes 3-2-1 Penguins as part Chronicles of Narnia and part Looney Tunes.
- In the episode "Ignition Point", Jake says "Suffering Succotash", Sylvester's famous line.
- In the episode, "May I Come In?" (Part 5 of the Stakes miniseries), when Lumpy Space Princess asked Princess Bubblegum what she was doing, she asked "Hunting wabbits?", a reference to the quote synonymous with Elmer Fudd.
All in the Family
- In the episode "Edith Breaks Out", Road Runner is mentioned.
The Amazing World of Gumball
- In "The Tape" Nicole is given the name of Kickbuttus Hystericus, Richard is called Moobus Gelatinous, and Anais is called Moobus Gelatinous, a parody of the Latin Names in the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts.
- In the episode "The Safety", there is one scene where Darwin is trying to censor a show Gumball is watching that is a blatant reference to the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts.
- The episode "The Heist" was a scene where Gumball and Darwin watch the episode on their TV.
- Gumball's room (which is also the bedroom of Darwin and Anais) has a pennant of a basketball team called "Ducks Dodgers", making a possible reference to the Duck Dodgers series.
- Main article: American Dad!
America's Funniest Home Videos
- In one episode, a Marvin the Martian cup is seen.
- In another episode, Tweety and Sylvester at Six Flags appear.
- In another episode, while reshowing some videos in slow motion, Road Runner's "Beep Beep!" is heard when a seagull swoops down and steals a man's burger.
- In the shows 300th episode special, a guy falls down while riding roller skates and Tom Bergeron called his move the "Wile E. Coyote".
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- In the Season 9 (Aqua Something You Know Whatever) episode "The Granite Family", there is a villain called Time Warner (a reference to the company Time Warner, who owns the Looney Tunes) who sounds like Porky Pig (even saying "That's All Folks!" at the end of the episode).
Batman: The Animated Series
- In the episode "Trial", there is a scene in which the Joker says, "Th-th-th-that's all folks."
- The Tiny Toons characters Buster and Babs Bunny make cameos in a magazine based on the series.
- In the episode "Mad Love", after being thrown out by the Joker, Harley Quinn says, "At what point did my life go all looney tunes?"
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
- In "Emperor Joker" and "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases", Bat-Mite is about to end the show with the classic "That's All Folks!" line.
- In "Adventures in Bobbysitting", Derek whispers to Bobby, "If she calls mom and dad, this means war!", which is Bugs Bunny's catchphrase.
- In "Me and Roger", Bobby has a daydream where he is a raccoon and his dog Roger is Elmer Fudd who is hunting Webblys.
- In "Bobby's Big Broadcast", Bobby first daydreams about being the Roadrunner with Derek as Wile E. Coyote. At the end of the parody, Bobby stutters like Porky Pig and says "That's not the end, folks. We'll be right back."
Boy Meets World
- In one episode, Cory is watching a Road Runner cartoon and refuses to stop watching it because he "Wants to make sure the Coyote is okay."
Beetlejuice (TV series)
- Gossamer appears as redesign named "The Monster Across the Street".
- In one episode, Road Runner appears as a sketch for a blue figure (Ben as Heatblast) who saved the train.
- In one episode, some bar patrons discuss the Road Runner cartoons.
Class of 3000
- Wile E. Coyote appears in one episode riding on some rocket powered roller skates and howling like a real coyote.
The Cleveland Show
- In the "Pilot" episode, Peter Griffin straps a rocket to his back and tries to catch Road Runner (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) only so he can blow up Cleveland Brown's house. He succeeds in breaking Cleveland's bathtub, which makes Cleveland move.
- In "The Hangover Part Tubbs" episode, Donna Tubbs askes if they drove all the way to Rochester black out drunk, to which Holt Richer responds "No, we Bugs Bunny-ied our way." The screen then pans over to a hole looking similar to a rabbit hole.
- Speedy Gonzales appeared in "There Goes El Neighborhood".
- In "New Mexico" Chris hits a roadrunner with his car. Dan says "I think we killed a celebrity!" Chris replies "it's a roadrunner" to which Dan replied "What if it's THE Road Runner!?"
- In the episode "Road Rash" (which mostly parodies the Road Runner cartoons), after Dexter falls down a mine hole, Dee Dee says the Road Runner's catchphrase "Beep beep!" and speeds off. Other times, Dee Dee says "Can't catch me!" in the same manner.
- Marvin the Martian appears in two Drawn Together episodes: Charlotte's Web of Lies (where he is seen in Ling-Ling's Anger Management Group with The Hulk, Skeletor, and Yosemite Sam) and Toot Goes Bollywood.
- Elmer Fudd (voiced by Chris Edgerly) in one episode appears at a party with his face pixelated.
- In another episode, Bugs Bunny appeared harassing Foxxy like he did in the cartoon "Duck Amuck".
- In "Mexican't Buy Me Love", Toot does an impression of the Road Runner and tries to sped off like him.
- In another episode, Spanky chases Wooldoor, and they freeze frame with Latin names just like in the Road Runner cartoons.
- Sylvester made a cameo in the episode "Clum Babies".
- Speedy appeared in an episode trying to be a member of the housemates. In the same episode a Wile E. Coyote-shaped crater is seen during the place wreck.
- In another episode, Wooldoor is chased by cops into an Acme store.
- In The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!, Road Runner gets run down and dies. After Road Runner's death, Wile E. Coyote (voiced by Jess Harnell) says that his life has no meaning without The Road Runner and then commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with a prop gun.
The Electric Company
- See: The Electric Company
The Fairly OddParents
- "Odd, Odd West" has a scene near the end of the episode when Chester is about to fight a wild feral coyote, to which he says "Bring it on, Wiley!" referencing Wile E. Coyote.
- "Back to the Norm" features a scene which parodies the painted tunnel scene from the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon "Fast and Furry-ous", where Mr. Crocker paints a tunnel with Trixie Tang on a cliff.
- "Power Mad!" - When A.J. falls off the ladder and Chester stays on it, is a reference to the famous Wile. E Coyote and Road Runner shorts. Also, the way he fell off is a reference to the cliff gags.
- "Channel Chasers", part of the 4th season, featured numerous parodies of TV shows and movies, one of which is Looney Tunes.
- In "The Good Old Days!", Cosmo and Wanda's "old cartoon" appearance is similar to Foxy and Roxy, a pair of cartoon foxes that appeared in the 1930s.
- When Timmy wished for everything to not be cartoon-related anymore, a POOF! sign appears saying "So Long, Folks". This bears a striking reference of the famous and classic Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes closing slogan, "That's All, Folks!".
- "Love at First Height" - When Elvis Presley says "Did somebody knock?". It is a reference to the Looney Tunes episode "Rabbit Fire" wherein Bugs Bunny says the same words after coming out from the hole.
- In extended version of A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!, Jorgen's scenes could be a parody of the Road Runner character, Wile E. Coyote, due to Jorgen using Cupid's bow and arrows, which failed him twice, and then backfired the last time.
- See: Family Guy
- One of the episodes features a spoof of the Road Runner cartoons.
- In the episode "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3", a scene from "Falling Hare" plays in the background while on the Nazi planet.
- In the episode "Gone But Not Forgotten", a parrot asks "Whats up, Doc?" to Doc.
- In one episode, the Road Runner cartoon "Going! Going! Gosh!" is shown being watched by few of the characters.
- Clips of various Looney Tunes cartoons are often featured in the opening sequence of several Futurama episodes.
Garfield and Friends
- The episode "The Feline Philosopher" has two references to Looney Tunes are featured in the episode:
- In "Suburban Jungle", Shannon argues with the security guard in a manner similar to how Bugs Bunny would trick opponents.
- In "The Perils of Penelope", the way Penelope tries to win Garfield attention resembles methods used by Pepe Le Pew in wooing another cat named Penelope Pussycat.
- In "Beach Blanket Bonzo", the way Garfield digs through the sand to steal Jon's basket is similar to the way Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes tends to travel underground.
- In "Dessert in the Desert", when Garfield declares that it is the end, among the terms he uses is "That's all, folks", the classic ending line from Porky Pig.
- In "The Horror Hostess Part 2", before the duo see Spot, Garfield remarks "If there's a fire breathing dragon, then I'm Bugs Bunny." Afterwards, he does an impression of Bugs, including the carrot munching and "What's up, doc?"
- In the episode "You've Been Disconnected", Mr. Howell tells Gilligan that he will have more carrots than Bugs Bunny does.
- In the episode "Dead Uncles and Vegetables", Rory and Lorelei call each other Mac and Tosh, after using the same words.
- In the scene where Simon, Kamina and the members of the Black Siblings are dealing with a multi-faced monster, one of the monster faces says "B-b-b That's all folks!", an obvious reference to Porky Pig's exit on the earlier Looney Tunes shorts.
House of Mouse
- In "Pete's House of Villains", Ariel holds up a sign saying "Somebody stole my voice again". This is a reference to Wile E. Coyote holding up signs whenever he doesn't talk.
- In "Timon and Pumbaa", near the end of the episode, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck fight over ownership of the club (by Donald changing the club name from House of Mouse to House of Duck) in a similar vein to Rabbit Fire. At the end of the same episode, Mickey accidentally says "That's all, folks!" when he tells everyone good-bye; a reference to Porky Pig's famous catchphrase.
Iron Chef America
- In "Battle Carrots" (S13E03) Host Alton Brown closes the show with a quote from Bugs Bunny, "Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive." (from "Rabbit's Feat")
- In the 7th JellyTelly DVD of What's in the Bible?, when Buck Denver says he was feeling peppy, Phil Vischer calls him "Peppy Lew Pew". Also during the outtakes when Phil made a mistake he stutters and says "That's all folks".
Justice League Action
- "Beep Beep!" - The title of this short is a reference to Road Runner's sound. The cartoon features Lobo using many traps in order to catch the Flash. At one point, the cliff below Lobo explodes and he falls down a cliff like Wile E. Coyote does. Flash ends the short by saying "Beep Beep!"
In Living Color
- In one episode, Wile E. Coyote is put on trail by Congress for being so violent and Elmer Fudd is his lawyer.
The Little Lulu Show
- "Jumping Beans" - Lulu and Tubby are upset about having to get beans for their parents. While on their way to the store, Lulu sarcastically says "Quick as a bunny," prompting Iggy to pop out from under a manhole and say "Like Speedy Gonzales."
Littlest Pet Shop
- "Blythe's Big Adventure Part 2" - After discovering she can talk to animals, Blythe runs down the street screaming, where a Chihuahua remarks, "I like you; you crazy." This is an obvious reference to Friz Freleng's Speedy Gonzales film.
- "Secret Cupet" - A lovestruck Russell chases Penny Ling using Pepé Le Pew's trademark hopping gait.
- See: MAD
- "Bunny Therapy" - When Mike and Frankie give their son Brick a bunny, Brick gives it away to his sister Sue, who in turn names him Bugs.
- The episode "Comic Capers", Baby Piggy encounters a scene from "Puss n' Booty".
- In another episode there are two chickens who talk like Foghorn Leghorn and Tweety.
- In the episode "Who's Tale Is It, Anyway?", Baby Fozzie dressed as a farmer talks like Elmer Fudd. Baby Bean Bunny is also dressed as Bugs Bunny and says "What's up Foz?"
- In the episode "Eight Flags over the Nursery", somebody asks if Baby Piggy is Porky Pig's sister.
- In the episode "The Great Muppet Cartoon Show", Baby Fozzie dresses up as Bugs Bunny during the "We Love Cartoons" song number.
The Muppet Show
- In one episode, at the end, a rabbit says Porky Pig's catchphrase "Th-th-that's all folks!"
- In a "Veterinarian's Hospital" sketch the patient is a bunny. When Miss Piggy asks what the bunny's name is, Doctor Bob replies "Well he hasn't said 'Eh...What's up doc?' so he's not you know who."
My Life as a Teenage Robot
- In one episode, Sylvester the Cat gets captured.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
- "Putting Your Hoof Down" - While trying to teach Fluttershy to be more assertive, Pinkie Pie uses Bugs Bunny-like reverse psychology on a salespony to get her to sell some produce for cheaper than usual.
- "Griffon The Brush-Off" - In a chase scene, Pinkie Pie hops gleefully in pursuit of a fast-flying Rainbow Dash, a reference to the Pepé Le Pew/Penelope cartoons.
- Many of the characters from Oscar's Oasis often fall off a cliff the same way Wile E. Coyote falls off a cliff.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
- In the episode "Stand By Your Pac-Man", Inky says Bugs Bunny's catchphrase, "Eh, what's up doc?" to Dr. Buttocks.
Pac-Man: The Animated Series
- In a Pac-Mania break, the Ghost Monsters try to stop Pac-Man with the first gag from the Road Runner cartoon "Beep, Beep".
Phineas and Ferb
- In the episode "Swiss Family Phineas", while hugging Perry the Platypus, Buford says Elmyra Duff's catchphrase "I'm going to hug you, and squeeze you, and never let you go!"
- In the episode "The Fast and the Phineas", Candace makes a pull over just like Road Runner.
The Powerpuff Girls
- In the episode "Helter Shelter", Professor Utonium, Blossom and Buttercup at one point are watching what appears to be a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short as evidenced by the "Beep beep!" noise.
- In the episode "I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future", Madame Argentina (the villain of the episode) at one point says Bugs Bunny's line, "Ain't I a stinker?"
- In The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!, Mojo Jojo holds a sign saying "Curses", a la Wile E. Coyote. He then flips the sign; written on the other side is "Curses I say! I express my frustration with a word that I feel sums up the overwhelming feeling of anger I experience when I find myself in such unfortunate situations such as this!"
The Ren & Stimpy Show
- In the second half of the first Ren & Stimpy episode, "The Big Shot", Stimpy says Elmer Fudd's catchphrase "I'm hunting for a wabbit!"
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"
- Ren Seeks Help: The episode ends with Ren, Stimpy, Mr. Horse, Mr. Froggy, and the animal control person in concrete rings much like the Looney Tunes circles. "That's it Folks!" appears in the bottom in the same font that "That's All Folks" does.
Rick and Morty
- In the episode "Smething Ricked This Way Comes", Summer's boss The Devil files for bankruptcy, Rick tells Summer that The Devil's bankruptcy was similar to when Bugs Bunny fucked (word bleeped out when on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, optional uncensored track on DVD) the opera singer for twenty minutes, a reference to the Looney Tunes short "Long-Haired Hare".
- See: Robot Chicken
Rocko's Modern Life
- In the episode "Fatal Contraption", while the food processor is in the desert, the Road Runner (or just a generic bird resembling him) appears in the background. He then appears on a roast, with a Wile E. Coyote-like character sitting by it.
- In one episode of Sesame Street a Road Runner comic book is seen on the front door of Hooper's Store.
- In the Elmo's World episode of balls, the ending line of the TV cartoon is "That's ball folks" a pun of Porky Pig's catchphrase "That's all folks".
- Bugs Bunny appeared in the "Yakety Yak, Take It Back", music video which was shown on Sesame Street.
- In a Bert and Ernie sketch, Ernie says to Dr. Livingstone "What's up Doc?"
- In one episode, Maria reads a book called "Bugs: A Rabbit to Remember" to Elmo and Roxy.
- In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Scooby drinks a potion which turns him into the Tasmanian Devil.
- In the What's New Scooby-Doo? episode "New Mexico, Old Monster", the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote make cameo appearances while Scooby and the gang are driving through the desert.
- See: The Simpsons
- In one episode, when Tamera was flipping through channels The Road Runner Show is seen.
- In the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe," the aliens have a device that makes a person sing "I Love to Singa". Both Cartman and Officer Barbrady are affected by this.
- In "Scott Tenorman Must Die", Cartman says Porky's end catchphrase.
- In "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants," Cartman parodies Bugs Bunny to outsmart Osama.
- In another episode, Marvin the Martian, Gossamer and a rabid Wile E. Coyote appear.
- People applauding for SpongeBob and not for Squidward may be a reference to the Looney Tunes cartoon "Show Biz Bugs," where everyone applauds for Bugs Bunny, but nobody applauds for Daffy Duck.
- One of the people who gets shrunken in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV" say "What's up, sponge?" This is a reference to the Looney Tunes character Bugs Bunny's famous quote, "Eh, what's up, Doc?"
- In "Bunny Hunt", the sea bunnies act like Bugs.
- When Sandy acts out Christmas to SpongeBob in "Christmas Who?", at one point, she looks like the Road Runner character from Looney Tunes.
- In "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler", the Strangler jumps out of a place with a parachute, only to find out that the parachute is SpongeBob. This gag was borrowed from the cartoon "Yankee Doodle Daffy" where Porky jumps out of a place with Daffy as a parachute.
- In the episode "Patrick SmartPants", Patrick falls off a cliff just like Wile E. Coyote.
- The episode "Squidward in Clarinetland" is a parody/spoof of "Porky in Wackyland" and "Dough for the Do-Do".
- Near the end of the episode "Snail Mail", the plane that SpongeBob and Patrick are flying stops in the air before hitting the ground; a reference to the 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon "Falling Hare"
- In the SpongeBob Comics #48 cover has Sylvester as a snail.
- The entirety of the season 4 episode "Kindergarten Kid" is a homage to Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts.
- In the episode, "Damage", when Lena Luthor asks Morgan Edge about the Akerly company, he asks if that's where the coyote bought the stuff he uses to catch the road runner.
- In the episode "Don't Touch That Dial", there is a scene where Control Freak becomes like Road Runner and Beast Boy becomes a Wile E. Coyote-like coyote, albeit mostly feral. Staying true to Looney Tunes, when Control Freak stops on the edge of a rock and Beast Boy stops right in front of him, Control Freak tells Beast Boy, "I wouldn't go there if I were you.", after which the piece of rock gives way and Beast Boy falls holding a sign saying "YIKES!"
Teen Titans Go!
- In the episode "Squash & Stretch", Gumball and Darwin of The Amazing World of Gumball appeared in a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner-styled cartoon on the Titans' television. Darwin's appearance has purple skin with red shoes and Gumball's appearance has green fur and wearing a red sweater.
Wander Over Yonder
- In the episode The Void, the scene where Sylvia and Wander are running on a treadmill with a continuous picture of space is a reference to "Dough for the Do-Do".
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
- In Season 2 Episode 21 of the American version, in the "Party Quirks" game, Ryan has to portray Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner.
- In Season 2 Episode 33 during "Weird Newscasters" the top story was that "Hollywood was saddened when Foghorn Leghorn died today at the age of 65. Memorial services will be held tomorrow, after which the deceased will be served with a nice orange sauce."
- In Season 3 Episode 12 during "Props" Drew Carey mimicked Bugs eating a carrot and asking "Eh, what's up doc?"
- In Season 4 Episode 8 during "Props" Colin Mochrie improvised, "We're here today to bury Bugs Bunny."
- In Season 5 Episode 5 during "Props" Drew and Ryan played Daffy and Elmer arguing about duck season or rabbit season.
- In Season 5 Episode 22, Drew notices a remarkable resemblance and asks Sally from the audience "Do you own a little bird named Tweety?"
- In Season 8 Episode 6 during "Questions with Wigs", Ryan donned a skunk wig and imitated Pepe Le Pew as he pitched woo to Colin.
- In Season 9 Episode 3 during "Props", Wayne pretended his props were Bugs' ears, saying "Yeah, officer, I saw the whole thing. Dude came and just cut Bugs Bunny in half!"
- In Season 9 Episode 9 during "Scenes from a Hat", the suggestion "Unlikely cartoon characters to cameo in an adult movie" inspires impressions of Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd.
- In Season 9 Episode 12 during "Scenes from a Hat", Ryan imagines Colin's tramp stamp reads "Come out of there you crazy rabbit!"
- In Season 10 Episode 2 during "Scenes from a Hat", the suggestion "Strange things to shout out during sex" elicits Ryan's response, "Come out of there you crazy rabbit!"
- In Season 15 Episode 2, Wayne and Colin use their props to imitate Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.
- While not mentioned by name in the episode entitled "Road Runner", there have been several allusions and mentions of the cartoon duo, especially the fact that coyotes could actually catch road runners.
- In one episode, John Anderson says "Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting cougars," a pun of one of Elmer Fudd's catchphrases.
- In his book Hollywood Cartoons: Animation In Its Golden Age, historian Michael Barrier stated that John's works "testify to his intense admiration for Bob Clampett's Warner Bros. cartoons."
- The third animal that got the Olympic torch strongly resembled Wile E. Coyote.
- When Bolt Jenkins was preparing for the Animalympics, his head appeared in the middle of the classic Looney Tunes logo.
Batman: Assault on Arkham
- Harley Quinn (Hynden Walch) was watching The Looney Tunes Show (more specifically, the opening scene) in the 2014 DC movie Batman: Assault on Arkham .
- During the scene where The Riddler (Jim Carrey) demonstrates to Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) what his device is capable of on two of his henchwomen, the cartoons that pop up in front of their eyes are "The Stupid Cupid" and "Satan's Waitin'".
- The Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Ask Mr. Popular" can be seen in the 2014 romantic comedy WB movie, Blended. Jim (Adam Sandler) and Lou (Alyn Lind) were watching it.
The Bob Hope Christmas Special
- Big Bird (from Sesame Street) says one of his favorite movie stars is The Road Runner.
- Dante mentions Tiny Toons at one point.
- The poster for this 1975 adult animated feature has the tagline "This is it folks!" written in the same script as "That's All Folks" and features a black man standing in front of a Looney Tunes-style bullseye.
- Several times Hazel says Winter the Dolphin's chirps sounds like Tweety.
Down and Dirty Duck*
- The poster for this 1974 adult animated feature has the tagline "Madder than Daffy..."
Dumb and Dumber
- Right before Mental kills Harry's pet bird, he quotes Tweety.
Helping Teenagers Fight Cancer
- A Wile E. Coyote poster is seen at one point.
- The wolf falling of a cliff into the water is a reference to the Road Runner cartoons.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
- In at least one scene, the coral in the background bears a strong resemblance to Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with the long "ears" of the rabbit pointed upward on the right side.
- A Plucky Duck Pez dispenser is seen.
- The movie ends with the titular character in a red bullseye backdrop stammering like Porky Pig and saying "That's all, blokes!"
Lupin III: Die, Nostradamus
- Lupin briefly watches a cartoon featuring a woodpecker who looks like Plucky Duck chasing a bear that looks like Buster Bunny with a mallet.
- Some scenes with James P. Sullivan and Boo pay homage to Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot.
- The steering wheel of Shin-ae's car depicts Babs Bunny.
Sesame Street: Follow That Bird
- A Wile E. Coyote plush is seen as a carnival prize.
- There is a scene in which the character Dick Hallorann says "Eh, what's up, Doc?" in an impersonation of Bugs Bunny.
- Later the opening of The Road Runner Show is heard being watched.
- Danny’s nickname is Doc; Wendy explains that they call him that since he watches Looney Tunes constantly.
Super Size Me
- Bugs Bunny and Sylvester appear on the McDonald's artwork for "The Last Supper".
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
- When the Teen Titans are exploring the Warner Bros. Studio, Beast Boy and Starfire see the WB Tower, and Starfire says, "That is where the Animaniacs live!"
- Weird Al Yankovic says the Road Runner cartoons are sad stories of a pathetic coyote chasing a sadistic roadrunner.
- Garth asks Wayne "Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and play a girl bunny?" Wayne tells him "No" and they laugh.
Wayne's World 2
- Tiny Toon Adventures is mentioned at one point.
- Later, Garth says Tweety's catchphrase "I tawt I taw a putty tat" when a woman was flirting with him.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Earthworm Jim 2
- One of the quiz show questions in the level "Villi People" is "WWW stands for:" The correct answer is "1 - "Weewy Wascally Wabbit." This is a nod to Elmer Fudd's style of speech.
Gex: Enter the Gecko
- In the North American version of the game, one of Gex's one-liners is "Looks like Bugs Bunny after the trots!"
King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder
- Road Runner can be seen on the screen west of the anthill. If the player uses the "Look" icon on it, the narrator will say "It looks like something is after him." The Road Runner even makes the noise from the cartoons.
Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals
- Death scenes involving a feral pig will show an animation of the pig, wearing a bow tie, poking through Looney Tunes-esque concrete rings with text at the top and bottom reading "Al Lowe Production," spoofing Porky Pig and the "That's all Folks" closing.
- One of the random splash texts that appear on the title screen is "What’s up, Doc?"
The Simpsons Game
- There is a reference to Wile E. Coyote.
The Angry Video Game Nerd
- See: Angry Video Game Nerd
- Bugs Bunny is often portrayed as a villain to the Angry Video Game Nerd in the series.
- There is an episode on the "Annoying Orange Gaming" channel where Grapefruit plays the Bugs Bunny level on Looney Tunes Dash!
- In the Classification movie, the opening & closing credits of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are referenced.
- In the video "Angry Birds PSA" (a parody of Angry Birds), Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Petunia Pig, and The Road Runner appear. The Road Runner also was able to talk in the video.
- In another video, there is a parody of a scene from Space Jam.
- The Poopsmith, like Wile E. Coyote, sometimes talks by holding up signs.
- Email island (Easter Egg) — Homestar Runner and Strong Bad imagine each other as various foods as the two castaways from Wackiki Wabbit did.
- Email funny — Some of Strong Bad's wacky movements and sounds also come from Wackiki Wabbit.
- Email lackey — Strong Bad quotes Bugs Bunny when he calls The Cheat "so trusting, so naive".
- Email rock opera — Strong Bad applauds his creation with Speedy Gonzales' catchphrase, "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!"
- Email bottom 10 — When displaying #6 on Strong Bad's bottom 10, which is "The foul stench of wet The Cheat", The Cheat is seen sopping wet next to a glass of water and a tall ladder, which is likely a reference to several Looney Tunes cartoons which featured someone doing a high dive into a glass of water, instead of a tank of water, such as Stage Door Cartoon.
- Halloween Potion-ma-jig — Strong Mad dresses as Gossamer.
- Email theme song — The announcer quotes the theme song to the TV show Tiny Toon Adventures when he says, "They're tiny, they're toony, they're all a little loony. It's the Cheat Commandos."
- In the DVD commentary, Matt makes reference to The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour, one of the many titles for the Saturday morning compilations of Looney Tunes cartoons on television.
- Email pizza joint — The Cheat having a restaurant in The King of Town's Grill is similar to Rabbit Every Monday, where Bugs Bunny convinces Yosemite Sam that there is a party going on in a wood burning oven.
- Weclome Back (DVD Commentary) — Matt mentions "the sheep and the wolf from those Looney Tunes cartoons". He was most likely referring to Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.
- Sickly Sam's Big Outing — Old Timey Marzipan quotes Hare Tonic as she invites Sickly Sam to "cut [himself] a slice of rug".
- Play Date — Homestar shouting of "peppering" refers to Bugs Bunny's line, "That's the old pepper, boy!" heard in Baseball Bugs.
- Baddest of the Bands — Any time that the Limozeen Coloring Book is used on Strong Bad, he says the phrase, "...and name him George." This refers to The Abominable Snow Rabbit, a cartoon with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the Abominable Snowman, who is always wishing for a pet bunny rabbit to name George.
- Email mini-golf (DVD commentary) — Matt compares "Sweet Cuppin' Cakes" to Wackyland where Gogo the Dodo lives. Gogo is a character on Tiny Toon Adventuresand is related to the Dodo from Looney Tunes cartoons like Porky In Wackyland, which is also where Wackyland originated.
- @StrongBadActual — Strong Bad compares Coach Z fanart to the "instant Martians" from the episode Hare-Way to the Stars.
- Haunted Photo Booth — The Poopsmith dresses up as an instant Martian.
Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy*
- In the episode "Die Sweet Roadrunner Die", Wile E. Coyote (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) finally kills and eats Road Runner (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), but realizes that he does not know what else to do in his life now. He tries working as a waiter, but gets fired after having a mental breakdown. He is about to kill himself, but then he becomes a Christian.
WWE Slam City
- In the episode "Between the Rock and Pizza, Part 2", the animatronic penguin is doing a "popping-cork" tongue noise, just like the Road Runner.
- In the episode "Best Dessert in the World", CM Punk chews an ice cream cone then says, "Ehhh... what's up Mark?", which is a catchphrase of Bugs Bunny. He also made the Road Runner sound.
- In one comic when Zoe's and Hammy's dad was complaining about them watching educational TV, the kids picture him as Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam and Road Runner.
- Tweety appears in one comic trying to ask out Opus' ex-girlfriend, Lola.
- The Bloom Picayune, a four-page faux newspaper found in the 1988 book Tales Too Ticklish to Tell, features an opinion section where "Barely Breathing in Boise" mentions a time when his friend's St. Bernard "rammed its nose so hard into my crotch I thought my head would turn red and start to expand like the Coyote in those 'Roadrunner' cartoons on TV."
Calvin and Hobbes
- In a few comics when Calvin and Hobbes were watching TV, Elmer Fudd's catchphrases are said on the TV.
- One comic strip features Jason Fox singing "Oh, We're the Boys from the Chorus" from "What's Up Doc?"
Off the Mark
- See: Off the Mark
(For help on this, here's a link: )
- Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Elmer Fudd appeared in a comic story that parodies The Simpsons.
- The Looney Tunes and the characters from ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' made many other appearances in this magazine.
- The Looney Tunes characters have made many cameo appearances in issues of MAD.
Legally Blonde the Musical
- As Emmett Forest bumps into Elle Woods dressed as a Playboy Bunny, crying on a bench at the park after getting bullied by Vivienne Kensington at a party, his first line to Elle in this scene is "What's up....Doc?" (Bugs Bunny's catchphrase). This line is intentionally played for laughs.
- Rabbit Habit is a 1975 animated cartoon by Steve Peck that depicts Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd in Central Park twelve years after the Warner Bros.' cartoons ended production. The cartoon contains liberal drug use. In the video description, Peck mentions that when he showed it to Tex Avery, he loved it and said "I wish I had a job to give you." Chuck Jones did not like how the characters were depicted in the short. According to Peck, the short "got big laughs at festivals."
- ↑ https://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/588303-earthworm-jim-2/faqs/9094
- ↑ http://unearthed.rocketworm.com/two/answers.html
- ↑ https://youtu.be/-17-qzIGslA?t=16m55s
- ↑ http://www.sierrahelp.com/Misc/EasterEggs/KQEasterEggs.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0iW4efL4WM
- ↑ https://youtu.be/XNSwJbE4NvU?t=9m29s
- ↑ http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Splash
- ↑ http://www.platypuscomix.net/history/picayune4.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN1bysnHXDg | <urn:uuid:380c1ffc-5e58-44ad-988a-ed675bb7aa5c> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/Looney_Tunes_In_Pop_Culture | 2019-08-25T16:24:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00040.warc.gz | en | 0.930988 | 8,725 |
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“еперь грузовые железнодорожные перевозки представл€ют собой симбиоз инженерных достижений в области средств передвижени€ и оптимального процесса управлени€ продвижением товаров и услуг через поставщиков к потребител€м. ∆елезнодорожные превозки. “ Ѕ»–“–јЌ—∆елезнодорожные перевозки грузов по-прежнему считаютс€ самым быстрым, удобным и наименее затратным способом доставки различных грузов Ц от т€желой строительной техники предварительно проворно порт€щихс€ продуктов питани€.ќбъ€сн€етс€ это в первую очередь тем, который железнодорожные перевозки наход€тс€ вне конкуренции, когда изложение идет о транспортировке т€желых и негабаритных грузов: строительной техники (кранов, экскаваторов, самосвалов), крупногабаритных технических изделий (возьмем, опор ЋЁѕ, железобетонных плит, перекрытий и т.п.). ∆елезнодорожные превозки. “ Ѕ»–“–јЌ— ѕрисутствие этом размеры данных грузов ограничены лишь размерами самого подвижного состава, какой довольно осуществл€ть железнодорожную перевозку. Ѕолее того - современна€ строительна€ техника целенаправленно проектируетс€ именно с расчетом дл€ то, который ее доставка довольно осуществл€тьс€ железнодорожным транспортом.
Ќа всем прот€жении цивилизации прислуга навсегда задумывалс€, чем ему перетащить иначе перевезти т€желовесный, крупногабаритный, разумеетс€ и весь любой ноша, который он самовластно не в состо€нии перенести. “ак были изобретены простые транспортные средства, как сани, повозка, плот, лодка. ≈сли усилие человека в качестве т€говой силы уже было не довольно, человек стали пользоватьс€ животных: волов, верблюдов и, €сно же, лошадей.
роме в ƒревней √реции существовала необходимость перевозки т€желовесного и негабаритного груза. ƒл€ сокращени€ водного пути из —аронического залива в оринфский существовал каменный путь, называемый ƒиолком с глубокими желобами в качестве направл€ющих и кто служил ради перемещени€ волоком т€желых кораблей.
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- Open Access
Control of lupus nephritis by changes of gut microbiota
Microbiomevolume 5, Article number: 73 (2017)
Systemic lupus erythematosus, characterized by persistent inflammation, is a complex autoimmune disorder with no known cure. Immunosuppressants used in treatment put patients at a higher risk of infections. New knowledge of disease modulators, such as symbiotic bacteria, can enable fine-tuning of parts of the immune system, rather than suppressing it altogether.
Dysbiosis of gut microbiota promotes autoimmune disorders that damage extraintestinal organs. Here we report a role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of renal dysfunction in lupus. Using a classical model of lupus nephritis, MRL/lpr, we found a marked depletion of Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota. Increasing Lactobacillales in the gut improved renal function of these mice and prolonged their survival. We used a mixture of 5 Lactobacillus strains (Lactobacillus oris, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Lactobacillus gasseri), but L. reuteri and an uncultured Lactobacillus sp. accounted for most of the observed effects. Further studies revealed that MRL/lpr mice possessed a “leaky” gut, which was reversed by increased Lactobacillus colonization. Lactobacillus treatment contributed to an anti-inflammatory environment by decreasing IL-6 and increasing IL-10 production in the gut. In the circulation, Lactobacillus treatment increased IL-10 and decreased IgG2a that is considered to be a major immune deposit in the kidney of MRL/lpr mice. Inside the kidney, Lactobacillus treatment also skewed the Treg-Th17 balance towards a Treg phenotype. These beneficial effects were present in female and castrated male mice, but not in intact males, suggesting that the gut microbiota controls lupus nephritis in a sex hormone-dependent manner.
This work demonstrates essential mechanisms on how changes of the gut microbiota regulate lupus-associated immune responses in mice. Future studies are warranted to determine if these results can be replicated in human subjects.
Perturbation of gut microbiota is known to promote autoimmune disorders that include inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. However, little is known on the role of gut microbiota in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE is a very complex autoimmune disorder with no known cure. It is characterized by severe and persistent inflammation that damages multiple organs, including the skin, kidney, lung, joint, heart, and brain . The prevalence ranges from 20 to 200 cases per 100,000 persons, with higher prevalence for people of African, Hispanic, or Asian ancestry. Although the disease affects both males and females, women of childbearing age are diagnosed 9 times more often than men. African-American women suffer from more severe symptoms and a higher mortality rate. More than half of SLE patients suffer from kidney inflammation, or lupus nephritis (LN), which is the leading cause of mortality by SLE. Current treatments for LN are primarily nonselective immunosuppressants . While immunosuppression can effectively treat symptoms, unwanted side effects are a major cause of concern. Patients taking long-term immunosuppressants are prone to higher incidence of and more severe infections . Therefore, there is an imperative need for new treatment strategies against LN. To accomplish this task, a better understanding of disease pathogenesis is required.
Current knowledge on the relationship between gut microbiota and SLE is limited . In human SLE, a recent cross-sectional study showed dysregulated fecal microbiota of SLE individuals with a lower Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio that is consistent with gut dysbiosis observed in other autoimmune conditions [6, 7]. In mice, it has been reported that the lupus-prone MRL/Mp-Fas lpr (lpr) mouse model exhibits similar disease manifestations under specific pathogen-free and germ-free conditions . This suggests that complete removal of microbiota does not affect disease progression in these mice. The same phenomenon was observed in the pristane-induced lupus model . However, completely depleting the microbiota might have neutralized the respective effects of “good” and “bad” microbes. Studies on germ-free New Zealand black mice showed mixed results, with less renal disease but more anti-nuclear antibodies [10,11,12]. Our research team has recently described the dynamics of fecal/colonic microbiota in lpr mice that suggests a critical role of gut microbiota on lupus pathogenesis . However, whether the change of gut microbiota is a driving force in SLE, or merely a result of disease status, remains unclear.
Here we show that intestinal permeability is increased in female lpr mice preceding the onset of kidney disease (i.e., a “leaky” gut) and that increasing gut colonization of Lactobacillales restores the mucosal barrier function and reduced kidney pathology. Such change in gut microbiota promotes an anti-inflammatory environment in the gut, suppressing expression of IL-6 in the mesenteric lymph node (MLN) while increasing the levels of IL-10 in circulation and periphery. In addition, the production and renal deposition of pathogenic IgG2a is repressed with increased Lactobacillales, suggesting a potential mechanism for the reduced kidney pathology. Moreover, we show that Lactobacillus spp. rebalances T cell subsets in the kidney, increasing regulatory T (Treg) cells and suppressing pathogenic T-helper (Th) 17 cells. This suggests another potential mechanism by which gut microbiota can modulate renal function. Interestingly, the effects of Lactobacillus spp. are only present in female and castrated male lpr mice, but not in intact males, indicating a role for sex hormones in the regulatory function of gut microbiota on lupus disease. Taken together, our results suggest that the presence of Lactobacillus spp. in the gut can attenuate kidney inflammation in lupus-prone mice in a sex hormone-dependent manner.
Lactobacillus spp. attenuate LN
When comparing the bacterial composition in the gut microbiota of lupus-prone lpr mice vs. MRL control mice, we found that female lpr mice had a significantly lower abundance of Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota than MRL controls at 5 weeks of age and prior to the onset of lupus-like disease (Additional file 1: Figure S1A). However, it was unclear whether the change was a cause or result of disease initiation. Therefore, we performed reciprocal cecal microbiota transplantation experiments from MRL to lpr mice (Additional file 1: Figure S1B) and vice versa. While the disease in MRL mice did not change after the transfer of cecal content from lpr mice (data not shown), MRL-to-lpr cecal transplantation led to significantly reduced production of autoantibodies against double-stranded (ds) DNA from the lower gastrointestinal tract (Additional file 1: Figure S1C). Since the gut microbiota of young MRL mice contained a higher abundance of Lactobacillales than lpr mice, we sought to determine if the decrease in disease could be due to the elevated Lactobacillales in lpr mice that were transferred from MRL mice upon cecal transplantation. Indeed, lpr mice receiving MRL cecal content had more abundant Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota than untreated controls (Additional file 1: Figure S1D), suggesting a positive correlation between a higher abundance of gut-colonized Lactobacillales and improved lupus symptoms.
The bacterial order Lactobacillales includes Lactobacillus spp. that are known as beneficial bacteria. We thus examined the effect of these beneficial bacteria on lpr mice by directly inoculating freshly cultured Lactobacillus isolates (Additional file 1: Figure S1E). We used a mixture of 5 Lactobacillus strains—Lactobacillus oris, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Lactobacillus gasseri. Different Lactobacillus strains have been reported to exert different immunological functions [14, 15]. Among the 5 strains, all except L. oris are known to colonize the gut. To improve engraftment of Lactobacillus spp., we pre-treated the mice with ampicillin, neomycin, vancomycin, and metronidazole for 2 days, followed by 2 days of resting to allow for excretion of the antibiotics prior to Lactobacillus treatment. The brief antibiotic treatment at the time of weaning did not change the disease severity (Additional file 1: Figures S1F and S1G). We found that weekly gavages of Lactobacillus spp. significantly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota at weeks 5 and 7 (Fig. 1a and Additional file 2: Table S1), significantly reduced the level of autoantibodies in the circulation (Fig. 1b), and significantly decreased proteinuria (Fig. 1c) and renal pathology scores (Fig. 1d). The spleen and MLN weights were not changed (Additional file 1: Figure S1H). Importantly, Lactobacillus treatment significantly increased the survival of female lpr mice (Fig. 1e). It is noteworthy that Lactobacillus treatment was given starting from 3 weeks of age and before disease establishment. When given after the onset of lupus disease, Lactobacillus treatment had a trend to reduce lupus disease, but the difference was not statistically significant (data not shown). These results suggest that the introduction of more “good” bacteria in the gut microbiota—in this case, Lactobacillus spp.—may be able to prevent disease progression in lupus-prone mice. This supports the notion that gut microbiota can directly control LN. How the increase of Lactobacilli in the gut affects disease pathogenesis in the kidney, which is extraintestinal, was unknown. Therefore, we next sought to identify potential “messengers” that transduced the disease-modulating signal from the gut to the kidney.
A “leaky” gut in lupus-prone mice
While 5 Lactobacillus strains were inoculated, we found by using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing that, unexpectedly, two bacterial species accounted for >99% of the order Lactobacillales regardless of treatment status. The species were L. reuteri and an uncultured Lactobacillus sp. (Fig. 2a). The same phenomenon was observed for MRL mice (data not shown). This suggests that L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. accounted for most of the observed effects. As L. reuteri is known to enhance the epithelial barrier function of the gut [16, 17], we measured the level of endotoxin in the blood, and found it to be significantly higher in lpr mice compared to the age-matched MRL controls (Fig. 2b). Interestingly, increasing colonization of Lactobacillales in the gut significantly decreased endotoxemia in lpr mice (Fig. 2c). These results suggest that the gut of lpr mice may be “leaky” and allow bacterial components (e.g., lipopolysaccharide, or LPS/endotoxin) to enter the blood stream. L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp., on the other hand, may be able to correct the leakiness. To test if the gut barrier was leaky in lpr mice, we gavaged them with FITC-dextran and found significantly more FITC-dextran in the blood compared to MRL mice. When we treated the lpr mice with Lactobacillus spp., the levels of FITC-dextran in the circulation significantly decreased (Fig. 2d).
Two mucus layers cover the epithelial cells in the lower gastrointestinal tract . Underneath the mucus layers, permeability of the intestinal epithelium is controlled by functions of tight junction proteins . To determine whether lpr mice had alterations in epithelial cell junctions, we isolated intestinal epithelial cells and measured the level of tight junction protein transcripts. We found that treatment with Lactobacillus spp. significantly increased the expression of barrier-forming junction transcripts (ZO1, occludin, and Cldn1) without affecting the level of pore-forming junction transcript Cldn2 (Fig. 2e), suggesting enhanced barrier function of the intestinal epithelium with a higher abundance of Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that the level of ZO-1 was increased by Lactobacillus treatment in both the ileum and the colon (Fig. 2f). We also found that epithelial expression of IL-18, a cytokine important for tissue repair and limiting colonic T-helper 17 cell (Th17) differentiation , was significantly enhanced with Lactobacillus treatment (Fig. 2e). Interestingly, IL-18 can also be detrimental and promote inflammation in lpr mice . We found that unlike epithelial expression, the level of IL-18 produced by MLN was significantly decreased by Lactobacillus treatment (data not shown). It is likely that Lactobacillus spp. can attenuate lupus disease through modulating the production of IL-18 from epithelial vs. immune cells.
In addition to strengthening intestinal mucosal barrier function, L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. may also enhance LPS clearance by increasing the expression of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). IAP is a brush border enzyme expressed on the microvillus membranes of enterocytes that can dephosphorylate LPS, leading to a 100-fold reduction in LPS toxicity . In our studies, the epithelial expression of IAP (Alppl2 and Alpi) was significantly upregulated after Lactobacillus treatment in lpr mice compared to the controls (Fig. 2g). The upregulation of IAP was confirmed with immunohistochemical analysis (Fig. 2h). Interestingly, IAP has been reported to support the growth of Gram-positive bacteria , which may explain the increase of Bifidobacteria in Lactobacillus-treated mice (Fig. 1a). Bifidobacteria can also promote gut epithelial integrity by strengthening tight junctions . Together, these results suggest that gut microbiota can restore intestinal mucosal barrier function that is compromised in lupus-prone lpr mice.
Control of gut inflammation in lupus
With an enhanced gut mucosal barrier, fewer bacteria are able to translocate across the intestinal epithelium leading to reduced activation and migration of CX3CR1+ and/or CD103+ antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to the draining lymph nodes of the lower intestinal tract [27,28,29]. The decrease in APC migration may decrease the activation of CD4± T cells. Indeed, we found significantly decreased levels of Cx3cr1 and Itgae (a subunit of CD103) specifically in the MLN with Lactobacillus treatment (Additional file 1: Figures S2A and S2B) suggesting that L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. may reduce the migration of APC to the MLN. We next determined whether the activation of T cells was affected by the decrease of APC in the MLN. Upon activation, MLN T cells upregulate integrin α4β7 and chemokine receptor CCR9 for homing to the gut mucosa . We found that Lactobacillus treatment significantly reduced the expression of both Itga4 and Ccr9 in the MLN (Additional file 1: Figures S2B and S2C), suggesting decreased activation of T cells. Consistent with this observation, migration of T cells to the intestinal lamina propria was reduced after mice were treated with the Lactobacillus spp. (Additional file 1: Figure S2D).
Among many pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by activated APC and T cells, IL-6 is known to promote antibody production from B cells and suppress Treg cells , which are important for lupus progression in lpr mice [33,34,35]. We measured the transcript level of Il-6 in the MLN vs. spleen and found that it was significantly reduced by Lactobacillus treatment specifically in the MLN (Fig. 3a). CD4+CD8− T cells appeared to be a source of IL-6 in the MLN of lpr mice (Fig. 3b). As decreased IL-6 would theoretically allow for differentiation of Treg cells , we next evaluated the levels of TGFβ and IL-10. Both cytokines were significantly increased at the transcriptional level in the MLN, but not the spleen, with Lactobacillus treatment (Fig. 3c), suggesting gut-specific immunosuppression. The serum TGFβ level was also significantly enhanced with the treatment (Fig. 3d), while the level of IL-6 in the circulation did not change (data not shown). Importantly, the induction of IL-10 with more Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota was not only in the MLN, but also systemic (Fig. 3e), suggesting that L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. may exert a global anti-inflammatory function in lpr mice through inducing IL-10 in the gut. Indeed, we also observed a significant elevation of IL-10 transcript levels in the kidney of lpr mice with Lactobacillus treatment compared to untreated controls (Fig. 3f). Further analysis of MLN cells revealed that most IL-10-producing cells in the gut were CD4+Foxp3− type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells (Fig. 3g). This observation is consistent with published results on IL-10-producing Tr1 cells in lpr mice . Together, these results suggest that gut microbiota can promote an anti-inflammatory environment in the gut of lupus-prone mice, leading to induction of IL-10 that enters the circulation to provide systemic immunosuppression.
Control of renal inflammation in lupus
IL-10 can inhibit kidney disease in lpr mice through preventing IFNγ-mediated production of IgG2a, a major immune deposit in the kidney of these mice . We found that Lactobacillus treatment significantly reduced the level of IgG2a in the blood (Fig. 4a) and its deposition in the kidney (Fig. 4b). This suggests that IgG2a may act as another “messenger” (in addition to IL-10) to transduce the disease-modulating signal from the gut to the kidney. The levels of IgG1 and total IgG did not change with the treatment (data not shown). Interestingly, the level of IgA was reduced by Lactobacillus treatment in the circulation (Fig. 4c), suggesting a potential effect of L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. on class-switched antibodies. Indeed, the expression level of Aicda, whose gene product mediates class switch recombination , was significantly lower in the MLN of lpr mice treated with Lactobacillus spp. (Fig. 4d). The change of IgA did not appear to be related to attenuation of LN, as it was not detectable in the kidney.
Different immune cell populations, including T, B, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and macrophages, have been demonstrated to infiltrate in the kidney with LN. To determine how Lactobacillus treatment affects immune cell migration to renal tissue, we evaluated various immune cell populations and found marked influx of CD3+ T cells, particularly CD8+ T cells, into the kidney of Lactobacillus-treated lpr mice (Fig. 4e). As CD8+ T cells are generally considered protective in lupus [39,40,41], it would suggest that renal infiltration of these cells exerts a suppressive effect on the development of LN. In addition, the number of Foxp3+ Treg cells significantly increased (Fig. 4f), while that of pathogenic Th17 cells significantly decreased (Fig. 4g), with Lactobacillus treatment. Together, these results suggest that gut microbiota may attenuate LN by limiting renal deposition of IgG2a and skewing the Treg-Th17 balance in the kidney towards Treg.
Sex hormones and gut microbiota cooperatively regulate LN
SLE is a female-biased disease with women getting disease nearly 9:1 over men. The results shown so far were obtained from female mice. However, in lpr mice, both sexes get LN similarly. To investigate whether sex hormones and gut microbiota cooperatively regulate LN in lpr mice, we treated male mice with the same Lactobacillus strains after mock or castration surgery (Additional file 1: Figure S3A). Bacterial profiling showed that Lactobacillus treatment increased the gut colonization of Lactobacillales in both mock and castrated mice (Additional file 1: Figure S3B and Additional file 3: Table S2). Strikingly, Lactobacillus treatment significantly decreased proteinuria (Fig. 5a) and renal pathology (Fig. 5b) only in the castrated mice but not the intact animals, suggesting a possible role of androgenic hormones in suppressing the effects of Lactobacillus spp. The level of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) IgG was not changed with Lactobacillus treatment (Additional file 1: Figure S3C). However, the total weight of lymph nodes (including mesenteric, renal, inguinal, lumbar, superficial, axillary/brachial, mediastinal lymph nodes) increased after mice were castrated, an effect reversed by Lactobacillus treatment (Additional file 1: Figure S3D). In addition, increasing gut colonization of Lactobacillales significantly decreased the serum levels of IgG2a and IgA in castrated male mice, but not in the mice receiving mock surgery (Fig. 5c). The decrease of IgA appears to have originated from the colon (Additional file 1: Figure S3E), where the majority of Lactobacillus spp. (in terms of total number) resided . Importantly, we found that unlike mice receiving in mock surgery, Lactobacillus treatment significantly increased the transcript levels of TGFβ and IL-10 in the MLN in castrated male lpr mice (Fig. 5d). Lactobacillus treatment also significantly increased circulating IL-10 in castrated animals only (Fig. 5e). Together, these results suggest that Lactobacillus treatment was not effective in intact male lpr mice, while the response of castrated males to Lactobacillus treatment parallels that of female lpr mice.
As testis is the only source of testosterone in mice, castration surgery completely removed the male hormone regardless of Lactobacillus treatment (Fig. 5f). We then measured two hormones regulated by testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Both are known to be repressed by testosterone [43,44,45]. As anticipated, castration surgery increased the levels of LH and FSH when the mice were not treated with Lactobacilli (Fig. 5f and Additional file 1: Figure S3F). However, Lactobacillus treatment significantly decreased the serum level of LH, bringing it back to the level where testosterone was still present. We took the ratio of LH to testosterone and found it to be negatively correlated with serum IL-10 level (Fig. 5g). Whether LH directly affects IL-10, or vice versa, requires further investigation. Together, these results suggest that gut microbiota control LN in lpr mice in a sex hormone-dependent manner. To determine the effect of Lactobacilli on sex differences, in future studies, we will transfer the cecal contents of young females to male mice to determine whether the interaction between sex hormones and Lactobacillus treatment is required for the observed changes in autoimmune response and/or disease phenotype.
The goal of this study was to understand the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of SLE-associated kidney inflammation. In the lpr model of LN, we found marked depletion of Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota compared to MRL controls. Increasing Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota improved the renal function of lpr mice. Since Lactobacillus spp. are known to enhance the mucosal barrier function, the level of circulating endotoxin was measured. Endotoxin can accelerate nephritis in lupus-prone mice [46,47,48], and significantly higher endotoxemia was observed in lpr mice preceding the onset of kidney disease. This suggests a “leaky gut” in pre-disease lpr mice. Lactobacillus treatment significantly decreased intestinal permeability in these mice and likely prevented detrimental bacteria and their antigens from penetrating the intestinal epithelium. Lactobacillus treatment also decreased CX3CR1 and CD103 expression in the MLN. CX3CR1- and CD103-expressing cells are primarily APC [29, 49, 50] that can capture bacteria from the gut lumen and transport them to the MLN, where they present antigens and activate CD4+ T cells to produce IL-6 that suppresses Treg, which is vital to lupus pathogenesis in lpr mice. By preventing barrier compromise and decreasing microbial translocation, increased gut colonization of Lactobacillus spp. may reduce activation and migration of APC to the MLN, hence suppressing IL-6 production and allowing for Foxp3− Tr1 cells to produce IL-10, which subsequently represses the synthesis and renal deposition of IgG2a. Inside the kidney, the Treg-Th17 balance was skewed towards Treg with Lactobacillus treatment. These effects of Lactobacilli, illustrated in Additional file 1: Figure S4, were absent in male mice unless castrated, suggesting that gut microbiota attenuates LN in a sex hormone-dependent manner. It is noteworthy that in these experiments, Lactobacillus treatment was given before disease establishment. It appears that L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. have a preventative instead of curative effect on the development of LN.
Compromised intestinal barrier function has been reported in autoimmune conditions such as the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). It has been shown by using cecal biopsies that intestinal permeability is significantly increased in both CD and UC patients with irritable bowel syndrome-like symptoms than those with quiescent IBD without the symptoms . This increase was accompanied by downregulation of the tight junction protein ZO-1. Endotoxemia in SLE patients that suggests disrupted gut mucosal barrier function in human SLE has also been reported . In our studies, we show that the intestinal epithelium is compromised in lupus-prone lpr mice and that Lactobacillus treatment can restore mucosal barrier function by increasing the expression of ZO-1. The effect of Lactobacilli on gut barrier function may also be attributed to the increase of Muc2, a mucin protein secreted by goblet cells that functions primarily to protect the intestinal epithelium .
The imbalance between anti-inflammatory Treg and inflammatory Th17 cells is widely recognized as being causative in the onset of both murine lupus and human SLE . It is well established that environmental factors can promote plasticity between Treg and Th17 cells including the presence of inflammatory cytokines . This cellular flexibility is due to effects of these inflammatory cytokines on the expression and function of the lineage-defining transcription factors Foxp3 and RORγt, which promote Treg and Th17 cell fates, respectively [56, 57]. Intriguingly, changes in the composition of gut microbiota, particularly those of Clostridia and segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) in mice and Bacteroides fragilis in humans, have been shown to alter the balance between Treg and Th17 cells . We show here that increasing Lactobacillales in the gut microbiota can promote renal Treg cells and suppress disease-causing Th17 cells to attenuate kidney inflammation in lupus-prone mice.
Environmental triggers initiate SLE in susceptible individuals. Since the gastrointestinal system serves as a first line of defense against various pathogens, delineating the type of flora and understanding the role the microbiota plays in determining disease susceptibility in SLE patients are paramount. We show in lupus-prone mice that Lactobacillus spp. in the gut microbiota exert anti-inflammatory effects by repairing the damaged gut barrier, suppressing pro-inflammatory factors in the lymphatic circulation, and improving the ratio of regulatory versus pathogenic T cells, thereby attenuating kidney inflammation. While the relative abundance of Lactobacillales appears to be normal in SLE patients in remission (without active disease) , this does not preclude the possibility that beneficial bacteria capable of strengthening the gut barrier are lacking in SLE patients with active disease, especially those with LN. SLE is a very diverse disease; therefore, it is important to separately analyze the gut microbiota of SLE patients with different clinical manifestations. If the results of our mouse studies that L. reuteri and the uncultured Lactobacillus sp. which have a preventative effect on the development of LN can be replicated in humans, this may be a new avenue to identify at-risk individuals and provide protection in SLE-prone populations.
MRL/Mp (MRL), MRL/Mp-Fas lpr (MRL/lpr or lpr, stock number 000485) mice were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME) and bred and maintained in a specific-pathogen-free facility according to the requirements of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State university. Reciprocal cecal microbiota transplantation experiments were performed by diluting, under anaerobic conditions, contents of a cecum collected from one 3-week-old MRL or MRL/lpr donor mouse in 5 mL PBS. The cecal material was then suspended by vortexing, and the suspension was introduced by oral gavage into recipient mice at 0.2 mL/mouse when the mice were 3 weeks old and weaned. Another donor mouse was sacrificed on the next day, and the same procedure was repeated once. All Lactobacillus strains, including L. oris (F0423), L. rhamnosus (LMS201), L. reuteri (CF48-3A), L. johnsonii (135-1-CHN), and L. gasseri (JV-V03), were obtained from BEI Resources. All 5 strains were freshly cultured every week, mixed, and inoculated to MRL/lpr mice from 3 weeks old of age until dissection. For the experiment involving male castration, the testes and epididymis were removed through a scrotal incision under isoflurane inhalant anesthesia. The skin was closed using wound clips. Mock orchidectomy was performed on an equal number of mice to serve as surgical controls. The mock group of mice were prepared and anesthetized, and a scrotal incision was made; however, the incision was closed with a wound clip, without gonad removal. All mice were administered ketoprofen, diluted to 0.5 mg/mL in sterile PBS, subcutaneously at 3.5 mg/kg as an analgesic post-operatively.
Microbiota sampling and analysis
Fecal microbiota samples were obtained by taking individual mice out of their cage and collecting a fecal pellet. To avoid cross-contamination, each microbiota sample was collected by using a new pair of sterile tweezers. Samples were stored at −80 °C till being processed at the same time. Sample homogenization, cell lysis, and DNA extraction were performed as previously described . PCR were performed, and purified amplicons were sequenced bidirectionally on an Illumina MiSeq at Argonne National Laboratory.
Urine was collected biweekly, and all samples were stored at −20 °C till being analyzed at the same time with a Pierce Coomassie Protein Assay Kit (Thermo Scientific). When the mice were euthanized at 14 weeks of age, the kidneys were fixed in formalin for 24 h, paraffin embedded, sectioned, and stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) at the Histopathology Laboratory at Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Slides were read with an Olympus BX43 microscope. All the slides were scored in a blinded fashion by a certified veterinary pathologist. Glomerular lesions were graded on a scale of 0 to 3 for each of the following 5 categories: increased cellularity, increased mesangial matrix, necrosis, the percentage of sclerotic glomeruli, and the presence of crescents. Tubulointerstitial lesions were graded on a scale of 0 to 3 for each of the following four categories: presence of peritubular mononuclear infiltrates, tubular damage, interstitial fibrosis, and vasculitis.
Endotoxin quantification and ELISA
Separated serum after blood clotting was saved at −20 °C until use. Serum endotoxin level was measured by using a Pierce LAL Chromogenic Endotoxin Quantitation Kit (Thermo Scientific). Anti-dsDNA IgG was measured according to a previously described method . Serum IgG, IgA, IgG2a, and IL-10 concentrations were determined with mouse IgG, IgA, IgG2a (Bethyl Laboratories), and IL-10 (Biolegend) ELISA kits, respectively, according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
The kidneys and 0.5-cm-length ileal and colonic sections were embedded in Tissue-Tek O.C.T. Compound (Sakura Finetek) and rapidly frozen in a freezing bath of dry ice and 2-methylbutane. Frozen OCT samples were cryosectioned and unstained slides were stored at −80 °C. Frozen slides were warmed to room temperature and let dry for 30 min, followed by fixation in −20 °C cold acetone at room temperature for 10 min. After washing in PBS, the slides were blocked with PBS containing 1% BSA for 20 min at room temperature. The slides were then incubated with fluorochrome-conjugated antibody mixture at room temperature in a dark humid box. The slides were mounted with Prolong Gold containing DAPI (Life Technologies). The following antibodies were used in immunohistochemical analysis: anti-mouse IgG2a-FITC (eBiosciense), rabbit anti-mouse ZO-1 and FITC-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG secondary antibody (Thermo Scientific), and rabbit anti-mouse IAP primary antibody (GeneTex). The slides were read and pictured with EVOS FL microscope (Advanced Microscopy Group) and a ×20 objective.
In vivo intestinal permeability assay was performed by using FITC-conjugated dextran (Sigma-Aldrich). Briefly, mice were deprived of water overnight and then orally gavaged with FITC-dextran dissolved in PBS at 40 mg/100 g body weight (around 300 μL/mouse). Mice were anesthetized after 4 h, and the blood was collected and saved in the dark until serum separation. Serum was then diluted 1:1 with PBS and added to a 96-well microplate in duplicate, followed by determination of FITC concentration with Glomax (Promega) at an excitation of 485 nm and an emission wavelength of 528 nm using serially diluted FITC-dextran as the standard.
Ileum and colon of 1 cm length were collected and opened longitudinally. Intestinal sections were thoroughly washed by PBS and cultured in 48-well plate with 500 μL C10 media at 37 °C. Supernatant was collected after 24 h and analyzed by using ELISA.
The spleen, MLN, and isolated intestinal epithelial cells (IECs; see below for isolation procedure) were homogenized with Bullet Blender homogenizer (Next Advance), and total RNA was extracted with RNeasy Plus Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Genomic DNA was removed by digestion with RNase-free DNase I (Qiagen). Reverse transcription was performed by using iScript cDNA Synthesis Kit (Bio-Rad). Quantitative PCR was performed with iTaq Universal SYBR Green Supermix (Bio-Rad) and ABI 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems). Relative quantities were calculated using L32 (MLN and spleen) and Villin (IECs) as the housekeeping gene. Primer sequences for mouse L32, Villin, ZO1, Occludin, Cldn1, Cldn2, IL18, IL6, Tgfb1, IL10, Acida, CX3CR1, CCR9, Itgae, Itgb7, and Itga4 are available upon request.
Cell isolation and flow cytometry
The spleen, MLN, and Peyer’s patches were collected and mashed in 70-μm cell strainers with C10 media. For splenocytes, red blood cells were lysed with RBC lysis buffer (eBioscience). To isolate lamina propria lymphocytes, the intestine was opened longitudinally and cut into pieces. The pieces were incubated twice in EDTA-DTT solution and intensively vortexed to remove the epithelial cell layer (saved as IEC-enriched fractions). After the second EDTA incubation, the pieces were cut and placed in a digestion solution containing 1 mg/mL collagenase D (Roche), 0.1 mg/mL DNase I (Sigma), and 10 μg/mL Dispase (Fisher). After digestion, the solution was passed through a 100-μm cell strainer. The same process was repeated three times, and the supernatants of the three digestions were combined and added onto a 40:80 Percoll gradient to separate lymphocytes . For surface marker staining, the cells were blocked by anti-mouse CD16/32 (eBioscience), stained with fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies, and analyzed with Attune NxT flow cytometer (Thermo Scientific). For intracellular staining, Foxp3 Fixation/Permeabilization kit (eBioscience) was used. Anti-mouse antibodies used in this study include the following: CD3-APC-eFluor 780, IL-6-FITC, CD8-PE-Cy7, Tbet-PerCP-Cy5.5, CD4-PerCP-Cy5.5, and RORγT-PE (eBioscience); CD45-FITC, Foxp3-Alexa Fluor 647, IL-10-BV421, and IL-17A-APC (Biolegend); and CD19-PerCP-Cy5.5, CD4-PE-Cy7, and CD8a-V450 (BD Biosciences). Flow cytometry data were analyzed with FlowJo.
Serum samples were saved at −80 °C until analysis. Testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone were measured at the University of Virginia Center for Research in Reproduction, which is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD/NIH (NCTRI) Grant P50-HD28934.
For the comparison of two groups, unpaired Student’s t test was used unless specified. For the comparison of more than two groups, one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-test were used. Results were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05 (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.005). All analyses were performed with Prism GraphPad.
Intestinal alkaline phosphatase
Inflammatory bowel disease
Intestinal epithelial cells
- lpr :
Mesenteric lymph node
Segmented filamentous bacteria
Systemic lupus erythematosus
T-helper 17 cells
Type 1 regulatory T cells
Regulatory T cells
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We thank Sarah Owens for assistance on Illumina MiSeq sequencing, Melissa Makris for the use of flow cytometry core facility, and The University of Virginia Center for Research in Reproduction Ligand Assay and Analysis Core for the analysis of various hormones.
This work was supported by NIH R03-AI117597 and X.M.L.’s internal grants provided by Virginia Tech. The University of Virginia Center for Research in Reproduction Ligand Assay and Analysis Core is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD/NIH (NCTRI) Grant P50-HD28934. The funding sources have no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data or in writing the manuscript.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the NCBI SRA accession number SRP078174.
This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine (Animal Welfare Assurance Number: A3208-01). For anesthesia and euthanasia, isoflurane and CO2 were used, respectively, according to the IACUC protocol.
Consent for publication
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
(A) Relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae in fecal microbiota (n = 4 per group; *P < 0.05 at 5 weeks of age). (B) Study design of cecal transplantation from MRL to lpr mice. (C) Level of anti-dsDNA IgG produced by 1-cm-long ileal or colonic organ culture after 24-h incubation (n > 3 per group; *P < 0.05). (D) Time-dependent changes of fecal microbiota upon cecal transplantation. Abundant bacterial OTU (>0.1%) were summarized (n = 4 per group). (E) Study design of Lactobacillus treatment of lpr mice. (F–G) Female MRL/lpr mice were treated with PBS control or mixed antibiotics (Abx) for 2 days at 3 weeks of age and sacrificed at 14 weeks of age (n = 3 per group). The levels of proteinuria (F) and anti-dsDNA antibodies (G) at 14 weeks of age are shown. The differences were not significant. (H) Weight of spleen and MLN of lpr mice upon Lactobacillus treatment. Figure S2. (A) Transcript level of CX3CR1 in lymphoid tissues of lpr mice treated with PBS or Lactobacilli. (B) Transcript levels of CD103 (Itgae and Itgb7) and a4b7 (Itga4 and Itgb7). (C) Transcript level of CCR9. (D) Percentage of CD3+ T cells in the intestinal lamina propria. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Figure S3. (A) Study design of surgery and treatment in male lpr mice. (B) Time-dependent changes of fecal microbiota. Castr castration. (C) Level of anti-dsDNA IgG in the blood (n = 5 per group). (D) Total weight of lymph nodes (LN) from multiple sites (**P < 0.01). (E) Level of IgA produced by 1-cm sections of ileal or colonic organ culture after 24-h incubation (*P < 0.05). (F) Level of FSH in the blood. Figure S4. Working model (see text for details). (PDF 794 kb) | <urn:uuid:839e5d10-785b-46fd-8853-7b44295a7804> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-017-0300-8 | 2019-08-26T08:21:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331228.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826064622-20190826090622-00120.warc.gz | en | 0.888885 | 13,079 |
Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft. On one side hung a very large oil painting so thoroughly besmoked, and every way defaced, that in the unequal crosslights by which you viewed it, it was only by diligent study and a series of systematic visits to it, and careful inquiry of the neighbors, that you could any way arrive at an understanding of its purpose. Such unaccountable masses of shades and shadows, that at first you almost thought some ambitious young artist, in the time of the New England hags, had endeavored to delineate chaos bewitched. But by dint of much and earnest contemplation, and oft repeated ponderings, and especially by throwing open the little window towards the back of the entry, you at last come to the conclusion that such an idea, however wild, might not be altogether unwarranted.
But what most puzzled and confounded you was a long, limber, portentous, black mass of something hovering in the centre of the picture over three blue, dim, perpendicular lines floating in a nameless yeast. A boggy, soggy, squitchy picture truly, enough to drive a nervous man distracted. Yet was there a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what that marvellous painting meant. Ever and anon a bright, but, alas, deceptive idea would dart you through.- It's the Black Sea in a midnight gale.- It's the unnatural combat of the four primal elements.- It's a blasted heath.- It's a Hyperborean winter scene.- It's the breaking-up of the icebound stream of Time. But last all these fancies yielded to that one portentous something in the picture's midst. That once found out, and all the rest were plain. But stop; does it not bear a faint resemblance to a gigantic fish? even the great leviathan himself?
In fact, the artist's design seemed this: a final theory of my own, partly based upon the aggregated opinions of many aged persons with whom I conversed upon the subject. The picture represents a Cape-Horner in a great hurricane; the half-foundered ship weltering there with its three dismantled masts alone visible; and an exasperated whale, purposing to spring clean over the craft, is in the enormous act of impaling himself upon the three mast-heads.
The opposite wall of this entry was hung all over with a heathenish array of monstrous clubs and spears. Some were thickly set with glittering teeth resembling ivory saws; others were tufted with knots of human hair; and one was sickle-shaped, with a vast handle sweeping round like the segment made in the new-mown grass by a long-armed mower. You shuddered as you gazed, and wondered what monstrous cannibal and savage could ever have gone a death-harvesting with such a hacking, horrifying implement. Mixed with these were rusty old whaling lances and harpoons all broken and deformed. Some were storied weapons. With this once long lance, now wildly elbowed, fifty years ago did Nathan Swain kill fifteen whales between a sunrise and a sunset. And that harpoon- so like a corkscrew now- was flung in Javan seas, and run away with by a whale, years afterwards slain off the Cape of Blanco. The original iron entered nigh the tail, and, like a restless needle sojourning in the body of a man, travelled full forty feet, and at last was found imbedded in the hump.
Crossing this dusky entry, and on through yon low-arched way- cut through what in old times must have been a great central chimney with fireplaces all round- you enter the public room. A still duskier place is this, with such low ponderous beams above, and such old wrinkled planks beneath, that you would almost fancy you trod some old craft's cockpits, especially of such a howling night, when this corner-anchored old ark rocked so furiously. On one side stood a long, low, shelf-like table covered with cracked glass cases, filled with dusty rarities gathered from this wide world's remotest nooks. Projecting from the further angle of the room stands a dark-looking den- the bar- a rude attempt at a right whale's head. Be that how it may, there stands the vast arched bone of the whale's jaw, so wide, a coach might almost drive beneath it. Within are shabby shelves, ranged round with old decanters, bottles, flasks; and in those jaws of swift destruction, like another cursed Jonah (by which name indeed they called him), bustles a little withered old man, who, for their money, dearly sells the sailors deliriums and death.
Abominable are the tumblers into which he pours his poison. Though true cylinders without- within, the villanous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom. Parallel meridians rudely pecked into the glass, surround these footpads' goblets. Fill to this mark, and your charge is but a penny; to this a penny more; and so on to the full glass- the Cape Horn measure, which you may gulp down for a shilling.
Upon entering the place I found a number of young seamen gathered about a table, examining by a dim light divers specimens of skrimshander. I sought the landlord, and telling him I desired to be accommodated with a room, received for answer that his house was full- not a bed unoccupied. "But avast," he added, tapping his forehead, "you haint no objections to sharing a harpooneer's blanket, have ye? I s'pose you are goin' a-whalin', so you'd better get used to that sort of thing."
I told him that I never liked to sleep two in a bed; that if I should ever do so, it would depend upon who the harpooneer might be, and that if he (the landlord) really had no other place for me, and the harpooneer was not decidedly objectionable, why rather than wander further about a strange town on so bitter a night, I would put up with the half of any decent man's blanket.
"I thought so. All right; take a seat. Supper?- you want supper? Supper'll be ready directly."
I sat down on an old wooden settle, carved all over like a bench on the Battery. At one end a ruminating tar was still further adorning it with his jack-knife, stooping over and diligently working away at the space between his legs. He was trying his hand at a ship under full sail, but he didn't make much headway, I thought.
At last some four or five of us were summoned to our meal in an adjoining room. It was cold as Iceland- no fire at all- the landlord said he couldn't afford it. Nothing but two dismal tallow candles, each in a winding sheet. We were fain to button up our monkey jackets, and hold to our lips cups of scalding tea with our half frozen fingers. But the fare was of the most substantial kind- not only meat and potatoes, but dumplings; good heavens! dumplings for supper! One young fellow in a green box coat, addressed himself to these dumplings in a most direful manner.
"My boy," said the landlord, "you'll have the nightmare to a dead sartainty."
"Landlord," I whispered, "that aint the harpooneer is it?"
"Oh, no," said he, looking a sort of diabolically funny, "the harpooneer is a dark complexioned chap. He never eats dumplings, he don't- he eats nothing but steaks, and he likes 'em rare."
"The devil he does," says I. "Where is that harpooneer? Is he here?"
"He'll be here afore long," was the answer.
I could not help it, but I began to feel suspicious of this "dark complexioned" harpooneer. At any rate, I made up my mind that if it so turned out that we should sleep together, he must undress and get into bed before I did.
Supper over, the company went back to the bar-room, when, knowing not what else to do with myself, I resolved to spend the rest of the evening as a looker on.
Presently a rioting noise was heard without. Starting up, the landlord cried, "That's the Grampus's crew. I seed her reported in the offing this morning; a three years' voyage, and a full ship. Hurrah, boys; now we'll have the latest news from the Feegees."
A tramping of sea boots was heard in the entry; the door was flung open, and in rolled a wild set of mariners enough. Enveloped in their shaggy watch coats, and with their heads muffled in woollen comforters, all bedarned and ragged, and their beards stiff with icicles, they seemed an eruption of bears from Labrador. They had just landed from their boat, and this was the first house they entered. No wonder, then, that they made a straight wake for the whale's mouth- the bar- when the wrinkled little old Jonah, there officiating, soon poured them out brimmers all round. One complained of a bad cold in his head, upon which Jonah mixed him a pitch-like potion of gin and molasses, which he swore was a sovereign cure for all colds and catarrhs whatsoever, never mind of how long standing, or whether caught off the coast of Labrador, or on the weather side of an ice-island.
The liquor soon mounted into their heads, as it generally does even with the arrantest topers newly landed from sea, and they began capering about most obstreperously.
I observed, however, that one of them held somewhat aloof, and though he seemed desirous not to spoil the hilarity of his shipmates by his own sober face, yet upon the whole he refrained from making as much noise as the rest. This man interested me at once; and since the sea-gods had ordained that he should soon become my shipmate (though but a sleeping partner one, so far as this narrative is concerned), I will here venture upon a little description of him. He stood full six feet in height, with noble shoulders, and a chest like a coffer-dam. I have seldom seen such brawn in a man. His face was deeply brown and burnt, making his white teeth dazzling by the contrast; while in the deep shadows of his eyes floated some reminiscences that did not seem to give him much joy. His voice at once announced that he was a Southerner, and from his fine stature, I thought he must be one of those tall mountaineers from the Alleghanian Ridge in Virginia. When the revelry of his companions had mounted to its height, this man slipped away unobserved, and I saw no more of him till he became my comrade on the sea. In a few minutes, however, he was missed by his shipmates, and being, it seems, for some reason a huge favorite with them, they raised a cry of "Bulkington! Bulkington! where's Bulkington?" and darted out of the house in pursuit of him.
It was now about nine o'clock, and the room seeming almost supernaturally quiet after these orgies, I began to congratulate myself upon a little plan that had occurred to me just previous to the entrance of the seamen.
No man prefers to sleep two in a bed. In fact, you would a good deal rather not sleep with your own brother. I don't know how it is, but people like to be private when they are sleeping. And when it comes to sleeping with an unknown stranger, in a strange inn, in a strange town, and that stranger a harpooneer, then your objections indefinitely multiply. Nor was there any earthly reason why I as a sailor should sleep two in a bed, more than anybody else; for sailors no more sleep two in a bed at sea, than bachelor Kings do ashore. To be sure they all sleep together in one apartment, but you have your own hammock, and cover yourself with your own blanket, and sleep in your own skin.
The more I pondered over this harpooneer, the more I abominated the thought of sleeping with him. It was fair to presume that being a harpooneer, his linen or woolen, as the case might be, would not be of the tidiest, certainly none of the finest. I began to twitch all over. Besides, it was getting late, and my decent harpooneer ought to be home and going bedwards. Suppose now, he should tumble in upon me at midnight- how could I tell from what vile hole he had been coming?
"Landlord! I've changed my mind about that harpooneer.- I shan't sleep with him. I'll try the bench here."
"Just as you please; I'm sorry I cant spare ye a tablecloth for a mattress, and it's a plaguy rough board here"- feeling of the knots and notches. "But wait a bit, Skrimshander; I've got a carpenter's plane there in the bar- wait, I say, and I'll make ye snug enough." So saying he procured the plane; and with his old silk handkerchief first dusting the bench, vigorously set to planing away at my bed, the while grinning like an ape. The shavings flew right and left; till at last the plane-iron came bump against an indestructible knot. The landlord was near spraining his wrist, and I told him for heaven's sake to quit- the bed was soft enough to suit me, and I did not know how all the planing in the world could make eider down of a pine plank. So gathering up the shavings with another grin, and throwing them into the great stove in the middle of the room, he went about his business, and left me in a brown study.
I now took the measure of the bench, and found that it was a foot too short; but that could be mended with a chair. But it was a foot too narrow, and the other bench in the room was about four inches higher than the planed one- so there was no yoking them. I then placed the first bench lengthwise along the only clear space against the wall, leaving a little interval between, for my back to settle down in. But I soon found that there came such a draught of cold air over me from under the sill of the window, that this plan would never do at all, especially as another current from the rickety door met the one from the window, and both together formed a series of small whirlwinds in the immediate vicinity of the spot where I had thought to spend the night.
The devil fetch that harpooneer, thought I, but stop, couldn't I steal a march on him- bolt his door inside, and jump into his bed, not to be wakened by the most violent knockings? It seemed no bad idea but upon second thoughts I dismissed it. For who could tell but what the next morning, so soon as I popped out of the room, the harpooneer might be standing in the entry, all ready to knock me down!
Still looking round me again, and seeing no possible chance of spending a sufferable night unless in some other person's bed, I began to think that after all I might be cherishing unwarrantable prejudices against this unknown harpooneer. Thinks I, I'll wait awhile; he must be dropping in before long. I'll have a good look at him then, and perhaps we may become jolly good bedfellows after all- there's no telling.
But though the other boarders kept coming in by ones, twos, and threes, and going to bed, yet no sign of my harpooneer.
"Landlord! said I, "what sort of a chap is he- does he always keep such late hours?" It was now hard upon twelve o'clock.
The landlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle, and seemed to be mightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension. "No," he answered, "generally he's an early bird- airley to bed and airley to rise- yea, he's the bird what catches the worm. But to-night he went out a peddling, you see, and I don't see what on airth keeps him so late, unless, may be, he can't sell his head."
"Can't sell his head?- What sort of a bamboozingly story is this you are telling me?" getting into a towering rage. "Do you pretend to say, landlord, that this harpooneer is actually engaged this blessed Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning, in peddling his head around this town?"
"That's precisely it," said the landlord, "and I told him he couldn't sell it here, the market's overstocked."
"With what?" shouted I.
"With heads to be sure; ain't there too many heads in the world?"
"I tell you what it is, landlord," said I quite calmly, "you'd better stop spinning that yarn to me- I'm not green."
"May be not," taking out a stick and whittling a toothpick, "but I rayther guess you'll be done brown if that ere harpooneer hears you a slanderin' his head."
"I'll break it for him," said I, now flying into a passion again at this unaccountable farrago of the landlord's.
"It's broke a'ready," said he.
"Broke," said I- "broke, do you mean?"
"Sartain, and that's the very reason he can't sell it, I guess."
"Landlord," said I, going up to him as cool as Mt. Hecla in a snowstorm- "landlord, stop whittling. You and I must understand one another, and that too without delay. I come to your house and want a bed; you tell me you can only give me half a one; that the other half belongs to a certain harpooneer. And about this harpooneer, whom I have not yet seen, you persist in telling me the most mystifying and exasperating stories tending to beget in me an uncomfortable feeling towards the man whom you design for my bedfellow- a sort of connexion, landlord, which is an intimate and confidential one in the highest degree. I now demand of you to speak out and tell me who and what this harpooneer is, and whether I shall be in all respects safe to spend the night with him. And in the first place, you will be so good as to unsay that story about selling his head, which if true I take to be good evidence that this harpooneer is stark mad, and I've no idea of sleeping with a madman; and you, sir, you I mean, landlord, you, sir, by trying to induce me to do so knowingly would thereby render yourself liable to a criminal prosecution."
"Wall," said the landlord, fetching a long breath, "that's a purty long sarmon for a chap that rips a little now and then. But be easy, be easy, this here harpooneer I have been tellin' you of has just arrived from the south seas, where he bought up a lot of 'balmed New Zealand heads (great curios, you know), and he's sold all on 'em but one, and that one he's trying to sell to-night, cause to-morrow's Sunday, and it would not do to be sellin' human heads about the streets when folks is goin' to churches. He wanted to last Sunday, but I stopped him just as he was goin' out of the door with four heads strung on a string, for all the airth like a string of inions."
This account cleared up the otherwise unaccountable mystery, and showed that the landlord, after all, had had no idea of fooling me- but at the same time what could I think of a harpooneer who stayed out of a Saturday night clean into the holy Sabbath, engaged in such a cannibal business as selling the heads of dead idolators?
"Depend upon it, landlord, that harpooneer is a dangerous man."
"He pays reg'lar," was the rejoinder. "But come, it's a nice bed: Sal and me slept in that ere bed the night we were spliced. There's plenty of room for two to kick about in that bed; it's an almighty big bed that. Why, afore we give it up, Sal used to put our Sam and little Johnny in the foot of it. But I got a dreaming and sprawling about one night, and somehow, Sam got pitched on the floor, and came near breaking his arm. Arter that, Sal said it wouldn't do. Come along here, I'll give ye a glim in a jiffy;" and so saying he lighted a candle and held it towards me, offering to lead the way. But I stood irresolute; when looking at a clock in the corner, he exclaimed "I vum it's Sunday- you won't see that harpooneer to-night; he's come to anchor somewhere- come along then; do come; won't ye come?"
I considered the matter a moment, and then up stairs we went, and I was ushered into a small room, cold as a clam, and furnished, sure enough, with a prodigious bed, almost big enough indeed for any four harpooneers to sleep abreast.
"There," said the landlord, placing the candle on a crazy old sea chest that did double duty as a wash-stand and centre table; "there, make yourself comfortable now; and good night to ye." I turned round from eyeing the bed, but he had disappeared.
Folding back the counterpane, I stooped over the bed. Though none of the most elegant, it yet stood the scrutiny tolerably well. I then glanced round the room; and besides the bedstead and centre table, could see no other furniture belonging to the place, but a rude shelf, the four walls, and a papered fireboard representing a man striking a whale. Of things not properly belonging to the room, there was a hammock lashed up, and thrown upon the floor in one corner; also a large seaman's bag, containing the harpooneer's wardrobe, no doubt in lieu of a land trunk. Likewise, there was a parcel of outlandish bone fish hooks on the shelf over the fire-place, and a tall harpoon standing at the head of the bed.
But what is this on the chest? I took it up, and held it close to the light, and felt it, and smelt it, and tried every way possible to arrive at some satisfactory conclusion concerning it. I can compare it to nothing but a large door mat, ornamented at the edges with little tinkling tags something like the stained porcupine quills round an Indian moccasin. There was a hole or slit in the middle of this mat, as you see the same in South American ponchos. But could it be possible that any sober harpooneer would get into a door mat, and parade the streets of any Christian town in that sort of guise? I put it on, to try it, and it weighed me down like a hamper, being uncommonly shaggy and thick, and I thought a little damp, as though this mysterious harpooneer had been wearing it of a rainy day. I went up in it to a bit of glass stuck against the wall, and I never saw such a sight in my life. I tore myself out of it in such a hurry that I gave myself a kink in the neck.
I sat down on the side of the bed, and commenced thinking about this head-peddling harpooneer, and his door mat. After thinking some time on the bed-side, I got up and took off my monkey jacket, and then stood in the middle of the room thinking. I then took off my coat, and thought a little more in my shirt sleeves. But beginning to feel very cold now, half undressed as I was, and remembering what the landlord said about the harpooneer's not coming home at all that night, it being so very late, I made no more ado, but jumped out of my pantaloons and boots, and then blowing out the light tumbled into bed, and commended myself to the care of heaven.
Whether that mattress was stuffed with corncobs or broken crockery, there is no telling, but I rolled about a good deal, and could not sleep for a long time. At last I slid off into a light doze, and had pretty nearly made a good offing towards the land of Nod, when I heard a heavy footfall in the passage, and saw a glimmer of light come into the room from under the door.
Lord save me, thinks I, that must be the harpooneer, the infernal head-peddler. But I lay perfectly still, and resolved not to say a word till spoken to. Holding a light in one hand, and that identical New Zealand head in the other, the stranger entered the room, and without looking towards the bed, placed his candle a good way off from me on the floor in one corner, and then began working away at the knotted cords of the large bag I before spoke of as being in the room. I was all eagerness to see his face, but he kept it averted for some time while employed in unlacing the bag's mouth. This accomplished, however, he turned round- when, good heavens; what a sight! Such a face! It was of a dark, purplish, yellow color, here and there stuck over with large blackish looking squares. Yes, it's just as I thought, he's a terrible bedfellow; he's been in a fight, got dreadfully cut, and here he is, just from the surgeon. But at that moment he chanced to turn his face so towards the light, that I plainly saw they could not be sticking-plasters at all, those black squares on his cheeks. They were stains of some sort or other. At first I knew not what to make of this; but soon an inkling of the truth occurred to me. I remembered a story of a white man- a whaleman too- who, falling among the cannibals, had been tattooed by them. I concluded that this harpooneer, in the course of his distant voyages, must have met with a similar adventure. And what is it, thought I, after all! It's only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin. But then, what to make of his unearthly complexion, that part of it, I mean, lying round about, and completely independent of the squares of tattooing. To be sure, it might be nothing but a good coat of tropical tanning; but I never heard of a hot sun's tanning a white man into a purplish yellow one. However, I had never been in the South Seas; and perhaps the sun there produced these extraordinary effects upon the skin. Now, while all these ideas were passing through me like lightning, this harpooneer never noticed me at all. But, after some difficulty having opened his bag, he commenced fumbling in it, and presently pulled out a sort of tomahawk, and a seal-skin wallet with the hair on. Placing these on the old chest in the middle of a room, he then took the New Zealand head- a ghastly thing enough- and crammed it down into the bag. He now took off his hat- a new beaver hat- when I came nigh singing out with fresh surprise. There was no hair on his head- none to speak of at least- nothing but a small scalp-knot twisted up on his forehead. His bald purplish head now looked for all the world like a mildewed skull. Had not the stranger stood between me and the door, I would have bolted out of it quicker than ever I bolted a dinner.
Even as it was, I thought something of slipping out of the window, but it was the second floor back. I am no coward, but what to make of this headpeddling purple rascal altogether passed my comprehension. Ignorance is the parent of fear, and being completely nonplussed and confounded about the stranger, I confess I was now as much afraid of him as if it was the devil himself who had thus broken into my room at the dead of night. In fact, I was so afraid of him that I was not game enough just then to address him, and demand a satisfactory answer concerning what seemed inexplicable in him.
Meanwhile, he continued the business of undressing, and at last showed his chest and arms. As I live, these covered parts of him were checkered with the same squares as his face, his back, too, was all over the same dark squares; he seemed to have been in a Thirty Years' War, and just escaped from it with a sticking-plaster shirt. Still more, his very legs were marked, as a parcel of dark green frogs were running up the trunks of young palms. It was now quite plain that he must be some abominable savage or other shipped aboard of a whaleman in the South Seas, and so landed in this Christian country. I quaked to think of it. A peddler of heads too- perhaps the heads of his own brothers. He might take a fancy to mine- heavens! look at that tomahawk!
But there was no time for shuddering, for now the savage went about something that completely fascinated my attention, and convinced me that he must indeed be a heathen. Going to his heavy grego, or wrapall, or dreadnaught, which he had previously hung on a chair, he fumbled in the pockets, and produced at length a curious little deformed image with a hunch on its back, and exactly the color of a three days' old Congo baby. Remembering the embalmed head, at first I almost thought that this black manikin was a real baby preserved some similar manner. But seeing that it was not at all limber, and that it glistened a good deal like polished ebony, I concluded that it must be nothing but a wooden idol, which indeed it proved to be. For now the savage goes up to the empty fire-place, and removing the papered fire-board, sets up this little hunch-backed image, like a tenpin, between the andirons. The chimney jambs and all the bricks inside were very sooty, so that I thought this fire-place made a very appropriate little shrine or chapel for his Congo idol.
I now screwed my eyes hard towards the half hidden image, feeling but ill at ease meantime- to see what was next to follow. First he takes about a double handful of shavings out of his grego pocket, and places them carefully before the idol; then laying a bit of ship biscuit on top and applying the flame from the lamp, he kindled the shavings into a sacrificial blaze. Presently, after many hasty snatches into the fire, and still hastier withdrawals of his fingers (whereby he seemed to be scorching them badly), he at last succeeded in drawing out the biscuit; then blowing off the heat and ashes a little, he made a polite offer of it to the little negro. But the little devil did not seem to fancy such dry sort of fare at all; he never moved his lips. All these strange antics were accompanied by still stranger guttural noises from the devotee, who seemed to be praying in a sing-song or else singing some pagan psalmody or other, during which his face twitched about in the most unnatural manner. At last extinguishing the fire, he took the idol up very unceremoniously, and bagged it again in his grego pocket as carelessly as if he were a sportsman bagging a dead woodcock.
All these queer proceedings increased my uncomfortableness, and seeing him now exhibiting strong symptoms of concluding his business operations, and jumping into bed with me, I thought it was high time, now or never, before the light was put out, to break the spell in which I had so long been bound.
But the interval I spent in deliberating what to say, was a fatal one. Taking up his tomahawk from the table, he examined the head of it for an instant, and then holding it to the light, with his mouth at the handle, he puffed out great clouds of tobacco smoke. The next moment the light was extinguished, and this wild cannibal, tomahawk between his teeth, sprang into bed with me. I sang out, I could not help it now; and giving a sudden grunt of astonishment he began feeling me.
Stammering out something, I knew not what, I rolled away from him against the wall, and then conjured him, whoever or whatever he might be, to keep quiet, and let me get up and light the lamp again. But his guttural responses satisfied me at once that he but ill comprehended my meaning.
"Who-e debel you?"- he at last said- "you no speak-e, dam-me, I kill-e." And so saying the lighted tomahawk began flourishing about me in the dark.
"Landlord, for God's sake, Peter Coffin!" shouted I. "Landlord! Watch! Coffin! Angels! save me!"
"Speak-e! tell-ee me who-ee be, or dam-me, I kill-e!" again growled the cannibal, while his horrid flourishings of the tomahawk scattered the hot tobacco ashes about me till I thought my linen would get on fire. But thank heaven, at that moment the landlord came into the room light in hand, and leaping from the bed I ran up to him.
"Don't be afraid now," said he, grinning again, "Queequeg here wouldn't harm a hair of your head."
"Stop your grinning," shouted I, "and why didn't you tell me that that infernal harpooneer was a cannibal?"
"I thought ye know'd it;- didn't I tell ye, he was a peddlin' heads around town?- but turn flukes again and go to sleep. Queequeg, look here- you sabbee me, I sabbee- you this man sleepe you- you sabbee?"
"Me sabbee plenty"- grunted Queequeg, puffing away at his pipe and sitting up in bed.
"You gettee in," he added, motioning to me with his tomahawk, and throwing the clothes to one side. He really did this in not only a civil but a really kind and charitable way. I stood looking at him a moment. For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal. What's all this fuss I have been making about, thought I to myself- the man's a human being just as I am: he has just as much reason to fear me, as I have to be afraid of him. Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.
"Landlord," said I, "tell him to stash his tomahawk there, or pipe, or whatever you call it; tell him to stop smoking, in short, and I will turn in with him. But I don't fancy having a man smoking in bed with me. It's dangerous. Besides, I ain't insured."
This being told to Queequeg, he at once complied, and again politely motioned me to get into bed- rolling over to one side as much as to say- I won't touch a leg of ye."
"Good night, landlord," said I, "you may go."
I turned in, and never slept better in my life. | <urn:uuid:46c13818-c27a-4a5a-ba42-18cf229cccb1> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://americanliterature.com/author/herman-melville/book/moby-dick-or-the-whale/chapter-3-the-spouter-inn | 2020-10-25T10:38:29Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.981398 | 7,790 |
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The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks
Reminder that this man is President of the United States
COMMUNISM WILL PREVAIL!
See this at UCLA
My mom browses Sup Forums
A Fifth Woman Accuses Senate Candidate Roy Moore of Sexual Misconduct
How Does It Make You Feel?
What is your honest opinion on this guy?
/LG/ - Leaf General
STOP WITH THE ANTI SEMETISM
At what point in history did
Why do African Americans lack shame and modesty?
America's decline will probably save Europe. As you all know...
Nothing about this image is random
Trump is fucking stupid
Steve Bannon is bas-
I have no words for this repulsive piece of shit
What's Sup Forums thoughts on Heimbach and the Traditionalist Worker Party?
Syria General /sg/- Busy Day For Reporters SOON Edition
Played in mud, paid with blood
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - A DARK ALTERNATIVE EDITION
Daily reminder that filthy anglos are the source of all degeneracy in the west
What do they have in common Sup Forums?
WTF happened to America?
Is it acceptable for men to have sex with 14 year old girls?
As a casual visitor to Sup Forums, how am I supposed to filter out the useful information from the trash...
Why do Americans allow large corporations such as Walmart to have a monopoly?
The fall of the West
Sup Forums humour thread
/pg/ pagan General
CBTS #311: ROCKACHILD'S TERRIFIED OF TRUMPICANE EDITION
Sup Forums you just got CALLED THE FUCK OUT
PURPLE REVOLUTION INFO:
Finland général AMA
Italians came all here and show your hate to this degenerate islamic country
HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT
Did Trump know that something like this might go down? Is that why he backed the non-MAGA guy in favor of MAGA Moore?
What would the founding fathers think of Trump?
Pic related is what christians actually worship
Communist and her boyfriend eat some lobsta
George Soros and hundreds of other wealthy Americans: Don’t cut our taxes
Even normies can't see the difference between refugees and Italians
Corey support thread
ASSANGE DID NOT WRITE THIS
Artificial Intelligence and the future
B-b-but Sup Forums told me that Meds were superior to snow-niggers
ITALY BTFO BY SWEDEN
Which gender are you Sup Forums
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - THAT'S NOT VERY PRESIDENTIAL GEORGE EDITION
Itt: You may only post if your contry qualified
"I'm ready for the date, user!"
We’re coming for you whitey ;)
Assange wasn't a paid Russian puppe-
So Conservashits are just going to vote for this kidfucker still?
Christians are a result of Jewish cultural conquest
Wtf is going on in poland
What is the purpose of "national" teams anyway?
Sup Forums movies
EU signed a “historic” deal to integrate 23 armies to shake off its US dependence
Why do white women worship frankfurt school jews?
Red pill me on authoritarianism
/bng/ - black nationalism general
ISIS AND ISRAEL
TRUMP CAMPAIGN COLLUDED WITH WIKILEAKS
Brit/pol/ - WALL OF GAMMON Edition
Warning to Humanity
CBTS #310: YOU'LL NEVER STOP THIS S+T+O+R+M! EDITION
GOD DOESN'T EXIT
HAPPENING: DONALD TRUMP JR. PROMISED ASSANGE AMBASSADOR ROLE
Information On Various Shill Groups Operating On Sup Forums
Will Kraut finally kill himself now?
IOTBW Is Peterson approved
It's pretty clear that Bernie Sanders wouldve beaten Trump so why did Hillary stop it? I need ANSWERS
Over 300 dead and 2000 wounded in Iraq after earthquake and Sup Forums doesn't care
Why does Blaire White try to appeal to Right Wingers
Where are they now? starring Cartman
Why is the modern world unable to create beautiful art?
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - MOE DEATH SQUADS EDITION
Watch out Nazis, we're coming for you and we're going to stamp out anti-Semitism!
FUCK YOU EUROPOORS AMERICA IS THE GREATEST COUNTRY EVER
Am I white by Sup Forums standards?
American troops 'vastly outnumbered' by North Korea if war breaks out, ex-US general warns
The kikes are it again Sup Forums
Canada's population: 36 million
Male students from 1st grade onwards on enrolled into paramilitary youth programs where they learn outdoors skills...
Reminder that GOD commanded us to bless Israel!
REVOLT AGAINST THE MODERN WORLD!
What the fuck happened to the political right in America?
End Global Oligarchy
All porn sites to be blocked in 2018
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - PSH NOTHING PERSONAL KID EDITION
CBTS #309: YOU'LL NEVER STOP THIS RIVER EDITION
Could Christianity piece together our country?
What is the most jewish animal?
Well at least this show will have a happy ending
I'm a welder
A True American Hero
Elon Musk and Tesla now racist
Sup Forums humor thread 4.0 - How will Americans ever recover? Edition
Second Accuser Claims Sexual Assault at 16
T's official: Amazon Studios is going to make a Lord of the Rings TV series
Éire/pol/ - Tyrellstown Tunes edition
Pen pals with Anthony Weiner
Let's congratulate the CIA on its first successful meme
OMFG, ROY MOORE A FUCKING PEDO RAPIST
Sup Forums is discussing happenings
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - DEATH TO JOE EDITION
HOLY WTF DO MY EYES DECEIVE ME?
I don't want redditional SOCIALISM I just want Prussia back. What do?
Why do you say communism work,Sup Forums ? I mean...
Sorry Jews, but the swamp is gonna be drained
Why can't Americans read?
4.2 Earthquake in Gonzales, CA
Blaire White assaulted for wearing MAGA Hat
Daily reminder Nordics are the Master Race
I miss a president that put his love for the United States in front of making a quick dollar
Nobody wants to touch women
POLAND WILL SAVE EUROPE AGAIN
Is this picture correct? Is this a flaw in the school system?
Brit/pol/: Resisting the far right edition
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL ASSHURT EDITION
Why can’t Germans and Poles be friends?
Sup Forums BTFO. It's over. You lose
Why should I care about jews and race when climate change and modern-day economical inequality are so much of a greater...
Adhahahahhahaahahahhahahaha SHE IS *DONE*
I'm a ((lawmaker)) goy, why are you pulling ME over...
How to avoid suicide when getting redpilled by Sup Forums
ONLY NUCLEAR POWERS CAN POST IN THIS THREAD
This is your first mammalian ancestor
White-born man claims he's 'transracial,' identifies as Filipino
PEDOPHILIA IS PRIMARILY A WHITE, CONSERVATIVE PHENOMENA
Is it evil to say “make Europe white again”?
If Taylor Swift Wants To Address Her Bad Reputation, She Should Start By Condemning Donald Trump
White Ethnostate in the fucking ocean!
/pg/ - pagan General
How did the biggest MMO of all time dodge the SJW bullshit all other games bend to?
Who wants to see what written cancer looks like? [NSFL]
CBTS #308: KEEP THOSE GARANDS CLEAN EDITION
/wg/ - its okay to be white
What's the difference?
This.. is... ironic
So much free time and freedom!
The incoming EU Ministry of Truth
What is happening to our beloved monarchies!?
Why is this (((positivity))) stuff memed so hard by girls?
Got it, Sup Forums?
UK killed 12 million of germans in WW2 for this
All civilizations will fade and be replaced. It's the natural cycle
Nigger of the year
Islam will rule the west
EPSTEIN PEDO REDPILL FUCKING KIKE SHILLS BTFO
A guy decides to lick prostitute's bagina
OOPS I DID IT AGAIN
UK out, Russia in
I'm glad Mrs. Goldstein put you in our group, user!
This is how Western media present our Independent March? Kek, they are doing the God's work, thanks
Perfect countries don't exist-
If someone receives more votes and still loses the election isn't that a sign that the electoral system in the US needs...
/fos/ - FRANCE OFFICIAL SURRENDER TO PEDOPHILIA
Redpill me on Nuclear energy and its ethical dilemmas
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - NO LAUGHING MATTER EDITION
At my campus bookstore
How do we get rid of civic nationalism?
URGENT Weaponized plague
If (((they))) are so powerful and influential why would (((they)) allow this?
Funny joke bongs, but you know this is more accurate
Sup Forums DEMOLISHED BY THIS MAN
I miss Hitler thread. Post if you miss Hitler
Challenge: Name something that jews do not profit from in some way
Is David Horsey /ourcartoonist/?
Why arn't...you running for local office?
America is the only country where you can protest something that doesnt exist...
Sup Forums humor thread 3.0 - 'Murica edition
Im right wing
Are anglos worse than germans when it comes to degeneracy?
Good luck getting that tax plan passed
Why are all of the best stand up comedians Jewish?
One of these
I don't know whose jewing anymore
How come if you say anything on Sup Forums that disagrees with the Sup Forums hivemind, you are considered a shill...
Do we really want a race war? It seems like such a hassle. Learning how to shoot and survive...
Friendly reminder that Europe's immigration problem is America's fault
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - BACK IN THE USA EDITION
I think we can all admit we are being raided by some real antisemitic "people", known as amerilards...
American "White" nationalists
What are the chances that the man who will become the second Adolf Hitler is posting amongst us at this very moment?
GQ’s citizen of the year!
Tanzania confiscates diamonds from British mining company
Daily reminder that Hillary won the popular vote. By 3 million votes
/CBTS/ #307 - COMING BACK EDITION v.1.06
Creates a free market
Is this possible?
France officially surrendered to Islam
My religion is the one true religion, and you need to believe in it to be saved
What the actual fuck?
This old man was the most anti communist guy that ever lived
So why are you guys all slacking off when the left is mobilizing and pushing hard to retake the senate and presidency...
PRESS F TO SHOW RESPECT TO THE FLAG OF SCANDINAVIA
Meanwhile in germany:
Fuck my cuck country
Red = Not White
Fascism just wor-
Tfw gf to attend BNP rallies with
Blue eyed father
How long until Greater Mexico becomes reality?
Is this how Amerilards protest? By destroying expensive appliances they bought with their own hard earned money?
Why is Poland nazi now?
Why are Puerto Ricans so ungrateful?
Reminder that ALL anti-German threads are slide threads bought and paid for by Poland's government
1 woman to end all black/white superiority arguments
/cg/ - Christian General
Does anyone know anything Muslim related that rhymes with reindeer?
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - THE LIGHT EDITION
I made a meme for my Facebook page
Sup Forums please explain how Lauren Southern is not an attention seeking e-celeb
Why the F___ aren't you supporting Calexit?
Sargon of Akkad
Developed their own racial homeland
/wu/ - Congressman Brianna Wu General
Syria General /sg/- Hell From Above Edition
Roy Moore is done for. McConnell against him
More drag queens with kids
IN THE MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF PARIS NOVEMBER ATTACK IN 2015
Is the 56% meme the final redpill about americans?
/CBTS/ #306 - COMING BACK EDITION v.1.05
Secret IS withdrawal deal out of Raqqa revealed
So you're telling me.. we can do THIS
How can we solve the national epidemic of coal-burning?
Capitalism doesn't destroy cultur-
Open borders would double the GDP
Wife doesn't want manlet husbands genes for there kids
ITT: Pics that make people immediately think of your country
#ForBetterSweden thread #2
/pag/ Pennsylvania General
Why can't Poland into /his/?
Polygon's male feminist editor accused of sexual misconduct by a fat SJW aspiring to be a game journalist!
AntiSemites BTFO by BASED Sartre
Why is america so ugly?
Is this true, Sup Forums? I've been working in IT and I think I'm going to switch careers...
Trump would look much more respectible if he got rid of the fake hair, fake tan and hair dye
Chile hitting the pols on November 19, and OURGUY José António Kast wants to make it GREAT AGAIN. How great...
Communism, Socialism, Fascism- none of these ideologies are actually a problem...
A-user the news getting weirder
Be 32 years old
Why are so many on Sup Forums fucking gay?
Be 19 years old american boy
Antisemitism makes the world a very simple place
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - BACK TO AMERICA EDITION
What do people admire your race for?
You will never cuddle with Huma Abedin
Resist the Pepe
(((Victoria secret))) debuts 5-year old lingerie models
Trump eternally btfo, chances of recovery 0.01%
What are the necessary conditions in order to make communism work?
HAPPENING! George Takei is FUCKED -- Fox News now in on the action
Let's be honest
Sup Forums humor thread 2.0 - 56% edition
So Tamara with MoveOn has been harassing me for about a week now...
(((media))) fund for Hungary
Warning to Humanity!!!
The Iron Guard symbol
Thoughts on the new LOTR cast???
It’s not going to happen, is it?
Who does all the wagecucking in Israel?
How do we solve the Jewish Question?
Was the reichmarks a debt free currency
What is our world coming to?
Was giving the voting rights to women a mistake?
/polder/ crooked Mark for prison edition
We /bigballers/ now
Is it true in American culture you have toilet negroes that offer you towels and perfume after taking a shit?
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - DUT EDITION
It's okay to be white
Rural retards of Jutland Denmark only has male candidates for local election
What is thing about blacks and Hispanics not getting along in the U.S.? Is it true...
Should I only go for virgin women?
/CBTS/ #305 - COMING BACK EDITION v.1.04
Come on wtf i voted for Trump but I’m not white my mom is Phillipino so yeah im not “white” but I still hate...
What do you make of this, Sup Forums? Is this where we're inevitably headed?
You wake up tomorrow and come to realize that you're back in 2004 with everything set to be accurate - no smartphone...
What does Sup Forums think of University? Is it a scam? Is there a better option?
/BMC/ - Boycott Muslim Companies
1) your country
Name a worst system than democracy
Prince George already a bully at age of 4
Sup Forums pls halp
MAKE HALF CHINESE BABIES
Sup Forums is wrong about marijuana
This is the man who went on the stabbing spree in Minnesota yesterday
Peterson creating climate of fear & intimidation
Necessity of a side hustle
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - CONTENT EDITION
Attention to ALL V4 countries. STAY STRONG AGAINST THE SHILLING. ((((THEY))) WILL NOT DIVIDE US
Lets turn the tables
DRAIN THE FUCKING SWAMP
Why is the communism logo so unaesthetic?
A Twelve-Year-Old Is Watching Porn
Communism will win
What is the biggest geopolitical fraud of the 20th century and why is it the Curzon Line?
Do you guys hold any weight to the
Let me get this straight...
ANOTHER ACCUSER against Roy Moore coming out today
Do you guys seriously wish for all Jews to be exterminated?
Why don't natsocs wish to be referred to as "Nazis"? They literally mean the exact same thing
Should We Bring Back Prohibition?
/CBTS/ #304 - COMING BACK EDITION v.1.03
Look at each of these kids in the eye, and tell them that you voted for Trump user
Why are you racist white crackers so racist? Racism is fucking stupid, yet you stupid white crackers always are racist
So now that Poland and Germany are enemies again
Force a meme about americans being racemixed
Massachusetts can't get enough of the lobsterbacks
The absolute state of our country
Fourteen million Germans were expelled and lost their homes, which meant that, at the end of the war...
Why are latinos so pathetic?
Little do they know it was actually Sup Forums
What is your honest opinion on this man and his political commentary?
Least contrubuting EU country
POLAND WILL SAVE EUROPE AGAIN
Immigrants are dum-
PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - RESTORED OPTIMISM EDITION /ptg/
When does life begin?
The poor pay too much tax
Freedom of speech
Stop sacrificing the integrity of your morals for a political victory
How much are you on the hook for, Sup Forums?
Based Traditional Art - Less known Sup Forums artists
I fully support abortion, drug abuse, deadly viruses and anything that will get rid of the masses...
SEND SHIA TO DR PHILL
The USA lost the Vietnam wa-
Should I take this job?
Prince Charles, No!
Poland: A Nation of toilet scrubbers
Is there any logical reason that incest should be illegal?
Apologize right now
Is Soy really turning men effeminate?
I need help Sup Forums...
What are the best news sites?
Memes aside what is your opinion on my country?
Iron Pill thread
Why do shitskins lust for white women so much while claiming that they aren't inferior to us?
this triggers the uneducated inbred Conservashit
Be honest: why don't you believe in G-d?
Why does it Matter if America Becomes Non-White?
It's over. It's fucking over
What is your REAL opinion on Varg Virkenes?
Why are people so terrified of homeless people? The worst they'll do is scream in your face and then move on. In fact...
YOU ARE 6,5 % goyim
We must secure the future of our peo--
PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - FAKE NEWS BTFO EDITION /ptg/
Is it realistic to be a neet and want a gf?
Marxism fest 2017 - I need you help lads
American here in India for work and i fucking hate this country
Can someone explain this guy's body to me? Especially the arms. How can this be?
Priming the pump for Biden
IT'S HAPPENING: JEW PLANS ON DOCUMENT
Israel's Foreign Ministry want's to imprison the organisers of Independence March in Poland
This kills the jews on this board
Can we retake it?
Spain starting to wake up
Sup Forums book recommendations
What do you think about the PESCO EU army initiative signed today?
Why are women allowed to vote?
America's downfall will probably save Europe. As you all know...
/CBTS/ #303 - COMING BACK EDITION v.1.02
Need a little advice
Brit/pol/: Road Trip edition
Sup Forums humor thread
Black guy who killed White teens screams BLACK LIVES MATTER at court
Smash or Pass. Already destroyed the one I have. Anyone else going to smash today?
Hispanics enslaved blacks
What happened Sup Forums?
This is low even for Trump
Better get it through your thick mind /pol!
Does the Internet scare you...
Mizrahi Jews are based
Why can't the Trumps do anything right? Looks like Donald Trump Jr is about to book a one-way ticket to snap city
Why is eastern europe not cucked ?
Is Bob Corker the last sane Republican left?
How does your country protect you from the mentally ill?
Should jews really lower themselves to date and marry goyim?
What exactly is “Xi Jinping Thought on New Era Chinese Socialism”?
/CBTS/ #302 - COMING BACK EDITION
Are there people here that actually unironically believe in god...
What is wrong with Western women and why do you white people keep coming here for our girls...
I'm considered a savant
I think indians are fucking amazing! what you think
Leader of the free world
I never dated an underaged girl without her parents permission
>falling for the Poland meme
Trump will lose in 2020 to Bernie Sanders
The new face of white sumpremacy
What the fuck is going on?
Do you think white people will still exist in 1000 years in the future?
I really love listening to you little piss-ant "soldiers" trying to talk tough. You make me laugh. If Clanton was here...
/moving to idaho/
Old pic, new rant I am so over men. Men are BY FAR the perpetrators of most violent crimes...
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - AWOO EDITION
Why do Americans not believe in Climate Change?
Radicalized Leftist KILLING SPREE Plot Thwarted
Biden refuses to answer if he is running in 2020
What would realistically happen if the USA completely cut off Israel?
Trump exposed as a Sup Forumstard
Media silence after 20,000 strong Muslim mob burned down a Hindu village in Bangladesh
Sweden needs more immigrants
>This scares and confuses the Jew
Greeks are albanians
Should the US adopt mandatory military service?
Rise of the bromance is bad for women
Sweden makes me wanna believe in god
Post your face when the final showdown will be between Israel and ISIS, and the Jews will end up saving the world
Should Hiba marry her cousin Sup Forums?
Will future technology make transgenders commonplace
Shaun King Purveyor of White Genocide
Tax his land, tax his wage
Average of life span will become 100 years old
Poland and 20-something other EU countries just signed a military union PESCO...
600,000 Muslims forced out Rakhine
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
/CBTS/ #301 - GEOTE EDITION
I have made up my mind that I can no longer live in a country where trump is president...
A WORLD WITHOUT BLACK POEPLE
Anyone notice how this Christmas will be the most Anti-White yet?
Well, congrats America
Any mongol Sup Forumsacks going to celebrate the independence day at the 612 march?
Well mates. Looks like we've lost
The Bible is a little bit different from the stuff that Catholics have
(((German Government))) Clumsily Admits To Supporting Regime Change In Poland
What the fuck is wrong with Britain?
Will I go to hell, Sup Forums?
Who else used to watch Jimmy fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden etc...
Syria General /sg/- Traditionalist Edition
This is a fuck load of cancer waiting to happen
So when is the next episode out?
Pride and reaction
I am a Turkish nationalist. Ask me anything (no trolling)
Why doesn't Western Europe only import gay men from third world?
Why is pic related allowed by society and her parents?
Fucking libtard snowflakes chimping out over free speech
Do you support Pan-European Nationalism?
David why haven't you named the Jew?
I have universal health care AMA
FUCK. Roy Moore is losing. We're fucked, anons
Something is missing
Interracial relationships are booming because of online dating. Thoughts?
Bangladeshi security forces, particularly the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)...
Let's discuss our neighbours, Ireland
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - FULLY-AUTOMATIC SHITPOSTING EDITION
Why did God make pedophiles?
You are in the seat of the most powerful country in the world, what are your first orders?
New Yugoslavia thread
Can Sup Forums explain how it got so full of roleplaying retards?
Can we all agree on one thing?
Fuck Duterte, the New People's Army is the future of the Philippines
Monday Night QandA Livewatch
CBTS #300: RELOADED
Oy vey some really bad goys made the hitler-salute on a visit to Auschwitz
LAST CBTS THREADS GOT DELETED!
You are given the problem to try and solve the African American problem in the US. What you say, will be done
Why are south Indians so retarded Even while living in the richest part of the country?
AN-HIRO OLD SQUAD: IN THE PUN-JAB TIFFIN JOLLY GOOD
Ali[c]e [i]n Wonderl[a]nd
Iran-Iraq earthquake: death toll rises to 335
What did they mean by this?
I wonder if any South Africans might describe what it feels like to live as a white minority in terms of political...
Is there a more brilliant
Sup Forums will defend this
Where were you when Poland saved Europe?
Duterte gives his remarks
Jews are Alt-Right
Are schools obsolete in a time all the human knowledge is in the palm of your hand?
John A. Macdonald statue defaced
NK SOLDIER SHOT
How / why do so many muslims have expensive cars Sup Forums?
As I see it, there are only two ways out of the Korean problem
Annual Age of Consent Debate
Well Sup Forums?
Wake up tomorrow
Why do so many believe in God despite the fact that there is zero evidence for its existence?
When you realize that Karadzic was right all along about the Muslims
BREAKING: NORTH KOREAN SOLDIER DEFECTS
Meanwhile in the Melbourne CBD earlier this evening
IT'S FUCKING HAPPENING
WHATABOUTISM BY CURRENT YEAR MAN
The new New Zealander
83yr old gay Karl Lagerfeld on Merkel's immigration policies
Why does society force women to cover up their breasts?
Brit/pol/ - Nick Griffin edition
Duterte shuts down Jim Acosta
Sup Forums BTFO
Europe is signing PESCO today - the joint EU military
7 shot in single incident in Indiana
When will you accept that capitalism and nationalism are fundamentally at odds with each other...
WTF i love vietnam now?
And now, a word from Stanford’s top population biologists
Can a European Jew be part of the good goy's club? Is that a thing?
Why did the white man fail to colonize japan?
Steve bannon is a fucking genius
Jews call our national anthem anti-semitic
You guys are really OK with this?
How could you, America? ICE COLD
Antifa member here
All these shills are getting to me
So it begins, EU wants to levy taxes
Trump is a faggot
THE PEDO REDILL. HOW THEY PULL THE STRINGS
The Mongrel meme is killing Sup Forums
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - SKATING TOWARDS A BETTER TOMORROW EDITION
My sister is dating a undesirable
You can only post ITT if your country's leader isn't a cuck
Ok we know all about left-wing cults and occult practices...but what about right-wing...
Requesting autisc support
CBTS #277: PUBLIC ALLEGIANCE EDITION
If we can't even protect our ponies there's no hope for the west
New war against tumblr war pt 2
Possible shill operation
I AM A REAL AMERICAN
Duterte is 9000% /ourguy/
I noticed that a large amount of women in the far right are borderline schizophrenic...
ITT: People who did nothing wrong
Lauren Southern: degenerate with no kids, has been BLACKED, possibly Jewish
Meet the 8-Year-Old Boy Who Transforms Into a Drag Queen Named Lactatia
Kraut and Tea Is a CUCK
Trump chuckles when Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte calls media 'spies' after question on human rights
The unsung hero
UH HUH OH OH NO NO NO NO NO NO HUAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA AHAHAHA AHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA...
Can Sup Forums weaponize its autism and find a collection of news stories that contradict this libshit meme?
How can Hitler even compete?
How much of your racism came from your parents, pol? Or did you come to be racist from your experiences in life?
Im currently watching this movie and it got me wondering, what is the best Sup Forums kino? (that isn't a documentary)
Why haven't you joined the marines yet, Sup Forums? Too pussy? Scared of commitment and honor...
Does having a big dick lead to degeneracy?
How can we collapse western civilisation while whites are still a majority...
How long until this is normal within the cities?
Why do chimps constantly chimp out?
SOMETHING VERY BIG
Krauts new video
Trump hits it off with Duterte
Kill 99% of Jews worldwide randomly
A P O L O G I Z E
Brit/pol/ - Anglo-Celtic Bloodlines edition
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - "NOTHING is Happening; Go Back to Sleep" EDITION
CALI HATE THREAD
Is this America's best kept secret?
CIA mutt memes - Ameriorc addition
Trump Raped a 13 year old in 1994. Is blackmailed by Israel
Why is Sup Forums so good at what they do? Why is Sup Forums the best? Why is Sup Forums never wrong...
Really jogs the noggin
How can I solidify my position on abortion?
/PHIL/ - Philosophy General
ITT: We Larp as Americans
New anti christ cuck memes
A god amongst men
How is anarcho communism not racist? like who said that the collective group shouldn't be of people's choice...
Tfw you have to get an abortion again
CBTS #276: NIGHT IS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN EDITION
Blair White "attack" is fake as fuck
Jewish IQ myth
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - "Important Trump Thingy Coming Up VERY Soon" EDITION
What do you think the implications of this picture is?
There is literally nothing wrong with being Canadian. Also fuck Australia
/MEGA/ Make England Great Again
Who is creating such memes? I have never seen a meme spreading so fast. Who is behind this memefactory
What was the deal with the airliner photo?
Roastie Tropes Thread Post Your Best
STEFAN MOLYNEUX ANNIHILATES Sup Forums
This guy is doing more good for the world than Sup Forums ever will
Damn, these niggas got me
I'm a PROUD AMERICAN PATRIOT i support our GREAT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to stop the GLOBALISTS and...
All muslims are like ISIS
Niggers are stupid and never invented anythin-
What does Sup Forums do?
So let me get this straight Sup Forums
Americans, we need to talk about your constructions. Why do Jews have you build gingerbread houses?
Ask Me Anything Anarcho-Communist Edition
WikiLeaks Vault8 Release debunks Russian hacking
Men, I have a question for you, female to male
Should people 75 and older be allowed to vote?
When Trump was told what he said, Trump said “Oh, he did? Well, that’s not nice...
WHY DOESN'T Sup Forums SPAM YT VID COMMENTS?
Proof white racism exists, debate closed
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - WASCALLY PWESIDENT EDITION
Why is seeing a black person working in I.T so rare?
*eats human flesh*
US debt hits 20.5 trillion $
Europeans will defend this
How the fuck do women rationalize statements like these? Women's rights were a fucking mistake
CBTS #275: TRUMP SPEAKS EDITION
Return to you Pre-Christian/Indo-European (Aryan) roots
Show Me Your Rarest Merchants
Jesus was nice to the je-
Have you ever called a black person nigger to their face?
YouTube is AIDS
My parents are racist and told me they won't accept a non-white girl...
What happens here?
When will Donald Trump will Complete the System of German Idealism?
/pol tell me the rank of the Punjabi race
Mall of America Suspect Identified
I’m American but fuck it: Post your best Amerimutts
Stop targeting Abigail Shapiro...
Many of you are thinking "haha fucking turks and their jokes", but you should know that NONE of us are joking...
You're jealous of Jews for having a higher IQ
The Warrior-King Who Saved Europe from Islam
What did he know?
Would you support Cenk Uygur of TYT in a bid for democratic candidate as president of the United States?
We must secure the future of our peo--
/ptg/ PRESIDENT TRUMP GENERAL - *Neil Young-ing Intensifies* EDITION
SKYKING SKYKING anons grab yourself a blanket and get /comfy/
Why don't you own an AR-15 for self-defense, and to protect your family, friends and country?
New Social Fap Thread
Quads in thread: I push the lever, cut off my dick
This my cat Mousey say something nice
Be me 18 y/o Turk living in Germany
What loli part is best loli part?
Op here of kristin ama
New FB IG VSCO
It's Caturday, post cats
Got a girl solidly passed out on my couch in my apartment, wat should I do to her anons?
I love being a stripper. I make $300+ a day (after tip out), I can come to work and leave whenever I please...
Rekt. Lets do it
Wwyd thread be brutal as you want
Whats the best way to insult a german
Does the busdriver notice if i steal
COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR???? WHICH ONE
Hot for teacher thread: candids preferred or in general clasroom pics; only real teachers pls
Texas thread. Bonus for 903
If you were paid 200000 a year to be permanently naked- would you? You would have full immunity to any legal trouble... | <urn:uuid:c52afcf8-4629-410e-ab51-5bec8d0c3c73> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://supforums.com/archive/politics/1492.html | 2020-10-25T11:26:18Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.878027 | 7,972 |
We’re trying out transcribing our podcasts using a software program. Please forgive any typos as the bot isn’t correct 100% of the time.
In the digital reality, evolution over revolution prevailed. The QA approaches and techniques that worked yesterday will feel you tomorrow. So free your mind. The automation cyborg has been sent back in time. Ted Speaker Jonathon Wright’s Mission is to help you save the future from bad software.
This podcast is brought to you by eggplant help businesses to test, monitor, and analyze their end-to-end customer experience and continuously improve their business outcome.
Hi, Mike. It’s great to have you on the show. And, you know, I just want to say you’re absolutely right. Today, I was in the queue, the drive-through queue for 20 minutes because of the COVID outbreak. So your book is ahead of its time?
Yeah. I’ve been thinking of that theory. I’ve spent a lot of time in Drive-through.
So that’s definitely one place that I’ve learned a lot and seen a lot where people would, you know, walking past me, going in, getting their food and leaving. And I thought it’s gonna be much faster. So I started the theory and I stopped going through the drive-through most of the time, and I realized I can get in and out much faster. And then I started applying to how the world is for me. I mean, everything you do in life, whether it’s work or its personal life, there’s usually another way in a better way to do things. That’s not just a conventional way. So I’m enjoying the theory. It really became it actually wasn’t the title of my book when I started, but it became the title of my book after I started seeing that one resonated through most of my chapters.
So let’s say I’ve heard they get it, especially it comes to quality. They got a concept to go slower, to get faster.
And I actually get a look at download in the book and I’ve read three because I’m fascinated with that concept, because it’s kind of a motivational side of things as well, based on a lot of experiences that you’ve had. And, you know, I guess it does that mean potentially you could have a follow-up book in the pipeline?
Yeah. Absolutely. The point I love about the book was that I started putting together ideas in 2002. And I said I want to write a book. I have no idea what I’m going to write about. I knew I wanted it to be self-help, motivational. And so I read a book by a guy named Jeffrey Fox, and he’s got a book called How to Become CEO. And that book is like 20 to 25 to 30 chapters. And they’re all different stories. So you can just pick up his book, go to Chapter 10, read the book. And it doesn’t have to be in any order. And that’s really how I’ve out-laid, laid out my book. And my book is 30 chapters.
Each of them is a different thought process, different story. You can pick it up reading each chapter and get different you know, you don’t have to read it in order. And through the years from 2002, through the time of publishing the book. I just kept adding new chapters isn’t a great chapter, you know. And I would be sitting in traffic. And as you’ll find out in the book, I learn a lot from sitting in my car. But I’m in the traffic lane. I would say, you know, slower traffic keeps right. You know, a lot of signs in the US, slower traffic keep right. And you got people blocking you from speeding up and going through the lane.
And that was another chapter in just several different thoughts about these are really catchy chapter titles. And so I put the titles together over the years. The hard part was putting the chapters to those titles afterward. But it was a lot of fun and it’s and it’s been a whole lot of fun getting it out there and then promoting it.
So maybe an audiobook fishing. You get, you know, get someone like Stephen Fry to actually narrate each one of the stories because you really begin to storytelling, you know, especially. Yes. Some of your workshops on biometrics and this idea. You telling a story?
I think it’s a lost art with, you know, some of the skills that come through. Some of the QA engineers and testers, you know, storytelling. A, unless you’ve got the experience of going through and having those stories to tell. I know. You know, it’s really difficult for them to kind of get the confidence to really be able to express, explain something without using numbers.
Absolutely. And the metrics tell us where he really came to me. I was working with a very large Fortune 50 company, and they really focused on numbers. You know, what’s the percent done? What’s the percent complete pass-fail percentages and all kinds of metrics that tell me nothing about the product and then tell me nothing about whether we’re in a good shape or if the products to him what it’s doing. Michael Bolton Low Times talks about really your metrics. And he says it’s not metrics. Saying the Metrics program is like saying words instead of books.
You know, it’s a measurement program. And so he got me thinking along those lines in about 2011. And I really liked the theory because what I understood right away is if you can figure out what your stakeholders want to know and then you can tell the story to them in a way that they can get it and understand it. And it’s more about, OK, you know, pass-fail percentages might tell me about progress. You know, 80 percent done with my testing tells me progress, but it doesn’t tell me anything about the quality or whether this is got high confidence.
I’m going to live. And I looked at James Box Dashboard that he created years ago and. People have used it and I use it now in my company, we the dashboard really doesn’t have a number on it. The dashboard shows the features and it shows competence. You know, that’s a big column in that report is what is the tester’s confidence in this product right now? And do we feel like this product is nearing completion and ready for production? And I think what I find is our company really starts looking at talking to the tester about do you feel good about this? There’s no harm. Far to be done. What’s the percent complete? How many tests did you run? It’s more. How do you feel about the product? And that’s really a paradigm shift for really our organization or any organization that does that.
Yeah, I think that’s a fascinating thing. I had a really interesting podcast, Website just a couple of back around with Neil and Neil is talking about time quality.
And again, it was one of those kinds of things where I’d never really thought of the idea REST, you know, when does it get to a point where the is kind of acceptable or it comes within tolerance or a certain confidence level? It’s that amount of time, you know. How was that compared to the original plan, which is so difficult to plan things? You know, an estimation way, as humans would just know for good. But, you know, a plane that I know you had 20 years it’s 45, 50 company. And, you know, I’ve actually been doing work with something over in Europe at the moment, similar kind of space. And, you know, obviously, they’re shifting from, you know. OK. COVID 19. We can’t open our doors.
We can’t sell our products. So how do we get our products through the digital channels? And then you’ve obviously I know you’ve got extensive experience in performance service virtualization at the end of there as well. And, you know, there’s a lot of people like Best Buy at Best Buy, like some of them I’m trying to think of the great company that went down over Jimmy Kovin. But there are lots of, you know, these that have made the digital switch. And I guess, you know, as that pivoting to quickly be able to start selling to a different channel, you know, the, you know, potentially a confidence switch of getting something out quick. So, you know, we’re not used to delivering paving slabs, but we’re going to deliver them to you the next day.
Well, what does this actually mean now? And, you know, I know you do really great comparisons against things like Apple. Right? And, you know, you’ve got this kind of trust in these kinds of companies like Best Buy. Right. You kind of feel like you’re getting the best deal. Right. And, you know, they’re looking after you and, you know, you can go back with the product and they can look, you know, swap exchange, trying to help you. And not just that. You can point to that like an Apple genius guy who’s just got the title and he’s going to take it in the back, you know, and follow the little manual, which is telling him, you know, unplug base, replace the screen disrupted, send it off to HQ.
But, you know, I find it fascinating because a little organization like that, we should work for 20 years in this new paradigm where they have to switch to selling to online channels. You know, if you were in that position now and someone was asking you, OK, we’re going to sell on this new channel, let’s call it Instagram for a second, you know how quickly your confidence would be that they could all get their ducks in a line and actually get the product to the market instead of those long release cycles? You know, do you see organizations really don’t get the digital win and be able to have that idea of what quality means if they release it right now?
Well, I think speed is is definitely pushing during the COVID situation that we’re going through.
You know, a lot of people have had to close their doors and the brick and mortar stores. And so they have had to go online and had to do more digital.
And I think what I find is that many companies weren’t prepared for that. You see that now from a performance standpoint, you know, suddenly my Website used to get a million hits now and gets 10 million hits, you know, or my Website. The performance against that Website is really underperforming because we never expected that everybody in the United States or the world would go online and do their orders.
Fulfillment is a big deal. And being able to look at areas where, you know, it was a small part of your business, but now it’s a large part of your business that I think that’s a big change. I work with the marketing services company and we do marketing. When we do, we do a marketing program. You know, a lot of our programs are mailing things to people were either email or physical mail and saying to them, take this to the store, you’ll get this discount or use this coupon or something to push them to go to the store. Now, we’ve had to help those clients change and think about things more in a digital age. And it’s really something it’s kind of eye-opening because it’s probably something we should have been easing into before.
COVID But COVID kind of said, OK, you’re going to do it now. I think security is a big thing with companies. Companies had tight security, but they didn’t have it super tight. And you can run penetration tests and vulnerability tests and really find my company’s not that solid right now. And a lot of companies are doing that right now. But we were saying that you know, for the last decades, people, you know, security is a big deal. Security was really starting to stand up and testing conferences and events. And I got a really strong interest in it. And luckily for our company,
I had someone from our team who really wanted to look in the new area, you know, to build a different skill set. And I said, let’s start working on security within the company. So we were paired. But I think a lot of companies weren’t prepared in that space. You know, I think security performance really, really hit him hard. The speed the market really calls for service virtualization because if you know. If you’re waiting. Waiting and you’re trying to get quick sprints out the door, but you’re waiting. And the whole product is not ready for integration testing or into testing service virtualization is amazing.
I did a lot of work for that in 2014 through 16 where we would build those simulated API so that we can do the fully into and find things before we did the final end. And I think that companies don’t. A lot of companies don’t realize how powerful that is to have that in place and be able to do that, you know, to plug it in, you know, whole trains there. Now we can run now, put in the right pieces at the end. And we’ve already kind of tested every day for less testing at the very end if you can do it along the way.
Absolutely. And I think this idea of contract testing where you’ve got you to know, you’re delivering something which you can’t do end to end, and it may be all through API eyes, whether that be fulfillment systems or payment systems or, you know, or the stock system, you know, there are all these different API, is it?
You know, I felt like service virtualization was a slow start to really I know the UK. We started in 93 as a developer. I guess shims and stubs and fakes were all part of your own unique tasks. And, you know, it was just you just got to. And yet you have in your heart into a habit. Right? I was tested. We were kind of slow at things like Y and Mark, if you’re getting into kind of more automation level or if you were using something in the cloud-like mock labs or something, you could quickly put some together. It’s interesting. One of my friends alone who was the founder off of Blaisme has just started a company called Up Nine.
And, you know, part of what it does is it looks at API and it models out all the different types of flows. So, you know, if you’ve got a swag is back or if you’ve got sometimes a definition document, you can actually then generate old penetration. It brings this aspect of model-based testing and testing KPIs and also negative tests and all sorts of other things. There is a lot of complexity around and moving to this kind of API slash, you know. Let’s call it microcircuits. I know they’re talking about nano services now, which is even chalta, so that in a spec is even it’s a Nowra. But, you know, you kind of get into this play where it becomes just a hugely complex, vast ecosystem that the defendant sees in data and data.
Data privacy. And, you know, as you said, security, which is really important. You know, I just don’t know how many organizations really know how well that they can’t they can do it, stack up against that. And, you know, there was this quote that kind of say, you know, the only reason why you’ve not been hacked is that you’re not interesting enough to track yet. But, you know, it’s kind of that the idea is a day where people say, well if there’s that kind of availability of data if you’re Yahoo! Well, somebody like that, where actually that data could be really useful and have some value and potentially you could be a target.
And it really means you’ve got to be smarter about you do it like you said that taken, you know, holding that sacred, you know, MailChimp list, you know, part of it. Then someone saves it to the local file, puts it on a USB drive. It’s not encrypted. You know some will make some changes to it. You just don’t know, do you? But at the same time, if they can access that data, you know, that’s could also be bad for your customers. Right? Because then they could look at the side of emails are all sorts of another safe. It breaks your brand. So, you know, do you see the data lifecycle being an interesting aspect for testers? You know, BDD to get nonbiased test data, which is really state. You can synthesize it. You can test against, you know, service virtualization or an endpoint. And then also, you know, how people treat life to test data and test.
Really, I think I think data is we’ve said it for years, but it’s kind of similar to the security and performance thing. I think a lot of people have not really taken it seriously. In the US, we have the California Consumer Privacy Act ECPA.
I guess our first version of the GDPR that will allow even January 1st of this year. I was part of the committee within our company because we’re all about data where and that’s the core of our functions. And with very large customer databases and large databases full of data. And really our focus has been on, you know, we know California was first and they’re not the last.
You know, other states are already talking about it before, you know, the next couple of years, the whole country is going to be talking about data privacy. It’s already on every Web site and everywhere you go. So when we start looking at how do we test this, you know, and we’re testing functions that are really focused on data, you find that a lot of teams or what I found in the past has allowed teams will say, let’s just get data in there and their test data is not good and then their test doesn’t work or it does work. Unfortunately, and it shouldn’t work because the data’s not production data or we have situations where people are using production data.
Now you’re starting to compromise the data privacy issues. So I think there’s there’s a lot of work to be done around making sure that we do find a way to match that data, to clean that data, to also be able to build that data in a way we can build it up without having to go to get production data. But it looks like production data. So it may be your name, my address, and someone else’s phone number. So it’s real data. It’s just not really, you know, production data. And I think I think that’s a big thing that a lot of companies are facing right now is do I have the right data? You know, is my issues are the issues that I’m finding due to my data not being correct or is it because, you know, the test is actually fell over, the functionality is not working.
So, yeah, I did do one of the things I’ve been talking to a lot of customers about is things like test day coverage. So this idea of, well, you know, as you would do with your automation scraps and data, drive it nice.
You know, you’ve got different states, you know, account open, account closed. You know, that old thing states that the business and the standard of receipt from performance, you’re churning through a huge amount of data and you potentially changing the state’s closing accounts, empty balances. You know, if we have to synthetically generate input, also have the right data to exhaustively go through and talk to all the different test permutations. So, you know, if you’ve got ETL running, you know, all those enhanced transforms of loads, you know, there’s so much complexity.
And obviously, bias is an interesting one as well about how you generate that data and what it looks like. It’s such an interesting area because I think, you know, I was fascinated by you. You did a workshop on visual testing. I don’t you know, I see this is a big trend kind of coming through. And I Joe talks about it a lot in the FTP tools and Angie’s that I’ve been going through your test, a PDA, which she’s got some fantastic resources.
And I’ll make sure I get that LinkedIn that they pull off this move towards looking at the visual front end. You know, when you look at the visual front-end, you know, you are looking at the data, the layout, and not as much on the data. You know, they could be, you know, hashtag, you know, drop tables or something could be in there. And it’d be a valid kind of, you know, middle name. Right. But part of it is, you know, do you see visual testing helping with some of the hard kind of checking activities?
Yeah, I think visual testing and I’m glad you brought this up, but it’s one of my favorite workshops. I’ve done many workshops over the last eight years. And when that one has been one that I’ve really done, I think in every country I’ve spoken in, across the many countries and many conferences. And the beauty of that workshop is we bring things to people and I share it on the screen and I say, what do you see? They tell me what they see. They’re sure of what they see. And it’s not what they see. You know, it’s I’ve got an I’ve got examples where half the words are covered up.
And so your eyes are seeing Mike Lyles is jumping to conclusions, but they say that’s what it says. And then I’ll take the other half of the letters down and it’s the bottom half of the letters is making the words not. Mike Lyles is jumping to conclusions. Your brain fills in those things and we get caught up in that from a visual testing standpoint. And we don’t keep certain things. You know, there’s there are great tools out there. We’ll name them. But there are some really good tools out there that that catch it for you. The small things that really small one-pixel changes that you don’t catch.
But I think to be a great tester, you have to be someone who catches things in detail and you know, exactly by looking at it. This is a problem and I’m not going to skip it, you know, because one of the things we teach in the digital testing course because I had them do things repetitively and to the point where they start forgetting, well, I’ve already tested that. I’ve already looked at this and I’m not going to pay attention to that. And that’s when you get caught, you know, but choosing when you missed the one big defect or the one problem is when you’re so used to it, you know, it’s like driving home from work or driving to work.
A lot of times you’ll get to work and realize, I don’t remember that drive at all. I drove, you know, and I was functional. I didn’t wreck. I didn’t pull out in front of anyone. No one hit me. But I didn’t really listen and think about my driving. And I didn’t pay attention. I was maybe listening to a book on audio or radio or talking on the phone. But when I get there. I’ve done the job, but I’ve not really paid attention to a thing around me.
And I think that’s one of the things we try to do in that workshop. And I don’t think it’s a big thing that testers don’t always pay attention to, especially with regression. You know, they’ll get caught up in. They don’t pay attention because it’s like, well, that’s worth a thousand times, it’s never going to fail. And the mess the one time you when they don’t pay attention.
Yeah, I completely agree. It isn’t. It’s really interesting, you say, to get that kind of autopilot way. You know, you kind of everything. The door shuts down You don’t really realize you’ve just driven, you know, a thousand miles.
And I know you did. You’re a psychology major. Still applying some of that cognitive kind of thought processes and patterns is really useful. And, you know, I was kind of looking at this kind of cult, you know, this idea because, you know, I work with a large piece of manufacturing company across different countries in Detroit and Australia and into other countries, all doing things slightly differently. But when they go into regression, this was something we kept from seeing kept on saying that, you know, they tested would then, you know, fire up his favorite private eye, which was always Firefox.
And, you know, with all these little plugs, a plugin, which he loved. Or she loved it. I mean, you know, they go through and they don’t have their favorite pizza. You know, they go through would use the dummy credit card so that the dummy account, you know, and, you know, the path was actually quite limited. Then when you call it saw something weird on safari or you saw something weird on, you know, now that’s, you know, the edge browsers turned into Chromium. Right. You know, part of it is completely missing. And then it doesn’t work. And you see that issue coming out.
And, you know, I find this stuff fascinating. A lot of my focus, though, has been on kind of the shift right aspect. Well, you know, you can get information. Like, I was talking doing gamification with a job. Yes. So talk about Session Cap, which is an app that you can put into your Web site. And I’ll tell you the heat map of where people are going and, you know, clicking on. I remember a test company in Australia when I worked out there. We used headsets with that test to see what they were looking on the screen.
You know, if you should get a beautiful heat map and you typically will be on the menu system and it won’t be on, you know, the icons and maybe some other areas which are less focused on. But overlaying that with the code complexity of areas like Amex has got a four-digit validation code compared to Visa Card or Bostik or something like that. PayPal. This is Apple Pay versus fate pay. You know, all these different permutations. It just seems like, you know, you need some kind of assistant, you know, input from Bob Chappell or something to kind of say to you, you know, only 12 percent of USD Chromium because that means X because nobody likes it.
But, you know, maybe you should try it this time and in that or, you know, a lot of people seem to be clustered towards this venue or this particular item or this tax, which is red because, you know, it’s that kind of danger. If you look at it and go must-read that because you’ve read it must be important. You know this to me, there are so many different things. I mean, accessibility. I think, you know, that’s one of the things that I lost. Well, you’re saying about, you know, your audience and age, you know, this persona is around different ages.
You know, they’re used to a pamphlet, you know them well, used to go in on a tablet and having that the font size set to the maximum while the DPR rate up to the maximum so they can see it. That then causes also problems with icons not being accessible low. Buttons being too large. You know, it feels like there are so many different applications for visual testing. And, you know, we’ve got probably going to see some big developments in that space. But you know what else you kind of see as kind of a change in that in a kind of The QA Lead landscape?
Well, I’ve heard a lot of people say that I’ve talked to in the testing community that design, you know, skills in design and user interface user experience used to be good to have now. You’ve got to have them and you need them as part of your testing role. I’ve seen cross-browser testing was good. And some people used it.
But of the companies I worked for, one of the companies I work for was a very large retailer that had millions of people using their site online and buying a lot of things online. And when we started doing research with our marketing team, we found that there were fifty-three different browser types extend versions out there. So we went out GitHub itself. Labs started using their product and where we would run one test automated or manual against 60 browsers at a time.
And that quickly give us, you know, cut your testing time by 60, you know, divided by 60 because you didn’t have the test feature then, but you really had to test all of them. You know, there were a couple of browsers where, you know, some person in the middle of nowhere is using an old or a very, very old version of the browser. And the chances of them going for that one thing and having problems, probably slim. But if you’ve got half a million people using Safari or, you know, half a million people using the latest version of Chrome, then you have to make sure you’re hitting those. So we ordered our browser versions and really sort of hammering it.
And it’s something with my current company, we do a lot of work with different clients that. I do have large customer bases and a large online presence. So we’ve started to give that as a service to our clients and say, look, you know, we’re not just going to test, you know, on one version you like. You know, if your whole office is using chrome, you have to understand that there are people out there using Firefox, you know, Safari, and other new browsers that are coming into play. So I think that’s a big thing and really the interface user interface. Why do I think I think accessibility it to me, accessibility is going to be the Next data thing.
You know, data is the big thing right now. You know, data security and performance. But accessibility is right on the heels because you have more people that have disabilities that need to be able to use the Internet. I mean, you get you to know, who would have thought years ago that my parents would be on their phone more than me, you know, or as much as me. But now they are you know, everybody’s got a device. Everybody’s using devices. The Internet is not just for the middle age and the youth anymore. It’s for everybody. And I think is that you see that grow and more people are using the products.
We’re going to have a bigger need for accessibility. So my challenge to companies when I talk to them and I’m really hoping to have a talk someday soon about accessibility, but I don’t feel, I mean, that space to pair up with some of the people who are really doing a lot of talks and a lot of great talks on that’s on the subject. I’m nowhere near there. They’re great at this point. But I believe everybody needs to be aware that if you’re not already preparing for accessibility, you know, preparing for handling disabilities and people that need to use their systems but don’t use it the same way as you, then you’re gonna find yourself both losing customers and possibly in lawsuits down the road. So, I mean, it needs to work. And so I think companies need to be aware of that.
Yeah, that’s a really think you should do that on four FTP. Come when it comes back on virtually or whatever in the .NET next time I see.
I see. You taught me a valuable lesson today. So I was Googling you as by noble kind of Google kind of see interest leads through some of the, you know, the books and publications you’ve done your WordPress. I kind of flipped between your WordPress and your trip reviews, your food reviews, and whatever other both of you were very good. So I was kind of going between them. But actually, when I quit your name and. Is this the banner came up, but it said, you know, author. And it was. You know, I’ve never seen it before. It was a knowledge of what they call it knowledge summary.
And then you can claim that knowledge. Some read like you would play a location on a Google map. Right. And it was interesting because obviously, the data was in there. You know, some effect obviously was right. So if it wasn’t right, like Michael Bolton late to the singer, Michael Bolton. But he didn’t have you in his link. So you covered okay. On that. You know, part of it is, you know, you start building these relationships up and, you know, I can then my ask Alexa, Alexa, who is, you know, Mike. And they put up that little banner and say, you know, here’s your data and it read out to you because that’s how, you know, the virtual personal assistant.
Would Kopay take you for what was Wikipedia to, you know, into that kind of format? But if that information is not correct, you know, or is not accessible, you know, that’s you know, suddenly all these things start falling into pieces. So you thinking of all those different browsers and configurations, but you’re also looking at, you know, what type of devices and other in an old tablet. Is it you know, something that is is is hugely complex today. And I was kind of I’d be doing that. It’s worth checking out Lighthouse if you’ve not checked out Google Lighthouse full for accessibility.
There’s an accessibility store, it’s the score, and some recommendations straight off there. It kind of does hold the page speed stuff as well. But you know, the accessibility Siffredi good. And what I was doing that on a company that’s a milk merchant, you know, that sells home improvement merchant. And it’s interesting because they just published, you know, this really good talk at a conference around it moved this new graph, DBI knowledge graphic and you out. And I’d spidered their Web site using some security tools using like the worst kind of security tools. And you put Swiger.
And I kept on fighting these errors, which was product, not fact. So you’d click on a product and the product page, which were supposed to appear, just didn’t appear. Right. And I thought, well, they listed that they got 87000 products online. So I’ll try 87000 products. And I sent a message to the guy who responded back to me. He did a really good conference presentation. I said, out of those eighty-seven thousand, I could only find twenty-six thousand products. And I got 13000 products that just came up with this error. You know, you think, well, that did we didn’t use to have the capability.
I don’t care to start an I going to type head, you know, the best, best Ops followed by, you know, brush followed by, you know. You know, we never have that capacity. That was kind of what automation was promising us, was that kind of capability. But, you know, GraphDB well is more of just an API now. So if you fly it, API is with the same product name as the search the query language like you would have done a sequel database query back in the day, which you seemed to disappear as well. You know, you’d get this build response, right? So suddenly you’re thinking to yourself, what land should they be testing out? And, you know, have they tested with the right data?
Have they gone through and checked? Why? When I type in, you know, scissors, it doesn’t find scissors. You know, it seems like such a basic thing for people to get wrong. But, you know, I talk about this kind of confidence area is, you know, the confidence of what if they just say, like you use you said, well, previous podcast, Jitter, that generate 10000 test scripts. They’re all not very good and very useful. They have to be kind of focus on the visual testing of the API testing. Do you see more types of levels coming through, accessibility, testing, where there’s actually more breadth of people doing not just focus it on automation, UI testing, for instance?
Yeah, I mean, I think one of the big things that I’m looking for when I talk to the testers, when I interview them and I find out many things, I love the interview process and sometimes I let it take a little longer because I like to meet different types of different styles of testing. I worked in the big companies that followed the certification and the process.
And you do step one, two, three and four. And you take a side note there. I’ve worked with these people and I’ve known the people who worked in IoT. I used to be. And I’m now I’m so forward to one side that I’m against that because I think I heard someone say at a conference, I think it was I forgot who it was now. But they mentioned that you know, whether you agree with it. The certification process rises to cubie or now. They’ve got some great documentation around having standards and in formats, you know, doesn’t mean you have to do it. You know, I compare it to getting a driver’s license. My son turned 16 a year and a half ago, is 17 now.
And when he turned 16, he got his driver’s license. That did not make him a better driver. It didn’t make him a driver who’s been doing it 30 years like me. Who is going to know that you need to take that extra look to the right before you pull out or you need to watch this person because, you know, history has shown me this person is going to pull out in front of me because I can see their car rolling. He’s not going to know there are things he’s going to know the signs, the road, what side of the road to be on, when to stop, what lights to look at. He understands the core things, which I think is needed.
But where I’m going with this topic is I do I’ve learned from a lot of people in the testing community. It’s really helped me to grow by listening to other people talk about what they do. Of all the things I learned in school, all the things I learned in my job, all the things I learned talking to in just a couple of friends, I didn’t learn anything like I’ve learned in this testing community by meeting people in advance and hearing their stories and hearing what they do to do things differently.
And I got hooked on this context, ribbon testing with James and Michael Bolton. And I get their part. I get other people’s ideas and I kind of blend them into the way I do things. And I think a lot of people are so hung up to your point on you know, we expected things to write the scripts and then run their scripts. The problem is, I think a lot of people got hooked on, OK, now I’ve done these 10 steps. They all passed. We’re good to go.
And it’s like, OK, I’ve done everything and my driver’s manual, but I’m not good to go because I didn’t realize going to come running down the street and right in front of me and I have to take that decision. So I. I asked testers when I interview them, you know if I give you a project and I have no requirements document, what do you do? And many of them who don’t work with me will say, I have to have a requirements document or I can’t do any work. And I’m like, that’s really. Is that true? And they’re like, absolutely, I have to have a requirements document. And so I showed them a picture of a TV remote. And I say, tell me how you would test this remote. And they go, you know, I would press the power button that would make sure there are batteries. I would do the UpDown volume button, that would do the channel buttons, I would do the play on the DVR, the record, all these different things.
And when they get done, I’d just calmly say now that I give you a requirements document for this controller and they’re like, no, no, no, no, no. And they had some you know, but I had one person just recently, the interview with me say, yes, but I know that controller. I know what a controller is. So it’s easy for me to do it. And I said, and that’s what I want testers in my organization to do. I want them to know the product. And you can’t have confidence in something if you don’t know what that something does. You know, if you hand me a controller, I can tell you pretty quickly if I have confidence that that controller is gonna work on my TV.
But if because I know what a controller is supposed to do and how it should work. So I think a lot of testers get so many testers to get it caught up in that. I’ve got to have a system. I’ve got to have steps. And that’s what I love about the exploratory side of testing, are you go down. It’s like Mad Libs. The old Mad Libs books we had when we were younger, you know, you read your story and you get to this point. What do you want to do? Take a left. OK. No, go to this page and read that story. Now, when you go there, it will take it to another page.
To me, that’s what testing is. It’s exploring and it’s information gathering. Another question, and I know I’m running over here is the I ask people what is the role of testing? Many people will say to find defects and to find bugs. And I said, no, that’s not the role of testing. That’s not the role of testing any more than going to the gym is to sweat. It’s something that happens. But I go to the gym to work out and to be healthy. Sweat just happens. Defects just happen. And the role of testers is to explore and observe the application. And as Michael Bolton says, many times defying, is there a problem here, you know, and combined with is the stakeholder getting what they ask for? So I think the big deal that we’re trying to accomplish here with testing really should be around.
Have we done everything we can probably do with this product? And if I don’t feel confident, I need to start asking questions. I do a big exercise on why. And I talk about how kids, you know, sometimes when they’re young, they’ll say, dad was. Why is the grass green? And you say, well, it’s because of this and I know why. And then you answer and then they’ll say, why? And then it’s a cycle. And I tell my testers at the conference, there’s an audience I speak at, continue to ask why until they’re almost like a parent who said, I’ve had enough. You know, I’m telling you everything I know.
But I think. If you don’t feel confident to even test it, then you need to continue to have questions to get that confidence and then be able to test it in and observe whether or not you really are confident that the products to do so. Always ask questions, continue to ask questions to the point where you feel like you may be asking a couple to through extra. But I think I think it helps you as a terrorist to continue to grow that way.
No, I really like an interesting site. I’ve got some kittens at the moment. And, you know, the kittens are obviously learning and doing potty training at the moment.
But you know that their mum doesn’t use a pot, you know, just use it. She goes outside. So there’s no reference point. You know, they can’t say they win the food and they eat. They let a tray is a kind of where they are at the moment. But you know it just because there’s no requirement. Stop that. They’re not as good at Googling things as I am or ask it, Alexa. But, you know, it’s interesting what you say about the remote control thing. So I’m actually adding the fitness stakes. I got through the post today. A switch fat, which is you remember the. We felt that way. So you stood up. I’m saying this is the same. It’s like a big round ring.
Right. But, you know, there are so many sensors in that, as you know, a bit like IoT, you know, you can push and you can, you know, these. And I ask and I’m like you would do on remote control, but it’s also, you know, proximity and gyros and all this or the kind of complex area. And, you know, if someone was kind of saying, well, this, you know, how would you go about testing that and say, cutaway? You know, if we do go back to your VHS days or your Betamax days, you knew that if you get some fast-forwarding and rewinding, fast-forwarding and rewinding reliability might be an issue.
You might. The type might. Right. So part of it is, you know, does this kind of site reliability kind of could be thought about, you know, chaos and Java? You know, it’s one of the guys on the show, Colten, who helped with spearhead and cast from Key to Netflix and Amazon. You know, there’s this kind of idea of, well, how do I actually cause the errors in the machine? And he’s got he’s a founder now of a critical gremlin. And that they do that they kind of go, well, let’s say I’ll purposely make it so the bottom three sticks down. So we know you know, it’s not until you’ve spilled something in your remote control, you don’t get that sticky three kinds of button coming through, but you can emulate it, right.
A bit like service virtualization. You can purposely create a fault called a return service virtualization response that will make you have to go through and say, well, what happens if you know? I think that’s a really interesting aspect because I don’t think we’ve ever had the tools to kind of. Yes, we’ve had, you know, OK, if you put in this dummy account number, it will give there’s no money in the account or rejected or another type of error code. But you know that pay off into connectivity of so many different systems and having the flexibility through a kind of a testing API, open testing API that allows you to say, OK, bring this system down while I’m processing the data, let’s see what happens.
You know infrastructure is really interesting because we’re always thinking about it in this kind of Happy Path kind of everything. So everything is working. Not in this. Okay. Systemic failures starting to happen. You know what? Systems go down. You know, my Internet goes, you know what happens on your phone? Your phone stops working. The brother, the Website guys. But why do we even have cash when you know we can’t carry on? Looking at the page, it just says, whoops, snap two or something. It feels like the resilience of products is also really important because that’s the kind of the Twitter social media brand damage that people are saying, I can’t get to Best Buy because of you Website style. Yeah. You know, it feels reliability might be one of those kinds of things and also this kind of idea of chaos, engineering as well. You know, do you feel that that kind of comes into this, what you were saying about this ability to understand the mechanics of how websites it bill, the architecture and everything else is now important as well?
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, one of the things I liked your point on, sometimes it’s effective and sometimes it’s responding fast and sometimes it’s not. My first service virtualization tool was Paracel. And what I liked about their product as they had an environment management tool where you could see visually, it’s kind of like a Visio diagram of how the systems are interacting in the lines between them. And you could go to this system or the API or application and you could click and it would give you a drop-down and say, I want to use the like system or I want to use a positive response always or a negative response always. And I like that because you could quickly change to make this thing reply with a negative result. Two things that I saw as part of virtualization, also that they’re really back in 2014.
It was not as necessary as it is now, but I think it’s more needed now. And it was this. The ability to say, I want to randomly perform, so, you know, the first couple of hits, I reply within seconds. The next couple of hits, I wait three minutes and then then the next hit reply in a minute and a half. So it’s the system that is not like I’ve got to handle this at the peak performance or the lowest performance. I’m going to handle it all over the place. So how does your system? And we saw systems that would not handle that. It just didn’t it didn’t look like the schizophrenia of the responses. And then another thing that really came up to me, and I think someone in performance said to me is we were doing in virtualization then it never hit me until we started doing it this way.
Some apps like we always think of performance as take it to the load, you know, to the peak and then watch it break. And that’s where our focus point. You know, we’ve got a baseline and we run it into the highest peak and we say, OK, it broke at this level, but we never think of it the other way. What if your application is is is not prepared for a fast response? So if I want to finish something and I expect it to take two seconds or one second to respond, but the service virtualization responds in a split second, you know, like a millisecond. And now you’ve got thousands or millions of transactions responding in milliseconds. And that application, like I was ready for that.
It was a ReactJS send it, but I’m not ready for that. And we saw a lot of situations where you were actually able to what I call it, was reverse breaking the performance side of things because it’s like you’re too fast for me. And I think we see that. I mean, I don’t think any companies out there are saying that’s a big problem right now. But I think it could be you know if you’re running hits and you’re to the application, you’re using the mobile app or you’re using the Web app and you expect things to be right and things fail because of that, then psychologically wise. And we talked about psychology here. I think I did some research and saw that a lot of people will delete an app right away if it doesn’t perform well.
You know, there’s a lot of apps I put on my phone and I’m like, okay, I will give you one chance. You know, once you start flaking out on me, I’m not going to come back. And something a lot to give me back if I come back to you. So I think companies have to deal with that now because performance and having the right responses and accurate data is a big deal. So I use a lottery. I play the lottery a lot and enjoy it with the scratch-off. I’m not a big million dollar winner, but every now and then I win a few hundred dollars and I use this phone app and the phone app will never stay connected. Now I need that app, so I don’t go away from it.
But it’s one of the few that I’m like, I like to use the app, but that thing flakes out every single time. And I’m thinking you’re probably one of the richest divisions in the whole state and the whole country, and you can’t make her out, you know, be high performing enough to be dependable to me. But I have to have it. And I think that’s why they don’t care, you know? And then you get companies that do that where they’re like, well, they need me, you know. You know, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. People want that. So if we have a few issues, it’s OK, you know. So I think you see companies doing that, too, as well.
Yeah, I used to work for the Lottery Commission in New Zealand.
And I’m actually doing a book which I think you might have contributed to as well, which is an A lean pub book, which is called 80 Round the World in 80 Tests is a subsidy, is it? I’ll send you to take care. Michael Bolton and a few of the people that did it and I said I’ll do a chapter. And I remember what I wrote a chapter said that Dorothy Gray experiences and test summation book and which I know is you’ve got that league table. So Iran’s digital handbook sounds like a great late-game that began. I was when I did the book with Dot. You know, I was kind of guy to the cab. It talked about BC and LOCKSS about all the possible quotations using model-based testing.
And one of the big things we were doing, and this was about 10 years ago, was, you know, we’d use production, we’d shift right by looking at the production logs and tell them the logging, which was flex in those days, Flex Day services, putting every request-response pad was an X amount message so we could read the message and say No. Eight, 14, twelve, whatever. Also, between each KW response, we’d say use one more month. It’s taken 40 seconds before they submitted the Next screen or, you know, they played on the bowl and wait for the bulls to come up with the shows.
You would see you get all that. But we’d also see through the day that in the morning people were buying tickets, one o’clock, droll people were checking tickets. The behaviors were changing. We tried to model that using like for like the product, which was really interesting. And now you have this weird lottery system which used the air temperature as something to work out, a random number. So it could never be, you know, it seemed to be done. But it was really interesting because we used to do the biggest jackpot, which was some 60 million. New Zealand is something we did the same kind of realistic low profile, which was huge. It brought down the system and we ended up having to flip down to a version which was had fewer CDI calls.
You know, it was a less functionality, just purely so that you could actually scale because, you know, it was just the kind of the challenges back then. But, you know, you’re actually right. We used to find people in South Island and on a fifty-six K connection modem connection and on some old AEF 5.5 browser, which we would like. You’ve just got to go because if I don’t have flashes and of life this year. But, you know, it was just, you know, this is causing too many problems. And obviously, they mentioned visual testing and things like you use will render Astrolabe text differently. You know, Damian, you know, until we zino how it brings out, you know, how good it is is going to change what it looks like. Right.
So compared to one set up to another setup. And our problem with Fleck’s was we used to have this thing called the bullseye where this guy would jump off a roof and lovely the ball, you know. Which was great. But it ran really fast on a fast BC really slow on a slow precinct. You’d have to wait for this guy to frame by frame, jump off the thing. And then people were just like, we just do it right. But it was so interesting because performance issues, the same kind of thing we like for like production system, which we’re really lucky to have. It was the prediction days off for a bit. But this idea of, you know, testing things locally without that kind of SVOD network virtualization to give you packet loss, Jitter, all that kind of that poor connection in South Island where they’re going through 50 jumps before they get to you.
You know, that level of complexity changes things. And one of the things that I was I was fascinated when I first heard Todd DiCaprio talking about service virtualization. He came in, came from Shinra. And, you know, partly what he said. His mobile traffic adds a 40 percent load on your back. And I was like, that’s just nonsense. And what he was trying to say was actually the six hundred millisecond round time hold resources in production for that amount of time because it’s waiting for it to either time out or to get a response. Whereas if you’ve got a forty-three-millisecond desktop, which nobody has any more of those jumping through, you know, multiple badly configured routers so that a house can get full connectivity and everyone’s at home at the moment, and then you’ve got a local ISP, then you finally get to the Internet.
By the time you’ve got through that, you’ve added all sorts of extra, you know, jump through that. And I just think, you know, when people think about that and then everyone gets back out again and now five GS Chromium and the idea with five G were eight more devices, more bandwidth, more speed. Also, reduce that millisecond round trip. So that means actually things are going to hit harder. So 60 percent of apps are coming through a mobile thing and people go, well, we’re ready for mobile. Well, we’re ready for slow mobile on 3G and 4G. Now we got 5G. It’s likable to take this off desktop again, that you can get hold of resources for a lot less. And then, you know, I just finished doing a course on eight to be us, which I’d always been putting off because it’s painful. But, you know, the load balancing and an auto-scaling mean.
Yeah, it’s gonna spin up a container that can speed up 20 containers. Right. Based on a threshold violation of our science C8 CPO. So that could potentially start impacting response times. But auto-scaling is going to take time. Take time for that container to spin up, to get configured, to be accessible, to be round-robin, or however it’s been configured to low balance. And, you know, people go, well, we’ve got cloud now. And I know you’ve got Wilson Somalis and a couple of other people on the performance landscape for them. And they’ve kind of said, you know, I’ve seen the debate is about, well, we’ve got the cloud. We don’t need any performance anymore. But quite the opposite because you’ve got Soor and things like that.
You kind of mentioned it with things like serverless architectures where, you know, this idea is you’re sending off a test. So, yes, your response might be 40 milliseconds, but actually then going to do some compute power, which could be uploading a video link, processing it, and that might take 30 minutes, which is holding resources now. Yes, that just fires off and it uses Amazon’s compute power. It’s fine. But, you know, for those people who haven’t got that kind of infrastructure, you know, those kinds of capabilities mean that that noise is going to be happening in the background and using a processing power while things are processed in batches or however it’s done. And I just don’t think people look at it like that.
They look at that load, like you said, they kind of go, well, how hard did we hit the eye off Savard until it goes down? Well, that’s proving just the framework of whatever you’ve used to implement, all the people who provide you the altercation gateway, you know, but we’ve never got that kind of realism of going well. We’ve got this amount of traffic. A process also orders that kind of going through the system at the moment. Plus, we’re going to, you know, like you said, abnormally or sporadically at something that nobody would expect. You know, everyone’s coming off the tube or all come out of a football ground off the NFL final and decide to hit it at once.
We can just those edge cases feel like that they’re ready, they’re ripe for that happening and get the publicity of sites going down and systems failing when they’re already in the cloud. Why should they fail? Just this plus, for instance, it’s scary. We know Disney doesn’t have the infrastructure. But, you know, they went down and that’s brand damage. They, you know, DGSE that be the big in the companies now, Brandos. You know, you know, technology because we kind of certain technology, like you, said, Facebook, Instagram, we’re kind of. Yeah, we get it. If we can’t get it is not the end of the world. But we’re not just rage. Quit and delete our account or move to another provider like MySpace because it’s not they have any kind of thing.
I agree with you. I think people do hold onto things and they know it.
You know, you’ve got companies who have eager applications or websites or mobile apps that they know people are not going to leave us. You know, if TikTok today that everybody these is my kids who are starts having issues and it gets down to a grind. Kids are still going to use it because it’s like that’s the avenue that people use to communicate with the world right now.
And it’s so many things going on there. So I think Picard knows they’ve kind of got that. I don’t know how their performance is. But, you know, they, for example, Snapchat, the the the tools that are being used by the next generation of people in this world are really they’re having to scale and modify and move with the changes. But I think that’s I think you raise a great point. It is true, Brand.
You have it depends on whether or not you’ve established yourself. You know, if you’re well-known, you know, it’s like being a struggling actor versus being an actor. If you’re an actor, you might get in another role. You know, people are going to follow you. If you’re struggling, you may only have one show and then you’re done. So I think I think companies have to look at that and say, yeah, I’m established. But I also need to continue to keep my brand in place because I see a lot of people complaining about products and services out there. And he does. We’ll get to a point, no matter how big you are, that people will say we’re going to take our business elsewhere.
You know, I think Facebook got hit by the things they’ve done by Snapchat and Pictogram surprised them about them yet. And that’s what they did with Instagram when the Instagram kind of took them over. So I think you see that you either biome or you or you lose to them in that situation. So I think, yeah, I think that the world’s moved so fast. And that’s the thing until my testers and I have a talk called testing is not a nine to five job, which causes a lot of havoc online when people see that because they’re like, I’m not going to work overtime. It’s not about I said it has nothing to do with working overtime.
It’s do you go to work? And that’s the only time you do your testing process in your work, or do you think about testing all the time? Because I’m test driving a car. The dealer hates riding with me because I test everything in the car. I’m testing the eBay. I’m testing my phone and testing my refrigerator now. And so, you know, I challenge folks to continue just to grow. And Stephen Curry said one time, nothing fails like success. And what he meant by that was you’ve got one hand here and then another hand touching it. You’re successful today because you’re able to meet the needs. But when the world changes and work continue to grow above, you’re down here now. Now that success is a failure. So I think people have to be able to evolve and grow with that and do it.
Yeah, I, I, yeah. I think you made some great points that a and we will cut a standard of empathy if it was you know, the TikTok.
Great example. Right. It’s, you know, the reason why TikTok exists. Because of Jan Alpha. Because I know people keep referring to millennials. I mean the millennial phatic back by a month. But, you know, the such a large gap that actually misses GenZ, which where you know the kind of app we have, the X books, generation millennials, GenZ, we’re now on Gen also, which are about 12 or 13, which are that kind of still that kind of age where, you know, if you can’t deliver a message to them in eight seconds, which is kind of tech stocks kind of lets their attention span disappears. Now, performance, you know, the old myth around.
Well, after three and a half-second, four and a half seconds, people navigate away. You know, I’d be doing some site audits which we’ve run up the will do so recall every year. And, you know, it does matter what Website I look at, whether it’s, you know, as you know, CNN or, you know, Google or Facebook, you know, it is 30, 40 seconds. By the time it becomes done, done, complete. Guess you might get all your stuff within three seconds. But actually, by the time it’s rendered on the browser, you know, it’s accessible and intractable.
It’s too slow. And, you know, but they mark you know, they created that product for a generation where we’ve got that tolerance kind of saying that, you know, once we’re getting over a certain amount of time, well, we have to try it more than once. So close the gap more than once. We’ve got that tolerance. But the younger generations down. They’d just be like, well, I don’t know. I’m not waiting that long. I think that’s interesting because our testing mentality also is sembler, isn’t it? If you think about the, you know, putting yourself in a different persona of a teenage girl, which I doubt, you know, for obvious reasons, but, you know, perfect from kind of a biased perspective.
You thinking about all those types of different personas and what they’re looking for from the experience compared to other ones. I don’t think, you know, we’ve also got architecture which gets out of date quite quickly. You know you go from service every day. Take it architecture, client-server. You have three-tier two. You know, now microservices, you know, they build it and the product grows. So PayPal by, you know, through acquisition for X.com and Elon Musk’s company, you know, there’s a certain date where the technology and the mainframes all kind of coexist and then they stack stuff on top of it, you know, try and create disruptive products that they give to generations. But they have all that heritage.
And, you know, the legacy is your legacy kind of thing. Whereas actually, maybe that platform isn’t suitable for them. You know, I try to advise a company yesterday to actually continue doing paper versions of the magazine over e-books. And it was because the average age is people who, you know, over 70. So, yes, they may be using the phone, but, you know, they’re used to that. If 50 percent of your traffic comes from people looking at the magazine and typing in the address, then that’s still your most effective method of actually communicating with those people. We see as well that will just make everything digital because that’s what everybody wants.
But if people are having this particular heart disease are over 70, suddenly all like COVID, where there’s a certain age difference when a less is less important for a 14-year-old to be able to diagnose contact tracing versus somebody who’s vulnerable. Right. So, you know, I think that kind of generation gap is not everything that should be digital. How do we perceive to be if we have to put ourselves in that kind of what is the market, what is our actual cause? It’s so difficult. And I think a lot of organizations are stuck in that. Well, that way of saying we know who our customer is. We know we were a Home Depot or something. We know this is our age group. These are the people who buy them. And then you show them what it is and they go OPs.
I had no idea that we suddenly got all these young 20-year-olds buying our stuff. And, you know, now we actually need an all platform that you hover over in the corner. It shows where the product would be and what would happen if I did it in some more stuff and I could build this more lavish kitchen. You know, they need these tools to interact with different generations. And I think that is that’s a really interesting one because we’re very much it’s like you said, there are different skills that people have as test tested. So kind of telling them to test like a 14-year-old might be a really different, difficult challenge.
Yes. Yeah, I agree. And the other thing I see is, is I think it is really knowing your market and knowing who’s out there and knowing who your potential leads are as well. Because, you know, all it takes is that one YouTube video by some teenager. That is this app is awesome. And then your app is awesome. I mean, by the way, looking for that one teenager or that one YouTube girl who’s got millions of followers. This is this book by Mike Lyles is amazing because then I don’t have to work anymore. But I’ve never met that person yet. But I’m trying to find them.
But I do think it’s really, you know, the viral side of this, you know, being able to figure out what is making people go to, you know, drawing them to certain maps or certain products. And really, how do you market to that? And if you do market to that, had you tested for what you’re going to get when you do it, you know, be careful what you ask for kind of thing. The last thing I’ll tell you is I see a lot of like you test a lot of crowdsourcing companies that are really. I’ve always been signed up for your test, and every now and then I’ll get a request for them. The other big one for a donut shop here in the US, Dunkin Krispy Kreme Donuts.
And they wanted me to test the app. I’m like, I’ll be glad to do that. No problem. I just don’t have that. And you had to buy it online and go to the store and get the donuts and then go see if it worked for you. And they were thinking to give you the donuts for free for doing it. It was. That was my pay. Good pay. But I’m fine now during the cold situation. I think a lot of companies are starting to know maybe they’ve laid a lot of people off and now they need to get staff back in place. Things are picking back up. And I see a ton of emails now that I didn’t have years before.
Over the past couple of years asking me to be part of the crowd testing, you know, what do you know about power services or environment services? What do you know about this service that’s sawing which I’ve had for this week, you know, and asking me to volunteer to do testing for them? So I think you’re about to see something new and then maybe I’ve called it out and we’ll see how it goes, where companies are going to start using more the crowdsourcing, testing to supplement the fact that they don’t have the staff that they didn’t have.
A year ago. So it’s going to be an interesting age because now you’ve got people who you sort of know-how they test. But you don’t know Ali Simian Army. I’ve never met you. You’re gonna test my application. What does that do? It can be an interesting thing to look at in the next couple of months.
I completely agree. I by Eurostar talk. So before Eurostar became virtual, it was going to be the Zoom.
So I’d kind of talk I pick the topic around crowd testing in the wild. And again, I’m a very big advocate of crowd testee and I’d use crowd testing for a fashion app. That was going to because I’m not a 14-year-old teenage girl, I wanted the right demographic. Right. And, you know, part of it was really interesting to experience to see, you know, just what level you actually I would like, you know, somebody who’s got pets, somebody who’s, you know, enjoys golfing, you know, getting that kind of context-driven aspect of the crowd tested to test it a different way. And, you know, I think it’s actually fascinating.
I think you’re actually right. You’re going to see this move of where there were resources. It has a center of enablement, the center of excellence, whatever it was there, which has disappeared. You know, going to have to think, well, how do I make that available? Crowd testing. And I think crowd testing is a kind of massively is missed opportunity so far because it gives you that ability to flex up and down, you know. And I just think part of the bit, which I really interested in is this kind of testing and production. And, you know, I’m doing it at the moment with the M.I.T., working with the guys at M.I.T. for the Safe Paths contact tracing map. So at the moment, we’re doing crowd testing in Boston, strengths in the case.
But before we’d be testing in Haiti. So Haiti was a bit more difficult. Boston was really easy because I just rang Iran and said, can I borrow your Google? Take out the data already suggest. Yeah. So give me several years of him walking around Boston. He lives in Boston. So I had all this data which I could then use to sell Bill and building my tests to stop feeding in the GDP X locations. Oh, he’s gone to another Starbucks. All that, you know, end of the phone will go in the same location. I’ve got some kind of useful data. But obviously, we’re testing that at the moment on a live system. Now, obviously, people have always had issues about that. It probably doesn’t come time to go through it.
But, you know, part four is obviously we flagged to say that this is a test account and this test is using the same infrastructure, but actually is testing small amounts. And we’re measuring that using what kind of reconstitutes experience analytics puts Splunk and, you know, Abdeh and all these kinds of tools to say, well, actually, let’s have a look at the crowd testers. What are they doing? What are the journeys? They’re complete. What the session’s looking like while they’re obviously on different versions of the application because we use it test fly at Google Bisa, you know, so Kafka is they using new features in you know, in life and we’re seeing how they interact.
It’s really fascinating to watch because we’re all volunteers working with M.I.T. and we’ve got two thousand five hundred testers and coordinate in those guys from things like localization to, you know, to kind of you just basic journeys and exploratory. You know, it fascinating because I think that’s what’s going to happen is the donut example which you gave us a great one because I think, you know what? How cheap can be? Don’t give him what donut. And you know, each case to save IoT. If it was Amazon near in the old days when Amazon started and they give you a pound voucher, it was brilliant. You know, you introduced everybody you knew to Amazon because every 15 and you get a free book. But, you know, that doesn’t cost anything for an organization.
And I always feel that there’s a missed opportunity, that the social analytic data, things like stuff coming from Twitter, YouTube, wherever it is where people go, I don’t like this app or this happens, you know, why can’t I trace that back and go, what? Why did that ever occur? Why if I got a screen here, what’s this time out? You know, you start pulling that kind of weird errors that you see on production. And I always do that. I was pulling them out using the sentiment analysis, M.I.T. libraries, and just pull over to see if it’s a negative response to our Twitter feed. And then we use it and they drop it into Slack. And that’s really interesting because straight away you go negative, negative, negative.
And obviously, a lot of people say negative things. But straight away, I’m kind of guy, OK, I don’t know what that is. I don’t know how that error happens. And then we start trying to build out with a real product to see your test is all you people are using your product, but are you monitoring them, are raising issues that they’re finding or you just kind of reach your customer service staff, kind of go, no, I’m really sorry about the experience. You know, here’s a free download and I think that’s a missed opportunity as well. Tying that and to cut it the opportunity with crowd testing, I think is going to really help flex the resources as people come back.
Absolutely. Yeah, I think that you really went on the head. And I think a lot of people, we have to decide whether or not people can handle their constant change. You remember back in the early Facebook days, everybody complained to Facebook, just changed the color of AP. Or, oh, I hate this new status. I hate this new. I feel happy or sad, you know, options. Why don’t you have something more than, like an accommodated some of those things? And then and then everybody would complain for a couple of weeks. Any time a new change to the apple would come out or the new change to the layout of the application.
I just don’t hear that much anymore. People are busy worried about other things now and using Facebook to tell you about what they’re worried about than they are complaining about Facebook. And it hit me when they said that. I think you get some companies that their brand is so strong that eventually, you can do anything to me. And I’m just going to accept that. I’m going to stop complaining that you change things every day or every week. And I’m just going to deal with it. You know, I noticed on the Facebook app, I used to be a research and my search is gone. I don’t know where it is.
You have to do creative things to be able to search. You know, if you want to hear where’s my friend, you can’t search anymore. You have to. It’s not there. I don’t know if it’s just my app or this. Just this past week, I follow that and I’m like, how many people are going to complain about it? But I’ve not heard one person say, you know, we’re just like, I’ll figure out another way, you know?
And it’s interesting because, you know, it is the same with dark launching.
You know, this idea is, you know, they may have launched you know, a version and a canary billed for your particular phone because they targeted you and your particular profile, offered you a new interface or a new lack of search, one hoping that you’re going to go and look for A/B tests you, but then it redialing the functionality to iterate on. It’s really interesting because the gamification group Damian, which we out yesterday, you know, they were saying the same thing, is actually what they said.
Oh, well, it’s a widget. We’re calling this a widget. And they’re like, well, don’t call a widget because they wouldn’t descend. What of which is use Facebook terminology because it’s so much easier and accessible and accepted by age groups. A whole stack of different age groups that were on there that a group is is much better than calling it a liking is something that’s kind of readily understandable. But, you know, there’s a lot of transients, like you said, you know, going from the face party, MySpace to Facebook to this what was Farmville and a whole stack of apps that just was on a big, long pace to what it looks like today is, you know, we’ve accepted that.
But where, you know, people are trying to do different experiences and generic experiences for everybody for their mobile app on their Web page. And I think there’s going to come to a point where you kind of go, well, actually, does it really matter? You know, as long as it’s in a particular format, it’s easy to self, you know, get yourself around. And it also supports that age range as well. You know, I think that’s where people should be looking at, not, you know, how cool new react native framework. We can do it. What cool functionality can we add? Maybe it’s just getting the the the the functionality.
Right. Unstable, unreliable, and matching your brand expectation. I think this is all really interesting stuff that hopefully, you know, we’ll see coming through all the testing stuff. And, you know, I’ve actually got a family guy called Moggs who’s a is a YouTube with about five, six million views. And he’s actually built his house through YouTube and everything else. And it’s so strange to see influencers talk about a product that then spikes that, you know, downloads or are interested in there, even the advertising. And that’s a sign with him or his sponsorship, you know, parfaits where it’s such an interesting world where influence might not be technology.
Gartner analyst, which we’re used to, it isn’t you know, it could be just a teenager operating out of his mom’s basement. And, you know, this is a completely different challenge because, you know, it changes how people download the app like we’ve been trying to do. The M.I.T. is how do you build awareness around getting people to do it? You know, is it better to kind of have a generic thing where you can share it on Facebook and say, oh, no, come and join, you know, and get encouraged to get more people to join that way organically? You know, I think there are lots of different mechanics now that we’re not used to and we’re not always exploring.
And you kind of set testing. You know, it’s testing more than that, you know. And, you know, if you’re Facebook, I know marketing’s a great one. The Facebook load is a different browser, called it, you know, which is an in-app browser that has reduced functionality if the safari functionality, which doesn’t render certain pages. Right. So if you’re using an app referral coming from a Facebook app, especially now when Iran would be hitting me to say, oh, yeah, but now we’ve got two screens on the new Android eleven, you know, it could go into the full ground where it could go to another app or it could be using the same cumber resource.
So you’ve got all these kind of new challenges as new devices, 5G. And, you know, the behaviors change on, you know, how people interact with system you know there’s just so much to think about. And I love kind of where, you know, you’ve kind of pointed this discussion is gone in. We’ll have to think of a nice crowd testing kind of. Was titles said this. You know, what’s the best way to kind of get, you know, for people to kind of get in touch with you and kind of, you know, find out more? You know, like your Website.
Yeah. So if they go to mikelyles.me, it’s a very simple page. It’s about me page up there from my home page. But that mikelyles.me Will actually show all the sites in the bottom corner there.
So all of my sites are there. I try to keep that updated. So if someone says, you know, I’d rather connect with you on Twitter or some other area, just jump on mikelyles.me. And that will also give you a link to my blog site. My book cited in all my other places as well.
I will make sure we get I’ll get Moggs State to do a shout out for the book.
I’ll just tell you, it makes the McDonald’s drive through a post-COVID thing and you’ll be like, that’s a great idea that actually drives through takes longer because, you know, there’s COVID now so people are queueing without getting out of your car and putting on a mask.
So there’s the, but yeah it’s been absolutely fantastic talking to you, I can it will have to get you back and talk a little bit more about crowd testing in the future. | <urn:uuid:a98ccde9-d83e-4f93-ba5a-b9eee361b8e3> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://theqalead.com/podcast/how-to-use-service-virtualization-with-mike-lyles-from-bridgetree/ | 2020-10-22T14:31:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107879673.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022141106-20201022171106-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.967577 | 19,469 |
The surgical correction of refractive error has been a challenge since refractive keratectomy was first offered by Barraquer.1 Several surgical methods have been developed for the correction of the refractive error. LASIK, introduced by Pallikaris et al.,2 is the most widely used method for correction of myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and mixed refractive errors. Several studies have evaluated the stability and predictability of the procedure. The inclusion criteria for the refractive error were 15.00 diopters (D)3 for myopia, 6.00 D for astigmatism,4 and 7.00 D for hyperopia.5 Although limits of correction were described as high in the first studies, the outcomes of the latest studies revealed much lower limitations regarding to the evaluation of residual corneal thickness and keratometry readings. Nowadays, surgeons do not prefer such high correction of refractive error with LASIK.2,5–11 Nevertheless, LASIK is still the most commonly used surgical treatment for myopia. However, correction of hyperopia by LASIK is less common due to more limited inclusion criteria than for myopia. Methods such as phakic intraocular lens implantation and refractive lens exchange were preferred due to extended limitations of correction of patients with high hyperopia. Sanders et al.12,13 and Rayner et al.14 showed that Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICLs) are good alternatives for correction of refractive error either below or above the limits of LASIK. The first generation of myopic/myopic toric ICLs revealed good stability, predictability, and refractive outcomes.15–18 However, the demand for ICLs was higher for patients with high diopter hyperopia due to the limitations of LASIK, which was mentioned before. Hyperopic ICL studies also showed good results.14,19–21 However, there were not many studies enrolled for hyperopic toric ICLs. This study aims to present the outcomes of the implantation of hyperopic toric ICLs.22
Patients and Methods
This retrospective study comprised 20 eyes of 11 hyperopic patients (Table 1) with astigmatism between 2014 and 2015 at Dunyagoz Etiler Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey with 1 year of follow-up.
Preoperative ophthalmic examinations consisted of detailed medical history, manifest and cycloplegic refractions, uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), anterior segment evaluation with a slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and detailed fundus examination. Furthermore, Orbscan (Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY) was used for corneal topographic, horizontal white-to-white (WTW) distance, and anterior chamber depth (ACD) measurements. Endothelial cell count was measured by the SP 3000P specular microscope (Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Pentacam (Oculus Optikgeräte, Wetzlar, Germany) was used for measuring corneal thickness.
The inclusion criteria of the study were age older than 21 years, stable refraction for at least 1 year, endothelial cell count of greater than 2,400 endothelial cells/mm2, iridocorneal angle greater than 30°, no anomaly of iris or pupil function, mesopic pupil size smaller than 5 to 6 mm, and ACD greater than 3 mm. Furthermore, patients with unstable hyperopia or astigmatism, active corneal disease, irregular cornea on corneal topography, lens opacities, recurrent or chronic uveitis, glaucoma, ocular hypertension, abnormal retinal condition, previous corneal or intraocular surgery, history of ocular trauma, systemic diseases (eg, autoimmune disorder, connective tissue disease, atopia, or diabetes mellitus), and age younger than 21 years were excluded.
The STAAR Surgical Customer Service Department formula was used to calculate the ICL power. This formula uses horizontal WTW distance (determined by the results of Orbscan), central corneal thickness, mean corneal keratometry reading or central corneal thickness (simulated keratometry), refraction 12 mm from the corneal vertex or with a contact lens, and ACD calculated from the endothelium of the cornea.
Although it was proposed to perform Nd:YAG laser peripheral iridotomies 2 weeks before, all were done 1 day before the ICL (Visian Toric ICL; STAAR Surgical, Monrovia, CA) implantation. By this approach, all remnants of iris particles could be easily washed at the time of surgery. Iridotomies were made in the upper quadrant, 0.5 to 1 mm from the limbus, at the 11- and 1-o'clock positions to avoid the risk of monocular diplopia or ghost images. Pilocarpine 2% solution was instilled every 10 minutes starting 30 minutes before the laser procedure.
All surgeries were performed by the same surgeon (EC). The axis of all patients was marked at a slit lamp in the operating room while the patient was sitting upright to control for potential cyclotorsion when the patient was supine (the zero horizontal axis). The operations were performed under general anesthesia with the same disinfecting, draping, and eye stabilizing techniques of cataract surgery. Two side-port incisions were made and the cohesive ophthalmic viscosurgical device sodium hyaluronate 1.0% was injected. A 2.8-mm main incision was made on the temporal side to avoid additional astigmatism. The ICL was implanted through the tunnel by cartridge and footplates were inserted behind the iris in the correct position. The phakic intraocular lens (IOL) was rotated to the correct axis with a Mendez axis marker (Asico, Westmont, IL) as indicated by markings. The ophthalmic viscosurgical device was irrigated by cannula, acetylcholine chloride was injected into the anterior chamber, and stromal hydration of the incision edges were made. Acetazolamide was given at the second hour of the surgery. Intraocular pressure was measured 2 and 4 hours after the procedure to avoid the risk of glaucoma. Patients received dexamethasone and moxifloxacin four times a day.
Visante OCT (Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany) was used to measure the iridocorneal angle preoperatively and at 1 and 12 months by the same technician. TIA (trabecular–iris angle), TISA500 (trabecular–iris space area 500 mm from the scleral spur), and AOD500 (angle opening distance 500 mm from the scleral spur) were evaluated. Vault (the distance between anterior pole of the crystalline lens and posterior of ICL) was also measured by Visante OCT at 1 and 12 months postoperatively.
SPSS software (version 22; IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY) was used for the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data. Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk tests for testing the normal distribution and Levene's test for testing the equality of variances were used. Furthermore, the two-tailed paired samples t test (for normally distributed data) and Wilcoxon signed-rank test (not normally distributed data) were applied for analyzing differences for the comparison of the results preoperatively and postoperatively.
Preoperative and 1-week and 1- and 12-month postoperative data are summarized on Table 2.
Preoperative and Postoperative Parameters in Eyes Undergoing ICL Implantation
The mean preoperative UDVA was 0.15 ± 0.11 (decimal) (20/133 Snellen) and the mean 12-month postoperative UDVA was 0.74 ± 0.25 (decimal) (20/27 Snellen). The mean UDVA change was 0.59 (decimal) (20/33.9 Snellen), which was statistically significant (P < .0001). Furthermore, the preoperative mean CDVA was 0.74 ± 0.25 (decimal) (20/27 Snellen) and the mean 12-month postoperative CDVA was 0.78 ± 0.21 (decimal) (20/25.5 Snellen). The change in the mean CDVA was 0.03 (decimal), which was not statistically significant (P < .052). Figure 1 shows the change between 12-month UDVA/CDVA and preoperative UDVA/CDVA.
Visual and refractive outcomes. UDVA = uncorrected distance visual acuity; CDVA = corrected distance visual acuity; D = diopters
The mean preoperative sphere was 6.86 ± 1.77 diopters (D) and the mean preoperative cylinder was −1.44 ± 0.88 D. The mean 12-month postoperative sphere decreased to 0.46 ± 0.89 D and the mean 12-month postoperative cylinder decreased to −0.61 ± 0.46 D. The change in spherical (6.40 D, P < .0001) and cylindrical (0.83 D, P < .001) refraction was statistically significant. The change in spherical equivalent refraction from preoperatively to postoperatively (Figure 1D) is shown in Table 2.
The predictability of the procedure was also analyzed and is shown in Figure 1C. The vertical axis represents the attempted change and the horizontal axis represents the achieved change in the refraction. The diagonal line represents the optimum cases for such desired and achieved corrections. Points below the diagonal line are the overcorrected cases and points above are the undercorrected cases for spherical equivalent. The green diagonal lines define the −0.50 to 0.50 D residual refraction band and the red diagonal lines define the −1.00 to 1.00 D residual refraction band.
The mean postoperative vault was 0.65 ± 0.13 mm at 1 month and 0.613 ± 0.10 mm at 12 months. The difference between the vault at 1 and 12 months postoperatively was statistically significant (0.04 mm, P < .003).
The analysis of preoperative/12-month and 1-month/12-month TIA, TISA500, and AOD500 values is shown nasally, temporally, and inferiorly in Table A (available in the online version of this article). All differences were statistically significant between preoperative/12-month analysis. The only differences between 1-month/12-month analysis were on TISA500 inferior (P < .002) and AOD500 nasal (0.031) values.
Iridocorneal Angle Values
Although several complications were reported intraoperatively and postoperatively in the literature,18,23–25 no complications were observed in our study during the 1-year follow-up period.
There was an increase of 0.75 mm Hg in the postoperative IOP. However, this was not statistically significant (P < .445). Furthermore, there was a change in endothelial cell density that was statistically significant (30 cells, P < .0001), but the difference was not clinically important.
Phakic hyperopic IOL implantation is also an alternative for phakic toric hyperopic IOLs. In Benda et al.'s21 study, 17% gained one line of CDVA, 17% lost one line of CDVA, and CDVA did not change in 66%. The correction of astigmatism may be the source of the difference between their results and ours. Additionally, residual astigmatism can be corrected by laser refractive surgery, astigmatic incision, and one or two opposite clear corneal incisions on the steep axis in hyperopic ICL implantations. Furthermore, the loss of one line that occurred in the amblyopic eyes can be explained by the elimination of the spectacle-induced magnification of the image.26
We used the ICL V4B hyperopic toric lens in this study; the full astigmatic correction was aimed for and no additional astigmatic correction was needed. Benda et al.21 used the ICL V3, which only corrects hyperopic errors. Thus, patients simultaneously underwent limbal relaxing incisions, photorefractive keratectomy, or LASIK after ICL implantation for the correction of the astigmatism.
In our study, Nd:YAG laser peripheral iridotomies were done 1 day before the ICL implantation and no side effects were observed. We believed that all iris particles remnants could be easily washed at the time of surgery, which could be an advantage. On the other hand, Benda et al.21 preferred to do Nd:YAG laser peripheral iridotomies 2 weeks before and Pesando et al.19 did 1 week before the surgery as advised by the manufacturer.
Outcomes of this study showed a reduction of 39% at nasal, 39.4% at temporal, and 37.7% at inferior for mean TIA values; 48.3% at nasal, 47.8% at temporal, and 47.6% at inferior for mean AOD500 values; and 43.9% at nasal, 46.2% at temporal, and 43.3% at inferior for mean TISA500 values when comparing preoperative and 1-year follow-up results.
Fernández-Vigo et al.27 implanted the ICL V4C, which had a central port for aqueous humor outflow for myopic patients and used Fourier-domain OCT. They had a reduction of 42% for mean TIA values, 58.4% for mean AOD500 values, and 59.2% for TISA500 values at 3 months postoperatively. Chung et al.28 implanted the ICL V4 and used ultrasound biomicroscopy. They observed a decrease in 31.7% for TIA and 41.4% for AOD500 values at 1 month postoperatively. Lim et al.29 also used ultrasound biomicroscopy and detected a decrease of 28.4% in TIA and 27.3% in AOD500 values after ICL V4B implantation. These studies did not find any difference between the 1- and 12-month results of angle parameters as we did. In the current study, differences were found in TISA500 inferior and AOD500 nasal values between the 1-month and 12-month results.
Fernández-Vigo et al.27 detected iridotrabecular contact in 16% of eyes, which did not exist before the surgery. In the current study, no iridotrabecular contact was observed.
Vault extent is an important factor for the complications after ICL implantation. Smaller vault is correlated with increased risk of cataract, whereas excessive vault may lead to angle closure, pupil block, and pigment dispersion associated with secondary glaucoma. The ICL has a convex shape in high hyperopic lenses and this convex shape rises when the diopter increases, which may be a risk for angle parameters and vault. However, the difference was not significant for these parameters in highly astigmatic cases when compared with other myopic studies.
Gonvers et al.30 recommended a vault value of greater than 150 μm, but Schmidinger et al.31 advocated 230 μm. In the current study, the minimum vault was 434 μm and the mean vault was 613 μm at 1 year of follow-up, which were within safety zones. Several authors2,9–11,17 also noted that vault decreased with time, which was in concordance with our similar reduction rates.
Endothelial cell loss is one of the complications of ICL implantation. Benda et al.,21 Pesando et al.,19 and Alfonso et al.20 found mean loss endothelial cell densities of 4.91%, 4.7%, and 4.7% respectively. Our endothelial cell density reduction rate was 1%, which may be due to the 1-year follow-up.
No lens rotation was observed during follow-up, similar to Fernández-Vigo et al.'s27 study.
Only one patient complained of halo and glare at every visit but he did not accept the removal of the ICL. He only had difficulties when driving at night.
New ICL designs have a central hole that enables aqueous humor flow to the anterior chamber and is also protective for cataract formation. Although hyperopic ICLs have no central hole and also have a convex shape, no cataract formation or complication related to the pressure was observed in 12 months of follow-up.
The recommended anterior chamber depth is 2.8 mm for ICL implantation. We found that patients with high or moderate hyperopia tend to have an ACD less than 3 mm. Although it was difficult, we enrolled 20 hyperopic eyes with an ACD greater than 3 mm (mean: 3.08 ± 0.14 mm) in this study. We believed that it was safer for angle parameters. Benda et al.21 and Alfonso et al.20 reported ACD values of 2.96 ± 0.27 and 3.16 ± 0.22 mm, respectively.
The positive outcomes are closely related to the indication criteria and patient selection. We believe that if ACD depth is safe enough (greater than 3 mm), ICL hyperopic toric implantation is a safe method and provides stable refractive outcomes in patients with high hyperopia (up to 10.00 D) and astigmatism (up to 6.00 D). Furthermore, preoperative and postoperative anterior chamber parameters and vault evaluation by OCT is helpful to prevent the potential complications.
This study only reported outcomes and complications up to 12 months postoperatively. The long-term results will be reported in future studies.
- Barraquer J. Queratoplastia refractiva [article in Spanish]. Estudio Información Oftalmología Instituto Barraquer. 1949;10:2–10.
- Pallikaris IG, Papatzanaki ME, Stathi EZ, Frenschock O, Georgiadis A. Laser in situ keratomileusis. Lasers Surg Med. 1990;10:463–468. doi:10.1002/lsm.1900100511 [CrossRef]
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|No. of patients|
|No. of eyes|
| Mean ± SD||32 ± 6.55|
| Range||21 to 40|
Preoperative and Postoperative Parameters in Eyes Undergoing ICL Implantation
|Parameter||Preop||1 Week Postop||1 Month Postop||12 Months Postop||P|
|Mean ± SD||Range||Mean ± SD||Range||Mean ± SD||Range||Mean ± SD||Range|
|UDVA (decimal)||0.15 ± 0.11||0.05 to 0.40||0.71 ± 0.22||0.30 to 1.00||0.74 ± 0.23||0.30 to 1.00||0.74 ± 0.23||0.30 to 1.00||< .0001|
|CDVA (decimal)||0.74 ± 0.25||0.20 to 1.00||0.76 ± 0.21||0.30 to 1.00||0.78 ± 0.21||0.30 to 1.00||0.78 ± 0.21||0.30 to 1.00||< .052|
|Sphere (D)||6.86 ± 1.77||4.00 to 10.75||0.86 ± 0.79||−0.75 to 2.50||0.60 ± 0.69||−0.75 to 1.75||0.46 ± 0.89||−1.25 to 2.50||< .0001|
|Cylinder (D)||−1.44 ± 0.88||−3.25 to 0.00||−0.64 ± 0.46||−1.75 to −0.25||−0.66 ± 0.50||−2.00 to −0.25||−0.61 ± 0.46||−1.75 to −0.25||< .001|
|IOP (mm Hg)||14.65 ± 3.00||10 to 19||15.45 ± 2.58||12 to 20||15.20 ± 2.28||12 to 19||15.4 ± 2.95||11 to 22||< .445|
|ECD (cells/mm2)||2,881 ± 191||2,450 to 3,231||2,811 ± 186|| 2,390 to 3,140||2,837 ± 202||2,410 to 3,219||2,853 ± 203||2,420 to 3,220||< .0001|
|Vault (mm)||N/A||N/A||0.65 ± 0.13||0.43 to 0.96||0.61 ± 0.10||0.40 to 0.78||< .001|
Iridocorneal Angle Values
|Mean ± SD||Mean ± SD||Mean ± SD||Mean ± SD||Reduction||Pa||Mean ± SD||Reduction||P||Mean ± SD||Reduction||Pa|
|Preop vs 12 months postop|
| TIA||45.57 ± 2.57||46.09 ± 2.06||45.77 ± 2.15||27.77 ± 1.55||39.06%||.001||27.85 ± 1.47||39.59%||.001||28.46 ± 1.14||37.82%||.001|
| TISA500||0.302 ± 0.333||0.325 ± 0.039||0.306 ± 0.025||0.168 ± 0.013||44.25%||.001||0.173 ± 0.014||46.86%||.001||0.173 ± 0.016||43.38%||.001|
| AOD500||0.803 ± 0.053||0.805 ± 0.056||0.815 ± 0.068||0.414 ± 0.027||48.43%||.001||0.420 ± 0.041||47.85%||.001||0.426 ± 0.040||47.67%||.001|
|1 month vs 12 months postop|
| TIA||27.85 ± 1.97||28.69 ± 2.54||28.25 ± 1.90||27.77 ± 1.55||0.27%||.783||27.85 ± 1.47||2.93%||.085||28.46 ± 1.14||−0.74%||.260|
| TISA500||0.164 ± 0.016||0.173 ± 0.017||0.164 ± 0.011||0.168 ± 0.013||−2.75%||.121||0.173 ± 0.014||0.37%||.466||0.173 ± 0.016||−5.29%||.002|
| AOD500||0.398 ± 0.028||0.413 ± 0.048||0.428 ± 0.038||0.414 ± 0.027||−3.95%||.031||0.420 ± 0.041||−1.68%||.126||0.426 ± 0.040||0.35%||.896| | <urn:uuid:465c02b8-6480-470f-900b-b0cc8f13337f> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/journals/jrs/2017-9-33-9/%7Be1ae184f-7799-4cf7-bd61-c504977eaedf%7D/refractive-outcomes-of-20-eyes-undergoing-icl-implantation-for-correction-of-hyperopic-astigmatism | 2020-10-20T09:16:28Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107871231.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020080044-20201020110044-00680.warc.gz | en | 0.819859 | 7,331 |
- Open Access
Identification, molecular characterization and expression of aminopeptidase N-1 (APN-1) from Anopheles stephensi in SF9 cell line as a candidate molecule for developing a vaccine that interrupt malaria transmission
Malaria Journal volume 19, Article number: 79 (2020)
According to the World Health Organization reports, billions of people around the world are at risk for malaria disease and it is important to consider the preventive strategies for protecting the people that are living in high risk areas. One of the main reasons of disease survival is diversity of vectors and parasites in different malaria regions that have their specific features, behaviour and biology. Therefore, specific regional strategies are necessary for successful control of malaria. One of the tools that needs to be developed for elimination and prevention of reintroduction of malaria is a vaccine that interrupt malaria transmission (VIMTs). VIMT is a broad concept that should be adjusted to the biological characteristics of the disease in each region. One type of VIMT is a vector-based vaccine that affects the sexual stage of Plasmodium life cycle. According to recent studies, the aminopeptidase N-1 of Anopheles gambiae (AgAPN-1) is as a potent vector-based VIMT with considerable inhibition activity against the sexual stage of Plasmodium parasite.
Systems for rapid amplification of cDNA ends (3ʹ-RACE) and genome walking methods were used for sequence determination of apn-1 gene from Anopheles stephensi and distinct bioinformatics software were used for structural analysis. AsAPN-1 was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cell line using the baculovirus expression system. Recombinant AsAPN-1 was purified under the hybrid condition and its biological activity was assayed.
Asapn-1 gene and its coded protein from An. stephensi were characterized for the first time in this study. Subsequently, the structural features and immunological properties of its coded protein were evaluated by in silico approaches. Enzymatic activity of the recombinant AsAPN-1, which was expressed in Sf9 insect cell line, was equal to 6 unit/μl.
Results of this study revealed that AsAPN-1 is very similar to its counterpart in An. gambiae. In silico evaluation and fundamental data which are necessary for its evaluation as a VIMT-based vaccine in the next steps were acquired in this study and those could be useful for research groups that study on malaria vaccine for countries that An. stephensi is the main malaria vector there.
Despite the impressive progresses in medical sciences, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2018, malaria is still as one of the most significant infectious diseases in the world and there were 219 million new cases with increment of about 3.5 million cases over 2017 [1, 2].
The severity of the disease is directly related to the species of Plasmodium and the geographical dispersion and proportion of Anopheles. There are about 30 species of Anopheles, which are responsible for transmission of malaria across the world . One of the most considerable challenge in malaria control is the diversity of the vector and parasite species in different endemic regions which means distinct strategies must be considered for each geographical region . For instance, Anopheles gambiae is the main malaria vector in sub-Saharan of Africa, while Anopheles stephensi is the most prevalent vector which is spread from the east of Africa (Djibouti and Ethiopia) to the south regions of China . In addition, resistance to insecticides and drugs increases the complexity of malaria treatment and control [6,7,8]. Moreover, proximity with special endemic malaria regions affects the malaria control progress and, therefore, needs more considerations to achieve the final goal. For example, Iran which is in elimination phase is a neighbour of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are categorized in the “Control Phase” with high prevalence of malaria. This situation might be established in many parts of the world and may lead to the failure of the malaria elimination goals of the United Nations by 2030 . According to the malEra guidelines, vaccines are one of the main tools for malaria control and with regards to the progress in the elimination programme; specific types of vaccines should be considered for each country. Development of the vaccines that interrupt malaria transmission (VIMTs) was emphasized by the vaccine consultative group for countries that have passed the pre-elimination step and have proceeded to the global goal . VIMTs are divided into various types; one type is the classical transmission-blocking vaccine that blocks the sexual parasite development by targeting the required effector molecules in the vector, including mosquito-based transmission-blocking vaccines with targets such as Anopheles gambiae aminopeptidase N-1 (AgAPN-1) , CPBAg1 (Carboxy Peptidase B1) [12, 13], Trypsin , saglin , FREP 1 [16, 17], and SGS1 . APN-1 is a candidate molecule for which the blocking efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum in An. gambiae has been confirmed . Given the fact that Jacalin prevents ookinete attachment by masking the glycan ligands on the surface of midgut epithelial cells, Dinglasan et al. used affinity chromatography to identify its receptor on the midgut epithelial cells of An. gambiae. Some glycoproteins, such as APN-1, are receptors for the lectin-similar structures of ookinete that trigger the attachment of ookinetes to the internal side of the epithelium and are essential for preceding the sexual development of parasite in the mosquito midgut [13, 16, 20].
Therefore, Dinglasan et al. used AgAPN-1 as a TBV candidate and their results showed that it can inhibit the sexual development of P. falciparum with 100% efficacy (at ~ 10 µg/ml specific IgG). In addition, it was shown that 100 μg/ml of polyclonal antibody against AgAPN-1 could reduce oocyst formation of Plasmodium berghei in the midgut of An. gambiae. Furthermore, peptide mapping showed that a 135 amino acids fragment located in the N-terminal of AgAPN-1 is immunogenic even in the absence of adjuvant and has equal blocking efficacy similar to the full length of AgAPN-1 .
Since An. stephensi is the main malaria vector from the east of Africa to the south regions of China, and due to the considerable efficacy of APN-1 as a VIMT in whole protein and sub-unit formats, the apn-1 gene and its related protein in An. stephensi were identified and characterized in the current study to provide the basic and fundamental information necessary for developing an effective and regional mosquito-based VIMT in areas that An. stephensi is the major threat for malaria transmission.
Identification of the middle part of apn-1 mRNA sequence of An. stephensi had been reported in the study of Bokharaei et al. . Thus, general and specific primers were designed for performing the 5ʹ-Genome walking and 3ʹ-RACE, respectively, based on the reported sequence using the GeneRunner software (version 126.96.36.199 beta) (Table 1). Their specificity was evaluated by the nucleotide BLAST server (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) [13, 23]. After determining the full-length sequence of apn-1 mRNA molecule, specific primers were designed to amplify the full length coding sequence of the mRNA and DNA of the target gene for evaluating the arrangement of introns and exons. In addition, full-length cloning primers, which contained restriction sites, were designed for cloning and expressing of the whole APN-1 in SF9 cell line using the baculovirus expression system.
Collection of Anopheles stephensi samples and insectary rearing
All experiments were performed on the An. stephensi mysorensis, using the Chabahar strain which had previously been collected from the Chabahar district in the southeastern part of Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This strain was reared in the National Insectarium at Pasteur Institute of Iran (PII), Malaria and Vector research Group (MVRG) under the standard conditions: a temperature range of 26–28 °C, 60–80% humidity, and 12 h light/dark cycle . Five-days adult mosquitoes were used in the all experiments of this study.
RNA and DNA extraction
Live mosquitoes were anesthetized on ice, and their midguts were dissected. Ten isolated midguts were used for RNA extraction which was performed by High Pure RNA Tissue Kit (Roche, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s instruction. The extracted RNAs were treated with DNase I enzyme to remove any probable DNA contamination, as per the instruction recommended by manufacturer (Thermo Scientific, USA). Quantity and quality of the extracted RNA was evaluated using the Colibri microvolume spectrometer (Titertek-Berthold, Germany) and 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis, respectively. Genomic DNA, which was used to determine the full length of apn-1 gene sequence and arrangement of its introns and exons, was extracted from the whole body of the mosquitoes by MBST genomic DNA extraction kit (MBST, Iran).
Reverse transcription (RT; cDNA synthesis)
Considering that there was no data on the expression pattern of apn-1 gene, total RNA was extracted in different time frames (0, 2, 7, 12, and 18 h) after blood feeding. RT reaction was performed in a final volume of 20 µl using the Oligo(dT) as primer. The volume of 200 ng of the total RNA was adjusted to 5 µl by adding RNase-free distilled water. This mixture was incubated at 75 °C for 5 min to remove the secondary structures and was cooled on ice immediately. Then, RT mix which included Revertaid Moloney murine leukaemia virus [M-MuLV], RNase inhibitor, deoxynucleoside triphosphate solution, RT buffer, and Oligo(dT) primer, was added to the cooled RNA, and RT reaction was started by the following program: 10 min at 25 °C, 60 min at 42 °C, and 10 min at 70 °C. All reagents were purchased from Takara, Japan.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay
All reactions were carried out in a 20 μl total volume for 35 cycles. Ingredients of the PCR reactions consisted of 400 nM of each primer, 1 unit of Taq DNA polymerase, 0.2 mM of each deoxynucleoside triphosphate, 2.5 µl of 10× reaction buffer, 1.5 mM MgCl2, and 150 ng of genomic DNA in each reaction as template. The PCR reactions were performed in a Flex Cycler PCR machine (Analytik Jena, Germany) using 5 min primary denaturation at 94 °C which followed by 35 cycles of denaturation at 94 °C for 30 s, annealing at 58–62 °C for 40 s depending on the Tm of primers and 1-3 min (with regard to the size of amplicon) extension at 72 °C with an additional final extension at 72 °C for 10 min. Finally, PCR products were evaluated using the 1.5% agarose gel.
3ʹ-RACE and 5ʹ-genome walking
Based on the study of Raz et al. , the RT reaction was performed by the linker primer (Table 1). Various gene specific primers were designed for this technique. In this step, two PCR reactions were carried out with outer and inner primers as reverse and internal gene-specific primers as forward primers. After performing the agarose gel electrophoresis, only amplicons that their sizes were close to the expected size were selected for TA cloning. Selected amplicons were recovered from agarose gel and TA cloned in pTG19-T vector (both from Vivantis, Malaysia). Next, TA-cloned products were sequenced by Macrogen company (South Korea). After editing sequences using Chromas software (Technelysium, Australia), those were analysed by nucleotide BLAST (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) for similarity search.
To determine the 5ʹ-end sequence of the apn-1 gene, the genome walking method was used according to Alipour et al. . Briefly, the prepared cDNA with linker Oligo(dT) primer was used as template. Asymmetric PCR was fulfilled with the universal (UAP-N1for step one and UAP-N2 for step two) and gene-specific primers (GW 27-R GW 40-R, GW 59-R, GW 130-R, and GW 282-R) in two consecutive steps. Then, amplicons with the sizes more than the expected size were selected, TA-cloned and sequenced. Finally, sequences were analysed by Gene Studio Software 188.8.131.52 (GeneStudio Inc., USA), and those had an overlapped region with the middle part sequence of the apn-1 mRNA molecule were selected for further analysis.
Assembly and determination of the full-length sequence of Asapn-1 mRNA molecule
After sequencing of the 3ʹ- and 5ʹ-ends of Asapn-1 mRNA molecule, acquired sequences were assembled using the GeneStudio software. Finally, FL Inner-F/FL Inner-R and FL Outer-F/FL Outer-R primers were designed for amplifying and sequencing the full-length sequence of the mRNA and DNA of Asapn-1 gene.
In silico study
Analysis of the sequence features
First, to determine the structural features of the AsAPN-1 protein and its division, the coding sequence of Asapn-1 mRNA was translated to its coded residues by GeneRunner software 184.108.40.206 Beta. Then, the protein BLAST was used to search similar proteins to our query. Subjects with high similarity and scores were selected to perform multiple alignments with Clustal Omega based on the Clustal W method and determine the conserved residues. Evaluation of the antigenicity and finding the functional epitopes of the target molecule was accomplished by Hopp-Woods-Hydropathy plot as a subdivision of ExPASy protscale tool (http://web.expasy.org/protscale/) . In the output plot, a negative value is associated with non-polar residues, values >0 represent the hydrophilic ß strands regions and negative values indicate the ɑ helix hydrophobic regions . In addition, the physiochemical properties such as amino acid quantity, instability index and estimated half-life were analysed using the stand alone Protparam (https://web.expasy.org/protparam/).
Prediction of the post translation modifications (PTMs)
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins are usually accomplished by proteolytic cleavage or covalent modifications. These modifications are done by specific enzymes that identify especial amino acid residues or distinct sequences. In order to predict the amino acids that undergo glycosylation, NetNGlyc 4.0 and NetOGlyc 3.1 servers were used . The NetOGlyc server is based on the neural network predictions of mucin type GalNAc O-glycosylation sites. In this method, the score of each amino acid is calculated, and values above the threshold are reported as glycosylated amino acids.
Prediction of the dynamic nature of AsAPN-1
The residue-level backbone dynamics from the AsAPN-1 sequence in the form of backbone N–H interaction was predicted, to understand the motion restriction of an atomic bond in comparison with the molecular reference frame . The values were variable between 1, for fully restricted (rigid conformation), and 0, for fully random movement (highly dynamic). DynaMine webserver (Brussels-, Belgium) was used to assess the dynamic nature of AsAPN-1.
Peptide toxicity prediction
Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier was used from the freely available software package SVMlight for searching the toxic motifs in our target protein by the MEME Suite software (version 3.5.0), and then query sequences were hit with the toxic peptide motif list using the MAST software . If hit was higher than the SVM score threshold, which is 5, peptides are predicted toxic for the host cell.
Prediction of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of AsAPN-1
The SWISS-MODEL (http://swissmodel.expasy.org) was used for predicting the 3D structure of our target protein . Prediction of the 3D structure was performed based on the X-ray crystallography deposited data of the well-characterized molecules using this method . According to the QMEAN (qualitative model energy analysis) and GMQE (global model quality estimation) scores, the best model was selected and used for comparing the structural properties of the AsAPN-1 with the reference molecule in the next steps . UCSF Chimera software version 1.11.2 was used for alpha carbon root-mean-square deviation (Cɑ-RMSD) and overall RMSD analysis .
Molecular docking studies
In order to evaluate the structural predictions and determining the structurally important residues in the active site of AsAPN-1, we docked the active sites of AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1 with bestatin, which is the aminopeptidase enzymes specific inhibitor with the EADock method using the SwissDock server . First, the crystal structure of bestatin was retrieved from the 2DQM accession number (PDB database). Then, the entire protein surface was scanned using the SwissDock to identify the most probable interaction sites with bestatin. This scanning is performed based on multi-objective hybrid evolutionary algorithm. In this method, the probability of binding the ligand to receptor in the form of random and semi-random is examined at two levels of accuracy. In the first stage, screening is faster and has less accuracy (simple-Fitness), but in the second stage, screening is time-consuming and has high-precision (full-Fitness). The best appropriate ligand binding site is calculated based on the highest free energy which determined by the analytical Generalized Born Molecular Volume performed in the CHARMM program among the different binding probabilities. This sampling and selecting of the target cavity is performed with the accuracy of 2 angstroms in the crystal structure .
For AsAPN-1, the mapped protein onto the 3D grid and ligand connection cavities were evaluated and the amount of binding powers were finally determined as a free energy of amino acid geometries and specific ligand interaction positions.
Prediction of antigenic peptides of AsAPN-1
With regard to the importance of developing the subunit vaccines, the profile of antigenic peptide of full-AsAPN-1 was evaluated using the Immunomedicine group tool (http://imed.med.ucm.es/Tools/antigenic.pl) which determines the antigenic peptides according to the Kolaskar and Tongaonkar method with 75% accuracy . In addition, this analysis was performed for AgAPN-1 as the reference molecule and performing further comparison.
Prediction of the epitope avidity
After introducing the antigens in the antigen presenting cells, antigen processing and presenting are done in this type of immune cells on the major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs). Two factors are important in antigen presenting which are the primary structure of the peptide and allelic variation of the residues in the binding site of the major histocompatibility complex receptor. These two elements should interact together for final presentation of the small processed peptides. Therefore, we evaluated the potential presentation of our target protein with the common MHC-II alleles in Iran using the NetMHCII 2.2 and pyDockWEB web based servers to evaluate the induction of potential humoral response. To perform this evaluation, the MHC-II binding regions of AsAPN-1 and their binding affinities with receptors were predicted in the first step. According to the recommendations of Vina et al. , the prevalent alleles of HLA in Iran were selected. Subsequently, the binding affinity between the peptide segments and prevalent alleles were investigated using the NetMHCII 2.2 and pyDockWEB web based servers. NetMHCII 2.2 predicts the binding efficacy of peptides to HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, HLA-DP alleles using the artificial neuron networks. The prediction values are given in nanomolar IC50 values, and binding efficiency are determined by the strong and weak values . pyDockWEB, as a structure-based server, was used for predicting the MHC-II binding properties with an overall ΔG which includes electrostatics, desolvation energy, and limited van der Waals contribution . In addition, these analysis and evaluations were performed for AgAPN-1.
Baculovirus expression and purification
For expression of the recombinant AsAPN-1, UFLC-F, and DFLC-R primers were used (Table 1). Expand High Fidelity Taq DNA polymerase (Roche, Germany) was used to amplify the coding sequence of asapn-1 gene. Then, this amplicon was TA cloned in pTG-19 vector and subcloned to pFastBack HT A vector using SpeI and XhoI restriction enzymes (Invitrogen, Germany). Next, pFastBac-full apn construct, was first transformed to Escherichia coli DH5α and the purified pFastBac-full apn was transformed to E. coli DH10Bac subsequently and confirmed using sequencing. The generation of recombinant virus and transposition was performed according to the recommendations of Invitrogen for Bac-to-Bac system (http://www.ThermoFisher.com). The screening and presence of the recombinant bacmid (pFastBac-full apn) was done by colony-PCR using M13 Forward and Reverse primers. Then, recombinant bacmid was purified from one of the selected colonies and transfected into the Sf9 cells using the Cellfectin II (Invitrogen). This step was performed in order to generate the recombinant baculovirus stock P1. P1 viruses were harvested and stored at 4 °C. In order to earn the highest yield of recombinant virus, the optimal multiplicity of infection (MOI) was determined by screening the 1,3,5,7 MOIs. To determine the expression kinetics of the target recombinant protein, screening was preformed within 0 until 96 h of post infection using SDS-PAGE. Afterwards, P1 stock virus was used to get the P2 stock in the fresh Sf9 cells at 27 °C for maximum 96 h and similarly P2 virus was used for producing the high titer of P3. Finally, P3 viruses were harvested and used for recombinant protein expression according to the Invitrogen protocol (http://www.ThermoFisher.com). For recombinant AsAPN-1 expression analysis, 1 ml of the harvested culture was analysed using the SDS-PAGE analysis. Solubility of the expressed recombinant protein was determined according to the QIAexpressionist protocols (http://kirschner.med.harvard.edu/files/protocols/QIAGEN_QIAexpressionist_EN.pdf) . With regard that 6X His-tag was embedded in the upstream of the target protein by the used expression system, Ni-NTA (QIAGEN, Germany) beads were used for protein purification under the hybrid purification condition according to the Life Technologies™’ instruction with few modifications in buffer ingredients . Hybrid purification method is a type of purification that the 3D structure and native folding of the target protein is rearranged beyond denaturation and no need to renaturing after purification. Different buffer ingredients were: lysis and denaturing binding buffer contained 100 mM NaH2PO4, 10 mM Tris·Cl, 8 M urea and 5–8 mM imidazole at pH 8.5; denaturing wash buffer contained 100 mM NaH2PO4, 10 mM Tris·Cl, 8 M urea at pH to 6.3; and native elution buffer contained 50 mM NaH2PO4, 300 mM NaCl, 250 mM imidazole at pH 8.5. In brief, cultured cells were collected from the 75 cm2 cell culture flasks which contained 2 × 106 cells/mL and pelleted cells were lysed using 6 ml of lysis and denaturing binding Buffer. Then, lysis solution was centrifuged at 8000 rpm and 4 °C for 15 min. Next, the supernatant was incubated at 23 °C for 60 min with Ni-NTA agarose beads while those were rotating. After that, Ni-NTA agarose beads were washed three times with denaturing wash buffer. In the last step, target protein was eluted using the native elution buffer. The total purified protein was desalted using the Econo-Pac® (Bio Rad, USA) and finally analysed using SDS-PAGE. To keep the bioactivity of the purified AsAPN-1 for long term and storage, our target protein was mixed with glycerol (5–50% (w/v)) and divided in small aliquots and kept in − 20 °C until use.
Analysis of bioactivity
For analysis of the bioactivity of AsAPN-1, a spectrophotometry based test which l-leucine p-nitroanilide substrate (Sigma) is broken down by the endopeptidase property of the aminopeptidase enzyme was used. This endopeptidase activity of the enzyme causes an increment of absorbance at 405 nm wavelength due to the release of 4-nitroaniline . In order to determine the bioactivity of recombinant AsAPN-1, 1 μg/ml of the purified protein was used and Streptomyces griseus aminopeptidase (Sigma) and 1,10-phenanthroline (10 μM; Sigma) were used as positive control and metalloprotease inhibitor, respectively. Eighty microliters of the purified recAsAPN-1 which contained 1 μg/ml of active enzyme, 20 µl of 10 mM l-leucine-p-nitroanilide as substrate (Sigma, USA) and 100 µl of 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.6) were used to perform the bioactivity assay. This mixture was incubated at 37 °C. AsAPN-1 activity was measured spectrophotometrically using the microtitre plate (BioTek Instruments, USA) and reading the absorbance at 405 nm in 15, 30, 90 and 120 min after the start of reaction. This reaction was also performed in the presence of 10 μM 1,10-phenanthroline as an inhibitor simultaneously.
Characterization the 3ʹ-and 5ʹ-end sequences of asapn-1 mRNA molecule
After confirmation with the internal primers, the amplicon of RC-921 and inner primers with ≈ 900-bp length was sequenced and nucleotide BLAST analysis revealed its high similarity with its counterpart in An. gambiae. Finally, this sequence was submitted to the GenBank under the 1990583 accession number.
After performing the genome walking, amplicons with length greater than 500-bp (six amplicons), were sequenced. Nucleotide BLAST revealed that all of the acquired sequences were related to Asapn-1 gene. Therefore, final contig from the assembled amplicons was submitted to the GenBank under the 1985952 accession number.
Characterization of the full-length of asapn-1 mRNA sequence
After sequence determination of the 3ʹ- and 5ʹ-ends of the asapn-1 mRNA molecule, these sequences were assembled, and the full-length sequence of asapn-1 mRNA was determined and submitted to the GenBank (accession number: 2017959). The length of this sequence was 3285-bp which included an open reading frame with 3078-bp length that encoded a protein with 1025 residues, and predicted molecular Pi (isoelectric point) and molecular weight equal to 4.82 and 118,792.27 Da (118.79 KDa), respectively. Comparison of the coding sequences of asapn-1 on DNA and mRNA sequences revealed that the asapn-1 gene has four introns and five exons and introns have been located at 698-794, 1241-1477, 1822-1891 and 3218-3250 positions (GenBank accession number: 2017959). Sequence analysis of apn-1 gene introns demonstrated that their donor and acceptor splice sites were AG-AC and CA-TG, GT-AG, and AG-TC, respectively. Comparison of the splice sites of asapn-1, agapn-1 (XM_318000.4), and similar gene in Anopheles culicifacies (MK033514.1) revealed that the sequences of donor and acceptor of the splice sites in An. gambiae and An. culicifacies are more similar (Table 2).
Phylogenetic tree analysis of the nucleotide sequences of our target gene and other apn-1 genes from the other insects indicates that the asapn-1 is located in Anopheles group and has close relationship with An. gambiae (Fig. 1).
In silico findings and predictions
Alignment of asapn-1 mRNA sequence with agapn-1 mRNA sequence revealed that their similarity is 80.48%. The comparison of AsAPN-1 with AgAPN-1 (XP_318000.4), and APN-1 of An. culicifacies (QCO76330.1) showed that these proteins have 74.93% and 73.31% similarity with AsAPN-1, respectively. Alignment of AsAPN-1 with seven similar proteins revealed that the structurally important motifs of these proteins, such as zinc binding domains, active site and peptide 9 have a high degree of conservation (Fig. 2).
Homology modelling analysis of the target protein with fully characterized proteins in structure through the SWISS-MODEL server revealed that the highest structural similarity is related to homo-dimer of APN-1 from the An. gambiae (AgAPN-1) (PDB accession No: 4WZ9). Therefore, the AgAPN-1 was selected as the reference molecule to predict the structural features of AsAPN-1.
Analysis of the predicted 3D structure of AsAPN-1
Prediction of the 3D structure of AsAPN-1 using the SWISS-MODEL and according to the homology modelling and QMEAN and GMQE scores of the predicted models, revealed that the target protein has a close topology to the AgAPN-1 (4WZ9 PDB accession No). Therefore, 4WZ9 was selected as the reference molecule for further structural analysis such as superimposition and finding the counterparts of structurally important residues and motifs, such as ookinete attachment sites, peptide 9, Gluzincin, active site and zinc binding domain (Fig. 3a–e). Structural comparison of AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1, revealed that our target protein is composed of an N-terminal (residues 1-19), a C-terminal ecto-domain (residues 36-1005) and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor (residues 1006-1031) (Fig. 3b). As APN-1 has consisted of two symmetric units (A and B homologues) (Fig. 3a, b). Ectodomain (residues 69-954) is composed of four domains (I–IV), which have metallopeptidase M1-family activity. Domain I (residues 69-281) is predicted that composed of a 15 β-sheet (Fig. 3b). Domain II is the catalytic domain (residues 282-534) which contains the substrate recognition site (H377EYAH381) and zinc-binding motif (NE400GFA). Domain III and domain IV (the C-terminal region) encompass the residues 535-625 and residues 626-954, respectively. It is predicted that the active site is located in domain II, and zinc ion is coordinated with the NEGFA motif and the N-terminus of the modeled protein (Fig. 3c). RMSD of the structurally critical residues of AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1 are presented in Table 3. Moreover, analysis of the reactive residues in hydrogen binding plot (Fig. 4a, b), the torsional angles (Ramachandran plot) (Fig. 4c, d) and stoichiometry analysis of the alpha Carbons of AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1(Fig. 4e, f) revealed that those have the same patterns. Further analysis revealed that AsAPN-1 has five residues (G832TGVE836) more than AgAPN-1 in domain II which acts as a linker between the two alpha-helixes and superimposition reveled that it had no effect on the three-dimensional structure of AsAPN-1 and these five residues are seen as a protrusion in the protein structure in comparison to AgAPN-1 (Fig. 5).
Molecular docking analysis
Docking analysis of AgAPN-1 and AsAPN-1 as receptors with bestatin as ligand (specific inhibitor) showed that bestatin interacts with our target and reference proteins in a similar pattern and with the same residues in their active site cavities. The details of these interactions such as estimated ΔG and involved residues are given in Table 4.
APN-1 surface features
After identifying the AsAPN-1 and matching with AgAPN-1 as reference protein, its structural features such as hydrophobic regions, accessibility, amino acid polarity, and N-glycosylation were determined (Fig. 6a–e). Hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of AsAPN-1 revealed that the most of hydrophilic residues are located at the N-terminal (such as peptide 9) and C-terminal regions. Therefore, they have the numeric values above the zero and AsAPN-1 is considered as hydrophilic antigen (Fig. 6a). In addition, accessibility prediction shows that second structure of AsAPN-1 in all part of N/C terminal would be accessible for the immune system (Fig. 6b). Polarity prediction tools showed that 230 primary residues, residues from 450 to 750 and 800 to 1000 are polar and in terms of electric charge, those are suitable for interaction with immune system (Fig. 6c).
Prediction of N-&O-glycosylation sites revealed that three amino acids in AsAPN-1 structure are susceptible for N-glycosylation that are V2, N148 and N589 (Fig. 6d). Stability of the candidate molecule is one of the basic principles for vaccine development and our prediction shows that in overall, As APN-1 has high stability with eight exceptions that are in the form of four paired flexible regions. These regions are M1-V2, G763-Y764, A975-G976 and finally L1024-G1025 residues (Fig. 6e).
Prediction of antigenic peptides of AsAPN-1
Prediction of the antigenic peptides of AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1 using the Kolaskar and Tongaonkar’s method revealed that the profile of their antigenic peptides are very similar together and those have been located in the same topological position in the first structure of two proteins (Additional files 1, 2). AsAPN-1 average antigenic propensity is 0.9956 and 25 immunogenic epitopes were identified. Some of these peptides were short and some of them were long (Table 5) . In comparison with AgAPN-1, it was observed that AsAPN-1 had more and stronger immunogenic components with lower energy (Table 6, Additional files 3, 4).
Prediction of AsAPN-1 epitopes and MHC-II interactions
Prediction of interactions of the AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1 epitopes with MHC-II using pyDockWEB revealed that similar antigenic peptides and epitopes of both proteins interact with the common MHC-II alleles in Iran. The binding efficiency of interactions is presented by ΔG by the pyDockWEB and details of the best interaction are presented in Table 7. In addition, similar analysis by different method, which was performed using the NetMHCII, showed that the AsAPN-1 and AgAPN-1 have the similar processing and presentation capability by common MHC-II alleles in Iran (Table 6). It is very interesting that the number of presented peptides and high binder peptides are more for AsAPN-1 in comparison with AgAPN-1. Furthermore, the highest affinities among the evaluated peptides for different MHC-II alleles; which is presented by nano molar (nM); are related to the antigenic peptides of AsAPN-1.
Expression of the full length of AsAPN-1 using the baculovirus expression system
SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the recombinant His-tagged AsAPN-1 was produced as non-soluble intracellular molecules in SF9 cell line. The majority of recombinant AsAPN-1 was expressed in the form of inclusion bodies. Therefore, hybrid condition was selected for extraction of AsAPN-1 recombinant protein. The highest protein content was obtained in 96 h after P3 virus inoculation. The best MOI (number of applied viruses per cell) was three, and the best concentration of the heat-inactivated complement fetal bovine serum was 12%. The best temperature and pH for growth and infection of the cultured insect cells in this study were 27 °C and 6.3, respectively. The AsAPN-1 recombinant protein with 118.79 kD molecular weight was produced from the coding sequence of Asapn-1 gene in the SF9 cell line (Fig. 7a).
Purification of the recombinant AsAPN-1
One of the most important troubles in production of the recombinant AsAPN-1 was disinclination of protein for attachment to Ni-NTA column during purification process. Changing the temperature, increasing the incubation time with Ni-NTA beads, addition of 2-mercaptoethanol, and decreasing the concentration of imidazole did not solve the problem. Finally, this problem was solved by elevating the pH during incubation time with Ni-NTA beads to 8.5 (Fig. 7b).
Bioactivity assay of AsAPN-1
Bioactivity assay revealed that AsAPN-1 and positive control (Streptomyces griseus) had the same enzymatic activity in reaction with the specific substrate (l-leucine p-nitroanilide) and inhibitor (1,10-phenanthroline) of aminopeptidase enzymes. Enzymatic activity assay revealed that the amount of bioactivity of AsAPN-1 in comparison with the standard protein is 6 unit/μl. The details of bioactivity assay of AsAPN-1 and Streptomyces griseus in the presence of l-leucine p-nitroanilide and 1,10-phenanthroline is presented in (Fig. 8). Bioactivity assay showed that two proteins act on l-leucine p-nitroanilide as specific substrate and 1,10-phenanthroline inhibit their bioactivity on the substrate.
Complexity of Plasmodium spp. genome, different bio-evolution stages in the host and vector and antigenic variation for escaping from immune system, complicate the fight against malaria. Therefore, Anopheles spp. due to their behaviour and ability for malaria transmission, are one of the main targets for restricting this disease. Vaccines have been the primary objects to achieve this goal from previous years, but most of them have been designed based on parasite antigens . Few studies have been performed to find the critical molecules in the vector, which are essential for sexual parasite development, and few vector-based antigens have been introduced as promising candidates for vaccine development against malaria . Most of these molecules are considered as classical transmission-blocking vaccines, which are a category of VIMTs. According to the considerable results of AgAPN-1 as a TBV candidate for regions where An. gambiae is the main vector, AsAPN-1 was characterized in this study to provide the basic and necessary information for evaluating its potential role as a TBV candidate molecule in regions where An. stephensi plays the main role in malaria transmission.
According to the genomics results, the apn-1 gene in An. stephensi has four introns and five exons. This structure is very similar to its counterpart gene in An. gambiae and the length of their coding sequences has high similarity. With regard to the structure of several reported isoforms of apn gene in different insects, it could be concluded that the characterized gene is the correct isoform of agapn-1 in An. stephensi. Moreover, phylogenetic tree analysis of AsAPN-1and its comparison with some characterized APN proteins from other insects revealed that AsAPN-1 is located in the same branch with AgAPN-1. In addition, protein sequence alignment of the APN enzymes from the seven species of insects showed that the structural residues of their active sites are conserved, except the case that glutamic acid had been substituted with glutamine in AsAPN-1 at 186 position. Furthermore, involved residues in zinc binding motif are fully conserved. Another interesting point is peptide 9, a small protective peptide against Plasmodium spp. infection which has more than 50% similarity among the aligned sequences (Fig. 2). This fact is important for designing a universal VIMT to be applicable in different endemic malaria regions.
According to the predicted model and hydrophobicity analysis and acquired scores, it is predicted that AsAPN-1 would be a good antigen. In addition, it is interesting that peptide 9 is located in the surface of the protein and available for immune system recognition (Fig. 6a–c). These results and this level of accessibility are in accordance with the considered role for peptide 9 in sexual parasite development in the mosquito midgut.
Performed studies on the antigenicity of peptides according to the MHC presented type have shown that the longer peptides (10–15 residues) induce stronger CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell immunity responses in immunized hosts and are more efficient and stable than the shorter peptides . For instance, Ekeruche-Makinde et al. observed that the outcome of T-cell receptor/MHC interaction is dependent on the peptide length and the sequence identity of the MHC-bound peptide . Immunoinformatics analysis showed that the length of the in silico predicted antigenic peptides are almost 9–14 residues and it is expected that the processing and presenting of AsAPN-1 on MHC-II groove be done well in antigen processing cells of immune system. Among the predicted antigenic peptides of AsAPN-1, there are only one fragments that their lengths are 27 residues and these results propose a good presentation of AsAPN-1 to immune system (Table 5). Therefore, peptides might not be able to bind the MHC groove in suitable and effective form. It is interesting that peptide 9, which was identified and confirmed by Dinglasan et al. as the shortest and best protective peptide in the experimental assays, acquired good scores for presenting with the common MHC-II alleles in Iran .
Genetic diversity of the MHC plays an central role in antigen recognition and strength of immune responses . Each individual has specific alleles which may be different in distinct geographical regions . Therefore, for designing an effective recombinant immunogenic vaccine, considering and evaluating the prevalence of an allele in the target area is crucial . Draheim et al. study disclosed that the presentation of malaria antigen by MHC-II on dendritic cell is particularly important in induction of an effective immune response . According to the in silico analysis, it is predicted that nine antigenic peptides have the best scores for perfect processing and presentation ability with the DQA10102-DQB10602 and DR B1 alleles and those could be considered as candidates for developing a recombinant subunit vaccine (Additional file 3) . A study on Fula ethnic group (the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa) showed that the presented antigens by DQA-DQB are associated with the higher levels of antibody production . With regard to the geographical location and ethnic genome polymorphisms, prediction of the immune response before any laboratory analysis is critical. Herein, HLA-DRB1 allele which is common among the Caucasian and sub-Saharan African populations and has been evaluated in the Dinglasan et al. study, has the best predicted binding efficiency in comparison to the other examined MHC alleles in our analysis. Furthermore, analysis using pyDockWEB and NetMHCII revealed that AsAPN-1 is well processed and presented by the common MHC-II alleles in Iran and potentially could be a suitable candidate molecule for vaccine development. In addition, NetMHCII scores and statistical data revealed that AsAPN-1 is better processed and presented by DP, DQ and DR alleles in comparison with AgAPN-1. With regard to the presence of An. stephensi in Iran and neighbouring countries and the frequency of the mentioned alleles in this region, this seems that there is a natural adaptation between the target antigen and immune system.
For achieving the best functional and native structure of the recombinant protein, it is necessary to evaluate the occurrence of PTM such as glycosylation, especially in vaccine candidate molecules. These modifications are highly sequence specific and dependent to the arrangement of residues in the primary structure of proteins . Results of the PTM prediction revealed that AsAPN-1 could be modified by glycosylation at three residues in V2, N148, and N589 positions. It is noticeable that two of them have been located in N-terminal of AsAPN-1 and it should be considered that peptide 9, which is the best and short protective epitope in the Dinglasan et al. study, has been located in N-terminal region. Therefore, suitable host must be selected for recombinant expression of the target protein according to the predicted PTMs.
Antigen stability is an important determining factor for potency and efficacy of a vaccine candidate molecule. Variation in antigenic epitopes of a protein would not lead to the production of effective neutralizing antibodies by immune system. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the structurally stable antigens in the process of vaccine design. In silico analysis of the present study revealed that our target protein has a stable and rigid structure, which is suitable for recombinant antigen production except the first and second residues which are located in the N- terminal region and have variable structure. It is predicted that there are three variable regions in the C-terminal region. Therefore, according to this point and the results of Dinglasan et al. it is reasonable to consider N-terminal part, including peptide 9, for developing an efficient vaccine. Additionally, this location is represented by the most common MHC-II alleles in the selected area in this study and possibly other neighbor countries in the Middle East region. In addition, several previous investigations evaluated the protection efficacy of different segments of AgAPN1 . According to the findings of Dinglasan et al. residues at positions 758 and 821 are the ookinete attachment sites that their blocking with antibodies could be resulted in inhibition of the sexual P. falciparum development in the mosquito midgut . Moreover, based on the performed peptide mapping by Armistead et al., it was found that the produced antibodies against the peptide 9 have the best inhibitory effects on ookinete attachment. In another study, Atkinson et al. performed peptide mapping which showed that the size of epitopes were 60 to 200 amino acids long. Their study revealed that some peptides, despite are on the surface, did not have the suitable performance, and only peptide 9, which has been located at residues 173-194, had the perfect inhibitory feature. According to our predictions, the 3D structure of these regions is identical to the reference molecule and those could be considered for an efficient regional VIMT development.
In addition, similar bioactivity of the recombinant AsAPN-1 and recombinant aminopeptidase enzyme of Streptomyces griseus (as standard) on specific substrate and the same inhibitory effect of 1,10-phenanthroline on enzymatic activity of them suggest that these two proteins are belonged to a same enzyme super-family. These data confirm the performed structural analysis on AsAPN-1 and show that AsAPN-1 is belong to the aminopeptidase superfamily.
The importance of VIMTs and efficient ookinete-blocking activity of the antibodies produced against AgAPN-1, AsAPN-1 as its counterpart in An. stephensi was characterized in this study. Structural in silico analysis revealed that the critical residues in AsAPN-1 have very close similar topology with their counterparts in AgAPN-1, especially in peptide 9. Moreover, biological activity assay with specific substrate and inhibitor confirmed that the characterized protein (AsAPN-1) is related to the aminopeptidase superfamily and confirms the in silico structural analysis and docking results with specific inhibitor. These findings are hopeful for the future steps and pave the road for designing a new vector-based VIMT for countries that An. stephensi is the main malaria vector. However, there is a black box regarding the distance between the peptide-9 and ookinete attachment site in AgAPN-1 and AsAPN-1 and their relation in structure that needs to be answered in the future studies: how the produced polyclonal antibodies against the peptide-9 could inhibit sexual parasite development while the ookinete attachment site has been located in another and distinctive domain?
Availability of data and materials
The sequences which obtained and/or analysed during the current study were deposited in the GenBank database under the accession numbers (1985952) for 5ʹgenome walking, (1990583) for 3ʹRACE and (2017959) for full length of the Asapn-1 gene. All the other related data are included in the article.
Vaccines that interrupt malaria transmission
An. gambiae, aminopeptidase N-1
An. stephensi aminopeptidase N-1
Carboxy peptidase B1
Pasteur Institute of Iran
Malaria and Vector Research Group
Polymerase chain reaction
Support vector machines
Alpha carbon root-mean-square deviation
Major histocompatibility complex II
AgAPN-1 PDB accession Number
Post translation modifications
Qualitative model energy analysis
Global model quality estimation
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We thank our colleagues in MVRG, National Insectary of Pasteur Institute of Iran (PII), Biotechnology Research Centre (BRC), and Research Development Center, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, for their continuous supports during the performing of this project.
This project has been funded by the educational office of PII to Javad Dadgar Pakdel and Fund No 707 to NDD from Research Office.
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Dadgar Pakdel, J., Zakeri, S., Raz, A. et al. Identification, molecular characterization and expression of aminopeptidase N-1 (APN-1) from Anopheles stephensi in SF9 cell line as a candidate molecule for developing a vaccine that interrupt malaria transmission. Malar J 19, 79 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-03154-3
- Anopheles stephensi
- Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cell line | <urn:uuid:fd781608-20be-4ea7-b51b-aa89d8ab4206> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-020-03154-3 | 2020-10-21T22:50:26Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00320.warc.gz | en | 0.904794 | 14,427 |
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A new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for human free and bound kallikrein 9
Clinical Proteomics volume 14, Article number: 4 (2017)
Kallikrein 9 (KLK9) is a member of the human kallikrein-related peptidases family, whose physiological role and implications in disease processes remain unclear. The active form of the enzyme is predicted to have chymotryptic activity. In the present study, we produced for the first time the active recombinant protein and monoclonal antibodies, and developed novel immunoassays for the quantification of free and bound KLK9 in biological samples.
The coding sequence of mature KLK9 isoform (mat-KLK9) was expressed in an Expi293F mammalian system and the synthesized polypeptide was purified through a two-step protocol. The purified protein was used as an immunogen for production of monoclonal antibodies in mice. Hybridomas were further expanded and antibodies were purified. Newly-produced monoclonal antibodies were screened for reaction with the KLK9 recombinant protein by a state-of-the-art immunocapture/parallel reaction monitoring mass spectrometry-based methodology.
Anti-KLK9 antibodies were combined in pairs, resulting in the development of a highly sensitive (limit of detection: 15 pg/mL) and specific (no cross-reactivity with other KLKs) sandwich-type ELISA. Highest KLK9 protein levels were found in tonsil and sweat and lower levels in the heart, kidney and liver. Hybrid immunoassays using an anti-KLK9 antibody for antigen capture and various anti-serine protease inhibitor polyclonal antibodies, revealed the presence of an a1-antichymotrypsin-bound KLK9 isoform in biological samples.
The ELISAs for free and bound forms of KLK9 may be highly useful for the detection of KLK9 in a broad range of biological samples, thus enabling the clarification of KLK9 function and use as a potential disease biomarker.
Human tissue kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) constitute the largest family of secreted serine proteases, with diverse expression patterns and physiological roles . Aberrant KLK activity has been linked to various pathologies such as respiratory diseases, neurodegeneration, skin-barrier dysfunction and cancer. Thus, KLKs are attractive targets for novel therapeutics . The deregulation of KLKs at the gene and protein level has been associated with the hallmarks of cancer .
Human tissue kallikrein 9 (KLK9), which was originally identified as the KLK-L3 gene, spans an area of 7.1 kb on chromosome 19, flanked by the KLK8 and KLK10 genes . The full gene sequence (GenBank accession no. AF135026) contains five coding exons and the encoded KLK9 protein (UniProt accession: Q9UKQ9 (KLK9_HUMAN)) is predicted to be synthesized as a pre-pro-enzyme (1–250 amino acids) which is processed to the mat-KLK9 (lacking the signal peptide and the pro-segment) [4, 5].
According to previous RNA data, KLK9 was found to be expressed in a restricted number of tissues, including the salivary gland, ovary esophagus, tonsil and skin (http://www.proteinatlas.org/). Some recent data suggest that KLK9 may play an important biological role. In brief, the mRNA level of KLK9 expression has favorable prognostic value in ovarian and breast cancer , while elevated KLK9 expression levels were associated with higher grade gliomas . Further analysis of cancer cell lines revealed that KLK9 is constitutively expressed in breast, ovarian and lung cancer . Recent studies associate KLK9 expression patterns with non-malignant diseases, such as cardiac hypertrophy and hypertension-induced target organ damage psoriatic lesions and complications in asthma patients .
Based on the cited literature, we hypothesized that KLK9 may be involved in various pathologies and could be a disease biomarker of diagnosis/prognosis. These studies could benefit from a highly sensitive and specific KLK9 ELISA, which was not available until today.
In this study, we describe the production and characterization of mouse monoclonal antibodies against the mature KLK9 form (mat-KLK9) and the development of a highly sensitive and specific ELISA assay for the free monomer. We also developed an ELISA that measures the inhibitor-bound KLK9 form, through a hybrid assay that includes a1-antichymotrypsin antibodies. These assays were used to quantify free and bound forms of KLK9 in tissue extracts and biological fluids.
Production of recombinant KLK9 in the Expi293 transient mammalian expression system
The mature form of KLK9 (mat-KLK9) (aa 23–250) was expressed in the Expi293 mammalian protein expression system (ThermoFisher Scientific, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The expression plasmid pCDNA3.4, carrying the appropriate part of the KLK9 gene (pCDNA3.4-KLK9), in-frame with a mammalian IgK-chain secretion signal peptide (METDTLLLWVLLLWVPGSTG) was synthesized using Gene Art synthesis under optimal conditions (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The pCDNA3.4-KLK9 plasmid was amplified via transformation of E. coli One Shot™ TOP10 chemically competent cells according to the company’s instructions (Invitrogen). The plasmid was purified (PureLink™ HiPure Plasmid Midiprep Kit, Invitrogen) and the KLK9 sequence was further confirmed by DNA sequencing (ACGT Corp. Toronto, Canada).
The mat-KLK9 protein was expressed in suspension Expi293 cells according to the manufacturer’s instructions after optimization. Briefly, for each 30 mL small scale KLK9 expression, Expi293F™ cells were diluted in Expi293™ Expression medium to a final cell density of 3 × 106 cells/mL in 25.5 mL (125-mL flask). For the transfection of the Expi293F™ cells with pCDNA3.4-KLK9 plasmid: (1) 30 μg of the plasmid were diluted in Opti-MEM® I Reduced Serum Medium to a total volume of 1.5 mL, (2) 90 μL of ExpiFectamine™ 293 Reagent was diluted in Opti-MEM® I medium to a total volume of 1.5 mL and incubated for 5 min at room temperature, (3) The diluted DNA was added to the diluted ExpiFectamine™ 293 Reagent and the mixture was incubated for 20 min at room temperature, to allow the DNA-ExpiFectamine™ 293 Reagent complexes to form, (4) The 3 mL of the DNA-lipid complexes were added to each flask and the cells incubated at 37 °C in 8% CO2 air under 125 rpm shaking, (5) after 24 h incubation, a mixture of enhancers (150 μL of ExpiFectamine™ 293 Transfection Enhancer 1 and 1.5 mL of ExpiFectamine™ 293 Transfection Enhancer 2) were added to each flask (final volume: 30 mL). Media from each flask, containing the secreted KLK9 protein, were harvested at different time points (24, 48, 72 and 96 h post-transfection) and the KLK9 protein expression was verified by Western blot analysis using existing in-house KLK9 antibodies. Large scale protein expression was followed, and the media was harvested at 96 h post-transfection, concentrated 10× and stored at −80 °C until use. The yield was estimated by mat-KLK9 quantification using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) analysis (see below).
Purification of mat-KLK9
Mat-KLK9 was purified using a two-step purification protocol. Initially the KLK9 supernatant was diluted 3 times with the equilibration buffer (50 mM Tris–HCl, pH 9.0) and the protein was purified using the Akta FPLC system on a Mono Q™ 4.6/100 PE column (GE Healthcare, Life Sciences, Mississauga, ON, Canada). The conditions of the purification procedure were as follows: Equilibration buffer: 50 mM Tris–HCl (pH 9.0), elution buffer: 50 mM Tris–HCl (pH 9.0) + 1 M NaCl, flow rate: 2 mL/min, step-gradient of the elution buffer: 5% for 10 min, linear gradient: 5–40% for 44 min (fractions of 4 mL each were collected), step-gradient: 100% for 5 min. KLK9 was eluted using linear gradient of elution buffer at approximately 200 mM NaCl. To further purify KLK9 to homogeneity, reversed-phase HPLC was used as a second purification step. KLK9-containing fractions were combined, diluted to 1% (v/v) TFA and loaded onto a Viva C4 column (5 μm, 50 × 4.6 mm, Restek, USA). The following multi-step gradient elution (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid and 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in 90% acetonitrile) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min was used: linear gradient (10–40% acetonitrile for 5 min), 40% acetonitrile for 10 min, linear gradient (40–50% for 20 min), linear gradient (50–80% acetonitrile for 5 min), 80% for 5 min and linear gradient (80–10% acetonitrile for 2 min). KLK9 was eluted at approximately 40–50% acetonitrile. The presence and the identity of the purified KLK9 in the positive fractions (after acetonitrile evaporation) was confirmed by Western blotting and SRM analysis (see below). The protein purity was verified by silver and Coomassie-staining.
SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analyses of KLK9
SDS-PAGE was performed using 4–12% gradient polyacrylamide gels at 200 V for 45 min (BIO-RAD). Gels were either stained using the silver staining kit (PlusOne Silver staining protein kit, GE Healthcare) or with Biosafe Coomassie staining (Invitrogen). For the Western blot analysis, a Trans-Blot Turbo Transfer Starter system (BIO-RAD) was used. Briefly, after transfer, the PVDF membranes were blocked in 5% milk for 2 h and further incubated with the in-house primary anti-KLK9 mouse monoclonal antibody in 1% milk (1/500 dilution) for 2 h. Next, membranes were washed 4 times with Tris-buffered saline, 0.1% Tween-20 (TBST) and further incubated with peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG antibody (1/10,000) for 45 min at room temperature. After 4 times washing with TBST, membranes were incubated with ECL Western blotting detection reagents (GE Healthcare) and exposed to X-ray film.
Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) analysis of KLK9
Ten µg of total protein were aliquoted from a crude KLK9-secreting Expi293 cell culture supernatant, as well as from purified fractions. Samples were initially mixed with 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate (ABC) and 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Following the addition of a heavy-labeled KLK9 peptide (2500 fmol for the crude supernatant and 600 fmol for the purified KLK9, respectively), samples were incubated at 60 °C for 30 min. Subsequently, 20 mM iodoacetamide (IAA) were added and samples were left in the dark for 1 h at RT. Proteins were then digested overnight at 37 °C using trypsin from porcine pancreas (Sigma, T6567-5X, USA) at 1:30 ratio (trypsin: total protein). Trypsin inactivation was accomplished with the addition of TFA at a final concentration 1% (v/v). Peptides were extracted using C18 Bond Elut OMIX tips (Agilent Technologies, Mississauga, ON, Canada) and eluted in 5 µL of 65% acetonitrile in 0.1% formic acid. Finally, eluates were further diluted to 60 μL with 0.1% formic acid. Using a 96-well microplate autosampler on an Eksigent ekspert NanoLC 425 system, 18 μL of each sample were loaded onto a 15 cm long 3 μm particle C18 analytical column (i.d. 75 μm) with an 8 μm tip (New Objective, Woburn, MA, USA). The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (buffer A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (buffer B). Peptides were separated with a 22 min gradient elution at a flow rate of 350 nL/min. The gradient started with 1% buffer B and ramped to 14% buffer B over 1 min, followed by an increase to 40% buffer B over the next 11 min. The gradient then ramped further to 65% buffer B over 2 min before it reached 100% within 1 min and was kept at that concentration for 7 min. The nano-pump was coupled online to a 6500 QTRAP 6500 quadrupole-ion trap mass spectrometer (AB Sciex, Concord, ON, Canada) equipped with a NanoSpray III source and a PhotoSpray ionization source. Declustering and entrance potentials were set to 150 and 10 V, respectively. Resolutions for both the first quadrupole and the ion trap were set to “unit” [0.7 Da Full Width at half maximum (FWHM)]. In order to exclude possible interferences, to ensure correct identity of each peak and to achieve absolute quantification of the protein, a heavy isotope-labeled peptide internal standard with a quantifying tag was synthesized for KLK9 (SpikeTides™_TQL, JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH, Berlin, Germany). For the SRM method, 4 transitions of (+3) precursor ion VTDFFPHPGFNK and its heavy-labelled counterpart were monitored (Additional file 1: Table S1). For each transition, scan time was set to 30 ms, while retention time was 12.1 min. Absolute quantification of the recombinant protein was achieved by comparing the peak area of the chromatographic peak of the endogenous peptide (VTDFFPHPGFNK) to the corresponding internal standard in each sample. Results were evaluated using the Skyline software (Mac Coss Lab Software, Seattle, WA, USA).
Monoclonal antibody production in mice
Female BALB/c mice were purchased from Jackson laboratories via the Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics (TCP). All animal research was approved by the TCP Animal Care Committee. Mice were injected subcutaneously with 100 μg of mat-KLK9 protein, mixed (1:1) with Sigma Adjuvant System (Sigma-Aldrich). Two subsequent booster injections with 25 μg of antigen in adjuvant were performed at 3-week intervals. Final boost was an intraperitoneal injection of 25 μg of antigen in phosphate-buffered saline (137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM Na2HPO4, 1.8 mM KH2PO4). Three days later, the mouse spleen was excised aseptically and homogenized. Extracted spleen cells were fused with NSO murine myeloma cells (5:1 ratio) using polyethylene glycol (Sigma-Aldrich). Successfully fused cells were selected using HAT media (Invitrogen), supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, Waltman, MA, USA).
Screening for immunogen-reacting clones by an IgG capture ELISA
White polystyrene 96-well microtiter plates were coated with 500 ng/well of sheep anti-mouse IgG, Fcγ fragment-specific antibody (Jackson ImmunoResearch, West Grove, PA, USA) in 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.8). Plates were washed 3 times with 0.05% Tween 20 in 20 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl (pH 7.4). Cell culture supernatants of hybridoma cells diluted twofold in a solution containing 10 g/L BSA in 50 mM Tris (pH 7.8) were added to the plates and incubated for 2 h at RT with gentle shaking. Plates were then washed 3 times with the washing buffer. Five nanograms of biotinylated mat-KLK9 in assay diluent were added into each well (100 μL/well) and incubated for 2 h at room temperature (RT) with gentle shaking. Plates were washed 3 times and alkaline phosphatase-conjugated streptavidin was added (100 μL per well). Incubation was for 20 min at RT with gentle shaking, followed by a final wash (6 times). Diflunisal phosphate (DFP) solution was prepared in substrate buffer (0.1 M NaCl, 1 mM MgCl2 in 0.1 M Tris, pH 9.1), added to the plate (100 μL per well) and incubated for 10 min at RT with gentle shaking. Subsequently, the developing solution (1 M Tris, 0.4 M NaOH, 2 mM TbCl3 and 3 mM EDTA) was added on top and mixed for 1 min. Time-resolved fluorescence was measured with the Wallac EnVision 2103 Multilabel Reader (Perkin Elmer), as previously described .
Expansion of hybridoma cell cultures and purification of anti-KLK9 monoclonal antibodies
Following the screening procedure, hybridoma cells were further grown and transferred in serum-free medium (CD-1 medium; Invitrogen), containing 8 mM l-glutamine. Supernatants were collected and purified using a Protein G column, according to the manufacturer’s protocol (GenScript, Piscataway NJ, USA). Culture supernatants were diluted two-fold with the binding buffer (20 mM NaH2PO4, 150 mM NaCl, pH 8.0) and loaded on the column. The column was then washed with the binding buffer and antibodies were eluted with 0.1 M glycine at pH 3.0.
Immunocapture-PRM screening for purified mouse antibodies against KLK9
500 ng of each purified monoclonal antibody were diluted in 100 μL of coating buffer (50 mM Tris buffer, pH 7.8), added in each well of a 96-well polystyrene microtiter plate and incubated overnight at RT. The plate was then washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The mat-KLK9 antigen (10 or 50 ng) was added to each well and was further diluted up to 100 μL with 1% (w/v) BSA in PBS buffer. Wells with no KLK9 antigen added, were used as negative controls. The plate was incubated for 2 h at room temperature with gentle shaking and was finally washed three times with PBS and three times with 50 mM ABC. The captured antigens were subsequently subjected to trypin digestion. 88 μL of ABC buffer (100 mM), and 10 μL of DTT (50 mM) were added in each well and incubated at room temperature for 30 min. After reduction, the samples were alkylated in the dark at room temperature for 1 h, by adding 10 μL of IAA (100 mM). Five hundred femtomoles of KLK9 heavy isotope-labeled peptides with a quantitation tag (SpikeTides™_TQL, JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH, Berlin, Germany) were added to all samples prior to trypsin digestion. Each sample was digested overnight by the addition of 5 μL of sequencing grade modified trypsin (0.05 μg/μL) in 50 mM ABC (trypsin from porcine pancreas, Sigma). Trifluoroacetic acid (1%) was finally added in each well to stop the reaction. Microextraction and desalting of peptides was performed with C18, as previously described .
Tryptic peptides were loaded onto a 3 cm long 5 μm particle C18 trap precolumn (i.d. 200 μm) via an EASY-nLC pump (Proxeon Biosystems, Odense, Denmark) at 8 μL/min before switching in- line with the gradient. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% of formic acid in water (buffer A) and 0.1% of formic acid in acetonitrile (buffer B). Peptides were separated on a 15 cm long 3 μm particle C18 analytical column (i.d. 75 μm) with an 8 μm tip (New Objective) with a 22 min gradient elution at a flow rate of 350 nL/min. The gradient started with 1% buffer B and ramped to 14% buffer B over 1 min, followed by an increase to 40% buffer B over the next 11 min. The gradient then ramped further to 65% buffer B over 2 min before it reached 100% within 1 min and was kept at that concentration for 7 min. The EASY-nLC system was coupled online to a Q Exactive Plus hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Berlin, Germany). The performance settings for the PRM method were the following: in-source collision induced dissociation was set to 3.0 eV, MS transitions in the orbitrap were acquired with 17,500 resolving power at 200 m/z, AGC target was set to 3 × 106 with a maximum injection time of 100 ms, the isolation window was set to 1.0 m/z and the normalized collision energy was set to 25. The performance of the nanoLC analytical column and the mass spectrometer were verified at the beginning of each day, and every six runs thought the day, by the analysis of a quality control solution of 1 fmol/μL BSA. Two KLK9 proteotypic peptides (WEGPEQLFR and LFCGATLISDR) were used for protein identification and one peptide (VTDFFPHPGFNK) was used for protein quantification. The absolute quantification of the protein was calculated by taking the area ratios of heavy to light peptides and correlated to the concentration of the heavy peptides spiked into each sample. The .raw files of PRM runs were recorded for each sample and were analyzed using Skyline Targeted Proteomics Environment v184.108.40.20682 (MacCoss Lab Software, Seattle, WA, USA) and the.csv files with peptide areas were extracted.
Development of a fluorometric KLK9 immunoassay
A sandwich type ELISA immunoassay was developed using mouse monoclonal antibodies as capture and biotinylated detection antibodies, respectively. White polystyrene microtiter plates were coated with 500 ng of mouse monoclonal anti-KLK9 antibody diluted in 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.8). The plate was incubated overnight at room temperature (RT) and the following day was washed 3 times with washing buffer (20 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl, 0.05% Tween-20, pH 7.4). KLK9 standards diluted in 6% BSA or samples were then added into each well (50 μL/well) along with 50 μL of assay Buffer A (60 g/L BSA, 25 mL/L normal mouse serum, 100 mL/L normal goat serum, and 10 g/L bovine IgG in 50 mM Tris, pH 7.8, 0.005% (v/v) Tween-20) and incubated for 2 h with shaking. The plates were washed 3 times and 100 μL of the detection mouse biotinylated anti-KLK9 antibody, diluted in Buffer A (0.2 μg/mL) was applied in each well and incubated for 1 h. After washing 3 times, 100 μL of alkaline phosphatase-conjugated streptavidin (SA-ALP) was added in the wells (diluted 1/20,000 in 6% BSA) and incubated for 15 min. After 6 times final washing, 100 μL of Diflunisal phosphate (DFP) diluted in substrate buffer, were added to each well and incubated for 10 min. 100 μL of developing solution were added, mixed for 1 min and the fluorescence was measured with the Wallac EnVision 2103 Multilabel Reader (Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA).
Hybrid immunoassays using antibodies against KLK9 and common serine protease inhibitors
Microtiter plates were coated with 28ED436 anti-KLK9 antibody (500 ng) diluted in 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.8) and incubated overnight. On the following day, plates were washed 3 times and 100 µL of tissue extracts/fluids diluted in Buffer B (60 g/L BSA, 25 mL/L normal mouse serum, 100 mL/L normal goat serum, 10 g/L bovine IgG, 0.005% (v/v) Tween-20 in 50 mM Tris, pH 7.8, 0.5 M KCl) were added in each well, in a total of 4 duplicates, and incubated at RT (2 h). Subsequently, plates were washed 3 times and 100 µL of polyclonal antibodies against different serine protease inhibitors [αlpha-1-antitrypsin pAb (biot)(A1AT), antithrombin III pAb (biot)(ATBIII), a1-antichymotrypsin (serpinA3 rabbit Ab), alpha-2-antiplasmin Ab (A2AP) (Fitzgerald, Acton, MA, USA), prepared in Buffer B, were added to the plates. Additionally, an equal amount of the biotinylated anti-KLK9 antibody 4ED28.2 was added in additional identical wells as a control. After 1 h incubation, plates were washed 3 times. Due to limitations in the available detection Abs, we followed both fluorogenic and colorimetric detection procedures. In more detail, for the 3 biotinylated Abs (4ED28.2, anti-AIAT and anti-ATBIII) 100 μL of alkaline phosphatase-conjugated streptavidin (SA-ALP) prepared in 6% BSA was added in each white well and incubated for 15 min. Additionally, for the rabbit anti-SERPINA3 Ab, 100 µL of the ALP-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG, diluted in Buffer B, were added in clear wells and incubated for 30 min at RT. Then, plates were washed 6 times and 100 μL of Diflunisal phosphate (DFP) solution, prepared in substrate buffer described above, were added into the plate (100 μL per well) and incubated for 10 min at RT with gentle shaking. Subsequently, the developing solution described above, was added on top and mixed for 1 min. Time-resolved fluorescence was measured with the Wallac EnVision 2103 Multilabel Reader (Perkin Elmer).
In the case of A2AP, 100 μL of HRP-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Fc Fraction; Jackson ImmunoResearch) (in 1% milk/PBST), were added to each clear well. Following a final wash (3 times), 100 μL of 3,3,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine substrate solution were added and plates were incubated for 15 min at 37 °C with gentle shaking. 50 μL of stop solution (2 M H2SO4) were added on top. Absorbance was measured with the Wallac EnVision 2103 Multilabel Reader (Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA) at 450 nm, with a reference wavelength of 540 nm.
Biological fluids and tissue extracts
Our protocols for the analysis of human tissues and fluids have been approved by the Ethics Committee of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. The following human tissues (fetal and adult) were used from different individuals; post-mortem. Lung, liver, kidney, heart, fat, uterus, pituitary, bone marrow, esophagus, colon, aorta, trachea, prostate, thymus, tonsil, pancreas, salivary gland, skin, stomach, small intestine, larynx, thyroid, breast, gallbladder. Tissue cytosolic extracts were prepared from snap-frozen tissues as described elsewhere [15, 16]. The supernatants representing the tissue extracts were collected and stored at −80 °C until use. The biological fluids used were: amniotic fluid of 18 weeks gestation, sweat (collected after strenuous exercise), breast milk, ascites from ovarian cancer, and synovial fluid. Fluids were stored at −20 °C until use.
Fractionation of biological samples by size exclusion chromatography
One normal tonsil cytosolic extract and one ascites fluid sample, obtained from an ovarian cancer patient, were loaded through a 500 µL loop on a silica-based TSKGEL G3000SW gel filtration column (60 cm × 7.5 mm ID), connected to an Agilent 1100 series HPLC system. The tonsil extract was diluted 2 times in a buffer containing 0.1 M NaH2PO4 and 0.1 M Na2SO4 (pH 6.8), while the ascites sample was diluted 10 times in the same buffer. Separation was accomplished during a 60 min run at a flow-rate of 0.5 mL/min. 1 mL fractions were collected throughout the run and were analyzed for the presence of free and ACT-bound KLK9 isoforms by ELISA, as described above.
Mat-KLK9 protein production, purification and mass spectrometric analysis
Mat-KLK9 expression after enhancer induction was verified by Western blot analysis using an anti-KLK9 mouse monoclonal antibody that was previously produced in-house. SRM analysis using a heavy-labeled peptide for protein quantification (Additional file 1: Table S1) showed that the Expi293-KLK9 cells reached a protein yield of ~10–11 mg/L, 96 h post-transfection. As depicted in Fig. 1, the expressed protein migrated around ~42 kDa, corresponding to the glycosylated KLK9 form. Upon deglycosylation by the PNGase F, the 42 kDa band migrated at ~25 kDa (data not shown). Large scale KLK9 expression and collection of the supernatant 96 h post-transfection, was then performed, to purify the produced mat-KLK9 (aa 23–250). The recombinant mat-KLK9 was purified using 2 steps: anion-exchange chromatography, followed by reversed-phase chromatography. The purity was assessed by Coomassie and silver staining SDS-PAGE (Fig. 1a). The identification and quantification of KLK9 in the different chromatographic fractions was confirmed by SRM analysis.
Production of mouse mAbs and screening against mat-KLK9 using immunocapture-PRM
Purified mat-KLK9 was injected into mice for the production of monoclonal antibodies by somatic cell fusion of murine splenocytes with murine myeloma cells. Eighteen hybridomas were positive after the initial round of screening and were further expanded in serum-free media. Purified IgGs were tested against mat-KLK9 protein by an immunocapture-PRM assay, according to which the 28ED436 mAb exhibited the highest binding signal for the antigen (Additional file 2: Figure S1A). We also tested 16 additional mouse monoclonal antibodies, generated by a previous in-house immunization and fusion by using a mammalian pro-KLK9 form (Additional file 2: Figure S1B). Two mAbs (4ED28.2 and MIGI EII), showed high reactivity against mat-KLK9, but still, the newly produced 28ED436 antibody showed the highest KLK9 binding signal (Additional file 2: Figure S1B). Repeatability of the immuno-PRM method and system stability were assessed for all monoclonal antibodies tested. Each sample was analyzed in duplicates and the variation of light/heavy peptide ratio was estimated <13% for antibodies of higher binding affinity (e.g. 4ED28.2: CV = 12%; 28ED436: CV = 6%). Additionally, the variation of the spiked heavy peptides’ total ion current across all samples was estimated <20%.
Development of KLK9 ELISA
The three aforementioned mAbs were tested in a mono–mono ELISA assay format against two different recombinant KLK9 forms, the mature KLK9 (mat-KLK9) (purified here) and a commercially available mammalian pro-KLK9 (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). According to these results (Additional file 3: Figure S2), 28ED436 was chosen as the capture Ab and 4ED28.2 as the biotinylated detection antibody.
We tested this assay against the rest of the kallikreins (KLK1–KLK15), to exclude the possibility of cross-reaction. None of the other kallikreins showed measurable readings, even at concentrations of 1 mg/L (cross-reactivity: <0.05%). Next, the limit of blank (LOB) was estimated at 10 pg/mL (matrix was 6% BSA) and the limit of detection (LOD) was around 15 pg/mL (LOD = LOB + 1.64 * SD). Linearity was assessed by diluting mat-KLK9 in BSA and the assay was linear in the range 0.023–6 ng/mL with each point displaying adequate accuracy (Additional file 4: Figure S3A). Within-run (N = 10) and between-run (N = 10) imprecision was assessed over one and 7 different days, respectively. Within-run imprecision was <12% and between-run imprecision was <21% within the measurement range (Additional file 5: Table S4). The limit of quantification (LOQ) was equal to the KLK9 concentration with ≤15% CV (20 pg/mL). The stability of native KLK9 in sweat, as well as the recombinant protein’s (mat-KLK9) stability spiked in serum (5 ng/mL), were determined in a 7-day (d) experiment (d0 → d1 → d7), during which sample aliquots were stored at 4 °C, RT and −20 °C (Additional file 4: Figure S3B). KLK9 concentration in sweat was stable after 24 h in all cases. On day seven, the KLK9 concentration decreased at RT only, by about 40% (Additional file 4: Figure S3B). KLK9 concentration spiked in serum decreased by about 60% after 24 h incubation (d1) at all conditions and remained relatively stable at 7 days (Additional file 4: Figure S3C). The KLK9 rapid decrease in serum may be attributed to the formation of heterocomplexes between the added mat- KLK9 and endogenous serum serine protease inhibitors. This is supported by additional data of spiking recombinant KLK9 proteins in serum samples obtained from female and male individuals. The mat- and pro-KLK9 forms were spiked in serum samples (at final concentrations of 5 and 10 μg/L) and incubated for 1 h at RT. Recovery for mat-KLK9 ranged between 20 and 25%, while pro-KLK9 recovery was around 90–100% (Additional files 6, 7: Tables S2,3).
To further evaluate the low recovery of KLK9 in our assay and validate the hypothesis that mat-KLK9 could form heterocomplexes with the anti-chymotrypsin serpinA3 inhibitor, we spiked different amounts of the human recombinant serpinA3 inhibitor into a given constant concentration of mat-KLK9 and measured the KLK9 free monomer. A gradual decrease in the measured KLK9 concentrations was observed along with increasing amounts of spiked serpinA3 (Additional file 9: Figure S5), clearly indicating the interference of this spiked inhibitor with the free KLK9 ELISA.
Detection of KLK9 in tissue samples and biological fluids
Using the newly developed ELISA, KLK9 protein presence was examined in various human tissue extracts (Fig. 2). In general, KLK9 ELISA signal appeared to be low in all extracts, suggesting that KLK9 might not be synthesized in abundance. Higher KLK9 levels were observed in adult tissues, compared to the fetal ones, the most positive being tonsil, kidney, liver and heart (Fig. 2a). Among the examined biological fluids, KLK9 was detected in 2/10 sweat samples, whereas the rest of the fluids demonstrated low signal (Fig. 2b).
Detection of free and bound forms of KLK9 in biological samples
Based on our observation that mat-KLK9 had poor recovery in human serum, we sought for evidence that both free and bound forms of KLK9 exist in biological samples, similar to PSA and other proteinases. We set-up hybrid immunoassays in a mono-poly format, by using the anti-KLK9 mouse mAb 28ED436 for capture and commercially available polyclonal antibodies against several common serine protease inhibitors [such as α1-antitrypsin (A1AT), α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), antithrombin III (ATBIII), and α2-antiplasmin (A2AP)]. We tested two KLK9-positive sweat samples (sweat samples 14 and 15; Fig. 2b). The ELISA assay signals are shown in Additional file 8: Figure S4. Elevated signal in the two sweat samples was seen with the KLK9 ELISA but not with any of the 4 hybrid assays. In ovarian cancer ascites, the major form was KLK9 bound to a1-antichymotrypsin (see also below).
Detection of free and bound forms of KLK9 in fractionated biological samples
Two samples with detectable KLK9 (tonsil extract and ascites fluid), were subjected to gel filtration chromatography and fractions analyzed with two immunoassays (KLK9 ELISA and KLK9-ACT hybrid assay). For tonsil, KLK9 ELISA had maximum signal at 41 min elution time, corresponding to a molecular mass around 40 kDa (Fig. 3a). The KLK9-ACT ELISA gave no detectable signal in any of the fractions. For ascites fluid, KLK9 ELISA gave no signal, while maximum signal with the KLK9-ACT hybrid ELISA assay was seen at 31 min (corresponding to a molecular mass of ~100 kDa) (Fig. 3b). These data suggest that some biological fluids (tissue extracts, sweat) have predominantly free KLK9 (~40 kDa) while others (ascites) contain predominantly KLK9 bound to a1-antichymotrypsin.
Human kallikrein 9 (KLK9) is a serine protease and a member of the kallikrein family. Its physiological and pathophysiological roles have not as yet been elucidated. Some recent data suggest that KLK9 may play an important biological role. In brief, KLK9 gene expression was found to have favorable prognostic value in ovarian and breast cancer [6, 7], while elevated KLK9 expression levels were associated with higher grade gliomas . KLK9 gene expression has also been related to non-malignant diseases. Recent studies associate KLK9 expression patterns with cardiac hypertrophy and hypertension-induced target organ damage , psoriatic lesions and complications in asthma patients . In general, KLK9-related studies are still very few.
We previously produced KLK9 recombinant protein and anti-KLK9 monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies , which were used to develop an ELISA (mono-poly format), applied for screening a variety of biological samples . However, due to the assay’s poor sensitivity, there was still a need for improved analytical tools.
Here, mature, enzymatically active mat-KLK9 was produced in mammalian cells. The purified polypeptide was used for the production of new mouse monoclonal antibodies (Fig. 1). It has been previously shown that immunoaffinity and mass spectrometric methodologies can be combined for the effective screening of hybridoma supernatants against the native forms of antigens or for elucidation of antigens bound to mAbs of unknown specificity . In the present study, we utilized a mass spectrometer (Q-Exactive Plus) to design PRM experiments (Additional file 2: Figure S1) and rapidly screen the monoclonal antibodies [14, 19, 20]. A potential limitation of the current protocol is perhaps the inaccuracy of antigen quantification in some cases. In more detail, the structure of the formatted immunocomplex could cause incomplete trypsin digestion, due to occlusion of cleavage sites, and thus in inadequate MS analysis. Therefore, one should consider applying more stringent sample prep conditions, such as heating above 60 °C during the initial reduction step, or even adding an extra denaturing factor (e.g. Rapigest).
A newly produced mAb (28ED436) and a pre-existing one (4ED28.2) were paired to develop a sandwich-type ELISA (Additional file 3: Figure S2). The assay was highly sensitive (LOD: 15 pg/mL), thus meeting the demands for future clinical studies , as well as highly specific (cross-reactivity with all other KLKs: <0.05%). The estimated recovery of mat-KLK9 from human serum was low (~20–25%), whereas pro-KLK9 recovery was much higher (90–100%), suggesting a possible interaction of the active KLK9 enzyme with endogenous inhibitors (Additional files 6, 7: Table S2, 3). This speculation was strengthened by the observation that the titration of the serpinA3 inhibitor in mat-KLK9 solution interfere with the free KLK9 ELISA (Additional file 9: Figure S5).
Screening of human tissue samples revealed higher KLK9 levels in adult tissues compared to the fetal ones, predominantly in tonsil extracts and at lower levels in kidney, liver and heart (Fig. 2a). These findings are in good agreement with RNA expression data (http://www.proteinatlas.org/). Only two out of 10 sweat samples were moderately positive for KLK9 among the tested biological fluids (Fig. 2b). KLK9 signal was very low in the sera of healthy females and males, in accordance with previous studies . In light of the recovery experiments, we speculated that these findings could point to a significant binding of KLK9 by endogenous serum inhibitors [22–24]. The formation of these heterocomplexes could effectively mask KLK9 epitopes. This has been observed with many other kallikreins, including PSA [24, 26, 27].
We set up hybrid assays using one capture Ab (28ED436) and polyclonal Abs targeting the most common serine protease inhibitors, such as A1AT, serpinA3, ATBIII and A2AP. The KLK9–serpinA3 Ab combination gave the highest signal, compared to the rest of the inhibitors. This was not surprising, given that KLK9 is predicted to be a chymotryptic enzyme . Further screening of biological tissues and fluids, suggests that in some samples KLK9 is mostly present in its bound to ACT form (e.g. ascites) while in others (e.g. sweat) it is a free monomer. To strengthen our hypothesis, we sought for free and bound KLK9 forms in two biological samples (i.e. a tonsil homogenate and ascites fluid) which had been fractionated by size exclusion chromatography (Fig. 3). The results are suggestive of two distinct forms for KLK9 in each sample. In tonsil homogenate, which was only positive with the KLK9 assay, there is only one peak, appearing at ~40 kDa (Fig. 3a). In ovarian cancer ascites, that was positive only with the hybrid assay, there is only one 100 kDa form (Fig. 3b).
These data suggest that KLK9, like other kallikreins [29, 30] exists as a free active protease in tissues or fluids devoid of inhibitors (e.g. tonsil and sweat) or represents a pro-enzyme or an inactivated proteolytic form [31, 32]. Active KLK9 (mat-KLK9) also interacts with endogenous protease inhibitors in biological samples and more specifically, with a1-antichymotrypsin (ACT). In a similar manner, a1-antichymotrypsin binds to other chymotrypsin-like kallikreins, such as PSA and/or KLK7, in serum [31, 33]. Since the free/total PSA ratio in serum of prostate cancer patients is used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes , this could suggest a similar application of KLK9.
In summary, our newly developed tools for quantifying free and ACT-bound KLK9 with high sensitivity and specificity will facilitate further studies aiming to better define the role of KLK9 in health and disease.
The development of ELISAs for the accurate quantification of the free and bound to a1-antichymotrypsin KLK9 forms will be a valuable tool for the quantification of KLK9 in a broad range of biological samples in normal and diseased individuals. Our newly developed tools for quantifying free and ACT-bound KLK9 with high sensitivity and specificity will facilitate further studies aiming to better define the role of KLK9 in health and disease.
parallel reaction monitoring
selected reaction monitoring
sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
alkaline phosphatase-conjugated streptavidin
limit of blank
limit of detection
limit of quantification
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PF and DK designed, performed, analyzed the experiments and wrote the paper. EPD contributed to the conception and design of the study and helped draft and revise the manuscript. AS assisted with the ELISA assays. SF contributed to the expression and purification experiments. TK designed the Immuno-PRM experiments. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
We thank Dr. Davor Brinc for helpful discussions and assistance with the protein purification experiments.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Availability of data and materials
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).
Consent for publication
All authors consent to the publication of this manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Analysis of human tissues and fluids was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
This work was supported by Mount Sinai Hospital.
Panagiota Filippou and Dimitrios Korbakis have contributed equally to this work
SRM assay parameters for KLK9 analysis.
Screening for KLK9 monoclonal antibodies by immunocapture-PRM. (A) Microtiter plates were coated with equal amounts of purified mAbs and incubated with 50 ng of mat-KLK9. Following Ag capture, the proteins in the wells were trypsin-digested and peptides were analyzed by a PRM assay. Results are depicted as KLK9 peptide intensity ratios (Light-to-Heavy, L/H) with bars representing the respective standard error. (B) Comparison of signals between the newly produced mAb 28ED436 and 16 previously developed mAbs against mat-KLK9. Trypsin digestion and PRM analysis were performed as in panel A. The three highest affinity antibodies were used for KLK9 ELISA development.
Testing mouse anti-KLK9 mAbs for optimal pairing against KLK9. Standard sandwich ELISAs were developed using the following combinations: (i) 28ED436 vs. biotinylated 4ED28.2 and MIGI EII, (ii) 4ED28.2 vs. biotinylated 28ED436 and MIGI EII, and (iii) MIGI EII vs. biotinylated 28ED436 and 4ED28.2. The mat-KLK9 and the pro-form of KLK9 (R&D systems) (final concentrations: 2.5 and 5 μg/L) were used as antigens. The best signal was obtained with the pair 28ED436 (coating)-4ED28.2 (biotinylated; detection). For more details see text. 1. pro-KLK9 (5 μg/L), 2. pro-KLK9 (2.5 μg/L), 3. mat-KLK9 (5 μg/L), 4. mat-KLK9 (2.5 μg/L).
Linearity and stability of the KLK9 immunoassay. (A) The linearity of KLK9 ELISA was assessed by diluting recombinant KLK9 in BSA. Serial dilutions of the samples were prepared and the assay was performed by following the described protocol. Linear correlation was estimated between the theoretically spiked KLK9 concentrations and the ELISA-estimated KLK9 concentrations (regression coefficient β1 = 1.20, P < 0.0001). Sample stability was tested through a 7-day experiment, by storing sweat samples (B), as well as serum samples with spiked mat-KLK9 (C) at room temperature (RT), 4 °C and −20 °C. KLK9 was measured at 3 points (Days 0, 1 and 7) by the ELISA assay. For comments see text.
ELISA within-run and total imprecision.
Recovery of recombinant mat-KLK9 spiked in female (F) and male (M) serum samples.
Recovery of recombinant pro-KLK9 spiked in female (F) and male (M) serum samples.
Development of hybrid ELISAs for the detection of KLK9 heterocomplexes with serine protease inhibitors. In-house generated mAb 28ED436 was used as capture Ab, while pAbs against common serine protease inhibitors (e.g. A1AT, ACT, ATBIII, and A2AP) were used as secondary Abs in two biological fluids (sweat 14 and 15). The A2AP (HRP-conjugated) levels were undetectable and are not shown in the graph. KLK9 measurements were depicted as arbitrary fluorescence units. The ELISAs used include the first antibody as coating and the second antibody for detection. Note detection of free KLK9 in 2 sweat samples (↓). For more discussion see text.
KLK9 free monomer detection by the newly developed KLK9 ELISA upon the formation of serpinA3–KLK9 heterocomplexes. Mat-KLK9 (0.5 μg) was incubated either alone (control) or with different amounts of the human recombinant serpinA3 inhibitor (R&D systems) [at molar ratios (KLK9/SerpinA3): 1/0.2, 1/0.5, 1/1 and 1/2] in 50 mM Tris–HCl (pH 8.0) for 1 h at 37 °C. The samples were further diluted with 6% BSA and the assay was performed by following the described protocol (see “Methods” section). The values of the sample containing no inhibitor (control) was arbitrarily defined as 100 % recovery. The samples containing serpinA3–KLK9 complexes were expressed as % recovery of KLK9 compared to the control.
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Filippou, P., Korbakis, D., Farkona, S. et al. A new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for human free and bound kallikrein 9. Clin Proteom 14, 4 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12014-017-9140-6
- Kallikrein 9
- Serine protease inhibitors
- Hybrid assays | <urn:uuid:4ef60f67-b59c-439d-8f8f-0e27bfb9e1d6> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://clinicalproteomicsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12014-017-9140-6 | 2020-10-27T16:07:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894203.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027140911-20201027170911-00640.warc.gz | en | 0.919688 | 13,495 |
A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912.
This free content was digitised by double rekeying. All rights reserved.
Ermud (xi cent.); Eremuthe (xii cent.); Heremud, Ermue, Eremuham, Horemue, Ernemue (xiii cent.); Yaremuth, Yaremuth-under-Wyght, Heremuth, Iremuth (xiv cent.); Yernemouth (xvi cent.).
Yarmouth, the smallest parish in the Isle of Wight, containing only 58 acres of land, is chiefly noted as possessing one of the oldest boroughs in the Island. It is the first port inside the Needles, and lies at the mouth of the Western Yar, being connected by a bridge (fn. 1) with Freshwater parish, and has a harbour and quay. It is one of the ports for the mainland, a line of steamers running from it to Lymington, and has a station on the Isle of Wight Central railway. The pier, built by the corporation in 1876 (fn. 2) at a cost of £4,000, has three landing-stages and is 700 ft. in length. The town is well lighted and supplied with water from Afton.
There is a town hall with an undercroft on the west side of the square bearing the inscription 'A.D. 1764 the fourth year of the reign of his present Majesty King George III, this hall was rebuilt by Thomas, Lord Holmes, Governor of the Isle of Wight. Benjamin Lee Esq. Mayor.' (fn. 3) The market-house or town hall is described in 1849 as 'a neat building with a hall over it in which the several courts are held, and the public business of the corporation transacted.' (fn. 4) It was formerly known as the Guildhall. (fn. 5)
At the time of the building of the castle the town possessed four gates—the Quay Gate (fn. 6) towards the sea, the outer and inner (fn. 7) Town Gates (fn. 8) towards the east, and the Hither Gate, (fn. 9) probably to the south.
Stone Cross and Draffehaven are place-names (xvii cent.).
The borough of Yarmouth, which is co-extensive with the parish, received its first charter from Baldwin de Redvers third Earl of Devon, (fn. 10) who granted his men of Yarmouth all liberties and customs belonging to free burgesses, and quittance from tolls and other customs throughout all his lands in fairs and markets. (fn. 11)
In 1334 the burgesses of Yarmouth obtained from Edward III a confirmation of their charter, (fn. 12) but the borough still remained a mesne borough (fn. 13) until 1440, when Henry VI confirmed their charter (fn. 14) and granted the burgesses their town at a fee-farm rent of 20s., payable yearly at Michaelmas. (fn. 15) A confirmation of the charter was granted in 1466 by Edward IV, and by Queen Elizabeth in 1560. (fn. 16) The last and most important charter to Yarmouth was granted in 1609 by James I at the petition of the mayor and burgesses. (fn. 17) The town was to remain for ever a free borough, and was to be incorporate under the style of the 'Mayor and Burgesses of the borough of Yarmouth,' with the right to acquire land to the value of £20 a year, and to have a common seal. (fn. 18) The common council was to consist of the mayor and eleven chief burgesses, and was to hold the view of frankpledge and the assize of bread and ale in the gild hall.
In 1693 Lord Cutts reported that the Corporation of Yarmouth consisted of a mayor and twelve aldermen, (fn. 19) who had power to add to the corporation as many free men as they pleased, all of whom had a voice in the election of members to Parliament. (fn. 20) These free men or free burgesses, who were elected by a majority of the common council, were very numerous in the 18th century, but the Commissioners upon the Municipal Corporations of England reported in 1835 that only those were chosen who would support the interest of the patron within the borough.
Under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883 (fn. 21) the corporation ceased to exist in March 1886, and the town is now governed by a town trust of eleven members, five of whom are elected by the parish council of Yarmouth, two by the parish council of Freshwater, three are co-optative, and one is appointed by the London and South-Western Railway Company.
The governing officer of the early borough was a bailiff who was probably an officer of the lord of the town for the time being, and was elected by him, as his stipend was paid from the issues of the town. (fn. 22) Between 1378 and 1385 the vill of Yarmouth was farmed by the bailiff at a rent of 40s., paid at Easter and Michaelmas in equal portions, (fn. 23) but from Easter 1380 to Christmas of that year no rent was paid for the town, because it had been burnt by the French, and neither the bailiff nor the townsfolk had any goods on which the rent could be distrained.
The right to elect a mayor was apparently granted to the burgesses in 1440 with the right to have the borough at fee farm, for in 1449 the fee farm was paid by the mayor, bailiff and burgesses of the borough. (fn. 24) The charter of 1609 ordered that the election of the mayor by the common council from among the chief burgesses (fn. 25) should take place yearly at the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle in the gild hall of the borough. (fn. 26) If a mayor died in office another was elected for the remainder of the year. One of the mayoral duties was to preside as returning officer at the election of members of Parliament. (fn. 27)
Originally the possession of a burgage tenement was probably a necessary qualification for a burgess, but all burgage tenures had ceased before 1835. (fn. 28) The capital burgesses (fn. 29) were chosen from among the free burgesses, but the latter never seem to have taken any part in the administration of the borough and were only present at the meetings for the election of members of Parliament. In 1835 there had been no recent elections of free burgesses except of such as were intended for chief burgesses immediately. The corporation had by this means been reduced to the smallest possible limits, possibly owing to a desire to prevent any risk of opposition at parliamentary elections. (fn. 30)
The function of the common clerk who under the charter of 1609 was elected by the common council and held office during pleasure was to attend at meetings of the common council and enter the proceedings in a book and to keep the accounts and serve as steward of the court leet. His salary was £6 6s. a year with a fee of a guinea on the election of a free or chief burgess. The serjeant-at-mace held office under the charter of 1609 during pleasure and by the election of the common council. (fn. 31) His salary was a guinea and his duty was to attend all meetings of the corporation and serve all notices and summonses of the mayor.
The market of Yarmouth was held on Mondays and a fair lasting three days took place at the feast of St. James. The right to both market and fair was successfully claimed by Isabel de Fortibus in 1279–80, (fn. 32) and belonged to the borough after 1440. By the charter of 1609 the market day was changed to Wednesday, (fn. 33) and in 1778 the market was held on Fridays, but was unfrequented. (fn. 34) In 1849 it was held on Wednesdays (fn. 35) and in 1863 and subsequently on Fridays, (fn. 36) but the market had died out before 1875. The date of the fair remained unchanged until 1863, (fn. 37) but it was merely a pleasure fair in 1792, (fn. 38) and ceased before 1875.
The revenues of the corporation in 1835 arose from tolls of the markets and fairs, wharfage dues, a rent of £4 12s. 6d. derived from 2½ acres of land, fee-farm rents from old burgage tenements called town rents, amounting to £3 17s. 6d., and rent arising from the lease of an oyster fishery. The wharfage dues were imposed upon all goods imported or exported by water, but no toll was levied upon fish. In addition to this a toll was imposed on each vessel of 12 or 15 tons and upwards. Burgesses were exempt from all these dues. (fn. 39) In 1835 the tolls of the market had diminished to 10s. a year, paid by a butcher, the only person who sold in the market-house, for his standing there. (fn. 40) Fair tolls were taken from persons setting up stalls at the fairs, but the receipts at each fair seldom exceeded 2s. 6d. (fn. 41) In the 13th and 14th centuries the market and fair tolls had varied between 16s. and 22s. (fn. 42)
By the charter of 1609 the mayor and burgesses were entitled to hold a court of pie powder, but this court, if it was ever held, was quite obsolete in 1835 (fn. 43); in fact, the borough of Yarmouth never seems to have had a borough court as distinct from the court leet, any by-laws or orders for the payment of money being made at the meetings of the common council. (fn. 44) The only case which has been found in which the court leet is called the court of the mayor and burgesses is in 1625. (fn. 45)
During the 17th century the court leet was apparently held twice a year, in April and September or October, (fn. 46) but in 1835 the commissioners found that it was held only once a year on 18 October. The jury was composed of the small tradespeople of the town, and the same persons generally attended year by year as a matter of course without a summons, providing substitutes when they were unable themselves to be present. An allowance was made to the jury for a dinner on the court day. (fn. 47) They presented two high constables, (fn. 48) two petty constables (fn. 49) and a hayward annually, and also presented encroachments, nuisances and improper weights and measures. (fn. 50)
Yarmouth and Newport together returned two members to Parliament in 1295, (fn. 51) but Yarmouth was not again represented until 1584, (fn. 52) from which date it regularly returned two members until disfranchised in 1832.
Yarmouth was visited by King John in May 1206, (fn. 53) and it was probably at this time that he entertained the Earl of Salisbury there. (fn. 54) He again visited the town in February 1213–14, making a stay of a week, (fn. 55) so that there must have been at that time a mansion of some importance at Yarmouth.
A survey of the town taken in 1559 showed that its size and importance had greatly diminished, since there were not many more than a dozen houses. (fn. 56) The commissioners of 1835 stated that there was scarcely any trade in the town and very little export or import. (fn. 57)
In the survey of Yarmouth taken in 1559 a list is given of all the boats belonging to the port. (fn. 60) At a court leet held in 1602 the inhabitants were bidden to repair the quay with all speed, (fn. 61) and in 1603 the common council ordered that every ship belonging to the port of the burden of forty tons and upwards should pay yearly at Michaelmas towards the maintenance of the quay 5s.; boats between forty and twenty tons, 2s. 6d.; and those between ten and twenty tons, 1s. 6d.; all barques of four tons and upwards using the passage should pay 1s. and 'every pynnys keeping passage' 6d. (fn. 62) In 1618 the quay was again in decay, and the duty of repairing it fell upon the mayor and constables, (fn. 63) while in 1625 a levy for that purpose was made upon all the inhabitants of the town. (fn. 64)
In 1628 Charles I granted the port of Yarmouth to Mary Wandisford, widow, and to William Wandisford, her sister's husband, (fn. 65) who proposed to include it in a scheme for cutting off the parishes of Freshwater and Totland from the main island. The mayor and burgesses petitioned against this scheme, on the ground that it would ruin their harbour by diminishing the current of the river, which was already only just sufficient to keep the harbour clear. (fn. 66) About 1662, however, the Governor of the Island cut a passage round the eastern side of the town, thus making it an island, with a view to rendering it more capable of being fortified, as a French invasion was feared. (fn. 67) Two years later the marshes were embanked and the town was connected with the main island by a drawbridge. (fn. 68) In 1825 £44 12s. 9d. was spent in repairs to the quay and sea wall, which had been injured by a storm, (fn. 69) and in 1829, the wharfs having been found insufficient, an application was made to the Board of Ordnance for a lease of some ground belonging to the castle and adjoining the old wharf, which was granted to the corporation at a rent of £1, and a quit-rent paid to the Board of Ordnance. The corporation also had to pay the government £30 for the old material standing upon the ground. In the following year the corporation built a new wharf on this land and the site of the old wharf. (fn. 70)
The trade of the port is at the present day very limited, the imports consisting chiefly of coal and iron, but not more than is required for use in the immediate neighbourhood. A small quantity of corn is exported.
The manor of YARMOUTH, consisting of a hide and 2½ virgates of land, was held in the time of King Edward the Confessor by Alvric and Wislac in parage of the king, and they retained it after the Conquest. It formed one of the three holdings in Hemreswel Hundred. (fn. 71) The manor was evidently granted by Henry I to Richard de Redvers, and subsequently followed the same descent as the lordship of the Isle (fn. 72) and Carisbrooke Castle (q.v.) until about 1440, when the men of Yarmouth began to farm their own borough. The interest of the lord of the manor was from then until about 1886 represented by a fee-farm rent of 20s. annually, which was apparently granted by the Crown to Sir Robert Holmes. He died in 1692, leaving an illegitimate daughter Mary, and left the chief part of his estate to his nephew Henry Holmes on condition that he should marry Mary Holmes. (fn. 73) This Henry did and the fee-farm rent of Yarmouth passed on his death in 1738 to his son Thomas, who was created Lord Holmes of Killmallock in 1760. (fn. 74) He died in 1764 without surviving issue, and was succeeded in the property by his nephew the Rev. Leonard Holmes, formerly Troughear, who was created Baron Holmes in 1798. (fn. 75) He died in 1804 and the rent passed to his daughter Elizabeth wife of Sir Henry Worsley Holmes, bart. On her death in 1832 it passed to her granddaughter Elizabeth, wife of William Henry Ashe A'Court, who assumed the name Holmes in 1833 and succeeded his father as Lord Heytesbury in 1860. (fn. 76) He died in 1891 and was succeeded by his grandson William Frederick third Lord Heytesbury, whose widow, Margaret Lady Heytesbury, is now lady of the manor.
Sir Robert Holmes, Governor of the Isle of Wight from 1669 until 1692, (fn. 77) built at Yarmouth a large mansion, said to be the present Pier Hotel (fn. 78) (formerly, until 1897, the George Inn), where in 1671, 1675 and 1677 he entertained the king with great magnificence. (fn. 79) The room where Charles II slept is still shown at the inn. This house was apparently built on the site of an old mansion, probably to be identified with 'the king's house' at Yarmouth mentioned in 1638. (fn. 80)
In 1301–2 a payment of 3s. was made for a new pillory at Yarmouth. (fn. 81)
The castle of Yarmouth was built towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII (fn. 82) in consequence of a raid by the French upon the Island about 1543, (fn. 83) and formed part of the south coast defence scheme which included Calshot, Hurst, and Sandown. It was built under the superintendence of Richard Worsley, then Captain of the Island, (fn. 84) and consisted of a tower and platform towards the sea, mounted with cannon of various calibre, (fn. 85) backed with the usual residence and storehouse. It had a fine gateway towards the east with the royal arms above it, (fn. 86) and seems to have been a more ambitious building than either Cowes or Sandown. The building was probably finished about 1547, for in that year £1,000 was paid to George Mill for the works at Yarmouth and for the discharge of the soldiers there. (fn. 87) The castle has always belonged to the Crown, and was exempted by a special clause in the charter of 1609 from the jurisdiction of the borough. (fn. 88) Repairs were required there in 1565, and were carried out under the direction of Richard Worsley. (fn. 89)
Owing to troubles with Spain the fortifications of the coast towns were inquired into in 1586, and the defences of Yarmouth Castle were found to be very insufficient. (fn. 90) Between March and November in the following year works costing in all £50 7s. 7d. were carried out at Yarmouth under the supervision of Thomas Worsley and John Dingley. The chief item seems to have been the erection of a fortification of earth and turf. (fn. 91) After the Armada scare it was again repaired, and a new building was erected on the platform. (fn. 92) In 1599 Sir Edmund Uvedale estimated at £300 the cost of putting Yarmouth Castle into a proper state of defence, and stated that the sum would be well spent, as Yarmouth was strongly situated, and was a necessary fort for holding up any ships which might get past Hurst Castle and Carey's Sconce. (fn. 93) Repairs were undertaken at about this time, and were reported in 1603 as being almost completed. (fn. 94) In 1609, however, the Earl of Southampton, then Governor of the Isle of Wight, spent £300 on the repairs of Sandown and Yarmouth Castles. (fn. 95) In 1623, when John Burley was Captain and the garrison consisted of four men, a survey of the castle was taken. The surveyors reported that the parapet of the middle tower was quite decayed, and that lodging was wanted for four gunners. The three rooms in the square tower were in a ruinous state and required roofing. The moat and the sluice regulating the supply of water in it were both useless. The moat was 17 rods in circumference and 2 rods wide, and was to be made 5 ft. deeper, and a counter-scarp of brick or earth was to be constructed.
Repairs were again urgently required in 1625. (fn. 96)
On the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642 the Parliamentarians took steps to secure all the castles of the Isle of Wight. Captain Barnaby Burley, who was then in command at Yarmouth, made active preparations to defend the castle for the king, but finally surrendered on condition that he might remain in the castle, the Parliamentarians leaving with him a sufficient guard. (fn. 97)
In 1650 the garrison at Yarmouth was found to be very insufficient, and it was proposed that the existing force of a captain and thirty men should be increased by thirty men and a lieutenant. (fn. 98) Thus in 1654 the garrison comprised seventy soldiers, (fn. 99) and in 1655 the cost of the upkeep of the garrison was £78 3s. 4d., and steps were taken to reduce it. (fn. 100) On the accession of Charles II the dismantling of castles and fortresses, begun under the Long Parliament as a precaution against rebellion, was carried further, and in 1661 the entire garrison of Yarmouth Castle was disbanded at four days' notice, and the removal of the guns to Cowes was ordered unless the men of Yarmouth would undertake to defend their own castle. (fn. 101) Apparently the burgesses did not do this, for in 1666 the king wrote to Lord Colepeper, then Governor of the Island, suggesting that the inhabitants of Yarmouth and other places in the Isle of Wight might contribute to the safety of the Island by fortifying their castles. (fn. 102) Some steps may have been taken in this direction, for Sir Robert Holmes, when he surveyed the fortifications in 1669, found that, though Yarmouth Castle was totally out of repair and had no officer, there were four men acting as a garrison. (fn. 103) In the following year orders were issued by the king for the proper fortification of the town of Yarmouth, fresh ground to be bought if necessary for the extension of existing fortifications, and such guns and ordnance as could be spared from Cowes to be placed at Yarmouth. (fn. 104)
In 1688, when William of Orange was preparing to land in England, Sir Robert Holmes wrote in despair to Lord Preston that he could never secure the Island without speedy help. He could only attempt to retain the two forts of Yarmouth and Hurst, the militia being already mutinous and the townspeople ready to declare in favour of the prince. (fn. 105) In the following year things were in the same bad state. (fn. 106) The military establishment in 1781 included a captain, one master gunner and five other gunners. (fn. 107) Extensive repairs were carried out at the fort in 1855, and it was then garrisoned by a detachment of the regular army of the county, (fn. 108) but it was dismantled about thirty years later, and the fort has been used since about 1898 for coastguard purposes. It consisted in 1863 of a platform with four guns. (fn. 109) The castle is leased to the proprietors of the Pier Hotel, with which it is now incorporated. (fn. 110)
The parish church of ST. JAMES is an uninteresting structure consisting of nave with north and south aisles, a chancel and a western tower. The original church was said by local tradition to have been at the east end of the town, and its foundations were visible in the old churchyard in 1845. (fn. 111) Destroyed by the French in their raid of 1377, it is said to have been rebuilt on the present site only to be again reduced to a ruin in 1543. At the beginning of the 17th century it was practically rebuilt, (fn. 112) and reconsecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 11 March 1626. (fn. 113) The chancel, which had a polygonal roof with enriched bosses at the intersection of the ribs, was lengthened 12 ft. in 1889. To the south of it is the little mortuary chapel containing a fine statue of Sir Robert Holmes, died 1692, and many memorials to the Holmes family. There is a wall tablet by Nollekens to Captain John Urry, 1802, and in the floor are 17th-century grave slabs of the Hide family (fn. 114) and to Peter Pryavlx, 1644. On the front of the gallery at the west end are brass tablets commemorating the different charitable bequests, and in the north aisle is the royal achievement of George I, 1715.
There is one bell, by James Bartlet of London, inscribed 'The . Gvift . of . Sir . Richard . Mason . Knight . 1679' and a clock made by Nicholas Paris in the same year.
The plate consists of two pewter 18th-century patens, plated flagon, plated paten on three feet, of 8½ in. diameter, and plated chalice, both inscribed 'PARISH OF YARMOUTH,' and silver chalice and paten. In the vestry are two lidded pewter flagons said to have formerly been used in the church.
The registers date from 1614.
Baldwin de Redvers, the first of the name, granted to the priory of Christchurch Twyneham the tithes that belonged to Sir Alfred de Brockley in Yarmouth, (fn. 115) and this grant was confirmed by his sons Richard and Baldwin and by the king in 1313. (fn. 116) The lords of the manor evidently retained the advowson, (fn. 117) and it passed to the king in the same way as the manor, (fn. 118) and was granted with it to the Earl of Chester. (fn. 119) In 1333, however, Philip de Heyterdebury came before the king and sought to recover the advowson of a moiety of the church of Yarmouth to the Prior of Christchurch Twyneham, the advowson having been taken into the king's hands on account of the prior's default before Geoffrey le Scrop the king's justice. (fn. 120) In the following year Geoffrey and his fellow-justices received orders not to put the prior in default for his absence at a suit between the king and the prior concerning the rendering by the prior to the king of a moiety of the advowson, as the prior was in the king's service at that time. (fn. 121) Presumably the whole advowson then passed to the king, (fn. 122) and the king or the Lord Chancellor presented (fn. 123) until 1866–7, when the advowson was purchased by Samuel Fisher. (fn. 124) In 1894–5 it was sold by the trustees of the Rev. C. T. Fisher to the Rev. B. Maturin, from whom it passed in 1900 to Mr. Elmer Speed, the present patron. (fn. 125)
In 1380 the church of Yarmouth was exonerated from the subsidy on account of the poverty (fn. 126) of the town, which had been burnt by the French. In 1559 in the survey above quoted it is stated that the benefice of Yarmouth was insufficient to find a priest, (fn. 127) and in 1654 the mayor and inhabitants of the town in a petition to the Protector stated that the benefice, being not above 20 marks a year, served only for an old man who could merely read. They, therefore, begged that they might have an augmentation of £50 a year, so that they could have a proper pastor, and this request was granted. (fn. 128)
A brief assigned to the year 1626 was issued for building a new church at Yarmouth, (fn. 129) and by a faculty granted by the Bishop of Winchester in 1635 the townsfolk of Yarmouth were allowed to pull down their old church, which was in a ruinous state, and to build a new one. (fn. 130)
William de Vernon, lord of the Isle of Wight from 1184 to 1216, granted and confirmed to William Mackerel the land and house at Yarmouth which Guy the clerk held, for making a hospital in honour of God and St. Mary the Virgin and All Saints, for the soul of King Henry son of Earl Geoffrey and for the soul of Earl Baldwin and Richard his brother, (fn. 131) and for the soul of William Mackerel and his ancestors. (fn. 132) William's grant was confirmed by Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury (1185–90), (fn. 133) and by Godfrey Bishop of Winchester (1189–1204). (fn. 134) The hospital was endowed with land at Milford and Kerne, and at Chalk in Wiltshire, and with the chapel of Brook. (fn. 135) William Mackerel apparently gave the hospital with its endowments to the knights of Solomon's Temple, for his gift to that effect was confirmed by Ralph his brother and successor, and by William de Vernon. (fn. 136) It would seem that the hospital was allowed to fall into decay, for no further mention of it has been found, and its endowment with the exception of the chapel of Brook was appropriated to the Knights Templars.
There are Baptist, Wesleyan and Bible Christian chapels at Yarmouth, the latter having been registered for marriages in 1869, (fn. 137) and the Plymouth Brethren have a small room.
The Town Trust, comprising the property of the dissolved corporation of 'The Mayor and Chief Burgesses of Yarmouth,' is regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners 30 December 1890.
The property consists of:—
Part i, fee-farm rents and parcels of land and buildings in Yarmouth, and £134 19s. 5d. Plymouth Corporation 3 per cent. stock, £35 6s. 8d. consols, and £49 18s. 6d. India 3 per cent. stock held by the official trustees;
Part ii, the quay, harbour, wharfage, tolls and harbour dues, and also reversion of Yar Bridge;
Part iii, the pier and tolls and rates comprised in and levied under the Yarmouth (I. of W.) Pier Order 1874;
Part iv, the mace, common seal, ancient charters, &c.;
Part v, mud land containing 36 a. 2 r. 27 p.
The scheme directs that the income from Part i, about £30 a year, shall be applied in defraying cost of repairs and management of Parts i and iv, and in maintenance of the town hall and to any purpose for public benefit; the income from Part ii, about £250 a year, in payment of harbour master and other officers, in maintaining harbour lights, &c., and in contributing to the expenses of the pier; the income from Part iii, about £610 a year, in upkeep of the pier, including salaries of officers, and in paying interest accruing in respect of debts incurred.
In 1752 Thomas Lord Holmes by deed charged his farm called Alverstone in Brading with an annuity of £30, to be applied in keeping in repair the monument in the parish church in memory of his son, one-third of the residue in apprenticing poor boys and girls, a moiety of the remainder for the minister and the other moiety for the poor. By an order of the Charity Commissioners 12 June 1896 the yearly sum of 20s. was directed to be applied in repair of the monument and £9 13s. 4d. for the minister, constituting the Ecclesiastical charity, £9 13s. 4d. for apprenticing and £9 13s. 4d. for the poor.
In 1846 Joseph Squire by will bequeathed £200 consols, now £196 14s. 1d. Nottingham Corporation 3 per cent. stock, the dividends to be distributed among poor not receiving parochial relief, on the anniversary of testator's death (September 14).
In 1856 John Squire, by his will proved at Winchester 15 September, bequeathed £100 consols, now £98 7s. like Corporation stock, the income to be applied in distribution of coals to poor widows at Christmas.
In 1872 Miss Harriet Blagrave Dean Love by deed gave £200 consols, now £196 19s. 2d. like Corporation stock, the income to be distributed to the poor on 1 January yearly.
The same donor, by her will proved at London 17 March 1881, left £50 consols, now £49 4s. 3d. like Corporation stock, the interest to be applied in keeping in repair a tablet in the church and tombstones in the churchyard, and the surplus to any useful or charitable purpose. The income of this charity is accumulating until required.
In 1871 Vice-Admiral Henry Ommanney Love by deed gave £200 consols, now £196 19s. 2d. like Corporation stock, the income to be applied as to one moiety for the rector and the other moiety for the poor on 1 March in each year.
In 1868 Caroline Leigh, by her will proved at Winchester 27 October, bequeathed £1,000 consols, now £984 16s. 1d. like Corporation stock, producing £29 11s. yearly, to be applied in augmentation of the rector's stipend.
The sums of stock above mentioned are held by the official trustees, producing in the aggregate £51 13s. 6d., of which £32 10s. is received by the rector, in addition to the share of Lord Holmes's charity. The proportion (fn. 138) applicable for eleemosynary purposes is distributed in coal and money doles.
In 1825 Jane Seymour Hearne by will bequeathed a sum of money, now represented by £88 8s. Nottingham Corporation 3 per cent. stock.
In 1871 Vice-Admiral Henry Ommanney Love by deed gave £100 consols, now £98 9s. 7d. like Corporation stock.
In 1872 Miss Harriet Blagrave Dean Love by deed gave £100 consols, now £98 9s. 7d. like Corporation stock.
In 1874 Barnabas, otherwise Barnaby, Beere bequeathed a sum of money, now represented by £143 17s. 10d. like Corporation stock.
In 1897 Miss Elizabeth Leigh, by a codicil to her will proved 10 December, bequeathed £1,000 consols, now represented by £1,000 like Corporation stock, and £21 12s. 1d. consols, the income to be applied in equal proportion towards the salaries of the master and mistress of the National schools, both to be members of the Church of England.
The several sums of stock are held by the official trustees, producing in the aggregate £43 8s. yearly, which is applied in connexion with the National schools. | <urn:uuid:013cbb95-fa9e-4246-8ec2-e1041a167751> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp286-292 | 2020-10-25T04:48:49Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107887810.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025041701-20201025071701-00040.warc.gz | en | 0.978381 | 7,555 |
Geofluids Flow in Rock Strata Movement Induced by Coal MiningView this Special Issue
Research Article | Open Access
Luzhen Wang, Hailing Kong, "Failure Behavior of Thin Disc Sandstone under Coupled Bending-Seepage Condition", Geofluids, vol. 2020, Article ID 8830358, 15 pages, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8830358
Failure Behavior of Thin Disc Sandstone under Coupled Bending-Seepage Condition
A floor aquifuge usually bends and fails when mining above a confined aquifer, which may lead to water inrush disaster. The floor aquifuge was simplified as a thin disc model in this paper, and a series of coupled bending-seepage tests of sandstone were carried out by a patent test system. The variation characteristics of load-displacement, load-time, and permeability-time were analyzed. The deflection and stress in the thin disc rock samples were deduced; the initiation and propagation of cracks were analyzed. The failure behavior of the thin disc rock samples was described. It shows the following: (1) The bending failure behavior relates to the stress distribution and crack evolution inside the thin disc. (2) The main cause of crack initiation is a tension-shear failure. (3) The 5 mm thickness thin discs form petal-shaped cracks, due to tensile stress, while petal-shaped cracks only appear at the cap block of the 10 mm discs, which are sheared into two pieces along the conical surface with an inclination about 45°. (4) Water inrush occurs after bending failure in the floor aquifuge, and it is an opportune moment to grout along the crack propagation trend lines to prevent the water inrush disasters.
Due to the gradual depletion of shallow mineral resources, mining activities are shifted to the deep. In deep mining activities, geological conditions become complex; confined water pressure increased. Continuous deep mining may result in bending deformation and failure of the floor aquifuge, which may link the groundwater to the working face, and induce water inrush accidents [1–4]. Hence, the bending failure of the floor above a confined aquifer is one of the reasons to induce water inrush.
Scholars began to study the mechanism of floor breakage and water inrush since the last century. Some important theories have been proposed successively, such as the key stratum theory, three-underlying belts theory, in situ rifting and zero failure theory, relative aquifuge thickness and water inrush coefficient method, and water inrush critical index method [5–9]. In recent years, due to the complex geological background and mining conditions, the floor breakage and water inrush mechanisms have been extensively and deeply studied based on the above theories, and new achievements emerged endlessly.
A large-scale model test is one of the effective means to reproduce the process of water inrush from floor breakage. Zhao et al. [10, 11] developed a large-scale three-dimensional solid-fluid coupling simulation experimental equipment, analyzed the wall rock distortion and breakage process, and described the variation law of stress and water pressure and their influence on water inrush. Li et al. divided the mining-induced floor stresses into three distinct stages with the help of a fluid-solid coupling model test system. Chen et al. described the crack formation and evolution law in the floor aquifuge by the solid-fluid coupling similar simulation test system and found that most mining cracks were vertical tensile cracks, shear cracks, and layer cracks. Kang et al. studied the failure law of the floor after mining using a large-scale simulation test system and divided the floor fracture belt into an open-off-cut fracture zone, central goaf compaction zone, and working-face fracture zone. Liu et al. found that the failure range morphological map of the mining floor was approximately a spoon shape and obtained the maximum failure depth of the floor aquifuge by similar simulation tests. Based on the multifunctional simulation test apparatus, Hua et al. pointed out that the floor heave was mainly composed of the compression bending type, shear dislocation type, and extrusion fluidity type, and the floor heave was mainly caused by the tensile failure or tensile-shear failure.
The similar model test can reproduce the process of floor’s breakage and water inrush, but it still has some disadvantages; for example, the model sizes are usually too large, cost too much, and last for long test periods. Therefore, theoretical research and numerical calculation are essential.
Miao et al. simplified the floor aquifuge to a rock beam model with both ends fixed and loaded uniformly and analyzed the strength characteristics and water-resisting performance of the floor aquifuge. Sun and Wang regarded the floor aquifuge as a square elastic thin plate with fixed constraints on four sides and deduced an instability mechanics criterion of the inclined floor water-resisting key strata using the elastic thin plate theory. Gao et al. established a fracture mechanics model based on the thin plate theory and regarded that the essence of water inrush in the mining field was the result of the accumulation of microcracks and propagation of macrocracks in the floor aquifuge caused by mining-induced stress and confined water pressure. Wang et al. established a plate model subjected to horizontal extrusion force, deduced the critical load of floor buckling failure based on the thin plate yield theory, and obtained that the floor thickness was the main factor affecting the critical load. Guo et al. analyzed the distribution of displacement and pore water pressure on the floor using Comsol Multiphysics and pointed out that the key cause of water inrush was the release of energy from the floor above the confined water aquifer when mining. Pang simplified the layered floor to homogeneous elastic plates, calculated the floor failure depth by means of the average modulus method, and considered that the lithology and composite structure of the floor are two important factors affecting the failure depth. Xie used Flac3D to analyze the damage law of elastic modulus of the floor aquifuge caused by mining qualitatively and found that the floor crack rate controlled the stress distribution in the floor and the thickness of floor aquifuge played an important role in controlling the displacement and failure depth of the floor. Obviously, the mechanism of water inrush can be clarified by mastering the failure behavior in the floor aquifuge.
The research above studied the stress distribution [10–12, 17, 23], displacement change [10, 11, 21, 23], crack evolution [13, 14, 19, 23], and failure law [15, 16, 18, 20, 22] in the floor aquifuge. The achievements reach a consensus that (1) the essence of water inrush from the floor aquifuge is the result of the combined action of mining-induced stress and confined water pressure, (2) the stress variation and crack evolution in the floor may lead to water inrush, and (3) the thickness and lithology of the floor aquifuge are two important factors affecting the failure behavior of the floor. However, the above studies ignored the correlation between the distribution of stress and the propagation of cracks when the floor aquifuge was bending, and the formation and propagation of cracks have not been described in-depth, so the bending failure characteristics and the induced water inrush behavior in the floor aquifuge need to be studied further.
To this end, this paper established a thin disc model, conducted the bending-seepage tests of different thicknesses and lithology under the coupled bending-seepage condition, calculated the deflection and stresses inside the thin disc gray sandstone and red sandstone, revealed the formation and propagation mechanism of the cracks in the thin disc rock with different thicknesses and lithology, and described the bending failure behavior in the floor aquifuge, as well as the bending-failure-induced water inrush behavior. This research is expected to provide references for the description of floor failure and the prevention of water inrush.
2. Simplified Model and Experimental Process
2.1. Simplified Model
With coal extraction continuing, the confined water pressure and the mining-induced stress become the force sources. Subject to their joint action, the floor aquifuge undergoes bending deformation. In the bending floor aquifuge, the cracks are formed, developed, and penetrated, and water flow changes from seepage to turbulence and rushes into the working face, which may cause water inrush disaster.
A simplified model is shown in Figure 1, established based on the following assumptions:(1)The floor aquifuge in practical engineering is assumed as a circular thin plate relative to the stratum; the self-weight of the thin disc rock sample is ignored.(2)Owing to the strength and stiffness of the surrounding rock mass that are far greater than those of the floor aquifuge, the constraint of the thin disc rock sample is peripheral clamping.(3)The floor aquifuge is assumed above the confined aquifer. The confined water pressure is regarded as a uniformly distributed pore pressure, , distributed on the lower surface of the thin disc rock sample.(4)Excavation disturbances induce floor heave; the upward bending deformation is applied to the thin disc rock sample, which is realized by applying an upward concentrated force, , on the lower surface of the thin disc rock sample by a conical indenter.
As shown in Figure 1(c), the peripheral clamping is equivalent to a force couple, , and a force, . is the radius of the thin disc rock sample, is a circumferential load applied by the Material Testing Machine, and a retaining ring is used to act on the annular upper surface of the thin disc rock sample.
2.2. Testing System
In order to simulate the heave and breakage of the floor aquifuge and realize the coupled bending deformation and water flow applied on the floor aquifuge, a testing system that can conduct the coupling bending-seepage test is designed and manufactured [3, 24]. It consists of an axial loading subsystem, a pore pressure loading and controlling subsystem, a permeameter subsystem, and a data acquisition and analysis subsystem. The overall design of the testing system is shown in Figure 2.
As the core of the testing system, the permeameter subsystem contains a bottom plate, a cylinder, a permeable piston, a conical indenter, a retaining ring, seals, etc., shown in Figure 3. The thin disc rock sample is fixed between the retaining ring and the conical indenter. It is critical to tightly seal the interspace between the outer boundary of the sample and the cylinder wall using high water materials and to ensure that the liquid only flows within the rock sample but not seeps out from surrounding voids before and during the loading process.
The test adopted the steady-state permeation method. Stable pore water pressure was provided by driving oil pressure in the pore pressure loading and controlling subsystem. Water flowed through the pressure transducer, flow transducer, and the inlet at the bottom plate, entered the conical indenter, and evenly distributed on the lower surface of the thin disc rock sample to simulate the action of the confined water pressure on the floor aquifuge. An axial load was applied onto the piston of the permeameter, then loaded on the upper surface of the thin disc rock sample through the retaining ring as circumferential load. Under the bidirectional actions of concentrated force from the conical indenter and circumferential load from the retaining ring, the rock sample underwent bending deformation, which was used to simulate the floor heave bending deformation of the floor aquifuge due to excavation disturbances.
2.3. Testing Scheme
2.3.1. Material Characterization and Sample Preparation
The floor aquifuge in Pan mine in Sichuan is taken as the example in this paper, which is mainly gray sandstone and red sandstone. All samples were acquired from a single rock block to ensure their similar physical properties, respectively. The physical and mechanical properties are listed in Table 1.
Based on the simplified model of the floor aquifuge and the diameter of the permeameter cylinder, the rock sample was processed as a 50 mm diameter disc. According to the definition of the thin plate theory, the thickness-diameter ratio should be less than 1/5. Therefore, two thicknesses, 5 mm and 10 mm, are selected in this research.
Samples were examined before testing to exclude those with obvious macroscopic defects and to ensure the testing values free from the impacts of macrojoints and fissures. The structures of the selected thin disc rock samples were compact, and there was no visible natural microfissure. Then, thin disc rock samples were polished to keep the surface smooth at two ends.
Taking lithology and thickness as the influencing factors, four independent tests were carried out, marked GS05, GS10, RS05, and RS10. Three samples were tested in each independent test.
2.3.2. Testing Design
At the beginning of testing, water was injected into the permeameter to saturation at least half an hour. Then, the pore pressure was loaded, and the sealing performance of the system was timely checked. According to relevant geological data, the pore pressure was set as 2 MPa in this test. When the pore pressure was completely stable at 2 MPa, the rock sample was loaded by the axial loading subsystem in the displacement control mode at a loading rate of 0.5 mm/min till the rock sample failed.
In addition, the pore pressure and water flow were simultaneously acquired from the beginning of loading; the load and displacement during bending deformation were real-time recorded.
Permeability, , can be calculated by Darcy’s law as below:where is the dynamic viscosity of water, is the seepage speed calculated from , is the pore pressure, and is the thickness of the thin disc rock sample.
3. Experimental Results
3.1. Variation Characteristics of Load-Displacement Curves
Figure 4 shows the load-displacement () curves of the gray sandstone and red sandstone with two different thicknesses. They have similar variation characteristics, which can be divided into four stages , as shown in Figure 5.
The section of the segment is shorter and steeper. This section contains adaptive adjustment and elastic deformation of the thin disc structure under uniform water pressure and bending load. Obviously, the thin disc samples have low elastic deformation.
The segment is a line with a very small slope; the deformation increases significantly while the load-carrying capacity increases very small in this stage. The structure produces large plastic deformation, and microcracks in the disc germinate and develop; floor heave occurs in the section [16, 25, 26].
The section has a great slope. With the increase of deformation, the load increases sharply, and the bearing capacity of the thin disc structure is strengthened. In this stage, the crack propagation inside the thin disc changes qualitatively, microcracks develop and grow continuously, forming macrocracks, and the internal structure of the thin disc is damaged gradually. Although the thin disc structure is still in the overall state, the internal cracks penetrate rapidly. The bearing capacity of the thin disc structure reaches its peak value at point , which is listed in Table 2. It presents that the thicker disc rock sample has a greater peak load, the peak value of red sandstone with the same thickness is larger than that of gray sandstone, and the displacement of gray sandstone is less than that of red sandstone.
After the peak value, is the postfracture stage. In this stage, cracks intersect each other, under the action of splitting expansion of pore water pressure, the macrofracture surface is united and formed, and rock blocks slide along the fracture surface, which may cause water inrush [27, 28]. The bearing capacity of the sample decreases slowly with the increase of deformation in and then drops rapidly in , and the thin disc structure collapses till its bearing capacity loses completely. Generally, if the deformation and heave behavior of the floor have not been dealt with in time before the peak value in the project, it can be remedied in the section. Because the floor still has its bearing capacity, it is not too late to control the floor deformation and heave behavior by means of grouting. Mastering the characteristics of crack initiation and propagation can better guide grouting.
3.2. Time-Varying Characteristics of Load and Permeability
Figure 6 shows the load-time () curves and permeability-time () curves of the gray sandstone and red sandstone with two different thicknesses.
The permeability of the intact thin disc rock sample is about 10-17 m2 at the beginning of the experiments, which is consistent with the testing result of standard intact rock samples [29–37]. It increases rapidly after bending failure occurred several seconds, water flow changes from seepage to turbulence simultaneously, and then, water inrush may occur. In this process, permeability evolved from 10-17 m2 up to 10-11 m2, increasing six orders of magnitude. Its evolution rule is obviously different from standard rock samples , in which permeability usually increases three to four orders of magnitude after the postpeak strength. Obviously, the permeability of the thin disc structure changes greatly with stronger mutation, because the stress distribution and crack evolution of the thin disc are different from that of the standard rock sample.
As shown in Figure 6, the peak permeability always lags the peak load, indicating that it still has time and opportunity to take measures to prevent water inrush disaster, which is consistent with the section in Figure 5. Table 3 lists the occurrence time of peak load and peak permeability, as well as the lagging time.
The sample GS05 experienced the longest time; this is because the sealing material between the outer boundary of the sample and the cylinder wall was compacted for a long time. The compression of the sealing material only prolongs the test time but does not affect the deformation measurement of the sample. Because of the difference in experimental operation, the peak load and permeability occurrence times of four samples cannot be compared separately. Only the lagging time can be analyzed; it shows that the lagging time of gray sandstone is longer than that of red sandstone. It is because the brittle behaviors of the thin disc in the postfracture stage are different, which relates to the crack propagation. The longer the lagging time is, the longer the time that can be used for water inrush prevention and control is, the more effective the water inrush risk can be reduced.
3.3. Bending Failure Pattern
Figure 7 shows the bending failure patterns of the four thin disc rock samples. The 5 mm thickness disc rock samples formed petal-shaped cracks after bending failure, as shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(c). For the 10 mm thickness disc samples, a cap block was cut out along a conical surface with an inclination about 45°, as shown in Figures 7(b) and 7(d), and petal-shaped cracks also appear in the cap block.
Obviously, when the thin disc rock samples are under the coupled bending-seepage condition, their failure behaviors belong to the problem of structural failure. It is related not only to material properties but also to the structural properties and external force characteristics. In order to analyze the bending failure behavior in-depth, the stress distribution and crack evolution in the thin disc rock structures should be studied further.
The hard rock floor aquifuge is mainly a local plastic failure, and the stability coefficient is generally high; it can be solved with the elastic solution .
4.1. Deflection Calculation and Distribution in Thin Disc Rock Samples
Based on the simplified model in Figure 1(c), circumferential load, , and pore pressure, , can be measured timely during the test; the concentrated force, , and the force couple, , can be calculated as
In polar coordinates, as shown in Figure 1, the transverse loads on the thin disc rock sample are symmetrical around the -axis, which is a vertical plate face up. The deflection, , of the elastic thin disc is also symmetrical around the -axis, and it is a function of but does not change with . When the thin disc rock sample bends axial-symmetrically, the differential equation of the deflection iswhere is the bending stiffness of thin disc and and are elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio, respectively.
A semi-inverse method is used to solve the differential Equation (3); the general solution for the deflection of the thin disc rock sample iswhere , , , and are coefficients, determined by the boundary conditions.
Based on the boundary conditions in the mechanical model, the deflection is expressed as
Applying Equation (5), the deflection distribution inside the thin disc rock sample along the radius direction at different loading times could be obtained.
The deflection distributions along the radius direction when are shown in Figure 8(a). It shows that when the thin disc rock sample is only under the action of pore pressure, the maximum deflections of samples GS05, GS10, RS05, and RS10 are 0.0191, 0.00374, 0.0264, and 0.0046 mm, respectively. It can be inferred that the thinner the floor aquifuge, the larger the deformation caused by the confined water pressure.
Figure 8(b) shows the deflection distributions at the time of peak load appearance, , the maximum deflections of samples GS05, GS10, RS05, and RS10 are 0.0218, 0.0132, 0.0797, and 0.0203 mm, respectively. Mining disturbance induces further bending deformation of the floor. Under the combined action of mining-induced stress and confined water pressure, the deflection of the floor aquifuge is 1.2 to 4 times of that under the alone confined water pressure.
It is worth noting that these deflections are the elastic ultimate load-bearing displacements. The displacements are different from the values in Table 2, which includes not only the deformation of the thin disc rock sample but also the deformation of the sealing material and the displacement of the sample after being fractured.
The maximum deflections both occur at the center of the thin disc rock sample when and ; as a result, the center of the disc is the dangerous position that the disc may break from here.
Sandstone is a typical brittle material at room temperature; its elastic deformation is weak. The bending failure of the thin disc rock sample mainly results from the strength, but not the stiffness. Therefore, in addition to analyzing the deformation in the disc, stress distribution should be emphasized.
4.2. Stress Calculation and Distribution in Thin Disc Rock Samples
As Figure 9 shows, through the analysis of the microelement in the thin disc rock sample, the internal force equation of the element is calculated as follows:
(a) distribution curves
(b) distribution curves
(c) distribution curves
As seen in Figure 10(a), the reverse bending point of is about 0.01 m away from the center of the disc. When m, the upper surface of the disc is in tension and the lower surface is in compression, and when m, it is just the opposite. All the samples except for GS05 have the maximum value of at the center, where it is the most dangerous cross-section. Particularly, the maximum value of occurs at the edge in the sample of GS05. The value in the center is slightly less than that in the edge; both the center and edge cross-sections are dangerous sections.
It can be seen from Figure 10(b) that the distribution curves are similar to the distribution curves of , but the reverse bending point is different, which is about 0.022 m away from the center. When m, the upper surface of the disc rock sample is in tension and the lower surface is in compression, and when m, the upper surface is compressed and the lower surface is tensed. The maximum value of occurs at the center, so the central cross-section is the most dangerous point.
It can be seen from Figure 10(c) that when m, the shear force in the disc changes from positive to negative. The maximum value of occurs at the center of the disc, so it is the most dangerous cross-section; the direction of the shear force at the dangerous section is downward.
Using Equation (7), the stress distribution at the central dangerous cross-section along the direction of the disc thickness (i.e., the -axis direction) is shown in Figure 11(a). For the sample of GS05, the edge cross-section is dangerous too; its stress distribution along the direction of the disc thickness is shown in Figure 11(b).
(a) Stress distribution at the central dangerous cross-section along the thickness direction
(b) Stress distribution at the edge dangerous cross-section along the thickness direction for the sample of GS05
As seen in Figure 11, both and are linearly distributed along the thickness direction, forming the bending moments and , respectively. The maximum values of and occur at the upper and lower points of the dangerous cross-sections. is parabolically distributed along the thickness direction, constituting the shear force . The maximum value occurs at the neutral point of the dangerous cross-section.
Summing up, the location and stresses of the dangerous points in the thin disc rock samples can be calculated and are shown in Table 4.
As illustrated in Table 4, for sample GS05, at the upper and lower points of the edge cross-section is very large, and the thin disc rock sample may be damaged from the edge. For samples GS05, GS10, RS05, and RS10, both and occur at the upper and lower points of the central cross-section, and occurs at the neutral point of the central cross-section. is larger than at the upper and lower points of the central cross-section, and the thin disc rock sample may be damaged mainly by from the center.
It also shows that the sample RS05 has the largest , , and , followed by RS10, GS10, and GS05. The thin disc red sandstone has higher stress than the gray one. The greater the stress is, the faster the cracks develop in the thin disc, and the shorter the time of water inrush passage through. This is consistent with the experimental phenomenon that the lagging time of red sandstone is shorter than that of gray sandstone in Table 3.
The stress state of dangerous points in the thin disc rock samples can be described as shown in Figure 12.
(a) The biaxial tensile stress state
(b) The biaxial compressive stress state
(c) The uniaxial tensile stress state
(d) The uniaxial compressive stress state
(e) The pure shear stress state
Based on the description for the location and stress state of the dangerous points on the thin discs, these dangerous points are in the biaxial tensile/compressive stress state, the uniaxial tensile/compressive stress state, and the pure shear stress state, respectively. The structural failure of the thin disc rock sample is mainly due to the stress reaching or exceeding its strength limit, and therefore, the strength condition should be established to reveal the failure mechanism.
4.3. Crack Initiation and Propagation in Thin Disc Rock Samples
Sandstone is a kind of brittle material so that we use the Maximum Tensile Stress Theory and Mohr-Coulomb Strength Theory to analyze the bending failure behavior.
4.3.1. The Cause of the Crack Initiation
Combining Figures 12 and 13, the upper points of the central cross-section in the four samples are the dangerous points. They are in the biaxial tensile stress state, and the principal stresses of the dangerous points are , , and 0. According to the Maximum Tensile Stress Theory, when bending failure occurs, the maximum tangential tensile stress reaches and exceeds the allowable tensile stress. So, the upper points of the central cross-section in the disc, i.e., the points in Figure 13, are the points of crack initiation, and the disc rock sample is tensed at these points along the tangential direction.
Meanwhile, the lower points of the edge cross-section in sample GS05 are also the dangerous points. They are in the uniaxial tensile stress state, and the principal stresses of the dangerous points are , 0, and 0. When bending failure occurs in sample GS05, the maximum radial tensile stress reaches and exceeds the allowable tensile stress. Therefore, for the sample GS05, besides the upper points of the central cross-section, the lower points of the edge cross-section, i.e., the points in Figure 13, are the points of crack initiation, too. That is to say, the sample GS05 is tensed simultaneously at the location along the tangential direction and at location along the radial direction.
In addition, the neutral points of the central cross-section in the four thin disc rock samples are also dangerous points, which are in the pure shear stress state, and the principal stresses of the dangerous points are , 0, and -. According to the Mohr-Coulomb Strength Theory, it is obviously obtained that shear is the main cause of the bending failure. It shows that the four kinds of discs also suffer from shear failure from the neutral points of the central cross-section, i.e., the points in Figure 13; this location is also the points of crack initiation.
In summary, the crack initiation points for the samples GS10, RS05, and RS10 are and as shown in Figure 13; the crack develops resulting from the upper point of the central cross-section which is tensed along the tangential direction and the neutral point of the central cross-section which is sheared. The crack initiation points for sample GS05 are , , and in Figure 13; they are caused by the upper points of the central cross-section and the lower points of the edge cross-section that are tensed simultaneously along the tangential direction at the center and radial direction at the edge and the neutral points of the central cross-section that is sheared. Briefly, tension-shear failure is the main reason for crack initiation.
4.3.2. The Cause of Crack Propagation
As seen in Table 4, there are two dangerous locations in sample GS05. One is at the disc center, where and play major roles, and is about 2.06 times of . The other is at the lower points of the disc edge, which is the uniaxial tensile stress state dominated by . Crack propagation in this disc is caused by the tangential tensile stress and shear stress at the center and the radial tensile stress at the edge. The cracks are developed oppositely by the tension-shear failure at the center and tension failure at the edge, producing the petal-shaped cracks shown in Figure 14(a).
(c) GS10 and RS10
For sample RS05, the cracks propagate from the center, where is only 1.38 times . Crack propagation of this disc is mainly due to the tension failure, which is perpendicular to the radius direction and caused by the tangential tensile stress. The cracks develop from the center to the edge; petal-shaped cracks are formed, as shown in Figure 14(b).
For samples GS10 and RS10, is about 2.38 times . Due to the thicker thickness, crack propagation in the disc is mainly caused by shear failure; meanwhile, the tension failure plays a secondary role. As shown in Figure 14(c), the cracks rise along a conical surface with an inclination about 45° from the center to the edge, and the disc rock sample is sheared into two pieces. The cap block is accompanied by petals with tension cracks caused by the tangential tensile stress.
4.4. Bending-Failure-Induced Water Inrush Behavior in the Floor Aquifuge
During mining activities, the floor aquifuge is bending; the deflection and stress are changing timely. It is safe when the deflection and stress are far less than the allowable values. The cracks initiate and propagate with the increase of stress, and the confined water pressure split and expand the cracks continuously. When bending failure occurs, the maximum tensile stress exceeds the allowable values; the cracks propagate to penetrate.
Although the occurrence of bending failure is really very dangerous, the water inrush disaster does not happen immediately, because of the water inrush lagging. There is a short time to take measures to grout the cracks and to prevent the water inrush accident. According to the crack initiation and propagation (Figure 14), the grouting should be at the center or the edge of the floor aquifuge along the crack propagation trend lines.
A simplified thin disc model was introduced to study the bending failure of the floor aquifuge. Based on a self-designed experimental system, thin disc gray and red sandstone samples were tested under coupled bending-seepage condition to study the failure behavior. The failure behavior in thin disc sandstone with two different lithologies and thicknesses were analyzed. The main conclusions can be drawn as follows:(1)The failure process of thin disc sandstone can be divided into four stages: adaptive adjustment and elastic deformation stage, plastic deformation and microcrack development stage, bearing capacity strengthening and macrocrack formation stage, and postfracture stage, of which water inrush disaster occurs at the postfracture stage.(2)The permeability changes from 10-17 m2 to 10-11 m2 in the thin disc structure, and the sharp increase leads to more sudden and intense water inrush. The peak permeability always lags the peak load, and the lagging time of water inrush in gray sandstone is longer than that in red sandstone owing to the difference of crack propagation.(3)The crack initiation point occurred at the center because of the tangential tensile stress and shear stress. The crack propagation is related to disc thickness and lithology.(4)Water inrush accident occurs after the bending failure in the floor aquifuge. It is an opportune moment to grout along the crack propagation trend lines to prevent the water inrush disasters.
|:||Radius of the thin disc rock sample (L)|
|:||Bending stiffness of thin disc (ML2T-2)|
|:||Elastic modulus (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Circumferential load (MLT-2)|
|:||Shearing internal forces (MLT-2)|
|:||Force couple (ML2T-2)|
|:||Internal force couples (ML2T-2)|
|:||Concentrated force (MLT-2)|
|:||Peak load (MLT-2)|
|:||Confined water pressure/pore pressure (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Water flow (L3T-1)|
|:||Radial direction in polar coordinates (-)|
|:||Testing time (T)|
|:||Seepage speed (LT-1)|
|:||Symmetrical axis (-)|
|:||Thickness of the disc (L)|
|:||Tangential direction in polar coordinates (-)|
|:||Dynamic viscosity of water (ML-1T-1)|
|:||Poisson ratio (-)|
|:||Uniaxial compressive strength (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Radial stress (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Maximum radial stress (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Tensile strength (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Tangential stress (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Maximum tangential stress (ML-1T-2)|
|, , :||Shear stresses (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Maximum shear stress (ML-1T-2)|
|:||Internal friction angle (-).|
The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the National Natural Science Fund (11502229), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20160433), the Program of Yellow Sea Elite in Yancheng Institute of Technology (2019), the Program of Outstanding Young Scholars in Yancheng Institute of Technology (2014), the Program of Yellow Sea Team in Yancheng Institute of Technology (2019), and the Program of innovative training program for College Students in Yancheng Institute of Technology (2020).
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Copyright © 2020 Luzhen Wang and Hailing Kong. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | <urn:uuid:b9edac35-be53-4753-bd97-c1aec8a1fda6> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.hindawi.com/journals/geofluids/2020/8830358/ | 2020-10-25T05:20:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107887810.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025041701-20201025071701-00040.warc.gz | en | 0.909013 | 10,021 |
Life is about to change in a huge way for CW sweethearts Jensen Ackles and Danneel Harris Ackles — they’re expecting twins!
A rep for the couple, who have been married since 2010, confirmed that they will welcome a son and a daughter later this year.
The babies will join 3-year-old big sister Justice “JJ” Jay.
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter.
Courtesy Danneel Harris
Fans of One Tree Hill — whose cast recently reunited for a night of fun — will recognize Harris Ackles, 37, from her role as Rachel Gatina. She is also known for her 2004 role as Shannon McBain on One Life to Live.
Ackles, 38, is easily recognizable as Dean Winchester from Supernatural, on which he has starred since its inception in 2005.
“In an effort 2 squash some posers, my daughter is helping me start an Instagram profile,” he wrote. “Chk it out. Hint: it’s just my name.”
— Jen Juneau with reporting by Julie Jordan
David Nail on Fertility Struggles Before His Twins: We Felt ‘Like Everything Was Stacked Against’ Us
David Nail became a first-time dad in December to twins Lawson Brent and Lillian Catherine. And now, he’s opening up about the fertility struggles he and wife of seven years Catherine endured on their multiple-year journey toward expanding their family.
“A lot of what we dealt with had to do with me,” admits the country singer, 37, in a video for his website’s #Fighter series, which premiered Wednesday and will lead up to the Friday release of Nail’s album Fighter. “As a man, you definitely don’t want to hear that.”
Aside from Nail’s video — in which he and Catherine discuss their fertility issues and Nail’s past experiences with long-term depression — the six-episode series will run inspirational “fighter” stories from everyday people who have conquered hurdles in their own lives.
The “Night’s On Fire” crooner also recounts his thoughts behind their decision to implant two embryos, regardless of the risk and difficulty involved in potentially having and raising twins.
” ‘It’s been this difficult … if we are so lucky to have two, it may be the only two we ever get,’ ” Nail recalls saying.
Courtesy Nail Family
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter.
Though Nail admits it got to the point where it felt “like everything was stacked against” the couple, the time and effort involved in trying multiple procedures was worth it — for both of them.
“[Catherine] had dreams to be a mother, and would always tell me that’s what she was born to do,” he says. “So in whatever way I was [contributing to that not] happening was beyond frustrating.”
Catherine adds it was “insult to injury” for her husband after finding out the cause of their conception issues right around the time Nail’s depression was diagnosed. But she adds she would go through the entire fertility treatment process again.
“Your eye is on the prize, and that’s just what I kept telling myself every single day: ‘What’s the end result?’ ” the new mom says. “Yes, this may hurt for now, but I would do it again. I would do it 10 times again to get what we have now.”
The couple also shares the stories behind the moments Catherine found out she was pregnant, breaking the news to her husband and the day their children were born.
“I had a pretty decent idea of what I was about to witness but I had, at the end of the day, no clue,” Nail says about his experience during his wife’s labor and childbirth. “I can remember [the doctors] counting the needles and counting the knives and the tools.
“I can remember her shaking,” he adds, continuing emotionally as both he and his wife tear up. “And then you hear somebody cry.”
Nail also admits that he knew his life had just changed in the best way immediately upon the arrival of Lawson and Lillian.
“It’s the beginning of a new journey, but it’s the end of this tremendous struggle that we had gone through for so long,” the singer says of his thoughts following the moment he became a father.
Fighter comprises 11 tracks total — including one called “Babies,” a tribute to his twins.
“The most important part of the song was to let them know, ‘Hey, this wasn’t just some Tuesday night [where] we went out to dinner and came home and nine months later you were here,’ ” he shares. ” ‘This was a lot of prayer, a lot of work, a lot of frustration, anger, fights.’ ”
He continues shakily before wiping a tear away, “You just want them to know that it wasn’t easy, but [you’d] go through it 15 times just to experience that moment again.”
In a press release for the album, Nail gets honest about what writing and recording the album meant for him.
“I truly believe this album, from top to bottom, is the first time I have been able to tell my story in real time of where I am right now as an artist, a husband and a father,” he confessed.
“I wrote more songs for this album than I have for any of my other three so it’s already more personal. Fighter speaks to my journey, my life and now to where I am personally and professionally.”
For more inspiring stories from the Fighter series, go to fighter.davidnail.com.
— Jen Juneau
Dania Ramirez on Going Back to Work Two Weeks After Giving Birth to Twins: ‘It Was a Really Good Learning Experience’
“I also went to work two and a half weeks after I had the babies,” the actress, 36, told reporters at the Devious Maids season 4 premiere party on Thursday. “And it’s twins. So you can imagine, I still can’t wrap my head around it. I still ask myself this question every single day.”
Ramirez adds, “I think it was a really good learning experience for me as an actress and, also, as a mother. I didn’t really have time to double guess anything.”
The actress, who welcomed her babies in 2014 with husband John Beverly Amos Land, admits that going back to work was no easy task.
“I think, for me, the season where I had the babies was very difficult because there was just no time,” she says. “With two babies, I was getting like 15 minutes, maybe, of sleep in between feedings and changing them. But it definitely made me stronger, and it made me feel like I was a better actress in a way. So I think it definitely defined a lot of the characteristics that I took with my character.”
Now, her little ones are 2 years old with blooming personalities.
“They’re incredible,” says Ramirez. “I think mother of twins, the one thing that you, from my opinion, need to have is just patience. And it really puts everything into perspective, for me, anyway. I’m working in that industry that’s always up and down, and it’s always hectic.”
She adds, “There’s nothing more motivating, there’s nothing more fulfilling than knowing that I’m doing it for them.”
— Christina Dugan
It’ll be girls for Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and pregnant wife Sally.
The father of four revealed the sex of his twins on Sunday after Sally left the iconic rock band’s tour.
While Wood, 68, took the stage in Rio, Brazil, Sally, 38, returned home for fear of the Zika virus — prompting the big announcement.
“My wife @sallywood has not been ‘sent home’ from the @rollingstones tour,” Wood tweeted over the weekend. “Our twins come first and we decided the Zika virus & excessive flying was too dangerous for them.”
He continued, “Our baby GIRLS are growing beautifully. Thank you for the love!”
Source: Ronnie Wood/Twitter; Inset: Dave Benett/Getty
Alongside the revelation, Wood included a hand-drawn photo of Sally and their daughters-to-be, as well as a nude shot of the expectant mom’s growing baby bump.
Wood re-shared the images to her own Twitter account, adding, “Yes, we’re having two girls! So wonderfully happy & excited, we can’t wait to meet them.”
Sally is due in June, and the baby girls will join the impressive Wood brood, which includes sons Jamie, 41, Jesse, 39, and Tyrone, 32, and daughter, Leah, 37, as well as the rocker’s 10 grandchildren.
The mom-to-be’s decision to leave the Stones’ tour is not surprising, as the mosquito-borne Zika virus can be transmitted to fetuses through a pregnant woman’s amniotic fluid. Further, it’s thought to be connected to microcephaly, a neurological disorder that leads to babies being born with much-smaller-than-normal heads and ultimately creates developmental problems.
— Lindsay Kimble
“We used to go on vacations all the time, but then suddenly Sarah was pregnant,” the Shameless actor tells PEOPLE of life prior to son William Wolf‘s birth in 2009. “All our energy was going to the baby.”
But when the couple welcomed twins Violet Moon and Knox Blue last March, they felt a little more prepared for what was in store.
“It is not easy, but all three are beautiful babies,” says Howey. “We’re a very close-knit family, just bigger.”
Shahi, 36, gave birth to Violet (who is the older twin by two hours) and Knox at their Sherman Oaks, California, home — a decision the couple made after watching a documentary called The Business of Being Born.
“You have more control during a home birth and with hospital births, there is a system in place and we didn’t like the whole system,” Howey explains. “[Sarah] did not like the idea of being injected with stuff and having a c-section.”
Howey says he helped deliver the babies with the aide of a doula, midwife, and — for the twins — a licensed OB/GYN, and contends that he understands home births are “not for everybody.”
Naming their brood was a little easier: Howey says the pair “went through a bunch of different names” before settling on Moon as a middle moniker for Violet, as it is Shahi’s mother’s maiden name.
“Moon is the English translation of Sarah’s mom’s name,” he shares. “[We] were going to name her Moon, but we decided that was better as a middle name. We liked Ruby and Olive — we liked colors for a girl — and then I came up with Violet.”
He calls Knox’s moniker “old timey” and says Wolf is named as such because he “wanted to go with an animal name.”
“Names are tough because one person loves it and another person hates it, but these kids were not going to be named Steve or Michael or anything like that,” he says.
Just a couple of months after giving birth, Shahi flew her newborns with her to New York City, where she was filming Person of Interest.
Meanwhile, Howey, 38, stayed with Wolf in Los Angeles, where he was filming Shameless.
“It wasn’t ideal,” admits Shahi. “But we made it work with lots of communication.”
Recently reunited in Los Angeles, Shahi says she and Howey are “in the trenches together” as they establish their routine.
“It can be overwhelming,” says Howey, who gives their nanny a lot of credit for making their lives easier.
“But Sarah and I work really hard now to schedule workout time together. Or we’ll run to the kitchen and do a tequila shot really fast — just do something together. Then it’s right back into the playroom or changing a diaper.”
For more from Howey and Shahi, including how the twins get along (or don’t!), pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
— Patrick Gomez
The Romijn-O’Connells know how to have a good time — and they have the pictures to prove it.
Actress Rebecca Romijn and husband Jerry O’Connell have been sharing snapshots from their family vacation on social media, and the foursome — including twin daughters Dolly and Charlie — are having a blast while soaking up some sun.
The actor posted a picture of his wife walking down the beach as their girls practice cartwheels and run alongside the Librarians star, who showed off her amazing bikini body in a teeny two-piece.
In a second photo, O’Connell shared a sweet moment with daughter Dolly and happily posted the picture while he still can.
“Still at the stage where they like me so figured it was postable,” he joked.
Romijn’s Instagram is filled with fun photos from their hot spot destination — including one of O’Connell showing off his own beach body in a speedo.
“Preparing for the wire walk,” she wrote alongside the photo of her husband balancing on a wooden board.
But O’Connell wasn’t the only brave one in the family: After peering over the edge, one of the twins took the plunge and jumped off the board with Romijn.
“Jumping into 2016 today,” the mom of two captioned the candid.
Not only did the couple ring in the new year with their daughters at the tropical locale, but they also celebrated the twins’ Dec. 28 birthday.
“Happy 7th birthday to these two yesterday. Sorry it took me so long, wifi slow in paradise,” the proud mama joked on Instagram.
— Anya Leon
“They sleep through the night,” Saum, 41, told PEOPLE. “We don’t need a DNA test because they like to sleep like me, so I know they’re mine.”
Adds husband Kamar do los Reyes, “They’ve been giving us nine to 10 hours and they wake up for a quick bottle and go back down for another hour and a half.”
Saum has avoided cutting her boys’ long curly shoulder-length locks — and isn’t planning on taking the plunge anytime soon.
“I’m not going to ever,” she says. “I just don’t see the point unless they have a job interview coming up, then I might consider it. But even then, I might try to fake a pin under a bun or something.”
John carries a slightly darker shade of brown than his brother Michael, who sports natural highlights. “This one is a little blond,” says Saum. “Teri Polo, my costar on The Fosters, is always like, ‘That’s my son. He’s blond!’ I don’t know what happened biologically, but he’s mine.”
Though their sleep patterns and hair length are the same, differences in their personalities are definitely starting to show. “From day one, Michael was like, ‘Hey, I’m the showman,’ ” Saum says. “John is super chill, we call him ‘super chill.’ ”
The couple are encouraging their children to learn Spanish and admit their bilingual skills are in full force.
“They have a repository of vocabulary words now,” says Saum. “We speak to them in Spanish so they have about six, seven, eight words now. They’re saying, ‘hola,’ ‘luna,’ [and] ‘mas.’ The big one is ‘mas’ — more, more, more! Mas! Mas! Mas!”
The family will be enjoying more and more festive cheer as they set up their home for the holidays. “They’re starting now to just notice a lot of things so we will decorate a tree,” says Saum. “They’ll be able to decorate a tree for the first time.”
As parents, they know things won’t be perfect and that when it comes to the tree the kids will probably “knock it down,” Reyes jokes. Which makes the holiday all the more fun for this family.
“We’re going to take it as it comes,” Saum shares. “I’m big on not forcing things and not trying to be the perfect Christmas mom. I’m just going to be like, ‘Let’s get through the day and see if we can have a candy cane and call it success.’ ”
— Raha Lewis
“Adrienne and I enjoyed a lot of pillow talk while we were dating about having kids and raising a big family,” Chris, 31, told PEOPLE at Monday night’s opening of Sparkle + Shine Darling, Adrienne’s glam new gift shop, cafe and event space in Miami Beach.
He adds, “It’s exciting to actually be doing it now!”
Already the parents of three children, the couple admit they enjoy the chaos of hearing many young voices filling their home.
“I love having lots of children around, and a big family is wonderful for holidays and other traditions. It’s really fun to watch them grow and become cohesive adults,” Adrienne, 30, told PEOPLE during the party that included Chris’ basketball teammate Dwyane Wade and his actress wife Gabrielle Union.
The couple are parents to Trinity, 7, who is Chris’ daughter with Allison Mathis, and Jackson 3, and Dylan Skye, 2, their children together. Already, the Bosh kids are thrilled to welcome new siblings.
“Jackson thinks the twins will be a big brother and sister who want to play with him,” says Adrienne with a laugh. “He is excited, but doesn’t quite understand. Trinity went to the ultrasound with me. And Dylan rubs my stomach and puts lotion on me.”
While awaiting their arrivals, Adrienne will be busy with day-to-day operations of the new store, which has become a passion over the last couple of years.
“I haven’t had time to think about a nursery because I have been part of the creative process of this store and curating with unique gifts from around the world,” Adrienne says of the glittery, girly shop done up in pink and black with gold and silver accents.
“But I have a good team around me who will help when I need the time,” she explains.
Among the dozens of displays of whimsical and practical gifts, stationery and books, Adrienne has several sections of baby gifts like pink studded slippers, tutus, hand knitted hats, stuffed animals, bows, dolls, pajamas and adorable little purses.
She loves to dress her own toddlers and applauds her husband for being such an amazing dad even though he is constantly busy with his basketball career.
“Chris is a great father,” she shares. “He helps me dress the kids, feed them and put them to bed when he is not sword-fighting with our son!”
She adds: “I would not be having more kids with him if he weren’t so good!”
Chris is super anxious to welcome their new additions — even if their births may coincide with the NBA playoffs.
“The joy of babies is priceless,” Bosh tells PEOPLE. “And I consider them good luck. We can’t wait!”
— Linda Marx
David Nail is on fire — on all fronts!
In addition to his hot new single, “Night’s on Fire,” the country singer is also set to become a first-time father — to twins!
Nail walked the red carpet at Wednesday’s CMA Awards with his leading lady, wife Catherine, on his arm.
And while the couple stunned in their evening ensembles — Nail in his dapper Zegna suit and the mom-to-be in a fuchsia dress — all eyes were on Catherine’s budding baby belly.
Nail told PEOPLE they’re expecting both a boy and a girl and that she could give birth “any minute now but hopefully in the next four weeks.”
“We struggled with infertility for years and really just had to stick together to get through it,” Catherine said.
Her husband added, “Everyone tells us instincts take over and that’s what we’re hoping.”
The news is yet another bright spot for Nail, who spent 10 years living in deep depression before “bottoming out” in 2012.
“I carried around a lot of guilt because I had all these blessings in my life and yet I was still struggling to try to find some joy,” he told PEOPLE in April 2014.
Nail — who’s currently out on the Southern Style Tour with Darius Rucker — and Catherine wed in 2009.
— Anya Leon with reporting by Sarah Michaud
While her newborn twin daughters may have come a few months early, Glory Johnson is still overjoyed by motherhood — and keeping her fans constantly updated.
The 25-year-old WNBA star’s baby girls, Ava Simone and Solei Diem, entered the world on Oct. 12 at only 1 lb., 7 oz., each, but were originally due in February.
In a new Instagram post, shared Wednesday, tiny Ava rests her head in a knit pink cap.
“The Babies are doing Good!!!” Johnson writes. “While sitting at the hospital, I find myself constant staring, trying to spot out any differences between Ava & Solei . . . In my last post, you can see that Solei’s hair is Very Dark, but I wonder what color Ava’s hair is going to be??? Black, Brown, or Blonde.”
The athlete, who took a season off during her pregnancy, added the hashtags “#MommyLovesYouSoMuch” “#KeepPraying” and “#KeepFighting.”
Courtesy Glory Johnson; Inset: Getty
RELATED VIDEO: Celeb Moms Spill: The Ups and Downs of Breastfeeding
On Tuesday, Johnson shared a photo of Ava’s sister, who has a shock of dark brown hair.
Ava and Solei were conceived via in vitro fertilization with a donor’s sperm while Johnson was first married to fellow WNBA star Brittney Griner.
— Lindsay Kimble
They’re keeping her on her toes already.
WNBA star Glory Johnson took to her Instagram account on Thursday to post an adorable photo of her newborn twin daughters‘ tiny feet nestled next to each other in their hospital bed.
A picture of Johnson with the word “Mommy” written across it can be seen hanging in the background, in front of the baby girls.
The 25-year-old Tulsa Shock player captioned the snap, “My Sweet Babies opened their eyes today!!! #AvaSimone#SoleiDiem #JohnsonTwins.”
Johnson later shared a follow-up Instagram post featuring a fitting inspirational quote: “There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.”
“Mommy Loves You 1 Week 4 Days #JustTheBeginning#KeepFighting #AvaSimone #SoleiDiem,” she captioned the second post.
Johnson gave birth to her two baby girls, Ava Simone and Solei Diem, via c-section on Oct. 12, much earlier than their February due date.
In another Instagram post welcoming her daughters, the WNBA star wrote, “Born a little earlier than expected, I have no worries because these babies are fighters just like I am.”
Johnson’s wife, fellow WNBA star Brittney Griner, filed for an annulment of their May marriage just one day after Johnson announced in June that she was pregnant via in vitro fertilization with a donor’s sperm. The annulment was denied in August, however, and the two remain legally married.
— Tierney McAfee
Céline Dion‘s twin sons are growing up so fast, but their love for Mickey Mouse is still going strong.
On Wednesday, the singer, 47, took her boys Eddy and Nelson to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, for an early start on their birthday celebrations. (Dion and husband René Angélil welcomed the fraternal twins nearly 5 years ago on Oct. 23, 2010. They also have an eldest son, René-Charles, now 14.)
At one point, Dion and her twins took a break from the rides for some face time with Mickey himself, gathering for a group photo in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The adorable snap shows Dion beaming as she kneels down next to her boys, who are wearing matching outfits, including the same Converse shoes their famous mom has on.
Scott Brinegar/Disneyland Resort/Getty
Fans might be used to seeing Dion dressed to the nines for the stage, but the diva kept it casual for her fun family day, opting for white pants and a comfortable grey top.
It’s been a challenging time for the singer, whose husband Angélil, 73, is battling throat cancer. After a year-long break to care for him, the star returned to the stage at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum in August.
Dion opened up about her husband’s health struggles in an interview with USA TODAY that same month.
“I’ll say, ‘You’re scared? I understand. Talk to me about it,'” she explained. “And René says to me, ‘I want to die in your arms.’ Okay, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms.”
— Nick Maslow
Despite the thousands of “World’s Greatest Dad” mugs in the hands of dads who are, by all accounts, pretty solid, Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka may just win the actual World’s Greatest Dad awards.
On Monday night, Harris posted photos on his Instagram account of the massive birthday cake he and Burtka created for their twins, Harper and Gideon.
“Happy 5th birthday to Gideon and Harper, the two greatest kids in all the land! (Cakes created and decorated by their fathers),” Harris captioned a photo of his beaming kids, dressed up in “formal” attire and sparkly crowns.
Courtesy Neil Patrick Harris
The cake, which appears to be covered in cinnamon sugar, features several characters in battle, including “droids fighting princesses.”
“The droids were mostly winning, but princesses have gumption,” Harris captioned a close-up of Gideon’s side of the cake, decorated with a giant “G.” (Harper’s side has an “H.”)
Another birthday celebration for the twins? Going to Blue Hill Farm in upstate New York to pick apples.
Conclusion: We love our dads, yes … but kind of feel bad about not being raised by Harris and Burtka.
— Maria Yagoda
Kevin Zegers is in between jobs right now — and he’s totally fine with that.
“I don’t know how one person could physically raise twins on their own,” the actor says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. “There’s just not enough time or hands to do everything that needs to be done. It’s nice that my wife and I are doing as much as we can together.”
“We really tried for a while to have children — we didn’t just happen to get pregnant,” says Zegers. “We definitely wanted these girls and knew that we would be super attentive.”
Zoë (left) and Blake (right) with Zegers – M.A. Katcher
The time together is even more precious for Zegers after spending his first five days as a father with Blake — his older daughter by two minutes — in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit because of her smaller birth weight.
Meanwhile, Feld was recovering — and caring for Zoë — on a different floor of the hospital.
“I would go up to the NICU to feed Blake and FaceTime my wife so she could see her,” says Zegers.
Now back at their Los Angeles home with “little Buddha” Zoë (who has big eyes like Mom) and their “thinker” Blake (who’s inherited Dad’s dimples) Zegers and Feld have developed a “healthy sense of humor” for when things get particularly daunting.
“The other day, I was in the backseat with them and they were both screaming at the top of their lungs,” says Feld, 36, a talent agent. “[Kevin and I] were crying because we were laughing so hard — if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry too.”
Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Screen Gems/AP
She continues, “Everything about them is so amazing and every day they do something different. I’m sure every parent says this, but I think they’re geniuses.”
And Zegers agrees. “We’re already saving money for both of them to go to college,” he explains. “Harvard.”
For more on Zegers and Feld’s twins, including how they chose their names, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
— Patrick Gomez
Twice as nice!
The 40 year old wrote that she is expecting identical twin girls in December — news that took the couple completely by surprise.
“I have no family history of twins or any other predisposing factors. However, as I’ve now learned, identical twins occur by random chance in roughly one out of approximately every 300 pregnancies,” she explains. “Zack and I have embraced the surprise and are very excited about these new additions to our family.”
Although she’s prepping for double the work, Mayer — already mom to son Macallister, 3 this month — doesn’t plan to leave the office for too long.
“Since my pregnancy has been healthy and uncomplicated and since this is a unique time in Yahoo’s transformation,” she writes, “I plan to approach the pregnancy and delivery as I did with my son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout.”
The mom-to-be — and one of America’s most prominent female CEOs — told NBC’s Today that she will take two weeks leave during the pregnancy and will work from home.
— Charlene Adams
Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Screen
Kevin Zegers has two new little buddies: His baby girls!
“They’re here! I’ve never been more in love than I am with the gift my beautiful wife just gave me … Zoe Madison and Blake Everleigh Zegers,” the proud new dad Tweeted.
“Kevin and Jaime have not let the twins out of their sight since they were born. They are so thrilled to have two happy and healthy baby girls!” a source tells PEOPLE.
In April, Zegers, 30, confirmed he was doubling his family with Feld, a talent agent, with the upcoming addition of twin girls.
“Kevin and Jaime are so excited and can’t wait for their little bundles of joy to arrive,” his rep told PEOPLE.
With weeks to go until the arrival of their daughters, Zegers told PEOPLE that all the bags were packed and the nursery was complete. According to the dad-to-be, all that was missing were the new additions.
“I’m getting the car seats put in,” the actor told PEOPLE in July. “I took a few months off of work so I can focus on baby stuff. The nursery’s all done — I’ve been doing that for the past month or two.”
One thing that wasn’t completely set in stone: baby names. “We have a few, but we want to wait, meet them and see what they look like,” he explained.
And although it’s double the diaper duty, Zegers — who will take a break from work to spend time as a family of four — admits the proud new parents have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“We were trying to have kids — we didn’t just happen to get pregnant,” he said. “Twins is obviously a lot, but we’re just super grateful that we were able to get pregnant.”
— Anya Leon with reporting by Patrick Gomez and Raha Lewis
One thing is certain: Mariah Carey‘s kids were not impressed with their mom getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Four-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe Cannon were amusingly vying for their mother’s attention — and a little mic time –as their mom was honored Wednesday.
“Mommy, mommy,” Moroccan repeated as he tugged on Carey’s custom-designed Yousef Aljasmi dress while she tried to give an acceptance speech.
Finally bowing to her son’s wishes, the “We Belong Together” singer picked up her son, who sweetly declared, “I love you Mommy” into the microphone before a little impromptu singing and chatting.
Seemingly envious of her brother’s moment in the spotlight, Monroe then told her mom she wanted a little mic time too. Carey conceded, and Monroe adorably said, “I love you Mommy” as well.
“I better get through with this before the kids want to come up and talk again!” Carey joked once she finally got a word in. “Thank you so much, really, everybody for being here … I just want to thank all the fans for coming. This is a huge honor. A childhood dream come true … Before these kids take me off the stage, I guess I should move along. Thank you so much.”
The duo got a little rambunctious at other times as well, running around before settling into adults’ laps. Moroccan appeared to be the more outgoing one of the pair, at times even asking his mom for gum.
“I didn’t know what they were going to do or say. Trust me, it was not planned!” Carey told PEOPLE after the ceremony. “For them to be here was everything. I’m so humbled and grateful.”
On Tuesday night, Carey hosted a pre-ceremony private dinner at her $30 million Airbnb estate to celebrate. Guests — including Brett Ratner, Jeff Beacher and French Montana — enjoyed lobster rolls and mini sliders by STK Out and Infuse Vodka cocktails. Later, Carey enjoyed some grown-up time at the reception at Beacher’s Madhouse at The Roosevelt Hotel. She joined LA Reid at a table and at one point walked over to the deejay and requested he play an unreleased remix of “Infinity” with Montana and Justin Bieber.
— Kathy Ehrich Dowd with reporting by Melody Chiu and Christina Dugan
The singer posted an Instagram photo of her children’s first day of summer school.
“First day for Roc and Roe and they’re already in summer school … Following in my footsteps,” Carey captioned the snapshot of son Moroccan and daughter Monroe, her twins with ex-husband Nick Cannon.
While Moroccan looks shyly at the camera, Monroe is busy striking a sassy pose.
Courtesy Mariah Carey
— Lily Lopate
Good things come in twos, especially babies.
On April 13, Dylan Lauren and husband Paul Arrouet became first-time parents to twins.
The couple, who used a surrogate “because it was the way we wanted to start a family,” says Lauren, were both in the delivery room when son Cooper Blue and daughter Kingsley Rainbow were born.
“It was amazing. I was crying, my husband was crying. [And] we were very nervous. I had never held a baby before,” Lauren, the founder and CEO of Dylan’s Candy Bar, tells PEOPLE.
“But the delivery room nurses were holding them in these weird positions — it helped me understand that they’re not going to break,” says the new mom.
Now Lauren, 41, and her financier husband of four years, 44, are settling into parenthood. “We’re both excited. It’s like an instafamily!” says Lauren.
Cooper, or “Mr. Blue” as Lauren has affectionately come to call him, together with sister Kingsley are the first grandchildren in the Lauren family. “My parents spoil them,” says Lauren. “My dad [designer Ralph Lauren] loves seeing his clothes on them.”
And though time is flying and Lauren “got sad when they turned 2 months,” the candy entrepreneur is excited for the years to come.
“Bringing them to work will be fun. Dylan’s Candy Bars are perfect for kids,” notes Lauren. “My husband’s a little jealous.”
And Lauren, who is herself a fan of toy stores and zoos, can’t wait to share such experiences with her twins. “I’m looking forward to showing them things that inspire me, like Disneyland. I can’t wait,” she says.
— Jennifer Heyde
Glory Johnson just scored the ultimate double-double.
“It’s not a surprise for me because this is what we planned for with the IVF cycle, though hearing their hearts beat for [the first] time was the most ASTONISHING thing I have ever heard in my ENTIRE LIFE,” she writes.
Johnson, 24, continues, “For 15yrs Double-Doubles came with hardwork and dedication … now I’ve been blessed by God to have ‘double doubles’ for the rest of my life!”
The expectant athlete teased the news Sunday night, posting an Instagram of the words ‘Big News’ with the caption, “Coming soon!!!!”
One month after their May nuptials, the two-time Tulsa Shock All-Star announced she was expecting a baby with wife Brittney Griner. But the following day, Griner filed for an annulment, a move that left the mom-to-be “truly really saddened.”
Griner, 24, called the former couple’s May wedding a “huge mistake” in an interview with ESPN.
“Prior to us getting married, I knew I didn’t want to,” Griner said, sobbing. “I shouldn’t have went through with it. You know, sometimes you feel pressured into things, and I went along with it. And I know I shouldn’t have. It was a huge mistake. I just knew it was a mistake.”
In a statement released by Johnson, she also cleared up any rumors that Griner, a player for the Phoenix Mercury, was pressured into starting a family.
“At no stage was Brittney pressured to undertake the fertility process. In fact, throughout the entire process, Brittney was a willing participant, consenting and signing all the necessary documents that needed to be signed in order to move forward with the treatments,” she said.
— Anya Leon
Hoppy birthday, John and Michael!
Actress Sherri Saum and her husband Kamar de los Reyes celebrated a major milestone in their twins’ lives — their first birthday! — with a frog-themed party at their Hollywood-area home on Saturday, May 16.
After receiving invites from EchoAge, guests — including The Fosters cast — showed up at the backyard bash, which Good Carma Studio and Laura Stewart Design had transformed into a party space inspired by the boys’ favorite cartoon, Atención Atención.
In between playing games and posing for pictures, guests noshed on a barbecue spread of salads, mac & cheese and chicken fingers. Trays filled with nutritional chocolate shakes from Usana were also passed around to the pint-sized crowd, while the adults sipped on La Croix‘s lemon, lime and passion fruit sparkling water.
Before heading home with treat bags filled with goodies from Mabel’s Labels, Little Green and Soothie Suckers, everyone indulged in Polkatots‘s dessert bar, made up of caramel apples, one-shaped cookies and a vanilla and chocolate frog cupcake cake.
The Fosters returns June 8 at 8 p.m. on ABC Family.
After the party, Saum caught up with PEOPLE to discuss everything from her favorite memory of the day and the twins’ personalities to their sleep schedules and how her marriage has changed since becoming a mother.
PEOPLE: What was your favorite thing about the party? Any sweet/memorable moments with the boys?
Sherri: The party was dynamite. I used to think we’d be the anti big celebration parents. “Here’s a birthday paper bag, you guys, now go play in the yard.”
But I was totally enchanted with what the Good Carma girls created for the boys. A frog fantasy inspired by their favorite Spanish TV show Atencion Atencion. I loved everything, but I think my favorite was the smash cakes and genius treats from Polkatots. The boys looked so confused as to why we were allowing this mayhem. But, they finally got into it and made the most beautiful mess.
PEOPLE: When they were born, you said John was quieter and Michael was your man-baby. Are their personalities still completely opposite?
Sherri: I’d say John is still the more chill of the two; he’s really focused and very independent. Michael likes action and interaction, and he’s super rambunctious.
PEOPLE: Now that they’re mobile, how have things changed? Is Kamar still the baby whisperer when it comes to settling them down?
Sherri: Now that they are crawling and nearly walking, we are constantly yanking them out of the empty fireplace or chasing them up and down the stairs. It feels like an Olympic sport!
Kamar is a performer and really puts on a show for them. He dances and sings and can turn tantrums into laughter.
PEOPLE: Are they sleeping through the night yet?
Sherri: They’ve been sleeping like kings since about 5 months, which means now we can, too. It makes all the difference in the world when everyone is rested.
Although I confess to having a confusing impulse to wake them and play some more. No matter how tired I may be, I miss them as soon as they go to sleep.
PEOPLE: You mentioned that you had found your groove with breastfeeding. Are you still nursing?
Sherri: I’m no longer breastfeeding and I miss that as well. Even though working and nursing was a little nutty, that connection and bonding was one of my favorite things.
PEOPLE: What has been the hardest part of motherhood during the first year?
Sherri: I’d say the hardest part during the first year was Kamar and I melding our parenting styles and instincts — I’m super laid back and he functions best with planning and schedules.
But as stubborn as I am in my freewheeling ways, I have to admit that having structure was crucial to making this machine run well.
PEOPLE: How has it been balancing both babies with your role on The Fosters? Do you bring the babies to the set?
Sherri: For me, the only way to manage the shooting schedule with The Fosters and having newborns was to have them come to set as often as possible. Some days it could only be 30 minutes, but it calmed me and made me so happy to be able to at least squish them and kiss them as much as I could.
PEOPLE: What’s one thing you would tell another expectant mom?
Sherri: I would tell another expectant mom that sometimes Googling your pregnancy and baby questions can be helpful — but don’t overdo it.
There’s so much contradictory advice and information it can be overwhelming. Trust that you will figure things out in your own time and that it really does get easier and more fun every day.
PEOPLE: Do you think your family is complete or will John and Michael eventually become big brothers?
Sherri: I’d like to think we have an addition on the family radar, but I’m so grateful and in love with our two boys so I don’t want to get greedy!
PEOPLE: Their hair is gorgeous! Have they had their first hair cut yet?
Sherri: I can’t cut their hair, I can’t! Don’t make me! And other moms out there, don’t judge me when we cruise by with their hair in man buns until they’re 25.
PEOPLE: How has your marriage changed since welcoming the twins?
Sherri: Kamar and I definitely have to carve out our “we” time and keep it sacred — it could be very easy to be baby-consumed and put ourselves down the priority list. But it’s nice putting extra thought into what we will do. It feels very date-like and special.
PEOPLE: What do John and Michael think of their big brother, Caylen? What’s their relationship like?
Sherri: Caylen is almost 18 and so thrilled to finally have siblings. When they were first born, he wrote them the sweetest letter that we had framed, telling them they can always count on him.
He’s the kindest, warmest young man and he’s going to be an amazing influence on them in years to come.
— Anya Leon
Mariah Carey wants to give her kids the world — literally.
During a Friday appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael at Disneyland, the singer admitted she’s excited for her twins Monroe and Moroccan to experience the happiest place on earth.
“The babies can’t wait to get on the rides. They’re super excited,” Carey, 46, shares.
David M. Russell/Disney/ABC
“I’ve been loving Disney forever — since I first came here — because when I was little, I didn’t have the money to come to Disney so I had to make up for it over the years,” says Carey.
She explains, “I just want them to have everything that I never had, [but] now they want everything and more!”
Carey’s love for the magical amusement park isn’t the only thing she’s passed on to her children with Nick Cannon. On Monday, the mom of two visited Jimmy Kimmel Live! and brought both 4 year olds out on stage.
“My daughter loves to sing and Roc now loves to sing. They want to come up … and sing, especially Monroe,” says Carey.
“I don’t want to be a stage mother like, ‘Get on stage, sweetie, you got to sing.’ But I don’t want to keep her from it [either].”
— Anya Leon | <urn:uuid:260afe7b-3df0-43a7-b2a4-e0b8d2b1fa11> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | http://www.celeb.name/category/multiples/ | 2020-10-29T05:17:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902745.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029040021-20201029070021-00280.warc.gz | en | 0.968733 | 10,655 |
|Kent Kiehl and Julia Lushing (2014), Scholarpedia, 9(5):30835.||doi:10.4249/scholarpedia.30835||revision #141274 [link to/cite this article]|
Psychopathy is a personality disorder defined by a constellation of affective and behavioral symptoms. The symptoms of psychopathy include shallow affect; lack of empathy, guilt and remorse; irresponsibility; impulsivity; and poor planning and decision-making (Kiehl & Hoffman, 2011). The best current estimate suggests that just less than 1% of all non-institutionalized adults meet criteria for the disorder (Hare, 1996). The base rate of psychopathy is higher in institutional settings, with an estimated 15-25% of incarcerated individuals meeting criteria for the disorder.
It was Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) (Figure 1), the founding father of modern psychiatry, who first described a group of patients afflicted with mania sans délire (insanity without delirium)(Pinel, 1801). The term was used to describe individuals who had no intellectual problems but a profound deficit in behavior typified by marked cruelty, antisocial acts, alcohol and drug use, irresponsibility, and immorality. Pinel described a type of “moral insanity” that occurred in the absence of confusion in mind and intellect, differentiating these cases from patients with psychotic behaviors.
Importantly, psychosis and psychopathy are not the same. Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality that leads to symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thoughts. Psychosis presents itself in disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Psychotic symptoms are not typically observed in individuals with psychopathy. Indeed, it was the absence of psychotic symptoms that originally differentiated individuals with psychopathy from other patient groups.
German psychiatrist, J.L.A. Koch (1841-1908) (Figure 2), coined the term psychopastiche, or psychopath, in 1888. Koch claimed that psychopathy arose from a flaw in one’s constitution at birth. Constitutional psychopathy became a popular disorder in the literature of the early 1900s.
Koch recognized that assessing psychopathic traits requires a holistic appraisal of the patient’s life history. This gestalt view is necessary to accurately characterize psychopathic traits in an individual. Koch’s strategy is generalizable to assessing all personality traits and was included in the 8th edition of Emil Kraepelin’s classic textbook on clinical psychiatry (Feuchtersleben, 1845).
Even though Koch’s psychopastiche construct was more focused than the concept “moral insanity,” it was still sufficiently broad to encompass personality disorders generally. Psychopastiche constituted people who hurt themselves (i.e., suicide attempts) as well as others. This overly encompassing definition lost sight of the moral disability that is central to what is today known as psychopathy.
By the 1920s psychiatry was using the word psychopath to include people who were depressed, weak-willed, and excessively shy and insecure—in other words, it became a placeholder for abnormal psychology.
Psychopathy vs. Sociopathy
In 1909, Birnbaum suggested that sociopathic might be a better term than psychopathic to describe individuals with this particular constellation of symptoms. Birnbaum believed that antisocial behavior rarely stemmed from constitutional flaws in character. Rather, he felt that most antisocial acts emanate from the operation of societal forces that make the more acceptable forms of behavior difficult to learn (Birnbaum, 1909). One of the immediate problems with the diagnosis of sociopathy was that it, like many of its predecessors, was too broad and encompassed far too many individuals. Literally every criminal met the criteria for sociopathy as it was defined. Unfortunately, the term sociopathy has been used in colloquial settings interchangeably with psychopathy ever since.Psychopathy and sociopathy generally refer to the same set of symptoms, but sociopathy connotes social origins, whereas psychopathy is agnostic to etiology, meaning social and biological reasons are equally plausible. The term sociopathy is not used in modern academic circles anymore.
A closely related construct to psychopathy, is anti-social personality disorder (APD). APD is defined in the DSM-V as a having a pervasive disregard for and willingness to violate the rights of others (DSM-V, 2013). While most individuals with APD d0 not meet the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy, psychopaths are almost invariably diagnosed with APD (Harpur,1994). APD is more closely correlated with Factor 2 of the PCL-R than Factor 1. It is also important to note that unlike APD, psychopathy is actually not in the DSM, but is still a very useful clinical diagnosis in a forensic context.
Modern Conception of Psychopathy
In 1941, Dr. Hervey Cleckley published the first edition of The Mask of Sanity (Figure 3), a compilation of clinical research and case studies conducted with a wide variety of psychopaths from both community and institutional settings. The title refers to the “mask” of normalcy psychopaths put forth, hiding what Cleckley describes as a serious, yet unappreciated psychiatric defect (Cleckley, 1976). After nearly fifty years of clinical work and through four subsequent editions of The Mask of Sanity, Cleckley’s characterization of psychopathy is still used today. His work is considered to be of seminal importance and The Mask of Sanity remains one of the most influential clinical descriptions of the disorder.
Measurement Tools and Assessment of Psychopathy
The two most common ways to assess psychopathic traits are to use expert rater devices and self-report inventories.
Hare Psychopath Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)4) created the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) in 1980 and revised it in 1991 (PCL-R) (Hare, 1991) (Figure 5). The Psychopathy Checklist and its successors remain the most widely used expert-rater devices to assess psychopathy today (Craig et.al, 2008). The PCL-R comprises twenty items that are used to assess the presence of psychopathic traits in adults. The standard procedure to complete the PCL-R is comprised of two parts. The first part includes an extensive review of collateral sources of information (e.g., reports about family, education, extra-curricular activities, work history, relationships with family and friends). The second part of the assessment is a detailed life history interview with the patient. The in-person interview is strongly recommended but not required to validly complete the Psychopathy Checklist provided there is sufficient collateral information on the patient. Thus, the Psychopathy Checklist can be completed even if the patient refuses to cooperate in the interview. Using all available information, the expert rates the patient on the 20 items according to very specific scoring criteria articulated in the PCL-R manual. The scores on the PCL-R range from 0 to 40. The average PCL-R score in the general male population is 4 out of 40. The mean PCL-R score in male prison samples is 22. A score of 30 or higher is considered a high score. Thirty is one-standard deviation above the mean score of prison samples and is the score typically used to signify high, or diagnostic, levels of the traits. Approximately 15-25% of incarcerated males will meet criteria for psychopathy, using 30 as the cut-off score.
Psychopathic traits are less common in females than in males. However, within forensic samples, females show a similar distribution of psychopathic traits as men. The mean Psychopathy Checklist score for female offenders is 19 with a standard deviation of 7.5 (Hare, 2001).In addition to the PCL-R, Dr. Hare and collaborators also developed the PCL- SV (screening version) and PCL-YV (youth version)(Figure 6). The PCL-SV is a shorter version of the PCL-R and is useful for assessing psychopathy in non-forensic populations. The PCL-YV is a twenty-item test specifically designed for the assessment of psychopathic traits in males and females between 12 and 18 years old (Neumann et al., 2006). However, the label psychopathy is not advisable in minor populations. Rather these latter traits are referred to as callous/unemotional traits in youth.
There is now a well-developed peer-reviewed literature on the use of expert-rated devices to assess psychopathy. The PCL-R has been translated into over 16 languages and is used around the world in forensic settings to assess the disorder.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) conception of psychopathy
The DSM is the standard guidebook for defining mental illnesses in the United States. It provides a template for how clinicians assess and classify patients into various categories of mental illness. Determining a patient’s diagnosis is usually the first step towards determining the best course of treatment. However, defining mental illness is a complicated process and the DSM is an evolving document.
While almost everyone recognized the importance of the affective traits Cleckley articulated as central to the construct of psychopathy, some psychiatrists had doubts about the average clinician’s abilities to reliably detect affective criteria (e.g. lack of empathy, guilt or remorse). It was this tension—between those who did and did not think the affective traits could be reliably diagnosed—that drove the swinging pendulum of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Illnesses (DSM) classification of psychopathy over successive iterations (Kiehl & Hoffman, 2011).
There was widespread dissatisfaction (Hare, 1998; Livesley & Schroeder, 1991; Widiger & Corbitt, 1995; Widiger et al., 1996) with early versions of the DSM’s treatment of Antisocial Personality Disorder/Psychopathy. This led the American Psychiatric Association to conduct field studies in an effort to improve the coverage of the traditional symptoms of psychopathy. The result was that the DSM-IV reintroduced some of the affective criteria the DSM-III left out, but in a compromise it provided virtually no guidance about how to integrate these symptoms. This has led to substantial confusion within the clinical community.
The DSM conceptualization of Antisocial Personality Disorder is very broad and approximately 80% of prison inmates will meet criteria for the disorder. Thus, the condition has very little predictive utility within forensic samples because it is essentially synonymous with criminality. And in the opinion of the authors, criminal behavior, per se, is not a disorder.
Confusion between the DSM concept of Antisocial Personality Disorder and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) assessment of psychopathy remains problematic in many academic and forensic circles. The two expert-rater devices are very different, and their labels should not be used interchangeably. The DSM Antisocial Personality Disorder construct is not a sufficient proxy for a PCL-R score.
Thus, given the limitations of Antisocial Personality Disorder as defined by the DSM, the most common expert-rater instrument to comprehensively assess psychopathic traits remains the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).
Whereas clinicians typically use expert-rater instruments to assess psychopathy in forensic contexts, researchers have developed a number of self-report inventories to assess psychopathic traits in non-institutionalized populations (e.g., undergraduate students). Self-report scales are typically quicker to collect than expert-rater instruments and they require little clinical training to administer and score.
Some notable self-report psychopathy scales include:
- Self-report Psychopathy Scale (SRP) (Hare, 1985)
- Levenson Self Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP)(Levenson et al., 1995)
- Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI)(Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996)
- Parent and teacher reports for assessment of callous/unemotional traits in youth (Frick et al., 2003)
- Lynam’s Self-Report Child Psychopathy Scale (Lynam, 1998)
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Lilienfeld, 1999)
- Gough Socialization Scale (Taylor et al., 2000)
Self-report measures of psychopathy have been shown to modestly correlate with expert-rater devices (Kedrick & Funder, 1988). However, there are several limitations of self-reports that are worth mentioning.
First, self-report scales require cooperation. Many individuals may be unwilling to complete the scales if they are to be used in an adversarial legal proceeding, such as a risk assessment. As noted above, expert-rater instruments can often be completed even if the client refuses to participate in the process. Also, a central characteristic of psychopathy is lying and conning behavior. Self-report scales are more likely to be susceptible to manipulation than expert-rater devices.
Second, self-report scales typically require an eighth grade or higher reading level and vocabulary. Such abilities are often lower than normal in forensic populations. Also, to the extent an individual with psychopathy lacks insight into his psychological state, he will not be able to accurately assess his own behavior and its impact on other people (Miller et al., 2011). It may be inherently problematic to ask a psychopath to report on the presence or absence of emotions such as guilt or fear if they have never experienced them (Cleckley, 1941/1988).
Third, self-report scales may also be more susceptible to the current mental state of the participant. For example, if the client is currently depressed they may endorse self-report items differently than if they are not depressed. Psychopathic traits are stable, enduring traits that are present in multiple domains of a person’s life. Thus, any procedure to assess the traits needs to be immune from acute psychological states (e.g. anger, depression, etc).
Self-report assessments of psychopathy generally remain limited to academic inquiries. Due to the limitations articulated above, they are not widely recommended for use in clinical samples, especially in forensic and adversarial settings. Nevertheless, self-report instruments are widely used in research and have led to numerous insights regarding the condition. For these reasons, the author’s recommendation is to collect both expert-rater data and self-report inventories of psychopathic traits whenever possible.
Symptom Profiles, Factors and Facets of Psychopathic Traits
Statistical techniques have been used to parse psychopathic traits into two underlying dimensions or factors. Each dimension may also be meaningfully expressed as comprising one or more facets (Hare & Neumann, 2006). Factor 1 (composed of facets 1 and 2) measure interpersonal (e.g. glibness, grandiosity, pathological lying, conning behavior etc.) and affective (e.g. lack of remorse or guilt, shallow affect, lack of empathy, failure to accept responsibility etc.) traits. Factor 2 (composed of facets 3 and 4) measure lifestyle (e.g. need for stimulation, parasitic lifestyle, lack of realistic long term goals or plans, impulsivity, irresponsibility etc.) and antisocial/developmental (e.g. early behavioral problems, juvenile delinquency, poor behavioral controls, revocation of conditional release, criminal versatility etc.) tendencies (Hare & Neumann, 2009).
It is important to note that psychometric analysis of the different factors and facets of psychopathy is an active area of academic research. A number of different models have been proposed and meaningful relationships have been found between the different factors, facets, and external variables. For example, Factor 1 seems to be positively correlated with intelligence scores whereas Factor 2 appears to be negatively correlated with intelligence scores (Blonigen et al., 2010).
Forensic Utility of the Construct of Psychopathy
The PCL-R was designed to assess psychopathic traits in the clinical tradition articulated by Cleckley. However, many studies have shown that the PCL-R scores predict recidivism, which has contributed to its widespread use in the criminal justice system.
A meta-analysis examining the relationship between PCL-R scores and violent recidivism among both sexes and juvenile and adult populations yielded a mean weighted Cohen’s d of .47 across 68 effect sizes (Leistico, Salekin, Decoster, & Rogers, 2008; Rice & Harris, 2005). Additional meta-analyses yielded a mean (weighted) AUC of .67 across seven effect sizes, (Walters, 2003) and .66 across 24 effect sizes (Campbell et al., 2009). These results amount to moderate effect sizes in the behavioral sciences (Cohen, 1988). Additionally, two meta-analyses of PCL-Youth Version scores and violent recidivism yielded AUC’s of .64 across twenty (Oliver et al., 2009) and fifteen (Edens et.al., 2007) effect sizes, also indicating moderate predictive value. The PCL-R has also demonstrated significant predictive value with respect to sexual recidivism, particularly when combined with a measure of sexual deviance (Hawes et al., 2012).
The PCL-R is also used as a component of several instruments that were explicitly designed to assess future risk of violence. The following are popular risk assessors that incorporate the PCL-R:
- Violence Risk Assessment Guide (Quinsey et al., 1998)
- Historical-Clinical-Risk Management 20 (Webster et al., 1997)
- Domestic Violence Risk Assessment Guide (Hilton et al., 2008)
It is important to note that the PCL-R may not predict recidivism in all populations. For example, there is little research examining the Psychopathy Checklist’s ability to predict recidivism in adolescent females and non-Caucasian adult male populations (Edens, Magyar & Cox, 2013).
Due to the significance of the PCL-R in forensic settings, including determination of liberty and death sentences, careful scrutiny of its predictive value is essential. Indeed, judges and parole boards often use the PCL-R to predict future dangerousness, equating high scores with higher risk of recidivism (Freedman, 2001). Accordingly, misuse of the PCL-R in incarcerated individuals could have serious consequences (Edens, 2001). Thus, it is strongly advised that specifically trained experts administer and score the PCL-R in appropriate contexts (Hare, 2003).
Causes and Precursors
The causes and specific pathophysiology of psychopathy are an active area of research. Like other mental illnesses, psychopathy appears in all races and cultures. Cleckley and other authors have long noted that psychopathy may manifest in both genders, in all socio-economic strata, and in all cultures and races (Cleckley, 1941/1988). At the present time, the general consensus is that a genetic predisposition is necessary for psychopathy while environmental conditions determine its specific expression (Porter, 1996).
Taxon versus Dimensional Constructs of Psychopathy
One preliminary question regarding the etiology of psychopathy is whether the disorder is dimensional or categorical in nature. As with most personality disorders, this is an ongoing topic of research in psychopathy. Several types of statistical analyses have been performed to examine the latent structure of psychopathy using PCL-R scores, including factor analysis (Blackburn & Jeremy W. Coid, 1998) and model based cluster analysis (Hicks, et al., 2004). However, dimensional and categorical assumptions are built into factor and cluster analyses, respectively. These tests do not determine whether a construct is categorical or dimensional (Walters et al., 2007). On the other hand, taxometric analyses were specifically designed to identify discrete versus dimensional structures. Taxometric studies of the PCL and related instruments have yielded mixed results, (Walters et al., 2007) rendering the latent structure of psychopathy yet undetermined.
Further controversy over the latent structure of psychopathy relates to a more general problem in personality disorder diagnosis; namely, the cut off for pathological behavior is inherently normative. In other words, it is an oxymoron to suggest that someone is a “successful” psychopath because by definition, to be afflicted with a personality disorder (e.g. psychopathy) one must have pathological symptoms that cause impairment in multiple domains of one’s life.
Nevertheless, individuals who evince elevated psychopathic traits, but not at pathological levels, may appear to a layperson to have psychopathy but in actuality they do not likely have clinical levels of (all) of the traits.
Preliminary research indicates that there are correlations between physical neglect, absentee father, whether either parent was incarcerated, low socioeconomic status, young mother, depressed mother, and general instability in the family with psychopathic traits in adults (Patrick, 2005). Another study looking at adult male psychopathic and nonpsychopathic criminals showed that aversive familial and societal experiences in childhood were both correlated with adult male psychopathy (Marshall & Cooke, 1999). These conditions are hardly dispositive of psychopathy however and likely only produce psychopathic outcomes when a certain genotype is present.
A more nuanced look at the relationship between psychopathy and environmental conditions revealed correlations between childhood abuse and the irresponsible lifestyle and impulsivity facet of psychopathy (Pothyress, 2006). Again, the prevailing pathogenic hypothesis of psychopathy is a diathesis stress model similar to that of schizophrenia; i.e. a certain genotype must be present which interacts with aversive environmental conditions in order for psychopathy to manifest (Porter, 1996).
It should also be noted that many clinicians have noted that individuals with psychopathy often are raised in average to above average home environments (Cleckley, 1941/1988). Thus, the precise environmental risk factors for psychopathy remain elusive.
Genetic studies using the twin method (Plomin, DeFries & McClearn, 2008) have shown moderately strong genetic and non-shared environmental precursors of adult psychopathy (Waldman & Rhee, 2006). For example, a study using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) self-report scale showed genetic effects accounting for 29% to 56% of variance within dimensions of psychopathy, while shared environmental factors did not account for any PPI facets (Blonigen et al., 2003). Another study looked at callous-unemotional traits and antisocial behavior in seven-year-old twins (Viding et al., 2005). The conclusions of this study suggest callous-unemotional traits are strongly determined by genetic influences, while antisocial behavior in the absence of callous-unemotional traits has strong shared and non-shared environmental influences. Further research is necessary to determine the generalizability of these findings to non-twin children, as well as examining the predictability of different callous-unemotional traits and antisocial behavior presentations in children on the development of clinical levels of psychopathy as an adult.
An additional line of genetic research in psychopathy focuses on a variant of the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene and its correlation with psychopathic traits (Frazzetto et al., 2007). The gene variant identified produces less MAO-A enzymes (Young et al., 2006). Low MAO-A phenotypes coupled with adverse childhood experiences have been shown to correlate with low thresholds for violence and aggression (Caspi et al., 2002). While there is no gene for antisocial behavior or psychopathy, MAO-A may be a useful predictor of relevant neurophysiological vulnerabilities that when certain environmental conditions are present (e.g. abuse or neglect in childhood), an antisocial or psychopathic personality emerges.
Primary vs. Secondary Psychopathy
Psychopathy may emerge from a number of different pathways. One conceptualization suggests two dichotomous origins, termed primary and secondary psychopathy (Karpman, 1941). In this model, primary psychopaths arise from largely genetic factors whereas environmental factors play a stronger role in secondary psychopathy. Secondary psychopaths are believed to have high levels of anxiety while primary psychopaths are low anxious individuals (Newman et al., 2005).
There is substantial evidence that anxiety can play a mediating role in a many psychopathologies, including psychopathy. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting the etiological processes thought to underlie primary versus secondary psychopathy at this time.
Neuropsychological Profiles of Psychopaths
The general finding is that there is no relationship between classic neuropsychological tests and clinical levels of psychopathy (Hart et al., 1990).
A significant body of research regarding emotional processing abnormalities in psychopaths continues to emerge. Research suggests that deficits in emotionally relevant decision making is largely constitutive of psychopathy (Koenigs & Newman, 2013). Decision making itself, however, is a complex and multifaceted cognitive function. Substantial research is dedicated to identifying the specific information- processing skills relevant to decision making that are disrupted in psychopathy. For example, one influential hypothesis suggests that an inability to generate fearful responses underlies psychopathy (Lykken, 1957). Other research points to abnormalities in the deployment of attention that go beyond affective processing (Hiatt, 2004). Another line of inquiry suggests a general deficit in the perception, reasoning, and management of emotional states in oneself and others among psychopaths using a well-validated test of emotional intelligence (Ermer et al., 2012).
The last decade has seen a significant increase in brain imaging studies of psychopathy. Current research support the hypothesis that psychopathic traits are associated with abnormalities in the amygdala; orbital frontal cortex (OFC); and extended paralimbic structures, prominently the temporal pole (superior temporal gyrus) and anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (Kiehl et al., 2001). Moreover, patients with lesions in the anatomical areas relevant to psychopathy present with psychopathic-like symptoms further suggesting that temporolimbic network dysfunction is integral to this disorder (Boccardi, 2013).
Another prominent model of psychopathy hypothesizes that psychopaths suffer from associative learning dysfunction associated with selective amygdala and OFC abnormalities. Associative learning is believed to be crucial to healthy socialization (Blair, 2003).
While the etiology of these brain abnormalities are unknown, clinical data suggests that the affective dysfunction associated with these paralimbic structures are present at a young age (Frick, 1998). Moreover, longitudinal studies have found high year-to-year stability of psychopathic traits in at risk males ages 8 to 16 (Obradovic et al., 2007). This further supports the hypothesis that psychopathy is a developmental condition with strong genetic loading.
Psychopathy and Crime
The best current estimate is that just less than 1% of all noninstitutionalized males aged 18 and over have psychopathy (Hare, 1996). This translates to approximately 1,150,000 adult males who would meet the criteria for psychopathy in the United States today (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). And of the approximately 6,720,000 adult males that are in prison, jail, on parole or probation, 16%, or 1,075,000, are psychopaths. Thus, approximately 93% of adult male psychopaths in the United States are either in prison or jail or on probation or parole.
Psychopathy is a significant predictor of general recidivism (Hart et al., 1988), violent recidivism (Rice & Harris, 1997), and sexual violent recidivism (Rice & Harris, 1995). Simply put, individuals with psychopathy, who represent approximately 15-25% of the prison population, recidivate at higher rates, and more quickly, than the other 75-85%. The average inmate with psychopathy is back and forth to prison three times before the average non-psychopath with the same sentence makes it back once (Rice & Harris, 1995). The average incarcerated adult with psychopathy has been convicted of committing four violent offenses before age 40 (Hare et al., 1988).
Co-Morbidity with Substance Abuse
Psychopaths are at a markedly higher risk for developing substance abuse problems than the general population (Smith & Newman, 1990). Substance abuse is highly correlated with Factor 2 symptoms, which are associated with poor behavioral controls, and weakly correlated with Factor 1 symptoms, which relate to affective dysfunction (Smith & Newman, 1990).
Female psychopathy research is significantly more limited than work done in male populations. This is in part due to the relatively lower prevalence rate of females with psychopathy. In a 1997 study, researchers found that the rate of psychopathy in female prisoners was 15.5% (Salekin et al., 1997). Moreover, research examining the correlation between PCL scores and recidivism generated different results between male and female populations. The overall predictive value of PCL-R scores on recidivism in female offenders remains uncertain (Salekin et al., 1995).
One promising approach to treatment for psychopathy has been targeting youth who are on a high-risk trajectory towards developing the condition as adults. In a longitudinal study measuring the effects of the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center (MJTC) on antisocial behavior in high-risk juvenile offenders, treatment emphasizing interpersonal relationships and social skill acquisition was correlated with marked decrease in criminal recidivism, particularly violent recidivism, compared to high-risk youth who did not receive this treatment (Caldwell et al., 2012). The MJTC program provided intensive, year long, cognitive behavioral therapy and produced a significant reduction in violent outcomes. It is not clear whether the program “cured” psychopathy, but it at least altered the most salient and destructive manifestation of psychopathy—propensity for aggression (Caldwell, 2013).
There has been little research in the way of treatment for adults with psychopathy. Indeed, there has never been a single published randomized treatment control study for psychopathy. Unfortunately, there remains a pervasive perception in the clinical community that adult psychopaths are impervious to treatment (D’Silva et al., 2004). A meta-analysis of research on treatment outcomes in psychopathy concluded that the vast majority of the studies conducted lacked proper experimental design and scientific validity (Caldwell, 2013). Accordingly, it is premature to make any conclusions regarding the treatability of adult psychopathy. Clearly more treatment studies are needed.
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By Keven Roy, Nicole S. Khan, Timothy A. Shaw, Robert E. Kopp and Benjamin P. Horton, 14 January 2021
Rising global sea level, a consequence of climate change, results from an increase in the world ocean’s water volume and mass. Recent climate warming is responsible for producing the highest rate of global average sea-level rise of the past few millennia, and this rate will accelerate through the 21st century and beyond, exposing low-lying islands and coastal regions to significant flood risks. The flood risks can be compounded or diminished locally because changes in sea level are not uniform. In this review, we briefly discuss ice sheets as drivers of global and local sea levels, and how they could evolve under modern climate change. We underline some of the impacts of sea level change on coastal communities, and emphasize that local sea-level projections can be very different from estimates of the global average.
The impacts of climate change are serious and far-reaching [IPCC, 2019]. One of its most serious consequences is the rise in global sea level that has accompanied the warming of the atmosphere and oceans and the subsequent melting of land ice. However, given the relatively slow pace of sea-level rise with respect to our daily lives, it may be easy to underestimate the gravity of its consequences on coastal populations, infrastructures and ecosystems. Here, we review how global sea level has changed in the past up to the present, the role played by ice sheets and glaciers in its evolution, and how this knowledge can be used to better understand its future.
Observations of past and modern sea-level change
To understand how sea level changes through time, various measurement techniques are used. Since the early 1990s, radars onboard satellites have been used to monitor changes in the surface of the oceans with millimetric precision [R.S. Nerem et al., 2010; H.B. Dieng et al., 2017; J.-F. Legeais et al., 2018]. To understand sea level variations further in the past, records from instruments that have been fixed along the coast to measure sea level and tides (called tide gauges) are used. Long-term trends in those records can provide information on global sea-level change, but recovering this signal is challenging, and careful consideration must be given to the baseline to which any change in sea level is assessed [J.A. Church and N.J. White, 2011; C.C. Hay et al., 2015; S. Dangendorf et al., 2019]. Although some records cover the whole 20th century and even before, most of the records are much shorter, suffer from gaps and are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, careful statistical analyses are required to infer from them the global behaviour of sea level. Some examples of tide gauge records showing very different patterns of sea level change are shown in the top panels of figure 1.
Figure 1: Examples of relative sea level change observed for the instrumental period (top panels, dark blue) and for the Holocene era (bottom panels, light blue), together with their position on a world map (middle panel). The top panels show tide gauge measurements for (1) Stockholm, Sweden (sea level fall); (2) New York, USA (sea level rise); and (3) Khepupara, Bangladesh (rapid sea level rise) [PSMSL, 2018; S.J. Holgate et al., 2013]. The bottom panels show relative sea level change in the past few thousand years using proxies, for (1) Northwest Georgia Strait, Canada [S.E. Engelhart et al., 2015]; (2) New Jersey, USA [B.P. Horton et al., 2013]; and (3) Singapore [M.I. Bird et al., 2010]. The lighter-coloured shaded area represents the uncertainty in the value of sea level (1 standard deviation). The three sites in the lower panels show the very different impact of long-term glacial isostatic adjustment between regions. Please note the different time scales (years vs. thousands of years) and amplitudes (centimetres vs. metres) used in the top and bottom panels. Modified from [N.S. Khan et al., 2015].
A clear picture has emerged from those tide gauge records. Sea levels have been increasing at an accelerating rate for most coastlines worldwide. Over the 1901-1990 period, the average increase was about 1.2 mm/year, while it rose to about 3.0 mm/year over the 1993-2010 period [C.C. Hay et al., 2015]. Estimates from satellites are consistent with tide gauge observations and indicate about 3.1 mm/year of global sea-level rise over the 1993-2018 period [WCRP, 2018]. It is estimated that the melting of mountain glaciers, of the Greenland ice sheet and of the Antarctica ice sheet have respectively contributed about 0.7, 0.5 and 0.7 mm/year to this value, while the thermal expansion of the oceans has raised global sea level by about 1.3 mm/year [WCRP, 2018]. The rest of the signal (about 0.4 mm/yr) can be linked to other changes in land water storage, such as groundwater extraction.
To understand how sea level changed before those records existed, more indirect measurement methods, called sea-level proxies, are used [B.P. Horton et al., 2018]. Such proxies have a measurable relationship to sea level, and may include wetlands flooded regularly by tides, archaeological remains of coastal structures or material deposited along former beaches [I. Shennan, 2015]. Careful measurements of the depth and age of formation of this material can be used to estimate where sea level was at a given location and time in the past. If retrieved at different ages and from different elevations, the history of local sea-level changes can be reconstructed relative to a present-day reference point (what is called relative sea level) (figure 1, bottom panels). Over many decades, a large number of records covering most coastlines have been assembled [N.S. Khan et al., 2015]. Such proxy records have reinforced the link between global climate conditions and sea level change, and demonstrate that the rate of global sea-level rise over the past century was greater than the rate during any other century over the past 3,000 years [R.E. Kopp et al., 2016; A.C. Kemp et al., 2018].
Ice sheets as drivers of sea-level change and variability
Overall, global sea-level change is driven by the mass and the volume of water contained in the oceans, but it manifests itself in an irregular manner around the world, as a range of processes overlap to create regional and local variability [R.E. Kopp et al., 2015]. At all timescales, sea level responds to tides, regional weather conditions (e.g. atmospheric pressure, evaporation/precipitation, surface winds, freshwater runoff from the land, etc.) and to any trends in wind patterns and oceanic currents, but this review focuses on the surprisingly complex contribution from ice sheet melting.
Over long timescales, a major source of sea-level variability comes from the ongoing physical response of the Earth to the last ice age. The Earth is not fully rigid, and it deforms under weights that rest on its surface. At the peak at the Last Glacial Period, more than 20,000 years ago (a period known as the Last Glacial Maximum), ice sheets covered large parts of North America and Northern Europe, in addition to the ice sheets currently covering Antarctica and Greenland [W.R. Peltier, 2004; W.R. Peltier et al., 2015; K. Roy and W.R. Peltier, 2017]. In some locations in North America, the Laurentide ice sheet reached over 4 kilometres in thickness (similar to the maximum thickness of the ice sheet currently covering Antarctica). The water locked in those ice sheets led to an average sea level that was around 120 meters lower than today. As shown the left panels of figure 2, the land located underneath the former ice sheets was pressed down under the weight of such heavy ice masses, pushing out the displaced Earth material. This uplifted the land located outside the edges of the ice sheets. When the ice started melting and returning to the oceans, the Earth’s crust began a slow return to equilibrium. This ongoing process is called glacial isostatic adjustment. As shown on the bottom left panel of figure 2, it creates distinct patterns of sea-level change that depend on where a place is located with respect to the former ice sheets, and will also be impacted by the increased weight of water contained in the oceans [N.S. Khan et al., 2015]. In regions that were covered by land ice, like northern Canada, the crust has been moving upwards leading, in some instances, to a sea level fall that is still ongoing. Conversely, the land is subsiding in regions that were located just outside the former ice sheets, such as the East Coast of the United States, leading to a faster-than-average sea level rise. In some areas, this impact can be exacerbated or dominated by tectonics and other sources of local subsidence, such as groundwater or oil/gas extraction.
Figure 2: Schematic of two ice sheet-related drivers of sea level change over longer (left) and shorter (right) timescales, as discussed in the text. The upper left panels show a cartoon of glacial isostatic adjustment, with the vertical arrows representing land motion and the red arrows the movement of the material inside the Earth, while the bottom left panel shows a map of the vertical motion of the Earth at present in response to the deglaciation that occurred after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (millimetres per year). The melting of an ice sheet impacts sea level on shorter timescales due to the increase in mass of the ocean and because of gravitational, rotational and elastic deformation effects. The upper right panel focuses on the gravitational and elastic deformation components of this response. As an example, the bottom right panel shows a map of how sea level changes in the short term from melting in West Antarctica, as a fraction of the global mean sea level (GMSL) change. Regions in blue show a fall in sea level or a much lower relative sea level rise than the global mean, while regions in red show a relative sea level rise greater than the global mean. Maps modified from [R.E. Kopp et al., 2015].
Sea-level variability is also driven by ice sheets on shorter timescales. For instance, present-day climate change has a strong impact on sea level worldwide. Satellite-based measurements of the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets indicate they have respectively lost on average about 280 and 160 billion tons of ice each year over the 2006-2015 period [A. Shepherd et al., 2018; IPCC, 2019; A. Shepherd et al., 2020]. Mountain glaciers, although far less massive in total than the ice sheets, are comparatively more vulnerable to changes in temperature due to their smaller size. Measurements of their year-to-year changes are challenging, but current estimates indicate they have lost on average 220 billion tons of ice per year over 2006-2015 [IPCC, 2019]. This influx of water in the oceans leads to an increase in average sea level, but it is not uniform, as the surface of the oceans responds to changes in the planet’s gravity. As shown in the right panels of figure 2, ice sheets gravitationally attract ocean waters due to their large mass, raising sea level around them. If an ice sheet melts, its gravitational attraction decreases and, thus, sea level around it can counter-intuitively go down. Conversely, regions far from a melting ice sheet will see an increase in sea level greater than the global average. Each melting ice sheet will thus create a specific global pattern of sea-level change. The bottom right panel of figure 2 shows the pattern produced by a melting of Western Antarctica, which would increase sea level rise in North America by a value that is about 30% higher than the global average.
Future estimates of sea-level change
This understanding of sea-level change drivers can be combined with estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions to create models of sea-level change throughout the 21st century and beyond [B.P. Horton et al., 2018; IPCC, 2019]. Those models provide global and regional estimates of variability.
However, current projections of sea-level rise over the 21st century exhibit sizeable uncertainties. Those are mainly related to the unknown path that greenhouse gas emissions will follow and to uncertainties in the response of the ice sheets to climate change [J.L. Bamber et al., 2019]. An example of such recent projections of average sea-level rise over the 21st century and beyond is presented in figure 3. The projections to 2100 have a likely range of 0.5 to 1 m under a low-emission scenario, and of between 0.8 and 1.8 m for a high-emission scenario with an unstable Antarctic ice sheet [J.L. Bamber et al., 2019]. Extending those projections further into the future reveals even larger differences between the scenarios. In fact, if looking at changes until 2300, the likely range for a low-emission scenario is between 1.2 and 3.6 m but reaches between 2.7 and 6.5 m for high-emission cases [J.L. Bamber et al., 2019]. However, those values are global averages and local projections are strongly impacted by spatial variability.
Figure 3: Change in global mean sea level measured since 1000AD using sea level proxies (blue), as well as tide gauges and satellite measurements (purple) [A.C. Kemp et al., 2018]. Projections until 2300 are shown for low (green) and high (red) carbon emission scenarios [J.L. Bamber et al., 2019]. Shaded areas show the error range corresponding to one standard deviation. All values are with respect to the mean sea level in 2000 CE. Coloured numerical values indicate the median value of mean sea level rise for each scenario (with the one standard deviation error range in parentheses).
Why does it matter?
250 million people currently live below annual flood levels, 220 million of which are found in Asia (see table 1). Low-lying islands and coastal regions with high population densities, mainly concentrated in Asia and Oceania, are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. For instance, the average elevation of the Maldives is below 1.5 m above mean sea level [MEE, 2017], while other island countries, such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, lie within 2 m of mean sea level [CIA, 2018]. Other countries have a very large fraction of their population living in low-lying deltas and floodplains, particularly in Asia. For instance, 27% of Bangladesh’s population lives within 2 m of the average height of the highest local daily tide [S.A. Kulp and B.H. Strauss, 2019]. This makes Asia particularly vulnerable to a rise in sea level. In fact, the 8 countries with the most population living in potentially vulnerable areas are found in Asia (5 of which in Southeast Asia). The population migrations resulting from sea level rise could potentially have geopolitical repercussions and are seen by various military organizations as a risk for global security in the 21st century [House Armed Services Committee, 2014; HM Government, 2015].
|Region||Year 2000||Year 2100|
|Low emissions||High emissions||High emissions +
Table 1: Estimated population (in millions) exposed to local 1-year coastal flood return level in 2000 and in 2100 for various projections.
Beyond the permanent flooding of low-lying coastal regions, sea-level rise will also expose new areas to recurrent tidal flooding or potential storm surges [IPCC, 2019]. The height of flooding attained during a storm is the product of the storm-surge height, the timing in the astronomical tidal cycle and the local wave and surface conditions, all superimposed on the local background sea level. A change in background sea level will shift the distribution of potential extreme events, with a disproportionate impact on the return period of unlikely tail events. As coastal engineers should consider the worst-case flood scenarios that could impact coastal infrastructures during their lifetime, any change in the frequency of extreme events can overwhelm existing sea wall barriers meant to protect coastal communities, even if they remain above mean sea level.
Large fractions of the United States coastline have been found to be very susceptible to worsening flood risk. A recent study determined that local flood heights corresponding to ‘100-year events’ (flood levels that have a 1% change of being reached or exceeded in any given year) would be matched or surpassed more frequently by 2050 (median 40-fold increase in frequency), with significant differences between regions because of spatial variability in sea level rise [M.K. Buchanan et al., 2017]. Another specific example comes from Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East coast of the United States with force in 2012 (in particular New York City and New Jersey). The large storm surge that hit the region (3.5 m above mean tidal level) was responsible for a large fraction of the estimated 68 billion US dollars in total economic loss [Impact Forecasting, 2013]. In New York City, where sea level has risen by around 46 cm since 1856, the return period of the pre-industrial 500-year return period storm surge (2.25 m above mean tidal level [A.J. Reed et al., 2015]) has been reduced to 25 years for the 1970-2005 period. Current projections of sea-level rise indicate that this return period could go down to 5 years by 2030-2045. In consequence, while a 2.25 m surge height had a yearly probability of occurrence of 0.2% in the pre-industrial era, this probability could go up to 20% by 2030-2045 [A.J. Garner et al., 2017].
Sea level change has an important impact on coastal ecosystems and the natural services they provide. Marsh and mangrove ecosystems provide protection against coastal erosion, as they trap sediments, attenuate waves and stabilise shorelines. Tidal wetlands can keep up vertically with sea level rise if the rate of change is within the range of sediment build-up that can sustain the ecosystem. For mangroves, recent analyses suggest that this threshold is about 7 millimetres per year, a rate which could be reached within 30 years for many tropical coastlines [N. Saintilan et al., 2020]. Sea-level rise will also impact water and food security, due to saltwater intrusions in low-lying water tables and in agriculture-intensive flood plains [S. Adams et al., 2013]. Low-lying deltas are particularly vulnerable: for the Mekong delta, which generates 20% of the global rice trade, some studies estimate that the combined impacts of soil elevation and salinity changes could lead to a 50% decrease in rice field productivity by 2100 under high-emission scenarios [A. Smajgl et al., 2015]. Early indications of increased salinity levels due to sea level rise have already been documented in some estuaries, such as Chesapeake Bay in Delaware, USA [A.C. Ross et al., 2015].
The rise in global sea level brought by climate change is a serious societal concern, due to the hazard it poses to coastal populations, infrastructures and ecosystems. Multiple factors influence how sea level rise manifests itself locally and many areas will suffer from disproportionate impacts. The relatively slow response of ice sheets to elevated levels of greenhouse gases, as well as the fact that a small change in mean sea level can still have a significant impact on the local frequency of extreme water levels, are important features of a changing climate. Understanding them is essential in designing appropriate adaptation measures for coastal communities.
- This pattern is referred to as a ‘sea-level fingerprint’ or ‘Barystatic-GRD fingerprint’, arising from the increase in mass of the ocean (barystatic) and gravitational, rotational and elastic deformation impacts (GRD) [J.M. Gregory et al., 2019].
- Defined as the range between the 17th and 83rd percentiles.
- The emission scenarios discussed here are from [J.L. Bamber et al., 2019]. The ‘low-emission’ and ‘high-emission’ scenarios refer to a global mean warming in 2081-2100 of +1.9°C and +4.5°C above pre-industrial levels, respectively.
- Also referred to as ‘Mean Higher High Water’ (MHHW).
- The top 10 is formed of China (110), Bangladesh (43), India (42), Vietnam (39), Indonesia (33), Japan (16), Thailand (14), the Philippines (12), the Netherlands (7) and Egypt (5.8). Based on the data from [S.A. Kulp and B.H. Strauss, 2019] for the population living below 2 m above MHHW (shown in parentheses, in millions).
- Based on [S.A. Kulp and B.H. Strauss, 2019], and using geographical region definitions from the World Bank. The numbers for 2100 are based, for the ‘Low emissions’ and ‘High emissions’ cases, on the median of the probability distribution of future sea level rise from [R.E. Kopp et al., 2014], while the ‘High emissions + Antarctica instability’ case is based on the median frequency distribution from [R.E. Kopp et al., 2017].
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- A. Shepherd, E. Ivins, E. Rignot, B. Smith, den Broeke M. van, I. Velicogna, P. Whitehouse, K. Briggs, I. Joughin and co-authors: Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017, Nature, vol. 558, 219-222, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y, 2018.
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- WCRP: Global Sea Level Budget Group: Global sea-level budget 1993–present, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, vol. 10, 1551–1590, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1551-2018, 2018. | <urn:uuid:d2b43b2a-7496-4eb2-8cb6-547520fccb68> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.climanosco.org/published_article/sea-level-under-climate-change-understanding-the-links-between-the-past-and-the-future/ | 2022-05-25T12:20:38Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.845722 | 8,455 |
Update: Now $3 more, but still a good deal.
If you need a lot of extra space for your Nintendo Switch, GoPro, or smartphone, SanDisk’s massive 200GB microSD card is back down to $63 on Amazon today. It’s been cheaper a few times in the past, including during a Gold Box deal last week, but this deal is still a few bucks less than usual, if you’re in the market.
While supplies last on Amazon (which probably won’t be long), $48 gets you a refurbished T-Mobile AC1900 router, which is actually just a rebranded version of the $136 ASUS RT-AC68U, which is our readers’ favorite router.
The T-Mobile version has some T-Mobile branding, and uses custom firmware that claims to be optimized for Wi-Fi calling, but under the hood, it’s just a standard (and very popular) Wi-Fi router. You can even flash the firmware and install the original ASUS version, or a third party solution, if you wanted to put in the work. Just check out the customer reviews for ideas.
“The Beats X are the third product from Beats (and the fourth from all of Apple) to use the new W1 Bluetooth chipset. This Apple-designed chipset should allow for better battery life. It also makes pairing with an Apple device a total snap—as long as your iPhone runs iOS 10.1 or higher. All I had to do to pair was turn the Beats X and bring them near my phone. A ‘Connect’ button instantly popped up and I was off—music ready to be heard wirelessly.”
We’ve seen our fair share of USB power receptacle deals, but this $16 2-pack from iClever is the most affordable deal yet. Half the things you plug in these days probably plug into USB, so it just makes a ton of sense to install these around your house. Just make sure you know what you’re doing. Just use promo code WALLPLATE at checkout to save a few bucks.
Anker’s most impressive entry in the true wireless headphone market is on sale for the lowest price we’ve seen since they were on Kickstarter.
You can read our impressions of the Zolo Liberty+ over on Gear, but here are some highlights:
- 3.5 hour battery, plus a charging case with enough power for 48 hours of playback.
- Transparency mode that lets in some ambient noise.
- Customizable EQ settings.
- Bluetooth 5.0 for a stable connection.
All you have to do is use promo code LIBERTYZ at checkout to save a whopping $40. That’s $10 better than the last deal we saw, back before Valentine’s Day.
What dummy created this thing and didn’t name it the Power Tower?
This Aukey charger includes 12 AC outlets and six USB ports, so you can plug in all of the things. Just use code AUKEYPS5 at checkout to get it for $35.
There’s not a whole lot to say here: This phone stand has a nearly perfect review average form almost 7,000 customers, looks great, and is only $6 today with code 7LM3H6FB. Why wouldn’t you put one on your desk?
Want to stream the NBA playoffs, or the reboot of Trading Spaces? They’re both included in the $35 base package of DIRECTV Now, and so is a free Roku Streaming Stick when you prepay for a month.
This is similar to the Apple TV promotion (which is still active), except instead of paying for three months in advance, you’ll only have to pay for one. That’s like getting a $15 discount on the normally-$50 Roku Streaming Stick, plus a month of over-the-top cable access.
If you’re still using a computer that doesn’t run off an SSD, fix that today with an all-time low price on this 500GB drive from Crucial. It carries a stellar 4.6 star rating, and you could even turn it into a DIY portable SSD, if you felt so inclined.
Love Alexa, and wish you could take her with you on your commute? Anker’s running a $12 discount on their hands-free, Alexa-enabled car charger today with promo code AKAMVIVA.
You can check out my full impressions here, bu the Roav VIVA from Anker does an admirable job of providing hands-free Alexa access while you’re driving, including turn-by-turn directions, your daily briefing, and even third party Alexa apps like Jeopardy. As befitting an Anker product, it’s also a dual port car charger, albeit an awkwardly designed one.
These Anker PowerLine+ Lightning cables are wrapped in nylon, include a pouch to keep them from tangling, and come with an 18 month warranty, all of which are improvements over Apple’s own Lightning cable, and that’s not even accounting for how much nicer they feel to use.
Oh yeah, and at $10 each, they cost half as much as what you’d pay at the Apple Store for an inferior product. Get them for $10 each with promo code ANKERA82, in the color of your choice.
DirecTV Now is one of the better over-the-top cable replacements out there, and with this deal, there’s very little reason not to give it a try.
For a limited time, if you prepay for three months of the service at $35 per month, you’ll get a 4K Apple TV included for free. That Apple TV costs $179 normally, so you’re basically getting a $74 discount on the box, plus three months of live TV. No brainer.
VPNs have been in the news, and whether you want to get around video geoblocks, circumvent proxy filters, or just keep prying eyes out of your browsing data while using sketchy public Wi-Fi, reader-favorite Private Internet Access has a deal to fit your needs.
Last month, they offered our readers $10 off two year memberships, but this time around, you get a few more choices, ranging from a quick taste of the service to an extended commitment with additional savings:
- One month for $6 | Usually $7
- One year for $35 | Usually $40
- Three years for $90 | Not offered to the general public at all
These deals are only for our readers, but we aren’t sure how long they’ll be available, so go ahead and sign up while you can.
The Instant Pot Ultra features a completely revamped, dial-based UI that makes fine-tuned adjustments faster and easier than the older models. A new processor allows it to compensate for altitude and carry out completely custom programs, and it also has a few modes you won’t find on the standard Instant Pots, like cake, eggs, and sterilize. For a limited time (probably very limited), the 6 qt. version is on sale for $40 off, bringing it to within $10 of the price of the regular model.
We saw a similar deal on the 3 qt. model yesterday, and it was gone within hours.
If you’re worried that you won’t get a ton of use out of this thing, note that in addition to speedy pressure cooking, this is also our readers’ favorite slow cooker, and one of their favorite rice cookers too. Basically, it’s one of the most versatile kitchen gadgets you can own.
Is it cliché? Sure, a little. But what mom wouldn’t want to get a bunch of fancy chocolate-covered berries for Mother’s Day?
From now until the big day, you can save 25% off any $39+ order from Shari’s Berries when you use our special link. The discount will work sitewide, but you’ll find their mother’s day selection here, which is a good place to start.
Arrangements that start over $39 will show the discount by default, but you can add on cards, ribbons, or a box of cake balls to some of the cheaper options to get over the discount threshold.
Update: This is now listed at $122, but it’s still a good deal.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept of a wake-up light, the gist is that the light turns on and gradually brightens for 30 minutes prior to your alarm going off. This sunrise simulation usually won’t wake you up, but it will jog you out of deep sleep and get you ready to wake up, so you don’t feel like garbage for half the morning. I’ve owned one for years now, and I swear by it.
In addition to the cool, donut-like design, the high end Philips Somneo includes tons of lighting options, built-in white noise, a breathing relaxation mode that you can use when going to sleep at night, a USB charging port for your phone, and a bunch of wake-up sounds. The best feature though? <Music from a heavenly choir rains down from the sky> An eight hour battery backup so a power outage won’t mess up your alarm! Finally! Its price has been falling precipitously over the last few weeks, and it’s now down to $119. Prior to this month, it rarely dropped below $160.
Camping, drinking, what could possibly go wrong? This four-pack of stainless steel Stanley shot glasses comes with a screw top carrying case that clips to your back. Just don’t go overboard, bears can smell inebriation from miles away. Get the set for $10 today, which is the best price Amazon’s ever listed.
Feel like getting out of town, but don’t know where yet? Check out Alaska Airlines’ latest flight sale, with one-way tickets starting at $54 from dozens of cities. I clicked around a few random deals, and the lowest prices were available for a surprising amount of dates, so you should be able to find a deal that fits your schedule.
Note: If the link doesn’t work, try pausing your ad blocker.
If the Magno Ti’s unique magnetic mechanism didn’t do it for you (or if you were scared off by its thick 2mm lead), here’s another premium mechanical pencil that you can preorder on Kickstarter. The Grafton pencil is made of anodized aluminum (silver or black) and uses standard .5mm or .7mm leads.
They sent me a couple to try out, and in my hand at least, I think they really nailed the weight. The aluminum feels great in the hand, and while they’re heavy enough to feel premium, they’re not so heavy as to give you finger cramps during long writing sessions. Get one for $29 ($6 below retail), or two for $55 by preordering, with delivery expected next month.
We sort through the noise of Kickstarter to find you preorder discounts worth taking advantage of. Someone on our team has tested a prototype (or final version) of every Kickstarter we cover.
You don’t need a yard, or even any gardening skills to grow your own food at home; you just need one of these Click and Grow countertop gardens. Both the Smart Garden 3 and the Smart Garden 9 are 25% off for Mother’s Day.
To start growing, you simply pop in the seed pods, pour in some water, plug into a power outlet, and the machine does the rest - even alerting you when it needs more water. As you may have guessed, the Smart Garden 3 has accommodations for three plants and the Smart Garden 9 has nine slots, both include enough seed pods to get you started with a full garden. These also make great gifts.
After the $3 off coupon and Subscribe & Save discount, these 30 mini Larabars are just $14. That’s 10 bars of each flavor; apple pie, peanut butter chocolate chip, and peanut butter cookie.
If you’ve never had Larabars before, they’re gluten free, dairy free, kosher, non-GMO bars mostly made from dates. Full of some of their most popular flavors, this box would be a very good one to test out. Just remember, you can cancel your next Subscribe & Save order anytime after your first one ships.
Update: This deal is back, if you missed it last week. Use promo code UJKCMIUZ
Only luddites use tape measures anymore. This laser distance measurer takes instant distance readings of up to 164', and includes several built-in area calculation functions, in case you’re a little rusty on your middle school geometry. Use promo code UJKCMIUZ and see the discount at checkout.
If you still have any incandescent bulbs in your home that you haven’t already replaced, it’s time to upgrade them to LED. Amazon’s selling a four-pack of frosted 60W equivalents from Philips today for just $9, so stock up, because they’ll pay for themselves.
If you want to go all out, Philips’ full color Hue smart bulbs are also on sale for $41 each, or about $9 less than usual.
Typically selling for around $45 on Amazon, you can snuggle up with one of these all-season down alternative comforters for $27 or less today, thanks to this Woot sale. The comforters have a solid 4.3 star rating on Amazon and over 1,300 reviews. Plus, you’ll have six color options and sizes ranging from twin to king. This sale will only last through the end of the day or until the products sell out, so if you’re in need of a new comforter, don’t sleep on it.
If you want to try a standing desk, but you’re not ready to commit to it for eight hours per day (editor’s note: don’t stand at your desk for eight hours per day), today’s Amazon Gold Box has a couple of deals just for you.
These 35" and 42" risers from iMovr aren’t the cheapest we’ve seen, but they do have a few features that you won’t find on most competing products, including compatibility with monitor arms, a tilting keyboard tray that encourages better wrist positioning, and even an included standing desk mat. Trust me, you’re going to want the standing desk mat.
Today’s prices are both all-time lows, but they’re only available today, and could sell out early.
You know those “Magic Erasers” that can wipe stains off seemingly any surface? They’re really just melamine sponges with a marketing budget, and you can get 20 off-brand equivalents for just $9 on Amazon. I used these after moving into a new apartment last year, and they made quick work of all of the scuffs I made on the walls.
We’ve seen packs with more sponges for about the same price, but they usually ship from China, whereas these have Prime shipping, and are even eligible for Subscribe & Save. They’re also twice as thick as most of the inexpensive competitors on Amazon, so they should last longer and be easier to use.
Mother’s Day is 11 days away, so if you’re on the hunt for a gift, you’re sure to find your mom’s favorite chocolate in this Amazon sale. They have the fancy Ferrero Rocher, Lindt, and Godiva boxes, the more classic favorites like Reese’s and Hershey’s, and more.
This deal will only last until the end of the day or until the chocolate sells out, so don’t wait too long.
Gulp down savings on this Camelbak chute water bottle today. It’s just $6, the lowest price ever, and a significant discount from the usual $16. Just note, this is an Add-on item so it’ll only ship for free with a larger order.
If you’re hooked on sparkling waters like the rest of the country, these IZZE sparkling juices are a more flavorful way to get your fix. Plus, today they’re the cheapest they’ve been in months. Get 24 cans in four different flavors for about $9 when you use Subscribe & Save and clip the 25% coupon. Drink up!
This microfiber towel is considered by many detailing aficionados to be the best for drying off your car after you wash it. In fact, I can personally confirm that it’s less a towel and more a towel-shaped sponge. It’s also down to one of the lowest prices Amazon’s ever listed.
Update: Back in stock for $255, if you missed it last week.
If you want a Big Green Egg charcoal grill, but don’t want to cash in your 401(k) to buy one, this Char-Griller alternative is down to $255 on Amazon today, the best price in months.
The Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker features a 306 square inch cast iron cooking surface (which is most similar to the $829 large Big Green Egg), and traps heat inside a heavily-insulated stainless steel body. For those of you that follow Drew Magary’s culinary adventures, this is the grill he used to become a big bad smokeboy.
Obviously, this isn’t the “real thing,” but the consensus among Amazon reviewers is that it’s at least nearly as good, which sounds like a decent compromise considering it’s less than 1/4 of the price, and comes with a stable cart and folding shelves, both of which you’d need to buy separately with the Egg.
Grabbing breakfast or lunch with coworkers can be a great way to break up the day, but more often than not you’ll just wallow in your own indecision before ordering a bad $12 sandwich.
Break the cycle with Soylent, a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake that now comes in a variety of flavors (no, green is not one of them). The 20% discount will apply to your first Subscribe & Save shipment, which you can always cancel after you get your first box.
Prices vary by flavor, but you can get 12 bottles of Vanilla for $26 with this deal, or a 2.3 pound tub of powdered Soylent for the same price.
Clicking the button on a mechanical pencil was a fidget toy before fidget toys were even a thing, but it was just made obsolete by the power of magnets.
The Magno Ti mechanical pencil uses an intuitive magnetic ring to raise and lower the 2mm lead. It’s also constructed from polished or brushed aluminum, and the simplicity of its magnetic mechanism means that it should enjoy a much longer lifespan than the cheap pencils you’d buy at the store.
Chemical Guys make some of the most popular car detailing products on the market, and Amazon’s currently taking 20% off several soaps, waxes, tire and glass cleaners, and more today. They’ve been running coupons on their cleaning products pretty often recently, but today’s sale also includes some of their popular brushes, towels, and sponges.
Just note that the prices listed on this page don’t include the discount, so you won’t see the deal until checkout.
Bask in the nice spring weather with one of these discounted waterproof blankets. You can take your pick between the pineapple (with code FRLHLDL4), navy plaid (with code J4692ZE4), or green leaves (with code NADVT266), all for $19 or less.
It’s almost barbecue season, and you can be ready with a set of Char-Broil potato screws, now marked down $9 for six, within $1 of an all-time low. As you might have guessed from the name, you screw these stainless steel corkscrews into potatoes, and throw them on the grill. The screws make them easier to grab with tongs or gloves, and help transfer grill heat to the inside of the potato, which makes them cook faster.
These $8 gloves (with promo code DR5MYTKE) let you grab a hot pan out of the oven, pull meat right off a grill, or even turn logs in an active campfire without getting burned, like some kind of kitchen superhero. We’ve seen silicone barbecue gloves for less than this in the past, but these are rated for much higher temperatures, and should be more flexible as well.
Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away, and if you haven’t already ordered flowers, you can save 25% on any $39+ order from ProFlowers today by using our exclusive link.
This deal should work sitewide, but you can find the most popular Mother’s Day bouquets here. Any bouquets that starts at over $39 shows the discounted price by default, but you can also pick a cheaper option and add a premium vase to get over the $39 threshold, but you won’t see the discounted price until you get to checkout.
Of all the things you can run out of in your bathroom, contact solution might be the most annoying. You can always squeeze a little more toothpaste out of the tube, but once you find an empty bottle of contact solution, you’re either making a late night run to the pharmacy, or sacrificing a pair of perfectly good contacts.
Today on Amazon, you can save $5 on a 2-pack of ReNu lens solution, bringing the pack down to $10, or $9 if you use Subscribe & Save. If you prefer Biotrue, that also has a $5 coupon that brings it down to $11, but you’ll have to use Subscribe & Save in that case.
For a limited time, Amazon will sell you three pouches of Tide HE-compatible Free & Gentle laundry detergent (totaling 144 ounces or 93 loads) for just $14. These pouches are designed basically as refills for plastic Tide bottles, but as long as that doesn’t bother you, this is a fantastic price-per-ounce for any detergent, let alone name brand. Just be sure to clip the $3 coupon on the page and use Amazon Subscribe & Save.
Okay, so socks aren’t the most fun thing to buy, but when it comes to technical materials and form factors, it can be a jungle out there. What style is best for hiking compared to rock climbing? Do you even need socks if you’re fishing? Backcountry’s 20% off sale lets you decide what kinds of socks you need from brands like Smartwool, Darn Tough, Pendleton and more.
Gel manicures are A Thing right now, but paying for one (especially if you’ve already mastered the art of painting your nails) seems redundant. Amazon is having a one-day sale on a bunch of different nail dryers. And with a 4.3 average rating with over 1,200 reviews on a few of them, this may be your best time-and-money-saving investment yet.
I’m not the biggest fan of mud and clay masks but the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay mask has survived the testament of beauty time. With a 4.4 star rating with over 17,000 (yes, thousand) reviews, it’s safe to say this shit works. And, for $11 you get a giant, 2lb tub of the stuff that’ll last you until you’re as dried up and powdery as the mask itself.
If you want to take better care of your teeth, buying a Philips Sonicare 2 Series toothbrush for $30 would be a great start.
We sometimes see the Sonicare Essence available for $20 (in fact, it is right now), but for $10 more, the 2 Series includes a slimmer design, compatibility with multiple brush head styles, and a smaller charger that’s easier to pack in a suitcase.
May the Fourth isn’t actually here for another couple of days, but ThinkGeek is cashing in on the impending Star Wars frenzy. They’re taking up to 80% off four pages worth of merchandise. Everything from t-shirts and socks to animatronic Porgs. There’s even a freakin’ R2-D2 french press.
Try not to panic, but Amazon is raising the price of Prime for the first time in four years, from $99 per year to $119. The change goes into effect on May 11 for new members, and June 16 for renewing members. This is obviously disappointing, if not surprising given all the benefits Amazon’s added since 2014. But if your renewal date is after June 16, there is (probably) a way to get another year at the old price.
The trick is to buy an Amazon Prime gift subscription now, and then redeem it on your account once it comes time to renew. The fine print on gift memberships says that redeeming them with an existing Prime account will net a gift card for the amount you paid, rather than an additional year of Prime, so you’ll need to remember to cancel your membership before you redeem the gift. Luckily, if you go into your account settings, there’s an option to receive a reminder three days before your account is set to auto-renew.
Let me be clear, while this trick worked the last time Amazon raised the price of Prime, it’s entirely possible it won’t this time. Amazon would be in its rights to not allow people to redeem $99 Prime gift memberships after the price goes up. But I feel pretty confident that, in the worst case scenario, they’d at least give you a gift card for whatever you paid, so you wouldn’t really be out any money. It’s a small risk, but could be worth it to save $20.
With exclusive shows like Westworld and access tons of movies, including several recent hits, $15 per month is honestly not a lot to ask for HBO, which is what you normally pay when subscribing to HBO Now. But for a limited time, you can add the same library of HBO content to your Hulu membership for just $5 per month for the first six months.
Note: To find the deal, just click the Add-Ons button on the top of the page once you sign into your account.
To get the deal, you’ll need to be a paid Hulu subscriber (plans start at just $8 per month), and it’s not valid for anyone that added HBO to their membership in the past. It’ll also automatically renew at the standard $15 rate after six months, so keep that in mind. But otherwise, there really aren’t a ton of strings attached here: six months of HBO for $30 is a crazy-good deal.
If the pirate’s life is for you, Sea of Thieves is down to $44 on Amazon, the lowest price we’ve seen so far. Just make sure you have some other sailors in your squad, because it’s not much fun playing by yourself.
Whether you prefer to buy your Xbox games digitally, or just occasionally need to buy DLC, it’s worth adding $100 to your Xbox Live wallet for just $85. Just be sure to log in to Rakuten account and use promo code SAVE15 at checkout to get the deal.
May the 4th is upon us, and Humble’s celebrating with a galaxy-sized sale on Star Wars PC games. Save big on the likes of KOTOR, LEGO Star Wars, and The Force Unleashed, with an extra 10% off at checkout for Humble Monthly subscribers.
Have any favorites included in (or missing from) the sale? Drop them in the comments.
The brutal and beautiful Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is out on Switch this Friday, which means Prime members only have a few days left to preorder and save 20%. That’s still too costly for a port of a four year old game, but hey, it’s Nintendo, we’ll take the discounts when we can get them.
Humble’s run bundles in the past with tools for game developers, but the new CRYENGINE bundle is worth checking out, even if you’ve never seen a line of code in your life.
In addition to training videos and CRYENGINE assets, the bundle includes a bunch of games that were made with the engine, including a couple of games from the Sniper series, and Homefront: The Revolution. As always, you can name your own price, but you’ll need to pledge $15 to get access to everything.
- SanDisk 200GB MicroSD Card | $63 | Amazon
- 2-Pack iClever 4.2A USB Power Receptacle | $16 | Amazon | Promo code WALLPLATE
- Aukey Power Strip | $35 | Amazon | Promo code AUKEYPS5
- JLab Audio Gravity Bluetooth Sport Neckband Adapter with Earbuds | $19 | Best Buy
- Anker Zolo Liberty+ True Wireless Headphones | $110 | Amazon | Promo code LIBERTYZ
- BeatsX Wireless Headphones | $90 | Amazon
- Master & Dynamic MH30 On-Ear Headphones | $150 | Best Buy
- VIZIO 50-Inch 4K (2160p) Smart LED Home Theater Display | $300 | Walmart
- Pioneer Elite 7.2-Ch. Hi-Res 4K Ultra HD A/V Home Theater Receiver | $600 | Best Buy
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Unlocked 64GB - US Version | $599 | Amazon
- Lamicall Phone Stand | $6 | Amazon | Promo code 7LM3H6FB
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Full Frame Digital SLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens Kit | $3999 | Amazon
- Canon EOS 77D EF-S 18-55 IS STM Kit | $799 | Amazon
- Fujifilm Two 2-Packs of Fujifilm instax mini Instant Color Film | $24 | Best Buy
- The Smart Garden 3 | $75 | Click and Grow
- The Smart Garden 9 | $150 | Click and Grow
- Lightweight Down Alternative Comforter | Woot
- Philips Somneo Wake-Up Light | $119 | Amazon
- 20-Pack STK Thick Melamine Sponges | $9 | Amazon
- 4-Pack Philips LED Light Bulbs | $9 | Amazon
- Dyson V7 Motorhead Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner | $249 | Amazon
- Char-Griller 16620 Akorn Kamado Kooker Charcoal Barbecue Grill and Smoker | $255 | Amazon
- iMovR ZipLift+ Standing Desk Converter with Ergonomic Tilting Keyboard Tray, Black, 35" | $236 | Amazon
- iMovR ZipLift+ Wide Standing Desk Converter, Black, 42" | $300 | Amazon
- Cricut Maker | $380 | Amazon
- Cricut Ultimate Fine Point Pen Set, Assorted | $18 | Amazon
- Craftsman 1/2 HP Chain Drive Garage Door Opener with 2 Multi-Function Remotes & Keypad + $50 in Reward Points | $180 | Sears
- Grafton Mechanical Pencil | $29 | Kickstarter
- Stanley 4-Piece Steel Shot Glass Set | $10 | Amazon
- Sojoy iGelComfort Coccyx Orthopedic Breathable Gel Seat Cushion | $20 | Amazon
- Up to 35% off Select Ceiling Fans & Light Fixtures | Home Depot
- CamelBak Chute Water Bottle, 1.5 L, Sky Blue | $6 | Amazon
- Larabar Minis Gluten Free Bar Variety Pack | $14 | Amazon | After $3 off coupon
- IZZE 24 Pack Variety Pack | $9 | Amazon | With Subscribe & Save and 25% coupon
- Mother’s Day Candy is On Sale Today | Amazon
- Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt 10-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Cooker | $110 | Amazon
- KitchenAid KSM1APC Spiralizer Attachment with Peel, Core and Slice | $56 | Amazon | AFter $23 Off Digital Coupon
- King Kooker 36JR Stainless-Steel 36-Hole Jalapeno Rack with Corer | $8 | Amazon
- CamelBak Chute Water Bottle, 1.5 L, Sky Blue | $6 | Amazon
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In the ecological transition of the world economy sovereign issuers have a fundamental role to play in mobilizing resources to finance the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as mitigating the effects of the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through national reconstruction plans that are presented as an opportunity to reassure the commitment to a sustainable economy. Green bonds were the pioneering instrument aimed at channeling these resources. However, after a few years of experience, we begin to observe proposals for financial innovation that suggest the possibility of resorting to more efficient structures to achieve the scalability and consolidation of these financing instruments, such as green certificates and twin bonds.
Keywords: sovereign green bonds; greenium; sustainability; green finance.
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – a United Nations agency that provides scientific information on climate change and its political and economic impact – published a report called AR4 that presented robust scientific evidence linking human action with global warming. This milestone, together with the observation of a greater number of natural disasters and extreme weather events, constituted the beginning of a global awareness of climate change, and the financial sector began to consider its marginal contribution to the issue. In the capital markets framework, the first major innovation was undoubtedly the issuance of green bonds, the essential element of which is the issuer’s commitment to use the funds raised for projects that have a positive environmental impact.
This instrument is of particular importance for meeting the financing needs derived from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030, as agreed in Paris (2015), which remarked the role of the financial sector in this ecological transition, sparking the authentic sustainable revolution. The involvement of the private sector is key in this challenge (Alonso and Marqués, 2019) both due to its exposure through their investment portfolios, but also because of its function as intermediary channeling the necessary funds to transform our economy into a sustainable model. Therefore, there is no doubt that the scope of this challenge in achieving these goals is so huge that success depends on public-private collaboration. It is enough to note that it is currently estimated that the European Union needs EUR 290 billion a year in additional financing to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The validity of this transformation of the economic model is highlighted by the recent announcement by such international authorities as the United Nations Secretary General pointing towards the need for the recovery of world economies to be based on a sustainable model (UN, 2020). Likewise, in Europe there is widespread demand for support for the revitalization of the single market and financial recovery in a green and digital transition, as core areas underpinning the relaunch and modernization of national economies (EP, 2020). This is demonstrated by the European Commission’s recent commitment to maintain its calendar of programs that began with the European Green Pact (December 2019) and the European Climate Law (March 2020). It is not clear whether the high fiscal costs derived from the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will limit progress or delay the transition towards environmentally aligned public policies, but this is undoubtedly an opportunity to lay the foundations for economic growth and ensure minimization of the long-term risks associated with climate change.
In this sustainable revolution, financial institutions have created an extensive battery of instruments linked to the environment, from green mortgages to credit cards with a limit based on the carbon footprint for retail clients, through certificates or securitization of green assets, such as renewable energy. In Spain, non-financial companies have been pioneers in the issuance of green bonds (Iberdrola 2014) and public issuers have gradually been starting to follow this same strategy for years (the Official Credit Institute – ICO – and Adif Alta Velocidad are two examples). Sovereign issuers have perhaps been the last to join the process of transformation (see Chart 1 – Bloomberg NEF)1, possibly because their different economic nature makes it impossible to assimilate the operations of a country with a company (Krugman 1994)2. Thus, the purpose for which green bonds were created (identification of the use of funds) would be better adapted to the case of private issuers whose environmental impact is limited to the characteristics of the assets on their balance sheet, credibly allowing investors to quantify this commitment, which is viewed as its sustainable reputation. However, sovereign issuers can affect the climate in other ways, specifically by using their regulatory power and fiscal capacity as a means to generate income with repercussions on climate change depending on the policies adopted. For example, if a sovereign were to issue a green bond, which it justifies with the claim that it is to be used to clean its coasts, but then lowers taxes on fossil fuels, would that issuer be fulfilling the transformation that investors expect of their green bond? Similarly, would that sovereign’s green bond really be trading its exposure to climate change risk?
In 2019, the volume of green sovereign bonds amounted to USD 76 trillion, which despite still representing less than 5% of total living sovereign debt had undergone growth by 60% on the previous year (according to Bloomberg data), largely due to investor demand and popular commitment. That is why sovereign issuers are accompanying this shift towards sustainability with a process of financial innovation, exploring new models that are compatible with the requirements for responsible investment, such as liquidity and scalability of emissions.
|Chart 1. Evolution of the issuance of green bonds, by type of issuer.|
|Source: Bloomberg NEF|
This article aims to review in retrospect the origins and evolution of conventional sovereign green bonds, as well as their current situation and possible future scenarios. To do so, recent emissions from Poland and the Netherlands are reviewed, and then two innovative structures that are being assessed by different sovereign issuers today, including their advantages and disadvantages, are analyzed. Of particular concern is the proposal for the issuance of twin bonds by Germany and green certificates by Denmark. Finally, the added value of these new alternatives is evaluated.
Following the publication in 2007 of the IPCC AR4 report, a group of Swedish investors and pension funds began to think of ideas to use their available funds to contribute to a climate solution. In conversations with the country’s investment banks, they contacted the World Bank3 due to its position as a leading international body in the fight to reduce poverty, and for its knowledge of economic, social and environmental promotion around the world. In retrospect, the solution seems simple: to ensure that the investment is channeled into programs that have the greatest positive impact for the planet. The idea was clear, but how are such projects to be found? And above all, how can their impact be measured?
To do so, the Swedish investors contacted the International Center for Environmental Research (CICERO), located in Oslo, where a group of leading researchers were able help assess and advise on the impact of the funded projects. Less than a year later, in November 2008, the World Bank issued its first green bond, creating a global benchmark for other issuers (see the box below for details of what is technically considered the world’s first green bond, although focused on a smaller scale, issued by the European Investment Bank – EIB-).
In essence, we consider a green bond to mean any simple debt issuance in which there is a commitment by the issuer to dedicate the funds raised to green projects and periodically report on their use and the impact caused on climate change. To do so, the classic debt issuance program is complemented by a new document called framework that will collect the details of the issuer’s sustainability strategy4, as well as new disclosure or communication requirements for clients and investors, by reporting on the use of funds, treasury, selection and monitoring of projects, including the measurement of their impact. All of this is validated by a new role known as external evaluator (ICMA 2018), a service that might constitute one of the main innovations in conventional green bonds, and which focuses on providing transparency to a market in which trust between investor and issuer is cornerstone.
|The first green bond had a structured format
At the same time that the World Bank was beginning its journey with the study of its first green bond, what is technically considered the first green bond was issued in 2007 by the European Investment Bank (EIB), classified as a Climate Awareness Bond (CAB). Curiously, this first bond was created with a structured format. It was tied to the performance of an equity index, the newly created FTSE4GooD. It was also linked to the destination of the raised funds, which were committed to financing projects in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency. As a new feature, it included an expiration option, whereby the invested money could be received in cash or dedicated to removing from circulation the equivalent amount of carbon allowances from the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).5
It took some time before such a structure could be part of the field of sovereign bonds, as it meant a change from the idiosyncrasy of public sector issuance. In most countries when debt management offices raise money, it is never tied to a specific goal, as it is inherent to the philosophy of green bonds. To find the first case of a sovereign issuing a green bond we have to go back to Poland in 2016. Subsequently, Belgium, France and Ireland have followed with green issues, as well as public agencies such as the German KfW and the EIB itself in the supranational issuers subsector. Outside of Europe, Chile, Indonesia and Nigeria have issued green bonds, as well as certain semi-sovereign American entities such as the California state pension fund.
Globally, in the public domain, Fannie Mae6 is the largest issuer of green bonds by annual volume and on a smaller scale, it is worth mentioning that the small country of Fiji issued its first green bond in 2019.
A question of price: the greenium
The issuance of green bonds can only be financially justified if they offer more value than a conventional bond with the same economic conditions. So, if a sovereign can issue for 10 years with a 2% coupon at a price of EUR 100, then we should be able to issue a green bond that pays the same coupon at a price of, for example, EUR 101. From the issuer’s perspective, a green bond offers less flexibility since it requires a greater commitment than a conventional bond, so it would only opt for this type of indebtedness if, under equal conditions, it achieves a better financing cost. From the investment point of view, those agents that are most committed to the sustainability of the planet are possibly interested in knowing about the use that is made of their contributed funds, whereby they not only hope to achieve financial profitability, but also want to define the use that is made of the funds and know about their social and/or environmental impact. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that in exchange for this commitment they are willing to give up part of the financial return.
In other words, a green bond can be broken down into (1) a financial commitment, in the form of coupons and principal to maturity, plus (2) the promise that the funds raised will be used for activities that have a positive impact on the environment. We therefore expect the value of this commitment to be positive in order to justify the existence of this asset class, and we should be able to obtain that value by comparing the financial flows of a traditional bond and those of a green bond with the same characteristics, such as amount, priority of payments and maturity. Following this reasoning, if we go to the market and compare the price of these two types of bonds, we observe that the theoretical assumption that there is a positive premium between the price of green and conventional bonds of the same issuer is very closely fulfilled. In fact, so-called greenium is the premium (or discount in terms of returns) of green bonds at the time of issue. The empirical evidence to date remains inconclusive on this greenium and varies in amount, but on average it would be around 1 or 2 basis points (b.p.) of discount in profitability. In other words, slightly lower profitability is required for issuers to finance green projects compared to other traditional indebtedness, so the market offers incentives (albeit few) to commit to climate change7.
Going deeper into the scientific literature, numerous studies have already addressed this topic. Serena et al. (2019) analyzes 268,083 issues, of which 1,131 are classed as green, finding that there is no premium for financial issuers, while in the case of non-financial corporates and especially supranational issuers, there is a “greenium” in the primary green bond market. In contrast, Karpf and Mandel (2017) find a small negative greenium in the United States municipal green bonds market. A justification for these divergent results can be found in Bachelet et al. (2018), where 89 bonds from institutional and corporate issuers are analyzed. Although for private (small) issuers they find a negative greenium in green bonds compared to conventional ones, this is partly explained by the lower liquidity. On the other hand, for institutional issuers, with greater liquidity, they find a greenium of around 2 p.b. Finally, in a large cross-sectional study over time, Zerbib (2019) estimates the greenium between green bonds and traditional equivalents at an average of 2 bp. for the entire sample (between 2013 and 2017), corroborated after analyzing EUR and USD portfolios separately.
This empirical evidence suggests that certain additional considerations to the risk and return expectations may be being considered by investors in these products, such as liquidity, which makes the magnitude of the financial premium that measures green commitment difficult to determine in isolation.
Although this premium may seem small, there is an additional factor to take into account when explaining the growing interest in this type of issue in the market, namely the stability of the investor base. When debt issuers perform debt operations, one of the most valued variables, together with the cost of financing, is frequently the stability of their bondholders, so if the number of sales orders in the secondary market were low and therefore the share price is at its most stable, sovereign issuers would look to attract, in their green bond order books, accounts or investors with a real interest in maintaining their buying position in said securities (buy and hold accounts). On the contrary, in traditional bonds there would be a higher percentage of less conservative or fast money investors, which would make their prices in the secondary market more volatile. In CBI (2018) estimations, green bonds to date have attracted an average of 55% of investors specializing in green assets. For instance, the inaugural Dutch issue had a distribution of up to 82.5% in accounts denominated “Green real money” (Reuters, 2019).
This type of stability is especially important in the case of sovereign bonds, which tend to be considered reference issuers in their respective jurisdictions.
The search for stability creates the effect of broadening the investor base that would be attractive to sovereign issuers, since part of this investment profile would be genuinely new, as these managers are less concerned with market volatility, and more with the purpose of their investment. In parallel, it is interesting to observe how the maturities of green sovereign issues are normally longer term than those of other types of issuers (see Chart 2).
|Chart 2: Sustainable Debt Maturity Structure by Issuer Type|
|Source: ICMA Green Bonds The state of the market 2018|
Typically, long-term bond issuers partner with investors such as pension funds and insurers seeking to match the durations of their investment portfolios with their liabilities, this being an associated management strategy.
Therefore, green debt issues would fit with the traditional investor profile of sovereign issuers. Following the same example, 33% was allocated to pension funds and insurers (the majority investor category in the order book) in the inaugural Dutch issue, followed by 31% allocated to investment funds and asset managers.
As we have seen so far, green bonds are currently slightly more expensive for investors than traditional bonds, although this situation is somewhat inconclusive due to the short history of the market. Thinking about the viability of these financial products in the future, we perform a small exercise in abstraction and ask where things might stand 30 or 50 years from now.
In a favorable future scenario8 in which the concentration of greenhouse gases is lower than current levels, it would be foreseeable that large investors would come to see green bonds as a luxury asset, resulting in a potential shortage of supply in the primary market.
However, what is considered the base case scenario or BAU –business as usual– by the IPCC is not so optimistic 9, taking global warming to 4.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Given this circumstance, the population is expected to be fully aware of the need to decarbonize the economy more aggressively, and investors should decide to dedicate a higher percentage of their budget exclusively to products with a positive environmental impact, and be forced to focus their investments on green bonds, to the detriment of other less necessary types of investment10.
While these scenarios are uncertain, the reality is that the odds are skewed towards one in which the environment is not a luxury, but a necessity. Along these lines, we have recently heard how the first vice-president of the European Commission has defended this point before the European Parliament, stating that “the European Green Pact is not a luxury, but a lifeline to emerge from the crisis against the coronavirus […] Green recovery is not only possible, but crucial, given that Europe would lose twice if we mobilize investments to restore the old economy before turning it green and sustainable”11.
Poland and Holland, the pioneers
As mentioned at the beginning, on December 12, 2016, Poland issued its inaugural green bond, following the ICMA green bond principles (GBP) that had just been published in June of that same year. This transaction is considered the first green issue by a sovereign and followed a conventional format, involving the evaluation from the company Sustainalytics of its green financing framework, as well as certifying its commitment to (i) the use of funds, (ii) the selection system for eligible projects, (iii) the financial management of the funds raised, and (iv) the reporting or impact report after the issue. Poland thus committed on the financial side to paying a coupon of 0.5% over 5 years on a nominal amount of EUR 750 million, while its environmental commitment was intended to finance renewable energy projects, sustainable agriculture operations, reforestation, national parks, clean transport and forest recovery, explicitly leaving out any use related to unsustainable sectors, such as the burning of fossil fuels and operations related to palm oil. In this first transaction, the issuer had to pay a new issue premium of 8 b.p. (i.e. negative greenium)12, although this was reduced in its second issuance of a green bond in 2018, leaving the price at the same level as its traditional credit curve (see the following chart, CBI 2018).
Meanwhile, the Netherlands was the first AAA issuer to take out a green bond in Europe. The issue was made in 2019, for an amount close to EUR 6 billion, and with a term of 20 years. In this case, the justification of the funds raised is based on the expenses committed both in the current budget, as well as in the year prior to the issuance and subsequent years. However, it included a commitment for at least having
|Chart 3: Primary Green Bond Market (|
|Source: Climate Bonds Initiative (2018)|
50% of the justification done against the budget of the same year of the issue. As in the previous case, this bond was approved by Sustainalytics, who considered their green strategy to be credible and that ICMA’s GBP principles had been followed.
Germany recently announced its interest in issuing its first green bond in 2020, for a potential amount of EUR 10 billion, which would make it the second country with an AAA rating to issue green debt, after the Netherlands. This would also be an important step in the development of this market on a global level since it would constitute the risk-free reference curve in Europe following the same consideration as its traditional debt.
While Germany may not have been the first player in the sovereign green bond market, it presented a good opportunity for a country with one of the most ambitious green tax packages to use strategic debt to finance the more than EUR 50,000 million committed to investment in key sectors that could make a significant contribution to boosting the economy while supporting the planet’s sustainability.
Germany’s innovative proposal involves issuing two twin bonds, one green and one traditional, at the same time. Both would carry the same financial conditions and they would only differ in terms of the green commitment of one of the bonds (they would bear different ISIN identification codes). To ensure the liquidity of both bonds, the sovereign would commit to exchange them at any time, eliminating any liquidity premium from these green assets. This would therefore offer a solution that would provide depth to the green bond market, seeking to reduce the isolation of this type of debt with respect to the traditional credit curve and laying the first foundations towards the creation of a green reference curve.
The low liquidity due to this isolation of green emissions may be a particular problem for smaller sovereigns, such as Denmark. Being a small issuer, setting up a new benchmark separate from the traditional credit curve would be so illiquid that it would presumably fail to attract a discount or greenium in the primary market. In addition, there would be a certain expulsion or crowding-out effect with respect to its own traditional debt, that is, assuming a fixed budget, the government should issue less non-green debt and, therefore, probably damage the liquidity of its credit curve, potentially having to pay an additional premium for illiquidity on all their debt due to the fragmentation of its issuance program, with an impact on the total cost of financing.
Based on this need, Denmark would be evaluating a model that would divide the two commitments that make up a green bond 13. Although this is still a theoretical development, it is interesting to analyze the advantages of the structure for issuers, as well as the potential it would offer to investors in terms of greater flexibility. In this proposal, the financial commitment would be issued as a traditional bond, while the green promise would be issued as a green certificate. Hence, an investor in possession of both instruments, the traditional bond and the green certificate, would be in a position equivalent to an investment in a sovereign green bond. The green certificate would thus be interpreted as a commitment by Denmark to invest in green assets being at least equal to the amount raised from the sale of the traditional bond and the green certificate.
Denmark would sell this structured green bond in an auction, so that the buyer of a “green package” can have a traditional Danish bond exchangeable for any other sovereign bond of the same maturity, plus the certificate that ensures reinvestment by the issuer of said amount in green assets. The bond will hence be as liquid as any other issue reference, while the certificate will have a price for which the buyer who has bid in the auction is assumed to be willing to pay a positive amount. So the issuer could quantify the greenium directly in the primary market and investors could keep the certificate or sell it in the secondary market, since they will have their own ISIN identification code.
Suppose that in an auction the sovereign sells its bond at a price of EUR 100 plus a green certificate that is valued for example at EUR 1. The issuer hence obtains EUR 101 in the primary market, a price that may fluctuate based on interest rates and the issuer’s credit risk: But on what basis would the certificates vary in price? The market would be responsible for pricing the government’s level of commitment to its reinvestment in sustainable projects. In a way, the certificate would be a “zero coupon bond with zero amortization at maturity.” As strange as it sounds, there would be some financial logic behind that would support the existence of monetary value in a product that has no cash flows. When Denmark gave the investor a green certificate, that is all she would get, the certificate. Who then might be interested in paying a positive amount for this? Maybe major activists who want to show their followers that they are committed to climate change, even going so far as to influence the expectation of a country being committed to sustainability. Furthermore, the certificates would be an interesting piece of financial engineering offering the possibility for credit structuring in order to create synthetic green bonds; for example, pairing an American sovereign bond with a Danish green certificate, allowing large investors to offset the global carbon footprint of their portfolios, fulfilling their commitments to align with the Paris goals (2015) or, for example, the Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI), while adapting their financial profile to the needs of their portfolios. Ultimately, a manager could, for example, benefit from buying bonds from Saudi Arabia while adding green certificates to its portfolio, thus being able to justify its net contribution to the decarbonization of the economy to rating agencies and investors, this being a way to facilitate the ecological transition supporting the financing of companies and sovereigns that are currently outside the scope of the green activities taxonomy during this transition14.
A certificate market that quotes the sustainability of issuers could even be created. If investors believe that the demand for green bonds will increase, they can choose to invest in these instruments, but due to their low liquidity, another cheaper way to position themselves in this scenario would be to buy green certificates, minimizing exposure to the issuer’s credit risk on the part of the traditional bond, so it would no longer be necessary to finance the purchase of a bond to take a bullish position in terms of sustainability. We would thus achieve an efficient way of assessing the sustainability of the countries in the market that would complement the assessment of their public policies that are committed in the framework of the Paris Agreement (2015) to the so-called National Determined Contributions (NDCs), and climate metrics based on the production of goods and services in the country, such as, for example, adaptation indexes as calculated by the Notre-Dame Global Adaptation Initiative.
We are shifting from a market based on the fiduciary duty of managers to their clients towards one in which the people are committed to climate change and thus incorporate it in all their investment preferences. Green bonds have therefore changed investor behavior, leading some of the biggest managers to publicize their purchases of this type of asset and communicate their responsible investment strategies15.
In the ecological transition, sovereign issuers play a fundamental role in mobilizing resources to finance the SDGs. This is of even greater importance in the current scenario of implementing recovery measures in the wake of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The emphasis on planning for green reconstruction means green bonds appear to be a central instrument for satisfying these plans.
After a few years of experience of issuing green bonds, we begin to see other proposals for financial innovation that suggest the possibility of resorting to more efficient structures for the issuance of sustainable public debt. There is still a long way to go, but in the future, responsible investment managers would benefit from knowing the true level of compliance with national climate commitments and separating it from each country’s level of credit risk, an area in which the current greenium is unable to offer a credible conclusion due to the distortion caused by liquidity differences between green and traditional public debt. The new financial structures analyzed here would allow this effect to be isolated, directly in the price of the green certificates in the Danish model, or indirectly, from the price differential between the “twin” green bonds of the German proposal.
About the author
Andrés Alonso is a senior economist at the Bank of Spain, where he works in the Financial Innovation Division.
I am grateful to Ana Fernández, Sergio Gorjón and José Manuel Marqués for their comments on this article, which is the sole responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Bank of Spain, the Eurosystem or any other institution with which the author collaborates.
Alonso & Marqués (2019). “Innovación financiera para una economía sostenible”. Banco de España. DO 1916.
Bachelet et al. (2018). “The Green Bonds Premium Puzzle: The Role of Issuer Characteristics and Third-Party verification” MDPI. Maria Jua Bachelet, Leonardo Becchetti, Stefano Manfredonia. December 2018.
EP (2020). “Roadmap to Reallocation. A critical assessment of the Green Deal’s growth, financial and regulatory challenges”. European Parliament. April 2020.
Fama & French “Disagreement, tastes, and asset pricing”. E.F. Fama, K.R. French. Journal of Financial Economics, 83 (2007) ICMA (2018). “Guidelines for Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds External Review”. June 2018.
Karpf & Mandel. “Does it pay to be green? A Comparative Study of the Yield Term Structure of Green and Brown Bonds in the US Municipal Bonds Market”. Andreas Karpf, Antoine Mandely. February 2017.
Serena et al. (2019) “The pricing of green bonds: are financial institutions special?”, Serena Fatica, Roberto Panzica, Michela Rancan. European Commission – Joint Research Center (JRC). 2019.
UN (2020). “Letter from the Secretary-General to G-20 leaders”. March 23.
Zerbib (2019). “The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds”. Olivier David Zerbib. Journal of Banking and Finance, 2019.
Pies de página
1 Recently, in April 2020, the Community of Madrid launched the first green bond issued by a Spanish public administration, following a conventional commitment structure regarding the use of funds.
2 In 1993 Jacques Delors argued that the unemployment problem in the European Economic Community was due to a lack of competitiveness, and he used the words of US President Bill Clinton who said that his country was “a great company competing in the world market”. This led economist Paul Krugman to review the definition of a country’s competitiveness vis-à-vis a company. Intuitively, a large company’s income statement is literally that, the result of its profits and losses, so if it cannot pay its employees, suppliers, and debtors, it will run out of business. On the other hand, a country may be more or less content with its economic development, but it does not run out of business. We might think that the balance of its current account balance will determine its position of strength in terms of imports and exports, and will therefore determine the wealth of its population, but it is not so simple. Interdependencies in international trade mean that countries do not compete in a zero-sum game, as for example Coca-Cola and Pepsi could otherwise do by competing for drink sales. Ultimately, the numbers show that the quality of life in a country is determined more by domestic factors than by how the nation competes in international markets.
3 For further explanation, see World Bank(2018).
4 Common practice involves the issuer’s adherence to “green principles” such as those promulgated by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), which normally establish the minimum conditions necessary for inclusion in a framework in order for it to be considered a green bond, namely (1) justify the use of funds, (2) the evaluation and selection of projects, (3) the management of the treasury and (4) the commitment to reporting the impact of projects.
5 See Alonso and Marqués (2019) for further information on new sustainable financial instruments.
6 Fannie Mae is the popular name for the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), an entity guaranteed by the US government whose work is to give depth to the secondary mortgage market, through the acquisition and subsequent securitization of these loans, in order to facilitate reinvestment by financial institutions in the real estate sector.
7 BBVA (2019) studies the evolution of the greenium of the issuer KfW, as well as the evolution of said premium in the secondary market, observing its volatility, which ranges between 2 and 6 p.b.
8 See “RCP4.5: a pathway for stabilization of radioactive forcing by 2100”. Climate Change (2011). Another even more favorable scenario with which the IPCC is currently working would correspond to a RCP 1.9, which would entail a significant decrease in emissions compatible with an increase in temperatures of less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, as has been agreed in Paris (2015).
9 The so-called RCP8.5 would mark the high range of carbon emissions if no mitigation measures are taken.
10 Thus, a rise in the price of green bonds could end up leading investors to buy more of them, since although in relative terms they became more expensive (substitution effect), the imminence of the climate impact would lead investors to maintain or increase their effort to invest in sustainable instruments, disregarding other types of assets (negative income effect). This situation, in which a rise in price is associated with a higher demand for the product due to the basic need to dispose of said good, is known in economic theory as a Giffen good or less. 11 Along these same lines Germany, the UK, China and even the IMF have been mentioned.
11 Along these same lines Germany, the UK, China and even the IMF have been mentioned.
12 See reference, Societe Generale, 2019.
13 Similar to traditional debt stripping operations, in which the coupons of a bond are separated from the principal, which will be listed separately with individual ISIN codes, in the style of small zero coupon bonds.
14 The first transition bond aligned with the recently published Taxonomy of green activities of the European Commission has just been issued by the gas company Cadent. For further information, see BNP (2020).
15 See, for example, BlackRock.
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|Year : 2022 | Volume
| Issue : 1 | Page : 45-52
Risk Stratification in Acute Normotensive Pulmonary Embolism– Role of Echocardiography Imaging and Biomarkers
Rohit Tandon, Adesh Kumar Singh, Bishav Mohan
Department of Cardiology, Hero DMC Heart Institute, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
|Date of Submission||21-Jul-2021|
|Date of Acceptance||12-Sep-2021|
|Date of Web Publication||16-Dec-2021|
Dr. Rohit Tandon
Tagore Nagar, Ludhiana - 141 001, Punjab
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is an important cause of mortality. It requires alertness to facilitate early diagnosis which becomes a benchmark for further risk stratification and optimal management. Although pulmonary artery imaging by computed tomography scan has become the gold standard in diagnosis of acute PE, echocardiography also plays a complementary role as an imaging modality in deciding about the treatment and for prognostication. Combining echocardiography with cardiac-specific biomarker assays further enhances the required diagnostic yield in the emergency setting. In this chapter, we mainly focus on the role of echocardiography along with specific biomarker assays in prognostication of acute PE patients who are normotensive at presentation.
Keywords: Acute pulmonary embolism, biomarkers, echocardiography, risk stratification
|How to cite this article:|
Tandon R, Singh AK, Mohan B. Risk Stratification in Acute Normotensive Pulmonary Embolism– Role of Echocardiography Imaging and Biomarkers. J Indian Acad Echocardiogr Cardiovasc Imaging 2022;6:45-52
|How to cite this URL:|
Tandon R, Singh AK, Mohan B. Risk Stratification in Acute Normotensive Pulmonary Embolism– Role of Echocardiography Imaging and Biomarkers. J Indian Acad Echocardiogr Cardiovasc Imaging [serial online] 2022 [cited 2022 May 23];6:45-52. Available from: https://www.jiaecho.org/text.asp?2022/6/1/45/332708
| Background and Epidemiology|| |
Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) can be associated with mortality rates in the range of 5%–36%. In-hospital mortality rates in different subsets are as follows:
- 25%–50% in massive PE which is associated with sustained hypotension (i.e., systolic blood pressure [SBP] <90 mmHg for at least 15 min)
- 3%–15% in submassive PE which is characterized by elevated cardiac biomarkers for myocardial necrosis (troponins) and/or right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction with SBP more than 90 mmHg at presentation
- <5% in low risk/nonmassive PE characterized by the absence of hypotension, RV dysfunction, and myocardial necrosis.
Rapid and accurate risk stratification depends upon assessment of thrombus location and burden and its effects on systemic, pulmonary, and RV hemodynamics.
| Initial Risk Stratification|| |
Pathophysiologically, acute PE results in a cascade of events leading to release of neurohormonal factors which cause a rise in pulmonary artery pressures, thereby affecting effective forward cardiac output resulting in hemodynamic decompensation and eventually cardiogenic shock. In patients presenting in shock, termed as massive PE, urgent clot removal from the main pulmonary artery, either surgically or using catheter-based techniques, assumes utmost importance, while low-risk or nonmassive PE patients can be discharged after initial emergency room assessment and can be managed on outpatient basis. The patients who are hemodynamically stable usually require advanced risk stratification based on clinical risk prediction tools, imaging, specific biomarkers, and presence/absence of comorbidity. In this review article, we focus upon the various strategies used for risk stratification based on biomarkers and imaging and their current status and clinical validation.
| Formulating a Risk Assessment Strategy- Risk Prediction Models|| |
In acute PE patients who are normotensive at presentation, it is imperative to risk stratify for in - hospital or early (30-day) adverse events.
Early risk stratification
The European Society of Cardiology 2019 guidelines and PE Response Team Consortium 2019 guidelines suggest the use of Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) or simplified PESI (sPESI) clinical scores as they are most extensively validated. They integrate clinical indicators of acute PE severity with aggravating conditions/comorbidity. PESI I, PESI II, or sPESI 0 reliably predict low-risk PE. Patients in intermediate-risk group can be further classified into low-risk or high-risk category based on the presence/absence of RV dysfunction on imaging using either echocardiography, computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), or elevated cardiac biomarkers., It is preferable to monitor these patients closely to allow identification of hemodynamic decompensation at the earliest for expeditious management. In a recent meta-analysis consisting of 3295 patients from 21 cohort studies, need for newer prognostication models for patients termed as low risk based on low PESI/sPESI scores was highlighted. These authors found signs of RV dysfunction in 34% of patients with early all-cause mortality of 1.8%, confirming that patients with signs of RV dysfunction despite low risk based on clinical validation scores, should be reclassified into intermediate-low-risk category [Table 1].
New clinical tools for prognostication
Bova and FAST scores are novel risk prediction scores used in small trials of acute PE patients [Table 2].
|Table 2: Bova and FAST scoring systems for estimation of risk of pulmonary embolism-related complications within 30 days of acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism diagnosis|
Click here to view
Bova score includes two clinical variables - heart rate and SBP. It gives a score of 1 if a patient's heart rate is ≥110 bpm and a score of 2 if SBP is in the range of 90–100 mmHg. A score of 2 each is assigned for elevated troponins and RV dysfunction detected on imaging study (transthoracic echocardiography/CT pulmonary angiography). In this way, patients can be divided into three categories - 0–2 points low risk, 3–4 points intermediate low risk, and >4 points intermediate high risk. FAST score has three variables: heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H - FABP) ≥6 ng/ml or elevated troponins (1.5 points), syncope (1.5 points), and heart rate ≥100 bpm (2 points). The patients are divided into two risk groups as low risk with <3 points and intermediate high risk with ≥3 points. Both of these new scores have integrated imaging or new biomarker assays in risk score model, thereby allowing an integrated assessment.
Assessment of pretest probability in acute pulmonary embolism
In PE, heightened clinical suspicion is kept for patients having established deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Well's criteria combined with D-dimer assay are useful as a rule-out approach [Table 3]. Usual cutoff levels of D-dimer assay indicating PE are >500 microgram/L. However, recent guidelines recommend using age-adjusted cutoff for D-dimer levels in patients >50 years of age (age ×10 microgram/L), as it helps to reclassify at least 30% of patients as low risk. Thromboembolism risk at 3 months was <1% with this approach in many outcome studies of PE. If Well's score is <2, but D-dimer levels are high, then further testing is definitely recommended, [Figure 1].
|Figure 1: Flow diagram: Diagnostic and prognostic algorithm in acute pulmonary embolism, |
CTPA: Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography, PE: Pulmonary embolism, PESI: Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index, sPESI: simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index, TTE: Transthoracic echocardiography
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| Computerized Tomography Pulmonary Angiography: The Gold Standard|| |
CTPA is considered one of the most accurate investigations to assess embolic burden in acute PE. It allows visualization of thromboemboli in main pulmonary artery up till segmental branches. Although it has an 83% sensitivity at a high specificity of 96%, it is associated with a radiation exposure of 3–10 m Sv in a single test (Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis [PIEOPED] II study). In their meta-analysis, Vedovati et al. showed that although localization of emboli in central branches of main pulmonary artery was associated with increased 30-day mortality, no association could be correlated with thrombus burden and obstruction index. In an outcome-based study done recently, obstruction index <20% on CTPA could identify low-risk PE patients who did not have associated cardiopulmonary disabilities such as heart failure and lung cancer.
Based on the results of the available studies, it can be concluded that CTPA has a 96% value to rule out PE, but if clinical suspicion is high, then it reduces to only 60%, so a combined approach for further testing is recommended.
| Risk Stratification Using Echocardiography|| |
Echocardiography may be normal in a substantive population of acute PE patients as signs of RV dysfunction typically described in echocardiography studies appear only when there is at least 30% obstruction in pulmonary artery including its branches. Yet, it plays an important role in management of PE patients due to its a availability and ease of use. There is a consensus that 30%–40% of acute PE patients have echocardiographically recognizable RV dysfunction which is useful for monitoring the patients during hospital stay up till discharge.
Echocardiographic Criteria for Right Ventricular Dysfunction
RV dysfunction in a case of PE is defined as RV dilation using any of the following criteria- RV end-diastolic diameter at basal level >30 mm, end-diastolic RV: left ventricular (LV) diameter ratio >1 at basal level, pulmonary hypertension (value derived from either tricuspid regurgitation jet >2.5 m/s or pulmonary acceleration time <90 ms), RV free wall thickness <7 mm, and dilation of the right pulmonary artery (>12 mm/m2). Documenting RV dysfunction using the above criteria indicated two times higher short-term mortality risk (data from 6 studies including 1773 patients).
Additionally, specific echocardiography findings, namely mobile thrombi in right heart chambers or thrombus in transit, carry high mortality risk and demand urgent embolectomy. This finding has been reported in 4% unselected and in 18% intensive care unit (ICU)-admitted patients of acute PE [Video 1].
[Additional file 1]
Video 1: A mobile saddle thrombus at bifurcation of main pulmonary artery in a patient of acute submassive pulmonary embolism. On echocardiography, a high left parasternal short-axis view is preferred for proper localization of thrombi in main pulmonary artery, its bifurcation, or at origin of right/left pulmonary arteries.
Echocardiography-Based Risk Stratification Tools
Echocardiography-based risk stratification tools can be divided into the following:
Normally, RV is one-third the size of the LV. When its size appears more than LV visually, it is said to be enlarged. Besides this, regional or global hypokinesia of RV free wall, abnormal septal motion, tricuspid regurgitation, and inferior vena cava (IVC) size and inspiration induced collapsibility, all can be appreciated visually. These findings of right heart strain, although have low negative predictive value, still indicate the possibility of acute PE in an appropriate clinical scenario (53% sensitivity and 83% specificity).
Another important sign noted on visual assessment is McConnell sign, which refers to severe hypokinesia of whole RV free wall, sparing the apex [Video 2]. It was associated with a 57% higher mortality rate at 3 months in patients who were hemodynamically stable at presentation. So, although it is found in <30% of acute PE patients, its presence on echocardiography adds substantive prognostic value.
[Additional file 2]
Video 2: Typical McConnell sign (as described in text) in apical four-chamber view.
Quantitative parameters involve documentation of findings of RV pressure overload and dysfunction in a guideline-recommended manner [Figure 2] and [Figure 3].
|Figure 2: The typical echocardiography signs seen in a patient of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) are described. (a) Dilated right atrium and right ventricle with moderate tricuspid regurgitation (TR) jet on color flow. (b) Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) of 36 mmHg derived from TR jet velocity signal using continuous-wave Doppler. (c) Pulsed-wave Doppler across pulmonary valve to calculate pulmonary acceleration time (52 ms) and 60/60 sign which is a combination of RVSP <60 mmHg and pulmonary acceleration time <60 ms with mid-systolic notch, a highly specific sign for acute PE. (d) Basal right ventricular:left ventricular ratio is >1 with dilated right ventricle. Basal right ventricular diameter is 38 mm, measured 1 cm below the tricuspid annulus. (e and f) Calculation of right ventricular fractional area change by tracing right ventricular endocardium in diastole and systole, respectively, right ventricular fractional area change in this case was 23% suggesting moderate right ventricular systolic dysfunction|
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|Figure 3: Various other echocardiographic findings in acute pulmonary embolism which are reproducible and reliable for acute prognostication. (a) Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (15 mm) using M-mode at lateral tricuspid annulus. (b) Systolic velocity of tricuspid annulus (7 cm/s) derived by placing tissue Doppler cursor at lateral tricuspid annulus. (c) Calculation of right ventricular myocardial performance index (0.8). (d) Global longitudinal strain of right ventricle (-14%) using speckle tracking. (e) Dilated inferior vena cava (22 mm) seen in subcostal view suggesting raised right atrial pressures. (f) Inferior vena cava collapsibility is <50% calculated by placing M-mode cursor on inferior vena cava and measuring the change in inferior vena cava diameter with respiration|
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Right ventricular/left ventricular ratio
Normal RV/LV diameter ratio is <0.6. Ratio >0.9 is considered an independent predictive factor of in-hospital mortality. This measurement is made 1 cm below the tricuspid annulus. Patients who have a persistent ratio >0.9 at hospital discharge were eight times more likely to have recurrent PE and have a hazard ratio (HR) of 4.4 for intensive care unit (ICU) mortality.
60/60 sign is a combination of RV systolic pressure (RVSP) <60 mmHg and pulmonary acceleration time <60 ms. It was first studied by Kurzyna et al in a cohort of 100 acute PE suspected patients. It is thought to be less operator dependent than the McConnell's sign and is a highly specific sign of acute PE. The largest evaluation of the 60/60 sign was done by Kurnicka et al. in an analysis of 511 consecutive PE patients and found it to be present in 12.9% of the patients.
Right atrial pressure
This is measured echocardiographically using IVC diameter and collapsibility on inspiration as a surrogate for estimation. Dilated IVC with <50% inspiratory collapse suggests elevated right atrial pressure and is associated with increased ICU mortality with HR 4.3.
Right ventricular systolic pressure
RVSP can be easily calculated from tricuspid regurgitation velocity.
Usually, in acute PE, RVSP ranges from 40 to 55 mmHg, which has HR 1.03 for ICU mortality. If RVSP exceeds 60 mmHg, then signs of chronic pulmonary thromboembolism such as RV hypertrophy, gross pulmonary artery dilatation, and fixed, noncollapsible IVC should be excluded.
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) provides a quantitative measure of global RV longitudinal function. Its normal value usually exceeds 60% that of normal mitral annular motion during systole. It is measured by keeping M-mode cursor at the lateral tricuspid annulus. TAPSE <16 mm has been correlated with pre-discharge and 30-day post-discharge complications.
In a prospective, multicenter study of 782 acute PE patients who were normotensive at presentation, RIETE study investigators concluded that TAPSE ≤16 mm correlated with raised pulmonary artery pressures ≈ 53.7 ± 16.7 mmHg, increased end-diastolic diameter of RV ≈ 3.5 ± 0.8 cm, increased RV: LV diameter ratio in end-diastole ~ 1.0 ± 0.3, and hypokinesia of RV free wall ~ in 68%. TAPSE cutoff value of 16 mm at presentation carried HR of 2.3 for any cause and 4.4 of PE-related mortality on follow-up. In conclusion, among patients presenting with acute PE, TAPSE value ≤16 mm identifies high risk while value of >20 mm identifies very low-risk group.
Two novel parameters incorporating TAPSE have emerged as promising prognostic indicators in recent studies, namely tricuspid regurgitation peak gradient (TRPG)/TAPSE and TAPSE/pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP). These parameters were studied to improve risk stratification in intermediate-risk PE patients on the premise that a ratio of RV function to afterload might be superior in prediction of adverse outcome than longitudinal function alone. TRPG/TAPSE ratio >4.5 and TAPSE/PASP cutoff value 0.4 implied a 21% risk of PE-related short-term mortality, especially in normotensive patients with TAPSE value between 16 and 20 mm.,
Recently, TAPSE was also used to validate a new bedside score named PESI-Echo which helped in a 9.9% improvement in reclassification of at-risk normotensive acute PE patients. PESI-Echo score is calculated using the following formula:
PESI + PASP - TAPSE = PESI-Echo score as TAPSE's value is inversely related to the severity.
Tissue Doppler-derived systolic velocity S'
This tissue Doppler-based parameter measures RV longitudinal motion similar to TAPSE but is considered more reproducible. Normal velocity at tricuspid lateral annulus is >11 cm/s; in acute PE, it falls below 9 cm/s and is a useful parameter for detecting early change in RV function, but unlike TAPSE, this parameter has been shown to be inferior in prognostication of acute PE patients.
Right ventricular fractional area change
This quantifies the change in RV area during the cardiac cycle.
It is calculated as (RV end-diastolic area − end-systolic area) X 100/end-diastolic area, and values are derived by tracing RV endocardium in diastole and systole using calipers. RV fractional area change correlates with RV ejection fraction (RVEF) calculated by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Its normal value ranges from 35% to 50%.
Right ventricular myocardial performance index
RV myocardial performance index is the ratio of RV isovolumic time divided by ejection time which can be calculated using tissue/pulsed-wave Doppler. It may be used for both the diagnosis of RV dysfunction and the assessment of treatment effectiveness. Normal value is <0.4 by pulsed-wave Doppler and <0.55 by tissue Doppler method.
Right ventricular longitudinal systolic strain
RV longitudinal systolic strain is helpful to quantify subtle changes in RV contractile function. Both RV free wall and global RV strain have been included as prognostic measures in various studies showing robust correlation with biomarker assays, PE outcome, improvement with therapy, and unfavorable outcomes in short-term follow-up. Normal value of RV global longitudinal strain is −24.5% ± 3.8% and that of RV free wall strain is −28.5% ± 4.8%; a cutoff of ≤−15% was an independent predictor of inhospital events in nonmassive acute PE patients. Combination of mean RV free wall strain <−12%, RVEF <40% on three-dimensional echocardiographic imaging, and RVSP >43 mmHg predicts worse prognosis in submassive PE patients [Table 4] and [Table 5].
|Table 4: Diagnostic value of various echocardiography signs of right ventricular dysfunction in acute pulmonary embolism patients (data from pooled analysis)|
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|Table 5: Prognostic value of specific echocardiography parameters in predicting all-cause and pulmonary embolism-related mortality within 30 days of hospital admission in normotensive acute pulmonary embolism patients|
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Combining Compression ultrasonography and Transthoracic Echocardiography in Risk Stratification
Keeping in mind that acute usually originates from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of lower-limb veins, recent guidelines have emphasized on combining echocardiography with compression ultrasonography of veins for better early risk stratification. This is due to high sensitivity (>90%) and specificity (95%) of compression ultrasonography for DVT diagnosis. In a meta-analysis investigating 8859 patients with acute PE, the presence of concomitant DVT was confirmed as a predictor of 30-day all-cause mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 1.9, 95% confidence interval).
| Laboratory Biomarkers for Acute Pulmonary Embolism Risk Stratification|| |
In acute PE, a cascade of events is initiated due to near-complete/complete thrombotic occlusion of pulmonary vasculature. This sudden blockage in pulmonary artery circulation results in development of acute pressure load on the thin-walled RV, which in response shows stretching of RV wall and dilates as a compensatory mechanism so as to maintain cardiac output. This leads to release of natriuretic peptides and copeptin.
Prolonged state of increased afterload also produces some amount of RV myocardial ischemia leading to myocardial injury as depicted by rise in troponins, H-FABP, and growth-differentiating factor 15 (GDF-15).
Estimating Myocardial Injury Using Biomarkers
In this regard, troponins have a proven role in documenting myocardial injury as well as predicting increased risk of mortality with OR ranging from 5.2 to 5.5 in normotensive patients with acute PE. Age-adjusted cutoffs are useful in further improving its negative predictive value for in-hospital and short-term adverse events which is up to 96% at cutoff >14 pg/mL for patients aged <75 years and >45 pg/mL for those >75 years.
Their main limitation remains detectability only for up to 72 h from index event and delayed release unlike in acute coronary syndromes.
H-FABP is a protein mainly found in cytoplasm of myocardium, skeletal muscle, and distal renal tubular cells. It is a small molecule with low serum concentrations under normal physiological conditions. Its blood levels start rising within 90 min of myocardial injury, peak in 6 h, and return to baseline after 12–24 h. This rapid release pattern makes it suitable for use in early triage of patients. At a cutoff of ≥6 ng/mL, it poses seven times increased risk of PE-related adverse events with OR of 17 and 33 for all-cause mortality (data from meta-analysis of 1680 patients). Due to these advantages, such as early rise and low overlap, it is now part of FAST score as described above.
Biomarkers for Increased Myocardial Stretch
Both brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) have established prognostic role in acute PE as both show increased levels in response to RV stretch. They also reflect the severity of RV pressure overload before development of overt hemodynamic compromise.
On admission, BNP values >90 pg/mL and NT-proBNP values value >500 pg/ml have been shown to predict a 10% higher risk of early death and a 23% risk of adverse clinical outcome. These peptides suffer from wide variability of concentrations in various population groups and their delayed release due to slow upregulation of messenger ribonucleic acid. Still, their low levels imply high negative predictive value for adverse in-hospital events.
Another new molecule which is useful in depicting RV stretch is copeptin. This molecule is similar to vasopressin as it gets released from neurohypophysis following alteration in pulmonary hemodynamics secondary to acute RV pressure overload, but it is more stable than vasopressin which allows its estimation even hours after index event. In various studies, copeptin levels above cutoff value of 24 pmol·L−1 predicted a 6–7 times increased risk for PE-related adverse events and mortality.
Another new marker which has been studied in the context of PE-related adverse outcome is GDF-15, which is a congener from transforming growth factor and is released in myocardial ischemia and heart failure. Although cutoff values are lacking due to paucity of studies, it has shown almost 95% negative predictive value for 30-day adverse events in a study by Lankeit et al.
| Profiling Right Ventricular Dysfunction Using Combination of Imaging and Serum Biomarkers|| |
As discussed above, all three approaches are useful for risk stratification of normotensive PE patients when used in a judicious stepwise fashion [Table 6] and [Figure 1].
|Table 6: Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiography parameters predicting 30-day pulmonary embolism-related mortality in normotensive acute pulmonary embolism patients- an integrative approach|
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The focus of all approaches is documenting RV dysfunction, although cutoff values for each of them may differ. Risk ratio for RV dysfunction assessed by echocardiography/CT was 2.4, for BNP 9.5, NT-pro BNP 5.7, and troponins 8.3 in a retrospective analysis of published data over the last 22 years by Sanchez et al.
Hence a combined integrative approach toward prognostication is advocated in acute PE as it has additional additive value.
| Conclusions|| |
Risk stratification of normotensive acute PE patients is an evolving subject. Cardiac biomarkers and imaging of heart and limb veins have paved the way for rapid and accurate bedside risk stratification. These parameters complement clinical decision-making and therefore have now been included in recently validated risk assessment models for better prognostication of PE patients.
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Conflicts of interest
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[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3]
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4], [Table 5], [Table 6] | <urn:uuid:0ff5c322-2fa8-4c9f-b168-f3b395766ce6> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://jiaecho.org/article.asp?issn=2543-1463;year=2022;volume=6;issue=1;spage=45;epage=52;aulast=Tandon;type=3 | 2022-05-23T08:06:07Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.841503 | 8,354 |
Visible and Invisible/Mrs. Amworth
The village of Maxley, where, last summer and autumn, these strange events took place, lies on a heathery and pine-clad upland of Sussex. In all England you could not find a sweeter and saner situation. Should the wind blow from the south, it comes laden with the spices of the sea; to the east high downs protect it from the inclemencies of March; and from the west and north the breezes which reach it travel over miles of aromatic forest and heather. The village itself is insignificant enough in point of population, but rich in amenities and beauty. Half-way down the single street, with its broad road and spacious areas of grass on each side, stands the little Norman Church and the antique graveyard long disused: for the rest there are a dozen small, sedate Georgian houses, red-bricked and long-windowed, each with a square of flower-garden in front, and an ampler strip behind; a score of shops, and a couple of score of thatched cottages belonging to labourers on neighbouring estates, complete the entire cluster of its peaceful habitations. The general peace, however, is sadly broken on Saturdays and Sundays, for we lie on one of the main roads between London and Brighton and our quiet street becomes a race-course for flying motor-cars and bicycles. A notice just outside the village begging them to go slowly only seems to encourage them to accelerate their speed, for the road lies open and straight, and there is really no reason why they should do otherwise. By way of protest, therefore, the ladies of Maxley cover their noses and mouths with their handkerchiefs as they see a motor-car approaching, though, as the street is asphalted, they need not really take these precautions against dust. But late on Sunday night the horde of scorchers has passed, and we settle down again to five days of cheerful and leisurely seclusion. Railway strikes which agitate the country so much leave us undisturbed because most of the inhabitants of Maxley never leave it at all.
I am the fortunate possessor of one of these small Georgian houses, and consider myself no less fortunate in having so interesting and stimulating a neighbour as Francis Urcombe, who, the most confirmed of Maxleyites, has not slept away from his house, which stands just opposite to mine in the village street, for nearly two years, at which date, though still in middle life, he resigned his Physiological Professorship at Cambridge University and devoted himself to the study of those occult and curious phenomena which seem equally to concern the physical and the psychical sides of human nature. Indeed his retirement was not unconnected with his passion for the strange uncharted places that lie on the confines and borders of science, the existence of which is so stoutly denied by the more materialistic minds, for he advocated that all medical students should be obliged to pass some sort of examination in mesmerism, and that one of the tripos papers should be designed to test their knowledge in such subjects as appearances at time of death, haunted houses, vampirism, automatic writing, and possession.
"Of course they wouldn't listen to me," ran his account of the matter, "for there is nothing that these seats of learning are so frightened of as knowledge, and the road to knowledge lies in the study of things like these. The functions of the human frame are, broadly speaking, known. They are a country, anyhow, that has been charted and mapped out. But outside that lie huge tracts of undiscovered country, which certainly exist, and the real pioneers of knowledge are those who, at the cost of being derided as credulous and superstitious, want to push on into those misty and probably perilous places. I felt that I could be of more use by setting out without compass or knapsack into the mists than by sitting in a cage like a canary and chirping about what was known. Besides, teaching is very bad for a man who knows himself only to be a learner: you only need to be a self-conceited ass to teach."
Here, then, in Francis Urcombe, was a delightful neighbour to one who, like myself, has an uneasy and burning curiosity about what he called the "misty and perilous places"; and this last spring we had a further and most welcome addition to our pleasant little community, in the person of Mrs. Amworth, widow of an Indian civil servant. Her husband had been a judge in the North-West Provinces, and after his death at Peshawar she came back to England, and after a year in London found herself starving for the ampler air and sunshine of the country to take the place of the fogs and griminess of town. She had, too, a special reason for settling in Maxley, since her ancestors up till a hundred years ago had long been native to the place, and in the old church-yard, now disused, are many grave-stones bearing her maiden name of Chaston. Big and energetic, her vigorous and genial personality speedily woke Maxley up to a higher degree of sociality than it had ever known. Most of us were bachelors or spinsters or elderly folk not much inclined to exert ourselves in the expense and effort of hospitality, and hitherto the gaiety of a small tea-party, with bridge afterwards and goloshes (when it was wet) to trip home in again for a solitary dinner, was about the climax of our festivities. But Mrs. Amworth showed us a more gregarious way, and set an example of luncheon-parties and little dinners, which we began to follow. On other nights when no such hospitality was on foot, a lone man like myself found it pleasant to know that a call on the telephone to Mrs. Amworth's house not a hundred yards off, and an inquiry as to whether I might come over after dinner for a game of piquet before bed-time, would probably evoke a response of welcome. There she would be, with a comrade-like eagerness for companionship, and there was a glass of port and a cup of coffee and a cigarette and a game of piquet. She played the piano, too, in a free and exuberant manner, and had a charming voice and sang to her own accompaniment; and as the days grew long and the light lingered late, we played our game in her garden, which in the course of a few months she had turned from being a nursery for slugs and snails into a glowing patch of luxuriant blossoming. She was always cheery and jolly; she was interested in everything, and in music, in gardening, in games of all sorts was a competent performer. Everybody (with one exception) liked her, everybody felt her to bring with her the tonic of a sunny day. That one exception was Francis Urcombe; he, though he confessed he did not like her, acknowledged that he was vastly interested in her. This always seemed strange to me, for pleasant and jovial as she was, I could see nothing in her that could call forth conjecture or intrigued surmise, so healthy and unmysterious a figure did she present. But of the genuineness of Urcombe's interest there could be no doubt; one could see him watching and scrutinising her. In matter of age, she frankly volunteered the information that she was forty-five; but her briskness, her activity, her unravaged skin, her coal-black hair, made it difficult to believe that she was not adopting an unusual device, and adding ten years on to her age instead of subtracting them.
Often, also, as our quite unsentimental friendship ripened, Mrs. Amworth would ring me up and propose her advent. If I was busy writing, I was to give her, so we definitely bargained, a frank negative, and in answer I could hear her jolly laugh and her wishes for a successful evening of work. Sometimes, before her proposal arrived, Urcombe would already have stepped across from his house opposite for a smoke and a chat, and he, hearing who my intending visitor was, always urged me to beg her to come. She and I should play our piquet, said he, and he would look on, if we did not object, and learn something of the game. But I doubt whether he paid much attention to it, for nothing could be clearer than that, under that penthouse of forehead and thick eyebrows, his attention was fixed not on the cards, but on one of the players. But he seemed to enjoy an hour spent thus, and often, until one particular evening in July, he would watch her with the air of a man who has some deep problem in front of him. She, enthusiastically keen about our game, seemed not to notice his scrutiny. Then came that evening, when, as I see in the light of subsequent events, began the first twitching of the veil that hid the secret horror from my eyes. I did not know it then, though I noticed that thereafter, if she rang up to propose coming round, she always asked not only if I was at leisure, but whether Mr. Urcombe was with me. If so, she said, she would not spoil the chat of two old bachelors, and laughingly wished me good night.
Urcombe, on this occasion, had been with me for some half-hour before Mrs. Amworth's appearance, and had been talking to me about the mediæval beliefs concerning vampirism, one of those borderland subjects which he declared had not been sufficiently studied before it had been consigned by the medical profession to the dust-heap of exploded superstitions. There he sat, grim and eager, tracing, with that pellucid clearness which had made him in his Cambridge days so admirable a lecturer, the history of those mysterious visitations. In them all there were the same general features: one of those ghoulish spirits took up its abode in a living man or woman, conferring supernatural powers of bat-like flight and glutting itself with nocturnal blood-feasts. When its host died it continued to dwell in the corpse, which remained undecayed. By day it rested, by night it left the grave and went on its awful errands. No European country in the Middle Ages seemed to have escaped them; earlier yet, parallels were to be found, in Roman and Greek and in Jewish history.
"It's a large order to set all that evidence aside as being moonshine," he said. "Hundreds of totally independent witnesses in many ages have testified to the occurrence of these phenomena, and there's no explanation known to me which covers all the facts. And if you feel inclined to say 'Why, then, if these are facts, do we not come across them now?' there are two answers I can make you. One is that there were diseases known in the Middle Ages, such as the black death, which were certainly existent then and which have become extinct since, but for that reason we do not assert that such diseases never existed. Just as the black death visited England and decimated the population of Norfolk, so here in this very district about three hundred years ago there was certainly an outbreak of vampirism, and Maxley was the centre of it. My second answer is even more convincing, for I tell you that vampirism is by no means extinct now. An outbreak of it certainly occurred in India a year or two ago."
At that moment I heard my knocker plied in the cheerful and peremptory manner in which Mrs. Amworth is accustomed to announce her arrival, and I went to the door to open it.
"Come in at once," I said, "and save me from having my blood curdled. Mr. Urcombe has been trying to alarm me."
Instantly her vital, voluminous presence seemed to fill the room.
"Ah, but how lovely!" she said. "I delight in having my blood curdled. Go on with your ghost-story, Mr. Urcombe. I adore ghost-stories."
I saw that, as his habit was, he was intently observing her.
"It wasn't a ghost-story exactly," said he. "I was only telling our host how vampirism was not extinct yet. I was saying that there was an outbreak of it in India only a few years ago."
There was a more than perceptible pause, and I saw that, if Urcombe was observing her, she on her side was observing him with fixed eye and parted mouth. Then her jolly laugh invaded that rather tense silence.
"Oh, what a shame!" she said. "You're not going to curdle my blood at all. Where did you pick up such a tale, Mr. Urcombe? I have lived for years in India and never heard a rumour of such a thing. Some story-teller in the bazaars must have invented it: they are famous at that."
I could see that Urcombe was on the point of saying something further, but checked himself.
"Ah! very likely that was it," he said.
But something had disturbed our usual peaceful sociability that night, and something had damped Mrs. Amworth's usual high spirits. She had no gusto for her piquet, and left after a couple of games. Urcombe had been silent too, indeed he hardly spoke again till she departed.
"That was unfortunate," he said, "for the outbreak of—of a very mysterious disease, let us call it, took place at Peshawar, where she and her husband were. And——"
"Well?" I asked.
"He was one of the victims of it," said he. "Naturally I had quite forgotten that when I spoke."
The summer was unreasonably hot and rainless, and Maxley suffered much from drought, and also from a plague of big black night-flying gnats, the bite of which was very irritating and virulent. They came sailing in of an evening, settling on one's skin so quietly that one perceived nothing till the sharp stab announced that one had been bitten. They did not bite the hands or face, but chose always the neck and throat for their feeding-ground, and most of us, as the poison spread, assumed a temporary goitre. Then about the middle of August appeared the first of those mysterious cases of illness which our local doctor attributed to the long-continued heat coupled with the bite of these venomous insects. The patient was a boy of sixteen or seventeen, the son of Mrs. Amworth's gardener, and the symptoms were an anæmic pallor and a languid prostration, accompanied by great drowsiness and an abnormal appetite. He had, too, on his throat two small punctures where, so Dr. Ross conjectured, one of these great gnats had bitten him. But the odd thing was that there was no swelling or inflammation round the place where he had been bitten. The heat at this time had begun to abate, but the cooler weather failed to restore him, and the boy, in spite of the quantity of good food which he so ravenously swallowed, wasted away to a skin-clad skeleton.
I met Dr. Ross in the street one afternoon about this time, and in answer to my inquiries about his patient he said that he was afraid the boy was dying. The case, he confessed, completely puzzled him: some obscure form of pernicious anæmia was all he could suggest. But he wondered whether Mr. Urcombe would consent to see the boy, on the chance of his being able to throw some new light on the case, and since Urcombe was dining with me that night, I proposed to Dr. Ross to join us. He could not do this, but said he would look in later. When he came, Urcombe at once consented to put his skill at the other's disposal, and together they went off at once. Being thus shorn of my sociable evening, I telephoned to Mrs. Amworth to know if I might inflict myself on her for an hour. Her answer was a welcoming affirmative, and between piquet and music the hour lengthened itself into two. She spoke of the boy who was lying so desperately and mysteriously ill, and told me that she had often been to see him, taking him nourishing and delicate food. But to-day—and her kind eyes moistened as she spoke—she was afraid she had paid her last visit. Knowing the antipathy between her and Urcombe, I did not tell her that he had been called into consultation; and when I returned home she accompanied me to my door, for the sake of a breath of night air, and in order to borrow a magazine which contained an article on gardening which she wished to read.
"Ah, this delicious night air," she said, luxuriously sniffing in the coolness. "Night air and gardening are the great tonics. There is nothing so stimulating as bare contact with rich mother earth. You are never so fresh as when you have been grubbing in the soil—black hands, black nails, and boots covered with mud." She gave her great jovial laugh.
"I'm a glutton for air and earth," she said. "Positively I look forward to death, for then I shall be buried and have the kind earth all round me. No leaden caskets for me—I have given explicit directions. But what shall I do about air? Well, I suppose one can't have everything. The magazine? A thousand thanks, I will faithfully return it. Good night: garden and keep your windows open, and you won't have anæmia."
"I always sleep with my windows open," said I.
I went straight up to my bedroom, of which one of the windows looks out over the street, and as I undressed I thought I heard voices talking outside not far away. But I paid no particular attention, put out my lights, and falling asleep plunged into the depths of a most horrible dream, distortedly suggested no doubt, by my last words with Mrs. Amworth. I dreamed that I woke, and found that both my bedroom windows were shut. Half-suffocating I dreamed that I sprang out of bed, and went across to open them. The blind over the first was drawn down, and pulling it up I saw, with the indescribable horror of incipient nightmare, Mrs. Amworth's face suspended close to the pane in the darkness outside, nodding and smiling at me. Pulling down the blind again to keep that terror out, I rushed to the second window on the other side of the room, and there again was Mrs. Amworth's face. Then the panic came upon me in full blast; here was I suffocating in the airless room, and whichever window I opened Mrs. Amworth's face would float in, like those noiseless black gnats that bit before one was aware. The nightmare rose to screaming point, and with strangled yells I awoke to find my room cool and quiet with both windows open and blinds up and a half-moon high in its course, casting an oblong of tranquil light on the floor. But even when I was awake the horror persisted, and I lay tossing and turning. I must have slept long before the nightmare seized me, for now it was nearly day, and soon in the east the drowsy eyelids of morning began to lift.
I was scarcely downstairs next morning—for after the dawn I slept late—when Urcombe rang up to know if he might see me immediately. He came in, grim and preoccupied, and I noticed that he was pulling on a pipe that was not even filled.
"I want your help," he said, "and so I must tell you first of all what happened last night. I went round with the little doctor to see his patient, and found him just alive, but scarcely more. I instantly diagnosed in my own mind what this anæmia, unaccountable by any other explanation, meant. The boy is the prey of a vampire."
He put his empty pipe on the breakfast-table, by which I had just sat down, and folded his arms, looking at me steadily from under his overhanging brows.
"Now about last night," he said. "I insisted that he should be moved from his father's cottage into my house. As we were carrying him on a stretcher, whom should we meet but Mrs. Amworth? She expressed shocked surprise that we were moving him. Now why do you think she did that?"
With a start of horror, as I remembered my dream that night before, I felt an idea come into my mind so preposterous and unthinkable that I instantly turned it out again.
"I haven't the smallest idea," I said.
"Then listen, while I tell you about what happened later. I put out all light in the room where the boy lay, and watched. One window was a little open, for I had forgotten to close it, and about midnight I heard something outside, trying apparently to push it farther open. I guessed who it was—yes, it was full twenty feet from the ground—and I peeped round the corner of the blind. Just outside was the face of Mrs. Amworth and her hand was on the frame of the window. Very softly I crept close, and then banged the window down, and I think I just caught the tip of one of her fingers."
"But it's impossible," I cried. "How could she be floating in the air like that? And what had she come for? Don't tell me such——"
Once more, with closer grip, the remembrance of my nightmare seized me.
"I am telling you what I saw," said he. "And all night long, until it was nearly day, she was fluttering outside, like some terrible bat, trying to gain admittance. Now put together various things I have told you."
He began checking them off on his fingers.
"Number one," he said: "there was an outbreak of disease similar to that which this boy is suffering from at Peshawar, and her husband died of it. Number two: Mrs. Amworth protested against my moving the boy to my house. Number three: she, or the demon that inhabits her body, a creature powerful and deadly, tries to gain admittance. And add this, too: in mediæval times there was an epidemic of vampirism here at Maxley. The vampire, so the accounts run, was found to be Elizabeth Chaston . . . I see you remember Mrs. Amworth's maiden name. Finally, the boy is stronger this morning. He would certainly not have been alive if he had been visited again. And what do you make of it?"
There was a long silence, during which I found this incredible horror assuming the hues of reality.
"I have something to add," I said, "which may or may not bear on it. You say that the—the spectre went away shortly before dawn."
I told him of my dream, and he smiled grimly.
"Yes, you did well to awake," he said. "That warning came from your subconscious self, which never wholly slumbers, and cried out to you of deadly danger. For two reasons, then, you must help me: one to save others, the second to save yourself."
"What do you want me to do?" I asked.
"I want you first of all to help me in watching this boy, and ensuring that she does not come near him. Eventually I want you to help me in tracking the thing down, in exposing and destroying it. It is not human: it is an incarnate fiend. What steps we shall have to take I don't yet know."
It was now eleven of the forenoon, and presently I went across to his house for a twelve-hour vigil while he slept, to come on duty again that night, so that for the next twenty-four hours either Urcombe or myself was always in the room where the boy, now getting stronger every hour, was lying. The day following was Saturday and a morning of brilliant, pellucid weather, and already when I went across to his house to resume my duty the stream of motors down to Brighton had begun. Simultaneously I saw Urcombe with a cheerful face, which boded good news of his patient, coming out of his house, and Mrs. Amworth, with a gesture of salutation to me and a basket in her hand, walking up the broad strip of grass which bordered the road. There we all three met. I noticed (and saw that Urcombe noticed it too) that one finger of her left hand was bandaged.
"Good morning to you both," said she. "And I hear your patient is doing well, Mr. Urcombe. I have come to bring him a bowl of jelly, and to sit with him for an hour. He and I are great friends. I am overjoyed at his recovery."
Urcombe paused a moment, as if making up his mind, and then shot out a pointing finger at her.
"I forbid that," he said. "You shall not sit with him or see him. And you know the reason as well as I do."
I have never seen so horrible a change pass over a human face as that which now blanched hers to the colour of a grey mist. She put up her hand as if to shield herself from that pointing finger, which drew the sign of the cross in the air, and shrank back cowering on to the road. There was a wild hoot from a horn, a grinding of brakes, a shout—too late—from a passing car, and one long scream suddenly cut short. Her body rebounded from the roadway after the first wheel had gone over it, and the second followed. It lay there, quivering and twitching, and was still.
She was buried three days afterwards in the cemetery outside Maxley, in accordance with the wishes she had told me that she had devised about her interment, and the shock which her sudden and awful death had caused to the little community began by degrees to pass off. To two people only, Urcombe and myself, the horror of it was mitigated from the first by the nature of the relief that her death brought; but, naturally enough, we kept our own counsel, and no hint of what greater horror had been thus averted was ever let slip. But, oddly enough, so it seemed to me, he was still not satisfied about something in connection with her, and would give no answer to my questions on the subject. Then as the days of a tranquil mellow September and the October that followed began to drop away like the leaves of the yellowing trees, his uneasiness relaxed. But before the entry of November the seeming tranquillity broke into hurricane.
I had been dining one night at the far end of the village, and about eleven o'clock was walking home again. The moon was of an unusual brilliance, rendering all that it shone on as distinct as in some etching. I had just come opposite the house which Mrs. Amworth had occupied, where there was a board up telling that it was to let, when I heard the click of her front gate, and next moment I saw, with a sudden chill and quaking of my very spirit, that she stood there. Her profile, vividly illuminated, was turned to me, and I could not be mistaken in my identification of her. She appeared not to see me (indeed the shadow of the yew hedge in front of her garden enveloped me in its blackness) and she went swiftly across the road, and entered the gate of the house directly opposite. There I lost sight of her completely.
My breath was coming in short pants as if I had been running—and now indeed I ran, with fearful backward glances, along the hundred yards that separated me from my house and Urcombe's. It was to his that my flying steps took me, and next minute I was within.
"What have you come to tell me?" he asked. "Or shall I guess?"
"You can't guess," said I.
"No; it's no guess. She has come back and you have seen her. Tell me about it."
I gave him my story.
"That's Major Pearsall's house," he said. "Come back with me there at once."
"But what can we do?" I asked.
"I've no idea. That's what we have got to find out."
A minute later, we were opposite the house. When I had passed it before, it was all dark; now lights gleamed from a couple of windows upstairs. Even as we faced it, the front door opened, and next moment Major Pearsall emerged from the gate. He saw us and stopped.
"I'm on my way to Dr. Ross," he said quickly. "My wife has been taken suddenly ill. She had been in bed an hour when I came upstairs, and I found her white as a ghost and utterly exhausted. She had been to sleep, it seemed—— but you will excuse me."
"One moment, Major," said Urcombe. "Was there any mark on her throat?"
"How did you guess that?" said he. "There was: one of those beastly gnats must have bitten her twice there. She was streaming with blood."
"And there's someone with her?" asked Urcombe.
"Yes, I roused her maid."
He went off, and Urcombe turned to me. "I know now what we have to do," he said. "Change your clothes, and I'll join you at your house."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I'll tell you on our way. We're going to the cemetery."
He carried a pick, a shovel, and a screwdriver when he rejoined me, and wore round his shoulders a long coil of rope. As we walked, he gave me the outlines of the ghastly hour that lay before us.
"What I have to tell you," he said, "will seem to you now too fantastic for credence, but before dawn we shall see whether it outstrips reality. By a most fortunate happening, you saw the spectre, the astral body, whatever you choose to call it, of Mrs. Amworth, going on its grisly business, and therefore, beyond doubt, the vampire spirit which abode in her during life animates her again in death. That is not exceptional—indeed, all these weeks since her death I have been expecting it. If I am right, we shall find her body undecayed and untouched by corruption."
"But she has been dead nearly two months," said I.
"If she had been dead two years it would still be so, if the vampire has possession of her. So remember: whatever you see done, it will be done not to her, who in the natural course would now be feeding the grasses above her grave, but to a spirit of untold evil and malignancy, which gives a phantom life to her body."
"But what shall I see done?" said I.
"I will tell you. We know that now, at this moment, the vampire clad in her mortal semblance is out; dining out. But it must get back before dawn, and it will pass into the material form that lies in her grave. We must wait for that, and then with your help I shall dig up her body. If I am right, you will look on her as she was in life, with the full vigour of the dreadful nutriment she has received pulsing in her veins. And then, when dawn has come, and the vampire cannot leave the lair of her body, I shall strike her with this"—and he pointed to his pick—"through the heart, and she, who comes to life again only with the animation the fiend gives her, she and her hellish partner will be dead indeed. Then we must bury her again, delivered at last."
We had come to the cemetery, and in the brightness of the moonshine there was no difficulty in identifying her grave. It lay some twenty yards from the small chapel, in the porch of which, obscured by shadow, we concealed ourselves. From there we had a clear and open sight of the grave, and now we must wait till its infernal visitor returned home. The night was warm and windless, yet even if a freezing wind had been raging I think I should have felt nothing of it, so intense was my preoccupation as to what the night and dawn would bring. There was a bell in the turret of the chapel, that struck the quarters of the hour, and it amazed me to find how swiftly the chimes succeeded one another.
The moon had long set, but a twilight of stars shone in a clear sky, when five o'clock of the morning sounded from the turret. A few minutes more passed, and then I felt Urcombe's hand softly nudging me; and looking out in the direction of his pointing finger, I saw that the form of a woman, tall and large in build, was approaching from the right. Noiselessly, with a motion more of gliding and floating than walking, she moved across the cemetery to the grave which was the centre of our observation. She moved round it as if to be certain of its identity, and for a moment stood directly facing us. In the greyness to which now my eyes had grown accustomed, I could easily see her face, and recognise its features.
She drew her hand across her mouth as if wiping it, and broke into a chuckle of such laughter as made my hair stir on my head. Then she leaped on to the grave, holding her hands high above her head, and inch by inch disappeared into the earth. Urcombe's hand was laid on my arm, in an injunction to keep still, but now he removed it.
"Come," he said.
With pick and shovel and rope we went to the grave. The earth was light and sandy, and soon after six struck we had delved down to the coffin lid. With his pick he loosened the earth round it, and, adjusting the rope through the handles by which it had been lowered, we tried to raise it. This was a long and laborious business, and the light had begun to herald day in the east before we had it out, and lying by the side of the grave. With his screwdriver he loosed the fastenings of the lid, and slid it aside, and standing there we looked on the face of Mrs. Amworth. The eyes, once closed in death, were open, the cheeks were flushed with colour, the red, full-lipped mouth seemed to smile.
"One blow and it is all over," he said. "You need not look."
Even as he spoke he took up the pick again, and, laying the point of it on her left breast, measured his distance. And though I knew what was coming I could not look away. . . .
He grasped the pick in both hands, raised it an inch or two for the taking of his aim, and then with full force brought it down on her breast. A fountain of blood, though she had been dead so long, spouted high in the air, falling with the thud of a heavy splash over the shroud, and simultaneously from those red lips came one long, appalling cry, swelling up like some hooting siren, and dying away again. With that, instantaneous as a lightning flash, came the touch of corruption on her face, the colour of it faded to ash, the plump cheeks fell in, the mouth dropped.
"Thank God, that's over," said he, and without pause slipped the coffin lid back into its place.
Day was coming fast now, and, working like men possessed, we lowered the coffin into its place again, and shovelled the earth over it. . . . The birds were busy with their earliest pipings as we went back to Maxley. | <urn:uuid:c0872a2b-2a23-455e-9946-bac0e511e1a5> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Visible_and_Invisible/Mrs._Amworth | 2022-05-22T08:27:13Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545090.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522063657-20220522093657-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.988631 | 7,597 |
Dr. Berry is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Clinical Scholar, and holds the Berle and Lucy Adams Chair in Cancer Research at the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute. She is also the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs for the Department of Surgery and Director of Ocular Oncology at the Roski Eye Institute & Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
1. Please share with us your background.
I was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (home of the Oshkosh B’Gosh overalls)—a relatively small, Midwestern town. I was the first in my family to attend college and headed to Boston to start at Harvard College. I think I was always a bit of an adventurer and a city girl at heart, and I quickly felt at home in my new city. I studied biochemistry with a minor in Spanish. I stayed in Boston for Harvard Medical School, where I developed an interest in international health and surgical missions. This led me to Africa at the end of my first year, where I witnessed my first ocular surgery. I was quickly sold on the gift of restoring vision and decided to pursue ophthalmology.
Desiring another year in a bigger city, I spent my intern year at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City. While there, my real passion was ignited, as I was privileged to rotate on the ocular oncology service with David Abramson, MD, and take care of adults with melanoma and children with retinoblastoma. I was fascinated by the ability to look into an eye and see cancer forming and regressing with therapy. I remember telling Dr. Abramson that I wanted to focus on ocular oncology, and he said, “Well, you better find Dr. Linn Murphree in Los Angeles.” I did just that: I finished my ophthalmology residency at LAC + USC Medical Center, which was a formative part of my surgical training. I then completed a fellowship in pediatric and adult ocular oncology at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California as Dr. Murphree’s last fellow, with a focus on retinoblastoma and uveal melanoma.
2. What is the focus of your recent research?
My research involves the development of a liquid biopsy from the aqueous humor for ocular tumors— specifically retinoblastoma—and is supported by the National Cancer Institute. Although tumor biopsy is the diagnostic norm for most malignancies, direct biopsy is contraindicated in retinoblastoma due to the risk of extraocular tumor spread. Thus, molecular and genetic analyses of retinoblastoma tumors is only available from enucleated eyes. Because of this, no tumor-derived molecular markers exist for diagnosis, prognosis, or predictive medicine for affected children.
However, in 2017, this paradigm changed when we demonstrated for the first time that the aqueous humor is a rich source of tumor-derived cell-free DNA. Our initial proof-of-principle manuscript was published in 2017, and in the past 5 years we have published 10 papers describing the application and utility of the aqueous as a liquid biopsy. Recently, we used this novel liquid biopsy platform on 50 eyes with more than 2 years of follow-up to identify a tumor-derived biomarker—gain of chromosome 6p—that is highly predictive of aggressive tumor behavior, leading to intraocular tumor relapse.
We hope in the very near future that this will be a clinically available test that is validated for use to predict which patients will respond to therapy—and maybe even which therapies (!) will be most effective for these young retinoblastoma patients.
3. What has your experience been collaborating with industry?
As a translational scientist, I respect the role of industry collaborations in ushering in some of the most impactful bench science to the bedside. I have been privileged to help consult on a few such products. I am also grateful for industry support in academic and research endeavors and the broader educational mission.
4. In your opinion, how is the role of women in ophthalmology evolving?
Women are knocking it out of the park in so many professions—ophthalmology included. More women than ever are attending medical school and entering every medical and surgical subspecialty. The ability to be a surgeon, a wife, a mom, and a human is now part of the normal dialogue in medicine. The thought that women have to give up on family or can’t be doctors—or surgeons—is outdated. However, that is not to say that it’s easy or even that our culture is 100% adapted to it. Women still manage the majority of child care and home care, they are more likely to choose to go part time after having kids (which maybe sometimes feels like the only choice!), and there is still substantial room for growth in the top echelons of leadership. When women are represented, we all benefit and grow. We need more women as chairs, deans, editors of journals, and CEOs and generally more represented in leadership. As female leadership grows, I suspect (and hope) that there will be subtle cultural shifts that respect and acknowledge all the contributions women make in the workplace, which might need to be measured outside of just relative value units.
5. What hurdles do you feel women in health care still face?
Community perception of women in medicine hasn’t quite caught up to the professional culture. I don’t know of a single female surgeon who hasn’t had the experience of being assumed that they are not the surgeon or being asked if they are going to stop working after having children. This can be frustrating, but it also shows the wonderful growth that has been made in recent years. With continued campaigns like “I Look Like a Surgeon,” these perceptions will grow and evolve as well.
6. What advice can you offer to young female ophthalmologists who are still in training or just beginning their careers?
Find your passion! My number-one recommendation is to listen to what you love. In training, pay attention to the days that fly by because you are fascinated by the disease being treated. Medicine is a wonderful field. I feel so useful and impactful every day. But it is also hard. It takes a lot of sacrifice and long hours. Holding the care of other humans in your hands is demanding and daunting, and it can be a lot to carry. It is why burnout is such a major topic these days. To me, the real remedy to burnout is doing what you love so that is refills your cup. I can’t tell you the number of times during the pandemic that I have felt exhausted—only to have a day in the OR with my retinoblastoma kids that, although hard, leaves me rejuvenated. I find this happens only when passion and purpose combine. Doing what you love helps everything else fall into place.
7. Can you propose a unique or creative idea that may help women in ophthalmic practices?
Flexibility in practice. Two kids in, I have found that what I most need and appreciate in my practice is flexibility. This has been a real game-changer for me during the pandemic. Being able to work from home on academic days has helped so much. Not only do I save 2 hours in LA traffic, but I am able to work home and still be present if something happens with the kids. A few times when they were sick, this was critical. My clinical days are inflexible in general, but I have research and administrative days that give me the flexibility I need in my week to focus on all the work needed to fulfill my many roles. This allows me to attend my daughters’ doctor appointments and sometimes even do school pickup and dropoff. Flexibility also allows me to work at 3 AM or 3 PM or 10 PM, as I am not stuck on a rigid 8 AM to 5 PM schedule. Because I have flexible days, I don’t get as frustrated when I am in clinic late or when an emergency in the OR causes me to miss bedtime. Ultimately, I know that sometimes I can move things to be present at home and sometimes I do the same in the hospital, and it works out. I encourage women to look for flexibility—whether that means being able to start early or end late in clinic, work from home occasionally, or structure various roles (surgeon, clinician, researcher, administrator) for a more flexible schedule—and to seek out employers that support this flexibility.
- Kaliki S, Shields C, Cassoux N, Munier F, Chantada G, Grossniklaus H, Yoshikawa H, Ido F, Berry JL, et al. Defining high-risk retinoblastoma: a multicenter global survey. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2022;140(1):30-36.
- Shen A, Haghighi A, Liang T, Lee O, Gange W, DeBoer C, Akhter M, Saber M, Patel V, Berry JL, Gokoffski K. Metastatic neuroendocrine tumors mimicking as primary ocular disease. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2022;26:101425.
- Peng C, Im D, Sirivolu S, Reiser B, Nagiel A, Neviani P, Xu L, Berry JL. Single vesicle analysis of aqueous humor in pediatric ocular diseases reveals eye specific CD63-dominant subpopulation. J Ex Bio. 2022. Accepted.
- Lloyd P, Westcott M, Kaliki S, Ji X, Zhou Y, Rashid R, Sultana S, Sherief ST, Cassoux N, Coronado RYD, Leon JLG, Lopez AMZ, Polyakov VG, Ushakova TL, Roy SR, Ahmad Al Harby LA, Berry JL, et al. The role of maternal age & birth order on the development of unilateral and bilateral retinoblastoma: a multicentre study [published online March 31, 2022]. Eye. doi:10.1038/s41433-022-01992-w
- Berry JL. Staging and grouping of retinoblastoma. In: Albert DM, Miller JW, Azar DT, Young LH, eds. Albert and Jakobiec’s Principles and Practices of Ophthalmology. 4th ed. Springer; 2021:1-13.
- Polski A, Berry JL, Gombos D. Ophthalmological manifestations of systemic neoplasia and its treatment. In: Albert DM, Miller JW, Azar DT, Young LH, eds. Albert and Jakobiec’s Principles and Practices of Ophthalmology. 4th ed. Springer; 2021:2-13.
- Wong EY, Shah S, Berry JL. Oculodermal melanosis. In: Nariani A, Shields, eds. Ocular Manifestations of Systemic Disease. 2021. In press.
- Kim ME, White A, Gonzalez M, Berry JL. Specialty interest groups with global presence. In: Chawla, Aronow M, eds. Global Perspectives in Ocular Oncology. 2021. In press.
- Alexander JL, Wei L, Palmer J, Darras A, Levin MA, Berry JL, Ludeman E. A systematic review of ultrasound biomicroscopy use in pediatric ophthalmology. Eye (Lond). 2021;35:265-276.
- Berry JL, Munier F, Gallie BL, et al. Response criteria for intraocular retinoblastoma: RB-RECIST. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021;e28964.
- Xu L, Kim ME, Polski A, Prabakar RK, Shen L, Peng C, Reid M, Chevez-Barrios P, Kim JW, Shah R, Jubran R, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Biegel JA, Gai X, Hicks J, Berry JL. Establishing clinical utility of ctDNA analysis for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring for retinoblastoma: the aqueous humor liquid biopsy. Cancers. 2021;13:1281.
- Kaliki S, Ji X, Sultana S, et al. Lag time between onset of first symptom and treatment of retinoblastoma: an international collaborative study of 692 patients from 10 countries. Cancers. 2021;13(8):1956.
- Huang VP, Kim ME, Mohan S, Daskivich L, Berry JL. The utility of recycled eyeglasses: a pilot study at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Int J Med Students. 2021;9(1):37-40.
- Joh S, Kim ME, Reilly M, Zhou SY, Kim JW, Jennelle RL, Berry JL. Outpatient ocular brachytherapy: the USC experience. Adv Radiat Oncol. 2021;6(5):100737.
- Kim ME, Polski A, Xu L, Prabakar R, Peng C, Reid MW, Shah R, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Hicks J, Berry JL. Comprehensive somatic copy number analysis using the aqueous humor liquid biopsy for retinoblastoma. Cancers. 2021;13:3340.
- Fabian ID, Khetan V, Stacey A, Foster A, Ademola-Popoola D, Berry JL, et al. Sex, gender, and retinoblastoma: analysis of 4351 patients from 153 countries [published online July 16, 2021]. Eye (Lond). doi:10.1038/s41433-021-01675-y
- Wong E, Xu L, Shen L, Kim ME, Polski A, Prabakar RK, Shah R, Jubran R, Kim JW, Biegel J, Gai X, Kuhn P, Hicks J, Berry JL. Inter-eye genomic heterogeneity in bilateral retinoblastoma via aqueous humor liquid biopsy. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2021;5(1):73.
- Tomar AS, Finger P, Gallie B, Kivela T, Mallipatna A, Zhang C, Zhao J, Wilson M, Brennan R, Burgess M, Kim JW, Berry JL, et al. Retinoblastoma seeds: impact on American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical staging [published online August 2, 2021]. Br J Ophthalmol. doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-318892
- Kim ME, Xu L, Prabakar RK, Shen L, Peng C, Kuhn P, Gai X, Hicks J, Berry JL. Aqueous humor as a liquid biopsy for retinoblastoma: clear corneal paracentesis and genomic analysis. J Vis Exp. 2021;7:175.
- Fabian ID, Stacey AW, Bowman R, et al, and the Global Retinoblastoma Study Group. Retinoblastoma management during the COVID-19 pandemic: a report by the Global Retinoblastoma Study Group including 194 centers from 94 countries. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021:68(1):e28584.
- Randhawa JK, Kim ME, Polski A, Reid MW, Mascarenhas K, Brown B, Fabian ID, … Berry JL. The effects of breastfeeding on retinoblastoma development: results from an international multi-center retinoblastoma survey. Cancers. 2021;13(19):4773.
- O’Fee JR, Polski A, Rayess N, Zhou S, Jennelle R, Berry JL. The impactof intraoperative ultrasound on operative time during plaque brachytherapy insertion for uveal melanoma. Am Med Stud Res J. 2021. Accepted.
- Kim JW, Shah S, Tamrazi B, Green S, O’Fee J, Berry JL. Tumor size criteria for group D and E eyes in the International Classification System for Retinoblastoma: effects on rates of globe salvage and high-risk histopathologic features. Acta Ophthalmologica. 2020;98(1):e121-125.
- Polski A, Xu L, Prabakar RK, Kim JW, Jubran R, Shah R, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Hicks J, Berry JL. Cell-free DNA tumor fraction in the aqueous humor is associated with therapeutic response in retinoblastoma patients. Trans Vis Sci Tech. 2020;9(10):30.
- Berry D, Seider M, Stinnett S, Mruthyunjaya P, Schefler AC, and the Ocular Oncology Study Consortium. Correlation of gene expression profile status and American Joint Commission on Cancer stage in uveal melanoma. Retina. 2020;40(2):214-224.
- Berry JL, Xu L, Polski A, Jubran R, Kuhn P, Kim JW, Hicks J. Aqueous humor is superior to blood as a liquid biopsy for retinoblastoma. Ophthalmology. 2020;127(4):552-554.
- Seider M, Berry D, Stinnett S, Mruthyunjaya P, Schefler AC, and the Ocular Oncology Study Consortium. Multi-center analysis of intraocular biopsy technique and outcomes for uveal melanoma: Ocular Oncology Study Consortium Report 4. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2020;258(2):427-435.
- Lu J, Chang J, Berry JL, In GK, Zhang-Nunes S. Clinical update on checkpoint inhibitor therapy for conjunctival and eyelid melanoma. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2020;60(2):77-89.
- Binder C, Mruthyunjaya P, Schefler A, and the Ocular Oncology Study Consortium. Practice patterns for the treatment of uveal melanoma with iodine-125 plaque brachytherapy: Ocular Oncology Study Consortium Report 5. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2020;6:210-218.
- Global Retinoblastoma Study Group. Global retinoblastoma presentation: analysis by national income level. JAMA Oncol. 2020;6(5):1-12.
- Xu L, Polski A, Prabakar RK, Reid MW, Chevez-Barrios P, Jubran R, Kim JW, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Hicks J, Berry JL. Chromosome 6p amplification in aqueous humor cell-free DNA is a prognostic biomarker for retinoblastoma ocular survival. Mol Cancer Res. 2020;18(8):1166-1175.
- Polski A, Xu L, Prabakar RK, Gai X, Kim JW, Shah R, Jubran R, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Hicks J, Berry JL. Variability in retinoblastoma genome stability is driven by age and not heritability. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2020;59(10):584-590.
- Berry JL, Kim ME, Pefkianaki M, et al. Intravitreal melphalan for retinoblastoma: the impact of toxicity on recurrence and ultimate globe salvage. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2020;6(6):388-394.
- Green KM, Toy BC, Ashimatey BS, Mustafi D, Jennelle R, Astrahan MA, Zhongdi C, Wang RK, Kim JW, Berry JL, Kashani AH. Quantifying subclinical and longitudinal microvascular changes following episcleral plaque brachytherapy (EPB) using spectral-domain OCT angiography. J Vitreoretin Dis. 2020:4(6):499-508.
- Xu L, Shen L, Polski A, Prabakar RK, Reid MW, Shah R, Jubran R, Kim JW, Biegel J, Kuhn P, Cobrinik D, Hicks J, Gai X, Berry JL. Simultaneous identification of clinically relevantRB1mutations and somatic copy number alterations in the aqueous humor of retinoblastoma eyes. Ophthalmol Genet. 2020;41(6):526-532.
- Berry JL. Changing trends in retinoblastoma treatment and what is in store for the future. In: Khetan V, ed. Intraocular Tumors. Springer; 2020:29-47.
- Berry JL, O’Brien J. Retinoblastoma. In: Hartnett ME, ed. Pediatric Retina. 3rd ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020.
- Polski A, Berry JL, Randolph. Retinoblastoma and the RB1 cancer syndrome. Emery and Rimoin’s Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics. Elsevier; 2020.
- Kim JW, Berry JL, Murphree AL. Retinoblastoma. Ryan’s Retina. Elsevier; 2020.
- Berry JL. Angiomatous tumors. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2020.
- Berry JL. Retinoblastoma. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2020.
- Berry JL. Ocular involvement in systemic malignancies. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2020.
- Lu J, Francis J, Dunkel I, Shields CL, Yu M, Berry JL, et al. Metastases and death rates after primary enucleation of unilateral retinoblastoma in the United States 2007-2017. Br J Ophthalmol. 2019;103(9):1272-1277.
- Berry D, Seider M, Stinnett S, Mruthyunjaya P, Schefler AC, and the Ocular Oncology Study Consortium. Relationship of clinical features and baseline tumor size with gene expression profile status in uveal melanoma: a multi-institutional study. Retina. 2019;1-11.
- Berry JL, Lee R, Patel L, Le BA, O’Fee J, Jubran R, Kim JW. Posterior vitreous detachment and the associated risk of retinal toxicity with intravitreal melphalan for retinoblastoma. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2019;5(4):238-244.
- Narala R, Kim JW, Lang P, Le BA, Hendargo H, Branco D, Berry JL. Changes in central retinal thickness on spectral domain optical coherence tomography pre- and post-intravitreal Melphalan for retinoblastoma seeding. Ophthalmol Retina. 2019;3(3):288-289.
- Gudiseva H, Berry JL, Polski A, Tummina S, O’Brien JM. Next generation technologies and strategies for the management of retinoblastoma. Genes. 2019;10(12):1032.
- Berry JL, Polski A, Cavenee WK, Dryja TP, Murphree AL, Gallie BL. The RB1 story: characterization and cloning of the first tumor suppressor gene. Genes. 2019;10(11):879.
- Polski A, Saber M, Kim JW, Berry JL. Extending far and wide: the role of biopsy and staging in the management of ocular surface squamous neoplasia. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2019;47(2):193-200.
- Shah S, Kogachi K, Correa Z, Schefler A, Aronow M, Callejo S, Cebulla C, Ghafoori S, Francis J, Lally S, McCannel T, Paton K, Phan I, Pointdujour-Lim R, Ramasubramanian A, Rath P, Shields C, Skalet A, Wills J, Jennelle R, Berry JL. Trends in radiation practices for female ocular oncologists in North America: a collaborative study of the International Society of Ocular Oncology. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2019;5(1):54-59.
- Mafi JN, Godoy-Travieso P, Wei E, Anders M, Amaya R, Carrillo C, Berry JL, et al. Evaluation of a choosing wisely initiative to reduce low-value preoperative care for patients undergoing cataract surgery at a large safety net health system. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2019;179(5):648-657.
- Nguyen S, Jones M, Olch A, Kim JW, Berry JL, Chang E, Wong KE. Lens dose-response prediction modeling and cataract incidence in retinoblastoma patients after lens-sparing or whole-eye radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019;103(5):1143-1150.
- Berry JL, Kogachi K, Murphree AL, Jubran R, Kim JW. A review of recurrent retinoblastoma: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles classification & treatment guidelines. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2019;59(2):65-75.
- Kim ME, Shah S, Zolfaghari E, Jubran R, Reid M, Kim JW, Berry JL. An intraocular pressure predictive of high-risk histopathologic features in group E retinoblastoma eyes. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2019;59(2):77-86.
- Ghiam BK, Xu L, Berry JL. Aqueous humor markers in retinoblastoma, a review. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2019;8(2):13.
- Berry JL, Murphree AL. Retinoblastoma staging and grouping. In: Berry JL, Kim JW, Singh AD, Damato BE, eds. Clinical Ophthalmic Oncology. Springer; 2019:27-38.
- Berry JL, Murphree AL. Retinoblastoma focal therapy. In: Berry JL, Kim JW, Singh AD, Damato BE, eds. Clinical Ophthalmic Oncology. Springer; 2019:141-148.
- Wong KE, Berry JL, Kim JW. Retinoblastoma external beam radiation. In: Berry JL, Kim JW, Singh AD, Damato BE, eds. Clinical Ophthalmic Oncology. Springer; 2019:193-204.
- Ghiam BK, Ghaffarieh A, Mathews A, Saber M, Berry JL. Specimen processing for ocular tumors. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 4. Elsevier; 2019:129-145.
- Patel R, Le A, Jennelle R, Berry JL. Evidence for dose de-escalation in brachytherapy treatment for choroidal melanoma. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 4. Elsevier; 2019:101-128
- Berry JL. Love what you do. In: Shome D, Govil Bhasker A, eds. Dear People, with Love and Care, Your Doctors. Bloomsbury; 2019;69-70.
- Berry JL. Angiomatous tumors. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2019:281-288.
- Berry JL. Retinoblastoma. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2019:289-302.
- Berry JL. Ocular Involvement in Systemic Malignancies. In: Syed NA, ed. Basic Clinical & Science Course (BCSC) Section 4: Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors. AAO; 2019:303-316.
- Damato B, Afshar A, Jennelle R, Berry JL, Kim JW. Brachytherapy. In: Ichhpujani P, Spaeth GL, Yanoff M, eds. Expert Techniques of Ophthalmic Surgery. Jaypee; 2019:760-769.
- Ghiam BK, Xu L, Berry JL. Aqueous humor biomarkers for retinoblastoma, a pediatric ocular malignancy. Clinical Laboratory International. May 2019.
- Storey P, Olmos de Koo L, Berry JL. Bilateral choroidal osteomas in Rosai-Dorfman disease. Journal of VitreoRetinal Diseases. 2019;3(2):114-117.
- Berry JL, Kogachi K, Jubran R, Kim JW. Loss of fundus view as an indication for secondary enucleation in retinoblastoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018;65(4):e26908.
- Zolfaghari E, Kim JW, Krishnan S, Chévez-Barrios P, Berry JL. Atypical retinal pigment epithelial hyperplasia and glial proliferation masquerading as progressive recurrent retinoblastoma: a case report review and clinicopathologic correlation. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2018;4:116-121.
- Kim JW, Jacobson B, Ko M, Lee DK, Jubran RJ, Berry JL. Three presentations of CNS disease in patients with intraocular retinoblastoma at tertiary medical center in the United States. Ophthalmic Genet. 2018;39(1):115-119.
- Shih GC, Le BA, Correa ZM, Sibug-Saber ME, Kim JW, Berry JL. Late apical recurrence of choroidal melanoma 10 years after successful brachytherapy. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2018;4:225-229.
- Lang P, Kim JW, McGovern K, Reid M, Subramanian K, Murphree AL, Berry JL. Porous orbital implants after enucleation in retinoblastoma patients: indications and complications. Orbit. 2018;20:1-6.
- Bellerive C, Berry JL, Polski A, Singh AS. Conjunctival squamous neoplasia: staging & initial treatment. Cornea. 2018;37(10):1287-1291.
- Berry JL, Shah S, Kim F, Jubran R, Kim JW. Integrated treatment during the intravitreal Melphalan era: concurrent intravitreal Melphalan and systemic chemoreduction. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2018;4(6):335-340.
- Berry JL, Xu L, Kooi I, et al. Genomic cfDNA analysis of aqueous humor in retinoblastoma predicts eye salvage: the surrogate tumor biopsy for retinoblastoma. Mol Cancer Res. 2018;16(11):1701-1712.
- Le BA, Kim JW, Deng H, Rayess N, Jennelle RL, Zhou SY, Astrahan MA, Berry JL. Outcomes of choroidal melanomas treated with eye physics plaques: 25-year review. Brachytherapy. 2018;17(6):981-989.
- Kogachi K, Kim JW, Green S, Jubran R, Berry JL. Lurking below: massive choroidal invasion under a calcified tumor after attempted conservative therapy for retinoblastoma. Ophthalmic Genet. 2018;39(5):653-657.
- Narala R, Kogachi K, Berry JL. Localized toxicity from intra-ocular chemotherapy in retinoblastoma. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 3. Elsevier; 2018:101-113.
- Polski A, Greer C, Berry JL. Topical chemotherapy and the evolving role of the biopsy in OSSN. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 3. Elsevier; 2018:115-137.
- Patel R, Le A, Jennelle R, Berry JL. Evidence for dose de-escalation in brachytherapy treatment for choroidal melanoma. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 3. Elsevier; 2018:139-153.
- Jennelle R, Berry JL, Kim JW. Uveal melanoma. In: Chang EL, ed. Adult CNS Radiation Oncology. Springer; 2018:243-258.
- Do B, Berry JL, Rodger D. Masquerade syndromes. In: Rao NA, Rodger DC, Schallhorn J, eds. Posterior Uveitis: Advances in Imaging and Treatment. Springer; 2018:141-154.
- Augsburger JJ, Correa Z, Berry JL. Malignant intraocular neoplasms. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS, eds. Ophthalmology. 5th ed. Elsevier; 2018:795-826.
- Shah S, Koban Y, Le B, Bechtold M, Zolfaghari, Kim JW, Berry JL. Iris hypoplasia as the presenting sign of retinoblastoma in a child with a 13q deletion. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2018;55:e10-13.
- Shah S, Berry JL. Pearls for treating retinoblastoma. US Ophthalmic Review. 2018;11(2):79-80.
- Aziz HA, Kim JW, Munier FL, Berry JL. Acute hemorrhagic retinopathy following intravitreal Melphalan injection for retinoblastoma: a report of 2 cases and technique modifications to enhance prevention of retinal toxicity. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2017;3(1):34-40.
- Berry JL, Kogachi K, Aziz HA, et al. Risk of metastasis and orbital recurrence in advanced retinoblastoma eyes treated with systemic chemoreduction versus primary enucleation. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017;64(4).
- Kim JW, Aziz HA, McGovern K, Zolfaghari E, Jubran R, Berry JL. Treatment outcomes of focal laser consolidation during chemoreduction for group B retinoblastoma. Ophthalmol Retina. 2017;1(5):361-368.
- Berry JL, Anulao K, Kim JW. Optical coherence imaging of large spherical seed in retinoblastoma. Ophthalmology. 2017;124(8):1208.
- Berry JL, Zolfaghari E, Chen A, Jubran R, Kim JW. Optic nerve obscuration in retinoblastoma: a risk factor for optic nerve invasion? Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2017;3(4):283-291.
- Mruthyunjaya P, Seider M, Stinnett, and the Ocular Oncology Study Consortium. Association between tumor regression rate gene expression profile after Iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy for uveal melanoma. Ophthalmology. 2017;124(10):1532-1539.
- Scelfo C, Francis J, Khetan V, Jenkins T, Marr B, Abramson DH, Shields C, Peter J, Munier F, Berry JL, et al. An international survey of classification and treatment choices for group D retinoblastoma. Int J Ophthalmol. 2017;10(6):961-967.
- Berry JL, Bechtold M, Shah S, et al. Not all seeds are created equal: seed classification is predictive of outcomes in retinoblastoma. Ophthalmology. 2017;124(12):1817-1825.
- Kim JW, Madi I, Lee R, Zolfaghari E, Jubran R, Lee TC, Murphree AL, Berry JL. Clinical significance of optic nerve enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging in enucleated retinoblastoma patients. Ophthalmol Retina. 2017;1(5):369-374.
- Mustafi D, Damato B, Berry JL. Unilateral multifocal choroidal melanoma. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2017;4(1):48-51.
- Berry JL, Shah S, Bechtold M, Zolfaghari E, Jubran R, Kim JW. Long-term Outcomes of group D retinoblastoma eyes during the intravitreal melphalan era. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017;64(12).
- Kim JW, Jacobson B, Zolfaghari E, Ferrario A, Chevez-Barrios P, Berry JL, et al. Rabbit model of ocular indirect photodynamic therapy using a retinoblastoma xenograft. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2017;255(12):2363-2373.
- Berry JL, Xu L, Murphree AL, et al. Potential of aqueous humor as a surrogate biopsy for retinoblastoma. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017;135(11):1221-1230.
- Francis JH, Abramson DH, Ji X, Shields C, Teixeira LF, Schefler AC, Cassoux N, Hadijistilianou D, Berry JL, et al. Risk of extraocular extension in eye with retinoblastoma receiving intravitreous chemotherapy. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017;135(12):1426-1429.
- Berry JL, Lewis L, Le BA, Green S, Kim JW, Jubran R. Lack of correlation between age at diagnosis and RB1 mutations for unilateral retinoblastoma: the importance of genetic testing. Ophthalmic Genet. 2017;27:1-3.
- Do J, Do B, Berry JL. Optical coherence tomography for diagnosis and management of retinoblastoma. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 2. Elsevier; 2017:101-2018.
- Mustafi D, Toy B, Berry JL. Evaluating retinal sequelae of radioactive episcleral plaque brachytherapy for medium-sized choroidal melanomas using optical coherence tomography angiography. In: Yanoff M, ed. Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry. Vol 2. Elsevier; 2017:119-133.
- Berry JL. My view editorial: a whole new world. The Ophthalmologist. December 2017.
- Wong BW, Berry JL. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse presenting as optic nerve infiltration with hemiretinal artery and vein occlusion. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017;135(1):e164656.
- Patel LG, Kim JW, Berry JL. Iris lesion causing recalcitrant unilateral glaucoma. Clin Med Img Lib. 2017;3:077.
- Abdallah WF, Aziz HA, Palejwala NV, Berry JL. A Case of BDUMP with unknown primary tumor. BAOJ Ophthalmol. 2017;1:3;002.
- Berry JL. Mother’s intuition and cutting-edge treatment save child’s life. AAO Newsletter. December 2017.
- Berry JL. Cobrinik DC, Kim JW. Detection and intraretinal localization of an ‘invisible’ retinoblastoma using optical coherence tomography. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2016;2(3):148-152.
- Marvasti A, Berry JL, Saber, Kim JW, Huang AH. Anterior segment scleral fluorescein angiography in the evaluation of ciliary body neoplasm: two case reports. Case Rep Ophthalmol. 2016;7(1):30-38.
- Berry JL, Shih G, Moysidis SN, et al. Patterns of subretinal fluid resolution in group D eyes treated with chemoreduction: experience from the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles/University of Southern California. Ophthalmic Genet. 2016;37(4):400-403.
- Bonanomi MT, Berry JL. Retinoblastoma. Oftalmologia Pediatrica. 4th ed. CBO Serie Oftalmologia Brasiliera; 2016.
- Doshi R, Bergman M, Berry JL. Management of IgG4-related sclerosing disease. Clin Case Rep Rev 1. 2016;3(5):1853-1855.
- Zhu D, Berry JL, Ediriwickrema L, et al. Long-term outcomes of group B eyes in patients with retinoblastoma treated with short-course chemoreduction: experience from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles/University of Southern California. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2015;2(2):105-111.
- Berry JL, Jubran R, Lee, TC, Murphree AL, Lee D, Kim JW. Low-dose chemoreduction for Infants diagnosed with retinoblastoma before 6 months of age. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2015;1(2):103-110.
- Browne A, Dandapani S, Jenelle R, Stevanovic M, Lee TC, Murphree AL, Kampp TD, Astrahan MA, Kim JW, Berry JL. Outcomes of medium choroidal melanomas treated with Ruthenium brachytherapy guided by 3D pretreatment modeling. Brachytherapy. 2015;14(5):718-725.
- Berry JL, Kim JW, Jenelle R, Astrahan MA. Use of the toric surgical marker to aid in intraoperative plaque placement for the USC Eye Physics plaques to treat uveal melanoma: a new surgical technique. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2015;46(8):866-870.
- Jacobsen B, Berry JL, Jubran R, Kim JW. Orbital recurrence following aggressive laser treatment for recurrent retinoblastoma. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2015;2(2):76-79.
- Kim A, George M, Berry JL. Retinopathy from interferon therapy for cutaneous melanoma in a patient with hypertension and diabetes – a case report. US Ophthalmic Review. 2015;8(2).
- Berry JL, Jubran R, Wong KE, Lee TC, Murphree AL, Kim JW. Factors predictive of long-term visual outcomes of group D eyes treated with chemoreduction and low-dose IMRT salvage: The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Experience. Br J Ophthalmol. 2014;98(8):1061-1065.
- Liu W, Rootman DB, Berry JL, Hwang CJ, Goldberg RA. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Dacryoadenitis. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2014;132(8):993-995.
- Berry JL, Jubran R, Kim JW, et al. Long-term outcomes of group D eyes in bilateral retinoblastoma patients treated with chemoreduction and low-dose IMRT salvage. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2013;60(4):688-693.
- Berry JL, Dandapani SV, Stevanovic M, et al. Outcomes of choroidal melanomas treated with eye physics: a 20-year review. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(11):1435-1442.
- Berry JL, Cuzzo L, Bababeygy S, Quiros PA. Unmet need for eyeglasses: results from a Los Angeles county hospital survey. Int Ophthalmol. 2012;32(3):245-250.
- Berry JL, Fawzi A.Heritable disorders of the retinal pigmented epithelium and choriocapillaris. In: Wright KW, Strube YJ, eds. Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2012.
- Swamy R, Berry J, Huang A, Vazquez L. Los Angeles County-University of Southern California residents review: cataract surgery with trabecular micro-bypass stent implantation in patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma and cataract: two year follow-up. EyeWorld. August 2012.
- Brauner SC, Berry J, Pye J, Lee E, Rhee DJ. Effect of saline conditions on the tensile strength of ophthalmic sutures. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2011;42(2):148-151.
- Graeber CP, Gobin YP, Marr BP, Dunkel IJ, Brodie SE, Bornfeld N, Char D, Folberg R, Imhof SM, Lin, Berry JL, et al. Histopathologic findings of eyes enucleated after treatment with chemosurgery for retinoblastoma. Open Ophthalmol J. 2011;5:1-5.
- Lee NG, Berry JL, Wang AT, et al. Sonoporation enhances chemotherapeutic efficacy in retinoblastoma cells in vitro. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011;52(6):3868-3873.
- Khaderi K, Arsalaan A, Cornwell R, Berry J. Retinal imaging past and present. Retinal Physician. March/April 2011.
- Maki (Berry) JL, Marr BP, Abramson DH. Diagnosis of retinoblastoma: how good are referring physicians? Ophthalmic Genet. 2009;30(4):199-205.
- Maki (Berry) J, Qualls M, White B, Kleefield S, Crone R. Health impact assessment and short term medical missions: a methods study to evaluate quality of care. BMC Health Services Research. 2008;8:121.
- Maki (Berry) J, Kusakul S, Morley K, et al. The effect of glasses on visual function following cataract surgery in a cataract camp. Br J Ophthalmol. 2008;92:883-887.
- Maki (Berry) JL, Nesti HA, Shetty RK, Rhee DJ. Transcorneal tube extrusion in a child with a Baerveldt glaucoma drainage device. JAAPO. 2007;11(4):395-397.
- Maki (Berry) J, Woodward K. Treating diabetic retinopathy in developing countries: a retina clinic in Zimbabwe. Retinal Physician. January/February 2007.
- Maki (Berry) J. A mission in seeing: a short-term eye camp in rural Namibia. HMI World. November/December 2005.
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
- Retina Society | 2021 to Present
- American Ophthalmological Society (AOS), Candidate for Membership | 2019 to Present
- European Ocular Oncology Group (OOG) | 2017 to Present
- American Association of the Ophthalmic Oncologists and Pathologists | 2016 to Present
- WE C Hope/1 RB World | 2015 to Present
- American Eye Study Club | 2014 to Present
- Children’s Oncology Group | 2014 to Present
- Pan American Association of Ophthalmology | 2014 to Present
- Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) | 2012 to Present
- American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) | 2012 to 2016
- California Association of Eye Physicians & Surgeons (CAEPS) | 2011 to Present
- LA Society of Ophthalmology (LASO) | 2011 to Present
- American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) | 2009 to Present
- Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology (ARVO) | 2009 to Present
- International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO) | 2008 to Present
HONORS & AWARDS
- Service Award, WIO | 2021
- Remarkable Research Award, Real World Ophthalmology | 2021
- Mentoring Award for Graduate Students, USC Office of the Provost & Center for Excellence in Teaching | 2021
- Best Talk, Hawaiian Retina | 2021
- National Research Mentoring Network Scholar, National Institutes of Health | 2020
- Merit Award, The Saban Research Institute | 2019
- Achievement Award, AAO | 2019
- Secretariat Award, AAO | 2019
- Excellence in Resident Teaching Award, USC Department of Ophthalmology | 2018
- Travel Grant for Research, ARVO | 2018
- Women Leadership Development Program, ARVO | 2018
- Best Paper, Ocular Oncology, AAO | 2017
- Joanne Engle Poster of Distinction Award, WIO | 2014
- Excellence in Resident Teaching Award, USC Department of Ophthalmology | 2013, 2014
- Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellow & Award, Society of Heed Fellows | 2013
- Medical Innovation Award, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health | 2012
- Starr Schulman Fellowship, California Association of Eye Physicians & Surgeons | 2012
- Medical Knowledge Award, USC Department of Ophthalmology | 2011
- McCleary Research Award, Center for Eye Research & Education | 2007
- International Initiatives in Research Grant, Harvard Medical School | 2005
- Nevil & Louise Ford Scholar, Harvard Medical School | 2004 to 2008
- Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation Scholarship, Kappa Alpha Theta | 2002
- Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Scholar, Harvard College | 2000 to 2004 | <urn:uuid:e8867ed8-3a07-41e6-9e3c-b0a847dceaf5> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://millennialeye.com/articles/mar-apr-22/outstanding-female-leaderin-ophthalmologyjesse-berry-md/?single=true | 2022-05-24T21:01:53Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.721747 | 10,945 |
Villani is principally remembered, not as merchant or politician, but as an historian. His chronicle of Florentine history offers a vivid picture of medieval city life. The following excerpts are chosen to illustrate the complexities of Florentine politics and society. The first selection deals with the rise of the Guelf-Ghibelline split in Florence, a division that seriously divided the city in the thirteenth century. The origin of these two parties can be traced back to twelfth-century Germany, where two powerful families, the Welf and the Hohenstaufen, struggled for power. Both had interests in Italy as well as Germany. The Hohenstaufen occupied the imperial throne and thus found themselves in conflict with the papacy, which resented the growth of imperial power in Italy. Thus the popes tended to lean toward the WeIf faction.
As a result, the WeIf-Hohenstaufen controversy took on a particular hue in Italy. It became a division between those who supported the pope and those who supported the emperor. It also gained a slightly different set of labels. When placed in Italian mouths, "WeIf" became "Guelf." It may seem a little harder to imagine how "Hohenstaufen" turned into "Ghibelline," but there really is an explanation. Supporters of the. Hohenstaufen used the battle- cry "Waiblingen," the name of a Hohenstaufen castle. It was that battle cry that came to be Italianized into "Ghibelline." As the thirteenth century progressed, the papal-imperial rivalry escalated sharply. The last great Hohenstaufen emperor was Frederick II, the wiliest, cruelest, most intelligent and least Christian of the lot. By the time he died in 1250, the popes were determined to obliterate Hohenstaufen influence in Italy. Shortly after, they did. Thus the Guelf-Ghibelline battle had an international dimension; yet it also had a more regional one. The alignment of cities on one side or the other reflected their rivalry with one another for power within their own area. Thus predominantly Guelf Florence opposed Ghibelline Siena, its major rival for influence in Tuscany .Below the regional level, the controversy had a local level which reflected the rivalry of powerful families. Thus within Florence Guelf-Ghibelline alignments were often based on considerations more familial than ideological. It is this level that Villani emphasizes.
In the year 1215, when Gherardo Orlandi was podestà of Florence, Bondelmonte dei Buondelmonti promised to marry a young woman from the house of Amidei, honorable and noble citizens. Later, as Buondelmonte, a graceful and skillful horseman, was riding through the city, a woman from the house of Donati called to him and criticized the marriage agreement he had made, saying his betrothed was neither beautiful nor fine enough for him. "I've been saving my own daughter for you," she said, and showed the daughter to him. The daughter was very beautiful and immediately with the devil's connivance, Buondelmonte was so smitten that he married her.
The first girl's family met together, smarting from the shame Buondelmonte had placed upon them, and they were filled with a terrible indignation that would destroy and divide the city of Florence. Many noble houses plotted together to bring shame on Buondelmonte in reprisal for these injuries. As they were discussing whether they should beat or wound him, Mosca dei Lamberti spoke the evil words, "A thing done has a head," that is, they should kill him. And thus it happened, for on Easter morning the Amidei of Santo Stefano assembled in their house, and as Buondelmonte came from the other side of the Arno nobly attired in new, white clothes, riding a white palfrey, when he arrived on this side of the old bridge, precisely at the foot of the pillar where the statue of Mars stood, he was pulled from his horse by Schiatta degli Uberti, assaulted and wounded by Mosca Lamberti and Lambertuccio degli Amidei, and finished off by Oderigo Fifanti. They had with them one of the Counts of Gangalandi.
As a result, the city was thrown into strife and disorder, for Buondelmonte's death was the cause and beginning of the cursed Guelf and Ghibelline parties in Florence. To be sure, there were already divisions among the noble citizens, and these parties already existed because of the quarrels and disputes between church and empire; yet it was because of Buondelmonte's death that all the noble families and other Florentine citizens were divided into factions, some siding with the Buondelmonti, leaders of the Guelf party, and others with the Uberti, leaders of the Ghibellines
* * * * * * * *
By the mid-thirteenth century, Guelf-Ghibelline tension was an unfortunate but unavoidable fact of life in Florence. The Guelfs were chased out in 1248, but were soon back and managed to expel Ghibellines in 1251. The latter were readmitted in 1252 but ejected again in 1258, as the following selection describes. Note that the Uberti family was already a prime target of anti-Ghibelline wrath.
Villani says that the Ghibellines were expelled in 1258 because they "planned to break up the people of Florence." He refers to the government at the time, the so-called primo popolo or "first government of the people," which ruled Florence from 1250 to 1260. Since Villani simply refers to it as "the people," it is often hard to decide whether he is using the word popolo in a general sense ("the citizens of Florence") or in a more specific sense ("the government of Florence"). It is well to keep the problem in mind when reading.
The office of podestà, an important one in medieval Italian cities, became popular in the twelfth century. A professional administrator hired to run the city for a specific time, the podestà was usually from elsewhere and thus presumably above local factional divisions. By the end of the thirteenth century his functions had been limited by the development of other offices, but he still had an important role in enforcement, as we shall see.
In the year of Christ 1258, when Iacopo Bernardi di Porco was podestà of Florence, at the end of June, the house of Uberti and their Ghibelline followers, encouraged by Manfred, planned to break up the people of Florence because they thought it favored the Guelfs. When their plot was discovered by the people and they were cited to appear before the Signoria, they would not do so but attacked and seriously wounded the staff of the podestà. The people then armed themselves and ran in fury to the house of the Uberti, where the palace of the people and priors is now located. There they killed Schiatuzzo degli Uberti as well as several Uberti followers and retainers. Uberto Caini degli Uberti and Mangia degl' Infangati were taken and, once they had publicly confessed the plot, were beheaded. Others from the house of Uberti, along with other Ghibelline houses, left Florence and went to Siena, which was ruled by Ghibellines and was hostile to Florence. Their palaces and towers, of which there were many, were destroyed and the stones used to build the walls of San Giorgio Oltrarno, which the Florentine people began at that time because of their war with the Sienese. Then, in September of the same year, the Florentine people arrested the abbot of Valambrosa, a well- born man from the family of the lords of Beccheria of Pavia in Lombardy. They had been told that he was planning treason at the request of the exiled Ghibellines. Once they had extracted a confession from him through torture and the people had called for his head, they villainously executed him without regard for his rank or sacred orders. In reprisal, the commune and people of Florence were excommunicated and Florentines passing through Lombardy were treated harshly by the abbot's family. And truly, it was said that the man was not guilty, even though his family ties made him an important Ghibelline. Many wise men said that, for this sin and many others committed by the villainous people, God in his divine judgment permitted vengeance to be wreaked upon the people through the battle and defeat at Montaperti, which we will mention later. The Florentine people, which ruled the city at that time, was very proud and was engaged in high and great enterprises, and it was often very rash; yet one thing can be said of their rulers: they were very loyal and true to the commune.
* * * * * * * *
At the time of the people in Florence, a very handsome and strong lion was presented to the commune and was placed in a cage in the Piazza San Giovanni. Because of the keeper's negligence, the lion escaped and ran through the streets terrifying the city. When it arrived at Orto San Michele, it caught hold of a boy and held him between its paws.
The mother, who had no other children and had been pregnant with this one when the father died, ran shrieking and disheveled up to the lion and snatched the boy from its paws. The lion hurt neither mother nor child, but simply sat quietly and watched the whole affair. It was unclear whether this occurred because of the lion's noble nature or because fortune had preserved the boy's life so that he could pursue a vendetta regarding his dead father. He eventually did so, and was called Orlanduccio of the lion of Calfette.
And note that in the time of the people, and before, and for a long time after, the citizens of Florence lived soberly and on simple food, spending little, and their manners were often course and plain. They dressed themselves and their wives in coarse garments. Many wore skins without linings and caps on their heads. All wore leather boots on their feet. Florentine women wore boots without ornament, and the greatest of them settled for a single tight-fitting gown of coarse scarlet cloth fastened with a leather belt in the ancient fashion, and a hooded cloak lined with squirrel, the hood being worn on their heads. The common women wore coarse green cloth of Cambrai cut in the same style, and one hundred lire was a common dowry for wives, two or three hundred being considered excessive in those days. Most young women were twenty or more before they were married. Such were the plain manners of the Florentines, but they were faithful and true to their commune and with their simple life and poverty they did greater and more virtuous things than are done in our time of increased delicacy and luxury.
* * * * * * * *
In 1260 the primo popolo came to an end and the Ghibellines received their final taste of power in Florence. The reason for their fall was a catastrophic error that led to the bloody defeat at Montaperti. As Villani, describes it, they were defeated by a combination of enemies: Manfred, the last great Hohenstaufen, who directed the Ghibelline cause from his kingdom in southern Italy; Siena, the Florentine's major rival in Tuscany; the Florentine Ghibellines, who had found shelter in Siena after they were ejected from Florence; and the Florentine Guelfs' own prideful stupidity, which encouraged them to ignore the wiser counsels within their own party and blunder into a deadly trap.
It happened that in the year of Christ 1260, in the month of May, the people and commune of Florence led their full forces against the city of Siena, bringing the carroccio with them. Note that the carroccio brought by the people and commune of Florence was a four- wheeled cart painted red, with two great poles sticking up on top from which waved the communal standard, half white and half red, which can be seen even today in San Giovanni. It was drawn by a great pair of oxen covered with red cloth. The oxen were used only for this purpose and belonged to the Ospedale di Pinti. The drover was a freeman of the commune. Our ancestors used this carroccio for triumphs and solemn processions and, when it went out on a military expedition, counts and knights from the area brought it from San Giovanni, accompanied it to the Piazza di Mercato Nuovo, and, having paused a moment by a stone marker (which is still in existence) carved in the form of a carroccio, handed it over to the people, who led it on the expedition. The best, strongest and most virtuous foot- soldiers were detailed to guard it, and the entire army massed around it.
When the campaign was announced, one month before it actually set out, a bell was placed in the arch of the Santa Maria gate at the end of the new market. It was ringing continuously, day and night. They did this arrogantly, to let the enemy know where the campaign was going and give them time to prepare. Some people called it the Martinella, others the asses' bell. When the expedition set out, they removed the bell from the arch, placed it in a wooden tower on a cart, and let its sound guide the army. Through these two displays, the carroccio and the bell, our ancestors the people of old maintained their lordly pride when on campaign.
We will leave this matter and turn to how the Florentines waged war on the Sienese, taking the castles of Vicchio, Mezzano and Casciole, which belonged to the Sienese, and establishing themselves at Siena near the city gate by the monastery of Santa Petronella. Near there, on a hillock which could be seen from the city, they placed a tower where they kept their bell. Then, to show their scorn for the Sienese and to commemorate their victory, they planted there an olive tree which was still alive until our own time.
One day while the siege was in progress, the Florentine exiles in Siena wined and dined Manfred's German troops and, when they were drunk, incited them to ride out against the Florentine army, promising them great gifts and double pay. This was done craftily by wise men following the advice of Farinata degli Uberti, advice which he had given while in Apulia. The Germans, drunk out of their wits, left Siena and vigorously attacked the Florentine camp.
Because they had underrated the enemy forces, the Florentines were caught off guard and were thoroughly unprepared. Thus the Germans, despite their small number, did a great deal of damage to the army and many Florentines, people and knights alike, made a poor show of it, fleeing in fear that their assailants were greater in number than was actually the case. But in the end they reconsidered, took arms, defended themselves, and not one of the Germans who had left Siena escaped alive. Manfred's standard was taken, dragged through the camp, and brought to Florence. When these events had transpired, the army returned to Florence.
* * * * * * * *
When the Sienese and Florentine exiles saw what a poor showing the Florentines had made against so few German knights, they decided they could win the war with more troops. They immediately provided themselves with twenty thousand gold florins from the company of the Salimbeni, who were merchants at that time. As security, they put up the fortress at Tentennana and other castles belonging to the commune. Then they sent their ambassadors off to Apulia again bearing the money and a message to Manfred that his few German knights, by great vigor and valor, had engaged the entire Florentine army, put much of it to flight, and would have beaten it if the German forces had been bigger. As it turned out, however, because of their small number all lay dead on the field and his standard had been dragged in disgrace through the camp, then in and about Florence.
They said everything possible to arouse Manfred, who already had heard the news and was furious. With the Sienese money, which covered half the expenses for three months, and at his own expense as well, Manfred sent his marshal Count Giordano to Tuscany with eight hundred German knights. Accompanied by the ambassadors, they arrived at Siena toward the end of July in the Year of Christ 1260 and were greeted festively by the Sienese.
Their presence gave the Sienese and other Tuscan Ghibellines a great deal of energy and confidence. The Sienese immediately sent an army against the castle of Montalcino, which was under Florentine control, and sent for aid to Pisa and all the other Tuscan Ghibellines, so that with the knights of Siena, the Florentine exiles, the Germans and their allies, there were 1800 knights in Siena, most of them German.
The Florentine exiles, through whose effort King Manfred had sent Count Giordano with the eight hundred German knights, decided that they still would have done nothing if they could not draw the Florentines out into the field, since the Germans were paid for only three months and one and a half months already had passed since their arrival. The exiles had no money to hire them for a longer time, nor could they expect more from Manfred. Once their contract was up, the Germans would return to Apulia without having done anything, thus leaving the Tuscan Ghibellines in danger again.
Concluding that the situation could not be rectified without great skill and strategy, they turned the matter over to Farinata degli Uberti and Gherardo Ciccia dei Lamberti, who craftily dispatched two wise friars minor with a message for the people of Florence. These friars were first exposed to nine powerful Sienese who went to great lengths to convince the friars that the government of Provenzano Salvani, the current ruler of Siena, was odious to them and they would willingly surrender the land to the Florentines for a price of ten thousand gold florins. They further promised that, under the pretense of fortifying Montalcino, they would come as far as the river Arbia and then, with a force provided by them and their followers, would turn over to the Florentines the gate of Santo Vito in the Via d'Arezzo.
The friars, having been exposed to this fraud and deceit, came to Florence with letters and seals from the aforesaid Sienese and appeared before the elders of the people. They said they could offer a means of performing great deeds to the honor of the people and commune of Florence, but the matter was so secret that it had to be revealed under oath only to a few. Then the elders chose from among themselves Spedito di Porte San Pietro, a man of great enterprise and daring, one of the principal leaders of the people, and with him Gianni Calcagni di Vacchereccia. Once the oath had been taken on an altar, the friars disclosed the plot and displayed the letters.
Led by desire rather than prudence, the two elders believed in the plan. They immediately raised the ten thousand gold florins, placed them on deposit, and summoned an assembly of magnates and people. They argued that, in order to provide for Montalcino, it was necessary to dispatch to Siena a force even greater than the one which had been at Santa Petronella the preceding May.
Count Guido Guerra and the nobles of the great Florentine Guelf houses, knowing more than the People about warfare and nothing at all about the bogus plan, aware as well that a new German force was at Siena and that the Florentines had made a poor showing at Santa Petronella against an assault by one hundred Germans, failed to see the wisdom of the proposed campaign. Seeing that the citizens held various opinions on the proposal and were hesitant to dispatch another army, they argued that Montalcino could be provided for at little expense, since the town of Orvieto was willing to take on that responsibility, and that the Germans had been paid for only a three- month term, half of which was already over. If the Florentines let matters stand without launching a campaign, the Germans would soon be back in Apulia, leaving the Sienese and the Florentine exiles worse off than before.
The spokesman for this view was Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli Adimari, a wise and brave knight of great authority, and his advice was by far the best offered. The aforesaid elder Spedito, a very presumptuous man, gave that advice a rude answer, saying Tegghiaio should check his pants if he was afraid. Tegghiaio replied that, when it came to action, Spedito would not dare to be where Tegghiaio placed himself in the battle.
When he had said this, Cece dei Gherardini arose to repeat what Tegghiaio had said. The elders commanded him to be quiet and set a fine of one hundred pounds for anyone who spoke against their orders. The knight was willing to pay it in order to oppose the campaign, but the elders refused and doubled the fine. He again wished to pay it, so the fine became three hundred pounds. When he still wanted to talk and pay, the penalty became his head, and there the debate ended. Thus through a proud and thoughtless people the worst advice won out, namely that the army should leave immediately.
Once the people of Florence had made their unfortunate decision, they sought aid from their allies, who came with foot- soldiers and knights from Lucca, Prato, Volterra, San Miniato, San Gimignano, and Colle di Valdelsa, all of which were in league with the commune and people of Florence. In Florence there were eight hundred horsemen who were citizens, as well as over five hundred mercenaries.
When the army was assembled, it departed at the end of August. With pomp and circumstance they led forth the carroccio and a bell which they called Martinella, the latter being placed on a cart with a wooden castle on wheels. Almost all the people went bearing the standards of the guilds, and there was not a house or family in Florence from which at least one person and sometimes two or more (according to their power) did not go forth on foot or horseback. And when they found themselves in Sienese territory, at the designated spot on the river Arbia, in the place called Montaperti, with the Perugians and Orvietans who joined them there, they had over three thousand knights and thirty thousand foot-soldiers.
While the Florentines were preparing for their campaign, those in Siena who had devised the plan sought to strengthen it by sending other friars to Florence. They plotted treason with certain powerful Ghibellines who had remained in Florence. These Ghibellines were to join the campaign. Then, once the troops were in battle order, they were to desert the ranks and join their own group, thus throwing the Florentines into confusion. Those in Siena hatched this plot because it seemed to them that they were greatly outnumbered by the Florentines. And so it occurred.
Once the Florentine army was established in the hills of Montaperti, those wise elders who had approved the plan and were now leading the army waited for the Sienese traitors to open the gate for them as promised. Meanwhile, an eminent Ghibelline named Razzante, from the Porta San Pietro section in Florence, got wind of what the Florentine leaders were waiting for. With the consent of other Ghibellines in the army (who had treason on their minds), he fled from the Florentine camp on horseback and went to Siena. His mission was to inform the Florentine exiles there that the city was to be betrayed and that the Florentines were well provided with knights and foot-soldiers. He advised those within not to recommend battle.
When the two plotters Farinata and Gherardo heard his message, they said to him, "You'll kill us if you spread this news around Siena, because you'll frighten them. We want you to say just the opposite. If we don't fight while we have these Germans, we're dead! We'll never get back to Florence. Death and defeat would actually be better for us than to go begging around the world any longer." They preferred to stake their future on a single decisive battle.
Having been set straight by Farinata and Gherardo, Razzante promised to speak as they suggested. With a garland on his head and a very cheerful expression on his face, he and the other two rode on horseback to a meeting at the palace, where all the people of Siena, the Germans and other allies were gathered. There he joyfully announced the great news from the traitors in the Florentine camp. The army, he said, was ill-prepared, poorly-led and disunited. A determined attack would defeat them. When Razzante had delivered his false report, the Sienese all armed, shouting "battle, battle!" The Germans asked and received a promise of double pay, and their group led the assault through the San Vito gate, the very one that was supposed to be given to the Florentines. The other knights and people followed close behind them.
When those in the Florentine army who were waiting for the gate to be surrendered saw that the Germans, other knights, and the people of Siena were all coming out toward them looking very warlike, they were surprised and rather dismayed at this sudden appearance and unforeseen attack. They were even more dismayed when many Ghibellines in their camp, knights and foot-soldiers alike, upon seeing the enemy forces, fled to the opposite side as they had so treacherously planned. Among these were the Pressa, the Abati, and many others. Nevertheless, the Florentines and their allies managed to draw up in battle order.
When the German troops violently collided with the Florentine knights at the point where the standard of the communal cavalry was being carried by Iacopo del Nacca of the house of Pazzi, a man of great valor, the traitor Bocca degli Abati, who was near lacopo in his troop, struck him with his sword and cut off the hand with which he held the standard, after which he soon died. Seeing their standard fallen and themselves betrayed and strongly attacked by the Germans, the Florentine knights and people were soon routed.
Because the cavalry was the first group to become aware of the treason, only thirty-six of them were among the dead and captured. Most of the slaughter and captivity was sustained by the Florentine foot-soldiers and by the men of Lucca and Orvieto, who shut themselves up in the castle of Montaperti and were all taken. Over 2500 were left dead on the field and more than 1500 were captured, some of the best people in Florence, men from every house, as well as those of Lucca and the other allies. Thus the arrogance of the ungrateful and proud Florentine people was brought low. This was on a Tuesday, the fourth of September, in the year of Christ 1260, and the carroccio and bell called Martinella were left behind along with uncountable booty from the baggage of the Florentines and their allies. Thus ended the old people of Florence, which had exercised such great lordship and won so many victories over its ten-year period.
* * * * * * * *
When news of the grievous defeat reached Florence along with those who had escaped, there arose among men and women a wail of lament so powerful that it reached up to heaven, for there was no house in Florence, small or great, from which someone had not been killed or captured. ... The Guelf leaders were afraid the exiles would soon arrive from Siena with the Germans, and they knew that rebellious Ghibellines were already returning to the area. Thus the Guelfs, without being banished or chased out, went weeping from Florence along with their families and settled in Lucca. It was Thursday the thirteenth of September, in the year of Christ 1260.
* * * * * * * *
Just as the Florentine Guelfs left home, so did those of Prato, Pistoia, Volterra, San Miniato, San Gimignano, and many other places in Tuscany, all of which returned to the Ghibelline party. The one exception was Lucca, which remained Guelf for a while and became a refuge for Guelfs from Florence and for other Tuscan exiles. The Florentine Guelfs settled in the quarter around San Friano, and it was Florentines who made the loggia in front of San Friano.
When the Florentines found themselves in that place, Tegghiaio Aldobrandi saw Spedito, who had insulted him in the council meeting, telling him he should check his pants. Tegghiaio stood up and took five hundred gold florins from his purse. He showed the money to Spedito, who had left Florence a poor man himself, and said to him reproachfully, "See how I've soiled my pants! You've led yourself, me, and all the others to this by your foolhardy and proud leadership." Spedito replied, "Tell me, why did you believe us then?" We have mentioned these petty and vile words as an example to show that no citizen, particularly a Popolano or a man of lesser status, should be too rash or presumptuous when he wields power.
At this time the Pisans, Sienese, Aretines, Count Giordano, and all the other Ghibelline leaders of Tuscany met at Empoli.. .. At this meeting all the neighboring cities, Count Guido, Count Alberto, those of Santafiore, the Ubaldini and all the nearby barons agreed that, for the good of the Ghibelline party, the city of Florence should be completely demolished and reduced to an open village so that it would never again be renowned, famous or powerful. At that proposal the valiant and wise knight Farinata degli Uberti rose and spoke in opposition. In his speech he recalled two old proverbs: "The ass chews up his turnips as he knows how," and "the lame goat can go if the wolf doesn't meet him." Farinata combined these proverbs, saying, "As the ass knows how, so the lame goat goes; thus he chews up his turnips if the wolf doesn't meet him."
Then he added examples and comparisons to these vulgar proverbs in order to show how foolish it was to talk of this plan, as well as what great danger and damage would result from it. He said, finally, that even if there were no others with him, as long as he had life in his body he would defend Florence with sword in hand. When Count Giordano saw what sort of man Farinata was, noting his authority and great following, he recognized that the Ghibelline party would be torn apart by the plan and he abandoned it. Thus our city of Florence escaped fury, destruction and ruin through the action of a single good citizen; yet the people of Florence were ungrateful toward Farinata and his family, as we shall see later. Nevertheless, even if an ungrateful people fails to recognize his deed, we should nevertheless commend and perpetuate the memory of this noble and virtuous citizen who acted in the manner of Camillus, the good ancient Roman whose story is told by Valerius and Titus Livius.
* * * * * * * *
Ghibelline domination lasted only as long as Manfred's ascendency .In 1265, the papacy found a new ally, Charles of Anjou, brother of the king of France. In the spring of 1265 Charles arrived in Italy with a French army, and in February 1266 he encountered Manfred's army at Benevento. Manfred was killed and his army annihilated.
Thus the Guelfs returned to power in Florence, and the Ghibellines again found themselves in exile. By 1272, however, the pope was intervening to bring about a settlement between the two factions.
In the year 1272, Gregory X.. . was crowned pope. A year after his coronation, the pope left Rome with his court in order to go to Lyons on the Rh(tm)ne River, where he had summoned a general council. On the way, he stopped in Florence with his cardinals, ... and they were honorably received by the Florentines. Because the water was handy, the air pure, and the papal court offered every convenience, the situation in Florence so pleased the pope that he decided to spend the summer there. When he found that such a fine city as Florence was being destroyed because of the parties, the Ghibellines now being in exile, he wished them to return to Florence and make peace with the Guelfs. And so it was done...
* * * * * * * *
The 1272 settlement existed entirely on the level of theory. In fact, the Guelfs stayed in power and the Ghibellines stayed in exile. By 1278 another pope found himself pondering not only the unresolved Guelf-Ghibelline split but a series of feuds among Guelfs. The result was a new papal intervention which produced not only reconciliation but a new type of government.
By that time (1278), since the great Guelfs of Florence were victoriously and honorably resting from their warfare with outside enemies and had fattened up on the goods of the exiled Ghibellines, their pride and envy led them to fight among themselves. Thus were born among the citizens of Florence a series of quarrels and hatreds which resulted in death or wounding. One of the greatest of these was the dissension between the Adimari, a great and powerful family, and the Tosinghi, Donati and Pazzi, all of whom were allied together against the Adimari in such a way that practically the entire city was divided, some holding with one side and some with the other. Because of this strife, the commune and the captains of the Guelf party sent ambassadors to Pope Nicholas III requesting his advice and aid in pacifying the Florentine Guelfs. Otherwise the Guelf party would split and one faction would drive the other out. In the same way, the Ghibelline exiles sent their ambassadors to the pope begging him to put into effect the peace treaty arranged by Pope Gregory X between them and the Florentine Guelfs. For these reasons the pope confirmed the treaty, appointing as legate and mediator Cardinal Latino, a man of great learning and authority, highly valued by the pope. When he received the pope's command the cardinal left the Romagna, where he was employed on church business, and on October 8 in the year of Christ 1278 he arrived in Florence with three hundred knights of the church. He was met with great honor by the Florentines and the clergy in procession, the carroccio and many jousters coming out to meet him.
On the day of Saint Luke the Evangelist, during the aforesaid year and month, the legate installed and blessed the first stone of the new church of Santa Maria Novella, built for the preaching friars of which he was a member. There he dealt with the matter of peace between Guelf and Guelf as well as Guelf and Ghibelline. The first item of business was a truce between the Uberti and the Buondelmonti - it was the third one between them - and it included all but the sons of Rinieri Zingane dei Buondelmonti, who, upon refusing their assent, were excommunicated by the legate and banished by the commune.
The peace was not lost on their account, however, for the legate favorably concluded it the following February when the entire people assembled in the old square in front of the aforementioned church. The square was covered with cloths and great wooden platforms on which were the cardinal, many bishops, prelates, clergy, monks, and the podestˆ, the captain of the people, all the councilors, and other officers of Florence. The legate delivered a fine sermon with many lovely authorities thoroughly fitting the occasion, for he was a wise and skillful preacher. When he had finished, representatives of the Guelfs and Ghibellines kissed one another on the mouth, thus joyfully making peace among all the citizens. There were 150 on each side. Then and there the legate announced the terms each side must observe, confirming the peace with solemn, duly authorized documents and proper guarantees. From that moment the Ghibellines could and did return to Florence with their families and were absolved from all banishment and condemnation. All the books of banishment and condemnation in the chamber were burned. These Ghibellines also received their possessions back, but to insure the security of the land it was ordained that some of the greater Ghibellines should have to remain within certain boundaries.
When the cardinal had finished with the Guelfs and Ghibellines, he made peace among individual families, starting with the greatest of all, that of the Adimari with the Tosinghi, Donati and Pazzi, arranging several weddings between the families. In similar fashion he settled all the feuds in Florence and throughout the countryside, some by the will of the parties involved and others by command of the commune, sentence having been pronounced by the cardinal with solid sanctions and guarantees. The cardinal derived a great deal of honor from these peace treaties, almost all of which were maintained, for they allowed the city of Florence to remain in a peaceful, good and tranquil state for some time.
The legate decreed that the city should be governed by fourteen good men drawn both from the Grandi and from the Popolani. There were to be eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines. Their term of office was to be two months, and a means of election was established. They were to assemble in the house of the Badia of Florence, above the gate that goes to Santa Margherita, returning to their own homes to eat and sleep.
These things having been accomplished, Cardinal Latino returned with great honor to his duties in the Romagna...
* * * * * * * *
The Guelf-Ghibelline honeymoon lasted for four years. In 1282 the dominant Guelfs excluded the Ghibellines and created a new type of government which was destined to have a long run in Florence, the priors. Note that the government was now based upon the guild system. The guilds which led the way were the Calimala or cloth- merchants' guild, the bankers' guild, and the Lana or wool- manufacturers' guild.
In the year of Christ 1282, the city of Florence was governed by fourteen good men as the Cardinal Latino had ordained, with eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines. It seemed to the citizens that this government of fourteen was too big and confusing. Thus, in order to unify the many divided souls, but especially because the Guelfs did not like sharing power with the Ghibellines,... for the safety and health of the city the government of fourteen was abolished and a new one created. This one was called "the priors of the guilds."...This innovation and movement began through the advice of the Calimala guild, which contained the wisest and most powerful citizens in Florence. . . The first priors were Bartolo di Messer lacopo dei Bardi for the district of Oltrarno and for the Calimala guild; Rosso Bacherelli for the district of San Piero Scheraggio and for the money-changers' guild; and Salvi del Chiaro Girolami for the district of San Brancazio and for the Lana guild.
They began their term in mid-June of the same year and it lasted until mid-August, after which three new priors were supposed to take over every two months, representing the three greater guilds. They were to work, eat and sleep at communal expense in the house of the Badia, where the elders in the time of the First People and then later the fourteen used to meet. They were given six marshals and six messengers to summon the citizens. These priors, along with the captain of the people, had to settle the great and weighty matters of the commune, summoning councils and making regulations.
When two months had passed, the citizens approved of the arrangement and for the next two months appointed six priors, one for each district, adding to the three aforementioned guilds those of the doctors and pharmacists, the Porta Santa Maria guild, and the guild of furriers and leather-workers. Then gradually all the rest of the twelve major guilds were added. They were men of good deeds and reputation, Grandi and Popolani, artisans and merchants. This arrangement endured until the time of the Second People, which we will mention in due course. After that point the Grandi were excluded and a standard-bearer of justice added, and from time to time there were twelve priors as special needs or circumstances dictated, the priors being chosen from all twenty-one guilds, and even from those who were not themselves artisans as long as their ancestors had been such.
The new priors were chosen by the old ones and by the leaders of the twelve major guilds, along with certain others who elected the priors for each district, casting secret ballots, with him who received the most votes becoming prior. This election took place in the church of San Piero Scheraggio with the captain of the people stationed next to the church in the houses belonging to the Tizzoni.
We have said a great deal about the beginning of this office of the priors because great changes occurred in the city of Florence through it, as we will explain later.
In the Middle Ages, wealth and power were often expected to guarantee a degree of immunity from normal judicial procedures. (Perhaps this is always the case. The expectation was at any rate more blatant in the Middle Ages.) In 1292 the Florentines attempted to remedy this situation with the Ordinances of Justice, which placed certain legal restrictions on the grandi for the protection of the popolani.
The words grande (pl. grandi) and popolano (pl. popolani) are difficult to render in English. It is tempting to translate them "noble" and "commoner," but that is not quite what they mean. In the eyes of the Florentines, the grandi were that handful of people whose wealth and family connections gave them the power to oppress the rest of the population, the popolani. With the Ordinances of Justice, however, the word became a legal designation. Henceforth by branding certain families as grandi the government could neutralize their power by limiting their political rights.
The popolani were hardly a homogeneous group, however. Political power was now exercised by a small number of wealthy citizens whom Florentines rather picturesquely termed the popolo grasso, "the fat people." The lower orders of society, the popolo minuto or "little people," simply obeyed. Thus, from the perspective of the popolo minuto the grandi were not the only oppressors around.
In the same year (1287), the podestà of Florence, Matteo da Fogliano di Reggio, had condemned to death for murder a great warrior and leader named Totto dei Mazzinghi da Campi. As he was on his way to execution, Corso dei Donati and his followers tried to rescue him by force, but the podestˆ ordered that the great bell be sounded. Then all the good people of Florence armed and assembled at the palace, some on horseback and others on foot, crying "justice, justice!" By this means the podestà managed to carry out the sentence, and whereas the aforesaid Totto was originally supposed to be beheaded, he was dragged along the ground and then hanged. Those who had begun the uproar and impeded justice were fined.
In the year of Christ 1292, in the month of February, the city of Florence was great and powerful in every way, its citizens fat and rich. Because of excessive tranquillity which naturally engenders pride and novelty, the citizens were envious and arrogant toward one another. The result was a series of murders, woundings and other outrages, particularly by the nobles who were called Grandi, against the defenseless Popolani. In the city and in the countryside, they committed violence against other people's bodies and goods and took over other people's property.
Thus certain good men, artisans and merchants of Florence who wanted the good life, decided to end this pestilence. .. They promulgated certain very strong and weighty laws against powerful Grandi who perpetrated violence against Popolani, strengthening the common penalties in various ways. They enacted that one member of a Grandi family should be held accountable for all other members, that two witnesses should be sufficient to convict a malefactor, and that the communal accounts should be revised.
These laws they called the Ordinances of Justice. In order to preserve and execute them they ordained that, besides the six priors who governed the city, there should be a standard-bearer of justice from each district, changing every two months as the priors did. When the great bell tolled, the people were to assemble in the church of San Piero Scheraggio and present the standard of justice, which had not been customary before. They also ordained that no priors should come from the houses of those nobles called Grandi.
The ensign and standard of the people was to be a white field with a red cross. One thousand citizens were elected, the total number being divided among the districts with standard-bearers for each ward and fifty foot-soldiers (each with hauberk and shield marked with a cross) for each standard. At any disorder or summons by the standard-bearer these citizens were to assemble at the house or palace of the priors and act against the Grandi. The number of foot- soldiers later grew to two thousand, then four thousand. A similar order of soldiers for the people, with the same ensign, was ordained for the countryside, and they were called "the leagues of the people."
The first standard-bearer was Baldo dei Ruffoli from the Porte del Duomo. In his time the standard went forth under arms to destroy the goods of a house called Galli of the Porta Santa Maria, because one of them had murdered a Popolano while in France.
This innovation by the people and resulting change in the state was very important to the city of Florence. It later had a substantial effect, both good and bad, upon the commune, as we shall see. This innovation by the people would have been prevented by the Grandi if there had not been so many quarrels and disagreements among them at that time, as in fact had been the case ever since the Guelfs returned to Florence. For there was great war between the Adimari and Tosinghi, between the Bardi and Mozzi, between the Gherardini and Manieri, between the Cavalcanti and Buondelmonti, between certain of the Buondelmonti and the Giandonati, between the Visdomini and Falconieri, between the Bostichi and Foraboschi, between the Foraboschi and Malispini, among the Frescobaldi themselves, and among the Donati themselves, as well as among many other houses.
* * * * * * * *
At one point in his chronicle, Villani pauses to present an overview that has fascinated historians ever since. There is no reason to assume that Villani's figures are deadly accurate, but there is equally little reason to believe them wildly inaccurate.
Since we have described the income and expenditure of the commune of Florence during this period (ca. 1338), it seems fitting to mention other important features of our city so that our successors in later times can be aware of any rise or decline in the condition and power of our city, and so that the wise and worthy citizens who rule in future times can advance its condition and power through the record and example of this chronicle. Careful investigation has established that at that time there were in Florence approximately 25,000 men capable of bearing arms, ages fifteen to seventy, all citizens, of which 1,500 were noble and powerful citizens required as Grandi to post the customary guarantees. There were then around seventy-five fully-equipped knights. We find of course that before the government of the "second people," which is still in power, there were more than 250 knights, but after the people began its rule the Grandi had neither the status nor the authority they formerly enjoyed.
We learn from the taxes collected at the gates that around 5,900,000 gallons of wine entered Florence yearly, and in times of abundance there would be around 1,120,000 gallons more.
The city required approximately 4,000 oxen and calves, 60,000 sheep, 20,000 goats and 30,000 pigs annually.
During the month of July 4,000 loads of melons came through the San Friano gate and were distributed throughout the city.
During this period the following offices in Florence, each of which administered justice and had the right to torture, were held by foreigners: The podestˆ; the captain and defender of the people and the guilds; the executor of the ordinances of justice; the captain of the guard or conservator of the people, who had more power than the others (though all four of the offices just mentioned could administer punishment); the judge handling civil justice and appeals; the judge in charge of taxes; the official concerned with female ornamentation; the official concerned with the merchants; the official concerned with the Lana guild; the ecclesiastical officials; the court of the bishop of Florence; the court of the bishop of Fiesole; the inquisitor; and other dignitaries of our city which should not be left unmentioned if those who come after us are to be properly informed. Within the walls, Florence was laid out and built up well, with many lovely houses. At that time construction went on continually and techniques were improved in order to make the buildings comfortable and luxurious. Examples of every sort of improvement were imported from abroad. Cathedrals, churches for friars of every order, and magnificent monasteries were built.
Beyond this, there was no citizen, Popolano or Grande, who had
not built or was not building a large and rich estate in the
countryside, with an expensive mansion and other buildings even
better than those in the city. Each one of them was sinning in this
respect, and they were considered mad for their inordinate
expenditure. It was such a marvelous thing to see that most
foreigners unfamiliar with Florence thought, when they came from
abroad, that the sumptuous buildings and beautiful palaces occupying
a three-mile area around the city were a part of the city itself, in the
manner of Rome, to say nothing of the sumptuous palaces, towers,
courts and walled gardens farther from the city, which would have
been called castles in any other territory. In short, it was determined
that, within a six-mile radius of Florence, there were more than twice
the number of sumptuous and noble mansions found in Florence itself.
And with this we have said enough about the situation in Florence.
Translation by David Burr [[email protected]]. See his home page. He indicated that the translations are available for educational use. He intends to expand the number of translations, so keep a note of his home page.
Paul Halsall Jan 1996
Paul Halsall Jan 1996 | <urn:uuid:8758c12a-8431-4c1c-af74-9e7f24da2605> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/344villa.html | 2022-05-26T04:18:44Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662601401.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526035036-20220526065036-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.984127 | 11,204 |
North Indian Classical Music Archive
Your work is commendable and deserves wholehearted appreciation. It is an amazing collection of rare and exquisite pieces of both sarangi and vocals; also some unique pieces of sarinda put together makes it the best ever collection under a single roof – and that too for free download. It has revived the hope of getting access to quality music without paying heavy amounts. Thank you exceedingly.
Deepak. P, Sarangi artist, student of Ustad Faiyaz Ahmed Sarangi, Bangalore, India.
I was searching for sarangi music online and then I happened upon this most wonderful site. I almost started to cry when I heard Abdul Latif Khan play for the first time… such heart warming music. Sarangi to me has always been mysterious, but now it lies deeply in my heart. Thank you for this site.
You folks deserve an award for this site, especially for the sarangi clips.
1. Please get some samples of Gopal Mishra and Sagiruddin Khan, Abdul Majid Khan and Shakoor Khan. I shall send more names when I remember them. In fact, I have solo samples of Shakoor Khan and Abdul Majid in my personal collection, and of Gopal Mishra in accompaniment. [I live in Baku, Azerbaijan, but might be in the US in March 2006, briefly.]
2. Please include the signature tune of Radio Pakistan. This was played by Hamid Hussain, who, as you might know, was from Rampur.
And, oh yes, what is the monument displayed on your site?
Some more observations:
The photo captioned as Sabir Khan is of Sabri Khan of Ambala. There was another sarangi player caled [Haji] Ghulam Sabir, of Kanpur. I have samples of him too, accompanying Badey Ghulam Ali and also of Saghiruddin, who used to be in Calcutta. He accompanies Siddheshwari Devi in a commercial recording. Unfortunately, no photos.
Yes, I noticed that the monument is in Chakwal.
Awesome site! Thank you.
I am truly amazed with exceptional vocal audio selections from great ustads and pandits. Great website for music lovers and keep up the good work. I will definitely contribute with providing vocal audio from great ustads.
As everyone else says, a superb website! Thank you very, very much.
Your effort to restore the sarangi to its rightful place in Hindustani music is to be commended. It is an unmitigated tragedy that it is losing ground to the horrible harmonium. But that also reflects what has happened to Hindustani music in the last 50 years – much of it, lamentably, a result of partition. You complain about the sorry state of classical music in Pakistan. Things aren’t dramatically better across the border…
Above all, I appreciate the fact that everything on your website is gracious and in good taste – the music, the graphics, the photographs and the language you use… So thank you also for restoring civility to discourse.
An excellent update to the previous version of this website. The choice of text, pictures and the selection of music depicts finesse and refinement worthy of its designer. It’s amazing to see this nascent website grow so fast in a short period of time into probably one of the best archives of North Indian Classical Music available online. It speaks volumes about the effort and hard work gone into it, which is commendable and appreciable!
I don’t have words to express how this very site has broadened my horizons when it comes to music.
Thank you sarangi.info people.
Why only one recording of Ustad Allah Rakha Khan? Can you come out with more of Ustad Allah Rakha Khan’s recordings? He is a very touching sarangi player with certain aspects better than his Ustads. Any recording available of Ustad Nazim Ali?
My observations while listening to your rare clips :-
Bundu khan :- 1. Shudh kalyan – Seems to be a piece of
bhopali from disc LKDE 20004 (1974) by
EMI pakistan ltd.
2. Sampurna chandrakauns : – Is it similar
to more famous kaunsi kanda!
Nathu khan :- Purbi :- this rag ends at 26:09 min.and
another recording of madhuvanti starts.
Truly great site. I have downloaded about 115 pieces from this site, but it will be really great if Raga Chayyanat by greats like Amir Khan or Bade Ghulam Ali is posted. Raga Hameer by Bade Ghulam Ali is really marvellous. It is a 1956 recording, sung in an August assembly that included Pt. Omkarnath Thakur.
It is a pleasure to know about this site – a place which contains a wealth of fine art beauties. I wonder if you could add Jaijaiwanti by Roshan Ara Begum and the traditional Pahadi of Kasuris. Please also try to introduce the dimensions of semi classical music like thumri, dadra, kafi, etc.
Keep it up.
ALLAH BLESS YOU ALL.
I can’t thank you enough for such a well organized site containing these rare gems. I have a piece of advise. Think ten times or more before heeding any advises because look and feel wise this site is wonderful. The content is marvelous so I presume whatever additions you will continue to make will be excellent.
Having said that your search is not working properly in that it doesn’t show all the results from the site. I tried ‘Bhim Palasi’ but it didn’t seem to give me all the results. This might become a problem as the site grows in size.
I was overwhelmed when I incidentally found this site. I am much obliged to express my thanks and appreciation as Khurshid Sahib’s Raag Mala is available here. It is your tribute to Khurshid Sahib and also to music lovers around the world. Add as much of Malika Classikey Mousiqui Roshan Ara Begum on your site as you can, especially her Marubihag performence of 30 mins. She sang it in Pakistan as far as I know. Great work Taimur; I have become very fond of you and all the people who manage this site. Thanks to all.
Sarangi is a wonderful instrument and it is a great pleasure to see al those recordings all together!! Also, the ragamala is a great thing!
Thanks a lot.
Absolutely wonderful site. Thank you so much. remarkable collection.
I’d like to contribute two recordings I have. One is an incredible rendition of Kamod by DV Paluskar, and one is a really enjoyable interview cum recital by Bismillah Khan.
Really it’s a great site, full of classical music. Please add RARE AUDIO clips as much as possible. Also, give us brief details of each artist to make it more interesting.
Good Luck! Keep it up!
This is a great website. I really appreciated your efforts in providing this musical treasure. Keep up this good work !!!
Re Dr. Kashyap’s comments on Bundu Khan false “Shuddh Kalyan” I also have the fuller Bhupali, total length 10.30, presumably from the lp Dr. Kashyap mentions.
Also coming with the bhupali cassette I was given back in the early 80s were a 13 minute darbari, a pilu just under 10 minutes, and a 4.20 min bhairavi.
Can anyone confirm these together with the bhupali form the complete LKDE 20004 (1974) lp?
BTW great site, a real treasure chest!
Re: Mr. Allen’s inquiry
From the literature/recordings I have the said album contains following Rags : rag-sagar, darbari, bhopali, pilu, bilawal bahar.
Time wise it should make two lps- may be it is a set of two lps.
Time durations mentioned by you are approximately the same as in lp.
The bhairvi is not the part of it. The famous rec of bhairvi is from his ’48 disk.
Dear Sarangi.info website management,
Sarangi.info has put immense effort to collect the rarest in classical music. My regards to all contributors who have brought the oxygen for all music lovers. Especially hats off to Mr. Riaz Ahmad Barni for commenting on the great composition by great Fardia Khanum “Hai Yaha Naam Ishq Ka Lena”. I have been browsing the web for many years but couldn’t succeed getting this number. I had heard this gazal from Radio Lahore somewhere in late 70’s and loved one of the great ever harmonium sangat and Farida Ji’s Velvety voice. I always remembered it by the special feature of harmonium and I guessed it could be from Ustad Sadiq Pindi Walay, Nazar Hussain or Ghulam Ali but knowing the name of harmonium player as Altaf Hussain. Many thanks for this research.
Another addition of Shubbha Mudgal has taken me to the end of a long standing search. I have seen some performances by Shubbha on ZEE Bangla 5 years ago. I couldn’t trace the vocalist even in Indian music sites. Still I am so anxious to listen another great performance by Shubbha Jee (Raga Jaunpuri). I have never had so beautiful Jaunpuri as I liked from Shubbha Jee. My salute to the artiste and the contributor. Just to mention that the performance of Jaunpuri by Shubbha Mudgal was accompanied by a female Tabla player.
I would also like to request the contributors to contribute the finest work by Late Ejaz Hussain Hazrawi as Ghazal Singer. Nawazish Ali Hazrawi is playing at PTV but the great maestro Ejaz Hussain Hazrawi had unmatched qualities in harmonium playing as well as in Ghazal singing. I remember Ghalib’s ghazal sung by Late Ejaz Hussain Hazrawi (Ishq Mujh Ko Nahin, Wehshat Hi Sahi) and Asar Us Ko Zara Nahin Hota) and Ahmad Faraz’s (Ab Ke Hum Bichhrday To Shayad Kabhi Khawabon Main Milen).
Hope I haven’t taken long to express my overwhelmed feelings.
Thanks to Dr. Kashyap’s reply – I have realised my error in putting the Bundu Khan Bhairavi in with the other files – I should have said the Ragsagar based on Bhairav (my version 12mins 46).
If the version I have as “Bilawal” (7 mins 16) belongs with the others, this makes a total length of some 53 1/2 minutes for the tracks, too long for one LP but not enough for two, so I am still a littled puzzled as to the discography here…
My enquiry is not related to the current discussion going on.
I want to know from where can I get Ustaad Amir Khan’s taraanaa in darbaari kanada; “yaar-e-man beyaa” (drut khayal in ektaal).
I know that it is included in the recording:
AMIR KHAN: A Bouquet of Rare Live Concert Recordings (Cassette 2: STC 850351)
But I am not able to find it. Can anyone please guide me, or if anyone has a recorded version that can be emailed, or uploaded on the website.
This is really a great site and a great effort. Hats off to promoters – one suggestion though: is it possible to post raga in .mp4 format as it is highly compressed as well as good in quality compared to 32 bit wma? Kindly do the needful.
well,does anybody know abt BASHIR ALI MAHI(nephew of mian barey ghulam ali khan n barkat ali khan) and ALI BUX ZAHOOR…i have heard there few thumriz n kafi s ..really found them marvellous…..
Is there any way I could learn to play the sarangi?
hi! i have seen taimur khan’s program today on PTV1. well done for doing such an exclusive work. but try to use this instrument in a modern way in some music songs which looks western as well as eastern. Ur ambitions r high but to excel in this competition it is necessary not to restrict ur self to only one instrument. But well done that instrument sounds so sweet & it can be the love of any one’s life.
I have no word to praise such a person like Mr.Taimur Khan. These are the kind of people who keep the tradition alive, I am sure that his efforts would grant a new life to this dying music instrument.
I watched his program on PTV1 here in Kuwait and I salute the way Mr Touseef is progressing in this unique talk programme.
I have a suggestion if the management of this great site consult PTV to get some recordings of many great stage shows of classical music. One show had been compered by Mr. Quresh Pur with the title of “AAP KI KHIDMAT MEIN” and B/W times by Great Mr Ishfaq Ahmad. the title of programe was “NIKHAR”.
Thanks a lot for offering a space to write bad english.
Malik M Iqbal
Dear Taimur Khan
I saw you on PTV today late in the night. You are really doing a marvellous job. Words, as you know, often fail to convey our appreciation whenever we encounter something marvellous! Music is perhaps the best medium to carry our emotions and convey our message.
Keep it up and be encouraged by the thought that there are people out here who share the vision of life that you have and can truly appreciate what you are doing.
Once I was thinking that folk and classical music is dying out but now the talent and passion of Mr.Taimur make me optimistic.
You have done a greate job by promoting sarangi and other classical stuff.
But there is always a room for improvement.
In this perspective please take these steps…
* Easy availibilty of classical and folk instruments
* Training programmes of playing folk and classical instruments
*Update the website by adding running music related news on top of the main page
Dear Taimur and webteam!
priceless! dont have words to say more….. i have been told by so called classcial teachers that whatever they have is not availabe in pakistan ….. its so hard to learn classical music… nearly impossible.. but as i believed nothing is impossible and i got here searching for raagmala. found some cassettes at music shop and was looking if they are available in mp3 format. thanks a million!
Dr. Bilal Fazal Shaikh.
yes…i agree with MAILK MEHMOOD IQBAL……i have seen some clips of the program NIKHAR hosted by ishfaq ahmad…it would really be a great work to get those masterpieces which I would not hesitate to say, were classics..especially the performances of salamat ali,amanat fateh,ijaz hussain hazravi etc in tht program were brilliant……i reckon mr.FARUKH BASHIR is the man from whom u can get those recordings…i m also working on it but if mr.taimoor help us in getting those…it would really be a true feast for all of us
I was browsing the net for some quality stuff regarding classical music & your site has surely one of the best collections! Selective artists and their selective renditions is what makes your site special. Also, the downloading facility provided proves to be a blessing for music amateurs like me. I would like to appreciate your work wholeheartedly. I also hope to see lots of updates coming in vocal and sarangi section. Great Work. Keep up the good works guys – my best wishes.
Kya Baat!!. I don’t know who you guys are, but you are doing fantastic work for classical music. Well done and keep up the good work. It’s very heartening to see people who still have love and affiliation for our innate traditions. My favourite has got to be so far, Ustad Fateh Ali’s and Amanat Ali’s Darbari and Nathu Khan’s Multani. Wow – great stuff. I look forward to listening to the rest of the archives. Best wishes to you all. Peace.
I am very pleased to visit your website. I have to say that you are doing a great job for the revivel of not only sarangi but also our folk music.
Moving aginst a storm (of new era pop) is actually a very strong move.
And by the efforts of the people like you I think You will achieve your goal.
May Allah be with you.
ASSALAM O ALAIKUM. I’m very happy to see your unique website .I saw your program on PTV – i was nice. Main aik baat poochna chati hoon: Tansen kai dor main kya assal main diay jal othay thay jab os nai Deepak Raag gaya tha?
for rabi and her question re tansen “lighting lamps”. could anyone work out how this energy transformation could be achieved? [if at all!!]
the trouble is that what people must have meant to say was,”as if the lamps lit up” ,or , “as if the clouds burst forth”.
and then someone deleted the words “as if”.
My name is Nima Shams, and i am currently studying audio engineering at a London-basded college called Alchemea (by Angel underground station, Islington). Whilst studying here i have access to recording studios with professional equipment and i would be very honoured to record beautiful traditional instruments (such as the Sarangi). If you could send me an email telling me which instruments you want to record, how many people you are and what style of music you would like to record, i will get back to you as soon as i can. My email is;
When I saw your site for the first time, I felt that I had hit upon a treasure, and I was right! The collection is simply wonderful, and my heartfelt thanks to the compilers. Making it downloadable is quite useful, since I am able to listen to it any time, and share it with people who do not have internet connectivity.
It would be nice if you could also organize the collection by ragas, so that one can listen to a specific raga depending on the time of the day.
Thanks once again and with best wishes,
Aslam o alikum ….meri age sirf 19 hay name umair hay lahore say belong karta hon……hazor main khud ik classical gaik hon main raag depak kay notes to janta hon “aroha and avrohana and thaat “but us ka ALAP mujhay nahi ata .hazor ik karm kar do mujhay us ka ALAP and ALANKARA ka method bata do plz…..WASLAM ALLAH ap ko jazay khair ata farmay AMIN.
This site is simply the best site i have ever come accross!! The content stored here is nothing less than a treasure!
I have found my choice of music, and I do not know how to thank you for building such a beautiful choice.
Great going…Best of Luck.
Many thanks for putting all these invaluable recordings on the www. I hope this website is going to introduce many to the treasures of Eastern classical music. I am particularly grateful for having an opportunity to listen to the senior Dagars, who have been my musical models throughout my own learning years.
All the best.
April 30, 2015
Dear Dr. Ghoshal,
I am writing this e-mail to request you to give me, if possible, the e-mail address of the artist Jayashree Chakravarty, who originally hails from Tripura. I chanced upon the article “Way of Looking” the other day, in which you have written about her works. I think it would be wonderful to get to know her, especially because I also hail from Tripura. Currently, I live in Canada where I came to pursue the Ph.D. degree in English Literature at the Université Laval.
With warm regards,
this site is such a fantastic one. n its a gr8 effort to promoting classical music wish u good luck.. and i request u that kindly upload some recordings of Ustad Majid khan (Sarangi Nawaz) n Ustad Fateh ali & Hameed Ali khan from (Gawalior Gharana).
Thanx n best wishes.
This is one of the best Indian Music Website. Keep it up !!
I want some more recordings of Pt Ulhas Kashalkar , Ust Vilayat Khan & Pt Bhimsen Joshi.
Keep up the good work. I am very pleased to hear the beautiful music.
Arie (the Netherlands)
Hi, my name is shaan khan granddaughter of ustad majid khan and daughter of ustad mohammad sayeed khan better known as (khan bandhu). We are very pleased to see such gr8 work. KEEP IT UP. And would like to contribute in your work. You can contact us. My email is [email protected]. In the near futher you can also download music, information from this site :www.umskhan.com
Can anyone tell me why there are no non-asian persons replying here?
After 40 years of indian music (I am 54.75 years) I love it every day even more. Listening mp3’s in my car every morning heading to my work it wakes me up and smooths me down. I refuse to listen to western pop-music.
biz ar y
OP once told me about you and somehow I downloaded this song from this site, but I never knew you were the person OP was telling me about.
I am so amused to see this work. If I can be of any help do let me know.
Very very good job.
Oh! one more thing, why can’t we have a sarangi concert here in Lahore? It’s such a dying instrument of all the traditional ones in Pakistan. I so want to learn it too 🙂
This is one of the best sites related to Hindustani Classical Music apart from of course musicindiaonline.com which too has a large collection of classical music but not downloadable.
Great service to our culture and heritage!
I am a very, very passionate fan of Roshan Ara Begum – she is really a supreme artist. I am very thankful to sarangi.info for providing me much knowledge and music samples of Roshan Ara Begum. I belong to Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan. My request to all visitors to this site is that if any of you has got a collection of Roshan Ara Begum, please contact me. My e-mail is [email protected] and my yahoo id is ‘i_write_mornings_as_evenings’. I will be very thankful to you if you contact me. Just send me a single off line message and I will contact you. I really enjoy this site; it is a true gift for classical music lovers. Thanks
This is a very beautiful & historical place.
Chitti Sheikhan, Sialkot
I am really very happy to see such a wonderful and superb website of Indian classical music. I am a fan of classical music and was in search of a good classical music website. This site has given me a new life. KEEP IT UP!!!! I hope to see (actually listen to) more and more raagas in in site.
First I would like to thank the person and the team who are instrumental in making this site. This is indeed an excellent site. If you want to improve the quality and standard of it even more you have to add some rendition of Khan Sahib Abdul Rashid Khan (he is 96 years old now and lives at SRA Kolkata),Vidushi Padmabati Saligram and Vidushi Dhondu tai Kulkarni.
PS Do you have the ‘gujari todi’ & ‘bairagi’ recordings of Ustad Nazakat Ali & Ustad Salamat Ali? They are indeed excellent.
sorry to hear ustad bismillah khan is no more.
Khan Sahib Abdul Rashid Khan (Rasan Piya) was born in 1910, in the family of the famous musician, Ustad Behram Khan. Ustad Behram Khan had earlier left his native Gwalior and settled in Kasba Salon, near Rae Barelli.
As a child Abdul Rashid Khan was under the training of his ‘Bade Baba’, Ustad Bade Yusuf Khan. This early rigorous training was followed up with further tutelage from his elders who had imbibed the Gwalior gayaki. By dint of sheer merit and extraordinary skill, he further developed this gayaki according to his own artistic sensitivity, retaining the native style of Gwalior. Apart from Khayal, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan sings Dhrupad Dhamar and Thumri with equal ease and panache.He could be considered one of finest vocalists of our time.he is like living fossil. on 1st September 2006 he has a programme at GD Birla Sabhaghar Kolkata along with Pundit Ramashray Jha.
i know emphasis is on pakistani artists and i am very happy for that. but the description tagged with the name “North Indian Classical Music Archive”implies you will include various gharanas of “North Indian Classical Music”. gharanas most neglegted in this site is benaras Pt. RamNarayan being the exception.
This is a superior web-site indeed. With dissemination of this brilliant musical culture the whole humanity becomes richer.
And besides, this is one of the very few outlets available to give one a peek at the noble classical tradition of Pakistan.
No “thank-you” words will be enough.
And by the way, I do remember leaving a feedback several months ago but it never appeared here… are your guys having problems with your Guest Book?
Thanks a million for this beautiful site. I just discovered it. It’s a pleasure to surf and listen to the recordings you have posted. It’s also beautifully designed.
I cannot help compare your site with Rajan Parrikar’s sites where the guy just goes on and on about his own biases and spoils the pleasure. Instead of erasing walls between people, I hate to see it when people use music to build new ones!
But your site is a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL exception. It is a pleasent experience to see that even if you have Pakistani musicians dominating the site, you have chosen some of the best Indians to be on the site. It is indeed touchign to see that you do not even mention this to put “show-off” ! You have just listed them all in one list..and it says a lot!!
My personal thanks for letting me access to some of the finest artists from Pak. I love music from that part of the world; but knew very little beyond Nusarat and Nazakat-Salamat.
I have two or three requests though:
1. Can you also post some Pak semi-classical/ filmi music. I would love to see names like Noor Jehan listed among all these bigwigs.
2. I think you have forgotten some biggest names in India. Pt Kumar Gandharva, Malini Rajurkar (or are they not that popular in Pak?).
3. I would love to see some link between folk music and classical music explained/demonstrated in sites like these. Can you contribute?
Khan Sahib Abdul Rashid Khan (Rasan Piya) gave a super performence at GD Birla Sabha Ghar – Kolkata.he rendered some rare bandishes of khwaja amir khusroo and also some compositions of his own.he is surely one of the great exponents of “north Indian classical music.” i appeal to all the music lovers of the world to please visit kolkata to listen to him.he is the next best thing happened to kolkata after rabindranath tagore & satyajit ray. we are doing a grave crime by not making archive of his compositions.
hi i am fan of indian classical music. i want the names of websites which will enable me to download classical music free. thank you.
What a great treasure this site is for friends of music! Bravo,
Having been thoroughly trained in western music and having some modest ability to play the arabic oud, I am interested in learning to play the sarangi. Unfortunately, residing in a small and rather isolated Canadian city I do not have access to a teacher while a voyage to Pakistan or India shall not be possible iin the near future. Alas, it would seem that I shall be an autodidact, knowing very well that it is against the tradition.
Can anyone tell me if there are any instructional books or web-sites with instructional material for a student of the sarangi, at least for acquiring some basic technique?
With sincere thanks,
This site is an asset for lovers of classical music. Me and all my friends to whom I recommended this site are in love with it. The collection is superb and arranged in a really beautiful manner. Thanks for this favour to lovers of classical music. Thanks for opening this treasure to us.
ICM In ICU….But Only In India. (Indian Classical Music In Intensive Care Unit)
This is a question that could be in many people’s mind who love Indian classical music. Is it true that one falls in love with his or her culture only after moving away from it? Well I feel its not true, I say this keeping in mind the kind of popularity the bollywood stars have as compared to our classical musicians be it inside or outside India.. Nothing against the bollywood stars but the amount of publicity they get is unwarranted for the work they do and the talent they have compared to our great Pandits and Ustads. Then why is classical music not popular?. Is it because classical music needs a greater level of understanding to appreciate and enjoy…. While that might be true to a certain extent, but the way it has gone poorly noticed for many years in most parts of our country is really shocking. Ask a ten-year-old kid in Bangalore “who is the hero in Jogi” I bet you would get the answer before you could complete the question. Well just to refresh your mind and mine the answer is Shivraj Kumar. Ask the same ten-year-old kid, “ do you know who Mallikarjun Mansur or Bhimsen Joshi is”. Don’t be surprised to get a reply asking for the names of the films they have starred in.
No sensible person would hold the kid responsible for his ignorance, but someone is….his parents, the local media, and our politicians to name a few. Why don’t parents encourage their children to attend classical music concerts instead of the first day first show every Friday. Even today it amazes me why the then Chief Minister of Karnataka Ramkrishna Hegde refused to fly the body of Pandit Basvaraj Rajguru from Bangalore to Dharwad when requested by his family members as they were short of funds. Leave alone paying for his treatment when he was alive, the government could have atleast shown some consideration to this great musician who along with Mallikarjun Mansur, Kumar Gandharv, Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal(all from Dharwad in Karnataka) have played a great role in popularising Hindustani music in south India and all over the world. When these same politicians die you have AIR and DD playing Ustad Bismillah Khan’s Shehnai as background music for their mourning ceremony. What stops Doordarshan from broadcasting classical music in prime time at least once a week instead of the same old countdown of bollywood songs. Even bigger culprits are some of our private channels who have minted money for years, have forgotten about their duty to enlighten our people about the rich culture and music that we have and who along with Doordarshan have let Indian classical music sink in the ocean like the Titanic. So has it sunk completely????. It would have, but for some passionate Indians living outside India. Over the years Indians living abroad have developed a taste for Indian classical music and have started appreciating it. Pandit Jasraj once said “ it was a pleasant surprise for me when people clapped for 2 or 3 minutes after I finished an Allap in Raag Nayaki Kannad when I was performing in London, this never happens when I sing in India”.
Of course anyone would like to visit a foreign country, but its true that these great artists get from Indians living outside what the locals have not given them i.e, respect for the work they have done. Though these people living outside are doing their best to keep the torch of Indian classical music burning for as long as it can, it would need the overwhelming support of the local Indians to keep it burning forever. Its time we realise that by not being an active part of this rich culture we not only are keeping ourself in the dark but are also contributing to the gradual decline in the quality of musicians we produce these days. It can be debated that classical music was never for entertainment, the musicians who were brought up in the “Gharana” tradition of learning considered it a form of prayer, but at the end of the day they are also humans who need appreciation for the work they have done.
In a way Carnatic music has been lucky in this aspect as compared to Hindustani music because of the importance it gives to “Sahitya”. Carnatic music compositions are in the praise of the almighty and are also based on the mythological characters we have in our religion. Unlike Hindustani music most compositions are written down and passed on from the Guru to the students in this form, so it becomes easy for people to associate themselves with it. So it can be said that Hindustani music has ended up receiving a kind of step motherly treatment from our people.
So at the end of it its all up to us whether we want Indian Classical Music to recover, stand up and start running in the years to come or forget about it and let it die in the intensive care unit.
I am so greatful to all the people associated with this site.
lots of love and regards,
There is a photograph and biography of Munir Sarhadi at the site listed above. You don’t have one on your site, thought you should
Very nice, very, very, very nice. I love sarinda music; also put rabab if you don’t mind, but this is very good work – our traditional sarhadi music. Thanks.
FE AMAN ALLAH
This an answer to the message posted by Zulqarnain on
March 25th, 2006:
You can find unimitable, marvellous thumris by Bashir Ali Mahi issued by Shalimar Recording. This is one of the CDs of 15-CD set “Light Classical and Classical Music of Pakistan”.
Here is the link:
I bought it there. Delivery, service and packaging were superior, I received the whole set without a single crack.
Michael Polevoy !!!
i have dat set of cds realesed by Shalimar Recordings….itz a set of infact 57 cds by name of Music Pakistan.i m looking for da unpublished recordings of da mentioned vocalists…though Radio Lahore was kind enough to share many rare recordings with me but there actual archive is in islamabad and their policies are not clear in sharing their music.so i was just wondering if someone have ny non commercialised or unpublished recording of ny of da vocalist mentioned
jag mein agar sangeet na hota
koi kisi ka meet na hota,
ye ehsaan hai saat suroon ka
ke dunya weeran nahi.
I can’t explain my feelings about music. I like khyaal music and raag kafi.
I am looking for recordings of duets of Shahid Parvez and Rashid Khan. There have been a few of these duet conerts. I was fortunate enough to hear one in New York at the Bengali Sammelan in July 2005 – the concert was outstanding – that recording is one to treasure and for students to refer back to learn.
Please email me if anyone has a copy of this.
Also please let me know if you have other outstanding recordings of this kind.
1 917 861 6392
I want to listen to Darbari by Ustad Salamat Ali and Nazakat Ali. Alap consists of “gumani jagat”, drut bandish – “anokha ladla”. Somebody please upload the same.
Why new itemsare not getting added?
I am so happy I found this site. Thank you.
This is a great website for many things especially to listen to the performances of classical ragas by your favourite artists. Being raised in Canada, I have no idea how and why I love India and its culture unlike my brothers. I am a young boy and consider myself abnormal because I do not like what other children my age like, even the ones with Indian heritage like me. I don’t know how but I simply love Hindustani classical music and I hope that the current musicians and composers can preserve its great tradition like past musicians have.
as a musician who is barely scratching the surface of indian classical music, it’s very exciting to find a website so dedicated to it. Thank you!
adil from where did you get this collection,
I am an ardant fan of Dr.Vasantrao Deshpande.I did not get much about his recordings.I will be obliged if you can get his recording for Raag Bageshri.
Hello from Milan, Italy.
I recently discovered this music and i have fell in love with it, it’s so deep, powerful, hypnotic and marvellous.
Compliments for the site and greetings to all the friends in India and Pakistan.
Such beautiful music is a reflection of the beauty of soul…I feel like looking up at the sky full of stars…May god bless you…
This is wonderful! I cannot express the happiness and nostalgic feelings that this site has evoked in me. I have seen the pictures and heard those great Ustads and performers of whom I had only heard of… not heard! You have given me a glimpse of the fantastic era that is, unfortunately, bygone. Being a student of late Ustad Munawar Ali Khansahib and a performer of the Kasur-Patiala gayaki, I applaud your noble endeavour and hope to see more work being done. I have one request that if possible, can we get to hear more of Barkat Ali Khansahib?
Excellent site with great resources.
I am very thankful for the efforts of the creators of this blog. Please keep up the good work with the site, it has been very informative and very inspiring to me as a musician. Thank you.
I am sure that the people who created this site must have thought as if they were doing something very uncommon: nobody might visit it, or if by any chance, somebody does visit this site, they might need to answer some kind of curiosity based on very basic questions, and nothing more than that. But now, I am sure they must be knowing that amazingly, this music also has a very large group of admirers, which proves that this music has the same worth as any other music in the world. Well, instead of going into details, I think it is vital to appreciate their idea of developing a site like this, which might as well have been considered worthless. I salute everyone of them for this brilliant idea.
I want to know, if you have any plan to feature other instrumental music than Sarangi also?
Thank you for your heartwarming comments, encouragement, and contributions.
As for other instruments, we will presently not be able to put together a collection of the same significance as we have so far managed for sarangi and vocals. Otherwise, of course, we are open to ideas, and would really like to extend this project with time.
I was a kid when my father brought Bade Ghulam Ali Khansahib’s LP. I play Santoor and am a leading disciple of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Khansahib left his mark on me which comes in my playing [Punjab has a lot to do with it too].
I have just gone through a write up by Mr. Iqbal Farhad (March 2nd, 2006 at 8:09 am), in which he discussed a Ghazal sung by Farida Khanum (Hay Yahaan Nam Ishq Ka Lena). He was trying to find out about the composer of this Ghazal and also the harmonium player accompanying Farida jee. Although he mentioned a name, I’d like to correct this as I think the credit should go to the right person. So, Mr. Iqbal Farhad, that Ghazal was musically composed by Ejaz Hussain Hazravi sahib, and he also accompanied Farida Khanum in that recording. Please correct your record.
As always, I can’t leave this site without praising its beauty and effectiveness. I wish the management of this site all the best.
I am a tabla player playing for the last 20 years and based in USA. Having searched the internet for a place to find sarangi lehra for Tabla, I found Sarangi.info to be the ideal place where such a loop could be put up.
The is website is complete in itself, very impressive. I feel putting up a few lehra pieces together will help maintain it’s already established image of the ‘Ultimate Sarangi resource on the web’.
Will the management or any participating artists help putting a few lehras together? The tabla community will really appreciate it a lot. Everybody seems to be looking for lehra but not able to find any.
If interested, Icould even assist in whatever way possible to get this going.
Please contact me ( with any comments) for this altruistic effort that benefits the instrumental music community.
namashkar janab i am arshad khan israj player i am son of ustad allauddin khan i am so happy to see and listen my father esraj that s very good . i want to meet you and i want to make my cd with you this is my contact no 09873019823
such a commandment to distribute beautiful music…
I had read an endearing portrait of Bundu Khan in Sheila Dhar’s beautiful book Raga’n Josh. But it is on your website that I have first heard Bundu Khan today. I am really grateful to you…
May god bless you…
I have a question or may be it’s a mystery that I could not resolve ever. Why don’t we consider or title a classical music practitioner the real music promoter as we are all very well aware of the fact that it’s them who really suffer for continuing this art, no matter what they get and what they don’t get in terms of necessities of life? We all are very well acquainted with the rest of the story. I mean, examples are there in at least thousands, so please think about this. Please, please, please.
Can any body make out the sarangi player in the following clip recorded
from radio ? clip is about 1.5 mb size with about 5 min. duration.
Thanks in advance.
Ive uploaded some choice tabla solo videos of some famous Pakistani & Indian Tabla Players on youtube. Enjoy…
Any news about All Pakistan Music Conference Karachi?
Even though the exact name of the sarangi player could not be defined in the query posted few days back, it is somewhere around Ustad Ramzan Khan of Jaipur (Sikar).
Ustad Fateh Ali Khan (Patiala) has started a classical music academy in Islamabad. If you are interested in helping with the promotion of the academy, please contact me at [email protected]
For more information please see http://www.classicalmusicheritage.org
Thanks a lot for your support!
I am so gratefull to the creaters of this unique website, as we lovers of our great classical music traditions have been starved for years by the High street stores, and recording companies who did not cater for this unique music, but they have garbage type of so called music in abundance.
Big up to you, keep up the excellent work.
P.S Could you please find some more material for ustads like Amanat Ali, Fateh Ali khan, and ustad Umeed Ali Khansahib. Thanks
This is a wonderful website and a great discovery. Unfortunately, the condition of classical music and its appreciation in Pakistan is far from satisfactory. This is why such endeavours are glimmers of hope.
Keep it up and I would be visiting this site regularly.
I’m an ardent fan of Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur. Request more recordings of this great musician on your commendable website.
Continuing, it would be a pleasure to me if you can load any live recordings of Pt. Mansur, especially in concerts and informal gatherings. He used to bring out his best in those gatherings – the sheer electricity could be felt. The special ones I’m looking for i) Shibmat Bhairav, ii) Bihagda (not Ek Nishabd !), iii) Nat Bihag, iv) Adambari Kedar etc.
Bihari, Savani, Malvi, Tilak Kamod, Vihang are available over internet. These are some of the best I’ve heard in my life.
What a wonderful website! I discovered it while websurfing yesterday and dabbled into the night and today was forced to buy some CDs on Amazon!
This is wonderful work and a valuable documentation indeed. I want to congratulate whosoever have contributed in developing this website and in gathering such precious recordings.
Attempt should continue to contact individuals who may have in their private collection some of the published or non-published recordings of such doyens of the classical music of the olden times and they should be pursuaded to add all these recordings on this website.
Thank you for introducing Indian Classical Music here. I am so grateful to the creators of this unique website. It a big dispersion of classical music. I am a student of classical music and am from Gwalior. Now I am so glad and happy to see and downloading this music You really have a great KHAZANA of our great classical music traditions. Big up to you, keep up the excellent work.
P.S Could you please find some more material for ustads like Tawwakal Khan and instrumentals like Shahnai by Ustad Alamgir Khan, Rangi Khan, and also add Ustad Sadiq Hussain Faislabadi, Fakhre-e-Punjab?
Thanks and regards,
S. Aamir Raza Sherazi
Glad I found you!!!
Does anyone have Mallikarjun’s Shudh Sarang?
I will be happy to trade this for anything.
Great site. Provides some of the rarest of rare ragas. Thanks and keep it up.
Dear Mr. Aftab Datta,
You seem to be a follower of the great man – jiska man mein sur. Incidentally, I do not have his Shudh Sarang, don’t remember hearing the same from him either (By the way, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan has a unique Shudh Sarang), but I have some of his greatest pieces like Bahaduri Todi, Savani, Kafi KaanRa, Lalita Gauri, Gauri, Malvi, Yaman Kalyan, Bihari, Nayaki KaanRa, Gaud Sarang, Tilak Kamod etc. I have a CD with 72 pieces (big, medium and small) of Pt. Mansur. Would you like to have them? I need big Bihagda and Shivmat Bhairav. Do you have them?
Thanks and regards,
I think I have most of those Mansur tracks you listed.
I have Bihagda and Shivmat Bhairav if you are interested.
This is my first post here, but I just wanted to express my gratitude for this wonderful website. Please keep it up. I have some rare collections myself that my father has recorded through the years of attending many concerts of these great musicians. It would be an honor to share some of these, and to expose the genius of these musicians.
I hope these pieces (Bihagda and Shivmat Bhairav) are long playing (20-25 mins). I have the short takes on these ragas, and these only aggravated my passion to listen to the longer versions of these ragas. I long for your help. Please let me know the mechanism of transfer. My mail id is [email protected].
Kudos to the great man. Coexistence of a performer and a pundit in one soul is a rare phenomenon even among great musicians, but it is even more rare, if not impossible to find out, that simplicity and intellect transcend to one’s music simultaneously. More later.
Thanks in anticipation,
This is superb site. I am really lucky to find it. I am lookinf for the classical vocal recordings of Ustad Akhter Hussain Khan the fathe of Ustad Amanat & Fateh Ali Khan. Also thumri Mene Lakhon ke bol sahe sitamgar. tere liye sung by ustad Barkat Ali Khan and some Daddras, thumries and Ghazals Sung by Ustad Umeed Ali Khan, Currently two ghazals sung by ustad are available with me in very low quality recording on cassette
Hey Abdul Fattah Dahri Dadu Sindh !!!
i do got few dadras, ghazals and thumris of umeed ali khan and barkat ali khan. all are of broadcasting quality
provide me wid ur mail address
or mail me at [email protected]
Thanks for responding. My e-mail is [email protected]
Kindly post the rare collections 🙂
Also, can anyone post full lenght Ahir-Bhairav of Amir Khan
I want to add Pt. Santosh Kumar Mishra (sarangi player of Banaras Gharana) to this site. How can I do this? Please inform me.
सुंदर संकलन है। अभी तो सुनना बाकी है। विस्तार से फिर
i likes to collect the music of Bade Gulam Ali.Can anybody help me?
i have a vast recodings of bage ghulam ali khan.i can even challenge someone.eg:-puriyadhanashree,bihagra,shyamkalyan,hanswadhwani,khat,lankeshree.i have posrted these at http://www.mediafire.com/my files.php
One of the users mentioned earlier that there is non-availability of sarangi lehra for tabla practice on the internet.
I was able to download the sarangi loops from http://www.kritiarts.com/lehra.htm and worked great for tabla performance.
Hope this helps someone.
Magnificent site…having marvelous collections of verious legends….i am really lucky to find it….
kudos to you guys…the site is phenomenal…after there was a confusion about a recording whether it was Pt.Ramehs Misra or Pt. Dhruba Ghosh….Im keen to listen to Pt.Ramesh Mishra….As a typical human being Im insatiable and crave for more music…this time for Pt. Ramesh Mishra’s music…It would be an act of kindness on you if you could consider my request and upload any recording of Pt. Ramesh Mishra…
In such a short compass, how much feeling Omkarnath Thakurji shows in his rendition of Neelambari…My evening is made…Hats off to you for this great service…
May God bless you throughout your life. I was ecstatic when I saw Ustad Aamir Khan Saheb’s Bhatiyar. It is beyond words to express my gratitude towards you. He visited us to open that one single window to divinity. And when he died I was two years old. So although I missed an era, I thought that window still being kept open through your wonderful work. Thank you does not capture the appreciation.
Amazing collection; I am really thankful that someone has taken the pain to post such amazing ragas and and made them available for download.
Hi, I am a big fan of Sarangi Maestro Kamal Sabriji. I just heard his Basant; what a beautiful recording! No doubt Kamalji is an amazing star of Sarangi today…
I want to see the recordings of ustad Allah Dino khan Noonari & Khair Mohammed khan the great Classical singers of sindh. All the friends are invited to upload
Kindly help me hear/download ragas bageshree, padtdeep, and kafi in full length (vilambit-drut) of legend ustad amir khan saheb. I will highly appreciate your efforts.
I have moved from the wordpress blog to http://www.razarumi.com
Kindly post rare recordings/audios of legend ustad amir khan specially bageshree, patdeep, madhukauns to me.
This is UT… Do you remember me? AKU, music festival… How are you? Very pleased to discover you’re online, man. Stay in touch…. I’m leaving the address of my blog… Drop in…
I have found a very good site fro listening to clasical music. I intend to visit it frequently & listen to good music.Thanks
I want to see the semi classical recordings of ustad Amanat & Fateh Ali Khan and Umeed Ali Khan. Kindly upload .
I add my thanks for this invaluable site. May the sarangi continue to inspire mankind to its highest potential.
Anybody having info on Afghani sarangi players of past & present ?
plz upload multani by ustad salamat ali khan nazakat ali khan
Hi, it would be great if you could post some recordings by Parveen Sultana.
Does anybody know if there is video footage available of Abdul Latif Khan performing (preferably on sarangi, but any instrument)?
I think at last I have found my destination to quench my thirst of classical music, to know it’s true form…..I am really greatfull to you all associated with this website and at the same time want to be a part of this family.
Also I would like to know about Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan and Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and their recordings. Please feel free to mail me.
Thank you all.
Thank you !
I found on your website two recordings which I have been missing for 20 years, Gopal Mishra , sarangi,
Ragas Maru Bihag and Jog.
The Maru Bihag I recorded from AIR but the tape was accidentally erased and the Jog I only had fragments of
and always wished I had the complete recording.
This brings back memories from Benares where I was at BHU and actually saw Pt. Gopal Mishra at the house of Pt. Kishen Maharaj in 1976 , probably his last concert, he passed away shortly after.
A long lost treasure finally reappears, I cant tell you how happy I feel at this moment.
Thanks for the great site. I’m looking for info on shehnai/ clarinet–do you have any more material on Ustad Rangi Khan and Ustad Alamgir Khan?
I am looking for the 12 june 1977 recording of Pran Nath at the Holland Festival in the Netherlands.
It is a Jaijaiwanti in teental with Terry Riley (tabla), Marion Zazeela en La Mounte Young tampura.
I have only 40 minutes and 6 minutes interview.
Who has the complete rendering?
Such a great website!! I loved Ustad Umeed Ali khan and Ustad Hamid Ali & Fateh Ali khan. Can anybody upload or send me personally some more recordings of these three great Classical singers?
my id: [email protected]
I have just been listening to Rag Jog by Gopal Mishra, sarangi, which I downloaded from this site. It is indeed the same recording I had in fragments.
Does anyone have any data on this ? Was this a concert, AIR National Programme or a local broadcast by the AIR Varanasi Kendra? Any data would be much appreciated , I want to track this down and find the most original version possible and digitally restore the sound in my studio here in the UK.
After listening to this I have given up all hope of ever playing Rag Jog on a sitar. I will not even try. Not ever. It is impossible. Sarangi, vocal, flute, yes, sitar , no. Some great master can maybe do it , I cant.
If there is any raga that should not be played on a sitar it is Jog. But, that is my personal feeling, I would love nothing more than somebody proving me wrong.
If anyone can provide information on this particular recording I will be most grateful.
Thank you all,
Here is a link to a Jog on the sitar:
Thank you very much for the link.
I have to listen to this and hear how the Ustad has approached this great raga.
May I again express my appreciation to everyone connected with this website.
Hi all :
i have a request. Does anybody have a copy of Asad Ali’s Mian Ki todi (Agra singer, not beenkar) OR Latafat Hussain Khan’s Barwa?
Id be willing to exchange for it.
Please let me know if you own, or know someone who can get a copy.
Thanks in advance.
Latafat Hussain of the Rampur/Bhindi Bazar gharana from pakistan.
Not the Agra fellow
This letter is in reference to Soumik’s letter.
I must tell you that they always competed with each other. No one was the master and no one pupil, but only worthy opponents. And it is not an easy job to distinguish between them. But one who sings with ALANKAR is Ustad Umeed ali khan(Gwalior Gharana) and the other is Ustad Ashique Ali khan(Patiala Gharana). And If you want more recordings of them, then contact me I can provide you their other recordings as well.
Abdul one of his recording is available at http://www.sadarang.com/gwaliorgharana.htm His Bhopali is available there. Hope you will enjoy it.
I was hoping to get some more music of my favourite singer “Aftabe Mousiqui” Khan Saheb Ustad Faiyaz Khan Saheb, but just saw two rendations – one in Jaijaiwanti & other one in Bhankar.
This site can make a link to the sangeet research academy website using the following url:
Lot of good stuff here though, can somebody also upload Nazakat Salamat’s Bairagi Bhairav. I have heard it just once at a freind’s place. It was magnificient.
To share heaven and the galaxy:
Internet and classical music on Bundu Khan
Are there any recordings of Veena Dhannamal, anywhere across this universe?
i have a request. Does anybody have a copy of Asad Ali’s Mian Ki todi (Agra singer, not beenkar) OR Latafat Hussain Khan’s Barwa (pakistan)?
Id be willing to exchange for it.
I have a Latafat Hussain Khan Barwa but I don’t know if it has anything to do with Pakistan.
sorry for wrong website.it’s actually
there are two latafat hussains. that is why i asked.
I see. Well mine is the Agrawal then.
Thank you though
Thanks for excellent website and generous sharing with music lovers.
I have been looking for a rendering of Yaman Kalyan by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Munnawar Ali Khan. The drut bandish is “Kinare, kinare”. Do you happen to have a copy to share …
This is a superb site! My compliments! It’s a real treat for people like me, who are absolutely dedicated to, and mesmerised by Classical Music! I have managed to get my ears on to some very great music so far… so I am a great admirer of all the artistes and maestros featured on this site. I am looking for a ‘mahiya’ by ustad Barkat Ali Khan, titled ‘Bagon mein pade jhoole’. Please, please, please get it for me! Thanks!
hi… i want to share some rare recordings with you and all and feature them on your site… how does one go about doing that?
Dear Siyar and others,
Your site continues to enchant me. Sometime ago, when I came across Amir Khan Saheb’s collection on your site, my soul was ecstatic. He is not only called a ‘Sahasrabdika Gayak’ (singer of the milenium), and rightly so, but also that he represents the ethos of the subcontinent. I am from India and I understand some of you are from Pakistan yet our collective and only universal identity as human beings is so finely framed in the composite framework woven by our passion for one of the tresures of God i.e. Music. I am sure Khan Saheb and others who have gone beyond the curtain must be praying for you to Him.
Your work I see, especially when I make a point to read the possitive comments by visitors, in the context of the universality. God bless you.
Anybody with semiclassical treasure of Amirkhan saheb and more diamonds from Vasantrao Deshpande; especially Patmanjiri? Please people, understand the thirst!
Any info available about Ustad Salamatali’s teachers Pt. Pran Nath & Baba Naththu khan(probably hussain bux gullu’s father ) ?
Does anybody know if a Desi Todi, Puriya Dhanashree, Shudh Sarang, or Shree exists by Fateh & Amanat Ali…and is willing to share them? Ill be happy to exchange if you wish….
does any1 ave the allah jane maula jane bandish in raga gujri/miyan ki todi by ustad amir khan? if u have it or know of where i could get it from , your help wud b most deeply appreciated.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful site. I am thoroughly enjoying the recordings you have on this site.
I have been looking for mp3 files of Abdul Karim Khan sahib’s 4 or 5 minutes recordings erstwhile available in 78 rpm records. Just a few of them are available for download at http://www.cooltoad.com – one needs to create a free account there, of course – make sure you run pop-up ad stopper before you download. Where can I get mp3 files of Abdul Karim Khan’s song on Bhairavi(“Yamuna ke teer”), Tilang thumri, Lalit and so on?
A great website; great recordings. Thank you very much for making the works of our great artistes available to all!
A small suggestion. People have uploaded great recordings, however they are not in appropriate folders. Can they be moved to the correct locations so that it is easier to search. For example – https://sarangi.info/2008/05/11/aftab-dattas-summer-collection/ should be ideally under the corresponding artiste folders under ‘vocal’, ‘sarangi’ etc.
If I want to share some good piece how do I post/ upload that.
Music is my life
Enjoy this AMAZING Chandrakauns by Liaqat Ali kindly provided by Dr. Kashyap Dave. Let me know if there are any downloading issues.
i am ina great need of shrafat hussain khan’s savani,malati basant maluha kalyan,raisa kanada,darbari etc. pls hurry!
you have filled our lives with music. thank you so much. god bless you.
It’s a very good site, and I request you to kindly upload more pics and vocals of Ustad Chotay Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib. If you don’t have them, please contact me.
Awaiting your prompt reply.
Contact # 0300-8448520
@ Ali Zaman Jafri
Whats your email?
it would be so good to hear a chhote ghulam ali khan recording of the calibre of his superb alhaiya bilawal. the later recordings ( eg gara) were probably made when he was very old.
Can some one point me to Ustad Amir Khan’s Basant Bahar? I found (may be a sample on) on YouTube “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlYpOCrqP94” and it is unbelievable!
I am really thankful to S/Shri Timur khan and all associated with this website for bringing out this website. Really fantastic collections. I am enjoying listening to my choices close to my heart in Amir Khan, bade Gulam Ali Khan etc. Thank you so much. My special thanks to Aftab datta -WOW what an asset of collections he has and that too he is preapred to share with with us. Wonderful!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to the moderators who maintain this site..a job for God.
Can somebody send me mp3 of yashwantbua joshiji on [email protected].
Dear Aftab Datta Sb,
Thanks for your keen interest,my mail address is
U can feel free contact me at any time
Thanks your patience plz
ALI ZAMAN JAFRI.
i could not find site for down load of indian classical music until i reached sarangi.info through sheer chance and not through search engine .
buck-up & keep up your task Cheers &BEST OF LUCK
unbelivable collection.Its GOD’s bliss to u all. May I personally thank u for this marvlous collecton made available to public. will u please make available various ragas sung by Koushiki chakrabarti?
I would like to share a few tracks with you all, and encourage others to do the same for rare and unpublished music (using the available file sharing services).
Please be careful not to re-upload music which has been published on other sites such as orkut, esnips, etc. But, feel free to refer to them if you think there is a track we would be interested in!
Your generosity comes out in one or the other way ! I have been seeing you for more than 3 yrs, but hardly any change in this ‘sharing’ attitude.
here is one more exciting recording of Ustad Amirkhan’s.
this recording is made available by that elderly person whose i refer as aged person this program was given by ustad amir khan in a public concert in mumbai, in the year 1954. tabla accompaniment is provided by Ustad mohmed ahmed. i would like to suggest the lerned listeners of ICM to listen this Zumra taal played by ustad mohmmad ahmed and find distinction between present day tabla players and the tabla accompniment provided by ustad M. Ahmed here.
please convey your thoughts.
I am extremely delighted listening to the fabulous musical treat on sarangi.info.
I am interested if any of you have a Tabla recording of late Ustad Amir Hussein Khan or his son late Ustad Papa Hussein Khan.
Thanks and Best regards,
thank you so much for the chandrakauns!
i would be pleased if you upload sharafat hussain khan’s malati basant,ramdasi malhar,bairagi,maluha kalyan,raisa kanada etc. i am in a great need.
Great music. I like the ease with which [these great Hindustani vocal] music can be downloaded.
By the way, if you are using Vista and (latest) Firefox, you can download by just clicking on the song [link] and save them, instead of right clicking and ‘save target as’
ustad amir khan sahib this is raag chandrakauns of the recording u r referring 2.
Just wanted to share with you a nice website with lot of Tabla Gharanas and some excellent recordings:
Thanks for the valuable collections made available online. Commendable effort indeed , let the music flow beyond boundaries and bring peace and tranquility to all.
My appeal to sarangi.info to include Shri Pandit Basavaraj Rajgurus collections and be made available.
SORRY FOR INCONVENIENCE, THIS WAS EXPIRED SO AGAIN UPLOADED ON THIS SITE:——
just wanted to ask; does anybody here have a Rahimuddin Dagar Shree?
Would really like it if u do and if so could you please send it to me, or upload it…?
Can anybody post the present status of son/grandsons or the art
lineage of famous sarangi Ustads like Nathukhan, Zahoorikhan,
Hamidhussain, Allarakhakhan, Ghulam Mohammad, Nabibaksh etc.. ?
Say for example for U.bundukhan, there are(were) Umraobundu(son),
Bulad iqbal (son), Nazir mohammad (nephew), Abdul majeed (shagird),
M.Saghiruddin (shagird) as known players.
From there too U. masitkhan(shagird & brother in law of Abdul majeed)
& Dhruv ghosh ( shagird of M. Saghiruddin) can be traced.
just in case your readers have not heard— alan posselt has posted some extraordinarily good sarod recordings of radhika mohan moitra on his website. this is the address–
patdeep, tilak kamod and basant mukhari with chatur lal on tabla. shyam kedar with jnan prakash ghosh. kamod, desh and bihag with shyamal bose.
you haven’t heard great sarod until you hear radhubabu perform in his prime.
Ustad Bundukhan used to play self designed sarangi made from a bamboo. All the available recordings have that sarangi only. Anybody having the audio sample of Bundukhan playing regular sarangi ?
With respect the Jhoomra taal theka pointed out by a contributor…A Taal is only perceived as such within limits. Human consciousness cannot make a taal pattern of anything slower than 3 beats in 2 seconds.Readers are free to consult a paper by the late Dr. B.C.Deva in support.Or to try it out.
The ati vilambit is really a piece of nonsense where the tabla player fills in gaps between 2 maatras by tapping 4 times!!
Has anyone tried to keep time in the sense of Khaali and Bhari with an ati vilambit theka? It is not possible.
A slow ektaal is supposed to consist of 48 maatras!! Why not 120?Or 144?
Thanks for sharing the tilak kamod by Ustad Umrao Khan, it’s simply beautiful. I’d like to point you to my blog where you can listen to a tilak kamod recording by Ustad Nathu Khan sarangi-nawaz. It is from my uncle’s collection and was recorded at a private mehfil in Karachi:
Included in the post is a review of the performance, written by Dr. Kashyap Dave — sarangi expert and student of Ustad Sultan Khan.
ref. rupinder’s question re:allah jaane maula jaane sung by the late ustad amir khan…..you can hear a fragment on youtube. there is a clip in 2 parts called life story of ustad amir khan, which is a documentary produced by films division of india.you will find it on one of those 2 clips.
That is indeed a wonderful Tilak Kamod and an excellent writeup by Dr. Kashyap.
I dont know if anybody has this but i am sharing an Amir Khan Mian Ki Todi. It is approximately 31 minutes long.
have uploade shuddh sarang by mallikarjun mansus ai http://www.mediafire.com/?anyglgkzzmz
It is wonderful site for those who are blesed with the sense of Ragas. Ipray for the long and healthfull life for those who had maintaied this beautiful site with lot of information of Ragas.
aftab-thank you so much for sharing your hoard of mushtaq ali khan recordings. i am hearing them over the holidays. the gaur sarang is beautiful.
add four more mushtaq ali recordings ( including one video-bhairavi) to aftab’s treasure trove.
bihag, bhairav, bhimpalasi and the bhairavi i mentioned.
until a few months ago we couldnt find a single mushtaq ali recording on the web. and now from rags to riches…
add these to the radhika mohan moitra recordings i mentioned earlier and you will hear how sitar and sarod SHOULD be played.
mushtaq ali was a superb surbahar player too. surely there are some surbahar recordings floating around somewhere? calcutta AIR perhaps?
Vinay, thank you for the kind words. I agree, Mushtaq was an exceptional musician.
I would like to share Lakshan Geet v.2. I have been looking for this for a while, found it, and would like to share.
Just heard the wonderful rendition of BILAWAL of the legendary Abdul Karim Khan saheb.
Actually, my interest started with listening to a rendition of raga Gorakh Kalyan by the great Pt. Ronu Majumdar and I went on hearing all the great musicians listed by Parikkar in his take on Narayani and Gorakh Kalyan. Some more by Vidushi Kala Ramanath, Vidushi Smita Bellur, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt. Jasraj ji, Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Vidushi Parveen Sultana and of course my favourite Bharat Rathna Bhimsen Joshi. A common thread in this has been Kirana gharana.
However, there is not even a single piece of Raga Gorakh Kalyan. Please include this in the great sarangi khazana (The video under preparation is yet to be available)!
I want to share raag Amritvarshini by Budhaditya Mukherjee.
I have uploaded few rare sarangi tracks on my mediafire folder. Hope to add few more from time to time depending on the response.
Dear Aftab ji,
Rag Miyan ki todi audio file of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb is not available/playing on Medifire.com. It is either removed or renamed.
Can you kindly re-upload this rare song or mail me audio file.
here is another treasure trove–live, unpublished AIR recordings of d v paluskar, courtesy abhimonyu deb.
there are approximately a dozen here–darbari, bhimpalasi, jaijaiwanti, bhajan etc. unfortunately some links do not work.
we all owe an immense debt of gratitude to abhimonyu da for rescuing these from AIR burrocrats.
ps thank you very much for posting these lovely sarangi recordings kashyap saheb.
Regarding my collection of D.V. Paluskar, I store my recordings on Mediafire because I find it much more user friendly. You will find the recordings to the missing links and much, much more at:
Let me know at [email protected] if you face any problems.
Hope you like it.
if you are curious to hear what the great jaddan bai sounded like you can check out my esnips folder.( she was the mother of nargis the movie actress and a pupil of moujuddin khan of calcutta.)
there are three old 78 rpm records here.
Dear Dr Kahyap,
Many many thanks for the fine sarangi recordings – much appreciation.
Please do post more if your time allows – jewels indeed.
ps many thanks to all taking the time to share
the item captioned pilu thumri by rahimuddin dagar on aftab datta s collection is NOT a thumri. it is a gazal of mirza ghalib.
dil hi to hai na sung o khisht…..
i think the music on this site is wonderful. my only concern is – are the artists ok with their music being posted? wouldn’t they prefer peope to buy their albums legally?
I would like to ask all of you if you have heard Pandit Kumar Gandharva Rendering Tilak Kamod?I am informed by some authentic sources that Panditji sang the bandish “Tirath Tau Sab Karein…” once in doordarshan.And due to his distinct style the bandish became worth hearing.The pause and stroke between “sab” and “karein” aptly enriched the flavour of the bandish.Does anybody have any idea of where shall i find the recording.I would be greatefull if anyone uploads the bandish sung by kumar gandharva.I am quite aware of the fact that bhimsen ji has recordings of the bandish.I do have the recording with me.If anybody can enlighten on kumarjis tilak kamod rendering records….
Can anyone give me useful link to Kumar Gandharva sung tilak kamod?
Please upload if anyone has the raga sung by Kumar Gandharva.
i have the recording in my personal collection, but i do not know how to upload it on this site.
pl advise me on uploading and i will make kumar’s tilak kamod available
Dr.Ishwarchandra Ramchandra Karkare has given his several music concert recordings for music lovers. List of Ragas you can hear on internet :-
3. Bairagi Bhairav
4. Bhairav Bahar
9. Darbari Kanhara
Aftab, you are requested by me for the recording of kafi kanada of Pdt. D.V. Paluskar if you have. Actualy, I have found this recording so many times but I could’nt get that.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve been up all night listening to the ladies. Truly wonderful.
Am really happy to see that the site is back to life, wating fort he music to be uploaded.
Would appreciate if some one can get Kumar’s Tialk kamod, as many have suggested and some recordings by Pt Kashinath Bodas except published by Rhythm House, Mumbai
It is indeed a pleasure to see the site back to action with even better format. Compliments to all those involved in its progress.
The site files don’t seem to be working. the recordings give an error page. Also the Sarangi book is showing an error page too. I hope that everything becomes fine with the site again.
Beginner in Sarangi. Looking for beautiful full sweet sounding sarangi to buy. Thankyou for this website. It will be a site I visit again.
INDEED A GREAT ENDEAVOUR. JITNI TAREEF KI JAAYE KAM HAI.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
Parul , Delhi
Last night in Lahore, Pakistan, Hindustani Classical music suffered a
great loss with the untimely passing of Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan, the
eldest son of the legendary vocal maestro Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.
Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan was currently the leading representative of
the Sham Chaurasi Gharana and was initiated into music at the young
age of 7 by his father. His debut performance was given in Lahore at
the Pakistan Center Al-Falah in 1968. Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan had
toured worldwide (including Pakistan, India, the United States of
America, Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa) and recorded extensively,
first as a supporting vocalist alongside his father and later as a
soloist. He was the recipient of numerous awards in Pakistan, India
and abroad. Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan is survived by his younger
brothers: Latafat Ali Khan, Sukhawat Ali Khan and Shafqat Ali Khan and
younger sisters: Khaldah, Sajdah, Riffat and Majdah. Ustad Sharafat
Ali Khan’s son and student, Shujaat Ali Khan is currently leading the
youngest generation of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana and is performing
Hindustani Classical Vocal in both Pakistan and India as a soloist and
in support of Ustad Sharfat Ali Khan’s youngest brother, Ustad Shafqat
May he rest in peace.
A recently posted you tube clip of Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan
accompanying his father Ustad Salamat Ali Khan :
Since last 1 year I M using net and I was finding North Indian Classical Music since last 1 year but now I have seen that sarangi.info is the sea of music & will never like to come out of this sea
Aapka Bahot Bahot Sukriya jo aisi dhuniya ni nayab CHIZE yahan pe bikheri he jo kuchh chuninda logo k liye he me aapko pranam karata hu
Kindly upload some recordings of Ustad Amanat Ali Khan & Fateh Ali Khan and their Father Ustad Akhter Hussain Khan
bharatiya shashtriya sangeet ki seva ke liye dhanyavad
I thank whomever is in control of this website. This is one of the best website and i wish one day you can upload videos as well…
I don’t remember if I wrote about this before. I have uploaded some AIR recordings of Ustad Bundu Khan. Here is the link.
I would like to upload some audio files of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb. Please let me know the idea, so that I can be able to upload.
PRIYA AFTAAB JEE, AAPKE COLLECTION ME EK SHAANDAAR HEERA RAAG MEGH, FATEH ALI KHAAN & RUSHTAM FATEH KA THA, WAH AAJKAL NAHI DIKHAAI DE RAHA KYA BAAT HUI? AAFTAAB JEE AAPKA COLLECTION NAAYAAB HAI. ISAME KOI SHAK NAHI HAI , PARANTU, ISAMESE KUCHH BHEE KAM NAHI KAREN. MUJHE ENGLISH NAHI AATI ISALIYE ROMAN LIPI ME HINDI BHAASHA KAA PRAYOG KIYAA HAI, AASHA KARATAA HUN KI AAP EVAM SAMAST MITRA ISE SAMAJHENGE EVAM KOI JABAAB ISI TARAH LIKHENGE, ENGLISH ME NAHI. AAPAKA SUMER
your collection is good and thanks for making so much available.
how can i upload some of my collection, for example gangubai hangal, kumar gandharva etc on this site? is it permitted? please let me know how and the rules.
For the longest time there was something missing. A piece of me. Listening to the Sarangi being played once again has soothed my soul. I chose to write to you to convey my appreciation.
What was my loss and is your too in the name of Ustaad Mubarik Ali Khan is really what compels me to write to you. Well done in not just paying your tribute to him but to all great artists who have been brought together under your banner.
Your site is amazing! There are so many rare and precious recordings. I can’t go to sleep because I want to listen to them all! Thank you so much for this. I am truly grateful!
I have a very good audio-recording(.mp3) of Dr. Ishwarchandra Ramchandra Karkare (disciple of Pt. Pandurangrao Sitaram Umdekar & Pt. Gangadhar Bhagwat), Raag Bhairav (Gwalior Gharana cheez).
How can I post it on this great site.
plz show me right direction.
Taimur & team, I just discovered this wonderful site when clicking on my old link to APMC. Thanks for your wonderful work here. I have long been a huge fan of Rajan Parrikar’s site (including his SAWF articles) even though his occasional snarky comments are unfortunate.
I am a native of Lahore and and love that city and for me it is a real pleasure to know that younger classical music fans are alive and well in Pakistan even though they are small in number. Keep up the great work here.
Young faces of old sarangi nawaz – this page is from an old magazine recovered from the scrap.
What a beautiful Multani of Nazakat and Salamat Ali khan and Lalit of Faiyaz Hussain Khan . It needs a very big heart to share with every one , not that many people can do it . those recordings are one of the best examples of that raags.
Thank you again.
thanks jagdish. You were there from the start!
Thank you. I love Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khansahibs recordings. I have no words to express my gratitude.
I have recently posted sitar + sarod recital by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khanplayed by them in early sixties. Raag Bihaag and raag Maj Khamaj. Please type in ” Ravishankar – raag bihaag” in youtube search box. The one with a scene of a beautiful lake surrounded by green fur trees is where you’d find the song.
Commendable work!! Thanks for the treasure trove!
Srinivasa Kumar S
Excellent site for wonderful music!
A 20 minutes recital of raag Gorakh Kalyan by Pandit Jasraj is now available for download; the link is here
[audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/55358290/PtJasraj%20-Gorakh%20Kalyan.mp3" /]
I’m sorry,there has been some modification(not on the song, but the link): please try this one instead
[audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/55358290/PtJasraj-Gorakh%20Kalyan.mp3" /]
Real lover of our Indian classical music…
This site is the best music site in the world.It contains all classical music material but I have a suggestion please make different page for other classical instruments like sitar,sarod etc like you have for sarangi.
Hi there! I am very excited that there is somone living close to me and we both are N Indian classical song lovers. I live in Mississauga. I’d like to share whatever I have and expect same from someone with whom I share. Please visit youtube and type in the search box ‘Ravi shankar raag bihag’ (without ‘ sign, of course). In the search result click on the picture showing a lake surrounded by trees and blue sky above. Leave a comment there
Words cannot express my thanks to you for puting up this site. I am discovering more than I could even think of the world of great vocalists of raagas.
Many many thanks for creating this Gold. I appreciate the efforts taken by site owner to avail these rare classics to the world.
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- Research article
- Open Access
Outcome measures of the 6 minute walk test: relationships with physiologic and computed tomography findings in patients with sarcoidosis
BMC Pulmonary Medicine volume 10, Article number: 42 (2010)
We assessed the relationship between physiologic parameters, computed tomography patterns, 6 minute walk distance (6MWD) and the distance-saturation product [DSP; defined as the product of the 6MWD and the lowest oxygen saturation during the 6 minute walk test (6MWT)]. In addition, we investigated factors affecting 6MWD in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.
We performed a retrospective study of patient demographics, treatment, pulmonary function, 6MWT, echocardiography and computed tomography results.
Fifty nine patients were included in this study. Their mean+standard deviation age was 47.5 years + 12.5 years, and 42 (71.2%) were female. Mean pulmonary function parameters for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and total lung capacity (TLC) results, as percentages of predicted values, were 77.6 ± 22.2, 77.1 ± 22.8 and 78.7 ± 16.1, respectively. Comparison of the DSP with distance walked revealed a significant correlation with factors underlying reduced 6MWD, including gender, pulmonary function indices, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), and Borg dyspnea score. Other factors were significantly associated with DSP but not distance; these included lung fibrosis (p = 0.02), pulmonary hypertension (p = 0.01) and systemic therapy (p = 0.04). Backward elimination stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that gender, and FEV1 were independent predictors of 6MWD, but FEV1 was more strongly related when DSP applied [DSP, R2 = 0.53, p = 0.02; distance, R2 = 0.45, p < 0.0001].
Our findings reveal that, compared to 6MWD alone, the DSP is correlated with a greater number of factors associated with reduced 6MWT performance. Therefore, the DSP may be a useful indicator of functional status in patients with sarcoidosis. Additional large-scale studies are warranted to validate our findings.
Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disorder characterized by noncaseating granulomas that most commonly affect the lungs and lymph nodes. Despite extensive research, the cause of sarcoidosis remains unknown. However, substantial evidence supports the hypothesis that sarcoidosis stems from interactions among genetic and environmental factors, which would account for the significant heterogeneity in this disease across different ethnic groups.
Most patients with sarcoidosis experience spontaneous remission or nonprogressing disease; however, as many as one third of patients develop chronic progressive disease . Clinicians frequently find it difficult to manage sarcoidosis patients due to the significant variability in disease manifestation, diverse organ involvement and multiple non-specific symptoms. Furthermore, outcome measures (e.g., pulmonary function indices, histopathologic abnormalities and high-resolution computed tomography findings) are often nonspecific or have limited prognostic value [2–5].
Over the past decade, the 6 minute walk test (6MWT) has become a popular tool to predict the prognoses of patients with various pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive lung disease, pulmonary hypertension (PH), and chronic heart failure [6–9]. Among patients with IPF, the 6MWT parameters of desaturation and distance can discriminate between survivors and non-survivors. Interestingly, the product of the distance walked during the 6MWT (6MWD) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) (i.e., the distance-saturation product, or DSP) is a more reliable indicator of prognosis than either parameter alone . Because the 6MWT is simple, inexpensive, reproducible and well-received by patients (as it mimics the effort required for daily physical activity), it may be a useful tool to track the progress of patients with sarcoidosis in an outpatient setting. Several studies have used the 6MWT to evaluate patients with sarcoidosis [12–15] and have found that the majority of patients exhibit exercise intolerance, which manifests as reduced walking distance. Recently, we reported that several factors are associated with shorter 6MWDs, including gender, percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), final Borg score and oxygen saturation at the end of the 6MWT . However, that study included only a small number of patients from a single center, which precluded the use of additional tests to predict variables affecting the 6MWT parameters. Moreover, no previous study has examined the relationship between chest CT patterns and 6MWT parameters in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.
In the present retrospective study, we therefore sought to determine the relationship between outcome measures of the 6MWT (i.e., distance and the DSP), physiologic parameters and CT patterns in a larger sample of patients from three tertiary hospitals. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that the DSP is more effective than 6MWD for identifying variables involved in overall functional status in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Our study population consisted of 59 patients who were diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis, based on biopsy results, between January 2002 and December 2008. Medical records of all patients attended an outpatient pulmonary clinic at one of three study centers, specifically, King Khalid University Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, and Riyadh Military Hospital, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were reviewed. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of each hospital and informed patients consent was waived. Some of the participants in the current investigation were included in our previous studies of Arab patients diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis [15, 16]. Sarcoidosis was diagnosed based on the most recent criteria published by the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (WASOG) . Data included patient demographics, treatment, pulmonary function, 6MWT, CT and echocardiography findings. The CT reports were collected from medical records and were examined for the following recognized patterns : (1) ground-glass opacity; (2) linear opacity, including interlobular septal lines and interstitial thickening; and (3) features indicating scarring and fibrosis (grouped together), including traction bronchiectasis, honeycombing, cysts, or volume loss. Treatment regimens consisted of none (no treatment), corticosteroids, corticosteroids plus azathioprine, or corticosteroids plus methotrexate. Treatment decisions were based on individual physician opinions.
FVC, FEV1 and total lung capacity (TLC) values (Erich Jaeger Masterscreen PFT, GmbH D-97201Hoechberg, Germany) were expressed as percentages of predicted values according to gender, weight and age. Measurements were performed according to the recommendations of the ATS . The predicted values currently used were those of Quanjer and colleagues . Arterial blood gas values (Rapid lab 865; Bayer, Plymouth, UK) were obtained on the same day as the 6MWT was performed. Sampling included partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) and oxygen saturation (SaO2) measurements.
The 6MWT was conducted in accordance with ATS guidelines . All patients exhibited resting oxygen saturation (SpO2) > 88% at the beginning of the walk test. Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and Borg dyspnea index were recorded at the beginning and end of the 6 minute walk. The total distance walked (in meters) was documented at the end of the test.
The DSP was defined by Lettieri and colleagues as the product of the 6MWD and the lowest room air SpO2. For example, if the total distance is 300 m and the lowest SpO2 is 88% at the end of the 6MWT, the DSP value would be 264 m% (i.e., 300 × 0.88).
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) was diagnosed based on Doppler echocardiography. Specifically, PH was defined as an estimated right ventricular systolic pressure of > 40 mm Hg in the absence of significant left heart dysfunction, according to criteria established by a World Health Organization symposium on primary PH .
Descriptive statistics [i.e., means, standard deviations, percentages, and 95% confidence interval (CI)] were applied to summarize the continuous and categorical variables. The relationship between two continuous variables was determined by measuring the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Student's t-test for independent samples was used to compare the mean values of continuous variables. The chi-square test was applied to compare the proportion of categorical study variables with that of categorical outcome variables. Backward elimination stepwise multiple regression model for distance and DSP was developed using variables found to be significant (p < 0.05) in the univariate analysis. Statistical Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 13.0; SPSS, Inc; Chicago, Illinois, USA), and PASW version 18.0 were used to analyze the data.
Among the 59 patients with sarcoidosis analyzed in the present study, 42 (71.2%) were female. The mean age at diagnosis was 47.5 years (range: 19 years to 83 years).
Aberrations in FVC results (< 80% of predicted values) were observed in 30 patients (50.8%). The mean ± standard deviation (SD) for FVC, FEV1 and TLC results, as percentages of predicted values, were 77.6 ± 22.2, 77.1 ± 22.8 and 78.7 ± 16.1, respectively. The 6MWT results are summarized in Table 1. The mean 6MWD for the entire cohort was 349 m + 72 m (range: 163 m to 500 m). Thirteen patients (22.0%) achieved 6MWDs > 400 m, 34 patients (57.6%) walked 300 m to 400 m and 12 patients (20.3%) walked < 300 m. On average, females walked a significantly shorter distance than males. The differences are summarized in Table 2 and Table 3. The correlation between factors associated with 6MWD and DSP are shown in Table 4 and Table 5, according to simple regression analysis. 6MWD and DSP were positively correlated with absolute values of FVC, FEV1 and TLC. However, DSP was more significantly correlated with these values.
The CT findings revealed ground-glass opacity in 32.2% of the patients, linear opacity in 27.1% of the patients and scarring and fibrosis in 40.6% of the patients. Comparison of patients with and without ground glass opacity revealed a shorter walking distance for the former; however, no significant differences were observed across groups [DSP (m%): 299.2 + 71.8 and 399.3 + 76.0, respectively; p = 0.08; distance (m): 337 + 72.7 and 363 + 70.7, respectively; p = 0.24]. No statistical differences in 6MWD were noted between patients with and without linear opacity [DSP (m%): 301.5 + 68.4 and 332.3 + 78.8, respectively; p = 0.21; distance (m): 331.8 + 67.8 and 362.2 + 73.0, respectively; p = 0.19]. A significant difference was noted for DSP, but not for 6MWD, when patients with lung fibrosis were compared with those without fibrosis. The differences are summarized in Table 2 and Table 3.
Doppler echocardiography was performed in 46 patients (78%). Of those patients, pulmonary artery systolic pressure > 40 mm Hg was documented in 12 patients (23%). Differences in mean DSP values were greater than those in 6MWD when patients with PH were compared with those without PH. The differences are summarized in Table 2 and Table 3.
We assessed the effects of treatment on the 6MWD and found that 47 patients (79.6%) were administered corticosteroids alone or in combination with immunosuppressive therapy, while 12 patients (20.3%) did not receive any therapy. Patients receiving therapy achieved shorter 6MWDs than those not receiving treatment. In these cases, a significant difference was noted for DSP, but not distance shown in Table 2 and Table 3.
Significant variables identified by univariate analysis were assessed in a stepwise multiple regression model, using backward elimination method. Separate models were developed for distance and for DSP. The models included gender, FEV1, FVC, TLC, final Borg score, lowest SpO2 (distance model only), PaO2, presence of CT fibrosis, treatment status and presence of PH. In the distance model, gender and absolute value of FEV1 were identified as significant independent variables. Whereas, in the DSP model FEV1 was more strongly related. Results are shown in Table 6, and Table 7.
Our results demonstrate that exercise intolerance among patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis manifests as shorter distances walked during the 6MWT. We have identified several factors that contribute to reductions in 6MWD, including gender, pulmonary function parameters, dyspnea score, and PaO2. Furthermore, DSP was more significantly correlated with physiologic indices than was 6MWD. Our findings demonstrated that DSP, but not distance, was significantly associated with CT fibrosis, systemic therapy and PH.
Traditionally, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) have been used in the management of individuals with pulmonary sarcoidosis to identify patients with pulmonary involvement and to follow the course of the disease. However, the predictive power of these tests is limited [24, 25]. Furthermore, the correlation of dyspnea with PFTs has produced discordant results among patients with sarcoidosis [26, 27], suggesting that additional methods for the evaluation of functional status are needed. Consistent with previous studies, our data demonstrate that FVC, FEV1 and TLC are significantly correlated with 6MWD [12, 15]. However, DSP showed a much higher correlation with pulmonary function parameters than did 6MWD alone.
Previous studies that used the Borg score to measure the perception of breathlessness during exertion have yielded inconsistent results. Mador and colleagues found that Borg ratings of dyspnea among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were highly variable at submaximal levels of exercise compared with maximal levels of exercise, whereas Mack and associates noted a better correlation when patients performed a walking test rather than a maximal exercise test. We found a significant inverse correlation between Borg score and 6MWD, consistent with previous studies [12, 13, 15]. Interestingly, a stronger correlation was noted for DSP than for distance. Although the lungs are the most commonly affected tissues in patients with sarcoidosis, exercise intolerance can also be attributed to other factors such as cardiac involvement and skeletal muscle weakness.
The presence of PH was recently identified as an important factor affecting the survival of patients with sarcoidosis [24, 30, 31]. In the present study, 12 patients with PH were identified. We observed a reduction in walking distance among the patients with PH, consistent with previous reports [12, 32]. A statistically significant difference was noted for DSP, but not distance, when patients with PH were compared with those without PH. Many factors (e.g., age, height, weight and effort) may have major effects on 6MWD, which may explain why we did not identify any statistically significant differences in walking distance when we compared patients with and without PH. Bourbonnais and Samavati reported that the level of oxygen saturation at 6 minutes was better than walking distance at predicting the presence of PH in patients with sarcoidosis. However, the purpose of that study was to identify variables that could predict the presence of sarcoidosis-associated PH, whereas the present study was designed to correlate 6MWT outcome measures (i.e., distance and DSP) with various physiologic parameters, including the presence of PH. Additional large-scale studies are warranted to explore the value of DSP as a screening tool to identify PH in patients with sarcoidosis.
Skeletal muscle weakness has a significant impact on exercise tolerance in patients with sarcoidosis . Factors that play a role in the development of muscle weakness include myopathy, corticosteroid therapy, fatigue and physical deconditioning. Patients receiving corticosteroid therapy in our study achieved shorter 6MWDs than did those not receiving such therapy; interestingly, this difference was significant for DSP but not 6MWD. Although Baughman and Colleagues noted significant differences in 6MWD between patients who took corticosteroids and those who did not, Spruit and associates found no difference in muscle force or 6MWD between patients taking corticosteroids and those not receiving such treatment. This discrepancy may reflect the marked heterogeneity in disease progression, duration of corticosteroid use, effects associated with race and ethnicity, as well as extrapulmonary organ involvement, fatigue, or physical deconditioning. Thus, future studies are needed to explore the possible causes of skeletal muscle weakness among patients with sarcoidosis.
While CT and high-resolution CT play a pivotal diagnostic role in the evaluation of diffuse interstitial lung disease, including sarcoidosis, routine CT scanning is not advocated in the management of sarcoidosis, except in patients with normal or atypical chest radiography or specific complications such pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiectasis, aspergilloma or malignancy [17, 33]. Several studies have correlated CT patterns with pulmonary function tests [2–4] and CT findings with pathological abnormalities [5, 34, 35] among patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. However, CT patterns have never before been correlated with 6MWT results. In the present study, 40.6% of the patients exhibited CT patterns indicative of lung fibrosis. Although patients with lung fibrosis tended to walk shorter distances, the difference in 6MWD between groups was not statistically significant. By contrast, the DSP value did differ significantly between patients with and without lung fibrosis, suggesting that DSP has the potential to identify a subset of patients with pulmonary fibrosis and therefore may provide indirect information about global functional status. Discordance in the outcomes of patients with ground glass attenuation has been observed in several studies [3, 4, 36]. Furthermore, attempts to correlate ground glass patterns with pathological findings have led to variable reports of granulomatous infiltration or fibrosis [34, 35]. We noted a trend toward statistical significance when DSP was used to assess patients with and without ground glass opacity. Future studies should use DSP to correlate the reversibility of ground glass opacity with 6MWT results in response to therapy.
The present study found that female gender was associated with a significant reduction in 6MWD. This effect persists when multiple regression analysis was applied for the distance but not for DSP. Furthermore, we identified FEV1 as predictive factor among our cohort. Our results conflict with a previous report by Baughman and colleagues , who found that FVC, oxygen saturation with exercise and self-reported respiratory health were independent variables associated with 6MWD.
Exercise among patients with sarcoidosis requires a global and integrated response of the cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular and metabolic systems, which might explain why FEV1 accounted for 53% of the changes in DSP and 45% of the changes in 6MWD. These results indicate that factors other than lung function may have a significant effect on 6MWD. Baughman and colleagues found that activity scores on the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire were more effective than FVC at predicting 6MWD results. In another study, Kabitz and colleagues found that inspiratory muscle strength was more effective than FVC or resting PaO2 at predicting 6MWD results. However, neither of these studies determined the predictor variable that accounts for total variance (i.e., r2) for 6MWD, thus precluding meaningful comparison with our data.
Both 6MWD and desaturation during 6MWT are valuable tools for predicting functional capacity and mortality in various pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases [6–9]. Thus, use of the outcome measure, DSP, in conjunction with 6MWT and other tests may help with the management of patients with sarcoidosis by providing additional information about functional status. In addition, DSP may serve as a useful assessment tool for monitoring patient responses to therapy.
The present study had several limitations. First, our work is a retrospective review wherein clinical information was obtained from hospital records. Our clinical setting is a tertiary-care hospital where selection bias toward patients with more advanced disease is inevitable. Finally, small number of patients in our cohort relative to the studied variables mandates external validation of our prediction model before it can be used in clinical practice.
Several factors were associated with a reduction in 6MWD among patients with sarcoidosis. When DSP was used instead of 6MWD, we identified several additional factors associated with reductions in 6MWT performance, including CT fibrosis, systemic therapy and PH. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that FEV1 was an independent predictor of 6MWD and was a significantly better predictor of DSP than of 6MWD. This study is the first to demonstrate a correlation between 6MWT results and CT fibrosis, and suggests that DSP is a potential indicator of functional status in patients with sarcoidosis.
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Spruit MA, Thomeer MJ, Gosselink R, Troosters T, Kasran A, Debrock AJ, Demedts MG, Decramer M: Skeletal muscle weakness in patients with sarcoidosis and its relationship with exercise intolerance and reduced health status. Thorax. 2005, 60 (1): 32-38. 10.1136/thx.2004.022244.
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Alhamad EH, Alanezi MO, Idrees MM, Chaudhry MK, AlShahrani AM, Isnani A, Shaikh S: Clinical characteristics and computed tomography findings in Arab patients diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Ann Saudi Med. 2009, 29 (6): 454-459. 10.4103/0256-4947.57168.
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Quanjer PH, Tammeling GJ, Cotes JE, Pedersen OF, Peslin R, Yernault JC: Lung volumes and forced ventilatory flows. Report Working Party Standardization of Lung Function Tests, European Community for Steel and Coal. Official Statement of the European Respiratory Society. Eur Respir J Suppl. 1993, 16: 5-40.
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Borg GA: Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1982, 14 (5): 377-381.
Rich S: Primary pulmonary hypertension: executive summary from the World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension. Evian, France: World Health Organization. 1998
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The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2466/10/42/prepub
This work was supported, by King Saud University, Deanship of Scientific Research, College of Medicine Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
We gratefully acknowledge the reviewers for their valuable comments.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The principle author (EHA) prepared the study proposal and wrote the manuscript. SAS reviewed the data and performed the statistical analysis using appropriate statistical methods. MMI and MOA helped interpret the data and assisted with writing the manuscript. ACI reviewed and helped interpret the data, in addition to assisting with the preparation of the written manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Alhamad, E.H., Shaik, S.A., Idrees, M.M. et al. Outcome measures of the 6 minute walk test: relationships with physiologic and computed tomography findings in patients with sarcoidosis. BMC Pulm Med 10, 42 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2466-10-42
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Forced Vital Capacity
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4. Client Accounts
5. Operation of Online Service
6. Operation of Manual Service
8. Your Liability
9. The Bank's Liability
10. Suspension and Termination
12. Fees and Charges
15. Meaning of Words
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1.1 These Terms are a contract between you and the Bank. You should read these Terms carefully as they place certain requirements and liabilities on you.
1.2 You must accept these Terms before you can use the Service. Your acceptance will be effected when the Bank receives your signed registration form for the Service to be provided to you on these Terms (as amended from time to time).
1.3 In these Terms, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) words with initial capital letters have the meanings given to them in clause 15;
(b) words importing the singular include the plural, and vice versa; and
(c) clause headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.
1.4 These Terms are in addition to, and are to be read in conjunction with:
(a) the Standard Terms (which shall apply to the Service and be deemed to form part of and to be incorporated in these Terms as if set out here in full);
(b) the specific terms and conditions applicable to all Accounts you hold with the Bank from or to which Client Funds are Debited or Credited through the Service; and
(c) the specific terms and conditions applicable to particular services or facilities provided in respect of such Accounts (including without limitation under the Account Operating Mandate and the Facsimile Indemnity).
To the extent that there is any inconsistency between these Terms and such other terms and conditions, these Terms prevail.
1.5 Your obligations and responsibilities under these Terms apply subject to the restrictions on your liability under clause 8. The Bank’s obligations and responsibilities under these Terms apply subject to the restrictions on its liability under clause 9.
1.6 It is your sole responsibility to identify whether you hold any Client Funds on trust and, if so, the terms of the relevant trust(s) and your powers and obligations thereunder (including without limitation whether you are authorised to co-invest Client Funds forming part of different trust funds).
The Bank assumes no responsibility to advise you, and accepts no liability for any guidance given to you by any Bank employee, in this regard. The Bank recommends that you obtain independent legal advice if you are unsure of the capacity in which you hold and must invest Client Funds.
1.7 If you propose to invest Client Funds held on trust, through the Service (as where you are a solicitor or firm of solicitors), these Terms apply subject to clauses 3.5 and 4.11.
2.1 The Service is designed to assist Bank customers who:
(a) hold funds on trust for, or to the account of, a number of Clients; and
(b) are required or wish to place such funds on interest-bearing deposit.
More particularly, the Service enables you to:
(i) deposit all such Client Funds in a single Account (termed the CFS Account); but
(ii) segregate the Client Funds so deposited into notional Accounts (termed Client Accounts), each opened in the name of a particular Client at call or for a particular term.
This enables you to invest and manage each particular amount of Client Funds separately, without needing to open a separate interest-bearing Account for it and (for Client Funds invested at call) while continuing to earn interest at the rate applicable to the total balance of all Client Funds co-invested at call, rather than the possibly lower rate that might apply if each particular amount of Client Funds was deposited in a separate call Account.
2.2 The Service may be provided in one of two mutually exclusive versions, namely:
(a) the Online Service (as set out in clause 5); or
(b) the Manual Service (as set out in clause 6).
2.3 If the Bank received your Application for the Service before these Terms came into force, you will be provided with the Manual Service until you have completed the Bank’s online registration procedure and delivered such additional documentation to the Bank as the Bank may require to provide the Online Service to you instead.
The Bank may at any time by not less than 30 days’ notice require you to complete the necessary online procedures and convert from the Manual Service to the Online Service, failing which the Bank may suspend or terminate the Service provided to you.
2.4 If the Bank receives your Application for the Service after these Terms have come into force, the Service will be provided to you in the version for which you applied in your Application as accepted by the Bank.
It is the Bank’s general policy as at the date of these Terms not to accept an application for the Manual Service unless the Bank in its sole discretion considers that, in all the circumstances, the Online Service is inappropriate for the particular applicant or category of applicants. The Bank reserves the right to vary this policy as it considers appropriate from time to time without notice.
2.5 To register for the Service, you must complete:
(a) a registration form, in the Bank’s current form (which registration form records your account operating mandate for the CFS Account and provides for the appointment of Authorised Signatories in respect of the Service, all subject to clause 2.7);
(b) a facsimile indemnity in relation to the Service, in the Bank’s current form; and
(c) such other application documentation as the Bank may from time to time require, and deliver these to the Bank.
If you are applying for the Online Service, you must in addition complete the applicable online registration procedures.
Your application is subject to approval by the Bank.
2.6 You agree that the Facsimile Indemnity:
(a) will remain in full force and effect at all times while the Service is provided to you; and
(b) applies to all Instructions by Authorised Signatories under these Terms.
2.7 You may apply to the Bank to add or remove Authorised Signatories, alter the degree of authorisation required for Instructions to be effective or otherwise modify the Service provided to you. Such application must be made in the manner from time to time required by the Bank for the Service and is subject to approval by the Bank. You acknowledge that:
(a) modifications approved by the Bank under this clause 2.7 will apply to the Service alone, and will not alter any other operating mandate you have with the Bank; and
(b) modifications you make to other operating mandates you have with the Bank will not apply to the Service.
2.8 The Service is only available:
(a) on the CFS Account nominated by you in respect of which the Bank has agreed to provide the Service pursuant to your Application; and
(b) in respect of such services as the Bank from time to time determines.
2.9 You may not use the Service, or permit it to be used, for any purpose other than carrying out lawful banking transactions and enquiries on the CFS Account and Client Accounts.
3.1 Operating the Service requires:
(a) a Clearing Account;
(b) a CFS Account; and
(c) one or more Client Accounts for each Client whose funds are being invested through the Service.
3.2 The Clearing Account is an operating Account which you hold with the Bank:
(a) into which all Client Funds will be deposited prior to being invested through the Service; and
(b) to which each amount of Client Funds invested through the Service will generally (subject to these Terms) be retransferred when the relevant investment matures or is otherwise terminated.
When you register for the Service, you must specify which Account will operate as your Clearing Account.
3.3 The CFS Account is an Account which you hold with the Bank and to which all Client Funds being invested through the Service are transferred from the Clearing Account. Each amount of Client Funds is held on deposit in the CFS Account for the duration of its investment through the Service.
When you register for the Service, you must specify which Account will operate as your CFS Account.
3.4 A Client Account is a notional account opened through the Service in the name of a particular Client (or particular Clients jointly). Each amount of Client Funds invested through the Service is notionally transferred from the CFS Account to a particular Client Account and treated as if separately invested in that Client Account (notwithstanding that it in fact remains deposited in the CFS Account), as more fully set out in clause 4.
3.5 If you hold Client Funds on trust, the following additional provisions apply to the Service as provided to you:
(a) The Clearing Account must be a trust account.
(b) The CFS Account must be a trust account, different from the trust account nominated as the Clearing Account.
(c) You undertake that the CFS Account:
(i) will not be used as an operating account; and
(ii) will only receive deposits of Client Funds being Credited to Client Accounts.
To illustrate, if you are a solicitor or firm of solicitors, your Clearing Account would be your general solicitor’s trust account while your CFS Account would be a separate, dedicated trust account.
(d) By using the Service, you warrant to the Bank on a continuing basis that:
(i) the Clearing Account and CFS Account nominated in your Application are trust accounts, duly operated as such;
(ii) the CFS Account is at all times operated in accordance with clause 3.5(c); and
(iii) you have all necessary authority and consents to co-invest all Client Funds through the Service and to establish each Client Account and operate it as it is in fact being operated.
You agree on demand to indemnify the Bank against any loss, expense or liability the Bank may suffer or incur if any of these warranties is breached.
4.1 As and when required, a particular Client’s name may be added to your Client List. Once that has been done, one or more Client Accounts may be opened in the name of that Client.
Client Accounts may also be opened in the joint names of Clients listed in the Client List.
Before a particular Client’s name can be added to your Client List you agree that you will: verify the identity of that Client; keep and provide to us if requested such records as may be required to prove to our satisfaction the identity of that Client; and advise the Client of your obligation to provide us with such information if requested by us.
4.2 A Client Account may be opened as either a call account or a term deposit account having a specified maturity, as the case may require.
4.3 An Instruction that a particular amount of Client Funds must be transferred from the Clearing Account to the CFS Account must specify the Client Account to which that amount must be Credited.
The Client Account so specified will be Credited with the relevant amount immediately that amount has been transferred to the CFS Account as Instructed.
4.4 Client Funds Credited to a particular Client Account will in reality remain on deposit in the CFS Account. However, they will be treated as separately invested in the relevant Client Account. Thus, the Bank will:
(a) Credit the interest on the credit balance of a particular Client Account (as calculated in accordance with clauses 4.5 and 4.6) to that Client Account; and
(b) provide separate account information in respect of the principal and interest Credited to each Client Account.
4.5 A Client Call Account will bear interest on its credit balance from time to time at the rate and on the terms that would have applied, had:
(a) the Client Funds Credited to that Client Call Account; plus
(b) the Client Funds Credited to all other Client Call Accounts opened under the CFS Account, been deposited with the Bank at call in one lump sum.
4.6 A Client Term Account will bear interest on the principal balance thereof:
(a) at a fixed rate, being:
(i) the Bank’s rate for Client Term Accounts of that tenor prevailing on the day the principal amount is Credited to the relevant Client Term Account; or
(ii) where the investment is rolled over at maturity, the Bank’s rate for Client Term Accounts of that tenor prevailing on the first day of the new term,
unless another rate has been specifically agreed; and
(b) otherwise on the terms (including without limitation as to calculation methods and rate decreases for early withdrawals) that would have applied, had the principal Credited to the relevant Client Term Account been invested for the same term in a separate term deposit Account opened with the Bank.
On the interest payment date, the interest will either be capitalised or Credited to the Clearing Account or another Account, as Instructed (subject to clause 4.11).
Deduction of commission
4.7 The Service enables commission to be deducted from the Interest to be Credited to Client Accounts or particular Client Accounts, as follows:
(a) If the Online Service is provided to you, you may give standing directions in your Application specifying:
(i) that commission is to be deducted;
(ii) the rate of deduction; and
(iii) the Account to which such commission must be Credited.
(b) If the Manual Service is provided to you, the rate at which commission is to be deducted and the Account to which it must be Credited may be specified in the Instruction given when opening the relevant Client Account.
4.8 If the Bank has been supplied with a particular Client’s IRD number and tax rate, the Bank will (to the extent required or permitted by law from time to time):
(a) deduct withholding tax from the interest to be Credited to the Client Account(s) opened in that Client’s name at that rate; and
(b) send the withholding tax certificate in respect of such interest either to you or directly to that Client, at his or her address as last notified to the Bank (as the Bank may determine).
Otherwise, the Bank will deduct withholding tax from the interest Credited to Client Accounts at the rate prescribed by law in the circumstances.
4.9 If the Online Service is provided to you, then (subject always to clause 4.11) monies Credited to a Client Account and maturing, being withdrawn or otherwise falling due for repayment will be Credited out of the Client Account as follows:
(a) Principal monies Credited to a Client Account will on the due date for repayment thereof be Credited to the Clearing Account.
(b) Interest monies Credited to a Client Account will on the due date for payment thereof be Credited to the Account you nominated for that purpose in your Application ("Nominated Account").
Subject to clause 4.11, the Nominated Account may be either the Clearing Account or another Account held by any Person with any financial institution. That direction may be varied (either generally or in relation to specific Client Accounts) by way of a subsequent Instruction given and (if required under your Application) authorised through the Service (see clause 5.7(e)(i)). Failing any contrary direction in your Application or such subsequent Instruction, the Bank will on the due date for payment Credit all such interest to the Clearing Account.
4.10 If the Manual Service is provided to you, then (subject always to clause 4.11) the Instruction given to open a particular Client Account may direct the Account(s) ("Nominated Account(s)") to which the interest and principal Credited to that Client Account, must be Credited when due. Subject to clause 4.11, a Nominated Account may be either the Clearing Account or another Account held by any Person with any financial institution.
Failing any such direction, the Bank will on the due date for payment credit all such interest and principal to the Clearing Account.
4.11 If the CFS Account is a trust account (as required where you hold Client Funds on trust), the Bank:
(a) recommends, and may require, that all monies Credited to Client Accounts (whether on account of principal or interest) and maturing, being withdrawn or otherwise falling due for repayment, be Credited to the Clearing Account when due; and
(b) reserves the right to refuse any Instruction to the contrary.
4.12 You acknowledge that where interest and/or principal monies must be Credited to a Nominated Account held with another financial institution:
(a) the Service:
(i) will enable a User (for the Online Service) or Authorised Signatory (for the Manual Service) to confirm whether the Bank has Debited the relevant amount from the Client Account and CFS Account; but
(ii) will not enable a User to confirm whether that amount has been received by the Receiving Financial Institution; and
(b) while the Bank will use reasonable endeavours to effect payment to the Receiving Financial Institution in accordance with the relevant Credit Instruction (subject to these Terms), the Bank cannot guarantee that the intended payee will receive those funds.
4.13 Subject to these Terms, you agree that the Bank:
(a) may rely on (and you hereby authorise the Bank to act on) any Instruction given and (if required) authorised in the manner required under these Terms, without any enquiry as to the identity or authority of the Person giving that Instruction; and
(b) will not in any way be liable to you for acting on any such Instruction.
In particular, you acknowledge and agree that:
(i) neither the Bank nor any Receiving Financial Institution is under any obligation to validate an Account number specified in a Credit Instruction against any other information given to the Bank or that Receiving Financial Institution (such as the payee’s name);
(ii) if an incorrect Account number is specified in a Credit Instruction, the funds may be credited to an incorrect Account;
(iii) any payment made by the Bank in consequence of an erroneous Credit Instruction can be recovered from the Account so Credited only if the holder of that Account consents thereto, so that you may suffer loss as a result; and
(iv) the Bank will co-operate with you and the relevant Receiving Financial Institution as reasonably necessary to try to recover any payment made in error, at your sole cost; but neither the Bank nor the Receiving Financial Institution has any liability to you if any such attempt fails.
The provisions of this clause 4.13 are also for the benefit of, and may be enforced by, every Receiving Financial Institution under the Contracts (Privity) Act 1982.
Third party claims
4.14 Clients have no authority to give Instructions in relation to the CFS Account or Client Accounts. However, if the Bank receives a claim to funds Credited or to be Credited to the CFS Account or to a particular Client Account, the Bank may in its discretion refuse to comply with any Instruction in relation to those funds until:
(a) ordered to comply by a Court of competent jurisdiction;
(b) indemnified (to the Bank’s reasonable satisfaction) against all liability or loss which the Bank may incur or suffer if it complies with such Instruction; or
(c) the claim has been resolved to the Bank’s reasonable satisfaction.
4.15 A Client Account must have a nil balance before it can be closed.
4.16 All Client Accounts must be closed before the CFS Account can be closed.
5.1 This clause 5 applies if the Bank provides the Online Service to you.
5.2 The Bank will use all reasonable endeavours to provide online access to the Service at all times.
However, the Bank will every night undertake batch processing outside normal business hours (usually from 8pm to 2am although this is subject to change). During such times:
(a) Users can log in to the Service to view the Client List and access information about the CFS Account, Client Accounts and pending Instructions; but
(b) all other functions (including opening and closing Client Accounts and giving Credit Instructions) will be disabled.
Furthermore, the Bank will periodically undertake other system maintenance and upgrades outside normal business hours. During such times Users will not be able to log in to the Service whatsoever.
5.3 If at any time online access to the Service is disrupted due to internet outage or any system or equipment failure (whether at your end, the Bank’s end or otherwise), then (notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this clause 5):
(a) any User who is an Authorised Signatory may by facsimile signed by him or her request such information and reports in relation to the Client List, CFS Account and Client Accounts as are from time to time made available through the Service; and
(b) an Instruction may be given by facsimile signed by the same number and level of Users (being Authorised Signatories) as would be required to give and (if required) authorise that Instruction online.
You agree that if the Bank receives any Instruction so given by facsimile, the Bank may assume that access to the Service has been disrupted, and may accordingly act on that Instruction, without the need for further enquiry.
The provisions relating to information delivery and the processing, variation and cancellation of Instructions given by facsimile pursuant to the Manual Service, as set out in clause 6, will apply (subject to all necessary amendments) to requests and Instructions by facsimile under this clause 5.3.
You must ensure that there are at all times sufficient Authorised Signatories to give and (if necessary) authorise Instructions by facsimile when online access to the Service is disrupted.
Range of Users
5.4 A range of Users may be appointed to log in to and use the Service. A particular User’s authority to engage in a given transaction through the Service will depend on his or her level of authorisation, as set out in clauses 5.7 to 5.11.
5.5 The range of Users is:
(b) Authorisers; and
5.6 There must at all times be at least one Administrator. The appointment of other Users is optional, depending on your requirements.
5.7 An Administrator is the highest level of User. An Administrator has authority to do the following:
(a) An Administrator can appoint or remove Users (as set out in clause 5.10) and grant them specified Access Rights. (However, an Administrator cannot appoint a User as an Authorised Signatory.)
(b) An Administrator can allocate all User IDs, set all Users’ initial Passwords, reset all Users’ Passwords, apply for NetGuard Tokens for individual Users and apply for a single NetGuard Token to be used for a range of internet banking services (as set out in clause 5.14(e)).
(c) An Administrator can add a new Client to, delete a Client from, and amend a Client’s details in, the Client List.
(d) An Administrator can open and (once it has a nil balance) close any Client Account.
(e) An Administrator can generally Instruct the transfer of Client Funds from the Clearing Account to the CFS Account and give any Instruction in respect of the CFS Account and all Client Accounts.
However, you are able to specify in your Application that Controlled Instructions, being Instructions to:
(i) vary the directions given in your Application under clause 4.9(b) relating to the Account to which interest Credited to Client Accounts must be paid when due (either generally or in relation to particular Client Accounts);
(ii) Credit any monies to, or Debit any monies from, the CFS Account;
(iii) Credit any monies to, or Debit any monies from, a Client Account; or
(iv) break any Client Term Account (whether in whole or in part),
require additional authorisation. In that case, any Controlled Instruction given by an Administrator will need to be authorised by another Administrator or an Authoriser before being processed.
(f) An Administrator can authorise Controlled Instructions initiated by other Users.
(g) Subject to clause 5.20, an Administrator may request the Bank to cancel or amend an Instruction after it has been given and (if required) authorised, if the Bank has not yet fully processed it.
(h) An Administrator can view all information relating to the Client List, Clearing Account, CFS Account, Client Accounts and pending Instructions which is from time to time made accessible to Users through the Service.
(i) An Administrator can apply for NetGuard Bypass, as set out in clause 5.15.
5.8 An Authoriser has the following authority:
(a) An Authoriser can add a new Client to, delete a Client from, and amend a Client’s details in, the Client List.
(b) An Authoriser can open and (once it has a nil balance) close any Client Account.
(c) An Authoriser can generally Instruct the transfer of Client Funds from the Clearing Account to the CFS Account and give any Instructions in respect of the CFS Account and all Client Accounts, subject to authorisation of Controlled Instructions by an Administrator or another Authoriser, if so required under your Application.
(d) An Authoriser can authorise Controlled Instructions initiated by other Users.
(e) An Authoriser can view all information relating to the Client List, Clearing Account, CFS Account, Client Accounts and pending Instructions which is from time to time made accessible to Users through the Service.
5.9 A Sub-user has the following authority:
(a) A Sub-user can add a new Client to, delete a Client from, and amend a Client’s details in, the Client List.
(b) A Sub-user can initiate Controlled Instructions in respect of each Client Account for authorisation by an Administrator or (if appointed) Authoriser.
All Controlled Instructions given by a Sub-user require authorisation. In your Application you must specify whether Controlled Instructions given by Sub-users require one or two such authorisations. A Controlled Instruction given by a Sub-user will not be processed until the necessary authorisation(s) have been given.
(c) A Sub-user can view all information relating to the Client List, Clearing Account, CFS Account, Client Accounts and pending Instructions which is from time to time made accessible to Users through the Service.
Appointment of Users
5.10 The following provisions apply to the appointment of Users:
(a) The only Persons who may be Administrators are:
(i) you (but if you are joint holders then any of you, and if you are a company, then a director); or
(ii) authorised signatories for your Clearing Account and CFS Account under your Account Operating Mandate.
(b) In your Application you must appoint an Administrator. The Bank recommends that you (or if you are a company, a director) are appointed as the first Administrator.
(c) Additional or replacement Administrators may be appointed by:
(i) the existing Administrator (subject to the Bank receiving your signed authorisation); or
However, there may not be more than two Administrators at any one time.
(d) An Administrator may be removed by you or (if there are two Administrators) the other Administrator. However, you must ensure that there is at least one Administrator at all times.
(e) If you require the appointment of one or more Authorisers (to assist the Administrator(s) in giving Instructions and/or authorising Controlled Instructions), you may specify this in the Application. The Administrator (or if there are two Administrators, either of them) may then appoint as many Authorisers as required.
(f) The Administrator (or if there are two Administrators, either of them) may appoint as many Sub-users as required.
(g) Only individuals may be appointed as Users.
(h) It is your responsibility to ensure that an Administrator promptly updates all User details and details of all Access Rights afforded to those Users.
5.11 For the avoidance of doubt:
(a) an Administrator can be appointed only by yourself or (subject to the Bank receiving your signed authorisation) by another Administrator;
(b) you can appoint or remove any Administrator notwithstanding that you may never have been, or no longer be, an Administrator yourself (provided that you must ensure that there must at all times be no less than one and no more than two Administrators);
(c) where two Administrators have been appointed, they both have the same rights and either one can remove the other; and
(d) only you can nominate the Clearing Account and CFS Account, specify whether or not Authorisers are able to be appointed, specify whether or not Controlled Instructions given by Administrators or Authorisers require additional authorisation, appoint or remove Authorised Signatories or (save as contemplated by clause 5.7(e)(i)) otherwise alter your mandate to the Bank pursuant to your Application.
5.12 A User must enter a valid Access Number, User ID, Password and (unless NetGuard Bypass applies under clause 5.15) NetGuard Login Code in order to log in to and use the Service.
5.13 The Administrator must allocate a User ID and initial Password to every User. The Password must thereafter be changed by that User.
(a) A NetGuard Login Code is a set of numbers randomly generated by a NetGuard Token and valid for approximately one minute. The User is required to enter the NetGuard Login Code which is valid at the time of use.
(b) A User must enter a NetGuard PIN to cause a particular NetGuard Token to generate a NetGuard Login Code.
(c) Every User requires a unique NetGuard Token. A NetGuard Token may only be used by the User to whom it is currently issued (so that Users may not share NetGuard Tokens or borrow each other’s NetGuard Tokens). However, the Administrator may apply to the Bank that a User may reuse a NetGuard Token previously issued to a different User provided:
(i) the NetGuard Token is still in the physical possession of the Administrator or you; and
(ii) the NetGuard Token has been deactivated.
Such application must be made in the manner from time to time required by the Bank and is subject to approval by the Bank.
A NetGuard Token cannot be reused pursuant to this clause if it is currently being used in respect of internet banking for Accounts which other nominated customers hold with the Bank (pursuant to clause 5.14(f)(ii)(bb)).
(d) The Bank will issue a NetGuard Token to a User upon application by you or the Administrator. Such application must be made in the manner from time to time required by the Bank and is subject to approval by the Bank.
(e) You or the Administrator may apply that a particular User may use a single NetGuard Token to conduct internet banking in respect of both:
(i) the CFS Account (together with the Client Accounts opened under it) through the Service; and
(ii) as the application may specify:
(aa) other Accounts you hold with the Bank, through other internet banking services provided to you by the Bank (such as through the Internet Banking for Business service); and/or
(bb) Accounts which other nominated customers (such as your related companies, if you are a company) hold with the Bank.
Such application must be made in the manner from time to time required by the Bank and is subject to approval by the Bank. Clause 5.15(b) will apply whenever such approval is granted.
(f) The Bank will mail all NetGuard Tokens issued under clause 5.14(d), to the Relevant User at the address the Bank currently holds for you. The Bank will separately notify the Relevant User of the initial PIN number needed to activate the NetGuard Token issued to him or her. In respect of NetGuard Tokens reused pursuant to clause 5.14(c) the Bank will separately notify the Relevant User of the unblock code required to reactivate the NetGuard Token that has been reassigned to him or her. During the activation process (or reactivation process as the case may be) the Relevant User will be required to select a new NetGuard PIN. The Relevant User can change his or her NetGuard PIN at any time.
(g) NetGuard Tokens will at all times remain the Bank’s sole property and must be returned to the Bank upon demand.
5.15 NetGuard Bypass:
(a) If a User is for any reason unable to access his or her NetGuard Token (for example because a lost or stolen NetGuard Token is still in the process of being replaced, or because the User has forgotten his or her NetGuard Token elsewhere), the Administrator may apply to the Bank that the Users be temporarily enabled (in accordance with the Bank’s processes and policies from time to time) to log in to and use the Service without their having to enter NetGuard Login Codes ("NetGuard Bypass").
Such application must be made in the manner from time to time required by the Bank and is subject to approval by the Bank.
(b) If any User may use a single NetGuard Token to log in to and use a range of internet banking services (as contemplated by clause 5.14(e)), any activation of NetGuard Bypass will automatically apply to all internet banking services able to be accessed using that NetGuard Token. Consequently:
(i) You accept and agree that, where any User may use the same NetGuard Token to log in to and use the Service as well as any other internet banking service which the Bank provides to you, then any NetGuard Bypass approved in respect of the Service will also apply in respect of such other internet banking service (and vice versa).
This provision prevails over any inconsistent provisions under any mandate or other terms and conditions governing the relevant internet banking services or the Accounts in respect of which they are provided.
(ii) The Bank will not approve NetGuard Bypass where the same NetGuard Token may be used to conduct internet banking in respect of several different customers’ Accounts unless each such customer (or a Person authorised by such customer to operate its relevant Accounts) consents to the application.
If your Administrator consents to a NetGuard Bypass application made by or on behalf of another such customer, your Administrator will be deemed to have applied for NetGuard Bypass in respect of the Service.
(c) You acknowledge and agree that NetGuard Bypass may expose you and your business to increased risk of fraudulent use of the Service and that you accept such risk.
5.16 Security measures:
You must ensure compliance with the following security measures (and you hereby agree to do so):
(a) All Passwords must be suitably secure alpha-numeric combinations (eg they may not comprise birth dates or reflect other easily accessible personal data).
(b) No User’s Password or NetGuard PIN may be the same as, or similar to, any other password or personal identification number of that User.
(c) Every Password and NetGuard PIN must be periodically changed (at such intervals as is consistent with safe internet use) to one not previously used by the User.
(d) A User’s Password as set or reset by an Administrator must be known only by that User and the Administrator(s), while a User’s self-selected Passwords and NetGuard PINs must be known only by that User.
(i) the Administrator(s) must use appropriately secure notification systems;
(ii) Passwords and NetGuard PINs must not be disclosed to any other Person (including bank staff, police or family members) or in response to any emails requesting disclosure;
(iii) Passwords and NetGuard PINs must not be recorded, nor stored (including electronically) in a form or manner in which they may be accessible or intelligible to, or decodable by, any other Person; and
(iv) Users must avoid being observed while entering a Password or NetGuard PIN on a Computer or NetGuard Token and must not leave a Computer or NetGuard Token unattended while logged in to the Service.
(e) All NetGuard Tokens must be kept safe from loss, theft and damage and no NetGuard Token may be accessed or used by any Person other than the Relevant User.
(f) The records for the Clearing Account, CFS Account and Client Accounts must be carefully checked and the Bank must be promptly advised of any error, discrepancy or unauthorised transaction.
(g) The Bank must be notified immediately if:
(i) a User’s Password as set or reset by an Administrator has become or may be known to anyone other than that User or an Administrator;
(ii) a User’s self-selected Password or a NetGuard PIN has become or may be known to anyone other than that User; or
(iii) a NetGuard Token is lost or stolen or has been or is at risk of being used by anyone other than the Relevant User.
Such notice must be given by submitting the notification form provided for that purpose on the Bank’s website or calling 0800 999 4242 or (if calling from overseas) 0064 4 931 8234 (international call charges will apply).
In addition, in the case of paragraphs (i) and (ii) above the relevant Password or NetGuard PIN must be changed immediately.
(h) Appropriate anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware, critical operating system security updates and other security software must be established and maintained up to date on every Computer used for the purposes of the Service to protect against code contamination, unauthorised access and data theft. No attachments or software from untrustworthy or unknown sources may be opened or run on any such Computer.
(i) No User may use an account segregation system or software which:
(i) lets a User see all your online accounts from different websites on the one website;
(ii) requires a User to input or disclose a Password or NetGuard PIN; and
(iii) is not provided by the Bank.
(j) Every User must follow all reasonable security warnings from time to time given by the Bank (including by posting on its website) about the appropriate processes and safeguards to follow when using the Service or conducting internet banking generally.
5.17 If a set number (as determined by the Bank in its sole discretion from time to time) of incorrect login attempts are made due to the use of an invalid Password or NetGuard Login Code, then the Bank will suspend access to the Service by the User whose User ID was entered. If this happens, the Administrator must contact the Bank for assistance to reinstate the User’s access to the Service.
5.18 If a set number (as determined by the Bank in its sole discretion from time to time) of incorrect attempts are made to generate a NetGuard Login Code due to the use of an invalid NetGuard PIN, then the relevant NetGuard Token will be deactivated. If this happens, the Administrator must contact the Bank for assistance to reactivate that NetGuard Token.
Processing of Instructions
5.19 Subject to clause 5.3, Instructions will generally be processed as and when they are given and (if required) authorised.
However, certain Instructions (including in particular Instructions to break or close Client Term Accounts or to Credit an Account held with another financial institution) will generally be processed overnight (or if the following day is not a Business Day, then by the next Business Day).
5.20 An Instruction can generally not be withdrawn or amended once it has been given and (if required by these Terms) authorised. However, amendment or cancellation of Instructions that have not yet been fully processed may be possible in exceptional instances, at the Bank’s sole discretion. The Administrator should contact the Bank for assistance. The Bank is unlikely to be able to assist without the signed agreement of all relevant Account owners.
6.1 This clause 6 applies if the Bank provides the Manual Service to you.
6.2 The Manual Service enables Client Accounts to be opened and operated, and account information in relation to such Client Accounts to be obtained, by Instructions given by facsimile.
6.3 An Instruction given by facsimile must be:
(a) signed by the number of Authorised Signatories required under your Account Operating Mandate; and
(b) clearly state the name(s) of, and be signed by, the Authorised Signatory(ies) giving that Instruction.
6.4 The following operating Instructions can be given:
(a) an Instruction to Credit monies to, or Debit monies from, the CFS Account or a specified Client Account (subject to interest rate decreases, where principal is Debited from a Client Term Account before maturity); and
(b) an Instruction to close a specified Client Account once it has a nil balance.
6.5 An Authorised Signatory may at any time give an Instruction (or give a standing Instruction) requesting the following information:
(a) the Client List, showing each Client’s details and details of his or her Client Account(s);
(b) the account details of the CFS Account and all, or any specified, Client Account(s) (including all account balances, transaction histories, transaction details and other account details);
(c) such other information relating to the CFS Account and the Client Accounts as is from time to time made accessible to Authorised Signatories through the Manual Service.
The Bank will deliver such information in accordance with its delivery practices from time to time (as advised by the Bank upon request).
6.6 Instructions are only processed on Business Days, at various times as determined by the Bank from time to time.
6.7 An Authorised Signatory may at any time by facsimile request the variation or cancellation of an Instruction that has not yet been processed by the Bank. The Bank will endeavour to cancel or vary the Instruction as requested, but has no obligation to do so.
7.1 Subject to these Terms, you are responsible for every Instruction (including every Instruction to Debit and Credit monies) in relation to the CFS Account and each Client Account, regardless of whether that Instruction is from you, an Authorised Signatory, a User, a Person otherwise authorised by you or any other Person acting with or without your knowledge or consent.
7.2 You are responsible to ensure that all information included in an Instruction is complete, accurate and correct.
7.3 An Instruction must not be subject to any conditions. The Bank will act on a conditional Instruction as if it were an unconditional Instruction.
7.4 No daily or transaction limits can be placed on Instructions or particular categories of Instructions.
7.5 The Bank is not obliged to act on any Instruction which appears, in the Bank’s opinion, to be contrary to any applicable law, regulation, government, court, regulatory body’s or applicable professional body’s order, rule, or direction, or in circumstances in which the Bank deems it legally inadvisable to act upon such Instruction.
8.1 For the Manual Service, you are not liable for any losses for which the Bank is liable under clause 9, including any losses to the extent that they result from the negligent or fraudulent conduct of the Bank or its officers, employees or agents.
8.2 Subject to clause 8.1, you will be liable if an unauthorised transaction occurs through the Manual Service, including if you or an Authorised Signatory acted negligently or fraudulently.
8.3 For the Online Service, you are not liable for:
(a) any losses for which the Bank is liable under clause 9, including any losses to the extent that they result from the negligent or fraudulent conduct of the Bank or its officers, employees or agents;
(b) any unauthorised transaction through the Service by a Person who is not a User, before an Administrator could access the Service for the first time (unless you or a User acted fraudulently or negligently or otherwise contributed to such unauthorised transaction being conducted);
(c) any unauthorised Instruction given using a NetGuard PIN, if the initial PIN number used to activate the relevant NetGuard Token was not delivered to the Relevant User, unless:
(i) the Bank was given an incorrect address to which to deliver that initial PIN number; or
(ii) you or a User acted fraudulently or negligently, or otherwise contributed to such unauthorised Instruction being given; or
(d) any unauthorised Instruction given while the Service was suspended or after the Service was terminated by the Bank.
8.4 For the Online Service, if you have promptly reported to the Bank the actual or possible:
(a) disclosure of a Password or NetGuard PIN;
(b) loss or theft of a NetGuard Token; or
(c) unauthorised access to the Clearing Account, CFS Account or a Client Account through the Service,
you are not liable for any loss arising from any of the above events occurring after the Bank has been notified of this. This protection will not apply if you or a User have acted fraudulently or negligently or have contributed to such unauthorised disclosure, loss, theft or unauthorised access.
8.5 Subject to clauses 8.3 and 8.4, and save as provided in clause 9, you will be liable if an unauthorised transaction occurs through the Online Service, including if:
(a) you or a User acted negligently or fraudulently;
(b) you breached these Terms (including without limitation clause 5.16, for example by failing to ensure that a Password was suitable as a password, failing to ensure that no Password (including an initial Password) or NetGuard PIN was disclosed to other Persons, or failing to notify the Bank promptly of actual or possible disclosure); or
(c) appropriate internet banking security measures were not adopted by any Person in connection with any NetGuard Token used in respect of both your CFS Account and other Accounts, as contemplated by clause 5.14(e).
In that event, your maximum liability will be the lesser of:
(i) the actual loss at the time of notification to the Bank; or
(ii) the maximum amount deposited in the Clearing Account and the CFS Account (inclusive of any amounts Credited to Client Accounts) between the time the unauthorised access occurred and the time you notified the Bank.
Fraudulent and unauthorised transactions
8.6 If you, an Authorised Signatory or a User use the CFS Account or a Client Account (or allow it to be used) to process:
(a) fraudulent transactions; or
(b) transactions that have not been authorised by the relevant Client, you may be liable for some or all of the loss suffered by the Person who has been defrauded or by such Client.
9.1 You acknowledge that:
(a) the Service may expose you to increased risk of fraud in respect of Client Funds by Authorised Signatories, Users or third parties; and
(b) you accept such risk.
9.2 The Bank will take all reasonable precautions on its part to ensure that the information input through the Service will remain confidential and protected from unauthorised access by third parties. However, except as otherwise required under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (if applicable under the Standard Terms), the Bank will not be responsible for any loss, damage or liability to you or your business arising from the loss, alteration or disclosure of any information transmitted which is the result of any event, activity or circumstance beyond the Bank’s reasonable control.
9.3 The Bank will use reasonable care and skill in providing the Service. However, subject to complying with its obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (if applicable under the Standard Terms), the Bank will not be responsible for any loss, damage, cost, expense or liability (whether in contract, tort or otherwise, and whether direct, indirect or consequential, and whether economic or otherwise) that you or your business suffer or incur by reason of, or in connection with, the provision or operation of the Service save to the extent that this results from fraud or negligence on the part of the Bank, its agents, its officers or its employees.
In particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Bank will not be responsible for any loss incurred by reason of or in connection with:
(a) any forgery of an Authorised Signatory’s signature (unless the forgery was evident);
(b) any Instructions given or authorised without authority or in excess of authority;
(c) any use of Access Rights or a Password or NetGuard PIN without authority or in excess of authority;
(d) any data input error;
(e) an Authorised Signatory’s or User’s inability to access the Service or any application associated with or reliant on the Service at any time, any failure or delay in providing the Service or a malfunction of any systems or equipment supporting the Service (including without limitation the NetGuard system, any NetGuard Tokens or any telecommunications equipment);
(f) any event or cause outside the Bank’s reasonable control (including, but not limited to, failure of a Receiving Financial Institution, power failure or fluctuations, equipment, systems or telecommunication link defects or failures, or strikes, lockouts or industrial disturbances); or
(g) any fraudulent act, negligence or error on the part of yourself, any Authorised Signatory or User or any of your employees, agents, consultants or contractors (whether acting within the terms of their appointment or not) and/or any third party.
The Bank reserves the right to request access to the Computers used by Users to verify compliance with clause 5.16. If you refuse the Bank’s request for access then the Bank may refuse your claim.
9.4 Except as otherwise required under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (if applicable under the Standard Terms), and notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms (including without limitation clause 9.3), the Bank will not in any circumstances be liable for any:
(a) indirect; or
damage, liability or loss (including without limitation loss of profits) that you or your business suffer or incur by reason of, or in connection with, the provision or operation of the Service, whether or not such damage, liability or loss is attributable to the Bank, its officers, agents or employees and/or any other Persons.
9.5 The Bank will not have any responsibility or liability for any internal or external use that you, an Authorised Signatory, a User or anyone else may make of any data, information or any other statement provided through or in relation to the Service.
9.6 You (and if more than one, each of you jointly and severally) agree to indemnify the Bank fully against any liability, loss or damage suffered or incurred by the Bank in relation to the CFS Account and every Client Account, however arising and by whomsoever caused and whether arising directly or indirectly, from the use and operation of the Service (not being liability, loss or damage for which the Bank is liable under these Terms). Without limiting the foregoing, you will indemnify and continue to hold indemnified the Bank in full for any claims or demands made by any Person against the Bank as a consequence of performing an Instruction.
10.1 The Bank may at any time suspend or terminate your use of the Service in whole or in part. The Bank will normally give you at least 14 days’ notice, setting out the relevant details, before suspending or terminating your use of the Service (whether in whole or in part). However, the Bank need not give such notice where the Bank suspends or terminates the Service to you:
(a) in compliance with a Court order;
(b) where you have acted unlawfully;
(c) where you have breached these Terms, the terms and conditions governing the Clearing Account or CFS Account or the terms and conditions governing any service or facility provided to you through the Service;
(d) where you have, or an Authorised Signatory or User (as the case may be) has, acted abusively to the Bank’s staff; or
(e) where the Bank is otherwise so entitled under the Banking Code.
The Bank will not be liable for any loss you may suffer as a result of such suspension or termination.
10.2 You may terminate the Service provided to you at any time by giving not less than three Business Days’ written notice of termination to the Bank.
10.3 If the Service is suspended or terminated:
(a) all pending Instructions will be cancelled thereby; and
(b) all monies Credited to Client Accounts (together with all accrued but unpaid interest thereon) will be Credited to the Clearing Account, following which the Client Accounts (and in the case of termination, the CFS Account) will be closed. The rate decreases applicable to early withdrawals will apply in calculating the accrued but unpaid interest on Client Term Accounts that have not yet matured as at the suspension or termination date.
10.4 Any suspension or termination of the Service will not affect obligations incurred by you in relation to the Service prior to such suspension or termination. All amounts due and owing to the Bank in respect of the Service, if not already due and payable, will become immediately due and payable at termination.
10.5 Where the Application for the Service was made in the name of two or more Persons ("Holders"), termination by some of those Holders ("Departing Holders") of their use of the Service does not affect the rights and obligations of:
(a) the remaining Holders in relation to their use of the Service, whether prior to or after the termination time that applies to the Departing Holders; or
(b) the Departing Holders in relation to any use of the Service, whether by themselves or the remaining Holders, prior to the termination time that applies to the Departing Holders.
11.1 The Bank may vary these Terms unilaterally from time to time. The Bank will give you at least 14 days’ notice of any such variation, unless it is necessary in the circumstances for the Bank to give a lesser notice period (for example, where it is necessary to protect the security of the Service).
11.2 The Bank has the right, in its sole discretion, by prior notice to change or cancel any of the services that are offered through the Service or to cancel the Service itself.
12.1 You must pay the Bank on demand the fees and charges (calculated at the Bank’s prevailing rates, as notified by the Bank from time to time) for:
(a) your ongoing use of the Service; and
(b) any NetGuard Tokens supplied by the Bank (if the Online Service is provided to you).
You authorise the Bank to debit such fees and charges from any Account you hold with the Bank.
12.2 The Bank may from time to time:
(a) vary the amount, frequency or time for payment of any fees or charges; and
(b) introduce new fees and charges,
relating to the Service and NetGuard Tokens. The Bank will keep you advised of any such changes in accordance with the Banking Code.
12.3 You are responsible for all telecommunication and internet service provider costs associated with your use of the Service.
12.4 You acknowledge that another financial institution may impose fees and charges where any commission or Client Funds are transferred to an Account held with that financial institution.
13.1 All notices from the Bank required to be in writing shall be:
(a) in writing signed (including electronically) by an authorised officer of the Bank (this includes correctly authorised email messages from the Bank);
(b) given by email, letter or fax, or (for general communications) by displaying information at the Bank’s branches or by statements in the printed media, including public notices, and (for changes to information posted on the Bank’s website, including variations of these Terms) by noting such changes on that website (provided that if at any time the Banking Code imposes additional notice requirements, then the Bank will comply with those requirements); and
(c) deemed to be duly given if left at the address of the first named party in the registration form for the Service, sent by prepaid ordinary post (airmail if posted from a place outside New Zealand) to that party’s address, sent by facsimile to that party’s facsimile number, or sent via email to that party’s email address.
13.2 All notices and other communications from you to the Bank under these Terms or in relation to the Service (other than Instructions) shall be:
(a) in writing signed by you (and if more than one, each of you), or if you are a company, an authorised officer; and
(b) delivered or sent by prepaid ordinary post (airmail if posted from a place outside New Zealand) to the address in clause 13.5 (or as otherwise advised by the Bank from time to time) or by facsimile transmitted to the facsimile number given in clause 13.5 (or as otherwise advised by the Bank from time to time).
13.3 A notice is taken to be received:
(a) in the case of a posted letter, on the third day after posting;
(b) in the case of a facsimile, on production of a transmission report by the machine from which the facsimile was sent which indicates that the facsimile was sent in its entirety to the facsimile number of the recipient; or
(c) in the case of an email, when it enters the recipient’s Computer (and is effective when received even if the recipient is unaware thereof),
(d) provided that any termination notice given by you under clause 10.2 shall be deemed given on the later of the above date or the date of actual receipt.
13.4 An email is deemed to be sent from the place where the sender has its place of business and to be received where the recipient has its place of business (or if the sender or receiver has more than one place of business, then its principal place of business, or if it has no place of business, then its usual place of residence).
13.5 All notices from you to the Bank should be sent to:
Client Fund Service
Bank of New Zealand Customer Account Services
PO Box 2112, Wellington
Fax (04) 474 7777
14.1 You acknowledge and agree that:
(a) the Bank may from time to time require proof, to its satisfaction, of the identity of yourself, any Person authorised to give Instructions through the Service and any Person for whose benefit or on whose behalf funds are invested through the Service; and
(b) you will promptly on request provide the Bank with such proof.
14.2 The Bank’s records of transactions through, or access to, the Service shall (in the absence of manifest error) be prima facie evidence of such transactions or access.
14.3 The Bank will comply with the Banking Code as it applies to these Terms.
14.4 You must obtain all necessary government approvals, and comply with all requirements, as may be necessary from time to time in relation to any Instruction.
14.5 These Terms shall be governed by and interpreted according to the law of New Zealand. You submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts to hear and determine all disputes arising under these Terms or in connection with the Service.
In these Terms (unless the context otherwise requires):
"Access Number" means a numerical code which the Bank allocates to your CFS Account and which every User must enter when logging in to the Service.
"Access Rights" means, in relation to CFS Account and the Client Accounts, the access available to a User (as allocated from time to time by an Administrator pursuant to these Terms).
"Account" means an account held by any Person with a financial institution, including the Bank.
"Account Operating Mandate" means the account operating mandate given by you to the Bank in respect of:
(a) the Clearing Account (to the extent that transactions are conducted on it through the Service); and
(b) the CFS Account,
as recorded in the registration form which you provided under clause 2.5(a), together with all modifications thereto under clause 2.7.
"Administrator" means, in relation to the Online Service, an individual appointed to oversee the operation of the Service as it relates to the Clearing Account, CFS Account and the Client Accounts, appoint and remove Users, allocate Access Rights and otherwise administer and use the Service as provided in these Terms.
"Application" means your original application to the Bank (made on the registration form provided by the Bank) to provide the Service to you, together with all modifications from time to time requested by you in accordance with clause 2.7.
"Authorised Signatory" means an individual:
(a) whom you have nominated, in the Account Operating Mandate, as authorised to:
(i) give Instructions to transfer Client Funds from the Clearing Account to the CFS Account; and
(ii) give Instructions in respect of the CFS Account (together with every Client Account opened under the CFS Account); and
(b) whose appointment as an Authorised Signatory has not been terminated by you in accordance with these Terms.
"Authoriser" means, in relation to the Online Service, an individual appointed by an Administrator to use the Service and authorise Instructions.
"Bank" means the Bank of New Zealand and its successors and assigns.
"Banking Code" means the Banking Code issued by the New Zealand Bankers’ Association (as the same may be amended or replaced from time to time).
"Business Day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or gazetted public holiday observed in New Zealand (but includes provincial anniversary days).
"CFS Account" means an Account which you hold with the Bank:
(a) named as the CFS Account in your Application (as accepted by the Bank); and
(b) in which all Client Funds invested through the Service are in fact deposited (notwithstanding that such Funds are notionally invested in various Client Accounts).
"Clearing Account" means an Account which you hold with the Bank:
(a) named as the Clearing Account in your Application (as accepted by the Bank); and
(b) to which the principal monies and interest Credited to Client Accounts must (in default of any contrary Instruction in accordance with these Terms) be Credited on the due date for payment thereof.
"Client" means a Person for the benefit of whom, or for whose account, you hold funds (and includes, where the context so permits, Persons for whose joint benefit or for whose joint account you hold funds).
"Client Account" means a notional account opened through the Service in the name of a particular Client.
"Client Call Account" means a Client Account opened on terms that all funds Credited to it are invested at call.
"Client Funds" means monies held by you for the benefit or to the account of one or more Clients.
"Client List" means the list of Clients in respect of whom Client Accounts have been or can be opened.
"Client Term Account" means a Client Account opened on terms that all principal monies Credited to it are invested for a specified term.
"Computer" includes (without limitation) any device which may be used to access a computer or a network from a remote site or while mobile.
"Controlled Instructions" has the meaning given to that term in clause 5.7(e).
(a) in relation to a Client Account, means to allocate funds deposited in the CFS Account to that Client Account;
(b) in relation to the CFS Account, means (as the context may require):
(i) to transfer monies from the Clearing Account to the CFS Account; or
(ii) to reallocate funds from a Client Account to the CFS Account; and
(c) in relation to any other Account, means to pay or transfer monies to that Account.
"Credit Instruction" means an Instruction to Credit funds to an Account or a Client Account.
(a) in relation to a Client Account, means to reallocate funds from that Client Account to the CFS Account and then transfer the same from the CFS Account to another Account;
(b) in relation to the CFS Account, means (as the context may require):
(i) to allocate funds from the CFS Account to a Client Account; or
(ii) to transfer monies from the CFS Account to another Account; and
(c) in relation to any other Account, means to withdraw monies from that Account or to transfer monies from that Account to another Account.
"Facsimile Indemnity" means the facsimile indemnity provided by you under clause 2.5(b).
"Instruction" means any instruction given to the Bank through the Service in relation to the CFS Account or one or more Client Accounts (and includes where the context so permits a standing instruction given in your Application); and "to Instruct" bears a corresponding meaning.
"Manual Service" means the manual version of the Service.
"NetGuard" means the second-factor authentication security system supporting the Service which enables access to and use of the Service to be confined to Users who enter (in addition to the Access Number and their User IDs and Passwords) valid NetGuard Login Codes.
"NetGuard Bypass" means the temporary enabling of Users by the Bank (in accordance with the Bank’s processes and policies from time to time) to log in to and use the Service without their having to enter NetGuard Login Codes.
"NetGuard Login Code" means a set of numbers randomly generated by a NetGuard Token.
"NetGuard PIN" means a set of numbers that enables a User to activate a NetGuard Token so that it will generate a NetGuard Login Code.
"NetGuard Token" means a device provided by the Bank which enables the Relevant User to source a NetGuard Login Code.
"Nominated Account" means, in relation to principal or interest Credited to a Client Account and falling due for repayment, the Account nominated in your Application or a subsequent Instruction as the Account to which such principal or interest must be Credited when due (subject to these Terms).
"Online Service" means the online version of the Service.
"Password" means a password that enables a User to log in to and use the Service.
"Persons" includes individuals as well as companies and other bodies corporate.
"Receiving Financial Institution" means the financial institution that maintains an Account to which funds must be Credited pursuant to a Credit Instruction.
"Relevant User" in relation to a NetGuard Token means the User to whom that NetGuard Token is currently issued by the Bank.
"Service" means the Bank’s client fund management service provided pursuant to these Terms; and includes (unless the context otherwise requires) both the Online Service and the Manual Service.
"Standard Terms" means the Bank’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Operating Accounts (as amended from time to time).
"Sub-user" means, in relation to the Online Service, an individual duly authorised from time to time by an Administrator to use the Service in respect of the CFS Account and the Client Accounts and whose Access Rights are restricted to the rights specified in clause 5.9.
"Terms" means these Client Fund Service Terms and Conditions (as amended from time to time).
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Recuperation and Rear Window Murray Pomerance December 2003 Feature Articles Issue 29 Misfortune comes from having a body. – Confucius On Sunday the 6th of April, 2003, at a little after noon Eastern Standard Time, I sustained a tibial-fibular multiple fracture following a severe ice storm, and was taken to Toronto’s St. Joseph’s Hospital where I underwent a surgical procedure known as Open Reduction Internal Fixation, thereby gaining, among other things, a stainless steel plate in my leg, a hefty cast (below my knee), a delicious supply of first morphine and later codeine in my bloodstream, the requirement (following an epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in the area) to quarantine myself for ten days in a relatively confined space, and thus a new sensitivity to L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies’s condition in Rear Window. While I was not courting Lisa Fremont, dining on lobster from “21”, or living within perceptual range of Greenwich Village (what Erving Goffman would have defined as the same “social situation” as he), and while his wheelchair was replaced by my crutches; his full-leg cast by my smaller “soft slab” (hard in front and soft in back but genuinely weighty); his courtyard window by my television, collection of videotapes, and laptop (on which I am writing these words); still, Jeff was sufficiently in my heart for me to want to try here a new assessment of his often-studied and fascinating role in this often-studied and fascinating film, one that gives proper consideration to Jeff’s medical status and to Rear Window as a document of a medical experience. This is certainly very far from a fully satisfactory approach either to Rear Window or to Alfred Hitchcock, and in taking it I hardly intend to seem as arcane as the French endocrinologist who in 1929 explained the posture of Thetis’s neck in Ingres’s “Jupiter and Thetis” (1811) in terms of an improperly functioning thyroid gland” (Rosenblum 1985, 23). Yet I think this approach will show some aspects of the film in new and helpful light while at the same time making it possible for me to link an intense private experience with an important cinematic document that I happen to care about. To be sure, it can be said of Jeff in summary that “in a wheelchair, his leg in a cast for nearly six weeks with nothing to do, he looks” (Sharff 1993, 6-7); yet we might wonder why exactly that preoccupation might appeal to someone in exactly Jeff’s condition, with what consequences interesting to a student of Hitchcock, or of this particular film. More bluntly: why if he wanted to play upon the act of looking might Hitchcock have arranged for his protagonist to be caught up also in recuperation? Let me extend myself on one analytical limb and reflect that since Jeff sustained the injuries which necessitated his wheelchair-bound position in that cast by being hit by a racing car out of control while he was trying to take pictures of it (one such photograph featuring prominently in the delirious tracking shot which serves to introduce us to central elements of his world), and since that cast is indeed so massive, there can hardly be doubt that he, too, had a surgical procedure. Beneath that debilitating and itching plaster are incisions and perhaps even steel plates. Indeed, his surgery had to have been more complicated than mine was, more invasive, and by the time we discover him basking in the summer New York heat he has gulped down, we can be sure, the same kind of postoperative dosing of barbiturates – probably roughly the same barbiturates – as I did. I can conclude this because the appearance of that cast is informative to those who are, or have been, involved in orthopedic surgery; much as the fact that dinner in this film is ordered from “21” is informative to those in the know about the social class in which Lisa Fremont resides. There is no way Jeff is simply a man who doesn’t get around a lot, although he is surely that. He is also on intense pain-killers, probably non-stop, and at least some of what we find fascinating about him (what has been found fascinating in the extensive canon of critical work on this film) owes to the effects of such drugs, although other causes are typically proposed by a critical armature that neglects Jeff’s medical condition. As I am newly familiar with these effects I find not only that I appreciate Hitchcock’s film with new gusto and that I recognise in James Stewart’s performance new subtleties and masteries, but that I have found a new sympathy for Jeff, a new bond of connection that makes him more transparent to me and his diegetical adventures in framing and decoding his neighbours less bizarre (certainly less dominating) and more logical in my estimation. Reflecting that every movement toward something is also a movement away, the approach I am taking openly disregards as essential a certain critical approach to Rear Window, by no means the reigning critical orthodoxy yet also not without allure, that allies Jeff’s camera use (both in photography and in gazing) to the repressive program of a controlling state bureaucracy. Writing, for example, of Rear Window‘s attempt to “recuperate the cinematic apparatus from its contamination by the emergence of the national security state”, Robert J. Corber suggests that its hero deploys the techniques of the national security apparatus to spy on the neighbours of his Lower East Side apartment complex. To be sure, he lacks the listening devices, hidden cameras, and microfilm of the FBI and the CIA, but his telephoto lens allows him to scrutinise even the remotest corners of his neighbours’ apartments and to discover their most carefully guarded secrets. Yet in admitting its complicity with the government persecution of suspected Communists, homosexuals, lesbians, and other “undesirables”, Rear Window was simply . . . [admitting] that its technology facilitated the systematic repression of basic civil liberties (the right to free speech, the freedom of association) as a way of reclaiming that technology for the postwar settlement. Implicit in the film’s “confession” of its own tainted procedures is a critique of McCarthyism. The film pathologises Jeff’s constant surveillance of his neighbours by suggesting that he suffers from an arrested sexual development (1993, 89-90; emphases mine). This is certainly interesting, even as an argument about the hegemony of the 1950s without reference to this film at all. But my argument here is that other forces provoke Jeff’s use of the gaze, that “scrutinising his neighbours’ apartments” and “discovering their most carefully guarded secrets” as a monitoring technique of social control could not be farther from his interests; that the film actually does not succeed in pathologising Jeff and that, indeed, to do so it would have to invoke exactly what is invoked by Corber (and others), namely, an “arrested sexual development”; further, that what is “arrested” in Jeff isn’t sexuality at all but something else more basic still; and that if “arrested sexual development” had been the focus of Hitchcock’s attention here he need hardly have called into being a protagonist who could not stand on his own two feet to have trouble getting his arms around Grace Kelly. Most importantly, it is not the cinematic apparatus that is being recuperated in this film; and Corber’s use of the word “recuperation” is entirely too blithe. Four aspects of Hitchcock’s portrayal of Jeff strike me in particular as being related to the recuperative state of being: the notably “dry” quality of consciousness, gregarious imagination, lucidity (a kind of focal clarity), and avidity for social life, all of these summing to an intellectual and narrative hunger. I should stress that “avidity for social life” does not necessarily mean a desire to participate in activity with other people. It can be a fascination with what people do, even coupled with a predilection to watch them from afar. But such an avidity is certainly directed away from the self, to the concerns, foibles, ensnarements, and adventures presented from the outside. The intellectual and narrative hunger experienced by Jeff are my concern here, not as aspects of his perduring personality or professional armature but as existential imperatives for him while he endures the particular condition in which we are constrained to meet him (1). It is worth noting before I proceed that in some ways quite different than what I attempt here, Jeff’s mental life has been written about to the point of exhaustion in a literature bent on seeing this film in other terms. Jeff has typically being taken as a (chauvinist) case study of boredom in confinement. His professional status as photographer has been used to explicate his “Peeping Tom” proclivities, as if he never stops working day and night and can muster no defences to stop himself from concocting images of others when they present themselves to him. Paula Marantz Cohen even attributes the murder of Mrs. Thorwald to Jeff’s imagination (1995, 168). Indeed, so too can his peeping be seen as a form of laziness, the negative link between it and his work habits hinted at by Stella (Thelma Ritter), his nurse, when she mentions that “The New York State sentence for a Peeping Tom is six months in the workhouse. And they got no windows in the workhouse” (quoted in Sharff 1997, 108); his windowed bachelor pad is thus a locus of anything but work. His method of analysis, his calculation, his linkage of observed fact to dramaturgical explanation (his “scripting” of the lives of the neighbours upon whom he is spying) are often thought symptomatic of his hard-boiled journalist training or of his voyeurism. Jeff is widely, and delightfully (if sadistically), presumed by many who write about him to be randy as a goat, not only because he mentions to Lisa that his sex life is wanting but also because his attentions to the cavorting Miss Torso, the pathetic Miss Lonely Hearts, and the newly-married couple next door seem especially prurient. And the fact that for all his desperate desire to devour the little movies that are being displayed to him in the many rear windows he can see Jeff in fact misses a lot of the action of this film that is made accessible to us (more eager still than he to see stories played out) because he keeps dozing, is generally accounted to the torpor evidenced by that early shot of the thermometer reading 93°. The heat apparently makes him drowsy; the drowsiness makes him miss scenes; that he misses scenes leads him to misdiagnose, and also to work with new feverishness in his diagnosis, frantic to put together in a cinematic way the shards of narrative left available to his waking mind. Yet I think it questionable that his actions can be accounted for in terms of either torpor or randiness, since neither of these account for the complexity of his engagement in the world and since, as well, it is hard to imagine him both torpid and sexually alive. Although he is hardly in a position to be exchanging cash in the marketplace, in a certain sense he is a perfect capitalist in his endeavour, since, in Jonathan Crary’s words, part of the cultural logic of capitalism demands that we accept as natural the rapid switching of our attention from one thing to another. Capital, as accelerated exchange and circulation, necessarily produces this kind of human perceptual adaptability and becomes a regime of reciprocal attentiveness and distraction (1995, 48). Certainly, that the courtyard tales are so frequently interrupted, that a certain kind of attention from Jeff is a requisite to the proceedings as part of our field of view, and that capital circulation stands as the organising principle behind both Jeff’s watching and the actions he watches, supersede in importance a simple evaluation of the content of the little dramas as being, for instance, “about dirty linen that gets washed in the courtyard;. . . about moral solitude, an extraordinary symphony of daily life and ruined dreams” (Truffaut 1978, 78) or as being “a multiple projection of James Stewart’s sexual preoccupation” (Chabrol, 41; translation mine). But much of this critical riposte assaults our protagonist’s dignity more than is necessary for an appreciation of the film. The proposition that he naps a lot because he can’t take the heat, for example, neglects that at the end of the film, when no further action remains for him to miss in torpor, we are given yet one more glimpse of the thermometer in order to see that it’s still hot outside: the heat is dramatically independent of Jeff’s consciousness. The narrative clue to his dozing is his cast: his pain-killers occasionally knock him out. To those who would object that we do not see Jeff take any painkillers it must be said that we do not see a great many things here that can be known, intuited, or assumed on the basis of what we do see: Stella’s husband; the coffee shop where Jeff “plans” to meet Thorwald; Lisa’s social sphere; and so on. Even the assumption that he is knocked out by the heat, by the way, demands associations, conclusions, and extrapolations on the viewer’s part – and the heat outside is itself as invisible as the painkillers. The thermometer indicates the heat: the cast and behaviour, to those who have taken barbiturates like morphine, are similarly indicative. Regarding the idea that Jeff is too hot: the thermometer shots bracket the film in order to set it in New York in the peak of the summer, not to tell us why Jeff can’t stay awake. It’s always hot like this in that city at that time, and New Yorkers know it and handle it just fine. Indeed, we see that none of Jeff’s neighbours – also New Yorkers – are dropping into slumber because of the heat, which must also affect them: that the thermometer we’re reading happens to be outside his apartment doesn’t indicate that it signals about him. A couple of girls on the opposite side are sunbathing; Miss Torso is scantily clad (at home, rehearsing a dance routine), the couple with the little dog are accommodating to the heat by sleeping out on the fire escape (a standard routine in this social class). Because it’s the peak of summer, too, there has been an exodus from the city (Billy Wilder’s The Seven-Year Itch, made the same year, is explicit about this in its opening narration) and people in Lisa Fremont’s class, who live on Sutton Place, are by and large not in town; they are in the Hamptons, eating their lobster at Gosman’s in Montauk or having it less casually at the Hedges Inn in East Hampton or Gordon’s in Amagansett or The Lobster Inn in Shinnecock or Joe Duck’s in Southampton. The thermometer shot is also important, then, because it signals something to us about Lisa: that this is the time of year when someone like her can afford not to be in a place like this, that she can very well manage, like the rest of her social crowd, not to be here suffering this heat, even if Jeff can’t, and that her presence may therefore be interpreted as something of a token of abiding commitment to him. A last comment about the conventional reading of Jeff – this time respecting his apparent diffidence toward Lisa (and putative randiness because of the “tempting” dancer across the way). Jeff, I would argue, is not the traditional romantic hero, eager to couple with the maiden of his dreams, since in his condition it is fascination with the multiplicity and complexity of the world, not yearning for bodily or soulful release, that organises his response. His is precisely the recuperative condition to which I am about to return, and it is only in recuperation that we know him. To Lisa, then, he is hardly as diffident as has often been claimed by those who would cast him as ungrateful and impolite in the face of her magnanimity and civility (and she is no forerunner of the rejected Midge in Vertigo). Jeff and Lisa are not meeting for the first time at the beginning of this film, although it is for the first time that we are meeting them; Jeff knows all about Lisa’s classbound interest in selling thousand-dollar gowns, dropping over to Paris for luncheon, and arranging for “21” to deliver. And it is not because he does not agree with them that Jeff turns a deaf ear to Stella’s open suggestions that he pay more attention to Lisa; it is simply that Stella’s is a song he has heard one time too many, and one which he doesn’t need to hear at all since he is already humming it inside his own head. As to Lisa’s incompatibility: while Jeff doesn’t want her cramping his style as a globe-trotting photojournalist it is plain that he finds her overwhelmingly attractive, a little funny in the most charming sense of the word, trustworthy in the extreme, generous, and brave. He is not rejecting her wealth; but he has not figured out how to link it to his need for free movement (a need magnified for his subjectivity by the fact of his immobilisation at present). If he seems occasionally to become a little serious in his banter with her – and it is affectionate banter that characterises their relationship, not hostility – it may well be because he has come finally to thinking of their friendship in exactly the serious terms that she makes a point of invoking; that he is confounded by what looks like an obstacle to the union he clearly wants as much as she does. By film’s end we have every reason for feeling that Jeff will be Lisa’s for certain, and happily so since Lisa will also be Jeff’s: her escapade on the fire escape outside Thorwald’s apartment and contending with Thorwald as she steals the ring is proof positive that she will be able to journey with him wherever he goes. The casualness with which he earlier attacked the lobster dinner she arranged for shows that Jeff will have no trouble fitting into Lisa’s world; nor could any observer except the one most naive as to social class considerations imagine for a moment that for a working man to accommodate himself to luxury presents difficulties. Lisa is the partner who will need to work at adapting. Jeff, therefore, is hardly gawking at Miss Torso or the newlyweds because elegant Lisa is not a fitting object of his fixation, because he’s not getting from her whatever a red-blooded man is supposed to want. She is, and has always been, all the girl Jeff’s hormones require; but, as I hope to show, in his present state there is indeed something lacking about her that Miss Torso and the newlyweds provide, something he might not need more generally in his life, once he is healed, but that is an obsession with him as he sits trapped in the body we are permitted to see. That something is strangeness. And it bears upon what I have called the “dry” quality of his consciousness. Let me argue that if Jeff is not still on pain-killers, nevertheless he has taken sufficient quantities in the very recent past that they have affected his thinking, and that what we are seeing in this film is a systematic display of a certain kind of judgment. Jeff Jefferies is something of a postmodern flâneur, a “man of the crowd” who finds his most profound stimulations not in the bounded, traditional, habituated world of civilised domesticity but in the circulation of strangers, the flow of humanity on the streets of neighbourhoods not his own. Dana Brand suggests that “like the narrator of Poe’s ‘The Man of the Crowd,’ Jeffries has no difficulty reading his neighbours at a single glance” (1999, 125). It is true that with a career in photojournalism he has managed to exploit this taste, and true as well that in his flânerie Jeff is emblematic of modern urban man, eager to decode the signs offered by rapidly circulating strangers in order to experience the thrill of identification. But it is very easy to forget the passage in Poe that so moved and intrigued Baudelaire and prompted him to invoke the flâneur in his essay on Constantin Guys. Poe’s man of the crowd is not one who automatically or naturally, spontaneously or casually moves away from his own too-familiar precincts in order to mingle with intoxicating strangers who fill him with a “delicious novelty of emotion” (1998, 84). Instead, he likens himself very specifically to one who has emerged from a period of long and debilitating illness. The narrator says that he, now convalescent, and, with returning strength, found [him]self in one of those happy moods which are so precisely the converse of ennui – moods of the keenest appetency, when the film from the mental vision departs … and the intellect, electrified, surpasses as greatly its every-day condition, as does the vivid yet candid reason of Leibnitz, the mad and flimsy rhetoric of Gorgias. Merely to breathe was enjoyment; and I derived positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain. I felt a calm but inquisitive interest in every thing (1998, 84). It is the recollection of this illness and the “calm but inquisitive” state of mind as he recovers that make him sit in the window of a Coffee-House and stare with wonder at the “tumultuous sea of human heads” passing by on the other side of the “large bow-window”. Both Jeff Jefferies and Poe’s “man of the crowd” and Baudelaire’s flâneur, then, experience the delirious joy of what might be termed recuperative perception. Poe’s narrator describes both Jeff Jefferies’s experience and that of the viewer who shares and interprets it when he reflects that at first my observations took an abstract and generalising turn. I looked at the passengers in masses, and thought of them in their aggregate relations. Soon, however, I descended to details, and regarded with minute interest the innumerable varieties of figure, dress, air, gait, visage, and expression of countenance (85). This is all but a synopsis of the long opening tracking shot of Rear Window in which first we discover the array of the courtyard, the masses of apartments on all sides, the bustle of activity in the street beyond; and then deliberately, with a distinct appetite and sense of appreciation, “descend to details” of the lives of the many people who are Jeff’s neighbours, unknown strangers, indeed – although the spaces of their lives press so close upon his space – since it is only through affectionate epithets that he is able to refer to them. Although the shot is not constructed diegetically from Jeff’s point of view, there is no other point of view in the film with which it can so closely be associated; and so when we discover him dozing, we can imagine, if we like, that he is dreaming the perspectives from the memory of daily inspection. The modern city after Haussmann may seem forbiddingly impersonal when considered as a renovation of the collection of densely woven communities imbued with longstanding all-embracing personal relationships. But city dwellers need not take a romantic perspective such as this when appreciating the quality of their own lives. That contemporary urban relationships are functional rather than emotive; that in the city one is frequently in experiential range of persons one can see but cannot hear (Simmel); that interactions and collisions between representatives of different cultures are commonplace there, and rapid; that a form of panoptical control is exercised by citizens upon one another in the name of an overriding law which is invisible, and therefore abstract, to all, seem rudimentary to the grounding of Rear Window, elements of the scene to be noted yet at the same time taken for granted. Writing about John Michael Hayes’s scripting of this social world of rapid circulation, Steven DeRosa comments: The murder of the dog provided Hayes with an opportunity to indict the occupants of the courtyard for their apparent detachment and refusal to accept social responsibility. The Siffleuse (a professional whistler), as she is known in the script, for her “clarion and melodic” call to her dog, cries out, “Which one of you did it? Which one of you killed my dog? You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘neighbour.’” It is a delicate moment in the script, which set the moral tone Hitchcock desired, without becoming preachy (35; emphasis mine). The woman’s complaint, if it really is an indictment, is certainly, as DeRosa astutely suggests, not preachy. The suggestion that Hitchcock “desired” this “moral tone” is illuminating, because only in a world utterly founded upon, and thus accustomed to, the moral distance of the geographically proximate, the strangeness of neighbours, the publicity of the intimate could such an “indictment” be made without preachiness. The Siffleuse is expressing a fact, plain and simple. Rear Window’s is in some ways a distinctly post-Haussmannian universe, one that assumes, and is grounded in, the changes Haussmann effected in urban life by way of opening up the closed environment and the fixed living style to circulation and mobility. While the perspectives offered in Haussmann’s Paris are unavailable in Jeff’s limited views of Greenwich Village, while the mobility and circulation implied in his gaze are characteristically American, still it is the Haussmannian renovation that made possible the social relations we see depicted in Rear Window, relations dependent on the circulation of social agency, identity, and motive. The city no longer an agglomeration of characteristic, fixed, and self-contained neighbourhoods has been opened upon long thoroughfares to a new commercial viability and a new cultural sensibility in which mobility and strangeness are the hallmarks of experience. Broad sidewalks facilitate the formation of the crowd that appealed so to Poe, and also the generation of the circulation out of which, by razing neighbourhoods and fashioning a new urban space aesthetically designed for supporting and emplacing a new social form, Haussmann would organise the intellectual and commercial transaction of strangers or, as Schivelbusch puts it, “the advancement of the bourgeoisie’s business interests” (1986, 181). In a century which saw the rapid development of railway travel with what Schivelbusch describes as its attendant “panoramic perception” (192ff), there came also onto the scene an opening of the railway terminus into the main avenues of the city and a flooding of the immense circulation of strangers this permitted into the commercial precincts of the department store (see Rappaport). The complex of apartment buildings which contains Jeff and the many unwitting objects of his attention is structured like a department store itself, with the contents of each bounded perceptual area discrete yet capable of interrelationship. In each “window” he can “window shop”, as it were, using his imagination to pick up fascinating tidbits or make provocative speculations. As Rear Window was Hitchcock’s first production in a wide-screen format, its aspect ratio “approximated the shape of the windows surrounding Jefferies’s apartment” (DeRosa, 45), hence the implication in the film (often critically admired) that Jeff is like a moviegoer absorbed in a number of tiny “films”. Each proscenium contains a drama Jeff can consume (and we with him) independently of the other dramas; or he can look upon them collectively as what Hitchcock called “a group of little stories that . . . mirror a small universe” (Truffaut, 216). And in order to do this, he need not be any more a familiar to these people than they are to one another, or we are to them, or we are to Jeff himself. Our watching and the cinema through which it is engaged are both post-Haussmannian in that respect. The same modern era that is opened to the circulation of commercial, social, aesthetic, and criminal life also sees the birth of the fictional film, in which on a routine basis people who do not know one another can gather together in the darkness in order to invest themselves in realistic stories about still other people they can recognise and know but have never met. Poe may have had some trepidation about the public quality of the eroticism implied in his character’s perambulations – that the novelty of the crowd as a social form might well make an eager involvement with the delightful nuances of its coldness, specifically, seem irrational, even insane. Only four years after “The Man of the Crowd”, he published “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a chilling little story containing the oddest prefigurations of both Rear Window – If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs (1998b, 196). – and Rope: I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim (1998b, 196) in which his narrator takes pains to articulate his sanity in the face of what he believes will be his interlocutors’ deep suspicions. “True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses – not destroyed – not dulled them” (1998b, 193), he begins; and then argues, “What you mistake for madness is but over acuteness of the senses” (195). Declaring that a new power of sensation and conviction had brought him to feel for the first time the extent of his sagacity – in other words, to experience not the breadth of his philosophy’s focus but the particular nature of his mode of concentration, its very workings, to have an existential awareness of it as a distinct pleasure – he aligns himself with the man in a wheelchair who uses a telephoto lens to augment the powers of his perception and increase the nourishment of his fantasies (even as, by using that particular lens, he flattens the fantasies into screened narratives). If our first thought about Jeff is to isolate him as a deviant, a peeper, a misbehaved cripple compensating for his bodily debility by stealing glances of one another that etiquette and proper social form properly deny us (“Prior to [the death of the dog], Jeff has been primarily a voyeur”, writes John Belton, “After it, he becomes a provocateur” [2000, 14]), nevertheless Poe can lead us to re-evaluate both his situation and his decisions. He is a man of the crowd at a point in history where media narratives have already cultured him to read social clues as the foundation of dramatic constructions, a point where urban circulation, already profound, can be magnified technologically to the point of making available at a physical distance the smallest perceivable facts promising bold new proximities of social relation and interpretation. And he has sufficient time for meditative gazing; indeed, since he cannot move and cannot always be dozing, there is nothing else for him to do. This process is, of course, nothing if not extremely rational, and far from being a questionable type, Jeff is a model of contemporary sanity, even probity. But his sanity is not only lucid, it is dry – uninebriated. He is in many ways the perfect descendant of Poe’s man of the crowd, who began his experience in a coffee-house window, of all places. Coffee-houses and coffee culture developed through the eighteenth and nineteenth century as a hyperrational antithesis of the culture of alcohol (in which intoxicated withdrawal from the rational world was a supreme value). For Schivelbusch, the “gravitational centre” of coffee before 1900 was “where capitalism and middle-class values had most thoroughly penetrated society”, the coffeehouse attaining a significance so pronounced that “coffee became the symbolic drink of the bourgeois order” (1993, 85). Facilitated by the spread of coffee, chocolate, and tea, but coffee above all, was a restrained personality, centred upon sobriety, internal dryness, and mental alertness, that lent itself to the systematic expansion of commercial profit in cultural and political life. The coffee-house and the broad thoroughfare thus develop together, with mutual reinforcement. The pleasures of the man who, once suspended in malady, now soberly and rationally perceives the intricate workings of the quotidian world are post-Haussmannian pleasures, centring on rational enterprise and good business. In terms of Jeff Jefferies, one interesting by-product of his intelligence-gathering activity is revealed to us again and again: an accomplished photographer with an outstanding career, he is now, in front of our very eyes, lifting his camera and taking sightings of dramatically involving activity around him, quite as though in preparation for making commercially viable photographs. Hitchcock, indeed, using Jeff as his pretext, is making such photographs and selling them to us. The pain-killers that would have been available to Jeff after his accident, and that were abundantly available to me, are not intoxicants. Morphine has the effect not of distracting the consciousness, of making it buoyant and of detaching it from practical concerns, but of focusing and sharpening it, pinpointing perception, and indeed augmenting the power of concentration so that a complex vision or idea can be sustained over a relatively lengthy period of time without passing into memory. While not increasing the pulse or the respiration, it has rather the effect of very strong coffee. One has a sense of increased patience in perception, of gradual focal sharpening, of being able systematically and sedately to search for relevant details and sustain what Poe called a “calm interest in every thing”. Rather as though it is being examined through a telephoto lens, indeed, the world flattens itself and seems to extend from the eye (as in what Ortega y Gasset in 1925 called “distal perception” [1972, 112]). The hierarchy of relevancy in which we can be enveloped in the press of everyday life – a hierarchy in which vicious murder is taken as being more important than tinkering at a piano – is set aside in favour of an egalitarian perceptual democracy, all persons, observable facts, and perceptual phenomena equalising with one another in terms of the intrigue and fascination they offer. When all subject matter is capable of sustaining interest, both mortality and complexity are accessibly discernible in all directions and in all things. So can it be that for Jeff, even after he has discovered the butcher Thorwald standing out from his ecological background as the protagonist in a story-within-the-story that is brutal and chilling in the extreme (standing out just like a lit tip of a cigarette glowing in a field of darkness), the perceptual field is still filled with fascinating details of the continuing, and continually intriguing, lives of others. Even after he has assured himself that Thorwald has killed and cut up his wife, in other words, he can wonder whether the composer will finish that song, whether the newlyweds will get out of bed, whether Miss Lonely Hearts will find a boyfriend, whether the dog owners will get another dog. Jeff’s incessantly shifting perception is characterised by a kind of nervousness akin to the condition acclaimed by the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a nervousness that opens him to an insatiable hunger for facts and sights, an unresolved and unresolvable curiosity as to the outcome of perpetual unfoldings. He reflects what Schivelbusch calls a “culture permeated by nervousness” (1993, 129), the camera lifted professionally to his eye suggesting not so much a yen to surveil his neighbours as a hunger in the face of them. The quality of Jeff’s consciousness, then, is of an attenuated and exaggerated concentration and sobriety, a hyperrationality. So powerful are his reflections for him – so intensely does he feel the extent of his mental powers – that the appreciation of fact sweeps over his impulse to action. Given the choice of doing or noticing, he chooses to notice, and to revel in his capacity to do so. This may seem like paralysis. In essence, his devotion to science paralyses him, exactly in that the ongoingly fluid dramatic unfolding of factual revelation so raptly engages him that he cannot bear to interrupt himself staring in absorption at the many variant dramas to which he is given access in order to take a position vis-à-vis any of their characters. Freshly – still freshly in his memory, which presses him gently with intimations of his vulnerability – returned from the borders of death, newly revivified and energised, he will not withdraw from the overwhelming investment of interest in the open consequentiality of human life around him. Where earlier all had been vanity – “All in vain; because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him” (Poe 1998b, 194) – now all is wonder, as for Shakespeare’s stunned Miranda. In order to make explicable for the viewing audience the magnitude and profundity of Jeff’s experience, when in fact its materiality (its susceptibility to lighting and dramatisation in itself) is scanty, Hitchcock must create a design that supplies reasons for our believing Jeff is acting soundly and sanely when in response to what he sees he does nothing. Hence the invention of not just an illness but an immobilising accident; a wheelchair; a heavy cast. Any serious illness, however, any sudden realisation of the expansiveness of mortality, could have brought Jeff to a state of mind in which he would want to spend his days with that lens pressed to his eye, watching the people around him for clues as to their places in the order of things. Although sufficient evidence is presented early in the film to attest to its duration and extensiveness, the post-surgical pain in Jeff’s body has received curiously little attention as an explanatory device for bringing together his physical position – in the space of the wheelchair and in the space of the one-room apartment – and his obsessive preoccupation with the world outside his rear window. Indeed, the film itself, far from examining Jeff’s gaze as orthopedic, and therefore Jeff’s orthopedic situation in terms of his optical one, offers us a chance for too-easy displacement of considerations of his embodiment onto the idea of a skin condition, his stabilising (but also debilitating) cast being posed principally as an obstruction to him scratching an itch. Hitchcock himself can be critically implicated in this displacement: “During the moment that Jeff’s cast causes his leg to itch”, writes De Rosa, “Hitchcock indicated, ‘It might be a good idea if the music coming from Miss Torso’s apartment was a little comment on Jeff’s scratching his leg, just as a coincidence, of course’” (49). Here, then, we can find one more rationale for defining Jeff as a man who can’t quite “scratch an itch” – who has, that is to say, unresolved sexual problems that stand in his way with Lisa and prod him with Miss Torso. For a person who has sustained the kind of injury Jeff has, however, not being able to scratch an itch is the least of the unpleasantness that is troubling him. The cast also signals intense pain, current or remembered (and most certainly to follow); muscular atrophy; and a gross physical disability that will produce disorientations, awkwardnesses, incapacities, and strangely unpredictable vulnerabilities – all of these symptoms more intense and diffuse precisely because of what the enormity of the cast indexes – a massive bodily injury. The injury is held up to us throughout the film – through the agency of the positioning of Jeff in the wheelchair, his difficulty moving in it, his cast (to which he draws attention by scratching. What else could he reasonably do to “show” us that cast?), and the solicitude of his visitors (Thorwald excepted) – as a cinematic attraction, something for us to be fascinated by; and yet also as an opposition to the array of attractions constituted by the dramas (including the murder) taking place in the little apartments-screens-stages outside. The film is a game in which the attention of the viewer bounces like a ball between Jeff’s situation and the outside action, but as viewers of the film most scholars and observers have opted to focus their attention on the mini-dramas, principally the Thorwald case. In the context of such a focus, Jeff’s entrapment is typically downplayed as a comedic, colourful embellishment. But between the two poles of attraction in the film, Jeff’s imprisonment and the tightly bounded displays he can’t stop himself from watching, there is a vital and troubling relationship that should itself be a focus of our interest. For Hitchcock, this relation between the stationary observer and the active world was what led to a possibility of doing a purely cinematic film. You have an immobilised man looking out. That’s one part of the film. The second part shows what he sees and the third part shows how he reacts (Truffaut, 214). Bodily entrapment is a motive for projecting oneself out of a body beset by it. In Jeff Jefferies, we find not only stasis but a concomitant itch for human contact; a yearning to get out of himself into an absorbing relationship. His interest in peeping, then, stems not from his being a photographer but from his injury: under normal circumstances he looks only at the subjects Gunnison pays him to photograph. If we regard Jeff’s injury as the root of an impulse to form associations of some kind, we may seek to know, before leaping to the visions that play out across the courtyard, what other relations are possible for him in fact. Not Lisa. Lisa Fremont, editor of a fashion magazine, is leading a life crammed with obligations and events. While she is delighted to devote an evening to Jeff’s company, and to arrange for sumptuous dining, she is not exactly at liberty to be an ongoing object of his attention. When she is with him, she is a locus of perfume, a vision of loveliness, a model of style, more than a source of fascination. With Jeff, we see her pearls, her immaculately groomed flaxen hair, her azure eyes, her painted lips which are without trace of blemish and yet, also, perfections of constructive art. The close-up of his blue eyes gazing at her from the shadow she has cast upon his face, when first she comes into the apartment, is enough to tell us Lisa has drawn Jeff entirely out of himself, at least for the sweet duration of this moment; and yet for purely practical reasons the spell cannot last: Jeff is too familiar, professional photographer that he is, with spells, faces, visual constructions (and this Lisa, we must recollect, was a Life magazine cover); but more importantly, in his present recuperative state, it is variation, flux, the energy of a narrative he requires, not an icon. It is watching, not gazing, that interests him. Not Stella. Stella, for her part, is equally preoccupied and, when she is with Jeff at least, a tempest of opinion, professional movement, efficiency, and amicable brusqueness. Like the good professional she is, she reveals almost nothing about her personal life that could engage her patient’s fancy, that could change his state in any material way. Not Gunnison. Gunnison the photo editor does business by telephone, and has little time – if the telephone conversation we overhear is as typical as it seems – for any but the most perfunctory conversations. Not Doyle. Lieutenant Doyle is himself the prototype of the gazing male so many scholars wish to see in Jeff, a police detective by trade and therefore a man whose days are occupied with gathering, assessing, categorising, evaluating, and substantiating data, much of it visual. As a conversationalist he’s blunt and frank, even chummily so, yet not very interesting; and he holds no mysteries. Aside from these people, there are no social resources readily available in Jeff’s life, a life now filled with extended periods of wakefulness in which he can be sensitive to the demands of his body while drawing few if any satisfactions from within his own apartment. During the opening credit sequence, as Franz Waxman’s title theme plays, the matchstick blind on Jeff’s window is slowly raised by an unseen force: we come soon to understand how this force is the projection of his rational will, since only beyond this blind does a world wait that is actually accessible to his social need. The broader social structure in which Hitchcock shows all of this to be happening is one of rapid and increasing mobility. People are habitually on the move since work does not take place in the home environment (Thorwald is a paragon of the displaced worker); family relations do not guarantee social position (Lisa needs a job); and business and social interaction depend on encounters with people one does not know (Thorwald’s readiness for an encounter in a coffee shop with a stranger who calls him on the phone nicely evidences this). One’s social relations cannot be deeply rooted, since it is through the multiplicity and movement of relations that economic activity is organised. So it is that no great irony attaches to the fact that Jeff’s most intriguing attachments are not to the people who know his address and bring him dinner and medication. Nor is there anything ironic about the fact that when he watches the strangers outside he sees only fragments of the activities in which they are engaged, the deeply integrated social moment being only an obstruction to the interruptions and changes that move the current of economic life through the city environment. What does seem extraordinary is Jeff’s ability (by which I mean, the viewer’s) to deduce so very much about the lives of his neighbours from so little information, to read them, as Brand puts it, “at a glance”: this is due to a deeply embedded matrix of organised “factuality” in which Jeff’s observations, suspicions, theorisations, and conclusions are grounded. Such a matrix exists when the social world is filled with observers like Jeff, notators and calculators, whose approach to the world transcends the casual glance while never quite approximating the penetrating gaze. It is a world of clue-takers, who look without commitment since their visual field is full of so many contradictory subjects to look at. This is a civilisation that, as Jean Starobinski suggests, ought to satisfy man’s elementary need and thus transform it . . . Instead it frustrates this need, so that instead of being transformed it remains harsh and raw, a dangerous source of potential disorder beneath the reassuring semblance of a well-ordered world. Hence it is essential to denounce the scandalous discrepancy between appearance and reality (132). The dramatic highlights of Rear Window are moments in which the “dangerous source of potential disorder” suddenly, precisely, casually reveals itself “beneath” the surface of Jeff’s observations: consider the danger, for example, “beneath” Miss Lonely Hearts’s wine glass as at her little table, in the company of a “friend”, she raises it to make a toast (and Jeff, watching, raises his wine glass too, in this way projecting himself outward as the immobile embodiment of that “friend”); consider the danger when the Siffleuse’s whistle is not answered one night; consider the danger Jeff discerns beneath the zinnias in that flowerbed, merely by looking very carefully at the way they manifest themselves in the sunlight; consider the danger posed by the very darkness of Thorwald’s apartment, the empty darkness, the hollow darkness containing only the lit tip of Thorwald’s cigarette, as everyone else in the courtyard comes out to look for the lost dog. Consider the composer, who cannot find a way to finish his song but will be expected to perform at his piano tonight, because he is having a party. Consider the newlyweds, whose blind cannot remain drawn forever; they must get out of that marriage bed and come into the light of day where the dangers of everyday life can touch them. Into all of these continuing unfurlings of eventfulness, Jeff can project himself at will, as long as he can continue to rely on the gregarious imagination which is his passport to urban life. Imagining his way out of the self that is perforce the body, the mortal body, he brings especially trained powers of lucid observation, a stable detachment, an insatiable desire to see what is still dark, that is, what is still to present itself. He also has a hunger for action, understandable in a man used to travel, adventure, physical strain, and accomplishment but who must now content himself with doing nothing. Contentment in such an event is not a matter of repressing desire but of translating and projecting it, so that through a dramaturgical arrangement and an investment of sympathy the accomplishments of others (even their failures at accomplishment) gain palpable significance for one who is observing in what Roger Caillois called a “sort of voluptuous panic” (Goffman, 380). Quoting Caillois, Goffman in fact suggests that our mode of engagement in the dramatic activity of others involves a “leaning into” their anticipated conduct (381). For Jeff, however, it turns out that “leaning into” others’ conduct and experience, the embodiment of participation, is implicating in a way he could not have foreseen. His recuperative perception, in other words, is the substantive basis of a dramatic engagement. Let us consider the turning point of the movie, a moment at which Jeff’s energetic exertions to convince Lisa and Stella he is more than just a lazy Peeping Tom, that more is going on in Thorwald’s apartment than a benign wifely visit to the country, take effect and the full horror of the murder across the courtyard settles in. Screenwriter John Michael Hayes having invoked Lisa’s feminine intuition about a wedding ring being a woman’s “basic equipment” and sent her across the courtyard to climb up Thorwald’s fire escape in search of it, he “layers” the script further by adding a suicide attempt by Miss Lonely Hearts, surely a dramatic scene that will capture Jeff and Stella’s attention while deflecting them for a crucial moment from keeping an eye on Lisa who is in harm’s way if Thorwald returns (see DeRosa, 36). Truffaut, a particular fan of this film, was enamoured of this moment: One of the things I enjoyed in the film was the dual significance of that wedding ring. Grace Kelly wants to get married but James Stewart doesn’t see it that way. She breaks into the killer’s apartment to search for evidence and she finds the wedding ring. She puts it on her finger and waves her hand behind her back so that James Stewart, looking over from the other side of the yard with his spyglasses, can see it. To Grace Kelly, that ring is a double victory: not only is it the evidence she was looking for, but who knows, it may inspire Stewart to propose to her. After all, she’s already got the ring! (223) It is the next moment that is architecturally significant here. Thorwald, who has indeed returned, aggresses upon her but suddenly catches a glimpse of what she is doing. His eyes see her waving finger. He does the geometry, suddenly looking straight across the courtyard to see who it is that is receiving her message. But Jeff has been mentally vacationing in Miss Lonely Hearts’s apartment and has just returned to Lisa. Instead he sees Thorwald staring out at him. Panicked, he must fumble to wheel himself back out of Thorwald’s sightline, but it is too late. This event marks not only Jeff’s undoing as the invisible and omnipotent viewer, able to project his fantasy into the dramas playing out for him with no expense to his position; but also his implication legally with Lisa in the break-in. Since Thorwald is seeing Jeff seeing, Jeff’s behaviour taking a view of life – until this moment, with the exception of Stella and Lisa’s affectionate criticisms, an invisible non-entity in the film – is transformed in a flash into exactly the same kind of performance-at-a-distance that he has been entertained by. The suddenness of this transformation, indeed, is its principal hallmark, the characteristic most shocking for viewers and most like the offscreen prediegetic accident that has caused Jeff’s present condition. As Jeff’s accident, my own: in a fraction of a moment, everything is changed. Now he is for Thorwald what Thorwald and the other neighbours had been for him. And what Thorwald sees, seeing Jeff, is precisely himself: which is to say, the man who is the target of Lisa’s frantic signalling. This is because in the moment of recognising that Lisa is signalling, Thorwald must also recognise himself recognising; he must see that he is already and also a reader of her signal, just as Jeff is. If she is proposing (that is, waving a ring), she is proposing also to him (a step up, we can imagine, from the wife he butchered and from whose finger he has craftily removed this ring in order to keep, as Scottie Ferguson will accuse in Vertigo, “souvenirs of a murder”). Just in the way that Jeff philosophically “leans into” the anticipated actions of those he watches, Thorwald philosophically “leans into” Jeff’s vigil upon Lisa. So enthusiastically and believably does he “lean”, indeed, that subsequently Thorwald crosses the courtyard and attempts to take over Jeff’s space, throwing him off the balcony and breaking Jeff’s second leg. Jeff’s narrative involvement with the Thorwald story, carried into his conviction that a wedding ring is there to be found and his urgent desire to have evidence of it – that is, his need to see the story embodied – depends on more, however, than the presence in Thorwald’s apartment of activity that lends itself to narrative organisation. After all, it is not that there pre-exists a ready-made story to be found that leads Jeff to find a story, but instead Jeff’s voluntary, even urgent invocation of eventfulness, Jeff’s postoperative need for muscular movement counterpoised against the brutal fact that his own muscles still lack motility. Thorwald, then, as the dramatic protagonist who begins as a manipulator of bodies and soon enough becomes – following Truffaut’s reading – a man receiving a marriage proposal is utterly a projection of Jeff’s own febrile and hungry spirit, Jeff who began as a manipulator of bodies (those of his models and the body lying in the wheelchair, too) and who is now, because Thorwald has caught the signal, a man to whom a proposal has been made. Another way to say this: Thorwald having seen and understood it, the signal itself has augmented presence and meaning for Jeff. When Thorwald finds his way across the courtyard, and is looming in Jeff’s doorway – “What do you want from me?” (emphasis mine) – more is at stake than a mere physical threat or, indeed, “an illumination of the deep reason for solitude in the world, which turns out to be . . . in one word, the absence of love” (Chabrol, 43). Now the narrative and psychic unity linking himself to this murderer is evident to Jeff for the first time, an “association” that Spoto claims is linked to Jeff and Thorwald’s each being “pressured by emotional demands from an attractive blond” (1983, 371). That notwithstanding, the two of them have read as narratives the behaviour of their stranger-neighbours. To be sure, if Jeff has not poisoned and hacked up a blond who shared his bed he has decapitated at least the idea of a wife, negated every serious thought of long-time friendship that has come out of Lisa’s head. The concept of the marriage, its golden sealing ring, he has narcissistically refused to abandon even as he systematically puts off the lover who would wear it with him; so that he can cavalierly promote himself as a ladies’ man while keeping a hungry lady away; in short, he is a tease to Lisa quite as Lars has been a tease to him. And like Lars, he cannot bear to be seen in the (flash) light of day for what he is, a man caught in a trap. Lisa’s observations of Jeff are considerably less harsh, and Stella’s considerably more witty, than the piercing, shocking, brutal, and devastating gaze Thorwald shoots at Jeff across the courtyard – shoots with such force, indeed, as to make Jeff physically recoil; but this aggressive gaze, brave and at once foolhardy, is the one he used to bring to work with his camera and the one he employs to subdue Thorwald in the finale. When he pops the flashbulbs in Thorwald’s face, we are treated to Thorwald’s perspective on them – a vision of a world flooded all too suddenly with an excess of white light, and then, in a desperate and horrible afterglow, sickening redness, because in this supreme moment of vision and self-discovery for both men the very blood vessels of the seeing eye have become the eye’s dessert. One wishes for a happy ending: that, if he is suddenly aware that he is a living analogue of Anna Thorwald, the bedridden invalid, Jeff might also sense that he fares better than she, perhaps because his principal caregiver can afford an unlimited amount of sympathy; perhaps because she offers an unlimited love; that, at any rate, once Jeff has seen himself as he has made Thorwald see himself, nakedly and with great cleanliness, he will truly be ready to heal. Consider that the additional ten weeks or so during which he’ll now be laid up might cause him to miss still more distracting opportunities from Gunnison, even to fall out of Gunnison’s Rolodex prison. Lisa will become an even more regular visitor, those nappy denims wearing in and looking for all the world like a skin. Jeff will be able to see that being with her might become its own redeeming narrative, one in which he finally escapes the need to be a narrator. At the end of the film, when a slow pan reveals Lisa in blue jeans covering her Vogue with a book called Beyond the High Himalayas, the throbbing musical cue of the songwriter’s now finished (and quite beautiful) song, a demo recording of which he is playing for the musically sensitive Miss Lonely Hearts, indicates nothing other than a perfect resolution to the puzzle of the reconciliation of individual passions and social class difference. If the matchstick blinds are dropping, closing off that vista of fascinating other social worlds, he will bid them open again in the morning. With a new broken leg, Jeff will require more pain-killers and, therefore, more conviviality to intrigue his rational, exceedingly eager, newly lucid and gregarious mind. I have no trouble taking Franz Waxman’s “Lisa” to be what Jeff is dreaming in his rounding sleep tonight. But, now that she has caught a taste for adventure and has become one of the protagonists in the little films outside the rear window, can Lisa in the flesh, yet near enough to be seen without a lens, sustain his fascination tomorrow? For generous critical comment, I am deeply grateful to Richard Allen, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Sidney Gottlieb, Nathan Holmes, and William Rothman. I am especially grateful to Dina Ajlenberg, Amr Elmaraghy, M.D., Nellie Perret, and Ariel Pomerance who have helped me walk and see. Works Cited Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, ed. John Belton, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2000. Dana Brand, “Rear-View Mirror: Hitchcock, Poe, and the Flâneur in America”, in Hitchcock’s America, eds. Jonathan Freedman and Richard Millington, Oxford University Press, New York, pp 123–134. Claude Chabrol, “Les Choses sérieuses”, Cahiers du Cinema 46, April 1953, 41–43. Paula Marantz Cohen, Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, 1995. Robert J. Corber, In the Name of National Security: Hitchcock, Homophobia, and the Political Construction of Gender in Postwar America, Duke University Press, Durham, 1993. Jonathan Crary, “Unbinding Vision: Manet and the Attentive Observer in the Late Nineteenth Century”, in Cinema and the Invention of Modern Life, eds Leo Charney and Vanessa R. Schwartz, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1995, pp 46–71. Steven DeRosa, Writing with Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes, Faber and Faber, New York, 2001. Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organisation of Experience, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1974. José Ortega y Gasset, “On Point of View in the Arts”, in The Dehumanisation of Art and Other Essays on Art, Culture, and Literature, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1972, pp 105–130. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Man of the Crowd”, in Selected Tales, ed. David Van Leer, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, pp 84–91. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, in Selected Tales, ed. David Van Leer, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, pp 193–197. Erika D Rappaport, “’A New Era of Shopping’: The Promotion of Women’s Pleasure in London’s West End, 1909-1914”, in Leo Charney and Vanessa R. Schwartz, eds., Cinema and the Invention of Modern Life, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1995, 130–155. Wolfgang Schivelbusch, The Railway Journey: The Industrialisation of Time and Space in the Nineteenth Century, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1986. Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1986. Stefan Sharff, The Art of Looking in Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Limelight Editions, New York, 1997. Georg Simmel, “The Metropolis and Mental Life”, in The Sociology of Georg Simmel, ed. and trans. Kurt Wolf, The Free Press, New York, 1957, pp 409–424. Donald Spoto, The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock, Ballantine Books, New York, 1983. Jean Starobinski, The Living Eye, trans. Arthur Goldhammer, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1989. François Truffaut, The Films in My Life, trans. Leonard Mayhew, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1978. François Truffaut, Hitchcock (revised edition), trans. Helen Scott, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1985. Endnotes It is interesting that James Stewart’s performances address illness and the therapeutic situation in all four films he made for Hitchcock: in Rope (1948), he administers philosophical therapy to a pair of deranged minds; in Rear Window (1954) he is in a cast; in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) he doses his wife with barbiturates and has a history of child delivery, appendectomy, and other procedures; and in the second half of Vertigo (1958), following a sojourn in a clinic for mental collapse, he wanders in a kind of obsessive delirium through the streets of San Francisco. This delirium, William Rothman suggests to me in private communication, is in some interesting ways the opposite of his condition in Rear Window, since it compels him to focus not on the fascinations of the world at large but the promising hints of a particular object of concentration which he refuses to relinquish. | <urn:uuid:2c9f25b1-1df9-4dc9-b657-57206f16903f> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/feature-articles/rear_window/ | 2022-05-20T01:11:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530553.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519235259-20220520025259-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.964875 | 13,935 |
The Cognitive Neurology of Bilingualism in the Age of GlobalizationView this Special Issue
Research Article | Open Access
Swathi Kiran, Isabel Balachandran, Jason Lucas, "The Nature of Lexical-Semantic Access in Bilingual Aphasia", Behavioural Neurology, vol. 2014, Article ID 389565, 18 pages, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/389565
The Nature of Lexical-Semantic Access in Bilingual Aphasia
Background. Despite a growing clinical need, there are no clear guidelines on assessment of lexical access in the two languages in individuals with bilingual aphasia. Objective. In this study, we examined the influence of language proficiency on three tasks requiring lexical access in English and Spanish bilingual normal controls and in bilingual individuals with aphasia. Methods. 12 neurologically healthy Spanish-English bilinguals and 10 Spanish-English bilinguals with aphasia participated in the study. All participants completed three lexical retrieval tasks: two picture-naming tasks (BNT, BPNT) and a category generation (CG) task. Results. This study found that across all tasks, the greatest predictors for performance were the effect of group and language ability rating (LAR). Bilingual controls had a greater score or produced more correct responses than participants with bilingual aphasia across all tasks. The results of our study also indicate that normal controls and bilinguals with aphasia make similar types of errors in both English and Spanish and develop similar clustering strategies despite significant performance differences between the groups. Conclusions. Differences between bilingual patients and controls demonstrate a fundamental lexical retrieval deficit in bilingual individuals with aphasia, but one that is further influenced by language proficiency in the two languages.
Naming deficits are a commonly acquired disorder, manifesting in all types of aphasia [1, 2]; however, we are still unclear about the nature and mechanisms underlying lexical processing deficits in monolingual and bilingual individuals with aphasia. Theories of normal bilingual language processing indicate variable degrees of overlap between the two languages. For instance, the revised hierarchical model (RHM; [3–5]) allows for language proficiency differences by proposing connections between both L1 and L2 and the semantic system; these connections differ in their strengths as a function of fluency in L1 relative to L2. In bilingual individuals with a dominant language, the lexicon of L1 is generally assumed to be larger than that of L2 because more words are known in the dominant language. Also, lexical associations from L2 to L1 are assumed to be stronger than those from L1 to L2. Conversely, the links between the semantic system and L1 are assumed to be stronger than from the semantic system to L2. With regards to activation of phonological representations from the semantic system, the prevailing theory suggests that activation flows from the semantic system to the phonological system of both languages simultaneously, indicating that lexical access is target language-nonspecific [6, 7]. Thus, targets in both languages are potentially active subsequent to semantic activation, but through a process of competitive selection, the target in the accurate language is ultimately produced. An alternate, but not necessarily contradictory hypothesis, is the fact that in order for bilinguals to access the target language, the nontarget language must be inhibited [8–10]. In other words, a speaker activates target language lemmas while simultaneously inhibiting the lemmas of the nontarget language.
There are several methods to examine lexical access in bilingual individuals. The most common approach has been confrontation picture naming. In general, performance on picture naming tasks is constrained by the images presented and influenced by word frequency and imageability. One such picture naming task that has been used extensively as a measure of lexical access in monolinguals and bilinguals is the Boston Naming Test (BNT, ). For instance, Kohnert et al. showed that normal young bilinguals performed better in English than Spanish on the BNT and that naming accuracy significantly correlated with self-ratings of language skills. Similarly, Roberts et al. examined naming on the BNT in French/English and Spanish/English bilinguals and found that both bilingual groups scored significantly below the monolingual English group on the BNT.
Another approach to examining lexical access includes category generation verbal fluency tasks [14–17]. Verbal fluency has been found to be dependent on a multitude of factors, including two qualitative features, clustering and switching ability. These strategic processes are mediated by executive functioning and verbal memory storage and have therefore been a successful predictor of lexical access ability [18, 19]. Performance on the task is highly contingent on the success of the generation of semantically related words in a subcategory, or clustering, which utilizes an individual’s language stores. There is also an equally essential component of switching between subordinate categories in the verbal fluency task, which relies on an efficient cognitive flexibility [20–22]. Therefore, simply examining the number of correct words is not sufficient to understand the performance on the task .
The nature of semantic organization in the two languages of a bilingual individual affects influences their performance on verbal fluency tasks. For instance, Roberts and Le Dorze examined category generation in French-English participants and found that there was no language effect on the number of correct responses across languages. However, for animals, French-English bilinguals recalled more subcategories (birds, insects, etc.) in French than English. The authors suggested that some semantic fields may have similar type of semantic organization across languages, whereas others may differ between languages even in balanced bilinguals. The authors suggested that childhood experiences and the cultural environment play an important role in determining the nature of semantic system.
In another set of studies, Rosselli et al. first compared Spanish-English bilinguals with English monolinguals and Spanish monolinguals on word fluency task using either phoneme letter cues or semantic categories. Results showed a lower performance in the bilingual participants compared to their monolingual counterparts on the semantic category cued task but not on the phoneme letter cue task. They indicated that the shared elements of concrete nouns across languages may further the interference between the two languages. There may also be a greater conflict between the languages while the individual is searching through their verbal stores for semantically related words . Interestingly, age of acquisition of L2 did interact with language, bilinguals who learned English earlier in life as L2 performed significantly higher than later learners on English versions of the tests. In a follow-up study, Rosselli et al. examined the use of grammatical words versus content words for phonemic word generation and analyzed the relationship between productivity and semantic association for the responses in category generation. Results for generation of words within phonemic categories were similar to the previous study in which bilinguals produced almost an identical number of words as both English and Spanish monolinguals. There are other studies that have examined verbal fluency as a measure of lexical-semantic access in bilingual individuals in other language combinations (e.g., Zulu/English, ; Finnish/English, ) and found differences in the degree of performance across the two languages of the bilingual. To summarize, most studies examining category fluency in bilingual individuals have demonstrated that participants tend to produce more items in one language relative to another and to task set (e.g., semantic or phonological cues), but no study has systematically examined the nature of category fluency in bilingual individuals across a set of semantic categories by taking into account language proficiency.
Both lexical access tasks described above, picture naming and verbal fluency, test lexical access but in slightly different ways. In both tasks, the measure of lexical access theoretically involves parallel activation of both languages with highly interactive phonological and semantic representations that spread through the levels of language representation . However, sufficient crucial differences in the theoretical basis between the tasks exist to investigate different properties of lexical access. Performance on picture naming tasks is constrained by the images presented, making nonlinguistic strategies like clustering and switching ineffective. Performance on the picture naming tasks is driven mainly by word frequency and imageability. Also, categories in the category generation task have a certain degree of flexibility with regard to items that belong to a given category which is not present in a picture naming task. On the verbal fluency task, however, nonlinguistic and semantically unrelated phonological strategies are effective means of performing the task. Grouping clusters is dependent on the way semantically related words are organized in the brain. Clustering and switching abilities on the verbal fluency task are dependent on individual language exposure. The relative freedom of the category generation task (to semantically organize the categories) also aids in the performance of the task by facilitating the individual language abilities of the participants.
In contrast to studies on lexical access in nonbrain damaged bilingual individuals, examination of lexical access in bilingual aphasia is relatively sparse and most studies are case studies of individuals with interesting but atypical language impairment profiles [11, 28–33]. In one group study, Tschirren et al. examined the interaction of late age of acquisition (AoA) on L2 syntactic deficits in bilingual aphasia. A total of 12 late bilingual patients with aphasia (six with anterior lesions and six with posterior lesions) were examined. The authors found that, as a group, the L1 and L2 aphasia severity scores did not differ; however, four patients with lesions in the prerolandic area did exhibit lower scores in L2 syntactic processing compared to L1 syntactic processing.
A few studies have specifically examined lexical access in bilingual aphasia. For instance, Roberts and Deslauriers examined the relationship between the mental representation of the two languages and how effectively individuals switched between languages. During naming performance on cognate nouns, the study found that bilingual individuals with aphasia produced cognate nouns with higher accuracy than noncognates in both languages. In another study, Muñoz and Marquardt compared language history and language proficiency self-ratings with poststroke picture naming and identification ability in four Spanish-English patients with bilingual aphasia with 20 neurologically healthy Spanish-English adults who were gender, ethnicity, and age matched and completed the same experiment diagnostics. The bilingual nonbrain damaged individuals showed that more frequent use of the English language is consistent with between-language differences in proficiency and literacy. The four patients fell into three patterns. For two patients differences in naming and identification scores in Spanish and English were correlated with varying degrees of skill between two languages instead of a differential impairment. For a third patient, it was predicted that his performance in English would outperform Spanish based on the language history; however, this trend was not observed and the authors identified a differential impairment. Finally, the fourth patient presented with a language profile that predicted similar impairments across languages; however, the English picture naming task was less impaired than the Spanish whereas the opposite trend in results was observed for the picture identification task. For this patient, the authors speculate that higher English picture naming scores may be attributed to strategies learned in years of English therapy that did not transfer to Spanish. Overall, the experiment results strongly suggest that an in-depth premorbid language history is a vital piece to the evaluation and identification of deficits and language pattern impairments in bilingual aphasia.
These studies highlight the fact that lexical retrieval is influenced by proficiency and the nature of brain damage, but these results are not necessarily generalizable to the larger population of bilingual aphasia. A systematic examination of a larger group of patients on different language tasks while accounting for language proficiency will help better understand the nature of lexical access in individuals with bilingual aphasia and guide better diagnosis and treatment of lexical impairment in these individuals.
The present study examines lexical access in English and Spanish with respect to both premorbid proficiency and the effect of stroke on language ability in ten patients with bilingual aphasia and their nonbrain damaged controls. We compared picture naming on the BNT with a separate normed naming task to examine any differences (or similarities) between these two tasks. While the BNT is used often in the assessment of lexical impairment in individuals with bilingual aphasia, it has clear limitations as a valid measure of lexical access due to the relatively low frequency of certain items in the task . Therefore, in the present study, we directly compared performance on the BNT with another naming task that developed to examine lexical retrieval in bilingual individuals [37, 38] and that has items that are generally frequent in both English and Spanish cultures. Additionally, we compared confrontation naming on these two tasks with category generation across three categories for the reasons described above. In addition to examining accuracy on the confrontation naming task, we also systematically examined the nature of target and nontarget language errors that were produced by patients and controls. Likewise, in addition to examining the number of correct words generated on the category generation task, we also examined strategies in verbal fluency including semantic clusters and switches between subclusters across three semantic categories.
In addition to comparing the three lexical access tasks across two languages (English, Spanish), the main goal of this paper was to examine the effect of language proficiency on differences in bilingual lexical access in normal bilingual controls as well as in individuals with bilingual aphasia. To this end, we obtained detailed measures of language background, use, and proficiency in both bilingual controls and in patients with bilingual aphasia. We predicted that bilingual controls would outperform the patients on all three measures of lexical access, but both groups would demonstrate a variance in the nature of strategies employed in lexical retrieval. As such, we expected bilingual controls to produce different semantic clusters and switches and fewer semantic errors compared to bilingual individuals with aphasia. In addition, we predicted language proficiency measures such as language exposure, self-rating of language proficiency, and other parameters to positively correlate with the extent to which participants successfully retrieved words in the two languages.
Twelve Spanish-English bilingual nonbrain damaged individuals between the ages of 18 and 70 (mean age = 34.92 years, standard deviation = 18.89, see Table 1 for a complete description of demographic information). Control subjects were paid $10 each for their participation. Ten Spanish/English bilingual speakers with aphasia participated in the study (see Table 2 for a complete description of demographic information). All participants experienced a single, unilateral cerebral vascular event (CVA, or stroke) in the distribution of the left middle cerebral artery at least 6 months prior to initiation of the experiment with the exception of BA04 who experienced a gunshot wound in the left hemisphere. Participants with apraxia were excluded from the study because the motor complexity can impact oral naming, which was the main task in the study.
|Note: AoA: Age of acquisition, Eng.: English, Sp.: Spanish. |
|Note: AoA: Age of acquisition, Eng: English, Sp: Spanish.|
2.1.1. Assessment of Language Proficiency Levels
All participants received extensive background language assessments and a comprehensive LUQ . This questionnaire obtained information about the period of age of language acquisition (AoA). Next, participants were required to self-rate their proficiency (prestroke for bilinguals with aphasia) in each language in terms of their ability to speak and understand the language in formal and informal situations and read and write in each language. Again, an average proportion score in each language reflected participants’ perception of their own language ability rating (LAR). Additionally, a proportion of language exposure in hearing, speaking, and reading domains during the entire lifetime for each individual was obtained. A weighted average of the proportion of language exposure in the three domains was obtained for each language; for the participants, this information primarily reflected their prestroke lifetime language exposure. A similar set of questions obtained a proportion of confidence in hearing, speaking, and reading domains during the entire lifetime for each individual. A weighted average of the proportion of confidence in language use in the three domains was obtained for each language; for the participants, this piece of information primarily reflected their prestroke language confidence use. Participants estimated the time spent conversing in each language hour by hour during a typical weekday and typical weekend. A weighted average of this score reflected the proportion of language use in the two languages; for the participants with aphasia this piece of information reflected their current (poststroke) language use. Participants were also asked to rate their family proficiency (estimates of parent/sibling proficiency) in each of the two languages. Finally, participants also filled out a detailed educational history form in which they were asked to provide the language of instruction and the predominant language used during educational interactions.
2.1.2. Assessment of Language Impairment for Participants with Aphasia
Because there is inadequate evidence to guide a priori hypotheses about lexical-semantic impairments, no explicit criteria other than the ability to perform the experimental task were set for inclusion in the experiment. The three pictures subtest of Pyramids and Palm Trees (PAPT) , the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) , and the Boston Naming Test [12, 41] were administered in both languages (English/Spanish) on separate days by separate examiners (see Table 3 for score information). The BNT was administered in its entirety (all sixty items) according to the protocol including the guidelines for basal and ceiling scoring as indicated in the manual. Scoring for the Spanish items was done according to the procedures reviewed by Kohnert et al. . With the exception of the BNT which was analyzed further for differences, results from the remaining tests are reported as patient demographic information to provide additional information about the nature of language impairment.
In addition to the BNT, a second picture naming task that included primarily high frequency concrete nouns obtained from specific categories (Bilingual Picture Naming Task, BPNT) was administered. Stimuli for this task were chosen from our previous work that included a corpus of 200 words that varied across semantic categories [37, 38]. In both language pairs, cognates (e.g., elephant and elefante) and words with at least 50% phonetic similarity (e.g., cat and gato) were eliminated from the set. The picture stimuli were chosen from Art Explosion Software (NOVA Inc.) and modified to approximately inches. The picture naming task consisted of 108 pictures. Stimuli were presented in language blocks with the order of stimuli pseudorandomized within each block to ensure that items from the same category were not presented sequentially. Prior to presentation of stimuli in each language, the bilingual clinician verbally conversed with the participant for a minimum of five minutes (i.e., general everyday conversation) to ensure that participants were aware of the target language and to facilitate lexical access of the target language.
All participants were also administered a Category Generation (CG) task as a measure of verbal fluency. Three categories were selected: animals, clothing, and food in English and Spanish. Participants were asked to produce as many semantically related words in two minutes in each of the assigned categories. Again, the order of presentation of languages and categories for the task was counterbalanced across sessions for each participant.
2.3. Data Scoring
2.3.1. Picture Naming Scoring
For both naming tests, bilingual controls were shown the target stimuli and given up to thirty seconds to generate a response. Responses were counted as correct if they matched the target response. All other responses were coded on a 20-point error scale that included the following error codes: no response; neologism; perseveration; unrelated word; circumlocution; semantic error; mixed error; phonemic error; correct in nontarget language; accent influence in target language (see Table 6 for descriptions and examples). Target language indicates the language in which testing was taking place at the time. Nontarget language denotes responses that were given in the language not being tested.
The same scoring procedure was used for patients and controls, with minor differences made to compensate for the participants’ deficits. In particular, responses were counted as correct if they matched the target response, or contained one phonemic substitution, omission, or addition to the target response; however, for controls, responses had to be accurate productions of the target. Additionally, participants with aphasia were given up to one minute to generate a response to the stimuli pictures.
2.3.2. Category Generation Scoring
For the CG task, the responses of all participants were transcribed and tabulated. This was performed separately for each category and each language. Three measures were obtained from this data: (a) the total number words produced, (b) total correct words produced, (c) mean semantic cluster size, and (d) mean semantic switching in each subcategory for each language, Spanish and English [22, 34]. Outlined below is the scoring procedure for the four categories analyzed.
(a) Total Words. The number of responses, either intelligible or unintelligible, was calculated for each category and language.
(b) Total Correct Words. The accuracy of the words produced in the task was determined through a 20-point error analysis procedure outlined in Table 6. Only intelligible and appropriate words for each category and language were deemed correct. Incorrect responses and any cross linguistic errors, perseverations, two or more repetitions of the same item, were considered as incorrect items.
(c) Mean Semantic Cluster Score. In order to calculate clusters produced within each category, several constraints were utilized based on previously published work. For the category of animals, the method of analysis was taken directly from Tschirren et al. . The coding system for clothing was guided by work done by Rosselli et al. . A coding system for food items was developed by applying the methods stated in . The average of all of the semantic clusters in one category and one language was then determined for each subject to produce a final score. (The individual categories are listed in Appendix A.)
(d) Mean Semantic Switching Score. The scoring for the mean semantic cluster score was consistent between each category and each language . This score was calculated as the total amount of changes between clusters (Appendix A).
We did not collect formal measures of reliability. The transcription of oral responses was completed by the testing clinician and the error coding was performed by a research assistant who checked all transcribed responses against the targets prior to coding the errors.
3.1. Analysis of Language History and Proficiency
Tables 1 and 2 reveal that there were differences between the two groups in terms of language history and proficiency. Simple factorial ANOVAs were performed on the various variables (e.g., language ability rating, lifetime language exposure) with group (patient, control) and language (English, Spanish) as independent variables. Results showed a significant main effect of group (, ) and language (, ) indicating that language ability ratings were generally higher for the controls relative to the patients () and in Spanish relative to English (). For lifetime language exposure, a significant interaction effect of group and language was observed (, ) indicating that lifetime exposure in Spanish was higher than English for patients () but no significant differences were observed for controls. Similarly, for current language use, a significant interaction of group and language was observed (, ) indicating that current language use was higher in English than in Spanish () for controls, whereas current language use was higher in Spanish than in English () for patients. Interestingly, current use of Spanish in the patients was higher than controls (). Analysis of language confidence revealed a significant effect of language (, ) with the overall confidence in Spanish being higher than in English. Analysis of family proficiency revealed significant main effects of language (, ) and interaction effects of group and language (, ) essentially indicating higher family proficiency in Spanish relative to English in patients (), however, the differences were not significant for controls. Analysis on education history was not significant for patients or controls. In summary, these results indicate that both groups demonstrated greater language history and proficiency in Spanish than in English, with the difference between the two languages being larger for the patient group than the control group. Notably, controls demonstrated an interesting split between language history (where values were generally higher in Spanish than English) and current language use (where current use was higher in English than in Spanish).
3.2. Picture Naming
Separate regression analyses were used to analyze the dependent variables (performance on the BNT and BPNT) to investigate the factors most responsible for the performance of the groups. The categorical predictors were group (patient, controls) and language (English, Spanish), and the continuous predictors were the variables of the LUQ: LAR, Confidence, Lifetime Exposure, Current Exposure, Family Proficiency, and Education History. For BNT, the overall regression equation was significant , , . The significant predictors were group (, , ), LAR (, , ) and language (, , ). For the BPNT, which was also significant , , significant predictors of performance were group , , and LAR , , .
Since the regression equations revealed group and at least one aspect of language proficiency to be major predictors for both the BNT and BPNT, the data for the patients and bilingual controls were separated andanalyzed to examine if differences in language performance was observed once language proficiency measures were controlled within each participant group. Also, since the regression analysis for both picture naming tasks revealed LAR as the only significant LUQ predictor, only this variable was entered into a subsequent ANCOVA analysis, with language as the independent variable. For the BNT, there was a significant effect of language even after controlling for LAR , . Post hoc tests indicated that naming accuracy on the BNT was higher in English than Spanish (). For the BPNT, there was also a significant effect of language after controlling for LAR (, ). However, the post hoc analysis was not significant () with trends indicating that naming performance in English was slightly higher than in Spanish. Results for the bilinguals with aphasia were not significant on the ANCOVA analysis for either BNT or BPNT.
3.3. Error Analysis
Responses on the BPNT were further analyzed for the nature of errors produced (providing stimulus cues during BNT makes it difficult to interpret the nature of semantic errors on the task) and interpreted within a framework of lexical access (see Figure 1). Analysis of responses for the BPNT showed that despite the significant differences in accuracy and distribution of error types, no significant differences were observed between bilingual controls and participants with aphasia on English error types (; ). As seen in Figure 2, bilingual controls performed with 84.3% accuracy on English targets. Error types greater than 1% were (a) Circumlocution in target language (4.9%), (b) Semantic error in target language (4.9%), (c) No response/idk in target language (3.8%), and (d) Correct in nontarget language (1.3%). The remaining error types were produced either less than 1% of the time or were not produced at all by bilingual controls in English. Participants with aphasia produced a greater variety of error types, evidenced by their average accuracy of 27.5% in English. The main error types were No response/idk in target language (30%), Correct in nontarget language (9.4%), Circumlocution in nontarget language (10.9%), Neologism in target language (4.8%), Semantic error in target language (3.9%), Neologism in nontarget language (2.4%), Semantic error in nontarget language (2.4%), Unrelated word in nontarget language (2.1%), Unrelated word in target language (1.7%), and Circumlocution in target language (1.1%).
The Spanish data in Figure 2 show even greater similarity between the bilingual controls and participants with aphasia in terms of types of errors produced than the English data (, ). Bilingual controls performed with 79.5% accuracy. Error types greater than 1% included (a) No response/idk in target language (9.3%), (b) Semantic error in target language (6.2%), (c) Circumlocution in target language (2.1%), and (d) Correct in nontarget language (1.07%). Other error types were produced either below 1% or not produced at all by this group. Participants with aphasia performed with 38.1% accuracy in Spanish. The main error types were No response/idk in target language (27%), Circumlocution in target language (17%), Semantic error in target language (9.2%), Neologism in target language (7.8%), Unrelated word in target language (1.5%), and Correct in nontarget language (1.3%).
3.4. Category Generation Task
As in the picture naming tasks, a regression analysis was performed on the number of correct words (across the three categories), mean semantic cluster scores, and mean semantic switching scores on the CG task, the categorical predictors were group (patient, bilingual controls) and language (English, Spanish), and the continuous predictors were the variables of the LUQ: LAR, Confidence, Lifetime Exposure, Current Exposure, Family Proficiency, and Education History.
(a) Correct Words. A regression analysis for total correct words was significant , , , the strongest predictor on the task was group , , followed by language of the task , , . Thus, controls produced more words than patients, and words generated in English were higher than in Spanish (). Also, of the variables assessed with the LUQ, LAR was the only significant predictor , , .
(b) Mean Semantic Cluster Score. The regression analysis for the mean semantic cluster scores was significant , , , and the strongest predictor of performance on the task was group , , . Bilingual controls performed significantly higher semantic clusters in both English and Spanish (). The only other significant predictor of performance was once again LAR of the LUQ , , .
(c) Mean Semantic Switching Score. The regression analysis for mean semantic switching score for the normal subjects or participants with aphasia did not reveal any significant influence of the LAR on the categorical measures or differences between the measures. Table 4, however, showed differences between controls and patients, which was confirmed in individual -tests; bilingual controls had a higher semantic switching score in English and Spanish than their patient counterparts.
To further understand patterns of lexical-access within each of the participant groups, data were separated and analyzed. Three ANCOVAs (with LAR as the covariate) were performed for each group for each of the dependent variable (total correct words, mean semantic cluster scores, and mean semantic switching scores).
(a) Correct Words. An ANCOVA for the bilingual control data revealed that LAR did in fact influence the effect of language and category on the correct words. Firstly, there was a significant main effect of language and a main effect of category after controlling for the LAR. Post hoc tests indicated that, for language, the total correct words were significantly greater in English than Spanish (). For category, the total correct words for food items differed significantly from the clothing items () and the total correct words for animals differed significantly from clothing (). The ANCOVA was not significant for the participants with aphasia (Figure 3).
(b) Mean Semantic Cluster Score. A significant main effect of language was seen on the mean semantic cluster score on the ANCOVA and the main effect of category was also significant . The post hoc tests for the mean semantic cluster score analysis revealed that, for language, the mean semantic cluster scores in English were significantly more than Spanish (). Additionally, for the categories, the mean semantic cluster scores for the food items were significantly higher than for the clothing items (). The categories of food items and animals did not show any significant difference. The ANCOVA for participants with aphasia data was not significant.
(c) Mean Semantic Switching Score. The final ANCOVA analysis on the mean semantic switching score for the normal controls or participants with aphasia did not reveal any significant influence of the LAR on the categorical measures or differences between the measures.
3.5. Individual Patient Analysis
Because the parametric statistical analysis for the patients was mostly nonsignificant, a more qualitative inspection of the data was carried out. As is evident in Figures 4 and 5 the results of the participants with aphasia showed more variation than did those of the normal controls on all three tasks (BNT, BPNT, and CG task). Individual inspection of the participant data showed that participants BA04 and BA17 produced more correct responses in English than Spanish across the three tasks. On the other hand, participants BA07, BA10, BA19, BA22, and BA23 produced more correct responses in Spanish than English in all three tasks. Two patients, BA01 and BA18, received scores that were remarkably similar in both languages, while participant BA21 produced either no correct responses or performed with very low accuracy in both languages, for all tasks. With regards to the nature of category-specific access on the category generation task, the broad variety of responses and scores were independent of category; however, it was clear that the categories Animals and Food were easier to access than Clothing for most patients, a finding that was similar to the control data. Also, only two of the ten patients showed language differences in their semantic clustering ability, with BA17 producing more clusters in English and BA10 producing more clusters in Spanish. Likewise, only a few patients (BA04, BA17, and BA22) showed language-specific differences in their semantic switching scores, while other patients demonstrated similar switching patterns in English and Spanish.
3.6. Across Task Correlations
Recall that, in the introduction, we argued that the three word retrieval tasks assessed similar aspects of lexical access, but the nature of the tasks placed slightly different demands on lexical access. In the final analysis, we systematically correlated the three tasks administered with the only significant continuous predictor in the regression analysis, LAR to examine to what extent these measures actually correlated with each other. Bilingual controls and bilingual individuals with aphasia were separated for this analysis again to prevent group-driven effects in the results. The bivariate correlation analysis revealed for the bilingual controls, significant () correlations emerged between LAR and correct words generated, LAR and BNT, and LAR and BPNT in English (see Table 5). Additionally, significant correlations were observed between BPNT and BNT, and correct words generated and BPNT (and BNT) responses. In Spanish, significant () correlations emerged between correct words generated and BNT, BNT and BPNT, LAR and BNT, and LAR and BPNT. For bilingual individuals with aphasia, in English significant () correlations emerged between correct words and BPNT, LAR, and correct words, LAR, and BNT, and LAR and BPNT. In Spanish, significant () correlations emerged only between correct words generated and BPNT.
The present study examined the nature of lexical-access in normal bilinguals and in participants with bilingual aphasia across three different lexical-semantic access tasks (BNT picture naming, BNPT picture naming, and verbal fluency). Results are discussed in the context of the goals proposed in the study.
4.1. Comparison of the Three Lexical Retrieval Tasks
The results from the three lexical retrieval tasks revealed several similarities and some important differences. Notably, the results from the two confrontation naming tests, the BNT and BPNT, were somewhat different regarding the factors that drove performance for each test. For the BPNT, Group, LAR, Confidence, and Family Proficiency were significant determiners of performance. However, for the BNT, only Group, LAR, and Language were significant determiners of performance.
As previously mentioned, the BPNT included two sets of high frequency words in English and Spanish. Many of the items on the BNT, however, are low frequency words in spontaneous speech (e.g., abacus) and are not translated particularly well in Spanish. Indeed previous studies that have examined BNT in Spanish and English in normal bilinguals have described lower performance accuracy in Spanish. After comparing two groups of bilingual adults (Spanish/English and French/English) and monolingual English adults on the BNT, it was determined that, for both bilingual groups, mean test scores were significantly below the monolingual group while not significantly differing from each other. The study suggests variability between each bilingual group and individual participants, with less significance derived from background influences. Consequently, one would expect performance in the dominant language in bilinguals to be far greater than performance in the nondominant language for the BNT, while differences between the two languages on the BPNT would be less great due to the high frequency of the items in both languages, which was one of the findings of the study.
With respect to the category generation task, results indicated that the ability to semantically cluster, switch, and efficiently produce correct words in the task was influenced by Group, Language, and LAR. Previous studies assessing the performance of bilingual Spanish/English and monolingual English and Spanish speakers additionally demonstrated a significantly greater performance of bilingual participants in verbal fluency tasks depending on the age of acquisition and level of bilingualism without, however, an effect of language [23, 25]. Differences may have arisen between the above two studies and the data presented here based on the geographic sampling of patients and level of balanced bilingualism found within our groups (see further on individual patient analysis). What our results indicate is that, across the three tasks, when language proficiency self-rating was controlled for, at least for the controls, performance in English was higher than performance in Spanish. These results are underscored by the fairly robust correlations between the three lexical retrieval tasks and their overall correlation with LAR.
4.2. Performance Differences between Languages
Overall, the data revealed that the normal controls were more accurate in English than in Spanish on the BNT, BPNT, and both correct words and mean semantic cluster scores on the category generation task, even when language proficiency was taken into account. In contrast, for aphasic participants, there was no significant effect across languages. This observation is interesting against the comparison of the analyses of language use and background for both groups. While both groups demonstrated greater language exposure and proficiency in Spanish than in English, the difference between the two languages was larger for the patient group than the control group. Notably, controls demonstrated an interesting split between language history (where values were generally higher in Spanish than English) and current language use (where current use was higher in English than in Spanish). Since the current lexical retrieval tasks tap into real-time lexical access, perhaps current language use may be reflective of the degree of lexical access. For patients, the overall group analysis were not significant; however, individual analyses showed that there were more patients with higher performance in Spanish than in English.
Results from the three categories, animals, food, and clothing on the category generation task revealed that the differences between food and clothing items for the total correct words and mean semantic cluster score and the differences between the animals and clothing items for the total correct words also remained after controlling for LAR for the controls (and to a lesser extent for some of the patients). Therefore, the differences in performance observed for the normal controls between each category had a large cultural influence and were based on the individual’s own vocabulary and lifetime experiences . In contrast, Pekkala et al. showed that, between two normal monolingual groups of Finnish and English-speaking subjects, differences in performance on semantic verbal fluency tasks were minimal even after normalizing for educational influences. They, therefore, suggested that cultural and language differences do not have a significant contribution to performance in monolingual normal controls. As an alternative explanation, the normal controls, in general, possessed a much greater ability of producing sequential clusters of words and the ability to switch between clusters in all categories that were tested, which was assumed to be a function of their greater level of cognition and effective semantic strategizing techniques .
4.3. Differences across Participant Groups
As would be expected, normal controls were significantly better at lexical retrieval on all three tasks relative to bilingual patients with aphasia. At first glance this difference between the groups may suggest that patients and normal controls perform radically differently on the picture naming tests. However, Figure 2 shows that both groups produce similar errors in both languages, with the difference being the rate of each error type between the groups. This finding suggests that despite lexical retrieval deficits associated with stroke, the basic mechanism and potential breakdown of lexical retrieval in participants with aphasia on naming tasks are no different from that of the normal controls (Figure 1). For instance, both patients and controls produced mainly semantic paraphasias and circumlocutions in the target language/nontarget language. Consistent with our findings, in a study examining the nature of semantic errors in monolingual aphasia, Dell et al. found that individuals with and without aphasia performed similarly with respect to error type and that semantic paraphasias produced by aphasic individuals are a continuation of semantic substitution errors in nonaphasic speech.
With respect to the category generation task, even though bilingual controls produce many more items than bilinguals with aphasia, the differences between the two groups are smaller for the semantic cluster scores, contrary to the initial predictions of the study (Table 4). This suggests that the strategies for clustering may not be all that different for the two groups. Troyer et al. found that while clustering and switching were correlated with performance on verbal fluency, there was a greater effect of switching on phonemic fluency. Although a negative correlation between semantic clustering and switching was found in the Troyer study, optimal performance requires a balance between a decrease in the number of switches and the total number of words produced. In summary, these results suggest that while bilingual individuals with aphasia may not be able to access an item successfully, they appear to cluster their responses within appropriate semantic subcontexts. Finally, while patients with aphasia produced fewer semantic switches than their controls, the ratio of correct words to semantic switches was not all that different between patients and controls (Table 4).
4.4. Individual Patient Performance
In general, the low overall accuracy of the aphasic participant group precluded the possibility of drawing conclusions about the effect of brain damage once prestroke language proficiency was controlled. For all three tasks, it was observed that there were large individual differences creating much variation in the data to interpret. Observations of the results for BA04 and BA17 for the BNT and BPNT are especially noteworthy. Despite reporting Spanish as the L1 and near equal amounts of time speaking each language, BA04 and BA17 performed with greater accuracy in English than in Spanish on both the BNT and the BPNT. Other patients’ naming accuracies were commensurate with their premorbid relative dominance in each language.
Similarly on the CG task, closer inspection of the results for individual participants revealed that participants with aphasia, like their controls, produced items within each category and each language, reflective of their relative dominance in each language. While a few participants reported they were English dominant (BA04, BA17, and BA21), only BA04 and BA17 produced more items in English. Other participants who were Spanish dominant (BA07, BA10, BA19, BA22, and BA23) produced more items in Spanish. There were also participants who showed no differences between the outputs in the two languages. These results underscore the influence of premorbid language proficiency on lexical retrieval even after brain damage and provide some validation for our reported measures of language use, exposure, and proficiency.
4.5. Influence of Language Proficiency on Lexical Retrieval
Interestingly, the initial regression analyses showed that, of all the LUQ variables, only LAR was consistently a significant predictor of performance across all five measures of lexical access (across the three tasks). This effect is due to nature of the variable: LAR is a compound, albeit subjective, judgment comprised of all the other variables of the LUQ. It therefore represents all the other variables of the LUQ combined. The results of the regression suggest that each factor of the LUQ does predict performance on the lexical retrieval tasks examined, but only when they are combined do the individual factors become significant as performance predictors. Of note is the difference between current language use and all other measures of the language exposure and proficiency for the bilingual controls. These results validate the need to obtain a multidimensional view of language use and exposure, and possibly the LAR captures some of that multidimensionality as it is a measure of the participants own judgment of their proficiency.
Importantly, LAR-English correlated with naming accuracy on BNT-English, BPNT-English, and correctly generated words in English for both the bilingual controls and bilingual patients with aphasia. Correlations between LAR-Spanish were less robust for both the controls and patients, perhaps indicating the lack of stability of this measure in obtaining a comprehensive lifespan history of Spanish language usage, of notable concern since all the patients (and several controls) were native Spanish speakers. Nonetheless, the observation that different measures of lexical retrieval correlated with a compound measure of language proficiency is an encouraging preliminary observation. The results of Kohnert et al. and the present study underline the importance of independent self-reported measures of language proficiency in assessing language impairment of bilingual individuals with aphasia. While much work needs to be done in terms of delineating specific aspects of language proficiency (life time exposure, family proficiency, or education) that differentially influence various language processing tasks, the present study demonstrates that, until then, a composite albeit subjective measure of self-rated language ability is a good place to start.
The large differences in performance of the normal subjects and bilingual participants with aphasia demonstrate a fundamental lexical retrieval deficit in bilingual individuals with aphasia, but one that is further influenced by language proficiency in the two languages. The findings of our study indicate that normal controls and participants with aphasia make similar types of errors in both English and Spanish and develop similar clustering strategies despite significant performance differences between the groups.
A. Categorization of Items on the Category Generation Task
Animals(1)Living Environment (a)Africa(i)aardvark, antelope, buffalo, camel, chameleon, cheetah, chimpanzee, cobra, eland, elephant, gazelle, giraffe, gnu, gorilla, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, jackal, lemur, leopard, lion, manatee, mongoose, monkey, ostrich, panther, rhinoceros, tiger, wildebeest, warthog, zebra;(b)Australia(i)emu, kangaroo, kiwi, opossum, platypus, Tasmanian devil, wallaby, wombat(c)Arctic/Far North(i)auk, caribou, musk ox, penguin, polar bear, reindeer, seal;(d)Farm(i)chicken, cow, donkey, ferret, goat, horse, mule, pig, sheep, turkey;(e)North America(i)badger, bear, beaver, bobcat, caribou, chipmunk, cougar, deer, elk, fox, moose, mountain lion, puma, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, wolf;(f)Water(i)Alligator, auk, beaver, crocodile, dolphin, fish, frog, lobster, manatee, muskrat, newt, octopus, otter, oyster, penguin, platypus, salamander, sea lion, seal, shark, toad, turtle, whale;(2)Human Use(a)Beasts of Burden(i)Camel, donkey, horse, llama, ox(b)Fur(i)Beaver, chinchilla, fox, mink, rabbit(c)Pets(i)budgie, canary, cat, dog, gerbil, golden retriever, guinea pig, hamster, parrot, rabbit(3)Zoological Categories(a)Bird(i)budgie, condor, eagle, finch, kiwi, macaw, parrot, parakeet, pelican, penguin, robin, toucan, woodpecker;(b)Bovine(i)bison, buffalo, cow, musk ox, yak;(c)Canine(i)coyote, dog, fox, hyena, jackal, wolf;(d)Deer(i)antelope, caribou, eland, elk, gazelle, gnu, impala, moose, reindeer, wildebeest;(e)Feline(i)bobcat, cat, cheetah, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, mountain lion, ocelot, panther, puma, tiger;(f)Fish(i)bass, guppy, salmon, trout;(g)Insect(i)ant, beetle, cockroach, flea, fly, praying mantis;(h)Insectivores(i)aardvark, anteater, hedgehog, mole, shrew;(i)Primate:(i)ape, baboon, chimpanzee, gibbon, gorilla, human, lemur, marmoset, monkey, orangutan, shrew;(j)Rabbit(i)coney, hare, pika, rabbit;(k)Reptile/Amphibian(i)alligator, chameleon, crocodile, frog, gecko, iguana, lizard, newt, salamander, snake, toad, tortoise, turtle;(l)Rodent(i)beaver, chinchilla, chipmunk, gerbil, gopher, groundhog, guinea pig, hamster, hedgehog, marmot, mole, mouse, muskrat, porcupine, rat, squirrel, woodchuck;(m)Weasel(i)badger, ferret, marten, mink, mongoose, otter, polecat, skunk.
The scoring system is outlined below. The only constraint utilized was for subordinate examples of a particular item. In this case, items were considered to be correct if they had distinct functions (e.g., long sleeve shirt versus short sleeve shirt) or were different species of an animal (pilgrim hawk versus red hawk).
An example of this procedure is from the pretesting task from BA01. This set of words would be grouped successively giving the following scores: bee dog raccoon ant raccoon raccoon cat rabbit horse bunny raccoon.
Firstly, bee would be given a score of 0 because it is not semantically related to dog in any way. In the same way, dog, raccoon, and ant are all not semantically related, so they would each receive a score of 0. As repetitions are counted, the next two words produced, raccoon and raccoon, are semantically related (as they are the same word), so they would receive a score of 1. Of the remaining five words, cat, rabbit, horse, bunny, and raccoon, the first fourare semantically related giving a score of 4, as cat, rabbit, horse, and bunny are pets and bunny and raccoon are animals from North America.
The mean of these scores is then taken to determine an average score for each category:
This same procedure is repeated for the posttesting task, and the two values from pre- and posttesting are compared with a basic bar graph.
The semantic switching score for the example above would be 5 (5 arrows above). Again, the scores are calculated for pre- and posttesting and a bar graph is created to compare the values.
Clothing Items. The scoring system is still the same for the semantic cluster and semantic switching score as above. The subcategories for clothing are as follows:(1)similar weather conditions(a)clothing for each season(i)winter (jacket, sweater, hat, etc.)(ii)summer (shorts, bathing suit, sunglasses, etc.);(2)upper body versus lower body(a)upper Body(i)shirt, sweater, coat, vest, and so forth;(b)lower body(i)pants, shorts, capris, shoes, and so forth;(3)accessories(a)accessories are matched to their appropriate category in the above two subcategories(i)sunglasses, cap, to summer clothing(ii)hat, scarf, gloves, mittens, to winter clothing(iii)necklace, earrings, rings, tie to upper body clothing;(4)sets of matching clothing (strong pairs)(a)pairs of clothes that are usually worn together(i)coat and tie; sweatshirt, and sweatpants, jeans and, t-shirt, socks and shoes, and so forth;(b)different occasions(i)formal wear(1)suit, dress shirt, blouse, tuxedo, and so forth.
Food Items. The scoring system is the same as stated in the previous two categories. The subcategories have been grouped based on the following criteria:(1) beans(2) beverages(a)water, soda, juice, milk, and so forth(3) breads(4) candy(5) cold cereals(6) condiments(7) desserts(8) fish(9) fruits(10) grains/cereals(11) junk food(12)meats(a)cold cuts(b)poultry(13)dairy products(14)nuts/seeds(15)prepared foods and meals(a)sandwiches, pasta, cake(16)seafood(17)spices/herbs(18)spreads(19)vegetables(20)ethnic foods(a)spanish/mexican(i)beans, burrito, quesadilla, rice, and so forth(b)italian(i)pizza, pasta, spaghetti, and so forth(c)other ethnicities not specified(21)occasions(a)breakfast foods (time of day)(i)pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, cereal, and so forth(b)birthday foods(i)cake, pizza, ice-cream, and so forth.
Conflict of Interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
A portion of this was supported by NIDCD no. R21DC009446 and a Clinical Research grant from American Speech Language Hearing Foundation to the first author.
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LIVE EVENT: What I saw as one of the 20,000 at the Obama 'Yes, We Can' movement live in Houston. By Chido Nwangwu "Houston, I think we've achieved liftoff here...." Before an enthusiastic 20,000 plus audience (inside and around) the Toyota Center in Houston on Tuesday Feb 19, 2008, Senator Barack Obama told Houstonians that his break-away win over Hillary Clinton in the Wisconsin primaries reflected further momentum. In affirmation and appreciation, many chanted Obama's mantra of change, "Yes, we can!"
When the impact and dynamics of the Obama movement is explained in textual formats or even on television, it brings only a part of the totality of its socio-political breadth and purpose-driven, evangelistic frenzy. Significantly, more than we have ever seen him before, he laid out more detailed, policy specific offerings to woo voters. Especially, he spoke about changing what he considers the prevailing "disease care" to real "healthcare" while challenging the youths of America to service. The Houston event is especially valuable too, for the fact that there was not teleprompter; minor recourse to his written notes and a direct policy points on such issues covering energy, education, AIDS, jobs in America, NAFTA, AIDS, use of America's armed forces, veterans care, war on terrorism, Iraq and others .
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The 'Who Is Obama?' slanderous, malicious screed; a brief response
Private initiative, free market forces, and more democratization are Keys to prosperity in Africa. By Chido Nwangwu
Why Chinua Achebe, the Eagle on the Iroko, is Africa's writer of the century. By Chido Nwangwu
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USAfricaLOGISTICS: United Bank for Africa (UBA), one of Africa's largest banks, was hosted to a business dinner and mortgage information event in Houston, Texas, on March 28, 2007 at the Hilton Southwest, Hotel. E-mail for further info: [email protected]. Office: 713-270-5500. Houston event/business roadshow was coordinated by USAfrica LOGISTICS, international special events management, corporate business facilitation and proprietary data-mining arm of USAfrica, serving African and American businesses/organizations. Chido Nwangwu is CEO, USAfrica. Wireless phone: 832-45-CHIDO (24436).
DEMOCRACY WATCH: What Bush Should Tell Obasanjo.... By Chido Nwangwu (Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com): Today, March 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush also met a few days earlier with Liberia's Sirleaf, new face of Africa; he welcomed Nigeria's President retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, an old face of Africa, to thank him for regional support of the U.S.,discuss "strengthening democratic institutions, and the need to bring Charles Taylor to justice." (Both presidents are seen in this 2004 USAfrica news archive picture). The visit comes against the current background of the outrageous nonsense parroted by hangers-on and political idol worshippers, the philistines of Nigeria's politics who have since become the domestic and international canvassers of the indecent baloney that: Nigeria's constitution must be amended for one man, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, to govern for a 3rd 4-year term (12 years!). This they, shamelessly, claim is for Nigeria's survival. Worse, they add that without Obasanjo, there will be no progress, criminality of the political economy will abound and the polity will collapse. Good heavens! The sheer hubris that Nigeria can only move forward only by the "divine" and eternal governance of a 74-year former dictator Obasanjo is simply stupefying and immoral, to say the very least. Hence, the enabled executors and conductors of this folly on behalf of Obasanjo only remind me of the infamous words of the 17th century French monarch, Louis X1V (1638-1715) who reportedly said "L'État, c'est moi" meaning "I am the State." If only Obasanjo could drive us back to the 17th century; only there was no Nigeria, at the time.
In comparison, while Liberia's Madam President Sirleaf represents the manifestation of the triumph of popular constitutional methods and emerging institutional democratic values in Africa, retired General Obasanjo's imperious, know-it-all, emerging project for a sit-tight presidency in Nigeria remind us all of the 1970s old Africa where constitution-tweaking soldiers (his colleagues) and power drunks funnily believed their country's sun rose and shone at their hideous and idiosyncratic say-so. We won't go back there; no; not now that we have the great Nelson Mandela as our icon, historical benchmark and reference point. Obasanjo makes it difficult for Obasanjo to be a statesman; no doubt, he's a regional leader.
As a specialist on US. and Africa public policy and cultural issues, here are things I'll suggest President Bush tell President Obasanjo, in a short, sweet but realistic summary: Full commentary here
PAN-AFRICAN GIANT: Zik of Africa: Statesman, Intellectual and Titan of African politics. November 16, 2005 in what could have been his 101st birthday, may I make this toast to our father, the great and unmatched one. Here, to:
The Zik of Africa, master of crafty political game-plans, member of a thousand learned associations, eminent alumnus of Howard, Michigan State, Pennsylvania, and Lincoln Universities, founder of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (my alma mater), father of generations, inimitable wordsmith of euphonious diction and oratorical elegance, poet and politician, statesman and living legend, I thank for illuminating my mind, our collective mind. Even after 101 years, your lineage and works endure. On this your 101st birth date, I rise, again, to propose a toast that in another 101 years to come, that the son of my now 46 months old son Chido Nwangwu II, by His grace, Chido Nwangwu III, will also rise to toast to honor you, Zik of Africa, for the plenitude of roles and assorted inspirations you brought to all of us. They will rise to toast to Zik of Africa, as the man who saw tomorrow. Nna anyi Owelle, nwa Eze Chima, ndeewo!!!
By Chido Nwangwu
AchebeBooks.com: On the books, life and work of our Literary ...Achebe, the eagle on the iroko, our pathfinder, social conscience of millions...
USAfricaonline LITERATURE: Achebe on oral tradition, juxtapositioning of language and linguistic colonialism. World-famous Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has said that Africans should not be overly concerned if the long-established tradition of oral storytelling dies out. Achebe, once described by Nelson Mandela as "the writer in whose presence prison walls fell down," told the BBC that he agreed that the art was dying out - but insisted it could be revived "if we decide that the oral story is absolutely necessary." "Oral storytelling was important when I was writing - it may not be important when the next generation is writing," he said. Achebe, who is very critical of colonialism and its aftermath in Africa, explained that he himself writes in English because he is a victim of linguistic colonialism.
But he added that he felt it was important not to "lose sight of the need for our mother tongue." "I hope I have shown it is possible to show respect to English and Igbo together. Chinua Achebe added that "The situation may well develop in the future, in which the different languages of Africa will begin to reassert themselves," he added. "I have made provision for that myself, by writing certain kinds of material in Igbo. For instance, I will insist my poetry is translated back into Igbo while I'm still around."
Literary giant Chinua Achebe returns "home" from U.S., to love and adulation of community
As Chinua Achebe turned 70, Africa's preeeminent statesman Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Ali Mazrui, Leon Botstein (president of Bard College), Ojo Maduekwe, Emmanuel Obiechina, Ngugi wa Thinong'o, Micere Mugo, Michael Thelwell, Niyi Osundare, and an army of some of the world's leading writers and arts scholars joined to pay tribute to him at Bard College in New York. (Achebe is in pix with Morrison). The Nobel committee, again, chose a relatively less known (globally-speaking) Chinese novelist, Gao Xingjian, rather than Achebe for the Literature prize. Achebe was seen as a top favorite for the 2000 award. What the Swedish Nobel committee will not give, Achebe has, for well over 30 years, won in the hearts of millions in 53 languages. By Chido Nwangwu
A Lott of Racism?
Ignore all the right-wing blowhards' spin and funny talk about "what he meant to say" apologia, factually note what Republican majority leader Trent Lott refers to as "all these problems" are voting rights for Blacks and other minorities, equal access to public facilities, equality under the law, anti-racism and anti-segregation achievements and all the civilizational benchmarks of any reasonable, humane society. You know, somehow, those "problems" are headaches of the supremacists....Lest I forget, it was Mark Twain who, never met or hoped for a Trent Lott and members of the U.S Congress of the Lott variety wrote with profound insight: "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of congress; but I repeat myself."
Hey, should I repeat myself; nah! Unless the Lotts of racism continue to ruin the promise of America; if they act and think that persons like me are children of a lesser God; if they continue to spit at the glory and blessings of a fruited plain known as God's own country. God bless America! By Chido Nwangwu
Nigeria, a terrible beauty. By Chido Nwangwu
Africa suffers the scourge of the virus. This life and pain of Kgomotso Mahlangu, a five-month-old AIDS patient (above) in a hospital in the Kalafong township near Pretoria, South Africa, on October 26, 1999, brings a certain, frightening reality to the sweeping and devastating destruction of human beings who form the core of any definition of a country's future, its national security, actual and potential economic development and internal markets.
22 million Africans HIV-infected, ill with AIDS
while African leaders ignore disaster-in-waiting
Johnnie Cochran will soon learn that defending Abacha's loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's case. By Chido Nwangwu
Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post? No
Nelson Mandela, Tribute to the world's political superstar and Lion of Africa
In a special report a few hours after the history-making nomination, USAfricaonline.com Founder and Publisher Chido Nwangwu places Powell within the trajectory of history and into his unfolding clout and relevance in an essay titled 'Why Colin Powell brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush presidency.'
AFRICA AND THE U.S. ELECTIONS
Beyond U.S. electoral shenanigans, rewards and dynamics of a democratic republic hold lessons for African politics.
Bush's position on Africa is "ill-advised." The position stated by Republican presidential aspirant and Governor of Texas, George Bush where he said that "Africa will not be an area of priority" in his presidency has been questioned by USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. He added that Bush's "pre-election position was neither validated by the economic exchanges nor geo-strategic interests of our two continents."
These views were
stated during an interview CNN's anchor Bernard Shaw and
senior analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on
Saturday November 18, 2000 during a special edition of
'Inside Politics 2000.'
Flawed elections, violence overshadow Mwanawasa's rise to presidency.
The Economics of Elections in Nigeria
Bushs-Guiliani meddling in Houston mayoral elections was needless
Victor Ehiemua and The Pharmacy: 20 years of excellence.
Aspirant Charles Maduka brought his campaign, fundraiser for Nigeria's House of Representative seat to Houston and Richmond, on Friday April 19. Plus, his USAfricaonline.com interview.
Kelechi Nwankwo's quests on the path of academic excellence cause for joy
At 39, Nigerians still face dishonest stereotypes such as Buckley's, and other self-inflicted wounds.
'Why is Bill Maher spreading racist nonsense about HIV/AIDS and Africa on ABC tv?
National Summit on Africa, Congresswoman Jackson-Lee hold policy forum in Houston
'100 Black Men are solutions-oriented' says Thomas Dortch, Jr., Richard Johnson and Nick Clayton II as they share perspectives with USAfrica's founder on the national organization.
The Life and Irreverent times of Afrobeat superstar, FELA
Why the revisionist forces of racist oppression in South Africa should not be allowed to intimidate Ron and Charlayne Gault.
Houston Coca-Cola's $10,000 in scholarships to Houston students expands educational opportunities.
Wong is wrong on Blacks in Houston city jobs
Dr. Anaebonam's strategic vision for BREEJ is a model for business excellence and empowerment.BULLET Versus BALLOT
The bloody stain of military coup, on Friday December 24, 1999, sullied the once unique history of democratic rule in the beautiful and historically democratic, French-speaking west African country of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by General Robert Guei. USAfricaonline report and commentary.
Nigeria, Cry My Beloved Country
In my view, there's a compelling political trinity to Nelson Mandela: the man, the messiah and the mystique. Hence, it was during his 80th birthday on July 18, 1998 that I argued in various media outlets in Southern Africa and in the Voice of America and WorldNet television tribute to Mandela that those who expected him to turn their lives around by the break of dawn are awakening to a certain realization that the Messiah Mandela does not make milk through incantations! Yet, we must accept the fact that those who feel that President Mandela's government has failed to fulfil their yearnings and lofty expectations constitute a sizeable but smaller slice of millions of Black and Colored South Africans.
I recall taking time out from the 100 year-old hotel in which we were lodged in Cape Town late March, 1998, (during our visit with U.S President Bill Clinton to parts of Africa) to go into the less-privileged, run-down quarters of the city to talk with a number of suffering Blacks. I also shared some time with some homeless teenagers ( five of them, aged between 8 and 19) and a few weary adults (in their 40s and 60s). I sought to know their assessment of President Mandela. Their refrain: Mandela needs to do more! They feel he is forgetting "us." They all said in many ways: "We thought his presidency was going to completely and quickly improve our lives. We're left out. We're not happy...." For FULL insight, click here
Tiger Woods is no Nelson Mandela! By Chido Nwangwu
Why America should halt the genocide in the Sudan. By Chido Nwangwu, Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com.
SPECIAL REPORT: Liberia's president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf calls for "partnership" rather than "patronage" relationship with U.S.
Charles Taylor's son arrested in Miami, Florida. Charles McArthur Emmanuel, son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, has been arrested in Miami, days after his dad, the former warlord, was flown, handcuffed and surrounded by United Nations peacekeepers, to the special court for Sierra Leone on Wednesday, after nearly three years in exile, to face war crimes charges over his role in the country's 1991-2002 civil war. USAfricaonline.com will update this report as it develops.
Liberia's bloody mess and hopes of a battered nation.
Liberia: Death by installment. By Chido Nwangwu, June 21, 1996.
50 Years of Achebe's THINGS FALL APART'': USAfrica honors Achebe by holding 2008 international symposium on 08-08-08 in Houston. The August 8 and 9, 2008 will include symposia and the special USAfrica harvest of Achebe's 1958 masterpiece and epic work, 'Things Fall Apart.' The convener and chief host of the harvest of the Achebe events is USAfrica's Founder, publisher of AchebeBooks.com and mutlimedia executive Chido Nwangwu. USAfrica (characterized by The New York Times as the largest and most influential African-owned, U.S-based multimedia networks) notes that "we'll portray both the high-minded, intellectual cadences and the everyday person and high-schoolers thoughts about the father of modern African literature. Hence I set the thematic summary as the USAfrica harvest of Achebe. Certianly, there will be critical insights and reviews/performances in honor of the great Achebe."
USAfrica is honoring Achebe as the main event of the 15th Anniversary of its pioneering multimedia leadership of the bi-continental interests of Africans and Americans. The acclaimed 2007 'BEST OF AFRICA' International Awards annual dinner in honor of African professionals will hold at the Marriot Hotel Westchase.
The events require pre-event registration, [email protected]
deadline June 8, 2008. Registration is required, and
will include getting a copy of Prof. Chinua Achebe's 'Things
Fall Apart' - for all those who register before June 8,
2008. The events are being organized by USAfrica and
USAfricaonline.com, CLASS magazine, PhotoWorks.TV, Black
Business Journal, BBJonline.com and Achebebooks.com. E-mail:
Office: 713-270-5500. wireless: 832-45-CHIDO
Osadebe (in picture, right) lived as one of Africa's longest and durable great talents. He played, sang and released melodious songs since 1956 until 2005.
Osadebe who hailed from Umuekeke in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State was born in 1936. His family announced that he passed on Friday May 11, 2007 and burial is set for this week.
Achebe, author of several landmark works told
Houston-based USAfrica and CLASSmagazine Publisher Chido
Nwangwu in an exclusive interview on Wednesday February 6,
2008 that "Osadebe was a priest who used words and
sounds. He lived like any of the greatest musicians
who are prominent in any culture; he lived as a great
musician who used music to reach people in order to improve
their lives and make them happy. He had message for people
to reflect upon. He
had deep message in his music as much as he provided
music for celebration and [to] be merry."
DIPLOMACY Walter Carrington: An African-American diplomat puts principles above self for Nigeria
On this day/week of the post-humous celebration of birthday, I believe that the existing global alliance of all humankind, representing the full tapestry of our ethnic/racial origins as Indians, Caucasians, Blacks, Jews, Asians, and a multitude of other backgrounds should, markedly, advance Dr. King's vision and efforts should do more by utilizing technological tools, networking personal discipline, boosting religious and communal re-orientation to fight all forms of discrimination and intolerance into the 21st century. Why?
Martin Luther King's legacy, Jews and Black History Month
CNN International debate on Nigeria's democracy was livecast on February 19, 2002. It involved Nigeria's Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Salih Booker and USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. Transcripts are available on the CNN International site.
CNN International Interview Sept 17, 2002 with Nigeria's President Obasanjo and USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu on Democracy and Security Issues
The crises in Zimbabwe preceding and following its early March 2002 controversial presidential elections formed the theme of CNN International's livecast Q&A with Jim Clancy (hosted on March 19 by anchor Colleen McEdwards). USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu contributed to the analyses of the decision by the Commonwealth which suspended Zimababwe for one year.
On Q&A with Jim Clancy on March 14, 2002, Glenys Kinnock, senior member of the European parliament and Labour party spokesperson for development, Salih Booker, executive director of Washington DC-based Africa Action, Chido Nwangwu, founder and publisher of USAfricaonline.com and Mori Diane. executive vice president of AMEX International offered insight to the issues. A rush transcript appears on CNN's web site
Nigeria's Presidential Election: Is it just for the Highest Bidder?
Coming soon: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie author of the critically-acclaimed novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' speaks to USAfrica and CLASSmagazine on her work, life....
One of the world's most creative writers of this generation, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie author of the critically-acclaimed novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' has been interviewed exclusively by CLASSmagazine and USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu at the Harvard University.
The award-winning novelist shares her thoughts on writing, inspiration, hopes, her 'permission' from the father of the modern African novel Chinua Achebe and the increasing presence and achievements of young African writers.
The interview will also run in the
February 2008 special edition of the USAfrica-powered
Steve Jobs and Apple represent the future of digital living. By Chido Nwangwu (written December 18, 2001)
Steve Jobs is truly the Technologist and Marketer of the new, digital age. The ultimate sales master. The choreographer of the most appealing and "loved" computers in the world. In some ways, he's almost intelligently magical in the articulation of his digital products. The man has truly converged art and digital technology.
He's the antithesis of
the staid, beige Wintel-PC world. He's iMac-like; engaging,
daring, bold, colorful and full of techno-substance. In my
view, Steve Jobs' persuasive talents, consummate skills,
overall sense of business mission and the creative talents
at Apple are extending the frontiers of digital magic and
superior computing methods. With Apple, computing does not
really have the dry, cold formalism of a biege PC machine,
the impersonal architecture (translation: lacking in
personality) of the Windows-Intel machines and some of their
outdated methods of computing in a digital age.
Are we Igbos or "Ibos"? The "Ibo" misspelling reflect, essentially, a post-colonial hangover of British and Euro-Caucusoid colonial miseducation, misrepresentations, incorrect spellings and (mis)pronounciation preference. It is/was just easier for the White man/woman to say 'Ibo' rather than 'Igbo.' We must remember the late psychiatrist, pan-African scholar and activist Franz Fanon's mytho-poetic and insightful words in his 1952 book, Black Skin White Masks, that "A man who has a language [consequently] possesses the world expressed and implied by that language." Should Igbos and other African nationalities, incrementally and foolishly give up the core of their communal and national identity on the discredited altars of Euro-Caucasoid racist supremacy and colonial predations? I have two modest answers: first is No; and second is No.
By Chido Nwangwu
Full Commentary appears here
Nigerian stabbed to death in his bathroom in Houston.
Bush-Kabila-Powell initiative on the Congo good signal for U.S-Africa relations. The world is facing the specter of an impending, but avoidable reality that one of Africa's largest countries could implode and dismember in a couple of months. If the Congo disintegrates, the entire central Africa region, its neighboring 8 countries and major parts of southern Africa region will face catastrophic human and geo-political complications. David Kilgour, Canada's secretary of state for Africa said recently that the Congo "is the center of gravity in Africa.... If things spin out of control here, who knows how many countries will be sucked into the whirlpool." To be sure, it will impact Uganda, the other Congo, Rwanda, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and in part, South Africa; since the Congo's 51 million long-embattled citizens made up of 20 significant ethnic groups will, more than likely, vote with their feet. By Chido Nwangwu
EndGame in Kinshasa: U.S must boot Mobutu for own interest, future of Zaire and Africa. By Chido Nwangwu
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's burden mounts into 2000 with murder charges, trials
CATHOLICISM on the BBC
Amidst the challenges and crises facing the Catholic Church, especially, in the U.S.,Chido Nwangwu, Founder and Publisher of USAfrica The Newspaper, NigeriaCentral.com, The Black Business Journal and USAfricaonline.com, was on a BBC World Service panel on April 25 to discuss the issues facing the Catholic Church, including the topic of electing an African as Pope. He has written previously in April 1999 on Cardinal Arinze: "WILL ARINZE BE THE FIRST AFRICAN ELECTED POPE in recent history?"
Pope John Paul, Abacha and Nigeria's Christians
"Why African Catholics are concerned about crises, sex abuse issues in our church" - a frank chat with ICCO's Mike Umeorah
DEMOCRACY WATCH: Peter Obi takes charge as Governor of Anambra State of Nigeria; following court affirmation of his 2003 electoral victory. Businessman and financial expert Peter Obi, affirmed only a few days ago as governor-elect of Anambra State of Nigeria, has been sworn in March 17, 2006 at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, following the ruling by courts that he won the 2003 governorship elections. He belongs to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). His predecessor, Dr Chris Ngige, a constant target of the arrows of president Obasanjo and the local PDP in Anambra led by Chief Chris Uba (in pix, below), has congratulated Obi and called on the citizenry to support Obi. Obi's deputy is Mrs. Virginia Etiaba. It will be recalled that in October 2004, Professor Chinua Achebe, the author of the epic, literary masterpiece, 'Things Fall Apart' (written in 1958), social conscience of millions, cultural custodian and elevator, chronicler and essayist, took the extraordinary step of "declining to accept the high honor awarded me in the 2004 Honors List" by Nigeria's president, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, in part for the politics of destabilization whcih Obasanjo and his agents had imposed on Achebe's home state of Anambra. According to the letter obtained by USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper and CLASS magazine (the first media networks to publish its content), Achebe pointed to "the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency" in the destabilization of parts of Nigeria and state governments by political and business renegades.
He wrote Obasanjo "For some time now I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency." Somehow, technocrat Obi's own crown of thorns as Governor with a legislature dominated by the PDP is not too enviable. Yet his tenacity to fight for the sanctity of votes cast has since elevated his staure among millions. He has promised to do better for his long embattled but resourceful state of Anambra. By Chido Nwangwu and USAfrica reporters in Nigeria.
The annual USAfrica Prayer Breakfast 2002 held successfully with insights and prayers from the clergy and families in attendance. Singers, Stacy Egbo and Saba (Elaine Peabody) performed at the event on Saturday, January 26, 2002 at the Holiday Inn, Sugarland/Houston, Texas. Keynote 2002 speaker , Dr. Simeon Agbolabori is the pastor at the Chapel of Restoration. The management and staff of USAfrica thank all who attended and supporteed the blessed event which holds on the last Saturday of January of every year. Mark your calendar for 2003.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
How far, how deep will Nigeria's human rights commission go?
Rtd. Gen. Babangida trip as emissary for Nigeria's Obasanjo to Sudan raises curiosity, questions about what next in power play?
Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu: "It was simply a choice between Biafra and enslavement."
Biafra-Nigeria war and history to get fresh, critical look from a survivor
'Biafra: History Without Mercy' - a preliminary note
SPORTS: Tiger Woods makes more history with another golf Masters win. He shot 12-under-par 276 and a final round 71 at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club event and collected $1,008,000, on Sunday April 14, 2002. With it, the world's golf phenom added another green jacket to his array of championships and titles, placing him, in this instance, in the same respected Masters' league as Nicklaus (winner 1965 and 1966) and Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990). The three are the only men to win back-to-back Masters. At 26, Woods has since become the youngest golfer to win his seventh professional major championship.
Joe Okigbo: The Death of a Good man and my Friend of a Lifetime. By Chido Nwangwu
JFK Jr.: Death of a Good Son
Murder of Nigeria's Attorney-General Ige is a major danger signal for its nascent democracy.
General Tunde Idiagbon: A nationalist, an iron-surgeon departs
Abiola's sudden death and the ghost of things to come
Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua's prison death and Nigeria politics
Soni Egwuatu, Houston businessman, joins his ancestors
Community, ACU mourn 5 students from Nigeria killed in March 31, 2002 one-car accident in Texas. A tragedy on early Easter Sunday March 31, 2002, is bringing sorrow and communal anguish to Nigerians in Texas, and thousands of miles to the primary addresses of the deceased in Lagos (Nigeria). 18 year-old Kolawole Oluwagbemiga Sami was identified as the driver of the 1994 Isuzu Rodeo SUV which had 1 other man and 3 women: Olutomi Ibukun Aruwajoye, 17, Toluwalope Olorunsola, 18, Abimbola Orija, 19, and Iyadunni Bakare, 18. While many Nigerians in Texas enjoyed their Easter celebrations and its message of redemption, the news of the death of the five Abilene Christian University (Texas) students from that country of almost 110 million persons in a one-car accident about four miles southwest of Weatherford, in the Parker County, in Texas raised the troubling questions, again: why now? why them? why did these promising youths die in such a sad and ghastly manner? why...? Log on for the USAfricaonline.com Special report by Chido Nwangwu
The coup in Cote d'Ivoire and its implications for democracy in Africa. By Chido Nwangwu
(Related commentary) Coup in Cote d'Ivoire has been in the waiting. By Tom Kamara
Cheryl Mills' first class defense of Clinton and her detractors game
Shell picks Leslie Mays as VP Global Diversity
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the first African-owned, U.S.-based professional newspaper
to be published on the internet, contains excerpts from
USAfrica The Newspaper and other content written
exclusively for this web site.
USAfrica The Newspaper, published since May 11, 1994 on
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Africans, African-Americans and other Americans. | <urn:uuid:a408f769-36a3-47a2-975a-2801cccaecb6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usafricaonline.com/chido | 2013-05-21T09:59:16Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933532 | 8,758 |
Posts Tagged “campaign”
So, the past few posts in this series have been laying the groundwork for this stage. The Secrets Deck and Sandboxes give you the raw materials, and Watching Their Eyes lets you assess those materials. Now, you start making decisions and building the rough shape of the campaign arc that is emerging from your play.
Look at What You Have
First thing you need to do is take a look at what you’ve got. Now, if you’re like me, you probably intend to take careful notes of all the information you’ve gathered through the play of the campaign, and you may have done so every now and then, but then life gets in the way, and you wind up with not as much stuff written down as you might want.
Well, now you get to make up for the lack. I recommend sitting down and making a list of what you’ve got. What goes on the list? Here are some ideas:
- Villains the PCs hated
- Places that were cool
- Storylines that the players liked
- Things the PCs bypassed
- NPCs that the PCs liked
- Things that the players said they wanted to do but you haven’t got to yet
- Ideas you had for adventures that you never fleshed out
- Questions, themes, and situations that you laid in that never got explored
- Secrets the players are getting close to
- Sandbox elements that never came up
- Anything else that interests you or you have a question about
When I make my list, it usually starts as a compilation of the few times I’ve remembered to keep notes, written down on a piece of paper in no particular order. I try to scatter them all over the page, for reasons I’m going to talk about next. Once I get the things from my notes written down, I start adding other stuff, brainstorming style – I write down whatever comes to mind , no judgment, no evaluation.
Often I find that one element sparks a memory of something else – these I try to group nearby on the paper, but I don’t worry too much about that. Sometimes it almost cascades, as one idea leads to another, and then another, and so on.
The page can get pretty crowded, but that’s okay. You want a rich collection of elements to choose from, but you’re going to be picking and choosing later, so try not to pre-judge.
How much stuff do you want on your list? As much as is fun. As much as is useful. The amount is going to vary depending on your temperament and how long the campaign has been running. You want enough stuff that not everything fits together neatly. Don’t worry, you can ignore stuff that doesn’t quite work for you later, and you can add other stuff you think of.
Now, let’s talk about what to do with that list.
The Glass Bead Game
First, go read this blog post. Now, read the follow-up here. It was this pair of blog posts by Rob Donoghue that helped me understand the structure of what I was doing, so thanks for that, Rob!
What I do next is look for something on my list that catches my eye: an NPC that I thought could have got more play, a location everyone thought was cool, an adventure whose outcome still bugs the players. The goal is to grab something – anything, really – to use as the nucleus for the next couple of steps.
Once you’ve picked your starting point, look at what’s arrayed around it. If you followed my suggestions about creating the list, the elements you have near your starting point should be largely unrelated to the nucleus, and to each other. Draw some lines between the elements, and play the Glass Bead game, as suggested in Rob’s blog posts.
This is an exercise in directed creativity, similar to William Burrough’s cut-up text and the core ingredients on Iron Chef. You’re taking a number of arbitrary elements, and combining them into something new, coherent, and interesting. It’s a way of coming up with connections that wouldn’t have occurred to you normally. When you’re playing the Glass Bead game with the elements you’ve chosen, you’re not really looking for similarities. You’re looking for connections – ways to fit the elements together into a story.
I tend to work with groups of five or six elements in the group. That’s plenty to build all sorts of interesting connections, but not so much that it gets muddy and (overly) complicated. Don’t try to connect every element to every other element, but try and build a network that connects everything. When you’re satisfied that you’ve got an interesting and coherent skeleton, put it aside, maybe transferring the little diagram you’ve made to a separate sheet of paper.
And then do it again. And again. And again, as often as is fun and useful, each time with different elements. I recommend putting together four to eight skeletons in this manner, giving you fodder for the next stage.
At this point, I like to write a simple sentence or two to summarize the relationships within the skeleton that outlines the basic core of the adventure it presents. For example, in my old Broken Chains campaign, I had elements of anti-psionic sentiment in a nation, a conspiracy of psions, a powerful diplomat who was secretly a demon, elves agitating for an independent nation, and corruption within the church. These came together into a skeleton, and I wrote the following outline:
Lady Elorowyr, representative to the High Seat from NATION, is actually a demon in the service of Lady Spite, and is working to exacerbate NATION’s isolationist tendencies, playing on their anti-psionic sentiment. She knows of the Legacy, the remnants of the former psionic ruling families, who secretly control the non-psionic government of NATION, and encourages them to work against the elven populace, who wish to form their own anion within NATION’s borders. Her contact is a secretary for the Prelate of the Mother.
Now, that’s kind of a long outline, but it sums up the situation, and gives you the foundation you need to start building adventures. The other thing writing the summary does is show you the stress points of the skeleton – the things that don’t quite fit and don’t quite work.
When you spot a bit that doesn’t quite work – like the idea of the contact in the summary above – you need to decide if you’re going to fix it or cut it out. Fixing it takes some rethinking, but if the element adds cool things to the overall skeleton, it’s worth the work. On the other hand, sometimes the problematic piece doesn’t add anything, cut it out of the skeleton and route around it.
At the end of this process, you should have a small stack of little mind-maps that lay out the relationship of your selected elements, and a couple of sentences summarizing each skeleton.
Mix It Up
So, now you’ve got a small stack of skeletons that you can use to build a campaign arc. It’s time to take a look at them, and see how you can mash them together.
Look for similarities and overlap in the skeletons, both in the elements and in the relationships between them. See if there are recurring themes within the summaries. Look to see if there are ways that you can combine two or more skeletons into a larger one that still makes sense and is cool. Check to see if there are weaknesses in one skeleton that another can shore up, or strengths in one that another can enhance. Draw new mind-maps. Write new summaries. Play with the ideas until something clicks and you find the ultimate cool factor.
One of the things I like to do at this point is look for a twist in a skeleton: something that I can use to pull a bit of a bait-and-switch on the players. For example, in the situation from Broken Chains I outlined above, it looks like the nobility of NATION is really anti-psionic and oppressive to prevent the abuses that ancient psions committed in the past. But really, the non-psionic nobility are manipulated by a secret society of psions to continue the oppression and prevent powerful psions from usurping the society’s power and influence. See? Twist!
What you’re aiming for is one solid skeleton to carry the campaign arc. When you think you’ve got that, move on to the next step.
Now you’ve got your rough plan. Time to see if it fits into the rest of your campaign.
One of the nice things about using this method is that all the elements came from your campaign, so the arc you come up with is pretty much guaranteed to fit into the game theme-wise. It’s still a good idea to check to see if you’re maintaining the mood and feel of the game so far, or that you’re changing it in a direction that you and your players will be comfortable with. This is just a gut-check, but it’s a worthwhile thing to think about.
The other fit you need to think about is whether it’s going to absorb as much of the remaining game as you want it to. Think about how much longer the campaign is going to run, and how much you want the game to focus on the campaign arc – that is, do you want everything to be about the arc from now on, or do you want to have some unrelated adventures sprinkled in?
The nice thing about the summary and the skeleton is that they can expand or contract as you require, and as your desired pace indicates. If you want things tight and short, look at removing some of the elements and complexity. If you want things to be longer and more complex, look at adding some elements to extend things and act as screening elements and red herrings.
Only you can decide when you’ve got the right amount of stuff and detail in the skeleton for your campaign arc. Build in as much or as little as you need. Then on to the actual structure of the adventures.
Making Your Map
At this point, you’ve got a solid idea about what the arc is. Time to get things ready for the players to come and mess stuff up – which is another way of saying that you need to rough in the adventures.
Look at your skeleton, and find a good adventure. It doesn’t need to be the first one – though that’s where I often start – or the last one – which is the other place I most frequently start – but it needs to be something you think is cool. Write a couple of sentences summarizing the plot, adversaries, outcomes, etc. Then find another adventure and do the same. Keep doing it until you have all the adventures you want or need for the arc.
Two adventures are critical: the adventure that hooks the players in, and the climax adventure. As noted above, I usually start from one end or the other, and usually do both before I start trying to fill in the middle part. The main goal of the hook adventure is to be cool enough that the characters are interested in continuing to follow the threads you give them, and the main goal of the climax adventure is to be cool enough to put a satisfying cap on the entire sequence. That’s why I like to have a solid handle on those two adventures before the middle ones.
With the middle adventures, you need to decide if the arc is going to be linear or sandboxy – whether the adventures run in a straight line, or if the characters get to pick and choose a bit where they go next. I tend to make mine a combination of the two. By putting the summaries for the adventures on index cards, you can move them around and see which arrangements work best for your arc and your players.
Keep playing with the arrangement until you have a sequence that you like, and then take a good look at the hook and climax summaries, to see if anything needs to change, to be added, or to be removed. Look at the arc as a whole, and make sure it’s doing what you want. If it’s not, play with it some more. As I said previously, this is a tool, not a test. You get as many do-overs as you want.
When you’re happy with the overall arc, you’re done. I recommend writing down the final form of things, because I always manage to forget something. This process gives you a map of adventures that you’ll need to flesh out for actual play, but you don’t need to do that right away. I suggest leaving the thing alone for a couple of days so that you come back to it with fresh eyes before starting to build the adventures.
On The Fly
The above process assumes you’ve got a good chunk of time to do your prep, and that you like having things mapped out in a pretty concrete manner. Neither of these assumptions may be true, so I’m going to give a quick rundown about doing a lot of this stuff on the fly.
- Still make your list, but only put the coolest stuff on it. During play, add the coolest elements that come up.
- Make just one skeleton based on the coolest element on your list.
- Come up with a good hook and an idea about the climax.
- Build the hook adventure and, as you run it, look for a logical next step to take you towards the climax.
- Add elements to your list during play, and adjust your ideas about the climax based on the coolest of these.
- When you get to the climax adventure, give it your all!
That’s about all I’ve got to say about Making Connections. We’ve got two more posts to go: Give Your Head a Shake and Discard Liberally. I hope to have the series wrapped up by Christmas.
See you next time.
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It’s been a while, but I’m back to talk about the next component in my recipe for emergent campaign storylines. If you’ve missed the previous installments, I give an overview of my method here, and then talk about the Secrets Deck here, and discuss Sandboxes here.
This step of the… I hesitate to call it a process, because that implies a more rigid structure than I actually have. Let’s call it a tool. This tool in the toolbox is where the rubber really meets the road. At this point, the players are well and truly involved in what you’re doing, and you go into reactive observer mode. You’ve got your secrets in place, and some hints ready, and your sandbox set up and filled with toys, and the players get to come in.
Now you have to watch their eyes.
The biggest thing you need to do is pay attention. Watch what they react to. Listen to what they say. They will show you what catches their interest and what doesn’t. You just need to be aware of the signals.
There are a couple of catches, here, though: first, the onus is on you to catch the signals. Later on, I’m going to talk about asking questions to find out what the players are interested in, but really, what you want at this point is their unsolicited, unfiltered reactions. That means just paying attention to the things they do and say without prompting of any sort.
Which leads us to the other catch: you need to be objective and open to what you here. Be ready for them to ignore your strokes of brilliance, or to find them trite and boring. If you want this to be useful, you can’t react to what they say, or else the players will start to filter. And really, you need to know if they find pieces of what you’ve done to be crap. That is valuable information, and you must absorb it and use it.
So, watch what they get excited about, and make note of any strong reactions. The things that make them say, “Cool!” or start hatching plots – those are the things that you want to expand and flesh out, so you can make them centrepieces of the campaign. The things that they ridicule or ignore – those are the things that you either want to let fade into the background, or rework later on to make them cool.
But for now, just take note.
Bide Your Time
This is surprisingly important. You need to wait a bit before acting on the perceived interests of the players. There are a few reasons for this:
- Acquiring More Information. The more you wait, the better picture you’ll have about what the players are interested in. You hear more of what they say, see more of what they do, and build a more complete idea of their interests.
- Giving a More Complete Picture. At the beginning of the campaign, your players are going to be finding their feet, and everything will be new and shiny. Give them some time to get a more complete picture of the world, so that they will have a more complete range of choices, and their reactions will be more meaningful and useful.
- Misdirection. You don’t want to just toss in another story about pirates just because the players had fun with the last adventure about pirates. You need to mask what you’re doing a little bit. A little bit of time, with something in between, will keep things a little fresh.
- Give You Time to Think. Don’t just jump in with both feet at the first thing that the players seem interested in. Take some time to think about the best way to do things. Plan your approach, and look at how things fit into the overall campaign. Only move when you’re ready, and you’re happy with what you’ve come up with. There’s no rush.
So, take your time in reacting to what the players are reacting to. Let them enjoy the opening stages of the campaign, and the wonder and confusion that a new campaign engenders. Use that time to process their reactions and decide what to do about them. Polish your ideas, and don’t spring them on the players until you’re happy with them, and the time looks opportune.
When you think you’ve got a handle on what the players are looking for in the game, and you’ve worked out an polished an idea until it’s ready, introduce it. It doesn’t need to be a big thing – it can just be a single encounter, an interesting item, a new NPC, or even just a bit of background information. Drop it in as appropriate, and pay attention to how they respond.
This is the feedback cycle. Pay Attention – Bide Your Time – Respond – Pay Attention – Bide Your Time – Respond… You get the idea. Lather, rinse, repeat. What you need to be looking for is if you were right about what the players were interested in, because it’s easy to be wrong. Here’s a scenario:
- You have an adventure where the characters take to the seas to hunt down some pirates. Everyone has a great time.
- You decide that the players like sea adventures, so you develop an adventure where the characters join an expedition to map the Lost Seas.
- The players are bored, and do whatever it takes to cut the adventure short and get back to land, because it wasn’t the sea adventure part of the original adventure that they liked, it was the swashbuckling battles against the pirates.
See? You guess wrong about what it is that the players find interesting, and the adventure falls flat. And then you’re stuck in an adventure no one is enjoying until you can switch tracks to something else.
Learn from that. Build it in to the next cycle. This is an iterative process, and each time round the circle should bring you more mastery, more certainty, and more fun for everyone.
Ask Questions and Listen to the Answers
Asking questions is an important way to gather information about what the players like, but you need to delay doing that until they’ve had a chance to get used to the campaign and develop some real opinions. This means running through the cycle a few times without asking questions. This gives them time to really figure out what they enjoy about the game, and also gives you time to accumulate your own ideas about what they like.
Now, the kinds of questions you ask is important. I recommend not asking, “What kind of adventures do you like?” simply because players think about adventures differently than GMs do, and their answers won’t be all that useful. In general, these types of abstract questions, while they might yield some interesting information, aren’t as useful as your own observation.
Now, that’s a pretty big claim, but hear me out. You need concrete information to create an adventure. When you talk to players about what they liked in an adventure, they will say things like, “It was really cool when we did X!” Now, that’s concrete information, but it’s not the kind of information that you can just reuse – if you did, you’d just have the same scenes repeating in each adventure.
Because you don’t need to know that they liked doing X. You need to know why they liked doing X. And that sort of information is often not conscious – it’s a gut reaction based on a number of factors. You need to do the analysis yourself to figure out why X was fun.
And besides, you probably already knew that they liked X, because you’ve been watching their eyes during play, right?
So, what question should you ask? In my opinion, the best question is, “What do you want to do next?”
This gives you a concrete answer about what bit of the campaign is most holding their attention at the moment, for whatever reason. Again, you have to do the heavy lifting of analysis to figure out why on your own, but you should have a wealth of ideas from paying attention to the players. The important thing here is to actually give the players what they want – don’t twist things so that it looks like they might be getting what they want, but then yank the rug out from under their feet. Sure, throw in some twists, but give them what they want. Otherwise, they’ll stop trusting you, and won’t give you useful answers any longer.
There’s another question that you probably want to ask every now and then: “Why didn’t that work for you?” You know when things fall flat for a player, and when they do, this is a good way to gather information about why. It’s a dangerous question, though; you have to be ready to hear the criticism of the adventure you made. The player is probably going to be a little reluctant to complain too much, but if you genuinely welcome the feedback and use it to improve the game, you will get more candid responses as they come to trust you.
If you take the information they give you and use it to improve the campaign, you may soon have your players volunteering answers to the questions before you ask them.
What Aren’t They Saying
Silence and lack of attention are things you need to pay attention to in the game.
Some players don’t talk much in game. Whether it’s a product of their character, or their play style, they sit quiet unless they need to speak. This is not necessarily an indication that they are bored, some players just play more in their head than in conversation. For these folks, you need to watch body language and general demeanor during play to see what they’re interested in.
Then there are times that normally garrulous players turn quiet. That’s usually a sign that they’ve run up against something in game that they either have no interest in or actively dislike. That’s good information to have; keep it. It doesn’t mean you have to eliminate whatever the player isn’t liking, but you do need to be aware of this cost of using it – you’re losing the interest of at least one player. If it’s something that someone else is avidly interested in, then go ahead and use it sparingly to provide a bit of a spotlight moment, but be aware that the bored player is going to need to be rewarded for being a good sport with a spotlight moment of something he or she likes.
And if everyone at the table goes quiet and starts fidgeting, well, that’s a big red flag for whatever you’re trying. Get through what you’re doing, and then drop that campaign element in the Do Not Use bucket.
The upshot of all this advice is simple: pay attention to what the players like, and give them more of that. These techniques are the ways I try and do it in my games. Hopefully, they’re useful to you.
If you’ve got any tips that I’ve missed, fell free to drop me a comment below.
Next time, we get to the actual construction of storyline elements in emergent campaign storylines. This is where the work starts paying off.
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So far in this series, I’ve given an overview of how I develop storylines out of a campaign, and I’ve talked about the Secrets Deck. Now, it’s time to discuss Sandboxes.
Sandbox is a term we use in games to indicate that the players can pretty much go anywhere and do anything they like – they set the agenda, they choose the direction, and they go. This is a little bit ingenuous, though; they may get to go anywhere, but it’s anywhere on a list of places that exist in the game world. They can do anything they like, but in-game situations and out-of-game rules constrain those actions to a degree. Sandboxes aren’t completely player-driven, much as we may like to think they are. They’re a menu of options that the players can choose from.
That said, it’s important to have a wide range of options available if you don’t already have an idea for where the campaign is going. This will allow a broad spectrum of experiences for the players to choose from, and let you experiment with different tones, moods, themes, and techniques to find what works for the players, and what works for you. There’s an added advantage (to my mind) of having a wide array of things in your Sandbox – it makes the world feel bigger than the characters, and more alive.
So, how do you build a Sandbox game?
The Nature of the Sandbox
Two games that I’ve run that have had great success with Sandbox-style play are The Armitage Files and my Fearful Symmetries DFRPG campaign. The type of Sandbox in each campaign is structured differently, and you need to decide up front which kind of structure you’re going to use. In The Armitage Files, the Sandbox consists of a set of documents liberally sprinkled with references to people, items, events, and places that are not explained, but sound mysterious and intriguing. In Fearful Symmetries, the Sandbox consists of a list of locations, threats, people, and themes.
Really, the type you choose is going to depend on – and determine – what type of campaign you’re playing. The default assumption in Cthulhu-based games is that the PCs are investigators seeking out mysteries, so it makes sense for the Sandbox to be constructed of rumours, clues, and hints. In DFRPG games, the default assumption is that the game takes place in a given city that the characters know fairly well, so it makes sense for the Sandbox to be constructed from people, places, and groups in that city.
The two approaches are not mutually exclusive, of course. In fact, they can’t really be exclusive. You need some concrete things in a informational Sandbox to give the characters something to grab hold of in order to kick off an adventure. And you need informational things in a geographical Sandbox to let the characters know where the cool stuff is happening. But the balance between the two is important to consider.
Let’s take a look at a video game example to illustrate one end of the spectrum. Oblivion is very much a Sandbox game, with a strong geographic focus. Yeah, you get information to follow the main story along, but you also spend a fair bit of time just wandering around the countryside, stumbling across random dungeons, and cleaning them out.
The Armitage Files highlights the opposite end. Aside from the assumption that the game is set in Arkham, Massachusetts, there is very little concrete or geographical structure to the Sandbox. The occasional reference to a specific place – Kingsport, Zurich – is still just an informational cue for the game. Most of the clues could lead the characters anywhere.
Most campaigns deal with going somewhere and doing something. If your Sandbox is primarily geographic, then characters will be going somewhere to see what’s there. They will look at the map, and say, “We go to Bitter Creek. What do we find there?”
If it’s primarily informational, then characters will be going somewhere to do something specific. They will look at their information and say, “We head to Bitter Creek to find the missing prospectors.”
In either case, it could wind up with the same adventure – searching for missing prospectors – but the hook in is different.
Determining how much of the Sandbox is informational versus geographic will shape the ways the players interface with the game fiction, and say certain things about the campaign. So devote some thought to where you want to set that slider.
Putting in the Toys
When you have decided on the nature of Sandbox, you need to fill it. There are a couple of ways to do this:
- Solo. This is the traditional way to design a campaign. You sit down with your blank Sandbox, and think up all the stuff that goes in it. Pros: You get to put in exactly what you want, the players don’t know any of the secrets. Cons: You are limited by your own creativity, you have to do all the work.
- Collaboratively. This is the default in DFRPG. You and the players sit down and populate the Sandbox together. Pros: Less work for you, you get the advantage of everyone else’s creativity, players get invested in the game. Cons: You don’t have complete control of what goes in, the players know secrets, requires the players to agree to participate.
I have to say, I’ve become a huge fan of collaborative setting building, mainly because it gets the players excited about the world and it puts in things that I never would have considered. That said, it does require that the players be good about separating player and character knowledge.
Whichever way you do it, it is vitally important not to do too much detail work. You never know what is going to be important at this point, so you may wind up wasting hours – days, weeks – fleshing out things that never get touched in play. Not only will this frustrate you, spending the time will delay the start of the game. And if you’ve taken the collaborative approach, every day you spend tweaking the things the players helped you come up with, their attention and enthusiasm will wane just a little bit more.
So, go high-level. Add a city to the Sandbox? Write two or three sentences about what the city is and what it means to the game. If you’re using a Secrets Deck, make sure you come up with at least one secret for the thing. For example:
Belys is a prosperous city-state ruled by a collection of genasi noble houses. It evokes the Thousand and One Nights Baghdad feel crossed with Renaissance Venice, with wondrous magical devices for sale and convoluted politics and scheming behind the scenes. This is the foreign city that becomes the characters’ home base in the Paragon Tier.
Secret: The mystic power of Belys is based on an arcane machine that imprisons a legion of djinn and efreet, harnessing their energy for the use of the noble houses.
That’s more than enough to go on with. Now I know enough about Belys to seed some hints in the rest of the game, and to improvise if the players suddenly decide that they really need to go there now!
If you’re putting lots of elements in your Sandbox – and that’s really kinda the point, after all – coming up with just this much for everything is going to be more than enough work. I recommend tossing in a few evocative references with nothing attached to them for developing later – the ruined tower of Asterys, Kraken Bay, the Rookery, whatever sounds cool and fits in the campaign. That way, if you have a good idea after the game starts, you have something to attach it to.
The nature of your Sandbox – it’s place on the geographic-informational continuum I made up in the topic above – will determine what sorts of elements you put in it. If the structure is primarily geographic, the elements are mainly going to be places, with some people and rumours thrown in. If it’s primarily informational, then you’re going to have a lot of clues, rumours, hints, and people with information, with a few places and items thrown in. Mix and match as required for your vision of the campaign.
Showing the Sandbox to the Players
Once the Sandbox has toys in it, you have to show it to the players. How you do that is going to depend on what sort of Sandbox it is, and the forms the toys take. If the game is primarily geographic, you may want to hand them a map with the various locations labeled on it. If it’s informational, you might, for example, hand them a mysterious document with a number of unexplained but intriguing references.
If you’ve done setting creation collaboratively, the players will already know a fair bit about the Sandbox. In these cases, I often just type up and flesh out the notes we came up with at the setting creation session and distribute that to the players as the setting bible. It’s important at that point to have a discussion with the players about segregating player knowledge from character knowledge, but so far I’ve found with my players that their involvement has made the setting cool enough to them that they will happily ignore anything their characters shouldn’t know so as to have the fun of finding it out in play.
The point is, of course, to let the players see what options they have. You don’t have to give them a look at all the elements in the Sandbox, but they do need to see where a few things are, and get an idea of the scope and nature of the setting so that they can start making decisions. I mean, yeah, you can plop them down in the middle of nowhere with no map and say, “Where do you go from here?” But that initial decision, being pretty much totally random, is meaningless to the players, and to the characters. You need to give them some context and structure to complete the buy-in and make the game matter. You need to give them some sort of map, even if it’s just a blank sheet with a dot that says You Are Here, two dots marked Sweetwater Gulch and New Zion, and a line connecting the three points marked Road. Now they’ve got real, meaningful options.
Setting the Agenda in Play
Okay, so you’ve got your Sandbox all set up, and you’ve shown it to the players. What next?
Now, you have to start structuring the actual adventures. In a broad range of choices, it’s easy for the characters to become paralyzed with indecision about what to do next, so you have to point them subtly towards the adventure. The best way to do this at the beginning is to constrain their choices.
Yeah, that sounds like a bit of hypocrisy after the whole bit about building in choices and making sure the choices are meaningful, but hear me out. Traditionally, RPG adventures initially place the characters in a reactive role: something happens, so the players have to respond. A stranger in a bar needs help, so he asks the PCs to go into the dungeon. A socialite is murdered, so the PCs have to find the killer. The supervillain is robbing a bank, so the PCs have to stop her.
It can take some training before players will actively set their own agendas and seek out adventures. They need to see that they have the power - the agency – to set the agenda, and you may need to lead them to that realization gradually. So, start small, dropping pointed opportunities rather than outright adventure hooks: instead of the bartender telling them that some punks have stolen the bar sign and the PCs have to get it back, just have the whole bar be surly and upset, and let the characters figure out why that is and decide for themselves what to do about it. It’s a small step, but it will eventually lead to PCs telling you what they want to do in the next adventure.
Even if your characters are used to setting their own agenda in games, you still want the choices to be a little limited at the beginning, just to help them get into playing their characters and interfacing properly with the campaign and setting. Leave the big choices for later in the game.
Now, once the players start really taking the lead in setting the agenda, you will sometimes find they have a tendency to deliberately try to surprise you, or put one over on you, or fake you out. This is an artifact of the adversarial-GM fiction that I’ve talked about before – the players “know” the GM is out to get them, so they have to trick the GM in order to win, whatever winning means. How do you deal with that?
Easy. Ask them not to. Tell them that, while you’re totally cool with them setting the agenda, you need a little prep time to make sure you have interesting things for them to do. If you talk to them about it reasonably, and play fair with them, they will be more than willing to be honest and upfront with their plans, so you can make plans of your own.
Which brings me to…
The beauty of the way Sandbox games are structured is that you don’t have to build in a lot of depth before you need it. You don’t have to have thirty fully prepared scenarios ready to go at a moment’s notice, just one. As long as it’s the right one. That’s no more than you need to prepare if you’re running a more traditional campaign, where you as GM set the agenda and dictate the adventures, but it has the added bonus of being something you know the players and characters are interested in because they chose it. They have choice, you get to flesh out that choice to make it cool, then they get to play through it and make the whole thing cooler.
Now, making sure you have the right adventure ready is very much a matter of communication with the players. For the first adventure, I talked about constraining the choices available to the characters, and I gave a couple of reasons. There are other reasons, having to do with preparation: if you limit their choices, you need to prepare less for that first adventure. I recommend building just one adventure, but have a couple of different ways into it. Yeah, this is a bit of a cheat, but it gets you playing and pulls the characters into the game. Then, at the end of that adventure, ask them what they want to do next.
Couple of important points about that:
- Ask them at the END of the adventure. This gives you time to prep the next adventure based on what they want to do.
- Force them to a decision. Don’t bully, but make them choose something specific so you have a starting point for your prep work.
- Get them to commit. If you’ve put in a month’s work on an adventure that they’ve said they want, and they show up at the session, and say they’ve changed their minds, I think it’s allowable to strike them in the head with something heavy. Make it clear that their choice is binding, and if they come up with a better idea at the start of the session, defer it for a later adventure.
- Make sure you accept their decision. Point out options, offer opinions, but don’t try and make them choose something they don’t want. Once they’ve chosen, don’t try and weasel the adventure around to something else. Don’t use the adventure to punish them for not going with your idea. Basically, don’t be a dick.
When they’ve told you what their plans are for the next step, prepare the adventure based on that. I don’t pretend to know what kind of prep work you need to do for your game – that varies from system to system, and from campaign to campaign, and from GM to GM – but spend that time trying to make the characters glad they chose the option they did. Pour coolness on the idea, throw in some neat twists and surprises, make the opposition interesting and engaging, and do what you need to do to make the adventure rock.
A crucial part of preparing for a Sandbox game is keeping track of what happens so it can inform the rest of the game. In a linear game, this is pretty straightforward, but it’s a little more complicated for Sandbox games. Take notes, and leaf through them when you’re prepping adventures to see if there’s anything interesting that you can call back up to add some continuity. Make sure you don’t lose the name of the NPC that you made up off the top of your head but has now become important. Keep track of any surviving villains and not-quite-extinct plots and conspiracies, and any extinct NPCs or cities or helpful organizations. This becomes invaluable when it comes time to start pulling the threads together for the emergent storyline that the campaign generates.
No matter how much you prepare, though, you’re going to wind up having to wing it from time to time, so make sure that you’re ready for that, too. Keep an encounter or two salted away for when you need to send in the ninjas, and try and tie these encounters into other aspects of the game. Using a system that is easy to improvise in – GUMSHOE and FATE, for example – means that you can get a lot of mileage out of a single encounter, while systems that aren’t quite as easy to improvise in – D&D, for example – may mean you need to have a couple encounters ready just in case. If nothing else, sending in the ninjas gives you a little bit of breathing room to cope with the unexpected player choice that prompted your little panic attack.
When you do improvise, it’s even more important to take notes to keep things straight. If you haven’t tied the improvised section into the main plot before, take a good postmortem look at the notes, and figure out how it’s related after the fact. It helps build verisimilitude. Not that it has to be tied to the current main plot; sometimes, it can be fun to throw in an alternate storyline to see if the characters can figure out that there’s actually two different things going on at once. Or, it can be a hook into a new adventure, showing up a little early.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
That’s about all I have to say about Sandboxes. The next emergent storylines post will show up within the next couple of weeks, and I’ll talk about Watching Their Eyes.
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A little over a week ago, I posted an outline of techniques I use to develop campaign storylines during play. Apparently, folks liked it, and I’m glad. But one person requested some more specific examples, so I’m going to do my best to illustrate some of the ideas with examples from actual campaigns I’ve run.
I was going to do everything in one post, but as I started writing it, it became painfully obvious that, if I did, it would be a terribly, terribly long post. So, I’m going to break it down into sections, each one dealing in some depth with the topics I’m discussing. I’m starting with the Secrets Deck.
Hope you find it useful.
My biggest success with the Secrets Deck was in my Broken Chains campaign, so I’m using that for the example, which means that we’re going to be talking about D&D-style fantasy tropes.. Now, in building this campaign, I had completely ignored the First Rule of Dungeoncraft, as stated by Ray Winninger, which was to not force yourself to create any more than you need to for your game as it stands. I created an entire setting bible – over 200 pages – covering the whole of the world, about 100,000 years of history, the entire religion, culture, and political structures. The Second Rule of Dungeoncraft states that, whenever you create something significant in your campaign, you create at least one secret about it. And then you write that secret on an index card to build your Secrets Deck.
Well, by the time I had finished the world document, I had a Secrets Deck with around 70 cards in it. Then, every adventure, I would shuffle the deck and draw a card, and see if I could work a hint about that secret into the scenario.
What’s a Secret
So, what do I mean by a secret? There were a couple of Dungeoncraft articles that explored this in some detail, but what it means for me is something that, if the characters knew it, would change the way the characters understand some part of the world. Ideally, this shift in understanding makes the aspect of the world more cool, and prompts the characters to action and adventure.
Secrets generally answer some questions for the characters, but tend to also give rise to other ones, peeling back layers in your standard onion-like analogy. The questions reveal interesting things about the world, about the NPCs, about the bad guys, about whatever the secret is about, and will hopefully grab the characters’ interest, or at least draw their attention a little bit.
Let’s look at some examples. Say you create a pub that the characters are going to use as their home base in this town for the early part of the campaign. You write up a description of the building, some notes on the bartender and the serving girl and the cook, a quick list of regulars, maybe even a menu to lend it an easy touch of authenticity. For a secret, you decide you want something big here, so you write down that the pub is on the site of an ancient underground prison where a demon has been sealed, and the bartender is actually the head of a secret order placed here to watch the prison and make sure nothing happens.
Now, of course, since you’ve made this a secret, something must happen eventually to start the prison opening. It’s a Chekov’s Gun thing. As play progresses, and more hints about this secret get into the characters’ hands, eventually they’re going to figure out the secret. And then they’ll look at their neighbourhood bar in a far different light. The discovery of the secret may also prompt them to take action – maybe go down into the dark to check on the prison, or go off to distant lands to get the Golden MacGuffin that can destroy the demon once and for all.
Not every secret needs to be earth-shattering, though. It’s just as good to have a small secret that the characters may uncover in short order. This gives them a more immediate reward for paying attention to the game world. In the example above, you could just as easily and profitably say that the secret is that the bartender is on the run from a criminal gang in the nearest big city for having refused the gang leader’s orders to kill a child in revenge for the child’s constable father undermining gang business. It still changes the way the characters look at the bartender – he’s a former assassin, and he’s been handling their drinks – but it gives them a problem that they can help with at a lower level.
One important note about both of these examples is that they produce or increase emotional investment in whatever the secret is about. Usually, by the time the secret is revealed, characters will have been interacting with that element of the world long enough to already have some opinion of it, and the revelation of the secret will increase that dramatically. It may also change the polarity of the emotion associated with the element: a villain turns out to be working to save the world, the friendly priest actually sacrifices children, whatever. Either way, if the secret is good, the cool is enhanced.
I no longer have the Secrets Deck, but here are some examples of things that I can remember:
- The Mother and Father – the primary god and goddess in the cosmology of the world – had almost destroyed themselves working the magical cataclysm that destroyed the ancient Dragon King empire and freed the other sentient races from slavery. They have been slowly dying for the past 10,000 years or so.
- The Three Who Fled – Dragon Kings who had escaped the cataclysm by ascending to godhood as Lord Mourning, Lady Spite, and the Smiler – had corrupted the current Primarchs of the church of the Mother and Father.
- Lady Elorewyr, ambassador for one of the kingdoms to the High Seat – essentially, this world’s United Nations – is actually a demon in disguise.
The same kingdom, renowned for its harsh treatment witches (those with psionic power), was secretly run by a hidden cabal of witches serving as advisors to the noble families.
- The footprints of the saint of travel where he first set foot on the main continent had the power to transport any who stood in them anywhere they wished to go.
- A noble family in another kingdom were plotting to put their eldest son on the throne of the kingdom.
- Four powerful oracles, the Weirds, were lost in the cataclysm, but could be found in hidden, remote locations, and would prophesy for those who brought them offerings.
- The ghost of a king who had gone mad and starved his capital city mostly to death was pinned to the mountainside where his rebelling citizens had crucified him, and was doomed to remain there until he had fulfilled a task set for him by the Mother and Father – delivering a message to the prophesied saviours of the world.
- One Dragon King sought to aid the other sentient races in obtaining their freedom. Called the Turncoat, he prevented five other Dragon Kings from ascending as a five-part god capable of throwing down the Mother and Father, and has remained locked in battle with that creature in the 10,000 years since the cataclysm, at the heart of the blighted area in the centre of the continent.
Now, the first item and the last item on the list were the core of the overarching story of the campaign, as the characters slowly uncovered the secret of the dying god and goddess, and went to free the Turncoat from his eternal torment by defeating the Dragon King god. They don’t really illustrate the point of emergent storylines because of that, but still illustrate the use to which I put the Secrets Deck.
The Secrets Deck and Scenarios
So, armed with this deck, I would come up with a scenario, like going into the Blight – the area at the centre of the continent still stained by the magical cataclysm – to help a small group of settlers with their black dragon problem. Then I would pull a card, and maybe get secret #2, about the Primarchs of the Church being corrupted. I would then try to work in a hint about that.
How direct the hint would be was determined by how big the secret was, and how ready the characters were to do something about it. This one is a pretty big secret – the equivalent of the Pope and the Dalai Lama being revealed as satanists – and it’s not really a thread that the characters could pursue at the current level. In this case, perhaps the hint could be a village priest who is playing politics in the village, undermining the mayor and sheriff, playing up his status as the voice of the Church. This causes the characters to question the mandate of the Church, and they may do something to remove the priest. More importantly, it will sow a seed of doubt about the Church, and allow you to drop more clues that they will eventually assemble into a suspicion about the Church leadership, which will come into play at higher levels, when the characters may actually meet the Primarchs.
If, instead, I had pulled up secret #4, well, that’s something that I could be far more open about. Access to a great teleport point is a valuable thing to adventurers, but this is a stationary thing, so it’s not game-breakingly powerful. Still, I don’t just want to hand the secret to them. Maybe the hint in this case is a body dressed in the vestments of the travel saint’s order stuck in an old well in the ruins, skeletonized by scavengers, with a rotted, mangled book in his pack with a shredded page talking about him sneaking to use the footprints of the saint in order to follow up hints of a valuable treasure. Don’t say where the footprints are, so if the characters want to follow this up, they need to figure out who this priest is, where he’s from, and then go snooping for the footprints.
Now, it’s usually enough to drop in a single secret in a given adventure unless you’re trying to build connections between two secrets. Too many unrelated secrets are distracting and misleading, causing players to make associations that don’t actually exist, and diverting them from the main goal of the scenario, whatever that is. If the adventure is really long, stretching over several sessions, you may want to pull another secret at the half-way point and lay in a hint about it in the last half of the adventure, when there’s sufficient separation from the first hint that it won’t confuse anything.
Other Uses of the Secrets Deck
Remember the original Keep on the Borderlands? Like many gamers my age, it was my first module. One of the things that really sparked my imagination was the table of rumours in it. There was a mechanic that could allow the players to know certain things about the hazards they would face in the adventure.
You can use your Secrets Deck either as a rumour table on the fly, or to pregenerate a rumour table that you can roll on when you want to, well, disseminate a rumour. Rumours work just like hints in scenarios, except they’re explicitly things that one person says to another, and they might be wrong. Even if they are wrong, they still draw attention to the element the secret is about, and that gives some information to the characters. It’s a subtle way of working in information, and some players really like the sense of accomplishment when they weed out inaccurate information from accurate information.
Now, rumours don’t just have to be things overheard in a bar or at the market. They can be legends, letters, ancient records, whatever. As long as it is information coming from one person to another (or many others). Patrick Rothfuss makes great use of legends about secrets in The Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear, so take a look at those books for inspiration.
When I ran Broken Chains, I used the Secrets Deck to drop hints into the news stories in the campaign newsletter I sent out before each session, too. This plays into the idea of Sandboxes, which I’ll deal with in more detail in a future post, but mainly it was my way of accomplishing two things. First, it made me feel like I hadn’t wasted a whole lot of work coming up with all those secrets. Second, it helped me with one of the primary goals I have in any campaign, which is to make the world seem as if things keep happening even where the characters aren’t. I don’t really recommend doing a newsletter like I did – though it worked to great effect, it was a lot of effort – but if you’ve got a forum or wiki for your game, you could do worse than seed some news stories there, using the secret deck.
The Big Reveal
The revelation of a secret from the Secrets Deck should spur action by the characters. Which means, it should lead to an adventure that resolves the secret. The core of the secret should be cool enough, and compelling enough, that it motivates the characters to do something, and that something should be cool enough to merit the attention they’re paying to it.
For little secrets, like the former-assassin-bartender idea above, that can be pretty direct: go to the city, find the gang leader, and kill him. For big secrets, like the demon prison below the bar idea, it can be more involved: go down into the prison, find that the demon is stirring and has corrupted his jailer, so that the characters have to seek out other members of his order to get the information about the Golden MacGuffin, retrieve said MacGuffin from the Lair of Evil Badness, and bring it back to kill the demon and free the bartender.
Even little secrets, if the players are interested enough, can spawn involved adventures at their revelation. Instead of just killing the gang leader in the above example, maybe the characters have to dismantle his byzantine criminal network piece by piece, forming alliances with rival gangs and citizen groups to gather information and support for the final confrontation. If the players are extra-excited when they find out the secret, and immediately start putting together a lengthy and involved plan to deal with the revelation, sit back and let them plot, and savour that warm glow that you get when you create a moment in the game when the players care enough to go the extra mile. You’ve won roleplaying, at that point.
On the other hand, if they look at the revelation and go, “Crap. I guess we better take care of this before we get back to looting dungeons,” it’s time to hand them a simple adventure to resolve things. So maybe they just have to go down into the demon prison and defeat the Underdark invaders who are tampering with things, and then everything is fine again.
That’s about all I’ve got to say about the Secrets Deck. I’m off to GenCon next week. When I get back and get recovered, I’ll post about Sandboxes.
Meantime, you can look for some GenCon posts here starting on Wednesday when my friend Clint and I set off on our annual pilgrimage.
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Let me get this out up front: I like campaigns that tell a story.
When I create a campaign, I always try to have it tell a story. Sometimes, as with my Broken Chains campaign, I know what the end of the story is when I start the game, but sometimes, as with my Armitage Files campaign, I don’t.
But I need to.
Once upon a time, I ran an Unknown Armies campaign. It went very well, right up to the last few months, when it suddenly lost steam and petered out. In retrospect, I can see what the problem was: I had reached the end, but didn’t stop, and so the game lost power, motivation, and direction. I wasn’t able to provide a new direction because the story had been told, and I didn’t have another one to tell right then. I hadn’t recognized the end when it came up and bit me, and so the game died an ignominious death, rather than going out on a high note.
That’s why I need to have an end.
But what if I don’t have one when I start?
The Secrets Deck
Ray Winninger wrote a series of articles in Dragon magazine many years ago that should be required reading for anyone starting any kind of campaign. It was called Dungeoncraft, and while it dealt mainly with D&D, there was a lot of great, solid advice in the series for anyone running any kind of campaign.
One of the best pieces of advice in those articles is the construction of a Secrets Deck. This is a simple idea: for each major thing that you create for your campaign world, come up with at least one secret about it, and write it down on an index card. Once you’ve done the initial brainstorming for your campaign, you should have a healthy little stack of cards. Then, when you come up with a scenario, give the cards a shuffle, draw one (or maybe two, if it’s going to be a big scenario) and work a clue about that secret into the adventure.
Now, how big a clue you work in will depend on how big and cool the secret is. If it’s something that affects the whole campaign, you’ll want to be subtle and careful with the clue, so that you don’t blow any big surprises. If it’s something that only affects a small portion of the campaign, it can be more blatant, and can lead to a short series of adventures as the characters follow it up.
I used the Secrets Deck extensively during Broken Chains, both working it into the adventures, and in the in-game newsletter that I distributed before every session. It provided a number of side quests during the campaign, and helped me fill the time until the characters were tough enough to take on the big bad at the end of the story.
Providing lots of options is also important in developing the campaign storyline. The Armitage Files is a brilliant example of this, throwing mountains of unexplained clues at the party. City creation in The Dresden Files RPG does this in spades, and incorporates a heaping helping of the next couple of topics, as well. Now, on the surface, it seems kind of counter-intuitive to provide too many options when you don’t know where you’re going, but the reality is that it both reinforces the feeling that the world is bigger than the characters, and provides players with a sense of self-determination.
This latter bit is especially important as you start gearing up to a finale. If players can look back and see places where they could have made different choices, then they don’t feel railroaded into the climax. That, in turn, gives you player buy-in, and a much more satisfying finale.
Having lots of choices for players to explore also gives you plenty of places to seed in your secrets from the Secret Deck, which leads us to the next topic.
Watch Their Eyes
Once you’ve got your secrets and your sandbox set up, let the players loose, and pay attention to what catches their interest. See what clues they pick up on, and whether or not they want to follow up on them. After a few sessions, they should have enough hints that they start really paying attention to one or two specific threads that you can then flesh out, building them into more explicit scenarios. The smaller secrets may get resolved this way, and the bigger secrets can reveal more layers to themselves.
Don’t discard things that they didn’t pay attention to, though. Keep those in your back pocket for when you need them. There’s a special kind of GM glee that comes only when you trot out a plot development that you hinted at ten sessions ago, but no one paid any attention to.
It may seem obvious, but I better say it right out. If you collect the threads that your players like, you will have a collection of threads that your players like. Picking from these for the next step makes sure that you’ve got emotional investment in whatever your story turns out to be, because they’ve already bought into the constituent pieces.
Once you’ve got a good idea of which things your players are interested in, take a look at them for any common elements or themes. There’s usually one or two underlying similarities that can let you turn four separate mysteries into one grand conspiracy worthy of being the main storyline of the campaign. For example, in Broken Chains, I was able to tie corruption in the church, discrimination against psionics, and legends of an ancient kingdom into a single plot that had a demon backing a psionic clan secretly controlling a nation renowned for their tendency to burn psionic-using creatures at the stake. All of a sudden, three different problems came to a head in one vast conspiracy and a battle against a demon and her construct built of thousands of self-aware psi crystals.
Once you’ve got an idea of what the main thread is, look at the other secrets – the ones the players didn’t pay attention to. See if any of them fit in, or could be made to fit in. Don’t go too far with this, though; it will start to strain verisimilitude if everything odd in the campaign traces back to one source. But look at rival factions, or themes that contrast nicely to accentuate the main theme. Look for something that you can tie retroactively into the main story, so that your players see that the threads reach all the way back to the beginning of the campaign.
Some themes are spelled out at the beginning of the game – DFRPG city building does this explicitly – while some emerge during play, like the ideas of higher dimensions and the nasty observer effect that’s coming up more and more in my Armitage Files game. Either way, you’ll see some commonalities coming up, so make note and use them. This lends your game consistency of theme, mood, and flavour.
Give Your Head a Shake
Once you’ve got that worked out, take a step back and look at your central story objectively. Does it work? Is it cool? Does it require stupidity on anyone’s part ? Shore up the weak bits, add cool as needed, and pull out the stupid. Be ready to kill your darlings if they aren’t working, and always, always, always keep both the characters and your players in mind as you examine the idea for cracks.
I like to run through a few cycles of the Walt Disney Method with my fleshed out idea to make sure it’s workable and fun.
When you hit the play button, be ready to toss out a lot of what you’ve done. Players will, as players do, come at your story from an unexpected angle, with a strange plan, and completely unforeseen resources. They will bypass sidelines that would have given them fresh information, and run into areas that you haven’t planned, or even thought about.
If that’s the case, why do all the work? Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless. Planning is essential.” That pretty much applies here. With the planning you’ve done, you’ll have the foundation you need to adjust things on the fly, moving important elements into place for players to encounter them, and improvising with confidence when you get caught off-guard.
So, What Have We Got?
I find that, when I through the steps I’ve talked about above, I wind up with a campaign storyline that has emerged during play, and has the following advantages:
- It fits the game that we’ve been playing. Because it’s come out of play, it’s got roots in the game, and everyone can see them. It also can look as if I had the whole thing planned all along, which just reinforces my sense of GM omniscience.
- The players are invested in the story, because I’ve drawn it from the things that I’ve seen that they’re interested in during play.
- There is less sense of railroading, because at least the early choices in the campaign were completely free. Characters remember that, and later constraints on their choices seem more like consequences of their actions, rather than GM fiat.
- It’s flexible enough to handle what the character throw at it, because I’ve been paying attention to how the players play, and have a good enough idea of what’s going on that I can adapt it at need.
Once you’ve got your storyline, that’s not the end of the job – it’s the beginning. The end comes when you and your collaboratively play through the story and find out what really happens.
Anyway, that’s my take on it, and what works for me. Anyone else have any tricks for pulling a throughline out of a campaign in a similar fashion? Let me know below.
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I’m still waiting for June to start actually building a DFRPG campaign, but I’m starting to do some thinking about what sorts of decisions will need to be made. I want a lot of these decisions to be made jointly between me and the players, through discussion and consensus, which means I need to understand the ramifications of the different options available.
And that means I’m doing some thinking about things.
One of the first decisions that needs to be made in running a DFRPG campaign is the power level of the campaign. There are four different levels, each of which dictates the Refresh level, number of skill points available, and the highest level of skill you can take. There’s a good explanation of the different levels in the book, talking about what sorts of characters are available at that level, and what sort of abilities they’ll have.
This is a pretty far-reaching decision, with a sort of domino effect that cascades through the entire game. The power level will affect the types of characters created, which will influence the types of foes they face, which will shape the stories you tell and the themes you choose and even the nature of the setting.
So, what are we talking about, here? Here are my thoughts. Note that the conclusions I come up with are not the only ones supported by the game, but they show some of the ramifications of the power level decision.
Feet in the Water
6 refresh, 20 skill points, skill cap at Great.
At this level, you’re looking pretty much at playing mortals with (maybe) a supernatural trick or two. This means templates like Focused Practitioner, Red Court Infected, and True Believer. You can get a little more oomph by taking the basics of things like Champion of God or Changeling, but you’re not going to have much in the way of refresh to customize your character or buy extra stunts. At most, you’re going to have two skills at Great, which would leave you with only four other skills above Mediocre.
This is the game of the clued-in mortal, the small fish in the pond, and folks who are just starting out in their career of becoming big, bad monsters. Sample characters from the books are people like the Special Investigations Unit, the Carpenter family (excluding Molly and Michael, but including Charity), the Ordo Lebes, the Changeling kids from Summer Knight, and most of the members of ParaNet. The foes they’d be able to face on an equal footing (-6 refresh or thereabouts) are either mortal or very low-powered supernatural; things like the Chlorofiend, the chimp or baboon sized shen demons, some common fey like pixies and elves, spectres, and minor spirits.
This sort of power level really lends itself to horror stories, as opposed to action stories. In most cases, your characters are going to be significantly overmatched by the opposition, and they’re going to need to outrun and outthink them. Horror stories also tend to happen on a very personal scale – it’s you and a couple of friends up against the monster that’s going to eat you. You’re not necessarily trying to save the world. You’re just trying to save yourself.
The idea of personal scale and the limited array of foes also suggests that a game at this level would fit nicely into a limited-geography setting – maybe a college campus, or a small town, or a single precinct in a city. Of course, as the early seasons of Supernatural show so very well, it also works fairly well as a road-trip game.
Of course, you don’t have to go the horror route. If you truncate the power scale of the bad guys, eliminating most of the serious occult threats, you could run a strong action game, where the little bit of an edge that the characters have over mundane characters is enough to turn them into the last, best hope for keeping the evil under wraps. It changes the feel more to that of a Submerged level game, as noted below, because the range of power is narrowed so significantly.
Up to Your Waist
7 refresh, 25 skill points, skill cap at Great.
This is where the supernatural templates begin to be more viable as characters. Yeah, that one refresh point does make that much of a difference – it opens up things like the Sorcerer template, as well as giving you the buffer you need to customize and tweak the lower-level templates into something with a little more style. The skill points don’t give you an extra Great (or even Good) skill, but it does round out your range of skills with at least four more skills at Average or above.
Characters like Murphy, Hendricks, or Father Forthill are good examples of the kinds of characters that start being playable at this level, and more powerful foes (ghouls and sorcerers, for example, maybe even an actual vampire) start being viable to send up against the characters.
I can see going one of two ways at this power level: either ramp up from the Feet in the Water level, creeping from horror into more heroic horror, or else setting it as a starting point for action stories, with the characters being young, inexperienced, and just starting out. Think later-season Supernatural (where Sam and Dean have mastered fighting all the easy monsters) versus early-season Buffy (where Willow is just starting to dabble in magic, and Buffy’s only died once).
Setting can go either way, depending on whether you want your characters to be the big fish or the small fish. Keep it at the same small scale as in the previous level, and you’ve got some serious dedicated guardians in control of their little patch of ground. Ramp it up to full city size, and you’ve got some up-and-comers ready to be pawns for the other power blocs squabbling over territory.
You can even do both: consider the Alphas, who pretty much own their little section of the city, but are still very much a local phenomenon, and at risk from the bigger power players in the rest of Chicago. In fact, that would make a pretty cool campaign, but you’d have to adjust the Alphas’ listed powers from their stat blocks to get them playable at 7 refresh.
8 refresh, 30 skill points, skill cap at Superb.
Here’s where we start approaching the default power level of the novels. You can play a Wizard at this point, though not a terribly experienced one, and even a White Court Vampire. In fact, at this point, all the character types are available. If you play a less-costly character type, you’ve had the opportunity to upgrade and customize it a fair bit. You can start out with two skills at Superb, and have eight other skills at Average and above. You are starting at a level that the rest of the occult world has to start noticing.
This is where you’d start if you wanted to play the Alphas as statted, or a band of Apprentice Wizards like Molly Carpenter, or a group of experienced Minor Practitioners like Mortimer Lindquist. The FBI Hexenwolves start becoming viable opposition, along with things like the gorilla-sized shen demon, Bucky the Murder Doll, hunter goblins and the lesser gruffs, Black Court Renfields, werewolves, and the like.
The stories are moving strongly toward the idea of action, now, though not necessarily as pulpy as things get next level. Characters have the options and power to go toe-to-toe with a broad range of antagonists in whatever sense they choose, and can be extremely competent in a narrow range of abilities. They can be trapped in that middle-management hell of having to look after those weaker than themselves (many), and still obey those more powerful than themselves (still many). And they’re tough enough now that those above them are much more inclined to notice them and give them orders or demand favours.
Scale-wise for the setting, the world is really starting to open up. At this point, things are ripe for globe-trotting troubleshooters working for Monoc Security, or Strike Force Summer Lightning, keeping the Nevernever safe for their ladyships. If they keep to a smaller geographic area, they start to be real movers and shakers in their city, or the undisputed top of the food chain within their own small town/neighbourhood/precinct/college campus/shopping mall.
10 refresh, 35 skill points, skill cap at Superb.
The five extra skill points don’t add a whole lot, but the two extra refresh are huge. It doesn’t open up any new character types, but it gives you the flexibility to customize and combine different types. Here’s the quote from the book – I can’t say it any cooler than this:
[I]t becomes possible at this stage to be a Champion of God with a Sword of the Cross, or a Werewolf who can do earth evocations, or a Red Court Infected who becomes the Emissary of the Buddha as a way of taming his impulse control.
This is the default power level of the main characters at the start of Storm Front. With this, you could build Harry Dresden, or a very talented Karrin Murphy, or Michael Carpenter.
This is also the point at which all the antagonists really become viable as opposition, though there are still some that will crush characters of this level if you meet them head-on. But characters at this level have a broad range of different options to help them pick their battles and choose their weapons.
Action here can creep easily into the pulp ideal, and doing horror is really tough. Stories, which started to really expand scope at the last level, now deal with even larger issues than the personal stories of the earlier levels. Not to say that things don’t have a personal aspect – you need to make things personal enough for the characters to get involved, after all, and abstract concepts like saving the world just aren’t as immediate. I’m just saying that there will be world-saving going on.
If characters aren’t the biggest fish in their pond at this power level, then they are still pretty significant players, as opposed to pawns. If someone tries to push them around, even someone much more powerful, there will be repercussions. Political stories start being far more interesting at higher power levels, as the characters will be able to bring some leverage of their own to bear on the course of events set by the mighty.
Setting scale-wise, you pretty much have to open things up here to allow for enough opposition to generate interesting stories. If you’ve got four Wizards in a little farming town, for example, putting enough supernatural excitement in the town to keep the characters busy is really going to strain credulity. Expanding it to the five towns in the area and the wild spaces in between, though, and you’ve got yourself a ballgame. Or at least a roleplaying game.
So, there you have it. That’s the rundown on the four different power levels, and the way they can affect the game you build. It’s an important decision right at the start of the campaign, and I encourage groups to think about what the stories are going to be like with the different levels. Talk it over, and find what works for you.
At least, that’s what I’m planning.
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This weekend, we moved into the endgame on a D&D campaign that I’ve been running since March of 2001. We’ve got about three more sessions, then this seven-year campaign is done.
It’s an interesting experience; I had envisioned the campaign running about three years, but the vagaries of scheduling and the way the story rolled out stretched it much beyond the planned time period. Over that time, I’ve lost three players, and had one rejoin. Everyone started at first level, and now the survivors are twenty-second and twenty-third level. The characters have grown into legends in the world, responsible for massive positive changes. And they’ve all suffered real losses over that time.
See, here’s my philosophy of roleplaying games: the characters should be able to do great things, if they’re willing to pay the price.
Yeah, there are combat challenges, and puzzles, and secrets to unravel, and treasure to find. But the real story is the choices the characters make, and how they deal with the consequences.
Want an example? Okay.
While dealing with wererats infesting a town, the party managed to capture one and interrogate him. At the end of the interrogation, they offered to cure the wererat of his lycanthropy. In this world, all werecreatures are cursed by an evil god; there are no good ones. So, this wererat refuses the cure, because he has pledged his soul for this power. And one of the characters, who are all soldiers in a sort of UN Peacekeeper force, executes the bound and confined prisoner.
Now, this caused a number of problems, because the PCs technically had no authority in the town, which was part of a very protective kingdom. So the extranational army they worked for offered them a choice: they could be turned over to the local authorities, they could request a court martial, or they could accept administrative discipline. The guilty character immediately came forward and accepted the administrative discipline (25 lashes) as long as his comrades were not punished. The others stepped forward and claimed responsibility for not having stopped the execution, and accepted administrative discipline as well, though they were only given 15 lashes each.
We had a whole play session for the punishment detail, with descriptions of the parade, the reading of the charges, the lashes, the recovery, the whole nine yards.
And I’ll tell you, it really turned the disparate characters into a tight-knit unit. They were about 5th level, and had been hesitant to work with or trust each other up to that point. Not afterwards. After their shared discipline, nothing could turn them against each other. They were family. They still bickered and argued, but they trusted each other implicitly.
One character is now a king. He got there as a political compromise. See, his powerful family were scheming to place him on the throne by overthrowing the current queen. They had already assassinated the crown prince. When the character, who had always been very proud of his family, found out about this he decided to turn them into the crown. As a test of loyalty, the queen sent him to arrest his own father, with the promise that the rest of the family would be free to leave the kingdom and live out their remaining lives in exile. The family accepted this, but the father decided that he didn’t want to be executed in the traditional manner for traitors (public exposure and starvation), so he challenged the character to a duel in order to die on his son’s blade rather than in a traitor’s cage.
He showed up again, in Hell, and sacrificed his soul to allow his son to harrow Hell and destroy an evil god.
Those are examples of some of the stories we’ve told together in this game. There are tons more. Seven years is a long time. Not the longest campaign I’ve been in, but the longest campaign with a single throughline of story.
So, now with the end coming, I start to reflect. What would I have done differently? What would I change if I were doing this again today?
- Start smaller. My original world document was two hundred pages, with everything fleshed out and developed. Most of the characters didn’t read it, and I wound up not needing large sections.
- Stick more to official sources. Pretty much every character had some special case or arrangement or benefit that I had stolen from different sources or created. The flavour it added to the game is not necessarily commensurate with the effort it required to keep track of the changes. I’m not a young man, anymore; I have job and family obligations that mean I can’t spend all the time I used to on gaming stuff. Sticking to official sources minimizes the difficulty.
- Stick to a regular game schedule. There were long periods when we were lucky to get in a single game in a month. By sticking to a regular schedule, people are better able to schedule around the game, rather than scheduling the game around everything else. Would have kept better pace and focus, and probably wrapped up a fair bit earlier.
- Group character creation. Get everyone together to create characters, and make the players decide how they know each other. The novel technique from Spirit of the Century and The Dresden Files are brilliant for this, and I plan on implementing them in pretty much any game I run.
It’s been a long, wild run, but we’re coming down to the finish line. I’ve still got a couple of surprises up my sleeve, but all the questions (that I can think of) will be answered. I am excited and sad at the same time.
I hope they like the ending.
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Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
1.Raja Petra, I SALUTE U !!!!
Pandan muka Saiful & family. Becareful, if I ever meet him I will shaff a durian up his ASS! Never know how LOW can a person go to prostitute himself in the name of $$$$$!!!
2.AG first fellow who should kena `taro`. He ordered the wrongful arrest. That also abuse of power.AG must be suspended immediately and placed under house arrest.
3.“Shove a durian” into his @SS”. Might I add a batang penyapu?
4.Now this Sinfool (Saiful) guy has really screwed himself! I can tell you his arsehole is getting bigger everyday!
5.I think the whole pack of government lackeys are clowns.It is like a circus show showing the government fooling Malaysians to believe the sodomy case of Anwar.Now,the cat is out of the bag and Malaysians can throw shit at the Home Minister who is a disgrace in trying to spread lies with facts to foreign dignitaries recently.What a nincompoop Minister he is and I hope he sinks his face in the mud to escape embarrassment from them later.
6.Saifool has now become a pain in BeeEnd's Arse.Sakit!!!
7.RPK ain't a doctor, but in this case, RPK aint the only one spinning out of control.First it was a meliwat thingy.Then they checked DSAI's private part.Followed by the allegation that it ain't a dick to anus thing, but a plastic insertion matter.Then the doctor disappeared, just like that Private Eye.C'mon, folks, what else the authority has to spin?
8First it was a meliwat case.Then DSAI got his dick checked.Followed by the "plastic insertion" thing.What's next?Broom stick??Aiyoh !! Please lah !! Enuf already lah !!!
Those comments are not from Malaysia Today but taken from other top blogs in the country.
It looks like that Saiful only had simple flu at his rear end.
Below is Uncle Pet's reaction to Raja Petra's redemption of Anwar.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The high costs in Trengganu were not merely because of Proton poor quality, there must be some element of hanky-panky, those individuals in charge of sending the cars for service and maintenance must be in cahoots with the dealers.
One thing for sure, he knows the Prime Minister can't remove him, he was appointed by the Sultan.
If you think George Bush is a moron and our Prime Minister is a flip-flop, listen to this man who would likely be the next President of the United States.
So, don't take it too hard on Badawi, he is smarter than Bust and McCain put together.
Come on people of America, be smart, vote for Obama.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
There are two sides to a coin.All this while we always hear one side of the story, mostly in favour of Anwar Ibrahim and condemnation and contempt of the government.
In the recent Sodomy case against Anwar, public opinion is largely on Anwar's side due to allegations of trumped-up charges against him in the past.To make matters worse there were serious inconsistencies and discrepancies in the story of the complainant Saiful and even more serious the apparent selective memory of the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who initially denied having met or knowing Saiful but later admitted he had met him on educational matters merely out of sympathy for the young man, a dropout with a penchant for rubbing shoulders with the rich, the famous and the powerful.
No matter how much I wanted to believe that Anwar might be guilty of the allegation, it is even harder to believe that Anwar can force himself on a young man of Saiful age six times before he felt utterly disgusted and ran to lodge a report first with the DPM and than to the police.If it was against your will, wouldn't you run away and lodge a police report the first time it happened or was it consensual and something had gone terribly wrong?
The latest addition to this ongoing saga was the revelation made by Raja Petra Kamarudin of another witness who was in the DPM's house together with Saiful who had regurgitated the story to him of which he had recorded on video which he hopes to produce at the time of his court trail.He had in no uncertain term said if he goes down he is going to take the DPM down with him.
It is also interesting to note that not only Najib had discrepancies in his story, Anwar had made similar error in his story about who Saiful really is? But than the true-blue Anwar supporters wouldn't fall for anything else other than the undisputed innocent of the man.
Interestingly, a blog reader or a blogger I would say, posted the comment below on my blog.
bro_jinggo said...International Coffee Boy
I understand the general skepticism that has greeted Mohd Saiful Bukhari bin Azlan's police report accusing Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim of allegedly buggering him. Many Malaysians have said, "Not again..." or "Can't they come up with something better?" Whatever your take on this may be, I think its best that everyone allows due process to take place and since the level of cynicism is extremely pronounced, there should be some sort of independent verification for possible key evidence e.g. a foreign forensic expert going through whatever tests that need to be done to prove or disprove that the said buggery took place.
But the one thing that I could never figure out is this: When Saiful made his police report, he was identified as a special assistant to Dato' Seri Anwar. Special assistant means someone with exclusive contact with their employer, someone who has personal dealings with their principal. But shortly after the report was made, Keadilan apparatchiks went on the offensive saying that Saiful was a mere volunteer at the party HQ - a very small, insignificant cog in the giant wheel that is Keadilan and Friends. He was described by Anwaristas as an assistant to an assistant and more specifically as a "coffee boy." In fact, Dato' Seri Anwar himself said that Saiful was "not a permanent member of the staff" and only earned a part-time allowance.
So they established clearly that Saiful was a nobody and implied that he would not have had much significant, personal contact with Dato' Seri Anwar. A volunteer coffee boy that dropped out of university. No more, no less.
But here's the problem. Dato' Seri Anwar also admitted that he has taken Saiful along during his foreign trips. Now, why in the world would you take your volunteer coffee boy on an overseas visit? If he was a nobody, just as Dato' Seri Anwar and his lackeys painted him out to be, why would he be part of a coveted overseas entourage?
The only explanation I can think of is that his coffee must be damn, bloody good.
This salacious tale of power, money and betrayal is getting sleazier with each passing day.
Anwar Ibrahim is not only popular at home but is also popular outside Malaysia especially with Western leaders and world corporate figures. After getting show of support from the American with subtle warning given by Secretary Of State Condoleeza Rice to the Malaysian government not to conspire against him again, Anwar friends in the West are asking for the charges against him to be dropped. It seems a bit odd because he has not been charged yet.
The letter of appeal is posted below.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Who is to blame for the Trengganu Menteri Besar indignation that he was right to approve the purchase of those Mercs as official cars for his assemblymen? One should ask the Sultan of Trengganu who appointed him to the post.
I couldn't agree more with him on why he abandoned the Protons in favour of the Merc.Almost all Proton models are not known for its quality.My only question is the timing right to splurge on this kind of luxury when the economy is on the decline and the people are going through the worst patch of their lives as the economy worsen and the costs of living continue to spiral upward.Shouldn't people like him lead by example and go on austerity drive, if he ever heard of the word.
Most people wouldn't really care if the economic climate had been more favourable.
When political leaders goes round telling the rakyat to tighten their belts and not overspend, the rakyat expect them to show example and do the same.What they spend are taxpayer money not their own money and an act of prudence is expected of them.
Menteri Besar Ahmad Said thinks just because he was appointed by the Sultan he can do anything he likes without giving any due respect to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. He has probably forgotten that he is an UMNO Menteri Besar and should abide the party rules.If he is Pakatan Menteri Besar than it's up to him to deal with matters of state under his jurisdiction.
An unnamed Federal Minister said the Cabinet wasn't happy with what he did but is helpless.
After making demand that Abdullah return the Wang Ehsan to Trengganu, he deems it fits to go on a spending spree.
Lies,half-truths and deception are the sauces of his existence.There is a devil in every men, some God forfend not to manifest, some do and some are:
the incarnation of evil, a betrayer has been born
the king of all deceivers, upon the throne of scorn
an enviable position of power, wealth and glory
to keep the key to the ignition of the purgatory
follow me and you'll succeed
my disciples, you're now a part of me
you reap what you sow, then you roll the dice
how could we ever know that it was the devil in disguise?
the pawns that made the way through this narrow path
for how long will they obey once they taste the grapes of wrath?
now, this wheel of fortune - it spins too fast for you
once it gets in motion there is nothing you can do
follow me and you'll succeed
my disciples, you're now a part of me
you reap what you sow, then you roll the dice
how could we ever know that it was the devil in disguise?
such blindness never seen in the history of man
dictators, rulers of their holy lands
scapegoat sacrified, gently led to slaughter
successor to the throne - the devil's own daughter?
A tribute to Anwar Ibrahim, the man who wanted to be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia and Condoleeza Rice who poked her proboscis where it shouldn't be.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The recent sale of M.V.Augusta to Harley-Davidson should raise controversy over the sale of Proton's majority stake in the company.Proton's equity was what we in business circle called sold for a song.Sold for a pittance of 1 Euro.Although the buyer took over the liabilities, the sale is still questionable.
The excuse was that losses at Augusta would drag Proton down faster into insolvency. Little attention was given to the net tangible assets and goodwill on its advanced technology in design and manufacture of high-end motorbikes.Goodwill or intangibles can cost a lot of money to the right buyer.
The sale was made about a year ago.Did Proton approach Harley or any other bikes manufacturer at that time? Within a year the buyer that bought Proton's share has made money out of it.It appears that Proton and our government now look like blundering fools.
Like former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammed I have serious doubt on the genuineness of those who decided to dispose of the share in such a manner.I can only think of two possibilities, one to discredit the former Prime Minister and the other, something more sinister.
High performance Augusta bikes.
It would be interesting to find out the true identity of the buyer of the 1 Euro share purchase, whether a nominee company was used and whether the purchaser has the financial capacity to undertake the takeover of majority stake in M.V.Augusta.Lastly, if the purchase was genuine, on a willing seller and willing buyer basis, were there incentives paid to the decision makers in Proton to influence their decisions to sell the share?
Although I do not agree with some of Mahathir's recent actions and attacks on the current government, I have great admiration for some of the things he did for this nation during his tenure as PM.At least there were political stability and the economy was doing well.Needless to say there were no hound dogs barking at the government, because there were no major issues except his autocratic ways.
There are two sides to the controversy regarding the viability of Proton.Some were in total disagreement with Mahathir and think he shouldn't have embarked on the costly project while some believe it a launching pad for other ancillary industries to grow and it's worth the risk if Malaysia were to enter the status of industralised countries.
The problem was not with Mahathir, the real problem lies with those given the task to develop the company and those in decision making, not many took pride in their job and move with the time. There was no infusion of new and better technology as was done by other carmakers.After over twenty years Proton has still not been able to proudly manufacture its own engines and gearboxes.
When I first started blogging in June 2007 I wrote an article on the crisis at Proton.I have very low readership at that time and not many have read the article.
I have re-posted the article below.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently directed Proton to start turning around its financial performance after having incurred losses of RM619 million. Would that be enough for the management in Proton to shape up? Can it survive without massive capital injection from the government or fresh equity participation from established foreign carmaker?
Proton, the brainchild of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed was launched in July 1985.It is now well over twenty years and it still has not been able to stand on its own. The problems are worsening due to stiff competition from other carmakers entering the market with cheaper and better quality models.
Most of Proton's troubles were of its own making. Unimaginative and apathetic management are the main cause of its troubles. New models put on the market were unattractive and of poor quality. Some models are just bad copies of older European models.Two new models put on the market recently was a marketing disaster , the Savvy which looked like an updated version of the Fiat 500 and the Gen 2, looking more like a squeezed down version of the old Alfa Romeo Alfasud.
The Wira, first introduced in 1993, the best selling model in the Proton stable, was an old Mitsubishi model and is still fitted with thirty-year old technology engine. This gas guzzling little monster consumed more fuel than the latest medium size Mercedes Benz.
To produce new models means costly retooling and Proton's many new models failed to excite car buyers. Negotiations with foreign carmaker, Volkswagen, to take up equity in the company collapsed due to the government demand for control of the company and control of the future direction of Proton.No one in their right mind, after having bought controlling interest in a company, would accede to such terms.
Was Proton not a viable project in the first place? Was Mahathir wrong in his vision of the industrialisation of Malaysia? Was it fair for the present administration to blame him for the troubles at Proton? Or was it just another exercise by the current administration to dismantle another one of his legacy?
Let us go to Japan and see how the car industries started, how it has produced many famous brands and how it gave birth to the biggest car manufacturer in the world.
Car manufacturers in Japan started maufacturing passenger cars in the 1920s/30s. The oldest manufacturers are Mitsubishi, Nissan and Isuzu.In their formative years, most of them, have collobrated with British auto manufacturers which had, at that time, one of the best mass manufacturing technology.In 1922, Isuzu, teamed up with Wolseley Motor Company of UK and produced the Wolseley A9 locally. Nissan chose Austin of UK as its partner to gain access to automobile and engine design and initially assembled the Austin 7 model locally for sale in Japan. Mitsubishi, another big zaibatsu has courted alliances with many foreign partners.A significant stake in the auto division was sold to Chrysler in 1971.The latecomer to the industry was Toyota which only put its first passenger car on the market in 1936.It is now the biggest car manufacturer in the world in term of revenue.Together with its subsidiary, Daihatsu, it plans to produce 9.4 million units in 2007.
Almost all of the Japanese carmakers have produced special brand in the US for the US market. Toyota has Lexus, Honda called theirs Acura and Nissan called their's Infinite. In 2003, Toyota, launched another brand in the US which they called Scion, to try capture the generation Y market.The US is the biggest markets for automobiles which the Japanese have succesfully penetrated and make their brands household names.
The other commendable country is South Korea which is even more impressive.Its car industry only started in 1955, initially as assemblers.Today, it is the fifth largest manufacturer in the world in term of volume.
Toyota has overtaken GM as the world biggest supplier of automobiles..This can only come about due to intensive product research, forward looking development activities and good corporate culture. Most Japanese carmakers have had their ups and downs but somehow managed to pull through and survive.Many British carmakers, some of which were pioneers of the industry, have fallen on the wayside and the few that are still around have been taken over by foreign companies. Quality and reliability still plagued most British made cars. The Range Rover, a high end luxury model, was voted one of the ten worst luxury cars in the US in 2006.
The 2nd national car manufacturer, Perodua didn't have the same problem that Proton has.Perodua is basically a Japanese company and managed on the same corporate culture. Daihatsu and Mitsui together control more than 51% equity in the manufacturing arm, Perodua Auto Corporation Sdn.Bhd and its subsidiaries. Although much smaller than Proton, it has delivered some good models. The Myvi, a model launched in May 2006 was a hot seller and still is. Perodua cars are selling well and are eroding Proton's share of the market. It recently launched another new model called the Viva.
If Perodua can survive and continue to gain bigger share of the market why can't Proton?What caused Proton to slide downhill so fast? Who is to blame, Mahathir or the present administration?
To say Proton is not viable is a myopic view of those who are more concerned with placing blames rather than doing something constructive to save the ailing company.It's the easy way out.
Chrysler, a company near bankruptcy once, was a good example of the strong and unwavering conviction of one man that believed the company should be saved and saved hundreds of thousand of jobs. While the majority have condemned and destined the company to the graveyard, one man stood alone, convinced the United States Congress to give him loan guarantees to enable him to save the company. With objections, protests, actions to undermine his proposal coming from almost every sector of the business community, and ridiculed by the press, it wasn't an easy task for Lee Iacocca to convince Congress to accept his proposal which, fortunately for Chrysler, Congress finally did.
With new financing available he managed to turn the company around and paid up all loans seven years ahead of time. I would suggest top executives and directors of Proton to read his book - IACOCCA AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Is there someone in Proton who has the conviction and courage to do what Iacocca did? The weakness in the current administration and management of Proton are reflected in their action when they decided to sell off the investment in Mv Agusta for a song.This unconscionable decision cost Proton a loss of almost RM500 million.Proton's business advisor, former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad said he has no prior knowledge and weren't consulted.He should have known better.They knew he would be an obstacle.Why appoint someone as your business advisor if you don't need inputs from him?
The buyer must have great confidence in MvAgusta to dare buy the share written off by Proton. The irony is, MvAgusta is still around, it hasn't been foreclosed or wound up as predicted by the Malay soothsayers in Proton and the government. They are still producing new high end motorbikes.
Those in Proton and government must put on their thinking caps to find the best solution to save the company from extinction.After so much time,money and effort spent to nuture Proton to what it is today, its demise, should not be an option.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sabah is not short of surprises.The latest being its connection with Barack Obama, the potential future President of the United States.
His connection comes through marriage of his younger half-sister to a lad whose parents came from Sabah.
The story in the Star below:
PETALING JAYA: Dr Konrad Ng is amused that his Malaysian roots got noticed halfway round the world, thanks to his link to Democrat candidate Barack Obama.
An assistant professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa (UHM), Ng, whose family originally comes from Sabah, is married to Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro.
Maya and Obama have the same mother.
In an e-mail interview with The Star, Ng, 34, said that his father, Howard, was born in Sandakan and his mother, Joan, in Kudat.
“I have many relatives who live throughout Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and the two towns where my parents came from,” he said.
His parents subsequently settled in Canada and Ng was born there.
Maya was born to Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian businessman, and Ann Dunham, a white American cultural anthropologist, who is also Obama’s mother.
Ng said his parents return to Malaysia once every one to two years.
“It remains an important place of origin to them. In addition to a large, extended family, they have many good friends in Malaysia. I try to visit Malaysia every few years; it is a special country and feels familiar to me,” said Ng.
Maya, who was born in Jakarta, also cherishes her Indonesian roots.
According to Ng, she is active in the local Indonesian community and continues to speak Indonesian when she can. She visits Indonesia every few years.
Ng described Obama as exceptionally brilliant.
“He has a thorough understanding of the challenges we face and sound judgment on how we should address these challenges.
“Barack is a dedicated family man and cares deeply about transforming the world into a better place so that all families will have the same opportunities to do better.
“South-East Asia is a place of connection for him and a region that he understands well. It gave him numerous examples of alternative modes of communication and perspective.
“Maya, Barack and I have talked about the beauty of South-East Asia and our mutual desire to visit again,” he said.
Below is Konrad Ng and his wife bio-data:Born in Indonesia, Maya Soetoro-Ng is Barack’s younger sister. She has a Ph.D in Education and teaches social studies at La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls. Born in Canada, Konrad Ng is Maya’s husband and Barack’s brother-in-law. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and is an assistant professor in the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawai‘i.
Monday, July 21, 2008
A small bite of history.
An extract from a British Royal Navy ship's magazine.The pirates were southern Filipinos.Those that swarmed the state of Sabah.We do need some of them for our labour force but not to the extent of what we have now.
May 17, 1961
The British frigate St Brides Bay has detained a suspected pirate vessel in the Celebes Sea, a Royal Navy statement announced in Singapore today.
The Naval statement said two motor boats carrying 21 men - 11 of them armed - intercepted a motor trading vessel on May 12 and pirated her cargo of 207 bags of copra.
We left Singapore on the May 9 and made a quiet and pleasant passage to North Borneo, having rendezvoued with HM Ships HOUGHTON and FISKERTON returning from their patrol in order to gain the benefit of their experiences. By the evening of Saturday 13th we had rounded the northern tip of Borneo and made the remainder of the passage darkened in order to avoid making our presence too readily apparent.
At 0600 the following morning we met a police launch out from Tawau and embarked Mr R H Hansen, the police commissioner, together with six victims of piracy to assist in identifying any suspects, and three local policemen. Within an hour of this we had sighted and hauled alongside our first 'kumpit' -which proved a fortunate meeting. The kumpit, the 'YOUNG STAR', had been involved in a running battle with a pirate the previous evening. Although she had escaped capture, one member of the crew had been killed by a home-made bomb, and six others had been injured by splinters or rifle fire - these we were able to bring on board for medical treatment. This incident, before breakfast on a calm, sunny Sunday morning, brought home to all of us the fact that our patrol was not to be just another cruise. From the 'YOUNG STAR' we now had some definite information and were able to plan our search accordingly.
Sorrowful bunch contemplating future
For the next thirty-six hours we continued the search whilst the trail became slowly colder During this time we stopped and searched or questioned numerous sailing and motor craft but gained little useful information, and the sight of our armed boarding-party 'standing-to' became quite commonplace. There were numerous false alarms, for we found the Celebes Sea to abound in floating trees, which, at a distance were difficult to distinguish from the small craft for which we were looking. This difficulty was increased at night, and on at least one occasion we illuminated a clump of trees which the boarding-party had been waiting to board.
Engineer - tethered
Shortly after 2100 on the second night on patrol we closed a radar contact which began to take evasive action when the range had closed to about one mile, to the extent that the ship had some difficulty in placing her in a position in which we could properly use the searchlight. When this contact was illuminated she was seen to be a fast motor-kumpit resembling that discribed by the crew of the 'YOUNG STAR'. She was stopped and the crew brought on board for questioning whilst the boat was searched - a search that revealed two automatic weapons, a rifle and ammunition hidden beneath a pile of copra. The discovery of these arms, together with the results of questioning, gave sufficient grounds for arrest. A prize crew was embarked, and the real crew were kept on board the ship under guard except for the engineer whom we kept with us in the kumpit. By 2230 we in the kumpit were underway again and heading for Tawau, some 120 miles distant, escorted by the ship. I shall remember that night for a long time, for the smell of rancid copra takes some getting used to and permeates everything - clothes, food and even cigarettes: in the heat of the day it becomes worse still. The native engineer that we took with us was given little freedom by his police guard and spent most of the time tethered like a dog by a halter round his neck; had one not seen their victims in the 'YOUNG STAR' two days earlier it would have been easy to have felt sorry for him.
Attacked by pirates.Motor kumpit 'Young Star'
Shortly after sunrise the following morning the ship left us to go on into Tawau and we followed at our best speed of about nine knots. Our arrival in Tawau in the afternoon caused great interest ashore and the interest heightened into excitement when the haltered engineer was led to the local gaol.
A report of the incident was released to the press by the Admiralty and during the next few weeks we were entertained by numerous press-cuttings which told our story in various ways - and not always very accurately. The most accurate report that reached us originated in the ship as a letter home and came back as a full back page article in a local Ulster newspaper complete with one of the Buffer's photographs of Able Seaman Hodge at his best (with pirates).
We have recently heard that our captives have each been sentenced to twelve years imprisonment.
Some people just have no sense of shame and has no balls to put their name on an official statement they made to the media.
A Filipino diplomat who wanted to stay anonymous because he has no balls said the economy of Malaysia particularly Sabah would collapse if the Malaysian government continue to deport illegal immigrant.The diplomat said the number of Filipinos in Sabah alone could reach 400,000.
Every Sabahan knew that figure, which was also agreed by the Malaysian government, is wrong and manufactured by the Federal government.The actual figure of mostly illegal Filipino immigrants is close to 1 million and another 300,000 Indonesians, making almost 1.3 million of them scattered all over the state.The ratio is almost 1:1, that's one illegal for every Sabahan.
The government refused to admit the correct figure because it would show how irresponsible they have been toward providing security to the state.
Sabahans have been besieged by the presence of these aliens for decades and the situation is getting worse day by day by letting in new arrivals.Their different cultural background and social behaviour breeds contempt among ethnic Sabahans.
The Philippines government and the unnamed diplomat should be ashamed of themselves for the abject poverty in their country that drove their citizens to seek better life in other countries illegally.Every one of its government, past and present, are only interested to rob the country and run it to the ground.
President Arroyo ! I think it's time you wake up and deal with the problem with probity rather than letting your stupid diplomat to make equally stupid statement.
Below is the article:
Deportations may lead to collapse of Malaysia economy
By Veronica Uy
First Posted 08:35:00 07/21/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The economy of Malaysia, particularly of Sabah, could collapse if its government continues with the crackdown and deportation of so-called illegal migrant workers, including hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, a Filipino diplomat said.
The diplomat, who requested anonymity as he does not have any authority to speak on the issue, affirmed earlier reports that Filipinos in Sabah are allowed to vote in Sabah elections, and that they are then deported in regular anti-illegal migrants campaigns.
"This follows a regular cycle. After every election, the politicians seek to show their teeth and after a concessional deportation of a few thousands, they would again look the other way because they also realize the contribution that our people have on their economy. Without them, their economy would collapse," he said.
The diplomat said the number of Filipinos in Sabah alone could reach as many as 400,000.
While there are no official estimates, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos puts the number at around 200,000, while Malaysia puts the number at around 300,000.
Told that the Malaysian government has expressed "seriousness" in ridding the island of "illegal migrants," the unnamed Filipino diplomat said, "Their seriousness is limited by their logistics. Imagine deporting that many people. They would lose their shirt."
Both sides agree that the Philippines' un-acted claim over Sabah complicates the deportation further because while the country seeks for an orderly deportation of Filipinos from Sabah, it cannot formally set up a consulate office there as it would effectively be recognizing Malaysia's claim over Sabah. A consulate office in Sabah would facilitate the documentation of the deportees, who for the most part were born and raised in Sabah and know no other home but Sabah.
Malaysia contends that it has jurisdiction over Sabah because the people of Sabah have so chosen, and it occupies the oil-rich island. International law experts agree that occupation is nine-tenths of any similar claim.
The Philippines' claim is based on historical records, which indicate that the sultanate of Sulu owns Sabah. This is supported by the annual lease payment made by the Sabah government to the sultan and his heirs.
After the March elections in Malaysia, its government has stepped up deportations, sending back around 250 “illegal migrants” each week to Zamboanga City, where the Philippine government has set up a one-stop processing center composed of officials from the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Foreign Affairs .Read more...
You have accused the Malaysian government of using your citizens to vote illegally in our elections.Show us the evidence so we Sabahans can kick the asses in Putrajaya.
Mr Diplomat, please indentify yourself, so our government can send a protest letter to your Embassy.
Which economy would collapse? Ours or Yours ? Ours had collapsed a few times but recovered quickly.Do you see millions of Malaysian as economic refugees in other country? Does our economy depend on overseas remittances like yours?
Yours, collapsed under the Marcos regime and have not recovered ever since and the problem is you and most Filipinos are still living in cloud cuckoo land.
That's why your country is in such a mess. There are just too many morons like you.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
This is the pot that called the kettle black before.Now they are showing their true colour.Bashed its own MP for asking questions.
PKR's YB Nik Nazmi's aide is alleged to have punched PKR's YB Loh Gwo-Burne for asking him questions over the construction of a surau which apparently had no approval from the local council.
PKR which accused UMNO of human right abuses and marginalisation of Indians over demolition of Indian temples before is now doing much better than UMNO to perpetuate 'ketuanan Melayu'.Just bash up anybody including your own party comrade and lawmakers if they dare to ask questions on Malay rights.At least in UMNO the Malays don't beat up their non-Malays elected representatives in the coalition.
Among the 5 states under the oppositions, PKR's Khalid has shown total lack of good governance and is more interested in witch hunting than governing a state.Already embroiled in several controversies, the Menteri Besar of Selangor seems not to have any control over his men.
What can one expect from a party that has a leader who is all for himself,promote himself and his family
Have you ever heard Anwar Ibrahim talk much about his party and his people?It's always him, his family, how he can steal a government and how the BN government conspire to fix him.
Anwar's PKR is still crawling on all fours. They need to learn how to walk properly and certainly need to learn the art of governing before they can look at the bigger picture.
If you can' ride a pony properly how do you expect to ride a stallion?
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Went back to Parkson, got back the other side and now I have a proper pair of shoes.
The little Malay boy was very apologetic when he saw me.He was wondering why I took 5 days to come back.Since he has apologised I refrained from telling him off.After all we are humans and humans are not infallable, we all can make mistakes.End of story.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Anwar ‘no’ to foreign forensic expert
Sodomy is not only outlawed in Malaysia, many other countries including our neighbour down south have tough law on sodomy.
There is no federal law on sodomy in the U.S.Such law comes under the purview of the states some of which have very tough law.
Sodomy: What Is It?
Sodomy is most commonly legally defined as any contact between the genitals of one person, and the mouth or anus of another. The word has its origins in Christianity. It is sometimes used to mean sexual deviation, though in legal contexts it is defined as above. Throughout history, "sodomites," mostly male homosexuals and bestialists, have been punished by a largely theocratically controlled government, in hopes of stamping out "ungodly practices" that might bring divine retribution against Christian society. In medieval Europe, intercourse between a male field worker and a noble woman was legally considered "sodomy," as it was thought to cause a poor harvest. The history of the concept of sodomy is tied to the Church in most every case.
Currently, there is no federal sodomy law, though some federal land falls under maritime jurisdiction, which may have sanctions in some cases. 25 states do not have sodomy laws. 5 states have laws pertaining to homosexual sodomy only, and the remaining 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, have laws covering all sodomy, even between heterosexuals.
How some states have titled their sodomy statues
Only For Homosexual Conduct
The five states with sodomy laws pertaining to homosexual conduct only....
The Dirty Dozen
The twelve states with the toughest maximum penalties are...
Other States With Sodomy Laws | <urn:uuid:3c3012a9-35ac-467a-bbc4-325a75ad28df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hantulautan.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html | 2013-05-22T00:14:42Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976836 | 8,139 |
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
A rebuttal to Prof. Barnett's "Cronyism" op-ed re the Miers nomination
I very strongly disagree with Prof. Randy Barnett's op-ed in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal (already available online). On the Volokh Conspiracy blog (where he's also entertaining comments to the op-ed), Prof. Barnett explained earlier today that he "wrote [the WSJ] essay over the past few hours without reading anything on the blogosphere, so it reflects [his] wholly unvarnished opinion." I give him kudos for writing quickly, but not well. This is far less coherent than his usual tight and polished writing.
We read, for example, these two paragraphs back to back:
Even a star quarterback with years of high school and college football under his belt takes years of experience and hard knocks to develop the knowledge and instincts needed to survive in the NFL. The Supreme Court is the big league of the legal profession, and Ms. Miers has never even played the judicial equivalent of high school ball, much less won a Heisman Trophy.
Ms. Miers would be well qualified for a seat on a court of appeals, where she could develop a grasp of all these important issues. She would then have to decide what role text and original meaning should play in constitutional interpretation in the context of close cases and very difficult decisions. The Supreme Court is no place to confront these issues for the very first time.
I'm sorry, but that's worse than just overextending one's sports metaphors. That's downright internally inconsistent. I'll grant you that the Supreme Court is more important; but if she's "well qualified" for a seat on the court of appeals, then it's a huge leap to "unqualified" — a word Prof. Barnett doesn't quite get to, but obviously approaches — for the Supreme Court. And with due respect to Prof. Barnett and other academics, being a law professor ain't exactly the school of "hard knocks" either, and neither is prior judicial experience the sole (or even the best) way to learn that which "hard knocks" teaches.
Indeed, Prof. Barnett fairly drips with law professor-type elitism when he writes this statement:
To be qualified, a Supreme Court justice must have more than credentials; she must have a well-considered "judicial philosophy," by which is meant an internalized view of the Constitution and the role of a justice that will guide her through the constitutional minefield that the Supreme Court must navigate.
Not to put a fine point on it: that's just nonsense. It would be the very, very rare practitioner — as opposed to law professor or, perhaps, public interest group lawyer — who's spent his or her career polishing up a "well-considered 'judicial philosophy.'" Indeed, one of the ways John G. Roberts, Jr.'s career as a practicing lawyer was so unusual — so different from what 99.9 percent of practicing lawyers' careers have been like — was that his private practice dealt almost entirely with appellate litigation, and most of that at the Supreme Court level. Prof. Barnett himself has argued at least one celebrated case in the Supreme Court, and perhaps he's had other experience practicing law outside the classroom. In any event, it's surprising, but also very disappointing and frankly a bit insulting, that he seems to think lawyers who are neither judges nor professors must be somewhat retarded.
If you restrict Supreme Court nominations to those individuals who've spent their lives living in that rarefied atmosphere, pondering constitutional minefields to the exclusion of everything else, then you're going to end up with a Supreme Court whose members are out of touch both with America and with nuts and bolts legal practice. You're going to end up with a Court full of prima donnas who can't "just" concur, but instead feel compelled to write countless separate opinions. You'll often have no majority opinion, but instead special concurrences, partial concurrences, separate dissents, and partial concurrences only in Part III-D-6(f) but not Part III-D-6(g) of another's minority opinion. You'll get a Court that on the same day finds a display of the Ten Commandments constitutional in Texas and unconstitutional in Kentucky. You'll get a Court that takes up an incredibly important issue like redistricting, one that's splintered the Court in previous years, and then just leaves things more splintered when it's done. You'll get a Court that flip-flops within the space of a few years on issues involving capital punishment and what the government may or may not do in an attempt to promote morality. And you'll never see another unanimous Court like the one that produced Brown v. Board of Education.
You'll get a Court, in other words, with all the failings that this Court has had for the last several years.
My blogospheric friend Prof. Stephen Bainbridge, who's another early critic of the Miers nomination, quoted today the famous and still very funny comment by Sen. Roman Hruska on Nixon nominee Harold Carswell: "Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they?" Well, I'm not arguing in favor of mediocre nominees. What I am arguing is that a nominee is not mediocre, or unfit, or likely to be a disaster on the Court, simply because he or she comes from a career spent mostly in private practice! We in private practice tend to spend less time worrying about the meaning of life and the universe and how that guides and informs the evolution of substantive due process under the Constitution. But that's exactly the kind of — forgive, again, my bluntness — metaphysical crap you get in Supreme Court opinions written by lawyers who've spent most of their careers as academics.
Prof. Barnett asks: "Given her lack of experience, does anyone doubt that Ms. Miers's only qualification to be a Supreme Court justice is her close connection to the president?" To which I answer: Absolutely and emphatically, I do indeed doubt that! I challenge that assertion, and I fortunately have something more than sneering innuendo to refute it. By historical American standards, any Supreme Court nominee would be considered qualified based on a successful career in a sophisticated private business law practice — at the head of a large, first-rate law firm in a large city of a large state — that has also included leadership positions in the local, state, and national bar, plus a substantial tenure in public service as counsel to her home state's governor and then the President of the United States. Ms. Miers' overall qualifications compare quite favorably to those Sandra Day O'Connor had when she was nominated. Indeed, her qualifications are very much in the mold of, and quite arguably superior to, those of the late Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., who had led a comparable law firm (Hunton & Williams) to Ms. Miers' and had been President of the American Bar Association (in an era in which it was still an apolitical service organization instead of just another special interest pleader). Only someone uninformed or unfairly dismissive of excellence in the private practice of law could ask a question like Prof. Barnett's, even rhetorically.
But the saddest and most troubling part of the early, reflexive opposition to the Miers nomination is from people who, like Prof. Barnett, are muttering darkly (and necessarily vaguely) that this nomination is comparable to LBJ's nomination of Abe Fortas to become Chief Justice in 1968. The Fortas comparison is badly, badly misleading — a genuine cheap shot. Abe Fortas' nomination to become Chief Justice was doomed if for no reason other than it came at the end of LBJ's term. That he was LBJ's longtime close friend and adviser, however, is not what leaves the lingering smell; many, many other Justices have been close friends of Presidents. Rather, the lingering smell comes from the fact that Abe Fortas had routinely engaged in ethically questionable conduct — including possible financial corruption — that made him unfit to be a judge at any level. He'd sometimes used his undeniable skills and intellect in the service of wicked causes, among them securing Lyndon Johnson's senate election through vote fraud. He'd maintained relationships that involved extra-judicial compensation even while he was an Associate Justice. Unless and until Prof. Barnett is able to make and back up comparable allegations against Harriet Miers, then he owes her an apology for even mentioning her name in the same paragraph with Abe Fortas'. It's an unjustified smear, and it's beneath his dignity (and certainly beneath hers).
Moreover, the classic meaning of "cronyism" is selecting someone for a position that they're incapable of earning and totally unfit for on their own. If all Harriet Miers had to commend her, as Prof. Barnett claims, is that she's been George W. Bush's lawyer, and if we could find no reason in her record, other than Dubya's friendship, even for her to have held that position, then a charge of "cronyism" might be appropriate. But Harriet Miers was already an accomplished and respected lawyer and leader before she ever represented George W. Bush. She's had accomplishments aplenty that are entirely unrelated to him. She well merited, based on demonstrated ability, the positions through which they became better and better acquainted. By every report, she's discharged those positions competently and effectively, rather than just skating by on the basis of the President's favor. Prof. Barnett and the others who are crying "Cronyism!" are using friendship and trust that's developed through superb service with the President as a disqualifying factor, irrespective of the nominee's other credentials and experience. That's a mistake. Alexander Hamilton was not against friendship, he was against incompetence and incompetents being promoted due to friendship. Hamilton himself was both George Washington's friend and his military and then political protégé, the "son Washington never had" and also his most effective cabinet secretary.
It certainly seems to me that Prof. Barnett is using the facts that Ms. Miers comes from a practicing lawyer's background, and that she's become a trusted friend while serving capably as Counsel for the Governor of Texas and the President of the United States, as his sole bases for arguing against her nomination. I believe the nicest term for that is "snotty." It's an unbecoming attitude, and this essay is just not up to his usual high standards of reasoning and writing. There may be persuasive reasons for opposing the Miers nomination, but I don't think these reasons are them.
Other weblog posts, if any, whose authors have linked to A rebuttal to Prof. Barnett's "Cronyism" op-ed re the Miers nomination and sent a trackback ping are listed here:
» Who is Harriet Miers? from La Shawn Barber's Corner
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 9:06:14 AM
» I offer my concurring opinion to Beldar from EagleSpeak
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 10:01:07 AM
» Bush Press Conference from protein wisdom
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 10:52:20 AM
» I trust the President from Pull On Superman's Cape
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 11:32:09 AM
» Miers - a disappointing pick from LyfLines
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 12:56:18 PM
» Positive Miers Reax from Literal Barrage
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 2:15:26 PM
» http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/12223 from Outside The Beltway
Tracked on Oct 4, 2005 3:01:57 PM
» The Trouble With Harriet, Day Two from No Oil for Pacifists
Tracked on Oct 5, 2005 1:16:50 AM
» Elitism and Cronyism from Parableman
Tracked on Oct 5, 2005 3:25:18 PM
» Cronyism, Hamilton, and Barnett from Neo Warmonger
Tracked on Oct 6, 2005 7:29:57 AM
(1) DWB made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 1:42:38 AM | Permalink
Great post Beldar... thanks for providing some sanity amidst the hysteria that seems to be the norm over the last 24 hours.
(2) Senator Palpatine made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 3:11:10 AM | Permalink
Excellent comment, Beldar. I am big fan of yours. I am disappointed you spend so much of your time in the "real world" and not in the blogosphere, we could use your insight more often.
I think your points are excellent, and I, too, disdain the elitism and aloofness of which you speak.
Even as a critic of the President's choice, I can agree with most of what you say here. But I have a few words in defense of the criticism which has erupted, justifiably in my view, from the right.
John Roberts was met with limited enthusiasm from the right for a lot of the same reasons Miers is now under attack. But Roberts was initially nominated to replace O'Connor, so it was thought his lack of a paper trail was meant to make confirmation easier. And while his time as a judge was limited, his stellar career as a supreme court specialist ensured his competence.
What we have with Miers is essentially another blank slate candidate (like Roberts), but this time conservatives expected a stalwart conservative with a lengthy paper trail. Many (including myself) grudgingly went along with Roberts, but wanted the President to come through on his next pick. Now we have another blank slate, but with none of the mitigating factors Roberts had in his favor, such as his stellar credentials and his initially replacing the "moderate" justice O'Connor. I wouldn't be happy with a Roberts clone either. I wanted a justice we could actually know something about before she takes her seat.
While your points are well taken about the value of ordinary life and ordinary lawyering, don't you think a Supreme Court justice should spent considerable time thinking seriously about constitutional philosophy, federalism, and the role of Courts in our society before they take their seat on the Supreme Court? No doubt she has done this, but what public record of her thoughts exist on these questions? Do we really know what drives this women's views on the Constitution (or Roberts' for that matter)?
Trust Bush? Sorry, Republicans have been burned too many times.
(3) spongeworthy made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 7:40:10 AM | Permalink
I'm not sure the Court at this time needs a lot of lofty thinkers on what the law can or should be. A real working lawyer might just know what the law is and respect that.
I also notice a lot of folks tossing around the term "mediocrity" who couldn't carry this woman's jock strap.
(4) Cheryl made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 7:40:39 AM | Permalink
"perhaps he's had other experience practicing law outside the classroom."
FYI - regarding Barnett in the rarified air. He started his career, not as a professor, or even as a law clerk. After law school, he worked in the Cook County State's Attorney's office: http://www.randybarnett.com/pdf/cv.pdf
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Google, but using it before ranting can often be helpful
I'm not much of a conservative, so maybe my comments don't carry much weight, but I agree with you Beldar.
You can go through history and find tons of justices who were never judges or legal scholars. In just recent generations we've had Byron White, Lewis Powell, William Rehnquist, and Clarence Thomas (unless you count the five minutes Thomas was a judge before being elevated). All got their jobs through so-called "cronyism," i.e. being well-known in political circles and not much outside of them.
(6) amelia made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 8:06:01 AM | Permalink
Thank you! You expressed my opinion of the criticism perfectly. This working lawyer thinks you are spot on.
I can't remember the last time I quoted a law review in a brief or in oral argument. Frankly a law prof is one of the cushiest jobs out there.
I am a practicing lawyer myself, and I was a clerk for an appellate court judge who had common sense, a strength which is not common enough among his brethren of the appellate bench. I agree emphatically with this analysis. I have known many law professors. A distressingly small percentage of them are serious people. Even smart ones, for example Akhil Amar, use their erudition to put scholarly armor plate on their desired outcomes. In other words, they don't do scholarship, they write clever briefs in support of their ideological positions in the guise of shcolarship. Participants in that bogus game have no special advantage over smart practitioners. Moreover, practicitioners have a work ethic far beyond what most law profesors can imagine, or which they fled from into the comfy chair of academic life.
The Supreme Court could use a large dose of practicality. The nearly unusable opinions that come out of the SC are a source of uncertainty and hence waste and expense. Perhaps Roberts and Miers can impose some sense that these people are meant to be public servants, not circus performers.
(8) Simon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 8:27:21 AM | Permalink
In what ways do you consider Miers credentials to be "arguably superior" to Justice Powell's?
I happen to agree that grand theories of constitutional law are overrated, and that truly diverse experiences among Court members is desirable (practicing lawyers, former elected officials, district court judges, someone from the state courts). However, I don't think that such a broad and defensible principle necessarily implies a defense of Ms. Miers. Of all the practicing lawyers in the country, was she really the best? (5 best? 10 best?) Or just the one closest to the president when he made his decision?
Cheryl, thanks for that link. Following a similar one over at the VC blog, I'd looked Prof. Barnett up before, and I think we've corresponded by email in the past. I'm generally a fan, and tried to be respectful in this post, but I do genuinely think most of the criticism of Ms. Miers' record and suitability is elitist and unjustified, and that in this instance, his op-ed fell into those traps.
If he's been a working prosecutor, that's all the more reason he should value the potential contributions to the Court from someone who's had a solid career as neither a judge nor an academic. I'm frankly flummoxed and perplexed as to why he and so many others (including some of his co-bloggers at the VC, but not its namesake) are so dismissive of Ms. Miers' credentials as a practicing lawyer and a public servant. If my post reads to you like a rant, that's probably a result of the offense to practicing lawyers that I believe is inescapable in his op-ed, whether it was intended or not.
Simon, she certainly is the practicing lawyer in whom Dubya has the most confidence and the greatest certainty, justified or not, about how she'll turn out on the bench. I don't claim that she's necessarily among the five or ten best practicing lawyers in the country, but then again, I doubt you could get any two lawyers in the country to agree who makes up that list. She has made the National Law Journal's top 100 list, for example.
As for the Powell comparison: Ms. Miers has managed a substantially larger firm than he did in a time of more rapid flux in the legal industry. They both had only minor elected offices, Justice Powell on a Virginia school board and Ms. Miers as a city councilwoman; both were active in local, state, and federal bar associations, and there Justice Powell has a slight edge. But as far as I know, there was nothing in Justice Powell's career before taking the bench in the way of sustained, full-time public service comparable to that which Ms. Miers has rendered as counsel first to the Governor of Texas and then to the President of the United States. I suspect she's had considerably more responsibility in her present job, for example, than William Rehnquist had in the Nixon ("that clown") DoJ.
"The base" is angry because they rightly feel that they have had to carry the President's water since the election, especially on Katrina & Brown.
Now the President effectively says, "The media is right, I am a crony-lover," and breaks a knife off in the back of his erstwhile loyal supporters.
If I want a legal administrator, I'd call Miers. If I want a corporate shill who can work well with a filthbag like Eisner, I'd call Miers.
If I wanted a principled and talented jurist for the highest court in the land, I'd call on Janice Rogers Brown.
(12) Simon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 9:05:34 AM | Permalink
I'm just not sure why it is we should accept the President's assurances that she is the best person for the position simply because he is the President. (How would he know? How many practicing lawyers has he actually met?)
The President is known for his loyalty to his staff, which is generally a noble trait, but less so when one is considering an appointment not to personal staff or policy positions but an independent judiciary.
As for her comparisons vis-a-vis Powell, I think you are shortchanging the import of his experience on the Richmond school board and overselling Mier's experience as counsel to George W. Bush, whatever office he might hold. She's proven herself loyal to a successful politician, beyond that, I don't know what her service is supposed to convey. (And setting aside the comment on his brilliance that David Frum reported that I assume is some sort of joke.)
I suggested when I posted a similar comment on the Volokh thread that a good test for Supreme Court nominations might be: is it possible another president (of the same party) might make the same appointment? In most cases I think the answer is 'yes.' With Miers, I think the answer is clearly 'no.'
Simon, you do realize, I assume, that "Counsel to the President" is the position under which John Roberts was a subordinate in the Reagan Administration? That in the overall system, that position has unique responsibilities distinct from but in many ways equal to, and on some topics more important than those of either the Attorney General or the Solicitor General (the latter being another office in which John Roberts was, again, a subordinate, albeit the highest-ranked one)? She hasn't just been George W. Bush's personal lawyer, fixing his parking tickets or whatever. She's been Counsel to the POTUS, to the office, with all the challenges and responsibilities that the office entails. I rather think that's a bigger deal than being on a state school board on a part-time basis in Virginia, even if that was during troubled times.
And you're right you don't know (and neither do I) everything she's done as part of her service to the highest executive office in the world, because it's almost all been done in private, privileged circumstances. But saying that service only shows she's been loyal to a politician well, that's certainly inconsistent with how Administration insiders (including Frum) describe her service. And her sole current client says he's well satisfied with her performance, and he has not only the best position from which to make that assessment, but the constitutional right and duty to make SCOTUS appointments. No, you don't have to take his word for that, of course not. But I, for one, am willing to even if this nomination robs us of the chance to enjoy bloody carpets on the floor of the Senate, a circus many of us were looking forward to.
(14) anon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 9:48:22 AM | Permalink
The Fortas comparison is indeed inapt, but not because Miers is better; rather, it is inapt because Fortas was way, way more qualified for the Court than Miers. Fortas graduated 1 or 2 in his class from Yale Law. Miers did nothing special at SMU. Fortas founded Arnold & Porter, one of the top 10 firms in the country. Miers managed for several years a firm that was (maybe) in the top 10 in Texas. Fortas was selected to be LBJ's lawyer because he was one of the best lawyers in the country beforehand. Miers became Bush's lawyer because, well, we don't really know. But not because she was among the best in the country. Bottom line, Miers isn't nearly as qualified as Fortas was.
(15) Chuck Green made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 9:48:24 AM | Permalink
It's fun to win an argument isn't it? This one was a slam dunk. As an extraordinarily successful lawyer in private practice, there should be no question as to whether Meirs is "qualified" to serve on the Supreme Court. Whether she will be as conservative as many hope she will be is a question that only time will tell. I am going to assume she has instincts gravitating toward a conservative judicial philosophy, even if not as clearly defined as that of the law professor-types, and that she will be favorably influenced over time by Scalia, Thomas, and Roberts. The fact neither Meirs nor Roberts are seen as ultra-conservatives may enhance their ability to influence the court, and this is the ultimate goal. It appears that barring a major belly-flop in the hearings, Meirs will be confirmed. This being the case, there is reason to be excited about the potential of the new Roberts court.
Beldar hasn't "won" any argument, quite the opposite.
By that logic, Melvin Belli should have been Chief Justice and Clinton should have appointed Bernie Nussbaum instead of Ginsberg.
Nope, Miers has "crony" and "corporate shill" written all over her.
You're spot on. Fortas was known to be a great legal mind. Miers has the ability to suck up to corporate swine like Eisner. No contest, no comparison.
Correction, -Johnny Cochran- should have been Chief Justice.
Greg Djerejian nails it:
"It's ultimately that she's just not Supreme Court timber. Harry Reid can cheer-lead her if he wishes, showing major Democrats don't care a whit about serious constitutional credentials on the bench either, but those of us who are proud of this court must demand better. We should root for her defeat--perhaps by an alliance of thinking Republicans and Democrats. The Achilles heel of this President has become such displays of bovine worship at the altar of some warped conception of loyalty. Be loyal, yes, but demand excellence and competence and, yes, accountability in critical postings dear God! I'm now forced to conclude that Bush, after such a hugely good show with Roberts, is nevertheless willing to be unserious and even reckless, more so than his father, with appointments to the highest court in our land. Look, she might prove a Scalia rubber-stamp, and conservatives will be happy that she votes 'right' (the coded message Cheney was peddling today to Limbaugh). But a man of character and vision wouldn't stoop to such a low threshold of what makes a good SCOTUS pick. He would look for an intellectual leader, a bona fide constitutional thinker. We all know who they are, and that there were far more distinguished picks available. Instead, Bush went for a relative mediocrity. This is not to take anything away from a woman who has had a very distinguished career in private practice. No, Locke Liddell & Sapp is not Covington or Williams & Connolly or Cravath or Sullivan & Cromwell. Still, it's a decent firm in an important American city that she rose to co-head. But a hard-working law firm manager, a decent litigator, a tough cookie who gets results--these are not the credentials for our highest court. Nor should it be merely dogged loyalty to a President. What matters is serious intellectual depth, profound understanding of constitutional law, potential greatness. She fails on all three counts. And, with all due respect to a successful private sector attorney, I have to say rather dismally."
(19) Simon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:11:17 AM | Permalink
1. I'm sorry, but the suggestion that the Counsel to the President is a "more important" position than either the AG or the Soliciter General is simply ludicrous, at least on topics that are relevant to potential judges (after all, this is a judicial nomination on which we are expounding). POTUS counsel is a terribly important position, true, but it is important for reasons (loyalty to the president, discretion, acute sense of interplay between law and policy, sense of "fair brokership" among competing Administration factions) that I would argue are among the lesser important qualities in SCOTUS justices.
Consider the list of previous White House counsels: Clark Clifford, Charles Murphy, Edward McCabe, Ted Sorenson, Charles Colson, John Dean, Leonard Garment, Bill Casselman, Lloyd Cutler (x2), Fred Fielding, Boyden Gray, Bernie Nussbaum, Abner Mikva, Jack Quinn, Lanny Davis, Charles Ruff, Beth Nolan, Alberto Gonzalez, Harriet Miers. Fine lawyers, all. But only in this president’s administration would any be seriously considered for the Supreme Court (save perhaps Judge Mikva). Does that tell us something about the relative quality of Gonzalez and Miers vis-a-vis their predecessors? Or does it tell us something about the president?
2. Miers suffers even if you credit the counsel as a legitimate stepping stone to the SCOTUS. Miers has served as counsel for less than a year; before that, she served as deputy chief of staff and staff secretary, important as policy positions, but not necessarily as legal ones.
3. My point about loyalty is, in part, that she has only had to prove herself during her public service to one person, George Bush, which to my mind limits its value in evaluating her credentials. I would like to think that the President selects “the best people for the job,” not “the best people he happens to know and has extensive experience with.”
In a sense, my complaint is that the President has committed the same error that Thrasymachus did: “because they are my friends they must be good.” Well, no, that’s not quite the case.
I'm with Beldar on this one. And Simon, sorry, you seem like a nice guy, but you are way off on this one. She didn't come to be acquainted with the man who would become president of the United States by serving him cocktails or collecting signatures for his election petitions. She got to know him because of a lifetime of hard work and outstanding achievement.
If another President wouldn't have selected her, so what. It just means that this hypothetical president would be limited to the usual collection of law professors and nerdy circuit court judges who have turned our constitution and laws into such pretzels with their musings about life's meaning, when the questions before them are uncomplicated things like whether sodomy can be outlawed.
Real people who have held down real jobs! What a concept!
(21) Simon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:29:39 AM | Permalink
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of lawyers in the country who have worked just as hard and been just as successful (under whatever rubric you choose to apply) as Ms. Miers, who are distinguished from her only by their misfortune in not working for/befriending/impressing George W. Bush.
Do I think that all of them, but for their misfortune, are qualified to sit on the Supreme Court? No, probably not. Do I think that working for/befriending/impressing George W. Bush is either a necessary or sufficient quality in Supreme Court justices? No, except for the obvious point about him making the ultimate decision. Again, though, I would hope he would be wise enough to make decisions on relevant factors (e.g., legal skills) and not irrelevant ones (e.g., "do I know her?").
(22) Daniel made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:35:25 AM | Permalink
Although Roberts' credentials are amazing, one criticism was that he had no coherent judicial philosophy. That causes me to suspect that only a law professor is likely to have such a coherent philosophy.
(23) Karl made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:38:48 AM | Permalink
I don't question Miers achievements (law firm, political service, first woman, blah blah blah), but c'mon people, this is the freakin' SUPREME COURT.
The Supreme Court should be reserved to the best and brightest minds on constitutional law. Period. Political service, real world accomplishments are irrelevant. Once we start saying that trial attorneys and politicians are just as qualified to expound on the Constituion as people who have studied Con. law as a profession, who have written and fulminated on what the Constitution means, then we are abandoning the high ground. Remember who led the Court down its path of emanantions and penumbras. Warren was a governor, Douglas was the head of the SEC, Black was a Senator. They were qualified to do many things, but interpret the Constitution was not one of them.
If you put unserious and unqualified nominees on the Court, be prepared to reap what you sow.
(24) bobbie foote made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:42:40 AM | Permalink
The dumbest opinions on the Supreme Court were written by judges who had been JUDGES. Ms Miers has a degree in Math. Judge O'Connor had a degree in Economics. They have different talents. Perhaps we need a more mathematical mind on the court.
(25) Jerald H. Curtis made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:52:19 AM | Permalink
""The base" is angry because they rightly feel that they have had to carry the President's water since the election, especially on Katrina & Brown.
Now the President effectively says, "The media is right, I am a crony-lover," and breaks a knife off in the back of his erstwhile loyal supporters.
If I want a legal administrator, I'd call Miers. If I want a corporate shill who can work well with a filthbag like Eisner, I'd call Miers.
If I wanted a principled and talented jurist for the highest court in the land, I'd call on Janice Rogers Brown.
About the Ex-FEMA Director I think that it is amazing that he handled 4 hurricanes last year with only the minimal problems associated with a big bureaucracy but was totally unable to handle Katrina or was it such a foul up on a local & state level? About cronies at the executive level you see a lot of it, it is the way that most people fill positions with people that they trust and it is not necessarily a bad thing it is only when you have a person that can absolutely not do the job that you have problems and that is why the real reason for the Senate’s advise and consent function for Presidential appointments.
Sure I too would have liked to see Justice Rogers-Brown BUT, I am not the President and I do trust the person that I helped elect to that position.
I wonder what you reaction would be if he had nominated someone who had never been a lawyer at all?
(26) Mark L made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 10:55:03 AM | Permalink
Don't both Souter and Ginsberg come from prestigious Ivy League law schools? Considering the miserable job both of them have done, I would really think twice about snarking that Miers "only" has a degree from SMU and "only" worked in Texas law firms. Perhaps the best aspect that I see about Miers (and I was disappointed by the pick) is that she has solid root *outside* the East and West Coast legal establisments.
That was my point. Bush's defenders were NOT helped by the WH in making a case for Brown on Katrina, and now this.
It was a total back-stab.
When discussing potential presidential candidates you'd often her the expression, "Has he at least run for dogcatcher?" Has Miers ever argued a Supreme Court case, even once? What makes Miers stink to high heaven in my estimation is that she's so clearly punching above her weight. I'm an entrepreneur myself and hate all lawyers (except mine who's a great guy) and cede to no one in my general distaste of effete intellectualism. But if a CEO appointed a regional branch manager to succeed him, the shareholders would throw a fit.
(29) AKB made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 12:03:47 PM | Permalink
Hey, do you know how Ginsburg got in the SC? Her Husband was Bill's biggest contributor from NY. The biggest. He has said his reason was to have his wife being considered as a SC when anything opens up. I did not see any "Cronyism" then. Why now?
You're exactly right. I don't care what her religious beliefs are, I want a competent jurist.
anon, I said in my original post that Fortas was talented. He was indeed a brilliant lawyer, capable of much good viz, his successful pro bono efforts in Gideon v. Wainwright. But he was crooked, or if not crooked, insufficiently scrupulous. That powerhouse Washington law firm that he founded, and of which he was once a name partner, refused to take him back when he resigned in disgrace from the Court.
He's a genuinely tragic figure. We don't want tragic figures for the Court, do we?
Beldar - thank you for putting in the time to spell out why Barnett and others attacking Miers are simply wrong.
In response to the person asking whether any other GOP President would have chosen Miers for the Supreme Court, the odds are very good that under any other GOP President, she would have been already appointed to the Fifth Circuit or would have successfully run for the TX Supreme Court. In either of those cases, her name would probably have been popping up along Priscilla Owen's and a few other names of female judges who were being talked about widely in the blogosphere.
"If you put unserious and unqualified nominees on the Court, be prepared ... "
... for John Marshall?
Let's see; military man, House of Representatives, Secretary of State ... nary a judgeship nor professorship in sight, though.
The modern trend to go for profs and worn-out judges in the Supreme Court has lead inexorably to ... the Kelo decision, for one. Not such a great trend, perhaps.
(34) Brett made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 12:50:51 PM | Permalink
Sorry, Beldar, but I think you're wrong, here. You write:
Moreover, the classic meaning of "cronyism" is selecting someone for a position that they're incapable of earning and totally unfit for on their own.
And that is precisely the case here. As to your first criterion, "incapable of earning": but for Ms. Miers' relationship with president Bush, it is absolutely inconceivable that she ever would have been seriously considered for a federal judgeship, let alone a position on the Supreme Court. As to your second criterion, "totally unfit for": there is absolutely nothing about this nominee to recommend her over any member of the stable of legal luminaries who the president could have chosen.
This is the very essence of cronyism. It's disgraceful, and it's disappointing to see you going to the mattresses to defend it.
(35) CGB made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 12:51:47 PM | Permalink
The criticisms of the Meirs' pick are many:
1. The main criticisim of Meirs is not that she is a practicing lawyer, it is that she is *not* a practicing judge, especially one with constitutional experience.
2. Many conservatives worry mightily that she'll turn out to be another Souter, another stealth appointment made by a Bush president. I just can't bring myself to trust the President that she won't.
3. Shouldn't the Supreme Court be for the best and brightest? If she were a he, his nomination would be laughed at. If we need to practice diversity and appoint a female (why don't we just write into the constitution that this seat must go to a female), there are other, better qualified choices.
First of all, re: Kelo, big dirigible just made a point I've made in both posts and comments. The same point Beldar made very well here:
We in private practice tend to spend less time worrying about the meaning of life and the universe and how that guides and informs the evolution of substantive due process under the Constitution. But that's exactly the kind of — forgive, again, my bluntness — metaphysical crap you get in Supreme Court opinions written by lawyers who've spent most of their careers as academics.
I was beginning to think I was the only one willing to give this woman a fair shake. Thanks - great post.
Godfrey Daniel, the lack of reasoning just keeps coming!
Miers is just the type to vote FOR KELO as an ex-corporation lawyer. The Bush administration LOVED that decision.
(38) Ken Masugi made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 1:44:47 PM | Permalink
Barnett's premise about Hamilton is wrong:
Barnett's quotation from Federalist 76 about the senate checking “a spirit of favoritism” applies not only to nomination of judges but to all presidential nominations. If author Alexander Hamilton meant this in the way Barnett wants to use it, to reject Miers, President Washington could not have nominated his close confidante for Secretary of Treasury.
See my post at: http://www.claremont.org/localliberty/archives/003882.html
Beldar, many of your points are cr*p. Is Miers qualified for the post, 'yes' I suppose - probably as qualified as Clarence Thomas. He's turned out to be quite popular with us right-wingers.
I think the point we critics have is that she is not the most qualified [woman, Texan, candidate, etc. - pick your own]. As for Barnett's point, which you misunderstood, he is absolutely correct that if Miers had not had a close relationship with the President she would not have made it onto any short lists. The President even explicitly stated it himself when he said he has known her for a long time and he can assert that 20 years from now she will not be seduced by the dark side. THAT may be a very reassuring fact in her favor by the way but it doesn't refute the cronyism charge. None of us are saying she is UNQUALIFIED. We are saying that she is not SUFFICIENTLY qualified to be an ideal pick. I agree with the point you (and others) made that having a broader life experience will give her a more valuable perspective with which to decide cases. But that can be a two-edged sword as we saw with O'Connor.
I will not say it was a BAD choice. I will say it is a sub-optimal choice. Coming so soon after the Roberts pick just amplifies the nature of the variance between the two.
All the discussion about Harriet Miers as Bush's "crony" has reminded me of Jean Anouilh's play Becket. I discuss this at Looking Around -- but to summarize, in this play Henry II pushes his close adviser, friend and right-hand man into the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, with the goal of having "my man" in place to neutralize the church's power. He is disappointed in the result.
(41) Chuck Green made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 3:27:19 PM | Permalink
Suffering siatica! I am astonished that so many conservatives are whining like Democrats. I understand many are disappointed the nominee isn't a pedigreed strict constructionist conservative who would take on the Dems and turn the judiciary hearings into an Armagedon. But there is no reason to turn that disappointment into a trashing of a fine lady who, like it or not, will probably be on the Supreme Court for the next twenty years. I know it is not very soothing to hear this, but be patient and you will see that Meirs will be a fine conservative justice and part of a court that will swing right. At this point, what other option do you have? If you trash her and somehow get Bush's pick defeated, just how much better do you think the next pick would be? Would Bush then give you what you want, or would you be more likely to get the next Anthony Kennedy?
He already has, that's exactly the point at issue.
A) It is -precisely- the committment to proper legal principles that is needed in order to overturn garbage like KELO, not a little corporate shill who LOVES the idea of big government takings.
B) Without the moral courage to stick to one's beliefs in the face of general opposition, you can write off any reversal of ROE V. WADE. Moral courage is different from bossing around underlings and being a hatchet-woman.
Thomas might have been splungy, but I think that his confirmation hearings were a "Come to Jesus" moment that revealed the filthy nature of the kind of creeps that Souter & Co. like to suck up to. Any inclination that Thomas might have had to compromise with those Morlocks died with the "high tech lynching."
I don't see Miers that way, especially if the Bush "Abortion is our Real Sacrament" Women supported her for the office. I suspect that they and Reid know the real score.
(44) NCC made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 6:31:13 PM | Permalink
I have waited all day to get home from work so I could respond to this. First of all, cronyism is not limited to "selecting someone for a position that they're incapable of earning and totally unfit for on their own." It's showing paritiality to your friends in the workplace, regardless of their qualitifications. The reality is that Bush chose to reward his friend over any number of more highly qualified candidates. That is cronyism.
Secondly, your invocation of Lewis Powell is curious on two grounds. First of all, it skips over the history behind his nomination. Nixon promised the South a Supreme Court nominee, and Powell was the fulfillment of that pledge. And, to be sure, he had been a private practitioner. (In addition, by the way, to helping to decipher the German code during WWII.) But Powell was not the first choice. Nixon turned to him only after the failed nominations of two earlier selections, each of whom had judicial experience.
Secondly, are you suggesting that Powell turned out to be a good judge? Pro-Roe, the father of the confused Bakke standard, supposedly regretful of his vote in the Bowers case after his retirement? He seems to me to be the judicial anscestor of O'Connor.
Bush had many better choices than Miers, and failed to make them out of cronyism, cowardice and -- perhaps -- a surrender to quotas. I don't care if Harry Reid, Laura Bush and Karl Rove are happy. Bush betrayed many of us who voted for him.
(45) GregD made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 7:43:11 PM | Permalink
You are going so over the top you're destroying your own position.
This woman fought as part of the ABA to get them to reverse the edict from the top that the ABA would be pro-Roe, and instead put it to a vote of the members.
Claiming she has no moral courage just shows your own ignorance.
Two words: Life. Tenure.
This is the one of 9 positions at the top of one of three branches of our government. This is not the place for unqualified crony who is, apparently, a nice person. This one is bad. And the fact that Hugh Hewitt is peeing himself glee over this pick -- as he has done with everything W has ever done -- is of no comfort to me.
Beldar takes Prof. Barnett to task for comparing Miers to Abe Fortas. He then compares her to Lewis Powell. She's even an inferior Lewis Powell. Powell as president of the ABA; Miers was president of a rinky-dink state bar. Powell managed Hunton & Williams, the major firm in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Miers managed a second or third tier Dallas firm.
Why are some of us attacking her for cronyism and ignoring her other "sterling" credentials. Because she's got none! All's she got is the cronyism. It's a thin resume that would (barely) be enough for a circuit judgeship. Just like we can take a chance with a Senator based on the "feeling" that the person will grow into the job, we can do that with a circuit judgeship. Why? Because there's a frickin' Supreme Court sitting over top of the circuit court, there to correct egregious Ninth Circuit-ian erros. This is the Supremes. There's no one over top of them. There is no margin for error.
This really shakes my faith in the President. How he could get something so important so freakin' wrong is just frightening. This is a culmination of a series of really bad decisions in the second term: the highway bill, the Katrina fuding giveaway, Julie What's-Her-Name at the Department Formerly Known as the INS, failing to even try to sell the public on the rightness of the War on Iraq. W's lost it. Miers certainly isn't the reason. But Miers is the worst symptom of the underlying condition thus far.
OK, maybe this is a hijack but you just hit a huge nerve.
failing to even try to sell the public on the rightness of the War on Iraq???
Just how do you propose he should do this, when he can hardly get the major networks to break for a major Presidential address?
Please do tell, because I'm just dying to know. And then as soon as he's done, CNN, ABC, and NBC will be on the air telling us he lied to us and what he really "meant" to say and the next morning the papers will edit out anything of value and twist the message.
Just how do you "sell" the public on war when the press is still lying, 3 years later, about your first attempt to "sell" them? (the imminent threat meme). When they lie every day about Wilson and the results of the SSCI investigation in the papers and on TV?
I'm married to a career Marine and I'm sick and tired of the press lying about what we're trying to do over there and about what the President has to say. Once you figure out how he can force a free press to stop distorting what he says, reporting only bad news from Iraq and Afghanistan, and refusing to carry the bulk of the speeches he *does* give all the time to persuade us we're on the right course, maybe I'll be more sympathetic to your argument.
And maybe sometime you can come by a military base and watch the looks on our guys' faces when he walks in the room and listen to the thunderous applause. And then watch the press lie about that the next morning in the paper.
(48) Cedarford made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 9:42:36 PM | Permalink
Had Harriet been born with a penis and/or hadn't known Dubya, would her odds be any better than finding life on Venus?
60+. Less qualified than hundreds of distinguished female elected officials, jurists, academics, and trial attorneys. Not even exceptional at a 3rd tier law school, and sorry, Beldar, that is not "elitism" but fact - since several tens of thousands of female attorneys have better scholastic records.
Oh, and that is before we get into qualified males with records far superior to Miers.
And ducks the issue of Bush signing on to the idea of accepting the permanent female Goyim seat, 2 gender-split Jewish seats, the black seat, the swarthy Catholic seat, and the lifelong bachelor NE seat.
Cronyism, legal mediocrity, lack of judicial experience, corporate pimping, inc. undistinguished service as a Microsoft "gun for hire".
Ernest Brown writes:
But a hard-working law firm manager, a decent litigator, a tough cookie who gets results--these are not the credentials for our highest court. Nor should it be merely dogged loyalty to a President. What matters is serious intellectual depth, profound understanding of constitutional law, potential greatness. She fails on all three counts. And, with all due respect to a successful private sector attorney, I have to say rather dismally."
BTW, who are Hillary's personal lawyers? The ones that have won her trust and have no paper trail? The next SCOTUS nominees if Ginzburg and Stevens outlive Dubya?
I can hear the ghost of Alexander Hamilton retching at how DC has become the home of cronyism, nepotism despite his best efforts. I can see smilin' Abe retching too. "Vat! You 'tink I was LBJ's crony, but you give a pass to this spinster old shiksta!!" Ms. Myers for ICE, anyone? How about "Brownie", able attorney he was with the Presidents full trust - before he blew his SCOTUS shot with Katrina?
Thanks, but that was Greg Djerejian's take on it at Belgravia Dispatch:
(50) anon made the following comment | Oct 4, 2005 11:34:55 PM | Permalink
The jury is still out for me on this nomination. However, it does occur to me, with all this talk about "cronyism," that to some extent that's always what it's about, isn't it? Insisting that every Justice have attended one of three specific law schools can be a kind of institutional cronyism -- and, while a person's law school may be one good indicator of competence, it is not the ONLY way to assure excellence (unless your somewhat circular definition of excellence is "attended Yale Law" -- and maybe it blinds us to other possibilities, other sources of excellence. I'm not saying I'm convinced Ms. Meirs is the best choice and I have no idea whether she has a well developed perspective on how to construe the Constitution; however, the preoccupation with ONE particular set of credentials as a measurement (Ivy League law school, Law Review, Supreme Court clerkship) and the tiny crowd that holds them is, it seems to me, a rather cramped view of (and depressing commentary on) human potential. Just one person's fleeting thoughts.
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Gov. Strickland wisely decided that Ohio would not get out of its recession if funding for his long-range economic initiatives were cut, and certainly not if taxes were to be increased; so he was left with selective cuts in program and staff in other areas. Today, he announced a staff reduction of between 1,500 and 3,700 State employees, to come from natural attrition, retirements (both voluntary and forced), and "several hundred" layoffs.
Most analysts would agree that there is currently very little waste in State government. This round of cuts will definitely take out muscle, and maybe even a few bones. Ohio is not alone in facing budget shortfalls, but ours may be one of the most severe.
Let me give you one of the reasons we (and other States) are in this fix: unfunded Federal mandates! The National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) estimates that in Federal fiscal years 2004-2007, unfunded mandates accounted for $100 billion in State expenditures. The NCSL list of Federal programs that impose unfunded mandates is 44 pages long. In my research, I was unable to come up with the dollar impact on Ohio; but if we consider that Ohio accounts for approximately 4% of the U.S. population, a biennial shortfall of $2 billion would not be unreasonably high -- and is more than chump change in a $52 billion budget.
In other words, the Congress is passing its deficits onto the States. The Federal funds we do receive, ($1.03 per dollar in taxes in 2005) are nothing more than the hard-earned dollars we sent in with our 1040s and corporate tax returns, returned to us after the puzzle palaces on the Potomac have taken theirs.
This overhead and the unfunded mandates will be eliminated once the Ohio Republic is established, and is one of the principal reasons that I favor our independence.
Monday, January 28, 2008
“The great final question now is, shall the federal government be arrested in its progress and be brought back to original principles, or shall it be permitted to go on in its present tendencies and rapid strides until it reaches complete Consolidation! There is no difference between consolidation and empire, no difference between centralism and imperialism, the consummation of either must necessarily end in the overthrow of liberty and the establishment of despotism. To speak of any rights as belonging to the states without the innate and unalienated sovereign right to maintain them is to deal in the shadow of language without the substance. The states hold nothing by grant or favor from the federal government -- on the contrary federal government itself possesses no right and is entrusted with no power except by delegation from the sovereignty of the several states. Sovereignty itself as we have seen is from its very nature indivisible! There never was a greater truth more pointedly uttered than that by Mr. Jefferson, ‘that the states of this union are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government [Kentucky Resolution, 1798].’”(Vol. II, p. 668, emphasis added)
Historical note: Before Alexander Stephens became Vice President of the Confederacy, he argued in Georgia’s secession convention in favor of remaining in the Union. In the middle of that war, he abandoned his duties as Vice President in a dispute with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whom he found to have become too federalist.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Here's another good idea -- when you're looking at stocks to buy, consider an Ohio corporation when it fits your strategy. Here is a list of the Fortune 1000 companies in Ohio (2006), to which I have added the ticker symbol.
When the national crisis hits us over too much credit and a worthless dollar, we will all be better off if we rely on ourselves for the things we need. We need to grow our own economy -- no one else will care about us as much as ourselves.
With the Fortune 1000 list, I am beginning a documentation site that will add other longer pieces, and items from the blog that are of lasting interest. The link will be under the masthead at the top of this page.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Ohio needs to secede, because independence will result in a more efficient, more accountable government. With some decentralization, it will also greatly enhance the personal freedom and quality of life for all of our people.
Martin Luther King, Jr., shared his dream. It is up to all of us to make it reality.
Monday, January 21, 2008
“I Have a Dream” August 28, 1963
Today is Martin Luther King Day. Like many other whites, I was skeptical when this day was first declared to be a holiday, but now I am absolutely convinced that we need it. Some holidays are for fun and celebration, like Independence Day and Labor Day; but others, like Memorial Day and this one, are better suited to reflection.Forty-five years have passed since Dr. King shared his dream with the American people. The next year, the Civil Rights Act ended segregation; and in the following year, the Voting Rights Act enabled minorities to enjoy the full rights of citizenship. I was 14 years old when the Civil Rights Act was passed, and I recall thinking even then, that it would take 50 years for the African-American to fully achieve that dream. Looking back, I think that prediction will prove to be about right, but we still have a few problems to work out.
The institutional racism exemplified by the old Southern segregation is long gone, but subtle forms remain. Remnants of white supremacy movements remain. Our schools are resegregated, in part because housing discrimination, while illegal, continues to be subtly practiced. Blacks still have problems obtaining conventional credit, and frequently need knowledge of the banking system that most whites take for granted. In many industries, glass ceilings hold down Blacks from top management positions.
But white racism is not limited to the “Fergit, Hell!!!” crowd. White liberal Democrats are facing an exquisite crisis with Barack Obama’s candidacy for President. Their choice is this: They can reject their own rhetoric about racial equality by not supporting Sen. Obama; or they can nominate him for President, and prove that minorities no longer need protection from the Democratic Party.Then there is the “politically correct” guilt trip that some white liberal extremists try to force on the rest of the race, evidenced by the diversity program that was attempted last fall at the University of Delaware (and fortunately, scrapped).
Whites are not the only racists. Black racism occurs when people presume that all white males are privileged, and therefore deserve to be discriminated against. A particularly egregious example lies in the insistence that today’s whites apologize for slavery prior to 1865. I’m sorry, I see no reason to do this. No one who owned slaves is still living. It’s not my fault that it happened, and no one living who was American-born was ever a slave! Some proponents of this idea cite the apology made to the Nisei (Japanese-Americans) who were interned during World War II, or that proposed for the Native American. Those situations are different. The Nisei apology was made to people who experienced that injustice, and the horrible conditions on the reservations continue for the Native Americans (hence the Lakota declaration of independence).I suspect that one of the drivers of Black racism is the continuing existence of a civil rights movement that appears to have lost sight of Dr. King’s vision. The original civil rights movement unintentionally followed a model use by successful businesses, where the principals are referred to as Mr. Inside (the plant manager or bookkeeper) and Mr. Outside (the salesman). Both have the same goal, but work with different people. The civil rights movement’s Mr. Outside was Dr. King, who worked with white opinion leaders to secure the legislation needed to end segregation. Mr. Inside was Malcolm X, who stressed the need for Blacks to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and set up their own institutions, not depending on assistance from whites. They shared the same end and both were successful, even though (as far as I know) they never coordinated with each other.
Another example of Black racism is a belief that affirmative action should go on forever. I understand that it has been necessary to help level the playing field for equal opportunity in education and in the workplace, and that it may need to continue for several years to come. But its continuation forever will only serve to institutionalize discrimination against white males. It will lead to the kind of grievances that never end, like the Sunni vs. the Shiite, and the Albanian vs. the Serb. We need to come together to find the answer to a question similar to the one about troop withdrawal from Iraq: Not when, but under what conditions, can we say that enough equality has been achieved that students be admitted or people hired solely on personal merit. After all, that was Dr. King’s dream, that his grandchildren would be judged by the quality of their character, not the color of their skin.We also need to work together to find real solutions for the unconscionably high incarceration rate for Black males, and to ensure genuinely equal educational opportunity for inner-city (mostly Black) children. Educational opportunity for all children is the key to ending racism.
As an Ohio secessionist, I would be deeply honored to have a Black sharing its leadership, especially if that person could see that independence will give us a fresh start -- a nation in which all of us, having been created equal, and being accepted as equal from the beginning of the Republic, can use that knowledge to empower ourselves and our communities to realize the dream that Dr. King shared with us so long ago.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The League has a serious public relations problem – it is widely perceived as being racist – but as Fox News says, I’ll report, you judge. The immediate case in point has to do with the upcoming Martin Luther King Day observance at the State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina, which will be attended by several of the Presidential candidates. The NAACP has planned a large rally to honor Dr. King and to press for the removal of what is popularly known as the Confederate Battle Flag from the war memorial on the Capitol grounds. The South Carolina chapter of the League has decided to launch a massive “flagging” – a counterdemonstration in which all of their supporters who can find a Confederate Battle Flag will display it prominently while the NAACP demonstration is taking place. Thus, the counterdemonstration simultaneously pours contempt on the work of Dr. King and uses its most abrasive symbol to do so.
Before I continue, a few disclaimers: First, what South Carolina decides to do with the flag is their internal matter, and is not the point of this discussion. Secondly, I sympathize with the League’s contention that they want to honor their ancestors. One of mine also fought for the Confederacy. Finally, we need to make a distinction between “political correctness” and public relations. “Political correctness” is the suppression of discussion because its content might offend someone. Public relations embraces the discussion, but in a way that seeks consensus.
A few years ago, Georgia adopted a new state flag modeled on the Stars and Bars with relatively little objection from the Black community, and Confederate war memorials in several states display the 3rd national flag (lower right in the illustration above). If the NAACP insists on removing all Confederate symbolism from the war memorial, and the League insists that the only acceptable symbol is the Confederate Battle Flag, the debate will never end. The NAACP will continue to be aggravated and the League will continue to be branded with the word racist. It is therefore in the interest of both organizations to settle the issue.
The problem for us up North is that the perceived racism of the League of the South (and please note, I’m trying to be fair by calling it perceived) has ramifications up here. The most mature secessionist movement today is the one in Vermont. Begun in 1991 as an outgrowth of discussions during their Bicentennial, it has won support from 20% of the population, according to a University of Vermont poll last year. The best known organization, called the Second Vermont Republic,* was well on the way to advocating a resolution for secession from each of the some 200 town meetings to take place this March. However, one of the leading lights of that movement is Prof. Thomas H. Naylor, who moved to Vermont some 20 years ago from a teaching position at Duke University, in North Carolina. His close association with the Middlebury Institute (a secessionist think tank based in New York), and the latter’s defense of, and cosponsorship of a secessionist convention with the League of the South, has split, and apparently seriously damaged, the Vermont movement. While the criticisms of Prof. Naylor and his movement smack somewhat of guilt by association, neither the Second Vermont Republic nor the Middlebury Institute has answered the allegations, one of which is that the Institute is effectively acting as a front organization for the League of the South. (I personally doubt that this is true, but again, the allegations remain unanswered).
So, we have a domino effect. If the League of the South cannot apply p.r. to address the charges of racism, they will never sell secession to a majority of Southerners. As a result, the League may cause Vermont’s movement to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory, and it will greatly increase the financial and psychological startup costs for movements elsewhere, including Ohio.
All because they will not challenge the notion that a secessionist is a cartoon figure in a gray uniform that shouts “Fergit, hell!!!”
(I will give my own views on racism on Monday).
* The First Vermont Republic existed as an independent nation from 1776 until its admission to the Union in 1791.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Harold Meyerson, a columnist for the Washington Post, observes that the coming recession (notice how certain everyone is that there is going to be one?) will be different from the ones in the recent past. In the recent past, a few technical adjustments by the Federal Government and the Federal Reserve were good enough, because the economy was fundamentally sound.
Not this time. Mr. Meyerson cites the following reasons for our economic weakness:
- American incomes have remained stagnant since the 1970’s. We made up for it by having both spouses work, and by drawing on rising home values. Now home values are dropping and “there are no more spouses to send into the workplace.” And wages are still flat.
- The financial sector mirrors that of 1929: it is deregulated, as the banks have become the victim of their own complex and “deliberately opaque” financial products.
In his article, Mr. Meyerson proposes several remedies, but I’m not holding my breath. The Republicans want to cut corporate taxes, the Democrats are talking about FDR-style programs to build green industries, strengthening the ability of service-sector employees to unionize, and re-regulating financial institutions.
At the same time, Erik Eckholm of the New York Times reports that here in Ohio, where recession has become a way of life, workers in the southeastern counties find jobs so scarce that men in their 40s are forced to move in with their parents, because even with two jobs, they are making half of what they had before. In these counties, 32% live below the poverty level (about $20,000 for a family of four), and 56% live with incomes less than twice that. Meanwhile, our factories are in Mexico and China, and our mom and pops have been swallowed up by Wal-Mart. On the same day, the Columbus Dispatch reports that Nationwide Insurance will cut 200 jobs now, and later cut or shuffle up to 1,000 jobs; and Chillicothe will be closing a paper factory, losing 160 jobs. And last year’s inflation rate was the highest since 1990, while workers’ average weekly earnings dropped another 0.9%.
Our economy, as well as our society, is spinning out of control. Tip O’Neill, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1970s, used to say that “all politics is local.” Well, here’s a news flash: all economics is local! If the economy does not help those who are willing and able to work to put rooves over their heads, food on their tables, and warm clothing and heating in the winter, it is not working.
Six years as a pocket of continuous recession should satisfy anyone that the Feds don’t care about us. We need a government that responds to our needs and will act in our interest! We need a Republic of our own!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-- Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
While we’re at it, let me add this one from Theodore Roosevelt:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
-- Article for the Kansas City Star, May 7, 1918
Too many secessionists seem to be living in a philosophical ivory tower. The truth is, the State politics we have now will become the national politics under the Republic. More immediately, we need to understand the environment in which we are operating.
The quickest and simplest way to do this is to read the weekly Carnival of Ohio Politics, which I am adding to our Links list. It is a handy digest highlighting the contents of Ohio’s political blogs. Up to three selections are made by the bloggers themselves; and they are, of course, linked. This week, The Ohio Republic, a first-timer, had the honor of taking the lead entry in their special 100th edition.
Jill Miller-Zelman of Writes Like She Talks, is an experienced observer of Ohio politics and editor of the week. Her take on The Ohio Republic: “I can say with complete honesty, I've never heard that seriously argued before, and blogs are the perfect place to start such discussions.” I completely agree, and look forward to us learning from each other in the weeks ahead.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
“However hard I find it to believe you're actually saying all these things, it's never going to happen. Ever. Ever. Not in 100 years. It didn't work last time.”
My comment in reply is part of the link above; but here, I suggest that, far from being insanity, my support for Ohio independence is in fact the sanest thing I can do, especially if you define insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” *
I believe as much as anyone in working within the system – when it’s not broken. In the past thirty years, the American people have disengaged themselves from politics -- just look at statistics of voter registration relative to the voting-age population, and at the percentage of registered voters who actually vote in any given election. As I argued January 2, we are not a democracy. The United States Government is a kleptocracy. I am convinced that the Federal Government has been corrupted beyond repair, and that the only way to restore accountability is to reduce the size of the nation to a more human scale.
It isn’t as though we haven’t tried to reform it. Think of the “major” third-party candidates that have run in the last forty years: John Anderson, George Wallace, Ross Perot. The most successful of them was Ross Perot. While he did receive 20% of the popular vote, he did not get even one electoral vote! This is less a defect of the Electoral College than it is a nationwide defect in the electoral system, that rigs it in favor of two large political parties whose ideas are becoming less distinct all the time. This year, we hear that Ron Paul and possibly Michael Bloomberg will be seeking the Presidency on third-party tickets. And, even if Rep. Paul or Mayor Bloomberg were to be elected, they would still have to cope with a two-party Congress that will be hostile to their leadership. We have tried the third-party and the independent Presidential candidate routes – several times – and the last time it did work was in 1860.
What else can we do? Form a lobby? Would the mainstream media even give such a lobby the time of day? How would it be financed without corrupting its principles?
Start a revolution? Thomas Jefferson thought we should have a revolution every twenty years, but to revolt against the U.S. military sounds rather suicidal to me.
So what is left? A determination by the people to pursue, nonviolently and within the rule of law, the right to peaceably leave the Union, one that was recognized by the Federal Government itself at the beginning of the Civil War (in the failure of Congress to outlaw secession outright). To say the Union is indivisible is to suggest that a State’s voluntary act to enter the Union is like an individual’s decision to join the Mafia – you can never leave it alive. It also suggests that maintaining the Union is more important than preserving the freedoms that gave it meaning.
We cannot possibly raise enough money to buy back the government, nor enough force to overcome the police and the military. Our only option is to build such a strong moral position that our opposition will collapse of its own weight, just as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia did in 1991. Look realistically at where our economy is headed, and the idea that it could (and should) happen here will not seem so far-fetched.
Here's another post that demonstrates the sanity of independence. (Michael Rozeff in LewRockwell.com)
* Attributed to Albert Einstein
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Guardian, a British newspaper, published a well-documented article listing ten steps that carry a democratic regime into totalitarianism. It appears that we are rather far along...
The 10 steps are:
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy (terrorists?)
2. Create a gulag (Guantánamo?)
3. Develop a thug caste (like the security guys in Iraq?)
4. Set up an internal surveillance system (to read e-mail from
5. Harass citizens' groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law
It reminds me of a poem by the German activist Rev. Martin Niemöller describing the Nazis:
First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Thanks to the Taxman blog, written by a CPA in Cincinnati, for bringing it to my attention -- even if he doesn't take it seriously.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society—the farmers, mechanics, and laborers—who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favor alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles. – Andrew Jackson
Most readers of this blog are already quite familiar with the arrogant usurpation of power by the American Empire, and their plans to subdue all of human kind in their infamous quest to establish a global “New World Order”, which will relegate the concept of “constitutional rights” to the history books. However, not everyone truly understands exactly how this is to be accomplished. Guns and bombs and nuclear weapons? Well, sure, but when is the last time we saw a squad of enforcers hanging out on the street corner just waiting for someone to exercise their Freedom of Speech so they can blow them away?
Not recently – because it isn’t necessary. The real instrument of our oppression is silent, ubiquitous, and much more insidious, because no one seems to understand how it works. Governeur Morris, the former delegate from New York who had helped to draft the Constitution, stated:
The rich will strive to establish their dominion and enslave the rest. They always did. They always will.... They will have the same effect here as elsewhere, if we do not, by such a government, keep them within their proper spheres. We should remember that the people never act from reason alone. The rich will take advantage of their passions, and make these the instruments for oppressing them. The result of the contest will be a violent aristocracy, or a more violent despotism.
Many texts by professional economists seem to have been written in an intentionally overcomplicated fashion in an attempt to obfuscate what would otherwise be rather blatant fraud. It is the Federal Reserve System, through its criminal central banking practices and the issuance of paper notes of credit, which supports and augments the plutocracy which even now seeks to make servants of us and victims of those that live on other continents. It is the mechanism of fiat currency that allows the government to create an environment in which those who are lucky enough to have jobs at all (on their terms) are kept locked in a cycle of perpetual work and living paycheck-to-paycheck. And, it is also the Federal Reserve System that allows the government to immediately finance any sort of project they want – from ridiculous pork-barrel “earmarks”, to the unconstitutional, unpopular, and very deadly wars in the Middle East. The cost of these activities is said to be “borrowed” but is, in fact, paid immediately by everyone whose paychecks are denominated in US dollars. Thomas Jefferson, a lifelong champion of “sound money”, wrote:
Although all the nations of Europe have tried and trodden every path of force and folly in a fruitless quest of the same object, yet we still expect to find in juggling tricks and banking dreams, that money can be made out of nothing, and in sufficient quantity to meet the expense of heavy war. ...
The toleration of banks of paper discount costs the United States one-half of their war taxes; or, in other words, doubles the expenses of every war. ...
The modern theory of the perpetuation of debt has drenched the earth with blood, and crushed its inhabitants under burdens ever accumulating.
The learned individuals who fought in the First American Revolution and helped to draft the Constitution of the United States of America well understood the danger posed by “rag money” and took great pains to word that document in such a way as to preclude (or so they thought) the possibility of ever again falling for the central banking scam. Oliver Ellsworth from Connecticut, who later was to become our third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said:
This is a favorable moment to shut and bar the door against paper money. The mischief of the various experiments which have been made are now fresh in the public mind and have excited the disgust of all the respectable parts of America.
It was federal debt that allowed the political and monetary scientists to violate the intent of the founding fathers, and it was this same federal debt that prompted Jefferson to exclaim:
I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the general principle of the Constitution; I mean an additional article, taking from the federal government their power of borrowing.
We shall consider ourselves unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves.…The earth belongs to the living, not the dead.... We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right to ... bind themselves, but not the succeeding generation. ...
Therefore, I earnestly urge the reader of this blog to undertake the task of educating themselves on the evils of central banking and the inherently dishonest nature of paper money. For additional insight into this topic, written in a style that everyday people will find both fascinating and easily comprehensible, I recommend The Creature From Jeckyll Island by G. Edward Griffin (published by American Media). [Note: The Creature From Jeckyll Island is my direct source for the quotations used in this essay.] Those with greater than average literary interest might find The Writings of Thomas Jefferson to be even more illuminating. An essential knowledge of these types of fiduciary illusions is critical to any fledgling republic or mounting revolution. Without this understanding, any such movement that shows even the potential to succeed will be quickly co-opted by the elite financial ruling-class and in the end will become just as corrupt and despotic as the one it replaced. The Americans are held captive, not by guns and tanks, but by the paper chains of their own willful ignorance. Free yourself.
Andrew Jackson, speaking to Congress in 1832 to explain his veto of the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States. Quoted by Kroos, Herman E., in Documentary History of Banking and Currency in the United States Vol. III, pp. 36-37. New York, Chelsea House, 1983.
Governeur Morris, written on July 2, 1787, in a letter to James Madison. Quoted in "Prosperity Economics," by W. Cleon Skousen, Freeman Digest, February, 1985, p. 9.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Library Edition, Vol. XIV, p. 227. Washington: Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Library Edition, Vol. XIII, p. 364. Washington: Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Library Edition, Vol. XIII, p. 272. Washington: Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903.
For the context of this and the following statements expressing a similar sentiment, see Bancroft, George, A Plea for the Constitution, pp. 30, 43-44, 82, New York: Harpers, 1886; also Paul, Ron and Lehrman, Lewis, The Case for Gold, , p. 168, Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1982.
Letter to John Taylor, November 26, 1789. Quoted by Martin A. Larson, The Continuing Tax Rebellion (Old Greenwich, Connecticut: Devin-Adair, 1979), p. xii.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Library Edition, Vol. XIII, p. 358. Washington: Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903.
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Library Edition, Vol. XIII, p. 270. Washington: Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
News prior to today was a bit confusing for most of us, as I demonstrated last Friday. I stand by the comments I made then (but respecting the Lakota Oyate, not the "Republic of Lakotah"), but wish the journalists would clarify what is going on (while understanding perfectly well why they ignore the whole movement).
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Lakota are serious, and have obviously given this considerable thought. Their republic is not a micronation -- it occupies territory and is capable of enforcing its own laws (though their police and military are undoubtedly spread a bit thin at the moment).
The deafening silence reflects more on the mainstream media than on the Lakota. Journalism used to be about reporting the facts, not propagandizing for corporate interests.
Ignore it at your peril -- the first domino may have just fallen!
* But see my 1/6/08 post for an update.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
To be consistent in states’ rights, we should be opposing Federal activity in every area not specifically stated in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
Unfortunately, environmentalism is not a hot-button issue in Ohio, and Ohio is not one of the 15 states that joined in California’s lawsuit against the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The reason probably has to do with Ohio’s “practical” nature and our nostalgia for smokestack industries. As we have shown in earlier posts, Ohio has a wonderful opportunity for growth if we embrace environmentalism and use our inventiveness to develop technologies that will let us have economic growth and clean air too.
As one who has advocated both for states’ rights and environmentalism, I am outraged. You should be too.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
1. We are experiencing potentially severe environmental changes affecting our weather, our wildlife, and the quality of our air and water. Far from preparing us to deal with these issues, the position of the Federal Government has been to ignore them entirely.
2. The U.S. economy is dependent on foreign oil. Oil is now past peak production and in the hands of increasingly unstable régimes. The Federal Government has chosen not to take any constructive action, either to stabilize the price of oil, or to significantly reduce even long-term consumption. This poses a serious economic and national security risk.
3. The Federal Government is sacrificing the lives of Americans in a war that cannot be justified on the basis of national security.
4. As the mortgage crisis has shown, personal debt has reached intolerable levels; aggravated by continuing Federal budget deficits. The deficits are being financed by a collapsing Social Security system and by foreign investors. This dependence upon foreign investors poses serious economic and national security risks.
5. Federal tax, energy, and environmental policy has favored global corporations at the expense of small business and the people. Indeed, we can argue that the Federal Government is not a democracy, but a kleptocracy that no longer governs by consent of the governed.
6. The Federal Government, since at least 1913, has exhibited a steady pattern of curtailing the rights and freedoms of individuals. I am planning a series to show just how the Constitution has been slowly eradicated by Federal legislation and bureaucratic activity.
7. States’ rights, once a vital check on the expanding power of the Federal Government, have been nearly abolished altogether. The problem is that “one size fits all” solutions really do not fit anyone very well. One result is that the Federal bureaucracy now impose mandates that have to be funded from State resources.
8. For all of the hoopla surrounding Ohio’s role in electing the President in 2000 and 2004, there is no evidence that Ohio has experienced any political benefit whatsoever; except perhaps that Ohio is breaking even between Federal tax collections and Federal disbursements. When we consider the costs of maintaining the administration in Washington, Ohio still is not getting fair value per dollar sent.
I maintain that Ohio’s taxpayers will better served by a Republic of their own, even after taking into consideration the costs of a national defense, diplomatic service, and some regulatory tasks. It will be 26 times more responsive to the will of our people, eliminate layers of bureaucracy required to interpret and enforce Federal rules, and will limit its military activity to true defense.
- In my Welcome post (Sept. 12, 2007), I promised to explain how the Federal Government oppresses minorities. I shall publish a post on this subject on or near Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 21).
- In “Your vote may be a public record” (Oct. 23), I related how, by following a paper trail that was public record, one’s vote could be matched with one’s name. Soon thereafter, Matthew Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, announced a simple procedural change that removed that link. The “Authority to Vote” number will no longer be recorded next to the voter’s name in the poll book.
- Sen. Voinovich has not yet answered my request for his position to HR 1955 (Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, “An appeal to Ohio’s Senators against HR 1955”, Dec. 4).
- My invitations to participate in this blog and to help begin a movement for Ohio secession remain open (“Two invitations to my fellow Ohioans”, Dec. 6).
I thank my readers for their thoughtful comments. With only one exception that was obviously spam, all comments submitted have been published. Your comments are always welcome. | <urn:uuid:89a9a603-20df-4652-afd1-cd3929586e2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ohiorepublic.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html | 2013-05-19T10:03:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962284 | 7,907 |
1000 Years of War:
CTHEORY Interview with Manuel De Landa
Manuel de Landa in conversation with: Don Ihde, Casper Bruun Jensen, Jari Friis
Jorgensen, Srikanth Mallavarapu, Eduardo Mendieta, John Mix, John Protevi, and Evan Selinger.
Manuel De Landa, distinguished philosopher and principal figure in the “new materialism” that has been emerging as a result of interest in Deleuze and Guattari, currently teaches at Columbia University. Because his research into “morphogenesis”—the production of stable structures out of material flows—extends into the domains of architecture, biology, economics, history, geology, linguistics, physics, and technology, his outlook has been of great interest to theorists across the disciplines. His latest book on Deleuze’s realist ontology, Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy (2002), comes in the wake of best-sellers: War in the Age of Intelligent Machines (1991), where De Landa assumes the persona of the “robot historian” to bring the natural and social sciences into dialogue vis-a-vis using insights found in nonlinear dynamics to analyze the role of information technology in military history, and A Thousand Years of Non-Linear History (1997), where he carves out a space for geological, organic, and linguistic materials to “have their say” in narrating the different ways that a single matter-energy undergoes phase transitions of various kinds, resulting in the production of the semi-stable structures that are constitutive of the natural and social worlds. When Evan Selinger gathered together the participants for the following interview, his initial intention was to create an interdisciplinary dialogue about the latest book. In light of current world events—which have brought about a renewed fascination with De Landa’s thoughts on warfare—and in light of the different participant interests, an unintended outcome came about. A synoptic and fruitful conversation occurred that traverses aspects of De Landa’s oeuvre.
I. War, Markets & Models
CTHEORY (Mendieta): In these times of “a war against terrorism,” and preparing against “bioterrorism” and “germ warfare,” do you not find it interesting, telling, and ironic in a dark and cynical way that it is the Western,
Industrialized nations that are waging a form of biological terrorism, sanctioned and masked by legal regulations imposed by the WTO and its legal codes, like Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Would you agree that the imposition of GMO—genetically modified organism—through WTO, NAFTA, and IMF, on the so-called developing world is a form of “legalized biotech and biological” terrorism? And then, as a corollary, what are the prospects for global justice and equity in light precisely of the yawing gap between developed and underdeveloped nations that is further deepened by the asymmetrical access to technologies like genetic engineering and genomic mapping?
Manuel De Landa: Though I understand what you are getting at I do not think it is very useful to use this label (biological terrorism) for this phenomenon. The point, however, is well taken. The way in which corporations are encroaching around the most sensitive points of the food chain is dangerous: they direct the evolution of new crops from the processing end, disregarding nutritional properties if they conflict with industrial ones; the same
corporations which own oil (and hence fertilizers and herbicides) also own seed companies and other key inputs to farming; and those same corporations are now transferring genes from one species to another in perverse ways (genes for herbicide resistance transferred from weeds to crops). When one couples these kind of facts with the old ones about the link between colonialism and the conversion of many world areas into food supply zones for Europe (from the creation of sugar plantations to the taking over of the photosynthetically most active areas of the world by Europe’s ex-colonies) we can realize that this state of affairs does have consequences for equity and justice. The key point is not to oversimplify: the Green Revolution, for example, failed not because of the biological aspect, but because of the economic one: the very real biological benefits (plants bred to have more edible biomass) could only be realized under economies of scale and these have many hidden costs (power concentration, deskilling of workforce) which can offset the purely technical benefits.
The question of Intellectual Property rights is also complex. We should be very careful how we deal with this, particularly considering many of us bring old moral clichés (“private property is theft”) into the debate without being aware of it. I believe this issue needs to be handled case by case (to solve the inherent conflict between lack of accessibility and incentive to create). For example, I am completely opposed to the patenting of genes but not of gene products, like proteins.
CTHEORY (Mix): In War in the Age of Intelligent Machines you discuss the German Blitzkrieg of WWII in relation to a synergistic tactic that unified air and ground troops. If we return to this time period, it becomes noteworthy to highlight that the synergy fell apart when the machinery, specifically the ground forces (i.e. tanks, jeeps, personnel transports, etc.) broke down and the soldiers manning them could not get them operational, and were forced to get mechanics to do the repairs, or else hope that the supply lines were kept open to bring in replacement vehicles. By contrast, many of the American G.I.s were “grease monkeys” and could easily repair their own vehicles. Since many of the components of the ground vehicles were interchangeable, they could scavenge usable pieces from damaged equipment, therein being able to fix problems on the spot and remain operationally mechanized. My question is: Because contemporary military technology is built on principles that the average G.I. is not familiar with (i.e. the compatibility between the standard engine and military ground vehicles no longer exists), do you think that the benefits of the war machine will be outstripped by the lack of serviceability that probably will arise in the field under combat conditions? Do you think that we should be training our soldiers differently or do you think that we should modify the technologies they use?
De Landa: One of the themes of the War book was the tendency of military organizations to get “humans out of the loop.” Throughout the book (and in my only live lecture to the military) I have very strongly criticized this, urging for the lowering of decision-making thresholds so that soldiers in the field with access to real time information have more power to make decisions than their superiors at the Pentagon. (This theme, of course, goes beyond the military to any kind of centralized decision-making situation, including economic planning.) The problem you raise is, I believe, related to this. If all technological decisions are made centrally without thinking of issues of maintenance in the field, and if there is no incentive for field soldiers to become “grease monkeys” or “hackers,” the army that results is all the more brittle for that. Flexibility implies that knowledge and know-how are not monopolized by central planners but exist in a more decentralized form.
CTHEORY (Protevi): War in the Age of Intelligent Machines came out in 1991, just at the time of Operation Desert Storm. Do you see any noteworthy developments in the integration of information technology and artificial intelligence into US security / military operations from the time of Desert Storm, through Afghanistan and the Second Gulf War? I have two particular areas I would ask you to comment on: (1) developments in what you call the Panspectron in surveillance; and (2) the use of the robot drone plane to kill 6 suspected al-Qaida members in Yemen: is this a decisive step forward in your history of the development of autonomous killer machines, or is it just more of the same, that is, AI as an adjunct, without true executive capabilities? Finally, do you see any utility to the claim (a variation on the old “technological imperative” idea) that, among many other factors in the Bush Administration, certain elements of the Pentagon support the war campaign as providing a testing ground for their new weapons systems?
De Landa: I do not see the threshold I warned against (the emergence of predatory machines) as having been crossed yet. The drone plane was being remotely guided, wasn’t it? At the level of surveillance I also fail to see any dramatic development other than a quantitative increase in computing power. What has changed is the direction that the migration of “intelligence” into weapons has taken, from the creation of very expensive smart bombs to the use of GPS-based cheap equipment that can be added to existing dumb bombs.
I am not sure the Pentagon has a hidden agenda for testing their new weapons but I do think that it has been itching for a war against Iraq for years before 9-11, in a similar way they were itching for one during the Cuban missile crisis in the 60’s. It was tough for Kennedy to resist them then, and so Bush had very little chance to do it particularly because he has his own family scores to settle.
CTHEORY (Mix): Medieval archers occupied the lowest rung of the military hierarchy. They were looked down upon and thought of as completely expendable, not only because the archers were mostly untrained peasants, but also in part because the equipment they used was quite ineffectual. At the level of military ethos, one could say that the archer lacked the romantic stature of the knight because their style of combat was predicated on spatial distance—shooting from far away seemed cowardly, whereas face-to-face sword combat had an aura of honor to it. The situation changed for the English, however, due to the introduction of the long bow (a development that was materially dependent on the availability of the wood in the region, the yew trees). Years of training were invested in teaching the English archers to use this weapon with deadly effectiveness. Consequently, their stature increased, and for the first time, pride could be taken in being an archer. Today, some critics charge that using unmanned drones is cowardly because it involves striking at a distance. We can thus see the situation as somewhat analogous to the arrow let loose by the Medieval archer. My question is: Will the drones let loose by servicemen ever lose their stigma in the same way as the English archers did? Clearly, the drones like the English archers proved to be successful in battle. And yet, the image of the drone controlled by a serviceman does not evoke the same humanity as the embodied Englishman.
De Landa: I agree that in military history questions of “honor” have always influenced decisions to adopt a particular weapon. And distance per se was not always the main reason: early rifles were not particularly liked due to their increased precision, and the practices this led to (the emergence of snipers) were seen as dishonorable. Yet, once Napoleon had changed the paradigm from battles of attrition to battles of annihilation harassing the enemy via snipers became quite acceptable. Even more problematic was the effect of the rifle and
the conoidal bullet in changing traditional hierarchies as infantry could now defeat artillery, forcing the latter to hide behind defensive positions (a hiding which must have carried a bit of stigma at first but that went away fast). I think the use of drones will only be seen as problematic from the “honor” point of view for a very short time.
CTHEORY (Mallavarapu): In your work you challenge anthropomorphic and
anthropocentric versions of history. What implications does this have for politics in an increasingly militarized world? More specifically, is there a danger of the idea of self-organizing systems being used to justify and celebrate increasing militarization and the growth of so-called “free market” economies?
De Landa: I’ll begin with the latter. Theories of self-organization are in fact being used to explain what Adam Smith left unexplained: how the invisible hand is supposed to work. From a mere assumption of optimality at equilibrium we now have a better description of what markets do: they take advantage of decentralized dynamics to make use of local information (the information possessed by buyers and sellers). These markets are not optimizing since self-organizing dynamics may go through cycles of boom and bust. Only under the assumption of optimality and equilibrium can we say “the State should not
interfere with the Market.” The other assumption (of contingent self-organization) has plenty of room for governments to intervene. And more importantly, the local information version (due to Hayek and Simon) does not apply to large corporations, where strategic thinking (as modeled by game theory) is the key. So, far from justifying liberal assumptions the new view problematizes markets. (Let’s also remember that enemies of markets, such as
Marx, bought the equilibrium assumption completely: in his book Capital he can figure out the “socially necessary labor time,” and hence calculate the rate of exploitation, only if profits are at equilibrium). Now, the new view of markets stresses their decentralization (hence corporations do not belong there), and this can hardly justify globalization which is mostly a result of corporations. And similarly for warfare, the danger begins when the people who do not go to war (the central planners) get to make the decisions. The soldiers who do the actual killing and dying are never as careless as that.
CTHEORY (Selinger): On a number of occasions, we have discussed different aspects of computer modeling. In fact, you just brought up the topic of modeling in connection with war-games. I remain unclear on the following. To what extent should we use evidence from computer modeling in artificial societies to get us to rethink traditional notions about human behavior? For example, the standard metaphor that used is to think about mass violence is
contagion; this is because the violence seems to spread so quickly from person to person and neighborhood to neighborhood. Yet, Joshua Epstein’s simulation of artificial genocide suggests that the view that a collective mind (or some sort of infectious hysteria) underlies mass violence is illusory, perhaps even folk psychological. Specifically, his work suggests that the origin of genocide might be a series of individual decisions whereby people turn violent as a result of their responses to local conditions. Thoughts?
De Landa: All models, by definition, simplify things. Contagion models can be very useful to study certain propagation effects, whether these are fads, fashions or ideas. Can they also be useful to study the propagation of affect? We can’t tell in advance. What is important to see is that even if they turn out to be useless to study violence that does not affect their usefulness in other areas. Also, contagion models differ in the detail with which they portray agency, from completely mechanical models with no agency at all (a homogeneously socialized population) to models in which some form of virtual agent is included. But the key problem is that no one agrees what agency is: must it include some form of rational choice, and if so optimizing or satisfying rationality? Should all psychological effects be eliminated and only inter-subjective effects taken into account? How socialized and obedient should we assume agents to be, and should these qualities be modeled as homogeneously or heterogeneously distributed? Most of these issues have nothing to do with computers and will haunt any modeling effort however informal.
CTHEORY (Selinger): You have often questioned what is at stake, socially, politically, and conceptually, when intellectuals engage in criticism. Simply put, you are all too aware of the ease by which putatively “Critical Theorists” are easily swayed by dogmatic convictions and too readily cognitively stymied by uncritical presuppositions. One might even say that in so far as you characterize yourself as a philosopher—even if in the qualified sense of a
“street philosopher” who lacks official credentials—you believe that it is the duty of a philosopher to be critical. By contrast, some of the more avant-garde STS theorists seem—albeit perhaps only polemically and rhetorically—to eschew criticism. For example, Bruno Latour’s latest writings center on his rejection of criticism as an outdated mode of thought that he associates with iconoclasm. He clearly sets the tone for this position in We Have Never Been Modern in connection with acknowledging his intellectual debt to Michel Serres, and he emphasizes it in Pandora’s Hope, War of the Worlds, and Iconoclash. Succinctly put, Latour claims that for six reasons ideology critique (which he implicitly associates with normative critique as such) is a faulty and patronizing form of analysis: (1) ideology critique fails to accurately capture how, why, and when power is abused, (2) ideology critique distorts how authority comes to be overly esteemed, (3) ideology critique imputes “extravagant beliefs” onto whatever group is taken to be oppressed, (4) ideology critique leaves the group that is perceived to be oppressed without adequate grounds for liberation, (5) ideology critique distorts the relation between critic and the object of criticism, and (6) ideology critique accusatively “destroys a way of arguing.” What do you think of this position?
De Landa: First of all, I agree that the labels “critical” and “radical” have
been overused. In the last analysis one should never apply these labels to
oneself and wait for history to decide just how critical or radical one’s work
really was (once its consequences have been played out). Latour’s problem seems to be more with the concept of “ideology” than that of “critique,” and in that I completely agree: to reduce the effects of power to those of creating a false consciousness is wrong. But here is where the real problem is, since one cannot just critique the concept of “ideology,” the real test of one’s radicality is
what one puts in its place. Or, to put it differently, how one re-conceptualizes power. And here one’s ontological commitments make all the difference in the world. Can a realist like myself trust a theory of power proposed by a non-realist, for example? Can a realist ever believe in a theory of power developed, for example, by an ethnomethodologist, when one is aware that for that person everything is reducible to phenomenological experience?
The same point applies to normativity: if one is a realist defending a
particular stance will depend on developing a new ethics, not just critiquing
old moralities. Here a Spinozian ethics of assemblages that may be mutually
enhancing versus those that are degrading may be the solution, but developing
this idea will also imply certain ontological commitments (to the
mind-independent reality of food and poison, for example).
CTHEORY (Jensen): A similar question could be raised in relation to your work on markets and anti-markets. In contrast to Empire by Hardt and Negri, which explicitly hopes to have a political impact, your position is much less straightforwardly normative. If, in a realist vein, you take your analysis to be descriptive, how then do you think people might act to reap the benefits of your description?
De Landa: No, not at all. Remember first of all that a realist never settles for a mere description. It is explanation that is the key and the latter involves thinking about real mechanisms which may not be directly observable (or describable). The disagreement with Empire is over the mechanisms one postulates and the details of their workings. I do not accept the Marxist version of these mechanisms (neither those through which markets are supposed to operate nor those for the State) and believe the Marxist version leads to
practical dead ends regardless of how ready to be used in social interventions the analysis seems to be. (To be blunt, any idea for social intervention based on Marxism will be a failure). I do take normative positions in my books (such that decentralization is more desirable than centralization for many reasons) but I also realize than in an ethics of nourishing versus degrading assemblages real-life experimentation (not a priori theorization) is the key. To use an obvious example from environmental ethics: a little phosphorous feeds the soil; too much poisons it. Where exactly the threshold is varies with type of soil so it cannot be known a priori. But the normative statement “do not poison the
soil” is there nevertheless. Similarly for society: too much centralization poisons (by concentrating power and privilege; by allowing corruption; by taking away skills from routinized command-followers etc) but exactly how much is to be decided by social experiments, how else?
II. Competing Ideologies & Social Alliances
CTHEORY (Protevi): A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History (1997) and your talk
“A New Ontology for the Social Sciences” (2002) propose a “nested set” of
individual entities in a “flat ontology.” Like all your works, both pieces use
nonlinear dynamical concepts to discuss the morphogenesis of these individuals.
However, your social ontologies seem largely to begin with adults as their
lowest level, notwithstanding some mention of children in the section on
linguistics in A Thousand Years of Non-Linear History (norm-learning and
creolization). Do you avoid discussing child development, about which a lot of
research has been done using nonlinear dynamics in studying brain development, motor learning, and so forth, simply for space and time constraints, or is there another reason? Would you agree that adding such discussions would be useful in demonstrating several areas of interlocking top-down constraint by family, institutional, civic, national, and perhaps even larger units?
De Landa: The key to the ontology I defend is the idea that the world is made out of individual entities at different levels of scale, and that each entity is the contingent result of an individuation process. Clearly, and despite the fact that I have ignored it so far, the individuation of a social agent during childhood, and even the biological individuation of an adult organism in that same period, are two crucial processes. Without these social and biological individuations we would not be able to account for adult individuals. If I placed less emphasis on this is because through the work of Freud and Piaget (and others) we have a few models of how these processes could be conceived, but we have much less insight on how institutional organizations or cities individuate (in fact, the very problem is ignored in these two cases since both those entities are conceptualized as structures not as individuals). I will get to the questions you raise in due time, when I finally tackle the question of subjectivity. At this point in time, when everyone seems obsessed with the question of subjective experience at the expense of everything else, it seems the priorities must be reversed: account for the less familiar forms of individuation first returning to our own psyches later.
CTHEORY (Selinger): In Chapter 4 of Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy you discuss the implications that acknowledging the notion of “quasi-cause” brings with regard to the debates surrounding the D-N model of explanation. As is well-known, in the context of “modifying” and “supplementing” Hempel and Oppenheim’s account, Mary Hesse argues that scientific explanation is metaphoric. Specifically, by appropriating Max Black’s Interaction account of metaphor, Hesse claims that scientific explanation is a metaphoric
redescription of the domain of the explanandum. In this account, it is not only metaphoric to say that “class struggle is the motor of history,” but also to say that “gases are collections of randomly moving massive particles.” Using the terms ‘metaphor’ and ‘model’ synonymously, one of Hesse’s main points is that although scientific (unlike, she claims, poetic) metaphors must resemble what they refer to (which is why the history of science is filled with failed metaphors e.g. heat fluid or the classical wave theory of light), they are not
strictly identical either. To this end, do you view the concepts you appropriate from complexity theory to be metaphors? If so, what does this mean to you?
De Landa: Well, although I do not question the idea that metaphors play a role in scientific thought I certainly do not think this role is central. In the book of mine you mention I make it very clear that a mathematical model is not just a formal version of a linguistic metaphor. Not to approach mathematics in its own right, reducing it to logic or to semiotics, seems to me the main error in most accounts of physics. (Remember that I do not believe there is such a thing as “science” in general, or a “scientific method” in general, so my remarks now apply only to physics). The key ideas of complexity theory (the ideas of “attractor” and of “symmetry-breaking bifurcation”) come from real properties of mathematical models. They are not just linguistic “concepts.” And more importantly, they have turned out to be properties of many different models, that is, they are independent of the specific mechanisms in which they are actualized. It is this “mechanism-independence” which makes it promising they will be useful elsewhere (in social science, for example) since this
independence may be evidence of a deeper isomorphism underlying very different processes. Deleuze’s conception of the “virtual” is precisely an attempt to think this underlying reality.
CTHEORY (Selinger): What, then, is your account of reference? How does it relate to Deleuze’s claim in the Logic of Sense that: “The genius of a philosophy must first be measured by the new distribution which it imposes on beings and concepts”?
De Landa: Unlike Hesse, I’m interested in the question of how reference is established non-discursively. So instead of metaphor, topological isomorphism is more important for a Deleuzian realist. In Difference and Repetition Deleuze starts with Foucault’s analysis of the Cartesian episteme as having four dimensions—similarity, identity, analogy and contradiction (opposition). Deleuze sets out to create a philosophy that does not use any of these four dimensions, except as derivative concepts. He uses the concept of intensity to
develop a new way of theory of difference. Deleuze is moving away from
similarity—resemblance is the enemy for him. For Deleuze, there is a virtual entity that is topological and as realists we have a commitment to it. To return to the soap bubble example—it is an example of a single equilibrium obtained by minimizing surface tension. A salt crystal is another example obtained by the minimizing of bonding energy. Both are actualizations of the same topological point even though they have no resemblance to one another: one is a cube and the other a sphere. Topological isomorphisms are fine when we
talk about soap bubbles and salt crystals, but what about society? Deleuze’s book on Foucault is in my opinion the best application of these ideas to society.
CTHEORY (Mallavarapu): To ask a related question... In your introduction to War in the Age of Intelligent Machines, you take care to point out that your use of the idea of self-organization is “more analogical than mathematical.” What are the problems and possibilities that arise from the use of analogies from chaos science to describe social phenomena?
De Landa: That remark is a disclaimer to draw attention to the fact that one does not have the legitimate right to postulate an “attractor” until one has some mathematical evidence one may be lurking there. (This, by the way, does not imply possession of a formal model. One can infer the presence of an attractor from an analysis of time series, such as those we have for production prices in economics, or voting patterns in political science). The remark in that book was to the effect that I did not model warfare either directly or through time series. That’s the only way one can use these ideas non-metaphorically. (Then, of course, one has to show evidence that the actual physical or social system has an attractor by giving it a push, for example, injecting some energy or spending some money, and checking whether the system returns to its previous state after a while).
CTHEORY (Ihde): I would like to raise two questions that are organized around a single theme. (1) While it is fashionable these days to be “posthuman” or anti-anthropological, I remain curious about what would motivate such moves? If the problem is that all positions imply some sort of “metaphysics” and “humanism” in a postmodern era shows its implicit humanist bias as linked to early modern epistemology, isn’t a counter-move just as likely to have similar “metaphysical” tones? (2) Similarly, is a post-human position possible? and if so, what would its advantages be? It seems to me, in spite of efforts to the
contrary, that even the most rigorous scientific claims imply the human since they have to be made in language and/or shown in perceivable images. (3) And, finally, while I deeply appreciate your moves to show that wholes and non-linear processes are more complex and richer than older notions of totality and linearity, isn’t a move to notions of “self-organization” also just as metaphysical as earlier notions?
De Landa: First of all, the questions here are not so much “metaphysical” (a word which seems to have become an insult losing all its real content) as ontological. When one is not a realist, when one operates within an ontology of appearances, for instance, any claim about a mind-independent reality is labeled as “metaphysical” (as an insult). But of course, one can turn the insult around and call all Continental philosophy “metaphysical” as the logical
positivists did. Either way it’s all a waste of time. The real question is whether it is legitimate to have an “anthropocentric ontology”, that is, to draw the line between the real and the non-real by what we humans can directly observe. What makes our scale of observation, in space or time, so privileged? Why should we believe in the Mississippi river (as Andrew Pickering does) but not in oxygen or carbon (as he does not)?. Why should we study things in “real time” (that is, at our temporal scale) instead of at longer periods (to capture the effect of “long durations”)? I have always thought the word “post-human” is
very silly and never used it. It is not a matter of a “post” here, but a matter of getting rid of all the non-realist baggage that is slowing us down, such as the Humean view of causality (as observed constant conjunction) instead of thinking of causes as real relations in which one event produces another event. The fact that in order to communicate these ideas one must use language is not an excuse to retreat to an idealist ontology. At the end of the day, Pickering is not a “post-humanist.” It takes guts to say that oxygen does not exist, as
someone coming from the constructivist tradition like Pickering does. But then I want to know: What happens then to the table of elements and the surrounding theories that allow us to predict how oxygen behaves and manipulate it? I’m willing to concede that quarks might have a questionable epistemological status, but what about electrons? As Ian Hacking says, if we can spray them, they are real. We have proof o . Both the positivists and the constructivists who are traditionally seen as having nothing in common with one another end up somehow assuming that only the observable is the real: the Mississippi is real, while oxygen is seen as having a problematic epistemological status. The underlying problem with these positions is that they are anthropocentric; they are limited to what we can see as human observers. What about telescopes and microscopes? They open up realms to us that we cannot verify through unmediated observation.
CTHEORY (Ihde): I agree with you here that we have to take technologically mediated ways of seeing into account. In my version of instrumental realism, experience is mediated through technology. This is why I differ from my phenomenological predecessors. I am critical of the subjectivist position that limits itself to individual experience.
De Landa: I don’t want to say that human experience is not real, but you cannot make it the entire context of your ontology. This is what I find happening, often implicitly, in a wide variety of theoretical positions. The question of time that Pickering raises is also significant here. Pickering advocates a “real-time” approach to studying emergence that is limited precisely because it is anthropocentric.
CTHEORY (Ihde): This formulation makes Pickering seem like Bas van Fraassen, the analytic philosopher of science whose views on “constructive empiricism” limited his commitment to truth to that which is observable.
De Landa: Of course he wouldn’t like to be characterized that way, but there is some truth to it. My point is that every filmmaker knows that there are non-real time phenomena. For example, shoot one frame every hour in front of a budding flower and play it back faster the next day. Or shoot hundred frames per second of a bullet hitting a target and slowing it down. A broader time scale is required which is not limited to the human time scale of observation.
CTHEORY (Ihde): But doesn’t the film example essentially show how time can be translated into what we can see, what is visible for us?
De Landa: Again, the point that I am trying to make is that we should not privilege the viewpoint of the human observer. We need to acknowledge that realism is about what is out there, irrespective of whether we see it or not. Deleuze is interested in exteriority and assemblages, the relationship between bodies, not individual subjectivity. Deleuze is such a daring philosopher because he creates a non-essentialist realism. Once you divorce ontology from epistemology, you cannot be an essentialist.
CTHEORY (Mallavarapu): To return to the epistemological status of oxygen, could we not tell a Latourian story of competing networks (oxygen and phlogiston), with one network (oxygen) winning over the other because it is able to mobilize a larger set of allies in a complex network including human and non-human actants? It then makes sense to say that oxygen exists on the basis of the strength of the network.
De Landa: The story of competing networks seems much more fruitful when one looks at controversial science, science which is emerging. I’m also concerned about how network theories often amount to stories of competing ideologies and social alliances, even though I’m aware that Latour does include a lot of non-human elements in his actor-network theory. Latour acknowledges Deleuzian influences on his work, but it is hard to pin down where exactly he stands with regard to Deleuzian realism. In any event, a realist would certainly not be comfortable attributing the existence of oxygen to the outcome of network interactions.
CTHEORY (Jorgensen): In light of this answer, I would like to pose two questions that bring your work further into dialogue with Latour. One of your main claims associated with this call for a new ontology is that there are no essences—at least as traditional philosophy defines them. Rather, you insist that ontological analysis should focus on historically constituted, individual entities that operate on different scales, but yet still interact to form
wholes. To account for these emerging wholes, you argue that the interaction between the groups of individual entities has to be accounted for. To some extent, this approach resembles Latour’s style of investigation, according to which the analyst is required to give an account of the different actants being studied, and their relations, in order to give an account of the network they constitute. Can you elaborate on this connection?
De Landa: The claim I make (similar to the one Roy Bhaskar makes) is that to be
ontologically committed to emergent wholes is to assert that these wholes have causal powers of their own. (And these cannot be Humean causes but real causes). It is not just a matter of examining a network of interacting causal agents, but of also showing the emergent whole is a causal agent on its own. I do not know what Latour’s position relative to causal relations is, but without a realist account of causality his work and mine can only be superficially related.
CTHEORY (Jorgensen): You continually stress the need to conceptualize wholes without appealing to traditional notions of totality. Indeed, you argue that the historical processes that give rise to the wholes has to be laid out by analysts who are interested in the problem of becoming. My question concerns stabilization, the moment when something becomes a whole. When something becomes a whole, such as an institution or a city, you might then say it becomes a “black box.” Can you elaborate on the relation between individual entities, interaction, and emergent wholes in relation to Latour’s theory of blackboxing?
De Landa: Blackboxing is something we humans do when we do not understand the
mechanism through which an effect was produced, but do not wish to be bothered by that. For many purposes it is enough to understand that if something comes in as input, then we will always get this output (regardless of whether we know exactly how). Most claims in social science (to the extent that they do not specify concrete mechanisms) are of the blackbox type. So are many in the physical sciences (Newton basically blackboxed the mechanism through which gravity acts at a distance). Many scientists in their laboratories have no idea how exactly their tools work (they know the inputs and outputs only) so these
tools are blackboxes. To the extent that we do not know the mechanisms through which organizations or cities operate, they are blackboxes. But as a realist, since I refuse to remain at the level of description and demand explanations, I have to open as many blackboxes as I can. I have to give accounts in terms of mechanisms. I believe that Deleuze “machinic” philosophy is partly about that: opening black boxes and understanding their inner machinery.
CTHEORY (Selinger): Getting off the topic of Latour... A few weeks ago I heard Stephen Wolfram give a lecture based on his book A New Kind of Science. There was a performative element to this talk which I found striking. Unlike the recent STS work on distributed cognition and distributed expertise, Wolfram reveled in depicting himself as essentially an isolated researcher who spent more time contacting historians of science and technology than current practitioners. This narrative served as the rhetorical basis for his claim to be a renegade scientist who inaugurated a paradigm shift. Have you read this recent book or any of his published material? If so, do you find his claims about cellular automata and complexity theory to correlate with unique insights on his part, or is it more the case that he is synthesizing ideas that have been well-known to researchers in the field of complexity theory for some time?
De Landa: Though I have not read his recent book, I think his claims have to be wildly exaggerated. In fact, it would seem that each famous scientists in this field would want his own theory or model to be the center of it all. Ilya Prigogine wants everything to be “order through fluctuations”; Roy Bhaskar wants it all to be about self-organized criticality (his sand piles with fractal avalanches); Stuart Kauffmann wants it all to be about “the edge of
chaos”, and now of course Wofram wants it all to be about this one CA rule. To me this denies the basic insight of nonlinearity, its plurality of effects. Enrico Fermi once said that to speak of “nonlinear mathematics” made as much sense as to speak of “non-elephant zoology.” In other words, the dichotomy linear-nonlinear is a false one: there are many nonlinear effects and linear ones are one special case of it (so the word nonlinear should eventually disappear). Whenever one opposes chaos and linearity one is bringing back the
dichotomy. And so one does when one favors one particular phenomenon at the expense of the large variety of others. Wolfram has done very good work (classifying cellular automata, for example) and his claim to have discovered a special rule is probably serious. But so are the claims by the other scientists I just mentioned.
CTHEORY (Mix): Considering how much of your work focuses on computers, it seems
appropriate to end this section by bringing up an Internet oriented question. In your essay “Markets and Anti-Markets in the World Economy” you follow Fernand Braudel in analyzing the flow of capital towards and away from “universal warehouses,” defined as dominant commercial centers where one can purchase “any product from anywhere in the world.” You not only note that historically cities such Venice, Amsterdam, London, and New York have served this function, but you further suggest that we may be: (1) “witnessing the end of American supremacy” and (2) that Tokyo may be the next “core.” In this age of advanced Internet use, when one can now shop for global goods and services
from almost any city of origin, how important is it to think in “warehouse” terms?
De Landa: The preeminence of the cities you mention was always contingent on the speed of transport: for as long as sea transport was faster than by land, not only goods but people and ideas flowed faster and accumulated more frequently in maritime metropolises. But the advent of steam motors (and the locomotive) changed that relation, allowing landlocked capitals (such as Chicago) to become universal warehouses. Hence, any technology that changes the speed of the circulation of goods and information (the internet plus Federal
Express) will have an effect like this, maybe even making cities irrelevant as accumulation centers.
III. “I think Marxism is Deleuze and Guattari’s little Oedipus, the small piece of territory they must keep to come back to at night after a wild day of deterritorializing.” (Manuel De Landa, CTHEORY Interview)
CTHEORY (Selinger): My question here concerns your sense of the value of
phenomenological analysis. Deleuze was a staunch critic of phenomenology. He
saw it as a subjective style of philosophy that reduced the plane of immanence
to that which appears for consciousness. However, I recently found a reference
that struck me as interesting in light of your work. In order to explain to
those who are not familiar with self-organizing processes how essences are
created, you point to how it is not possible to explain the coming into being
of the spherical form of a soap bubble with appealing to
“endogenously-generated stable states.” In other words, without appealing to
the science of self-organization, it is impossible to explain how the essence
of “soap-bubbleness” is not constituted by way of an ideal geometric form
imposing itself upon an inert collection of molecules from the outside (i.e.
hylomorphic schema). Let me use this example to initiate a dialogue with
phenomenology. In Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s early work, The Structure of
Behavior, he tries to explain how an organism’s preferred mode of behavior is
constituted, such that what is experienced as “the simplest” and “most natural”
is that mode of behavior that gives the organism a feeling of balance and
facility. Merleau-Ponty writes:
Is the orientation toward these preferred modes of behavior comparable to the formation of a spherical soap bubble? In the latter case, the external forces exerted on the surface of the soap bubble tend to compress it into a point; the pressure of the enclosed air on the other hand demands as large a volume as possible. The spherical solution which is realized represents the only possible solution to this problem of minimum and maximum. Can it be said in the same way that the preferred modes of behavior of an organism are those which, in the de facto conditions in which it finds itself, objectively offer the greatest simplicity and the greatest unity? In his article, “The Current Relevance of Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Embodiment,” Hubert Dreyfus claims that Merleau-Ponty responds to this latter query in the affirmative:
The bubble starts as a deformed film. The bits of soap just respond to the local forces according to laws which happen to work so as to dispose the entire system to end up as a sphere, but the spherical result does not play any causal role in producing the bubble. The same holds for the final gestalt of body and racket in my example. Indeed, I cannot represent how I should turn my racket since I do not know what I do when I return the ball. I may once have been told to hold my racket perpendicular to the court, and I may have succeeded in doing so, but now experience has sculpted my swing to the situation in a far more subtle and appropriate way than I could have achieved as a beginner following this rule. What do you think of the phenomenological appeal to the self-organized process of a soap-bubble in order to explain the relation between perception and skill acquisition? Do you think that this example suggests there may be a richer relationship between phenomenology and Deleuzeian ontology?
De Landa: There have been many people who have tried to come up with some kind of “soap bubble” explanation for aspects of human behavior: the bubble minimizes surface tension, so we “minimize effort” or something like that. This is fine with me as long as it is clear this is just a hypothesis that needs testing. But to assume that there is some “law” that everything in the world must be governed by a “least principle” is wrong. (It assumes the only virtual multiplicities are those characterized by a single steady-state singularity). It very well may be that aspects of the stability of perceptual fields do in fact depend on least principles (or steady-state stability: the famous Necker Cube or the duck-rabbit illusion of Wittgenstein surely indicate our vision can jump from one to another stable state). But now, is there a way of discovering these stable states from within (phenomenologically)? Or do we have to use psychophysics and other disciplines (neural networks, for example, which do use steady states) in order to approach the question? And, at any rate, why only steady states, why not periodic or other singularities? And why a unique one (as in the soap bubble) as opposed to a multiplicity with broken-symmetry levels (to account for the fact that our experience changes if we ingest alcohol, or psychedelics)?
CTHEORY (Ihde): I agree. I have long been critical of Merleau-Ponty’s interpretation of Necker Cubes vis-a-vis my notion of multistability. Like a number of psychologists, Merleau-Ponty mistakenly thinks that the reversibility of the cube is what is unique about the cube. In my version of phenomenology, the structures of perception are best discovered through variational method; this allows one to investigate the whole range of possibilities from those of ordinary sediments to the most extreme horizontal possibilities.
CTHEORY (Jensen): A different but related question arises from the fact that even though you take your analysis to be realist, this does not delimit the interpretive flexibility of readers—that is, their abilities to take your accounts as supporting their specific projects regardless of whether you would approve of that use or not. For instance, in a recent talk at Duke, Zizek invoked your understanding of Deleuze as the only correct one. Nevertheless, my feeling is that his psychoanalytically informed way of evaluating the correctness and plausibility of Deleuzian interpretations, including yours, is something you would vehemently oppose. As you espouse the idea of a “correct understanding,” how do you think about and/or handle readers who misunderstand or otherwise misuse your work?
De Landa: Well, it would all have to be handled case by case. As long as Freud can be taken to have given us a process of individuation (via the Oedipal drama) his ideas fit the ontology I propose. A philosopher can only specify that a historical individuation process must be given but not what exactly those processes are (which is a question for the specialists). The part of Freud where he gives an account of personal individuation may be right or wrong in reality, but it is compatible with my ontology. The part where he attempts to define society as a kind of projection from these mental structures violates the ontology: institutional organizations and norms are individuated following another real historical process and are not just mental projections. So that part has to be rejected. A similar treatment would have to be given for each concrete individual entity. Now, to the extent that many proposed processes are compatible with the basic ontology (while they may be incompatible with one
another) there can be many interpretations of it. Yet this does not mean any reading will be compatible: I still wonder how a phenomenologist would find my ideas compatible or even useful.
CTHEORY (Protevi): Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy accepts Deleuze’s use of axiomatics to analyze major or Royal science. Yet you are critical of Deleuze and Guattari’s use of axiomatics as a way to conceptualize capitalism (e.g., ATY 331n7), which you see as an example of a top-down positing of a whole. I certainly would agree with you that far too much Marxist work has been simplistic, historical determinist, reductive, totalizing, functionalist, top-down, etc., but I wonder if you aren’t being too harsh with Deleuze and
Guattari’s attempts to define a theory of capitalism that avoids each of these dangers? They certainly adopt a notion of “machinic surplus value,” moving beyond a simple labor theory of value (machines as “congealed muscular energy,” as you put it at ATY 79). Don’t they also consistently deny any historical determinism of stages of development by emphasizing the contingency of capitalist formations, as well as conduct a sustained polemic against reductive base-superstructure models of society? Don’t their constant reminders that the line of flight is primary prevent any totalizing accounts? Isn’t their use of axiomatics an attempt to see capitalism as an adaptive meshwork of economic, state and quasi-state (IMF, WTO, etc.) institutions, rather than as a homeostatic organismic whole, as in crude functionalist accounts? In other words, haven’t they, at least in principle, given us the outlines of a bottom-up account of a complex, open-ended, adaptive world capitalist system?
De Landa: I agree that if I had to choose among all the Marxist accounts of economic history I would probably pick theirs. It does have all the advantages you mention. Yet, I believe they would have benefited greatly from a better reading of Braudel. They seemed to have read only volume one of his history of capitalism and not the other two volumes, which are really the most radical part. This is clear when in A Thousand Plateus in one page thet quote Braudel’s stress on the role of cities and yet in the very next page Deleuze and Guattari go on to define capitalism as a “market economy”, an idea which Braudel attacks as historically false. So I wonder what would have happened to their theory had they understood the last point: that there is no such thing as “the market” in general and no such thing as a “logic of exchange” in general (doesn’t the idea of an capitalist axiomatic depend on the idea of a logic of exchange?). Once we separate oligopolies from the market (they are strategic not primarily exchangist entities) and identify capitalism with oligopolies (as Braudel does) we can still use some of Deleuze and Guattari’s ideas since markets have always caused “lines of flight” to pass among societies, particularly closed societies (it’s in the marketplace that we meet outsiders; that foreign objects and ideas enter a city; that heterogeneity is injected etc).
CTHEORY (Protevi): Yes, you’re completely right that Deleuze and Guattari overlook Braudel’s distinction between market and anti-market and use an abstract sense of capitalism as a “market economy” whereby “market” means “any exchange system whatsoever, whether it is composed of atomic producers and consumers who must act as price-takers (the Braudelian sense of ‘local market’) or whether it is composed of producers and consumers with varying degrees of power to be price-setters (the Braudelian sense of ‘anti-markets’).” Even though it’s sometimes hard to make that distinction clearly all the time (for instance, when you say in your answer “it’s in the marketplace that we meet outsiders; that foreign objects and ideas enter a city” I think Braudel would attribute this to long-distance trade dominated by anti-market corporations, even if it occurs in the same physical location as local market exchanges), I agree we should by all means incorporate that distinction into our analysis of the economies (note the plural) operating today worldwide. Here the neo-Marxist notions of formal and real subsumption (roughly speaking, the relations between capitalist and non-capitalist economies, and the tendency of the former to replace the latter) would have to be brought to bear, notions that Hardt and
Negri use often in Empire. (Just to be clear before I continue: I completely agree with you in everything you say about Marx himself in the 19th century being wed to equilibrium analyses, about the complete bankruptcy of top-down and centralized social and economic planning, about the necessity of using non-linear analyses of economic processes that show the inadequacy of equilibrium and optimizing models, and so forth.)
Here is my question to you: I wonder if Deleuze and Guattari ignore the Braudelian distinction because, like Marx, they locate the important element to be examined in capitalism to be production rather than exchange? Recapitulating what they say in both Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus, what they call in What is Philosophy? “Marx’s concept of capitalism” (97) is the conjunction of the deterritorialized flows of labor and capital, and these meet in production, not in exchange.
De Landa: Well, no, not really. I agree that the dichotomy “market/antimarket” does give that impression, hence I probably won’t use it again. But the same distinction applies to production: it’s the difference between economies of scale and economies of agglomeration. That is, between oligopolies using managed prices, routinized labor, hierarchical structure, vertical integration etc. and networks of small producers using market prices, skilled labor, decentralized structure and functional complementarities. You must remember the study that compares Silicon Valley and Route 128 as production systems (mentioned in A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History) or what I have written about Emilia-Romagna. Braudel (and Jane Jacobs following in his steps) places a great emphasis on this distinction (though he does not use the terms) and views it as applying across history for at least a millennium (hence economies of agglomeration would not be a late stage of capitalism as some Marxists have tried to argue using the term “flexible specialization” or the ridiculous one
of “post-Fordism”) but an alternative to economies of scale (also much older than the Industrial Revolution) which has been there for a while.
CTHEORY (Protevi): What about the emphasis on production as the key ontological concept in Anti-Oedipus (the whole world, nature and humans together, is composed of interlocking series of connected machines that produce materials that are fed into other machines)?
De Landa: This is correct. I myself add to this when I attack the Humean notion
of causality (as perceived constant conjunction) and define it as a real
connection in which one event produces another event. And more generally, when I stress that to get rid of essences one must always give the intensive process of production that yields any individual entity (atoms, organisms or
commodities). Intensive thinking in general is about production.
CTHEORY (Protevi): From this productivist perspective (which I think is amenable to a nonlinear dynamics analysis of the material and energy flows that keep the open production systems far-from-equilibrium), the key issue is the productive conjunction of capital and labor (here machinic surplus value vitiates a pure labor theory of value), whether or not the products of that labor flow into markets or anti-markets. And the key to coercing labor into
exploitative production processes is to threaten the production of labor power with interruption of the flows that sustain it.
De Landa: Well, but the same point applies here: the conjunction of capital and labor can take place in different forms (scale, agglomeration) and it is clear that only the economic power of the former allows the kind of threat of withdrawal you are talking about: only if a firm is very capital intensive (large machines, large start-up costs functioning as barriers to entry) and if the process is based on routinization (the less skills a worker brings the less
bargaining power he/she will have when it comes to set wages) can this form of coercion work. I am not saying that power relations are absent from networks of small producers but there the ability of workers to bargain for a fair wage (particularly if unions exist) is much greater and the permeability of the division between classes is greater too (if a typical firm has less than 100 employees and it is not capital intensive, it’s much easier for a motivated,
creative worker to start his/her own business). The point is that all of this is obscured (if not made invisible) by the blanket concept of “capitalism.”
As to theories of value: we need to go beyond the very notion of surplus value.
(It’s not enough to simply add the “machinic” type to escape the labor theory).
Why just adding machines to “abstract labor” (read, routinized labor)? Why not
also fossil fuels, starting with coal? And what of knowledge, skills and
organizational procedures? And then, the main defect of labor theory here is to
include supply factors and not demand factors, but the latter also matter, and
so marginalist approaches to this side of the equation must be added. (Over the
objections of Marxists who would rather die than include bourgeois marginalism
in a theory of value).
CTHEORY (Protevi): Okay, but even if the shift from an exchangist to a productivist perspective doesn’t work for you, does it at least seem to you a fruitful way of explaining Deleuze and Guattari’s tenacious loyalty to (some suitably modified) form of Marxist analysis, as well as their insistence on a systematicity to capitalist production? Or do we have to change so much in Marx to reach what Deleuze and Guattari say in analyzing things that their insistence on calling what they do a form of Marxism simply the result of their
social position in the “gauchiste” (non-Communist) left of France in their lifetimes? In other words, their Marxism is a way of thumbing their noses both at neo-liberals and at party loyalists?
De Landa: Well, frankly, I think Marxism is Deleuze and Guattari’s little Oedipus, the small piece of territory they must keep to come back at night after a wild day of deterritorializing. Who could blame them for needing a resting place, a familiar place with all the reassurances of the Marxist tradition (and its powerful iconography of martyrs and revolutionaries)? The
question is whether we need that same resting place (clearly we need one, but should it be the same? Shouldn’t each of us have a different one so that collectively we can eliminate them?).
I believe that the main task for today’s left is to create a new political economy (the resources are all there: Max Weber, T.B. Veblen and the old institutionalists, John Kenneth Galbraith, Fernand Braudel, some of the new institutionalists, like Douglass North; redefinitions of the market, like those of Herbert Simon etc) based as you acknowledged before, on a non-equilibrium view of the matter? But how can we do this if we continue to believe that Marxists got it right, that it is just a matter of tinkering with the basic ideas? At any rate, concepts like “mode of production” do not fit a flat ontology of individuals as far as I can tell. But then, this is the part of my reconstruction of Deleuze that I am the least sure he would accept: in Difference and Repetition he cheerfully talks about the “virtual multiplicity of society” (using Marx as his example, of course) a term I would never use (since my ontology explicitly rejects totalities like “society as a whole”).
CTHEORY (Mallavarapu): In your new book Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy, you point out Deleuze’s relevance not just to continental philosophy but to analytical philosophy as well. There have been significant differences between continental and analytical approaches to fundamental epistemological questions. This has formed the background to the so-called “Science Wars” debates between the realists and social constructivists. Does the Deleuzian concept of materiality offer a way out of the Science War debates?
De Landa: Absolutely. You have to remember that constructivists have more in common with scientists (who are positivists, not realists) than with realists. Larry Laudan has explored the ways in which relativism (of any type) overlaps with positivism. Both make heavy use of conventions; both ignore mathematics and focus on language etc. Deleuze offers an alternative to both of them, and in my view, allows us to rescue the objectivity of science without accepting the myth of its achievements. (For example, we can accept that classical physics did get it right, within a limited sphere of reality, but not that it discovered the eternal laws of the universe).
CTHEORY (Jensen): Finally, a question about your way of reading Deleuze about which it could be argued, rightly, I think, that it is highly selective. Deleuze, of course, wrote at great length about Kafka, Proust, and numerous other writers. He also wrote two books on cinema. And he has been received with considerably more interest in American literature departments than in their philosophical counterparts. But to you Deleuze’s discussions of
self-organization, the differential calculus, morphogenesis, and other scientific concepts and ideas have been much more consequential than his invocation of artistic ones. Can you elaborate on your way of reading Deleuze and its almost unilateral stress on aspects of his works relating to the natural sciences rather than the arts? How do you think these aspects hang together? And, finally, could it not be argued that your systematic selectivity is imposing on the Deleuzian corpus an interpretation, which not only could but effectively would have been quite different if other aspects of his work had been emphasized at the expense of those of your preference?
De Landa: I agree that my reading of Deleuze is highly selective. The idea was:
once we know how his world works (a virtual space becoming actual via intensive processes) aren’t we in a much better position to understand the other parts? For example, in the theory of memory he takes from Bergson, one does not retrieve a memory trace from the brain, one literally jumps to another space (the virtual with its own always-past temporality). Now, without a realist
ontology this would be a useless theory (if there is no virtual space where do
we jump to?). But isn’t it the same with his other uses of Bergson (e.g. in the
Cinema books)? Or take for example his affirmation that all great art involves
a becoming-animal of one sort or another. What would this mean if we cannot say what in reality these becomings are? (They are transformations not of
organisms, like werewolves, but of the virtual multiplicities underlying the
organisms). Or take the line of flight (also called the quasi-causal operator):
this is the entity that builds the plane of consistency out of multiplicities.
But without this definition (and the rest of the ontology) could we understand
what it means to follow a line of flight in painting or music?
Don Ihde is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University and author of thirteen books, most of which address issues in the philosophies of science and technology.
Casper Bruun Jensen is a doctoral candidate in Information and Media Studies at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. His research concerns the controversies surrounding the development and implementation of the electronic patient record in Denmark with an STS- perspective.
Jari Friis Jorgensen received his MA from the Institute of Information and Media Studies, at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. His | <urn:uuid:80b5042b-4728-4b5b-9461-84fe37b9ef1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000369.php | 2013-05-19T18:43:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952936 | 14,212 |
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International Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 504387, 11 pages
Evaluation of Functional Electrical Stimulation to Assist Cycling in Four Adolescents with Spastic Cerebral Palsy
1Interdisciplinary Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
2Biomechanics Division, ARCCA Inc., Penns Park, PA 18943, USA
3Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, 301 McKinly Laboratory, DE 19716, USA
4Research Department, Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
Received 2 November 2011; Revised 12 January 2012; Accepted 13 February 2012
Academic Editor: Maria A. Fragala-Pinkham
Copyright © 2012 Ann Tokay Harrington et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Introduction. Adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) often have difficulty participating in exercise at intensities necessary to improve cardiovascular fitness. Functional electrical stimulation- (FES-) assisted cycling is proposed as a form of exercise for adolescents with CP. The aims of this paper were to adapt methods and assess the feasibility of applying FES cycling technology in adolescents with CP, determine methods of performing cycling tests in adolescents with CP, and evaluate the immediate effects of FES assistance on cycling performance. Materials/Methods. Four participants (12–14 years old; GMFCS levels III-IV) participated in a case-based pilot study of FES-assisted cycling in which bilateral quadriceps muscles were activated using surface electrodes. Cycling cadence, power output, and heart rate were collected. Results. FES-assisted cycling was well tolerated () and cases are presented demonstrating increased cadence (2–43 rpm), power output (19–70%), and heart rates (4-5%) and decreased variability (8–13%) in cycling performance when FES was applied, compared to volitional cycling without FES assistance. Some participants () required the use of an auxiliary hub motor for assistance. Conclusions. FES-assisted cycling is feasible for individuals with CP and may lead to immediate improvements in cycling performance. Future work will examine the potential for long-term fitness gains using this intervention.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a nonprogressive disorder that results from a disturbance in the fetal or infant brain [1, 2]. This disturbance, although varied in etiology, results in motor impairments in the developing child [3–6]. Individuals with CP have muscle weakness and abnormally high muscle spasticity in the affected extremities, which result in fine and gross motor developmental delays [2, 4, 5, 7]. Poor selective muscle control often results in coactivation of agonist and antagonist muscle groups . Spasticity and abnormal tone that is present in the muscles of children with CP [7, 8] can cause abnormal forces at the joints, which can lead to bony deformity, joint instability, and muscle contractures as the child grows [7, 9–11]. The weakness that affects these muscles results in balance impairments and poor selective motor control which may lead to diminished independence and a lack of physical activity [12, 13]. Although CP is a nonprogressive injury of the brain, the impairments and functional limitations associated with CP can change over time, with many children becoming less independent with functional mobility as they enter their teenage years [14, 15]. Traditional means of exercise, such as running, jumping, and playing organized sports, may be difficult for individuals with such functional limitations and, unfortunately, many individuals with disabilities participate in less physical activity than people without disabilities [16–19].
Stationary recumbent cycling has been proposed as a feasible method to exercise in this population [20–29] because cycling does not require the dynamic balance that exercise in a standing position requires. Cycling provides a potential means of improving strength, cardiovascular function, and range of motion, while exercising in a safe position and performing an activity that most children enjoy [26, 27, 29, 30]. Unfortunately, children with CP may not have the strength or coordination to cycle at the power intensities or sustained intervals required to achieve cardiovascular benefits from exercise [21, 31]. Many children with CP have difficulty with the motor performance of the cycling task because of unsmooth, asymmetrical cycling resulting from uncoordinated pushing and pulling on the pedals rather than cycling in a continuous manner [20, 21, 28]. Further difficulties include agonist/antagonist muscle coactivation, poor gross mechanical efficiency with the cycling task, and difficulties attaining threshold heart rates and cycling intensities necessary to achieve cardiorespiratory training effects and musculoskeletal changes . Thus, additional means may be necessary to improve cycling ability for fitness attainment in children with CP.
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been used to facilitate cycling to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and to cause musculoskeletal gains in individuals with complete paralysis due to spinal cord injuries (SCI) [32–38]. In addition to cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal gains, Krause et al. found that FES cycling may also moderate the excessive muscle tone that is present in individuals with SCI . Children with spastic CP have lower levels of cardiovascular fitness , muscle weakness [3–5, 7, 8, 40], and elevated muscle tone [7, 11] that also could potentially respond to a FES cycling intervention [24, 41, 42]. The application of FES in individuals with CP, however, is fundamentally a different task than the application of FES in individuals with complete SCI because individuals with CP have varying degrees of volitional ability to pedal a cycle and additionally have sensate lower extremities. Preliminary work in our laboratory [24, 25] examined the development of a FES system for assisting and evaluating cycling in individuals with CP. Two recent publications have also reported the application of FES in individuals with CP [41, 42]. The first publication was a case study featuring training with FES cycling in an adult with CP . The second publication reported on the use of FES in children with CP ; however, unlike in the current project, the participants were asked to passively allow FES to propel the crank rather than using volitional effort to contribute to the cycling task. The goal of FES assistance in the present study is to increase the cadence and power output that can be produced volitionally during cycling such that adolescents with CP can reach the heart rate thresholds necessary to gain cardiovascular benefits from exercise. There is also the potential that increasing cardiovascular fitness and strength may lead to improved function and quality of life. The aims of this study were to (1) adapt methods and assess the feasibility of applying FES cycling technology in adolescents with CP, (2) determine methods of performing cycling tests in adolescents with CP of GMFCS levels III-IV, and (3) Evaluate the immediate effects of FES assistance on cycling performance (i.e., cycling cadence and power output, coefficient of variance of cycling performance measures, and cardiovascular responses). Preliminary results have been presented elsewhere .
2. Materials and Methods
Participants were recruited from the Cerebral Palsy Clinic at Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, or through referral from community physical therapists. Adolescents with CP of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels III-IV were recruited for this study . Participants of GMFCS levels III-IV were targeted because these individuals have the physical capacity to learn how to cycle but they are often limited in their physical activity opportunities due to their lower level of independence with physical mobility. Individuals of GMFCS level III are able to ambulate with the use of an assistive device but may use a wheelchair for long distances. Individuals of GMFCS level IV have limited self-mobility and may require power mobility in the community. The participant inclusion and exclusion criteria are summarized in Table 1.
All participants were screened by an orthopedic surgeon to ensure that they were not at risk for hip dislocation and by a physical therapist to verify that they had sufficient passive range of motion to complete a revolution of the crank comfortably. The informed consent document, including all accompanying procedures and risks, was discussed with each participant and his/her parent or guardian. Sufficient time was provided for review of the document and to answer any questions. Informed consent and assent documents, approved by the governing Institutional Review Board, were signed by each participant and their parent or guardian.
A sample of convenience consisting of four participants (2 male) with spastic CP between the ages of 12–14 years (mean 13 ± 1.2 years) participated in this case-based pilot study (demographic information is provided in Table 2). Participant 1 had previous cycling experience in the community using an upright tricycle and had previously used neuromuscular electrical stimulation in an isometric strengthening protocol. Cycling and the application of surface electrical stimulation were novel to participants 2, 3, and 4.
A previously described custom recumbent tricycle-based FES system was used for all testing sessions . This tricycle-based system (a sport tricycle (KMXKarts; United Kingdom) mounted on a cycle trainer (Tacx; Wassenaar, The Netherlands) to allow for stationary cycling) was instrumented with a torque sensor and shaft encoder to allow for collection of torque, crank position and cadence, and consequently the calculation of power output during the cycling session (Figure 1). The tricycle-based system also allows for optional, direct drive pedaling assistance by an auxiliary hub motor directly coupled to the rear wheel’s fixed gear. The use of this motor allows for controlled mechanical propulsion assistance in addition to the muscle contraction assistance provided by FES. Data were collected using custom software (MatLab, The Mathworks, Inc). The seat position, crank arm length, bottom bracket, and foot pedal position were adjusted to accommodate the leg length of each participant and any soft tissue contractures. In addition, shank guides previously used in our laboratory [22–24] were used to prevent excessive hip abduction and adduction during the cycling motion.
For this investigation, only the bilateral quadriceps femoris muscles were stimulated during the limb extension phase of the cycling crank rotation using a commercially-available stimulator with custom programming (Hasomed RehaStim, Magdeburg, Germany). Self-adhesive electrode sizes were selected for each individual to maximize the surface area over the quadriceps being activated in an effort to minimize stimulation current density and thereby maximize participant comfort. The appropriate electrode size for all participants was 7.5 × 10 cm (Axelgaard Manufacturing Co., Fall Brook, CA). The proximal electrode was positioned in an oblique orientation over the proximal rectus femoris and vastus lateralis heads of the quadriceps femoris and the distal electrode was positioned in an oblique orientation over the vastus medialis obliquus and distal vastus lateralis heads of the quadriceps femoris. Care was taken to ensure that electrodes were placed over an area of the skin free from blemishes or skin breakdown.
2.3. Stimulation Levels
The participants in this study completed training at a stimulation frequency of 33 Hz based on the parameters used in our laboratory for FES cycling in individuals with SCI [24, 35, 44]. A current intensity of 40 mA was well tolerated and allowed for easy facilitation of a fused quadriceps contraction using the electrical stimulation . The level of stimulation applied was then varied by using a throttle (potentiometer) to increase or decrease the stimulus pulse width to control the strength of elicited muscle contractions. A custom program (MatLab, The MathWorks, Inc) controlled the on and off time for the stimulation applied to each leg based upon the position of the crank and the instantaneous cadence at which the participant was cycling . Participants were instructed to tell investigators to turn down or turn off the stimulation at any time if they felt uncomfortable. Participants were also provided with a kill switch that could be pressed to terminate the stimulation at any time during the testing procedures.
Motor level stimulation, defined as the level of stimulation required to cause a muscle contraction that moved the lower extremity through a pedaling arc of motion, was used for FES-assisted cycling trials. Participants were positioned on the bike with the leg being stimulated flexed at the knee and hip and the pedal positioned at the crank angle just prior to where active knee extension occurs. Participants were asked to relax their muscles and allow the electrical stimulation to move their legs. The stimulus pulse width was gradually increased until the limb moved through an arc of motion into extension. This procedure to determine the motor level response pulse width was then repeated until three successive trials were consistent (i.e., with motor level response pulse width values within 5% of each other). This procedure for determining motor level pulse width was then repeated for the opposite extremity. The motor level response pulse width for each individual was used for all FES-assisted cycling tests. Pulse width settings ranged from 90 to 200 sec (160, 100, 90, and 200 sec for participants 1, 2, 3, and 4, resp.).
2.4. Cycling Tests
To quantify the immediate effects of applying FES assistance, all participants completed cycling trials with and without the application of FES assistance. As part of the development of testing procedures, custom software was used to provide a simple feedback system for all participants. A laptop computer provided participants visual feedback of cycling performance with either power output or cadence targets to sustain (Figure 2).
Feedback targets were determined for each participant based on their cycling ability. Some individuals’ cycling sessions were essential to the development of cycling performance testing procedures (e.g., use of hub motor to maintain a minimum cadence, discussed hereinafter), while the data from other individuals were used to determine the FES cycling techniques (e.g., application of alternating periods of stimulation on and off in participant 1). The specific tests and total number of tests each participant completed depended upon the stage of development of the project and aim being addressed when the participant participated and the number of times the participant was able to come to Shriners Hospital for testing (Table 3). Participants completed 2–4 sessions with at least 24 hours of rest between cycling sessions and with all testing occurring within a two-week period for each participant. Heart rate was recorded every 10 seconds, for the duration of the test, using a pulse oximeter.
2.4.1. Incremental Load Tests (Participants 1 and 4)
The purpose of the incremental load test was to determine peak power output, cadence, and heart rate for each participant. Participants first completed a brief 30-second cycling trial to determine the appropriate power output or cadence increments. During the incremental load tests, the target was increased by equal increments at one-minute intervals. Tests lasted 8–12 minutes as recommended by traditional incremental exercise testing guidelines and were sufficiently rigorous to determine the participant’s peak power output.
2.4.2. Constant Load Tests (All Participants)
The purpose of the constant load testing was to assess submaximal performance and determine the participant’s ability to work at a steady-state level. For constant load trials, a single power output or cadence target was selected and the participant attempted to maintain the target level for the duration of the test. Constant load tests lasted 8–10 minutes and were sufficient in length for each participant to achieve steady-state cycling performance. For participants completing incremental testing prior to constant load testing, the target for the constant load test was set at 80% of the peak power output achieved during the incremental test. The target for the constant load test was based upon the method of Hunt et al. who examined the energetics of FES cycling in individuals with paraplegia in which the work rate was based on the individual’s maximal power on a prior test. Unpublished pilot work in our laboratory determined that exercising at 80% of the incremental load peak power output was sufficient to achieve steady-state oxygen uptake prior to lower extremity fatigue. For participants 2 and 3, who did not complete an incremental load test, the target for the constant load test was set at 80% of the peak power output achieved on the brief, maximal effort, 30-second cycling trial. At least 24 hours of rest was provided between incremental and constant load cycling tests.
2.4.3. Auxiliary Hub Motor (Participants 3 and 4)
Initial analysis of the first three participants determined that not all participants were able to complete a standard constant load or incremental test without the use of a motor to assist with propulsion. Participants 3 and 4 were unable to cycle consistently enough to maintain target cadences during constant load or incremental load tests. Consequently, the auxiliary hub motor located within the rear wheel of the cycle (Figure 1) was used during some of the testing for participants 3 and 4. The motor facilitated automatic control of cadence while simultaneously collecting power output data to provide information on cycling performance [24, 25]. Because of the poor cycling ability of these participants, the majority of the torque produced was resistive to forward motion of the crank which resulted in a negative net work rate. For these participants, in a period of passive cycling in which the participants allowed the motor to move their legs, negative power output data were collected. This represented how much the individual was resisting the passive movement of their legs and, in effect, how much work the motor had to do to overcome the weight and muscle tone in the participant’s legs to turn the crank. After a period of passive cycling, the participants were asked to actively cycle and the difference between the passive phase and active phase power outputs was calculated to determine the net power output for the cyclist. Because cadence was controlled by the auxiliary hub motor for participants 3 and 4, power output targets were used for visual feedback during the cycling tests.
2.5. Data Analysis
Cadence and torque data were collected at 20 Hz using custom software (MatLab, The MathWorks, Inc) and used to calculate instantaneous power output. For participants completing constant load tests with and without FES assistance, paired -tests were used to analyze differences between mean power output between tests with and without FES. Cycling performance was also analyzed by calculating the coefficient of variance of power output for each minute of the active cycling phase and then averaging across the total number of minutes to determine the coefficient of variance for the test. For participants completing the test using cadence as feedback (participants 1 and 2), the coefficient of variance of cadence was also calculated using the standard deviation of cadence and mean cadence in the calculation instead of power output. Paired -tests were performed to compare coefficient of variance between testing conditions with and without FES assistance.
Peak heart rate during incremental load testing was determined as the maximum of all heart rate data collected in a testing session. Peak heart rate was reported as a percentage above resting heart rate to account for slight within-participant variations in resting heart rate occurring between testing days. Average heart rate reflects an average of all heart rate data collected during the active cycling phase of testing within a single testing session.
3.1. Application of FES Assistance
All participants were able to complete tests without difficulty and were able to tolerate the application of FES to bilateral quadriceps muscles. All participants were able to complete motor level stimulation thresholding and FES-assisted cycling trials without requiring additional acclimation to tolerate the stimulation. Additionally, although participants were provided with the kill switch, none of the participants chose to terminate the stimulation when FES was applied. The stimulus pulse width required to elicit a motor level response ranged from 90 to 200 sec (see Section 2.3 for participant-specific pulse widths).
3.2. Cycling Performance
Participants 1 and 2 completed cycling tests without the use of the auxiliary hub motor to maintain a constant cadence. Cadence was used as a target for the constant load and incremental tests in these participants. Participant 1 completed two separate incremental tests (with and without FES assistance) and a constant load test in which FES assistance alternated between on and off at one-minute increments over the length of the test. Participant 2 completed constant load trials with and without FES assistance.
Participants 3 and 4 completed cycling tests with the auxiliary hub motor assistance. Power was used as the feedback target for the constant load and incremental tests for these participants. Baseline passive cycling data were collected to determine the amount of work the motor needed to perform to passively move the legs through a range of motion without the participant assisting with the task. Participant 3 completed three constant load tests: one without the use of the auxiliary hub motor and without FES assistance, one with the use of the auxiliary hub motor and without FES assistance, and one test with both the auxiliary hub motor and FES assistance. Participant 4 completed brief cycling trials with and without the use of the auxiliary hub motor and she completed three tests with the use of the auxiliary hub motor: an incremental test without FES assistance and constant load tests with and without FES assistance.
3.2.1. Incremental Load Test Results (Participants 1 and 4)
Only participant 1 completed incremental load tests with and without FES assistance. During incremental cycling tests, this participant achieved higher peak cadence and heart rate values during the test with FES assistance (Figures 3(a) and 3(b)). The primary objective of the incremental test was to determine peak heart rate and power output values; however, a secondary analysis examined average heart rate and power output across the tests to determine the relative level of exertion at which the participant was working over the duration of the test (Figures 3(c) and 3(d)).
Cycling performance was also analyzed by calculating the coefficient of variance (averaged over each minute during the cycling trial) in power output and cadence. Participant 1 demonstrated a decrease in the variability in cadence (mean 16.3 ± 4.3% without FES assistance versus 7.8 ± 2.1% with FES assistance) and power output (mean of 28.8 ± 4.5% without FES assistance versus 16.5 ± 2.5% with FES assistance) in the cycling test with FES applied.
The incremental load test completed by participant 4 was performed as part of development of incremental load testing procedures using the auxiliary hub motor. The participant was able to complete the testing and appropriately respond to the increasing target on the computer screen. He did not complete a FES-assisted incremental load test that could be used for comparison.
3.2.2. Constant Load Test Results (All Participants)
Participant 1 completed a constant load test in which FES assistance was alternated in one-minute increments of being on and off. The coefficient of variance for this participant’s power output and cadence were calculated across each minute. Overall, the participant demonstrated an immediate decrease in the variability in cadence (mean 11.5 ± 4.1% without FES assistance versus 8 ± 2% with FES assistance) and variability of power output (mean 12.8 ± 2.6% without FES assistance versus 9.9 ± 2% with FES assistance) during the periods when FES assistance was applied (all values > 0.3) (Figure 4). Although changes in variability were not statistically significant, it did appear that participant 1 cycled more smoothly with FES.
The application of FES assistance led to immediate changes in cycling performance for participant 2, who had no cycling experience and he was unable to complete a crank revolution without assistance. As described previously, Participant 2 completed constant load trials (full tests were unable to be completed due to poor cycling ability and this participant participating prior to the implementation of the auxiliary hub motor) with and without FES assistance. During volitional trials without FES assistance, his lower extremities would get stuck during his attempt to pedal forward and he would alternate between pedaling approximately 180 degrees forward and backward. The forward and backward motion of the crank resulted in no net power generation (Figure 5(a): prior to the application of FES assistance) and a cadence that fluctuated from positive to negative (Figure 5(b): prior to the application of FES assistance). Once FES assistance was applied, the participant was able to successfully pedal the cycle (Figure 5).
Participant 3 required the use of the hub motor to perform constant load cycling tests. During the volitional cycling test, the participant’s power output was negative throughout the majority of the cycling task, although positive power output was achieved during portions of the FES-assisted constant load test (Figure 6). Participant 4 also completed constant load trials with and without FES assistance; paired samples -tests comparing average power output during two constant load cycling test conditions (with and without FES assistance) for participants 3 and 4 were not statistically significant ().
FES-assisted cycling was well tolerated by the participants in this study and demonstrated the feasibility of applying FES assistance in children with CP. The use of an auxiliary motor to control cadence was necessary to allow for meaningful assessment of cycling performance in some participants. FES-assisted cycling resulted in increased cadence, power output, and heart rates and decreased variability in cycling performance compared with volitional cycling without FES assistance. Such improvements in cycling ability with the application of FES assistance may make cycling for fitness attainable for individuals with CP who have impaired cycling ability.
4.1. Application of FES Assistance
All participants were able to tolerate the application of FES and complete testing. Only one participant (participant 1) had previous experience with surface electrical stimulation while the other three did not. Unlike in individuals with complete SCI who are unable to volitionally contribute to the cycling task, our participants were able to cycle volitionally, although inefficiently, and were provided with visual feedback on the computer screen to encourage cycling at a target cadence or power output (Figure 2). The use of this feedback system may also have applications in studies involving children with incomplete SCI or poststroke because these individuals may have some ability to contribute to the cycling task . In a recent study by Trevisi et al., participants with CP were asked to not contribute to the cycling effort and to allow the cycle to move their legs during the passive cycling and FES cycling phases . Although the authors did find that FES in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation led to greater improvements in quadriceps strength and motor control than traditional rehabilitation alone, these gains may have been even greater had the participants trained using volitional effort combined with FES assistance. In addition, unlike the stationary ergometers used in previously published studies on FES cycling in individuals with CP [41, 42], the tricycle-based system in this study is capable of overground applications .
4.2. The Use of an Auxiliary Hub Motor (Participants 3 and 4)
This work demonstrated that not all children with CP are able to pedal a tricycle without assistance. The use of the auxiliary hub motor allowed us to run quantitative exercise tests at clearly defined power increments. The work of Johnston et al. and our own pilot work have demonstrated the erratic cycling patterns used by children with CP of GMFCS levels III and IV [21, 24]. By using the auxiliary hub motor, we were able to quantify cycling performance in individuals with poor cycling ability. This information is difficult or impossible to gather without the use of the motor assistance due to the low, erratic, or negative work rates. For example, participant 3 was unable to cycle at a target power output of 0 Watts without motor assistance. Thus, he did not have the strength and coordination to volitionally cycle while working against only the resistance of his own legs. This resistance can be thought of as retarding torque which can be caused by muscle coactivation and muscle spasm, friction from the cycle drive train, and inertial resistance from the mass of the limbs. The cycling system, motor, and software, however, allowed us to collect power output data, despite the fact that the power output was less than 0 W. We discovered that during passive cycling, with the motor propelling the individual’s legs, the power recorded was −8 W, indicating that the motor assistance required to passively move his limbs through the revolution was 8 W (Figure 6). With the use of the auxiliary motor and software, we were able to determine that the individual can contribute approximately 4 W of cycling effort for a net power output of −4 W. The contributing effort of the individual would be immeasurable with a nonmotorized system because of the inability to record negative power output for the individual unable to complete a crank revolution without motor assistance.
4.3. Cycling Performance
Using FES-assisted cycling technology in adolescents with CP is a novel translational approach from the treatment of individuals with SCI [24, 25]. The results demonstrated that FES-assisted cycling can be used to facilitate cycling in children who cannot cycle independently (Figure 5). Although in some cases the application of FES produced immediate increases in power output (Figure 5(a)), in others it took several minutes to see a significant increase in power (Figure 6). In the participant who required a few minutes of FES assistance to demonstrate increased power output (Figure 6), however, the early phase of active FES-assisted cycling also demonstrated a decrease in his resistive torque (he was fighting the passive movement of his legs less than in the volitional test).
4.3.1. Incremental Load Tests
The application of FES assistance led to increased peak power output and heart rate during incremental cycling tests (Figures 3(a) and 3(b)). This participant also maintained a higher average heart rate when cycling with FES assistance (Figure 3(d)). The data from this participant demonstrates that FES assistance can facilitate an elevated heart rate while cycling. Thus, we hypothesize that FES-assisted cycling training has the potential to allow children with CP to cycle more vigorously and achieve therapeutic levels of effort which could result in improved cardiovascular fitness in individuals with CP who are not able to exercise in a traditional manner [12, 16–18].
Additionally, FES assistance also decreased the variability in cycling cadence and power output. Decreased variability in cadence signifies improved cycling performance and better potential for carryover into prolonged endurance cycling and overground cycling applications.
4.3.2. Constant Load Tests
Participants performing constant load tests also demonstrated increased power output and decreased variability in cadence and power output, which were immediate, when FES assistance was applied (Figures 4 and 6). In participant 3, the power output recorded in the volitional effort test (Figure 6—blue trace) decreases following the passive cycling phase; thus the motor had to work harder to turn the crank when the individual was helping than it did when he was resting and allowed the motor to move his legs passively. This observation demonstrates participant 3’s inefficiency and unproductive volitional cycling ability, and we hypothesize that this is due to the increased coactivation and mechanical inefficiency of cycling which results in a lower net torque and an increase in the resistive torque. The decrease in power output observed in the volitional test (Figure 6—blue trace) was not present when FES assistance was applied to assist with muscle contraction timing (Figure 6—red trace). This participant was able to use less resistive torque when the FES assistance was applied. We hypothesize that with further training and FES assistance, this participant may have the potential to begin to produce positive torque and power output when cycling with the use of the auxiliary hub motor. Although the differences between FES-assisted and volitional cycling conditions were not statistically different, we anticipate that changes would be present with a larger sample size.
The conclusions on the application of FES assistance on cycling in children with CP are limited due to the small sample size and the pilot nature of this preliminary work. The investigators acknowledge the risk of selection bias because (1) the participants were not randomly selected, (2) participants were required to have sufficient cognition and communication skills to participate in testing and training procedures, and (3) patients and families volunteering to participate may not be representative of the general population of children with CP. In addition, due to participant availability, not all participants completed a full series of constant load and incremental tests with and without FES assistance. This work was also limited in that metabolic data were not captured to provide additional insight on oxygen consumption and metabolic efficiency during cycling tests with and without FES assistance.
The objectives of this study were to (1) adapt methods and assess the feasibility of applying FES cycling technology in adolescents with CP, (2) determine methods of performing cycling tests in adolescents with CP of GMFCS levels III-IV, and (3) evaluate the immediate effects of FES assistance on cycling performance. Functional electrical stimulation-assisted cycling was tolerated well and resulted in increased cadence, power output, and heart rates and decreased variability in cycling performance. Such improvements in cycling ability with the application of FES assistance may make cycling for fitness attainable for individuals with CP with impaired cycling ability. The use of an auxiliary motor to control cadence may be necessary to perform quantitative cycling tests in individuals with CP with poor cycling ability. This study was designed to evaluate FES-assisted cycling as a method of improving cycling ability and to develop evaluation methods for use in future studies designed to assess potential benefits of this type of exercise intervention. Novel techniques such as FES-assisted cycling have the potential to provide a method for exercise and fitness for individuals with CP whose physical impairments limit their level of physical activity. With FES-assisted training and the immediate improvement in cycling ability it produces, there is the potential for carryover into overground cycling to provide recreational opportunities for individuals with CP. Future work will focus on determining the optimum stimulation settings for this approach and an evaluation of the effect of FES-assisted cycling training on cycling and cardiovascular performance.
A. T. Harrington submitted this paper as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree at the University of Delaware. This paper was supported in part by The Foundation for Physical Therapy PODS II Scholarship (Tokay Harrington); Shriners Hospital for Children Fellowship Grant 10650 (McRae), Shriners Hospitals for Children Research Grant 9159, and NIH Grant HD062588 (S. C. K. Lee). In addition, the authors thank Jenny Lee and Stephen Capella for assistance with data collection and Dr. Stuart Binder-Macleod for support in study design and interpretation of data.
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CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER
Interview With Syrian Ambassador to United States Imad Moustapha; Interview With Former 9/11 Commissioners John Lehman, Lee Hamilton
Aired June 12, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, GUEST HOST: It's noon in Washington, 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, 7 p.m. in Damascus, Syria, and 8 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us for "LATE EDITION."
Wolf is off today. I'm John King.
We'll talk with U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee members, Chuck Hagel and Diane Feinstein in just a few moments. But first, let's get a check of what's in the news right now.
KING: Thanks, Fredericka.
And now to a report you'll see only here on CNN. A major offensive under way against insurgents in Iraq is over. CNN senior Baghdad correspondent, Jane Arraf, is embedded with U.S. troops. She joins us now via videophone from Camp Sykes (ph) military base in northwestern Iraq.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, that particular operation may be over but the fight against insurgents, of course, continues, particularly here in northwestern Iraq.
Now, in Tal Afar, what we've seen is a city that has been under siege, essentially held hostage by insurgents, a city where people are afraid to go to the hospital, where mothers are afraid to send children to school. U.S. and Iraqi forces have been rounding up those suspected insurgents.
And operations continue, as well, in other parts of this huge territory, including the Syrian border.
We spoke just a little while ago John, to the Marine commander in that area who is visiting here. It's Colonel Steven Davis, who is head of regimental combat team II. He says that they have been chasing those insurgents all over the territory. But in case of recent air strike, where they believe they killed at least 40 of them, he says, that's not an offensive. They got lucky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COL. STEVEN DAVIS, CO, REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM II: You have a fairly elusive enemy. And we spent a lot of time trying to find out where he is. And our efforts were successful yesterday. We're able to find a gathering of them and we're able to bring the combined arms effects available in the joint inventory out here. It's a pretty good effect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: What that means is air strikes, helicopters and planes that launched hours of strikes on what they believe to be a safe house believe that there were foreign fighters in there but no detailed description yet of actually who they believe that they killed in there -- John.
KING: Jane Arraf, thank you for that report from Camp Sykes and your continued courage. Take care.
And now to Lebanon, where a third and critical phase of voting in that country's parliamentary elections has just ended. CNN's bureau chief is following developments, and Brent Sadler joins us now with the details.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, John.
They're calling this on the ground, this third round of voting, the mother of all battles here. Why? Because it really is a crucial test of wills between a once-united Christian opposition to Syria's troop presence in this country and others who took part in that so- called cedar revolution when hopes for an independent democratic state were blossoming back in March.
What's happened since then is that the Christian opposition has split, a former army commander called General Michel Aoun has gone it alone, and surprisingly, he's teamed up with pro-Syrians, having spent 15 years in exile in France after being driven out of Lebanon by his then-Syrian foes.
He says he's happy to see the Syrians out, but now he's targeting what he calls old guard corruption and nepotism. That means he's gunning at least in the electoral balloting for the Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
Another torch-bearer of the Lebanese opposition movement, Jumblat one of many opposition leaders who claim their lives are in danger by what they say is attempts by Syrian intelligence still to undermine this election even though several weeks ago the Syrians pulled out their troops and pulled out, they said, their intelligence services from Lebanon.
The United States has made it quite clear they're unhappy with what's going on here. They want to see a team of U.N. experts back to verify that Syrian withdrawal. At the same time, Lebanese are concerned about possible more violence and very concerned about where this election is going to lead to, and whether or not it will succeed in wresting control from parliament by Syria's allies here -- John.
KING: Brent Sadler for us in Beirut on a dramatic day tracking the Lebanese elections. Thank you very much, Brent.
And President Bush is urging Congress to renew the U.S. Patriot Act. The anti-terrorism law was approved shortly after the September 11th attacks. The president's push comes as a newly released Justice Department report details significant intelligence failures by the FBI in the months leading up to 9/11.
Joining us now, two key members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.
Welcome, both senators, to "LATE EDITION."
We will get to the Patriot Act debate in just a moment, but I want to begin with a debate that's been going on in this country for some time that seems to be reaching its boiling point. And that is whether to keep open or close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Let me just simply start with a rare event here in Washington, a yes-or-no question.
To you first, Senator Hagel, should it be kept open?
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: I don't know. I know that's not yes or no, but I don't think it's that simple, John. Just give me ten seconds.
HAGEL: First, we've got a lot of people running around the world who want to do great damage to this country and other nations. We do need some kind of a facility to hold these people.
But this can't be indefinite. This can't be a situation where we hold them forever and ever and ever until they die of old age. What are our plans here?
Second, we need to make sure that whatever we do is in some confluence with and association with the other nations of the world. Obviously, the accords that we are party to, in agreements and how we treat prisoners, obviously our laws, there's an image, there's a diplomatic dynamic to this, too. It may well be to close Guantanamo Bay if we have an alternative would be the best thing for all of us.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Yes, I wish it were just as simple as that. I think if you ask the question, I would say I would lean toward closing it, but I don't know all the answers at this stage.
Guantanamo is not the only place we have people. The key is to find out exactly where we do have people and how many. I believe there are about 520 at Guantanamo. I know several scores have been released.
There is some evidence, I think, that the Geneva Conventions have not always been followed. I think what Guantanamo does to us abroad negatively is enormous, and that has to be taken into the equation.
So we will begin hearings on Wednesday in the Judiciary Committee on the subject.
My own view is that we need to take a very good look at it, and we need to come up with some recommendation to the administration, not that they listen, but for our consciences and I think for the purposes of justice, we need to do that.
KING: I want to move on to some of the specific questions in just a second. But you mentioned not that they listen when it comes to the administration. If you listened this past week to the administration it's not quite clear what they are thinking.
The president in one interview said that all options were on the table. He seemed to be saying they were considering closing it at least.
His press secretary backed that up. But I want you to listen quickly to the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who of course is in charge of Guantanamo Bay, and he was asked while on a trip overseas, is the administration thinking about shutting it down? Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I know of no one in the U.S. government, in the executive branch that's considering closing Guantanamo. Unfortunately, something that's necessary in the world we're living in, but it's something that the folks who are in charge of it are doing it in a very professional and humane way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: As you try to answer the question -- and I'll start with you, Senator Feinstein -- is it somewhat hard to answer the question when the defense secretary says he knows of no one in the United States government considering closing it down, and the president of the United States says he's looking at other options.
FEINSTEIN: Well, I can't speak to that, but I know people are looking at that. I know that's the reason for the judiciary hearing on Wednesday. I suspect there are rumbles in the House as well.
I think, as story after story appears and goes all over the world, it certainly has a life of its own in terms of determining the credibility of the United States.
You know, one of the things is, we cannot be hypocritical in our values. We have to practice our values universally. And the question always comes: How many of these people held are really terrorists, and how many of them are just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
There needs to be a defined process that sorts that out, and has some public part of it, so that people gain confidence that what the United States is doing with people they pick up in communities, on a battlefield, wherever, are treated with the values that we say we treat people with.
KING: Your Democratic colleague makes clear that Congress is looking at this issue, but are you aware, Senator, of any formal administration review, consideration of shutting it down, or do you just have what some would attribute to political calculations, what the president and others at the White House said this past week?
HAGEL: I'm not aware of any administration review under way, but the president did say what he said, as you have just noted, and I think that's correct, to look at alternatives.
The fact is that we are losing the diplomatic war around the world. We're losing the image war around the world.
And I think it's important to look at the wider lens angle assessment of this. We've got a world now that is represented by a global generational shift from a post-World War II generation to a post-Cold War generation, and that has presented new challenges to America, to our purpose, to our image, who we are, what we believe. And I'm not sure we're factoring all those dynamics into our broader policy.
And certainly Guantanamo is one that's hurt us. It's identifiable with, for right or wrong, a part of America that people in the world believe is a power, an empire that pushes people around, we do it our way, we don't live up to our commitments to multilateral institutions. That's not I'm saying what I believe, but that's the other end of the optics.
KING: I want to spend a little time on this, because there's new evidence, if you will, for this debate, new fodder for this debate today, in "Time" magazine.
They have an exclusive report on -- they call "The Treatment," but interrogation logs of Detainee 063, who's a gentleman by the name of Mohammed Al-Qahtani, and he's not just any prisoner. They believe he could have been the 20th hijacker on 9/11. So obviously he is someone you want to get information from, if he has such information.
Among the material in these interrogation logs is this sound bite.
I want to read you this sound -- this little piece of this, and ask you if this is what the United States government should be doing. You mentioned the diplomatic fallout. You mentioned it as well.
This is part of the interrogation.
"The log notes, he is given 3 1/2 bags of IV fluid. He starts to moan, and asks again to be allowed to relieve himself. Yes, he is told, but first he must answer questions. When Al-Qahtani again requests his promised bathroom break, he is told to go in his pants. Humiliatingly, he does."
HAGEL: Well, no, it's not appropriate. It is not at all within the standards of who we are as a civilized people, what our laws are, who we represent. Senator Feinstein talked about hypocrisy. Now, if that in fact went on -- I don't have any details on this, John. I'm reacting to what you just said -- But if in fact we are treating prisoners this way, it's not only wrong, but dangerous, and very dumb, and very short-sighted.
At a time that we need to reach out to the world, we need to enlist the world, we need to form alliances to battle these insidious forces against us and other nations, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, this is not how you win the people of the world over to our side, especially the Muslim world.
So if this is going on, it needs to stop, and I'm very glad that we're going to be having hearings in the Judiciary Committee, we'll have more hearings in the Intelligence Committee, Foreign Relations Committee. Dick Lugar's got some of these hearings scheduled.
We need to get into this, because, if this in fact is going on, in the end it will do great damage in credibility to the United States.
KING: Let me give you another example before I bring you in, Senator, one more example from this specific detainee.
"Over the next month, the interrogators' experiment with other tactics: They strip-search him and briefly make him stand nude. They tell him to bark like a dog and growl at pictures of terrorists. They hang pictures of scantily-clad women around his neck."
Now, some of this, senator, came at a period in which Secretary Rumsfeld had authorized additional tactics, tougher tactics, in the interrogation to try to get information. Are those tactics appropriate, and who should be held accountable if your answer's no?
FEINSTEIN: Well, I was reading the story. And it presents a kind of ludicrous view of the United States, I must say.
Here's a detainee that they think may have been the 20th hijacker. However, to the best of my knowledge, there is no information that suggests any of the 19 hijackers knew what they were going to do when they came to the United States. So there has to be a plausible view that this man didn't know what he was going to do if he was sent to the United States to do that.
Therefore, to carry out this kind of behavior, when he is being checked three times a day by medics, which indicates that they must fear for his condition. And obviously, he has a strength of will that is extraordinarily strong, enough to bite an IV tube in half when they tried to give him intravenous solutions, I just think it's a terrible mistake. I don't know what tree we're barking up or why we're doing this.
KING: ((OFF-MIKE) says -- the administration says -- it is operating in the spirit of the Geneva Convention, which says there should be no outrages on personal dignity. To ask a Muslim man to stand nude, bark like a dog, and have pictures of scantily-clad women around his neck, does that cross your threshold of outrage of personal dignity?
HAGEL: Well, of course it does. Any straight-thinking American, any straight-thinking citizen of the world, it does. And again, my point is...
KING: Who's responsible?
HAGEL: Well, I don't have all the facts, John. And we'll get the facts. But there is a culture that develops in any institution. And a lot of what I've heard the last couple of years, the top officials of the Pentagon saying, "Well, we didn't order any of this. We didn't know about this."
Come on guys. I was in Vietnam in 1968. I carried a rifle. I saw a culture develop that was a very bad culture that ended in disaster for this country.
And this is all adding up to a very dangerous drift in this country toward somebody not paying to all the pieces here -- the bigger pieces. Not only is it going to end in disaster for us and humility for this country, but we're going to present to the world a very dangerous world if we don't wake up and smell the coffee here.
And to say that the secretary of defense and anyone else, "Well, I don't know about it or that's not what we intended," there's a culture in anything that develops. It's a culture of leadership or there's not a culture of leadership. Then there's a vacuum of leadership.
If there's a vacuum, something will fill that vacuum. This kind of stuff fills a vacuum. It needs to be stopped. We have been reassured over the last two years it's not happening when in fact it is happening.
FEINSTEIN: I think, too, if you put people in very isolated circumstances, you certainly have mixed messages coming from the command structure both in the Pentagon as well as in the field. I think this has been pretty clearly established.
So you have people in isolated circumstances.
The Red Cross can't come in at will. Nobody goes in at will.
I've been to Guantanamo. I went in the early days with Secretary Rumsfeld. I know the physical surrounding and it is completely isolated. I think that's a healthy place for this kind of activity to go on.
And I think this kind of activity is, in the main, counterproductive. And so I don't understand why we don't learn from it.
So there'll be a lot of questions to asked particularly about this "Time" story on Wednesday in the Judiciary Committee. And I don't know why we don't learn. I don't know why we didn't learn from Begram (ph). I don't know why we didn't learn from Abu Ghraib. But here we are in Guantanamo now with many of the same things surfacing.
KING: A lot more ground to cover with our two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators Feinstein and Hagel. "LATE EDITION" needs to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
KING: Our Web question of the week asks this: Has U.S. intelligence against terrorist threats improved since 9/11?
Cast your vote at cnn.com\lateedition. We'll have the results later in the program.
But straight ahead, more with Senators Chuck Hagel and Dianne Feinstein.
You're watching "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk.
KING: Welcome back to "LATE EDITION." We're talking with Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel and California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. Before we continue, before the break, we were discussing the controversy over Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
This response from the Department of Defense to the new "Time" magazine story detailing the tactics used to interrogate one key suspect at Guantanamo Bay.
The Defense Department says in part, "Qahtani's interrogation during this period was guided by a very detailed plan and conducted by trained professionals motivated by a desire to gain actionable intelligence to include information that might prevent additional attacks on America."
So the Defense Department defending its conduct at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That story will continue to ripple in the days ahead, including in the hearings Senator Feinstein just spoke about.
I want to move our conversation now onto a request of the president for Congress to renew, and in fact, expand the so-called Patriot Act, the powers given to the government after 9/11.
In making his case several times this week, on one point, the president invoked the name of one of our guests, trying to make the case that what he wants to do is not so controversial. It couldn't be, he said, because this Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, supported him. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has worked with civil rights group to monitor my administration's use of the Patriot Act, here's what she said. "We've scrubbed the area. And I have no reported abuses." Remember that. The next time you hear someone make an unfair criticism of this important, good law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Is the president fairly invoking your comments?
FEINSTEIN: Yes, that's true at the time, in a Judiciary hearing, we had received 21,000 complaints. And we took a good look at them; they're all computerized. And we found that the great bulk of them were related to something that was proposed, called Patriot 2, which never came to the Hill. And all the rest involved another immigration bill.
And then we called the ACLU and we asked, "Are there any specific abuses?" At that time, they said, "No."
KING: And what about this time?
FEINSTEIN: And then we had the hearing. Now, since then, the ACLU wrote me a letter with 11 specific points.
We did look at that letter very carefully. As the president said, we did scrub it. We were not able to come up with anything that really indicated an abuse of the Patriot Act, particularly in those 16 sections that are set to be sunset at the end of this year.
My own view, as one who sat in both Intelligence and Judiciary for many years now on this, is that we should reauthorize the Patriot Act.
But what happened in the Intelligence Committee this past week was that powers were added to the Patriot Act which the FBI has not asked for and which I do not believe serve the nation well by granting, nor do I believe they're necessary, specifically an administrative subpoena power with no check by anybody.
And I had an amendment which said that -- if an FBI field agent wanted to use an administrative subpoena, they'd check with the U.S. attorney, who would say yes or no, and then go ahead in an emergency circumstance.
KING: Does the FBI need that power, Senator Hagel?
HAGEL: Well, I think it does. I think it is important that they have some immediacy here to deal with these threats that come up quickly. The pace of terrorism and threats are so dramatically different than what we've ever seen.
At the same time, to Dianne's point, there needs to be a clear definition and line here drawn as to what this means. Now, one of the things that we did is we put a sunset provision in some of these new additional powers, which I think we do need. I was for that. Let's see how it works here. Let's see, in fact, if it is being or will be abused. And if it is, then we're going to review it.
Congress is not going to get very far away from this issue no matter what passes. I can guarantee you that Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, Armed Services will all have very specific oversight responsibilities.
KING: Well, the Patriot Act is one response of the federal government to 9/11. One of the 9/11 Commission recommendations is that you all get your act better together, if you will.
And one of the Commissioners, Jamie Gorelick, was out this past week saying one of her greatest disappointments is that she does not believe that Congress is heeding the lesson in reforming and streamlining how you deal with intelligence, how you deal with threat information. Let's listen to Commissioner Gorelick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE GORELICK, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: I would say it is the unanimous view of the former commissioners that the most glaring failure of our recommendations has been in the adoption of Congressional reforms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Fair criticism?
HAGEL: Well, I think it's fair criticism. But I think the Congress has moved to address a number of these very specific recommendations.
I think they were good recommendations. Do we need to do more, will we do more? Of course. But I think we need to find a center of gravity here in equilibrium, balancing always the rights of individuals with the protection of the security of this country.
FEINSTEIN: Well, if I were chairman of Intelligence, I'd do it differently. I'd carry out our oversight in a different way.
Having said that, obviously I'm not.
Let me go back for just a moment to the administrative subpoena. This is really important.
Under the administrative subpoena, this gives an FBI field agent real fishing power, to go out and to collect information on people, really with no relationship to anything else, and that's what concerns me.
That's why picking up the phone and saying just as they might to a judge, "Look, I have some information that so and so may be doing this, I need to go in, I need to get these hotel records right now." Bingo! He'd get the subpoena, no question.
But, without that, an individual agent can go in and say any time -- let's use the hotel again as an example -- I need a record of all your guests, and I need to see with specificity what they're charging in their phone records, and this kind of thing.
Now, this is what differentiates us from Soviet-style intelligence-gathering, is the check and the balance. And that's what really upset me, Chuck, when the committee voted -- well, I can't say, I can't talk about how the Intelligence Committee voted.
FEINSTEIN: And so we'll have another crack at it in Judiciary.
KING: We have short time, but I want to ask you both about something else the Intelligence Committee might be able to help us with.
We are of course watching this very troubling insurgency in Iraq. We had Jane Arraf on at the top of the program. After the elections, there was some optimism. Now there's, at a minimum, stagnation, if not more trouble.
One of your colleagues from the House, Curt Weldon, was on the "Meet the Press" program earlier today, and he's talking about how the United States needs to do more to deal with the insurgency. He says we talk a lot about where the threat is coming from, but perhaps not in the right way. I want you to listen to Congressman Weldon, quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CURT WELDON (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Syria may have the largest number from outside of Iraq in country, but Iran overwhelmingly has the quality behind the insurgency. And we've got to come to grips with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You have access to the intelligence. Is Iran the bigger problem than Syria, when it comes to supporting and encouraging an insurgency that is not only killing Iraqis, but still killing Americans as well?
HAGEL: Well, I would answer it this way. And Dianne and I need to be careful, as she has noted, on answering some of these questions.
I have always believed that you will never resolve any issue in the Middle East unless it is a regional concept, a regional dynamic. You can't think, believe that you are going to democratize Iraq without having Iran in some way be part of this larger concept. The Palestinian-Israeli dynamic, all of these pieces are in the regional arc of interests.
Now, each must be dealt with individually, of course, but this is a good example of what Weldon's talking about, the Syrians, the Iranians, you've got all these different pieces floating around. We don't have good intelligence on who's driving the insurgency.
It's complicated. It's deep. Many of us warned this administration before we ever put a boot on the ground there that we were going to be dealing with this kind of thing. We didn't have plans for it. And we are now where we are.
KING: "We didn't have plans for it," he says, and "We don't have good intelligence" on the insurgency -- not terribly reassuring to the parent of -- who has a son or daughter sitting in Iraq still for God knows, a year, two, three more.
FEINSTEIN: Well, let me respond to it this way. There's no question but there are connections between Shias in Iraq and Iran. There's no question, the head of the winning Shia party spent 22 years in Iran. His father was an imam in Iran. So there are these connections.
Now, the Iraqis have said, "Well, the Shia are very independent here." Nonetheless, there are these connections.
The driving force in the insurgency is Sunni. Let there be no doubt about it. This is why it is so important that politically there be an accommodation to the Sunni minority.
There's an argument over how many votes they should have in the parliament. That argument has to get settled fast. And the Sunnis have to be brought into the decision-making power, if only for a very practical reason. This is the party that has run Iraq and has the background and the institutional knowledge on many of the things that has to be done.
So, you're never going to get a constitution passed unless you have significant Sunni input.
I think this is the biggest thing. I think the success of Iraq to a great extent is driven by the stability that this new government can bring about. If this new government can't, with our help, stabilize Iraq, provide sanitation and sewage for the people, stop the crime that's going on, provide basic safety, then we're in for a deep, dark time.
KING: I need to end it on that point.
We need to move on, but Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, thank you very much.
Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, thank you as well.
And up next, a check of the hour's top stories, including today's railroad bombing in Russia.
Then, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government under fire. We'll talk with Syria's ambassador to the United States about his country's role in Lebanon and Iraq. More "LATE EDITION" straight ahead.
KING: Welcome back to "LATE EDITION."
The United States is keeping up its pressure on Lebanon's neighbor, Syria. In addition to reports that Syrian intelligence officials are still operating in neighboring Lebanon, the Bush administration says it has, quote, "credible information" that Syria is targeting Lebanese politicians and activists for assassination.
Here now to discuss these allegations is Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha.
Mr. Ambassador, welcome to "LATE EDITION."
I want to begin with that very serious damning allegation from the United States government that, despite its promise to pull its troops and to pull its intelligence operatives out of Lebanon, that Syria is now actively targeting, not just for intimidation but assassination, members of the anti-Syrian opposition in Lebanon right now. I want you to listen to this comment from the White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There are reports that we have been hearing about for some time about a Syrian hit list targeting key Lebanese public figures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: A hit list, Mr. Ambassador? Is there a list that the Syrian government has targeting politicians and activists in Lebanon that might not have a favorable view of your government, a hit list for assassination?
IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIA'S AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: I would say it's a shame that the world's unique superpower, the United States of America, will degrade itself to this level.
What I want to say is the following. The same person who created or fabricated the story about the hit list used to create and fabricate wild stories about the United States of America itself two years ago to a degree that the United States revoked his U.S. visa.
Now this same person who is involved in the political process today in Lebanon has created the story about Syria compiling a hit list.
And the United States who used to say we will never give credit to his comments about us, about the United States and comment on them, now suddenly you have the president of the United States saying, I read in a newspaper, in the New York Times and The Washington Post that this hit list has been compiled. You go to the New York Times and The Washington Post and you read that one Lebanese opposition leader has said he has information. Do you instigate against a whole country based on unsubstantiated wild stories? I think this is really -- this is really has exceeded all limits of wisdom and of logic.
What we say in Syria is, we have made strategic decision. We have withdrawn from Lebanon completely and categorically every Syrian...
KING: Let me stop you just there for a minute. Excuse me. Let me stop you there. I don't mean to be rude, but you say withdrawn completely.
KING: In the past week there have been some reports that intelligence operatives have come back in.
MOUSTAPHA: I will tell you this. These reports are on one hand unbased, on the other hand as far as Syria is concerned this is so important for everybody to know. These continuous -- the day we completed our withdrawal from Lebanon, the very same day the United States repeatedly continued saying from the very early stages, no, Syria has not withdrawn from Lebanon. Syria has agents there. We have information and reports that Syria still has agents there.
This is untrue. This is just as credible as the story of Iraq's WMDs before the war.
KING: It is not just the United States, sir, that at least raising questions. I want to read you from the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
He says, quote, "We are now receiving reports that there may be elements that are still there. And we are considering the possible return of the verification team to ascertain what's going on."
If the United Nations sends teams into Lebanon, would they be welcome to come to Syria as well, and would your government cooperate fully with them?
MOUSTAPHA: Thank you for asking me this very important question. I want the American people to know the truth behind this story.
The day the United Nations released their report by Kofi Annan saying as far as the United Nations is concerned, Syria has absolutely and completely withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, and the security agents and everybody, everybody that has to do with the Syrian government from Lebanon, immediately, the same day, the United States immediately started exerting pressure on the United Nations.
They were very upset with this report, the United Nations report, and on a daily basis, they were telling the secretary general that he should not have issued such a report. And that they have information that Syria is still in Lebanon. Now, the secretary general has this pressure on him by the world's unique superpower. What can he do? He can only do the only reasonable thing.
He has just announced that because he continues to receive this reports, he will send another investigation team. Fine for Syria. Actually, his envoy is today in Damascus. We welcome him.
This is very similar to the stories we used to have when the United Nations would say Iraq does not have a WMD arsenal, and America would say, "No, we have credible reports. We exactly know Iraq has WMDs." The American people should be aware about this, because this is a sinister campaign against Syria that is unjustified, inaccurate, and unfair.
KING: Let's move forward, sir. They are counting the votes in Lebanon today, the third and critical round of the parliamentary elections. If a government comes to power that is, quote-unquote, "anti-Syria," that has opposed any Syrian influence or presence in Lebanon, will your country reach out and try to reach a friendly relationship with that government, even though there might be some tensions, or will there be an effort by Syria to isolate that government and perhaps intimidate and undermine that government?
MOUSTAPHA: Would you agree with me for the sake of the argument that it's in our strategic interest to have the best possible relations with Lebanon?
KING: One would assume your neighbors, one would assume that is the case, sir, but as you know, there has been a 30-year accusation of unfair influence.
MOUSTAPHA: No, forget about the American accusations. Let me tell you this.
In the past 20, 30 days, the Lebanese have had fair and free elections. And even the Lebanese opposition, who used to criticize Syria's presence in Lebanon, now are saying we only want the best possible relations with Syria. This is what Syria wants from Lebanon.
What worries us a lot is that there are third parties who will be very unhappy if an emerging government in Lebanon and emerging new parliamentary majority in Lebanon is saying we want the best possible relations with Syria.
Go and read all the statements by all the Lebanese leaders, opposition and those who are loyal to the president. All of them have one thing in common. Regardless of the tensions between us and Syria in the past, we only want the best possible relations with Syria.
And what we believe today is what we are hearing about these allegations that we're going to hit and kill those Lebanese leaders or such things, on one hand are preposterous. But on the other hand, they explain to you what's happening. There are forces that do not want to see a good, friendly, brotherly relation between Syria and Lebanon. And they are creating these myth and these stories about Syria going to kill Lebanese leaders.
KING: Mr. Ambassador, we appreciate your thoughts and your time today on "LATE EDITION." Unfortunately, we need to end the conversation there. But you're always welcome back, sir. Thank you very much.
MOUSTAPHA: Thank you.
KING: And coming up, North Korea on the nuclear brink. What can the United States do to turn things around? We'll get perspective from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen. Stay with us. "LATE EDITION" will be right back.
KING: Still much more coming up in the next hour of "LATE EDITION." We'll ask this. Is the United States following through on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. We'll get a progress report from former panel members Lee Hamilton and John Layman. But first, a check of what's making news right now, including an update on a French journalist held hostage in Iraq. "LATE EDITION" continues at the top of the hour.
But first, Beijing's Tiananmen Square is infamous: the events of 1989, when a spark of democracy was brutally extinguished by a hard- line Communist government.
As part of CNN's anniversary series, then and now, we look back at one of the demonstrators and see where he is today.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tiananmen Square, April 1989. It began peacefully. Beijing University Students mourning the death of a former government leader who supported the student movement for democracy. But the students' memorial turned into a peoples' protest that lasted nearly six weeks. Wang Dan was one of the student leaders.
WANG DAN, FORMER PROTEST LEADER: I saw the power of the people in that moment, the really big power of the people. This is the first time in the history of the Republic of China that people go to the street without allowance from the government.
ZAHN: The Chinese government imposed martial law at the end of May, but the protests continued until troops moved in on June 4th. It's still isn't known how many people were jailed, injured or killed.
WANG: Those people who died, I really feel deep sorrow for them because I was the leader. I led them to the square.
ZAHN: Wang Dan was imprisoned twice for his actions, and eventually released into exile to the U.S. He's published 17 books, and is studying for his Phd at Harvard.
WANG: If I have a chance to go back to China, of course I still will be involved in political activities or other activities, and try to promote human right and democracy. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Welcome back. We'll talk with two former members of the 9/11 Commission in just a moment, but first, let's get a quick check of what's making news right now.
KING: Thank you, Fredricka.
The 9/11 Commission disbanded in August, following the release of its official 567-page report, but the book isn't closed on whether the United States government is doing enough to make the country safer.
Joining us here in Washington to continue this discussion is former 9/11 Commission vice chairman Lee Hamilton, and, from his farm in Pennsylvania, former 9/11 Commission member John Lehman.
Gentlemen, welcome to "LATE EDITION."
I want to get to the continuing work of your commission in just a minute, but I want to draw on your insight to a question in the news today that's about the detainee center, the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and whether it should be left open, in light of additional revelations about how detainees are treated there.
Let me start with a threshold question, and first to you, Secretary Lehman, should it be closed?
JOHN LEHMAN, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: No, I don't believe it should be closed. I think it needs to have the proper oversight and discipline, but we need a center to deal with these terrorists, to see that they are properly interrogated, and the information that we've already received from them has saved hundreds if not thousands of lives already, and we need to continue to do that, but it must be done under due process, and meeting all of the ethical and international standards.
KING: Congressman Hamilton?
LEE HAMILTON, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: I think the first step -- before you can make up your mind whether it should be closed or not, you have to know what's happening and what the facts are.
And this is an amazing situation. We've had very little transparency, no accountability. I have 50 questions on my mind about what's happening at Guantanamo and with other detainees.
So we need more accountability here, and, as John suggested a moment ago, we need another structure so that you have reasonable fairness and due process in dealing with these detainees. You can't just lock them up and keep them there forever.
So I think that we need to learn a lot more before we can make a judgment about whether it should be closed or opened.
KING: Both of you say we need to learn a lot more. Both of you say we need more transparency.
But this is not new. We have had, over the years, allegations of abuses, the recent report on whether or not people are treated with respect, the allegations about how the Koran is treated, and now, in "Time" magazine this morning, an exclusive look at an interrogation log of one detainee -- a very significant detainee, a man they believed could have been the 20th hijacker. But in the course of his interrogation, this is a man who was told to urinate in his pants, this is a man who was made to stand nude, with pictures of scantily clad women strapped around his neck.
I want to ask you about that in the context of this quote from your report to the nation, the 9/11 Commission report, in which you said: "The United States should offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors."
Now, understanding this is a man they very much believed they could get significant information from, does that still justify -- and to you first, Congressman Hamilton -- treating him in that way?
HAMILTON: No, it does not.
I stand by what the report said: We treat people humanely. We treat people with respect for the rule of law. The United States has taken a terrible blow because of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo because of what's leaked out over a period of time.
Fundamentally, the president and the Congress must create a system, a fair system, that deals with these detainees. You don't have enough evidence to convict them in a court of law. On the other hand, they can kill you. How do you treat those people?
We just kept putting off the question of how you deal with them. And it's time now that the policy-makers address it and address it seriously.
KING: Secretary Lehman, I assume you agree with that. But if we're having this conversation on this Sunday morning in June 2005 about the need for assist and the need for transparency, they need to decide how to handle these people, the need for a better way to get out the one whose don't deserve to be there, perhaps a new facility that could handle them, who's responsible for the fact that we're still having this conversation now, that all this has not been dealt with previously?
LEHMAN: Well, I agree with Lee that there's no excuse for breaking our own moral standards and code. And you can adhere to those standards and still do proper interrogation and get the necessary intelligence we need.
I think that the Defense Department should have the primary responsibility for conducting these because they are quasi-prisoners of war and the Defense Department should have the principle responsibility.
But there should be oversight and there should be satisfaction by the administration that the proper standards are being met and that there is due process.
I'm not talking about access to the full panoply of the U.S. courts and the rights of citizens. They are not citizens, and so they need to be dealt with in a military tribunal, but one that is fair and that has due process.
So whether it's done in Guantanamo or somewhere else, it needs to be done and it should be under the purview of the Pentagon with oversight from outside.
KING: Mr. Secretary, let me follow up. If it is under the purview and it should be under the purview of the Pentagon, then is the Pentagon and Secretary Rumsfeld personally to blame for the fact that some of these things apparently have not been dealt with as yet?
LEHMAN: Well, I think that certainly the secretary of defense has to see that this is dealt with. Whether or not people can judge that his responsibility is there for what has happened so far, the real question is: Will he deal with it? Will he straighten it out and see that the proper oversight and safeguards and due process are put in place now?
We shouldn't be worrying about the blame game. We should be worrying about fixing it because, as Lee said, it's doing us terrible damage all over the world and is really hurting the war effort.
KING: Congressman Hamilton, let me play devil's advocate. If I am an American -- a family member of someone who died on 9/11, someone who knows somebody who died on 9/11, or maybe somebody who was lucky and didn't know anyone, didn't have any relatives, but is simply reading this account.
Here's a man who tried to get into the United States of America. He was turned away by a very smart immigration officer. They believe he would have been the 20th hijacker. They ultimately get him into custody. And they use some very unusual, some would say, extreme tactics in interrogating him. I assume many Americans will read this story and say, "Good. This man tried to kill people. He tried to get into this country to kill people. And yes, 9/11 is past but he might know others who can do harm." Do whatever it takes, some might say.
HAMILTON: I agree. I think most Americans would probably react that way.
They know this is a kind of a murky world. They know probably some tactics are being used that would not pass muster in an ordinary American community. It's inherently a very, very difficult problem.
At the end of the day, however, the United States has to be true to its own values. It has to be true to its constitutional processes. I suggested a moment ago we're not sure what the constitutional processes are here for these people because they are in a very special category.
I'd have a hard time spelling out the procedures I think ought to be followed. And you're not dealing with Sunday school teachers here. Many of these people, not all of them, want to kill us.
But keep in mind that 40 percent or 50 percent of the people in Guantanamo were released. We couldn't find they had anything to do with terrorism, and likewise, a large number in other places. So you have to have some system of sorting through this that has a reasonable degree of fairness to it and due process.
KING: I want to bring both of you closer to home, if you will. The fact that both of you are still here and still trying to lead this public discourse is evidence that this debate continues about whether the United States is doing enough, and what it is doing, is it doing it just right in terms of trying to deal with the terrorist threat.
This past week we saw from the FBI an inspector general report that detailed, essentially, that they blew it, that they could have had opportunities, ample opportunities to take at least two of the hijackers off the streets. And had they done so, perhaps they would have learned more.
Anything in that report that is additionally illuminating, if you will, from the work you did on the commission?
HAMILTON: No. We had access to that report. It's a classified report. There's nothing new there so far as we're concerned.
What it does, in effect, is reinforce our findings. The fact of the matter, the agents in Milwaukee or, I guess it was Minneapolis, knew about Moussaui, they knew he was in a flight training school. We knew about the two people out in San Diego, but the information was not shared sufficiently, either vertically within the FBI or horizontally from one agency to another.
So the problem is highlighted by this inspector general's report. It doesn't fundamentally change our own findings.
KING: And Secretary Lehman, are you confident that they are now sharing that information on this day, as opposed to what we see in that report and your report?
LEHMAN: I'm pretty confident they're not sharing it. And that's one of the reasons we have stayed in business as private citizens to continue to track the progress and, in some cases, lack of progress in bringing about these reforms.
And in the case of the FBI and CIA and other elements of the community, there, the stovepipes, the obstacles to sharing are so ingrained, so bureaucratically established that even though there are many, many people of goodwill within those agencies trying to do good and trying to share, it is not yet happening.
And so that is why this DNI that now has been established that we had recommended is so critical, because only he will have the clout to smash those stovepipes and to force people to adhere to the higher good rather than the bureaucratic process.
KING: The DNI, director of national intelligence. Among the topics we will continue in our conversation with Lee Hamilton and John Lehman when we come back from a break.
"LATE EDITION" continues in just a moment. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: My message to the folks here is, "Thanks for being on the front line in protecting America during the war on terror."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: President Bush speaking to staff members at the new National Counter-Terrorism Center, just outside the nation's capital, on Friday. Welcome back. We're talking with former 9/11 Commission members Lee Hamilton and John Lehman.
Gentlemen, let's continue our discussion.
And Secretary Lehman, you were making the point before the break that the work of the commission continues.
Now, that's extraordinary. Usually a commission does its work, it publishes its book or report and it goes out of business. The commissioners decided unanimously to continue your work, in part because you don't see enough being done.
I wanted to ask you, as you continue to hold public hearings, continue to encourage public discourse and action by the administration and the Congress on your recommendations, during the original process, there were complaints the Bush administration was not cooperating, not giving you witnesses, not giving you information from time to time. Are they doing that now, Secretary Lehman? Are you getting full cooperation or do they wish would you go away?
LEHMAN: Well, I think the problem we had in the period of our investigation was not so much that the White House was stone-walling but that the bureaucracy was frequently using the White House to delay and impede our access to what turned out to be very embarrassing information. And ultimately, the White House gave us full access to everything we needed.
Right now, of course, we're not in an official status. We are just private citizens and we're trying to keep the spotlight on the reforms that are so critical if we're going to protect our vulnerabilities in the future.
And so we don't have powers of subpoena. We have requested -- Lee, in fact, along with our chairman, Tom Kean, sent a letter requesting full cooperation. And I think probably Lee would better respond to what kind of help we're getting.
KING: I yield the floor.
HAMILTON: I think we're pleased with the cooperation thus far. We've had no stone-walling at this point. And we had a very forthcoming statement from the White House the other day. So we're pleased.
KING: One of the issues has been the continuing role -- and you've mentioned stovepipe, Secretary Lehman: the need for reform at the FBI. On front page of the New York Times today, an account saying that John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, will have a role in selecting for the FBI its new intelligence chief and that is a cultural change, if you will. A welcome change, Secretary Lehman?
LEHMAN: A crucial change. In fact, it's one of the most encouraging things that we've seen so far since the legislation was passed.
Because in Washington, there are only two sources of power: the power over money and the power over personnel, assignments, and hiring and firing. And we recommended, along with the Silverman-Robb Commission that the DNI must have an equal say in picking and indeed firing the heads of the 15 agencies that make up the intelligence community.
And the most difficult of all to achieve has been the FBI. The FBI has not traditionally played in the community the way the other agencies have. And so to ensure that the power the DNI reaches into the FBI is critical, that whomever directs that new intelligence division and national security division of the FBI owe his job, at least in large measure, to the DNI.
So it's a very big development.
KING: And one of the focus of your discourse going forward is the DNI, the role of the new director of national intelligence.
Mr. Negroponte not on the job very long, Congressman Hamilton, but what is your sense so far of how he has moved and his willingness, if you will, to shake the trees and to ruffle feathers, step on toes, and the White House support for him?
HAMILTON: So far, so good, I think in a word.
We think he has, first of all, sufficient legal authority. Not always completely clear, but by and large, he has sufficient legal authority.
Secondly, the president's statements when he was nominated, when he was sworn in, were very positive about the political backing of the White House for Negroponte. That's good.
There have been moves in the Congress and other places to weaken his authority. And those moves have been turned back. That's encouraging. So it seems to be moving in the right direction. You want a director of national intelligence with full power over budget and over personnel with a power to, as John said, to force sharing of information, to develop the analytical systems you need, to develop the information systems you need, and that's going to take aggressive, strong, robust action by the DNI.
KING: In closing, I want to give each of you an opportunity. In serving on this commission you each earned the respect, if not the admiration, of the American people for your willingness to look at this problem.
As you sit here now as private citizens, as you noted, Secretary Lehman, but continuing this discourse, each of you pick, if you will, the one thing that you recommended that has not been done, that is most important to you.
And I'll begin with you, Secretary Lehman.
LEHMAN: Well, I think Lee and I would probably have the same thing at the top of the list. And that is the failure of Congress to do the fundamental reforms that will enable the DNI and the community to carry out the reforms that we've recommended.
There's been progress. They have done -- not done nothing at all. The House did establish a homeland security committee and now has a homeland security authorization bill. There has been a de facto strengthening of the intelligence communities -- intelligence committees in both houses, but there is still sequential referral.
The budget gets grabbed by 80-some committees, each one wants a piece of the pork barrel. And until we get that straightened out, until Congress sorts out its own mess, it will be very hard for the DNI to successfully implement what he needs.
KING: You'll get the last word, Congressman.
And as you step in on that point, help the person at home watching who would say, reforming Congress, that's Washington gobbledygook. What does that have to do with life and death matters like terrorism?
HAMILTON: What it means is, when you establish a powerful position like the director of national intelligence, and this position is powerful, you'd better check power. That's the history of America. You've got to check power, and make it accountable.
John's right, you've got to have robust oversight by the Congress. You've got to allocate the radial spectrum so the first responders can communicate with one another at the scene of the disaster. You have to allocate homeland security funds on the basis of risk and vulnerability. And you have to take steps, maximum efforts to secure nuclear materials around the world so that you prevent the greatest horror of all, which is the terrorists getting hold of the nuclear weapon.
KING: Ominous list for the continuing challenges.
Congressman Lee Hamilton, Secretary John Lehman, two members of the 9/11 Commission, thank you both, gentlemen, for joining us today on "LATE EDITION."
And up next, we'll get a check of what's in the news right now, including the appointment of Kuwait's first female cabinet member. Then, democracy in the Middle East: We'll talk about the push for change in a troubled region with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the former Defense Secretary William Cohen. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: South Korea and the United States should have the same goal, and that is a Korean Peninsula without a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: President Bush there addressing concerns about a nuclear North Korea, just before talks Friday with South Korea's president, Roh Moo-Hyun.
For special insight on North Korea and other hot spots around the globe, we're joined now by two distinguished guests: in Connecticut, the former secretary of state Henry Kissinger; and here in Washington former Defense Secretary William Cohen, who is now CEO of the Cohen Group.
Gentlemen, we'll get to North Korea later in the discussions. I want to begin with an issue that's being debated around Washington today, as it has been in the past for months, but it seems to be reaching a critical boiling point, and that is the fate of the U.S. prison, detainee center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Secretary Kissinger, let me start with you. As we see more insight into the treatment of people there, I want your thoughts on whether you believe this facility should be kept open or closed, and your assessment of the damage it does to the U.S. image around the world, especially in the critical area of the Middle East.
HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, some of the stories that are being printed and obviously are causing damage to the United States, the question is: Are prisoners being kept there that should be in prison?
And then there's the secondary question: What is the best place in which to locate such a prison? And we have to give some attention to the dilemma that is faced by policy-makers.
If you have prisoners that are believed to have information that is extremely dangerous to American lives, how far can you go in trying to extract that information? When you describe the methods, they're of course repellent, and none of us would want to do it, but that's not the choice that the policy-makers are facing.
And if people want to relocate the prison, they ought to indicate where they want to relocate it, unless they want to say that most of the prisoners ought not to be in prison at all. That requires a different judgment than I'm able to make.
KING: And, Secretary Cohen, you once had the job that Secretary Rumsfeld has now. And he's being hammered over this, by critics in Congress -- we had some senators on the program earlier today -- criticized at times in the public at large.
Your assessment first of the threshold question of should it stay open, and how Secretary Rumsfeld has handled his job as the person in charge, if you will?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, you indicated earlier in your show that it was Secretary Rumsfeld who is running Guantanamo Bay, and that he was in charge.
Now, basically it's still the president of the United States who's in charge. he is the commander in chief, and there seems to be some split, at least verbally, in terms of whether or not there's an option on the table of closing it down, or whether Secretary Rumsfeld, who also issued a statement saying he was not aware of any consideration being given.
So both may be in fact speaking the truth in this particular matter.
And also the president leaving the door open for its potential closure, there are two issues involved, it seems to me. Number one, as to place, namely, Guantanamo Bay, why was it selected? Well, not subject to the jurisdiction -- at least it was thought -- of the U.S. courts. Courts have indicated that's not correct.
Second, it's isolated, and not subject to review.
So place is important, but also the procedures and the policies.
As Secretary Kissinger just indicated, at what point in time do we decide that the emergency of the moment requires that they be given something more than a Miranda warning?
A tough policy issue, but it seems to me that this has to be clearly identified, in terms of what we will allow to take place, and what kind of oversight is being exercised.
So you had two very prominent members of the Senate appearing before, Senator Hagel, Senator Feinstein. It's clear that they're now going to be holding hearings with Senator Lugar to try to exercise oversight, to find out what kind of procedures have been taking place, and do they violate our fundamental notions of human rights?
KING: Let's have a little role-playing, if you will. If Mr. Kissinger, Dr. Kissinger, you were secretary of state today, and, Mr. Cohen, you were secretary of defense, and the secretary of state comes in to the president and says, this is killing us, in terms of our image around the world, and the defense secretary says, "But, sir, we are getting incredibly valuable information, not always, but from some of these people," and the president is left with the decision, do I keep it open, how do I explain this to the public, help me through how those situations happen.
COHEN: Well, Secretary Rumsfeld indicated about a year or so ago he issued a memo which got leaked to the press in which he raised the question, are we creating more terrorists than we are either capturing or killing? Still a valuable question to ask even today: Does the operation of Guantanamo Bay create symbolically more terrorists than we're actually persuading not to be attacking the United States?
The president ultimately has to make a decision: Is this information so crucial to the prevention of destruction on a massive scale that I'm willing to keep this facility open under these circumstances? He, after all, has to make that call, and he would weigh that judgment.
KING: And your assessment of that judgment that he faces, Secretary Kissinger?
KISSINGER: Well, there are really two separate issues here. Should these people be in prison at all, and second, where should the prison be located? If the argument is that people are being imprisoned there unnecessarily, that's one problem.
The second is their treatment. In the treatment, one has to distinguish between the treatment of the normal confinement and the special cases to which so much attention is now being paid, where somebody is believed to have special information.
I, frankly, don't think this can be discussed in any detail on talk shows. Some sort of commission should be created to look at these questions in detail, and to recognize the anguish that top policy-makers have to go through in answering the questions that you put to us.
COHEN: Senator Biden, as a matter of fact, has called for the creation of such a commission similar one with the 9/11 Commission, in which you had Lee Hamilton, John Lehman, and others who were conducting. I think that's a valuable recommendation.
KING: As that debate continues, let's move our discussion on to the political situation in Iraq.
The insurgency continues. There are Iraqis, and Americans, and other coalition troops still dying there. And after the elections, there was this optimistic period.
Now there are still some tensions between the Shia and the Sunni about the representation in the government. And as the Bush administration makes its case for more minority representation, it's asking for help from others around the world.
Mr. Secretary, Secretary Kissinger, how important is this challenge. And some might say, well, if you created a democracy in Iraq, it's up to them to figure out the representation.
KISSINGER: Well, the struggle between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds has been a characteristic of Iraq since the state was created at the end of World War I. Of course, they have to figure out the balance, but the balance that is established in these numbers for many of them is a question of life and death.
We cannot avoid some responsibility for participating in this discussion, and the most hopeful outcome would be a democratic system with a strong federal structure in which the minority cannot be oppressed by the majority.
Considering how deep the hatreds are, one can't expect that this problem will be settled very quickly. We can't avoid participation in that dialogue. And nor can other nations that are interested in democracy.
Because if the radicals win in Iraq, if radical Islam wins in Iraq, the impact on the rest of the world will be dramatic and profound.
And so, whatever the debate may have been a few years ago on the origin of the war, in the carrying out of the working for a democratic Iraq, one has to have some patience, and we cannot escape our responsibilities, and nor should especially the democratic nations of Europe.
KING: Secretary Kissinger lays out the enormous historic and cultural challenge. Has the president, in your view, laid that out to the American people in a realistic scenario? I think many Americans thought after the elections and the optimistic talk from the White House that by the end of the year the troops might start coming home.
COHEN: I think that was irrational exuberance, to coin an Alan Greenspan phrase in a different context.
I think the president has to do more communication with the American public to tell them this is still a long-term goal that we're looking at.
But let me suggest that the Sunnis have a very limited window of opportunity to join in the participation of this democratic experiment as such, that it may very well be that as we are training the Iraqi military, the Iraqi police force, and they are going to adopt a new constitution with a new governing body by next, early next year, the Sunnis may very well find out that once that takes place, the Shia majority will tell us to leave.
It will be the Sunnis who will be asking us to stay for fear that this new robust Shia-dominated country, which is supported at least indirectly by Iran, would devastate the Sunni population. They may be the ones calling for us to stay at that point, rather than supporting the insurgency today.
So there's a great deal of irony involved in this. They have a very limited time to participate in the politics of it all. Hopefully, the Shia can be persuaded through the United States, through the Europeans, and others to open up that system and include them in more positive way. KING: Much more to discuss with our two distinguished guests, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, including the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Stay with us. "LATE EDITION" will be right back.
KING: And we're continuing our conversation now with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Defense Secretary William Cohen.
Gentlemen, I want to turn your attention to the Middle East peace effort.
The Bush administration this week, later this week will send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- I don't think the trip has been announced but she has said she will go. The schedule calls for her to leave sometime later this week. This, obviously in advance of Ariel Sharon's planned pullout from Gaza.
Many in the region, Secretary Kissinger, let me begin with you, are worried, including the Palestinians, that Prime Minister Sharon will pull out of Gaza and then stop -- that he will not then enter into a more comprehensive peace dialogue. Your assessment of where we are at this moment?
KISSINGER: I believe that Prime Minister Sharon recognizes that the precedent he has started and the principles which are involved in the Gaza withdrawal will have to be carried forward in a West Bank negotiation. And when the withdrawal from Gaza is completed, I believe the time has arrived for a major peace initiative in between the Palestinians and Israel.
KING: A major peace...
KISSINGER: I believe it will happen.
KING: You believe it will happen. Do you share that optimism, Secretary Cohen? And if there is a major peace initiative and a major moment, if you will, after the Gaza withdrawal, how hands on must Secretary Rice and ultimately the president be?
COHEN: Well, I yield to Secretary Kissinger on how hands on that would be, after all of his years of shuttle diplomacy. But let me say that I have been associated with a group called the Israel Policy Forum, and we have been active in trying to lend support for the president's two-state solution.
So assuming the Gaza pullout goes reasonably well, and there's going to be some anticipated violence that we can anticipate that will be associated with that, assuming that the Egyptians and others will help stabilize the Gaza in terms of its security, then I think Secretary Kissinger is right. The next step is to then deal with the settlement issue as far as freezing the settlements in the West Bank and then negotiating an agreement on phase two. If the Palestinians come to believe that this is step one and it's the final step as far as the pullout of the Gaza, then we will see no Middle East peace initiative beyond where we are today. And that's simply not acceptable.
KING: In the Oval Office this past week, the President Roh of South Korea meeting with President Bush acknowledging quite candidly that there are some differences between the two governments over how to deal with the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
Secretary Kissinger, North Korea said or told U.S. diplomats it was committed to coming back to the six-party talks but it won't say when. And of course, many don't trust the word of the North Korean government.
From your view, who is right? Is President Bush right? Hold firm until they come back, or should, as China and South Korea suggest, Mr. Bush perhaps sweeten the U.S. deal on the table to entice them to come back?
KISSINGER: Well, we cannot keep bribing the North Koreans to come back to talks.
I believe that the six-party forum is the right forum in which to discuss this. China, Japan, the United States and essentially South Korea agree on the outcome of the denuclearization of the whole Korean peninsula. And President Bush, in his last comments, stressed the fact that we're talking about the denuclearization of all of Korea, not just of North Korea.
I believe that this creates as framework within which the six- power talks can have a more promising outcome. It's not a question of bribing North Korea. It's a question of having enough incentives and penalties to give them no other choice. And I'm optimistic that it will be achieved.
KING: Secretary Kissinger makes the point that assembling perhaps sanctions and penalties. If we could find a tape of this program from a year ago, people were saying, "Well, if we can get them back to the talks." They have not come back to the talks.
At what point does the president need to say, "This might cause trouble but we need to go to the Security Council. We need to seek those penalties and sanctions"?
COHEN: Well, going to the Security Council will be interesting because, in all probability, China would veto such an effort, which would then shift the political responsibility to China if something were to go wrong or they were test a nuclear weapon. Then politically, China would bear responsibility.
So there may be some game-playing in terms of tactically how do we pressure China into doing more than it currently has to bring pressure upon the North.
It was interesting to me to watch the press conference between President Roh, the South Korean president and President Bush. You may recall that President Roh got elected on a campaign to distance himself and his country from the United States. Since that time, he's tried to get closer to the United States for a different reason.
We want to get closer to the South Koreans in order to persuade them they should toughen up their position and be with us. I believe the South Koreans want to get close to the United States to make sure that we don't get too provocative and proceed a much more aggressive policy to the North.
But ultimately, it's going to be China that's in the best position to exercise influence over the North Koreans. They have done some to date, but not enough, and they hold the key on this.
KING: Secretary Kissinger, in closing, we're running short on time, but I'd like your assessment of the significance of this new agreement by the, now the G-8 countries, the negotiations led by Great Britain to relieve some $40 billion in debt by 18 of the poorest nations around the world.
They have sought this for some time, obviously. What is the significance, in your view? The right thing to do?
KISSINGER: I think it was an important decision to make. And it demonstrates that the G-8 nations are not only concerned with their own problems, with the problems of globalization for industrial nations, but that they're trying to bring the developing nations, and the poorest of them, into the international system. And I'm happy that a unanimous agreement could be achieved.
KING: Gentlemen, I thank you for your time, and I wish we had more of it. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Connecticut, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen here in Washington. Thank you both.
And up next, the results of our web question of the week: Has U.S. intelligence against terrorist threats improved since 9/11?
Plus, "LATE EDITION's" Sunday morning talk show roundup. Stay with us.
KING: And now, in case you missed it, let's check some of the highlights from the other Sunday morning talk shows.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Democratic Senator Joe Biden and Republican Congressman Curt Weldon assessed the timetable for when the United States might be able to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WELDON: I would say a minimum of eight to ten months, maximum, probably two years, and that's assuming everything goes well.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: There's overwhelming consensus, nothing less than a year, some say as long as three years. And this is talking to the guy standing on the ground that can shoot straight and are getting shot at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: On CBS's "Face the Nation," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy weighed in on why public support is slipping for the U.S. effort in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The idea that the war has gone on this long with this many casualties surprises people. When the statue in Baghdad fell, we thought the war was over, and we have really underestimated the insurgency. We haven't had enough troops in play. So we need to adjust.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: At some point, we've got to tell the Iraqis that we have no intention of keeping our troops there permanently, we're not out there to take their oil, we're not looking for permanent bases, it's their country, and they're going to have to fight for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And on "Fox News Sunday," the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee disputed claims that detainees at Guantanamo Bay are being mistreated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: Now, how do we treat these people? I sent down yesterday for the menu from Guantanamo, so that the average American could understand how we're brutalizing people in Guantanamo, and I've got it right here. For Sunday they're going to be having -- let me see -- orange-glazed chicken, fresh fruit groupe, steamed peas and mushrooms, rice pilaf, another form of torture for the hijackers. We treat them very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Highlights there from the Sunday morning talk shows, here on the last word in Sunday talk.
Our "LATE EDITION" Web question asked: Has U.S. intelligence against terrorist threats improved since 9/11? Here's how you voted: 15 percent said yes; 85 percent said no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
And that's your "LATE EDITION" for Sunday, June 12th.
Wolf returns next Sunday at noon Eastern for the last word in Sunday talk.
Until then, thanks so much for watching.
Enjoy your Sunday. I'm John King in Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com | <urn:uuid:8105b49a-a508-4f42-8834-83e42fcc0877> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/12/le.01.html | 2013-05-22T14:53:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974321 | 17,016 |
Friday, December 31, 2010
This woman actually believes that Helen Clark, by sitting on her arse in a New York skyscraper and spending other people's money, is going to solve poverty in the world.
Anyway what will 2011 bring.
1. More of the same. Labour or Labourlite will win the election. John Key's optimisim may not rub off on as many people this time around. Goff will just be rubbed off.
2. The Maori Party will continue to ensure that we remain the most bi-multicultural country in the world.
3. The Greens will finally see a drop in support as their bullshit starts to wear thin.
4. ACT will have to do a serious reinvention of their brand.
5. Peters will come close but thankfully not close enough. ( can we please have our money back)
6. The media will ensure that our chance to get rid of MMP is pissed against the wall of ignorance.
7. Another pleasant location for the next round of climate summit/saving the world will be found.
8. Helen Clark will be paid another wad of tax free cash and there will be even more poor people in the world.
9. We will win the RWC, everyone will party and forget about the $20 billion deficit for another night.
Anyway that's all for next year.
Happy New Year's Eve 2010 everyone.
And yes I know he is on the public record as an apologist for the genocidal maniac Pol Pot as the best thing to happen to Cambodia since unpolished rice.
So why am I surprised when Keith Locke parrots the ritual left wing condemnation of the SAS involved in the Kabul operation. Bugger the facts still to emerge. Just stick the boot as a Pavlovian response nurtured by a visceral hatred of anything the western allies might do in order to bring sanity to that unfortunate country.
Keith, war is shitty. People get hurt. That is the nature of the business. But highly trained and disciplined soldiers act within the rules of engagement as laid down and I for one support them 100% in doing just that.
They have my respect. Keith Locke, communist bred and nurtured and successfully infiltrated into the Greens certainly does not.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Now there was a real president.
Unlike the crooked devious lickyourarse all sort they've got in the White House for the next two long years. Black on the outside, red in the middle.
I joined the 'International Club' where students from other countries mixed with locals. This was my very first experience of realpolitik. Seared in my memory is the statement from one of these paragons or political virtue:-
"I am coming here to get a fine education Man, so that I can go back home and steal my countrymen blind."
He was not joking or being flippant. Likely he has long ago been assassinated but his progeny live on, it seems.
It is not coincidence that most of the world's flash points are run by people just like this guy.
With no apologies to hand wringing PC leftists, have a quick look through the list and you will see most of the ' leaders' of these tropical or desert shit holes are either black bastards or Islamists. ALL are corrupt crooks and despots who seem to have no shortage of money for weapons.
Fifty years ago, naively we trained them.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
In a world where the past is the past this wouldn't really matter.
But in a world where big money rides on what is apparently verbal diarrhea, it would be good to have the real truth acknowledged.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Come annual leave time, on Christmas eve, the car keys were thrown onto the sideboard and there they stayed until around February 1st.
I've never got out of the habit and therefore I have no sympathy for these brainless idiots, whinging and moaning about traffic jams.
What the hell do they expect? Maybe they could try getting out of bed a bit earlier - say 0400.
However, there is always a silver lining.
Auckland is a great place to live, once all the dozy pricks who live here go somewhere else with their thousand decibel boom boxes to tailgate, overtake on bends, cut off the other bloke, honk their fucking horns, run red lights and give everyone else the finger.
Monday, December 27, 2010
The piece is almost straight out of Labour Party taking points with the two most egregious falsehoods here:-
- He believed next year would be even tougher than this year, as households were hit with extra costs from October's rise in GST, increasing costs of fuel, higher ACC levies and taxes from the emissions trading scheme.
- "The bottom 60 per cent of income earners are worse off than they were last year. I think the early part of 2011 will be pretty difficult."
What a remarkable two hours of cricket. Australia's batsmen simply threw away the match and the series.
Adolf watched for an hour or so before stumps and offers the following observations.
- The game was over on the first day. This time there will be no come back.
- The Aussie batsmen played like New Zealanders. They flailed at everything off the stumps and paid the price.
- Adolf wondered during the first session whether the Australians realised they were in a Test Match
- The Pommy bowlers, particularly Anderson, were superb.
- The Pommy batsmen (batters are for baseball) let all the high risk balls go through to the keeper. That's why they have lost no wickets.
- Australia's bowlers ranged from mediocre to just plain bloody awful with Johnston and Harris both hurling the ball down yards from the batsmen and the extreme reach of acrobatic keeper Haddin, gifting the Poms with eight runs.
- Ponting's field placings were puzzling. With seam bowlers operating, at one stage early on he had only two slips with men on the boundary. The Poms clearly were not in the mood for hook and pull shots. Ponting thought he was bowling against Australians.
- The umpires are blind. How you could miss an edge that was thicker than a Labour Party blogger is beyond me. And why on earth were those two free boundaries from Johnston and Harris adjudged byes? They were wides by a country mile.
- An hour and a half from stumps, the stands were nearly empty. Earlier in the day they held 84,000 people. It looked as though 80,000 gave up in disgust.
- Boxing Day at Melbourne saw the end of Ricky Ponting's career. Australians will never forgive him for this humiliation. What a sad end to an excellent career.
Friday, December 24, 2010
1. Labour think that the ETS scam should get more teeth to screw over NZ business quicker. What a winning idea for them. But I would recommend false teeth, in keeping with the theme. Sadly Nick Smith probably agrees with them.
2. Government awards itself a pay rise, backed dated to July. Key urges a freeze. How about legislating a freeze. Maybe he could have just urged an increase in GST.
3. My bet is that the Crafar farms will end up with Landcorp. I don't know why governments thinks they are better farmers than private individuals. Wasn't that tried in some part of the world with disastrous results. I guess having our money to play with makes farming easier. No pesky bank managers to annoy them when they write the big cheques.
4. The MMP referendum next year will be a shambles with MMP being retained. The media will wallow in it. Politicians and 100's of thousands of people who rely on them for a living will breath a sigh of relief. The status quo will continue - as long as Bill can bring home the $300,000,000 bacon each week. But I do sleep easier knowing that Bill guarantees we will be back in surplus by 2015. That's a big relief.
5. There is a very strong probably that there will soon be trouble in Korea. The South Koreans will be unwilling to back down and actually have the steel to sort things out. You don't rebuild a country in 50 years by stepping backwards. Our troops had better be on the first plane to Busan to help our friends out.
6. Our national past time of child abuse will continue unabated as no government can solve the problem by social engineering, when that is also a big part of the problem. The only real solution is showing the perpetrators no mercy whatsoever. Keep it simple- 20+ years imprisonment with no bail.
7. I was going to mention Phil Goff but can't think of anything worthwhile to say. For some reason the word twilight comes to mind. Is Goff now the stuffed man?
Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and I wish everyone a safe and prosperous New Year
Adolf expects the bid, unlike the ridiculous and shambolic bid for Crafar Farms, will be successful.
The bidders are Agria Corporation, already a 19 per cent shareholder in PGG Wrightson, and New Hope Group, one of China's biggest agribusiness companies.
Agria chief executive Tao Xie, a PGG Wrightson director, said the two Chinese companies were seeking no more than 50.01 per cent of Wrightsons and would form a joint venture to make the bid.................Agria, a New York-listed, China-based agricultural investment company, bought into PGG Wrightson last year.
Its bid partner New Hope is not well known in New Zealand but is a major producer of feed as well as meat, eggs and dairy products.
There is nothing strategic about a piss ant once was dominant farm services company which is remembered by four generations of farming families for the way it screwed its customers when times were tough. Therefore it is difficult to see what damage or downside for New Zealand there might be from such foreign investment.
On the other hand, control of a significant part of our milk production and processing industry by overseas interests whose reputation for quality control is akin to the SlackCaps' reputation for winning had the potential to cause serious long term damage to our biggest export earner. That's the real reason the Crafar Farms bid was denied. The inept dolt fronting the bid simply gave the excuse for the decision.
Good luck PGG Wrightsons. You'll need plenty of it.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The sooner they find a way to extricate themselves from their damn fool Emissions Trading Scheme the better off we'll all be.
New Zealand's chief conspirator, Dr Jim Slazenger, has been outed fudging the figures in this latest development - an apparent peer review carried out by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Unfortunately for Dr Jim the insipid report's commentary gave him a couple of backhanders.
NIWA has abandoned the official national temperature record and created a new one following sustained pressure from the NZ Climate Science Coalition and the Climate Conversation Group.......
.........NIWA’s complete renunciation of the old graph was confirmed recently by their admission in a court document that the graph was not an “official” record. Which means they have also disowned Dr Jim Salinger’s methodology, which created the graph......
.........“Almost all of the 34 adjustments made by Dr Jim Salinger to the 7SS have been abandoned, along with his version of the comparative station methodology.
“NIWA is clearly not prepared to defend the adjustments exposed in Are we feeling warmer yet? But it took a court case to force them into a corner......
And here's the clanger- no warming in NZ since 1960. Yep! No warming in the last fifty years. It was all invented by that double faulting Slazenger.:-
For all their talk about warming, for all their rushed invention of the “Eleven-Station Series” to prove warming, this new series shows that no warming has occurred here since about 1960. Almost all the warming took place from 1940-60......
Apparently the good doctor had difficulty (a) keeping his thumb off the scientific scales as well as (b) obeying his Superior's instructions, the latter for which finally he was sacked.
To its eternal disgrace, NIWA had to be forced into court before it would recognize the travesty it had sponsored and promoted.
They just don't seem to get it. Neither Labour nor the Herald.
Articles like this cement in the public mind all that is negative about Labour.
- They are all old bastards.
- They don't do anything constructive.
- Digging for dirt is their primary, indeed only, focus.
- They are out of touch with the public.
- They have no ideas, initiative or imagination.
- The party matters more than the country.
- We pay these useless pricks a fortune to indulge in this childish carry on.
- You couldn't seriously allow this rabble to run the country.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Today, the NCTionalMP administration has put the bid where it belongs, in the trash can.
The decision covers the applications by Natural Dairy to acquire UBNZ Assets Holdings Limited and a retrospective application to acquire four Crafar farms which UBNZ purchased in February 2010.
"We concur with the Overseas Investment Office's recommendation that consent should be declined," they said in a joint statement.
"We will not be commenting further on our decision."
Now the receivers can get on and sell the properties one by one, as they should have done right from the start.
Just a quick note to ask you why you, and the rest of your ilk, feel you have to make shit up in order to be heard?
You latest post at Red Alert, entitled "Save ACC" is by far and away, and without a shadow of a doubt, as big of a piece of horse shit as you've ever written.
We both know that ACC is not in any danger of being sold off or closed, so why would you invite your readers to "be kept up to date on the campaign to stop the ACC sell off"?
I'd bet a lazy $20.00 that even the uber sychophant spud knows this isnt true, but doesn't want to banned for life for saying so.
So Trevor, as you're obviously not very bright, then let me help you. Allowing people to make choices about work place insurance is not selling off ACC, but you already knew that didnt you.
So what does that make you Trevor?
PS How sad it is that the hard earned taxes of so many kiwis is used to support you while you indulge yourself producing such works of fiction. Sad little man.
Has anyone else noticed that the major, a term I use loosely, lefty blogs, ie The Standard, Red Alert, The Greens, and No Right Turn, have made absolutely no mention of the disturbing child abuse stories that have so exercised the country of late.
For my part the antics of Mark Hotchin, what Clark says about Wikileaks, Mad Cath's opinions about anything, and how apparently dishonest the National Party are, is all very small beer when compared to the mental images I have of a small child being tortured in MY neighbourhood. A small girl cringing in a wardrobe whilst in agony from the wounds inflicted by those who are supposed to love her and care for her evokes in me the deepest sadness.
I weep for her. I weep for her and all the others that we dont know about, yet.
I am also deeply concerned for a nation where those who are desperate to rule, and who would do "whatever it takes " to achieve power, cannot bring themselves to comment on this, the most serious issue facing the country today, or are they hoping it will just go away.
You'd think Obama might get the message?
Texas, continuing seven consecutive decades of growth, will gain the most seats with four more House members in 2012. Florida gains two, while Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington each gain one.
States losing seats include Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. All those states lost one seat apiece, save for New York and Ohio, which lost two each........
....."It is no coincidence that the states gaining population the fastest over the last 10 years have lower tax rates and, consequently, stronger economies. As states draw new congressional districts to reflect this shift, we will certainly see more Republicans in the U.S. House," McHenry said.
No? He's too busy.
Of course, these silly people will be made to realise they are wrong, wrong, wrong when the Socialists legislate, regulate all these go ahead states into submission. They just don't understand what's good for them.
For those who are unaware, state governors have considerable influence over the 'redistricting' process for federal electorate boundaries and this quite dramatic population shift, with its associated realignment of electoral boundaries is likely to heavily favour the Republican Party.
Is it a gerrymander? Yes it is but it is one which for years has favoured the Democrats so it is only fair that they should reap the harvest of their own political folly.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Watch for the howls of anguish from the socialists.
Helen Clark closed out private insurers as soon as she gained power in 1999. Some say this was an ideological decision but wiser analysts know the decision was political. Ideology requires principles and if there's one New Zealanders have learned from Wikileaks, it is that Helen Clark has no principles apart from 'whatever it takes to gain and hold power.
ACC was brought back into the gummint fold for one purpose. To provide a sink hole in which to park beneficiaries so that she could tell the people what a fine job she was doing reducing the number of people on benefits.
Adolf sincerely hopes Nick Smith and Co set the deal up properly so that ACC can not be hijacked by Labour for a second time.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
From memory it had National down substantially with Labour up and 40% of National voters unhappy with John Key's handling of the Panzy Wong business.
Nobody seems to have told the people who were polled at the same time by Colmar Brunton.
Watch The Herald's circulation take another dive over coming months as it follows assiduously the tried and true strategies of the egregiously partisan New York Times.
As an aside, from this poll it looks as though voters have made up their minds who killed the twenty nine miners. The Greens have shed more than a third of their vote and are out on their shabby arses.
NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark told Australia's ABC radio July 8 "I must say that I personally have met George Bush a number of times and consider the personal relationship between us to be very good." Making a direct link between those meetings and NZ's anti-nuclear stance, PM Clark added that she was "optimistic that over time what happened over 20 years ago will be of less and less relevance to these relationships."
Snuggle snuggle, cuddle cuddle
And here is bandy legged Kindalooza meeting svelte Condoleezza
Yet all the while, The Bilious Bitch was sucking up to the US and Australia she and her mates were telling NZ's voters what a pack of pricks they were. Clark Goff and Mallard were all complicit - dirty little dealers in double talk.
So there you have it. Improved relations with the US were deliberately sacrificed for the sake of the few votes they needed to just scrape over the line in 2005.
The Charge told Goff that the Embassy would have appreciated a head’s up that Mallard would be making these remarks. Goff said that as was well known, Goff has very favorable feelings towards the United States…But, he went on, the Government believes that these issues do resonate with the New Zealand public and it would therefore be foolish not to pursue them.
There will be more campaigning on issues related to U.S. policy in the weeks ahead, he cautioned. The Charge said…if further false claims were made the Embassy would respond. Goff…endorsed the idea of our making a press statement refuting Mallard’s claims.........
..........In addition, we understand that our MFAT contacts have been counseling the
Government that there will be long-term impact on our bilateral relations if Labour continues its baseless diatribes and hints that a close relationship with the United States is in general not in New Zealand's interests.
But where was Goff? Oh, he was off developing bilateral relationships with REALLY important people.
Labour would sell their Grandmother if they thought it could buy them a vote.
Apart from telling us what we already know, Wikileaks is just another nail in the coffin of Western civilisation. The rest of the world won't be releasing their secrets so flippantly.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Maybe, they and their mates in the media shoulda woke up about half way through 2008 to the fact their guy had no experience, no ability, no political nous and no common sense. Goddammit, he cain't even play poker to save hisself.
It's aaaaaall too late folks.
Roll on 2012. Meantime stock up on cigars, beer and popcorn. The entertainment will be non stop as Obama goes on to out perform Jimmy Carter.
Why, I'll betcher Dubbya could whip the BA off the JA in eighteen holes of match play, even.
At the time, Adolf and Whaleoil were almost lone voices raised in protest at the appalling behaviour of an incompetent and complacent losing tenderer; it's greedy venal GP cohorts; and the blitheringly naive and inadequate oversight of the project by Auckland's DHBs.
Brian Rudman, in today's Herald, provides confirmation of our accusations. We were right. Here are some choice excerpts from the ministerial report into the hand over.
"The assumption by the DHBs that there would be co-operation from the outgoing provider DML was not well founded," says the review team of Waikato University management associate professor Jens Mueller and Waikato District Health board chairman Graeme Milne.
"The good-faith provisions in the old contract requiring co-operation with the [three Auckland] DHBs were simply ignored by DML."
The report criticises the boards for "a fundamental lack of understanding of the strong clinician backing of the outgoing provider ... [which] contributed significantly to the ability of DML to wage an unprecedented interference campaign, which drained DHB resources during the transition and caused confusion among patients and clinicians".
Yes, my own doctor's practice was in it up to its eyeballs.
The report refers to the "full-fledged media circus ... fuelled in part by DML operating its own video 'reporting' of patient dissatisfaction".
This is a reference to the losing tenderer hiring fake journalists to doorstep patients leaving the new testing centres, then rushing any negative comments off to the media - shamefully, state TV ran them.
The authors paint this white-anting as normal business practice. They were taken aback that most of the 80 people they interviewed were surprised "by the unexpected activity of DML".
They say "it could hardly have come as a complete surprise to the DHBs that the incumbent would not only have no desire to aid an orderly transition of providers but would vent its frustrations through a deliberate campaign to destabilise the transition process".
Well Adolf has news for these naive authors. Such behaviour is NOT part of normal business practice in my experience. It is the sort of behaviour which identifies it's perpetrator as an organisation unsuitable ever again to be offered the chance to provide service in New Zealand.
The last word goes to Mr Rudman:-
On losing the tender process its first move was a scaremongering "important notice to patients" threatening "you may not receive the same level of service" and even, "your samples may be sent ... out of New Zealand for processing".
It tried every tactic possible to sabotage the handover to the successful tenderer, Labtests (LTA).
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Just when you think Labour has excelled itself in stupidity and incompetence, along comes Phil Goff with a double dip. Not just a double dip, but one he promised to fix long ago.
Pay the money back, Filk. Pay the bloody money back.
Oh how I wish this had come out for all to see two days ago so that Bill English could have given a slightly more spicy answer to Trevor Mallard's question about housing allowances.
Adolf is wondering whether Cunliffe has quietly helped this one along.
Goff loses glasses, mistakes Cunliffe for Key
And as part of their 'austerity' programme we see that Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse has been awarded a 50% salary increase from $80k to $120k per annum. And this for attending all the functions that Len Brown wouldn't be seen dead at.
Penny Hulse just wouldn't happen to be a fellow left winger ... would she?
Why is it that socialists and troughers are inexorably intertwined?
This sounds like a union of one ball breaker with another.
No wonder Warnie is not match fit. Mind you, it would be huge contribution to the sport of cricket should some other activity prevent him from commentating important fixtures.
Hot on the heals of revelations that Helen Clark aided and abetted Ammerikaaner electronic spying comes the news that Uber commo Australian PM Julia Gillard's speechwriter is a secret agent for the CIA, or something. Her bloody speech writer, no less. The bloke who puts the words up on her teleprompter.
Then of course there is ALP power broker Mark Arbib who also looked upon with great favour by the Yanks.
Good God, before we know it we'll find that secretly Keith Locke has been passing DNA samples of all his peacenik mates to the CIA.
Let's have more leaks, I say. More wonderful leaks please.
In fact, it is a non story, interspersed with the opinions of the writer when no actual hard facts are available.
The base was used in the 2006 coup and probably the 2000 coup, although New Zealand officials have always denied that they were spying.
The revelation is likely to anger Fiji prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who seized power in a December 2006 coup.
We are meant to be surprised, shocked and horrified that NZ used the Waihopi base to listen in on the cell phone conversations of participants in a military coup in Fiji. New Zealanders would be shocked, horrified and greatly surprised if we learned that any government had failed in its duty to listen in to such conversations involving parties to such events on our very door step.
Adolf must concede that in this instance the Bilious Bitch acted impeccably.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Whaleoil has the story from the print version of the Dom Post. Of course the greasy Herald has not a mention of it, preferring a steady diet of anti National Party smut for it's diminishing gang of loyal readers.
I sincerely hope the AG's investigation leads her to ask for broader inquiries into other aspects of this slippery fellows activities.
And you thought Hubbard was bad.
God help Auckland
"....and so, in response, we will be introducing a stimulus package"
After decades of paper-macheing bureaucracy over every possible legal business that people are smart enough to dream up and invest their capital in, politicians somehow think that when things inevitably turn to custard, throwing in wadfulls of taxpayers money is some sort of viable solution.
The only true stimulus is to strip away the size of government. Allow people to compete unencumbered.
This will take a lot of people out of their comfort zone in the short term. Because governments are very good at protecting "short term"- it's what gets them through the next election.
But if we do not start thinking long term, then we are doomed to stagger from one stimulus to the next.
All that achieves is to make life and business a perverse state sponsored lottery- like Lotto on steroids.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Even with The Herald doing his dirty work for him, he just can't seem to get ANYTHING right.
He's spent the last week trotting around after his octogenarian veterinarian, digging for dirt on Pansy Wong. 'It's a whitewash!' he screamed to anyone who would listen. The Herald listened and ran the story for all it was worth which turned out to be fuck all more than six pence.
Today the Auditor General called an end to his game. Clean bowled him with a swinging yorker to the middle stump.
The Auditor-General has ruled out an inquiry into National MP Pansy Wong's spending just hours after her resignation this morning.
Of course you could not read this last bit in the Herald. It came from Stuff
Meanwhile Filk and his cadaverous mate continue to bat from the dressing room.
But Goff said Labour MP Pete Hodgson had evidence of other interests that would raise fresh questions about the Wongs' use of the subsidy.
"We'll see the first installment of that in Parliament this afternoon. The Wongs never came clean in the McPhail investigation. They never exposed the full extent of their business dealings in China."
It seems the Auditor General didn't think much of his evidence.
While the idiots at The Standard bleat on about tax cuts for the rich being the cause of it all (presumably because they think you can raise an extra billion or three by taxing out of existance the top five percent of the country's earners) the truth is New Zealanders are being carefully conditioned to accept the politically charged inevitable. The rolling back of Helen Clark's outrageously irresponsible election bribes of 2005 and 2008.
Adolf looks forward to the day when;
- no longer will a family with a household salary income of $35,000 be able to draw down $911 per week in welfare disguised as 'tax credits.'
- no longer will the children of well off New Zealanders be able to borrow money and pay no interest.
- no longer will New Zealanders pay for myriads of government 'commissions' which write meaningless reports for other meaningless people to read.
- no longer will New Zealanders pay life time loafers to sit on their fat, mainly black arses, breeding generations of kids whose one aim in life is to sit on their own fat arses while someone else feeds them.
Why, because they were addicted to spending.
It is time for John Key and Blenglish to blow the whistle on government spending. Preparations have been underway for some time. The report of the working group on welfare should be accelerated and a list of SOEs to be made the subject of a partial minority float should be put out for public discussion.
Let's face it, even Hillary Calvert's ping pong ball receptacle came out the other day in support of partial floats for SOEs.
At around 15 billion lightyeardollars I would guess that we are now at the edge of the debt galaxy- the Milked Way .
Captain Key said it was difficult to say whether the rebalanced of the economy through people saving more and spending less would continue, or for how long.
"How quickly we revert to type I don't really know...we spent quite a lot of time getting here," he said.
Rebalancing is a flash word for reality check. People are unlikely to revert to type any time soon. Those heady days of lightspeed consumerism are gone.
But I suspect that it will be a long time before Starship Statespending returns to Earth. While they chew through half our GDP we are a long way from home.
I look forward to First Mate Bill's report on what lies beyond the galaxy today.
This story about these animals barking like dogs just reinforces my pessimism.
John Key said " It is certainly a worrying trend and we need to have a serious look at whether arming teems is the best way to combat this issue".
Howard Broad when asked for comment said " Gee I don't know, Greg O'Connor has not given me my usual guidance on this issue and after spending the last few years playing interference for the last Labour Government I am just looking forward to retirement".
In other shock news, the traffic cop bashed with a Machete is saying a silent prayer in thanks for the fact that he did not have a gun that the teens who bashed him from behind could have grabbed as he lay bleeding and unconscious and shot him.
Personally I blame John Banks.
Putting aside the last 40 years of social engineering that has left parents and teachers powerless to punish these little gobshites before they get into serious strife........
If Banks had not turned the Police into tax collecting uniformed jackals by merging the black and white pie eaters with the cops we would not have a situation where most of us only come into contact with them when they are pointing a radar gun past their massive stomachs.
The combination of Howard Broad being a uniformed defacto member of Clarks spin weasel department and the aggressive ticketing sweeping the country is it any wonder cops are now quivering every time they go out without a gun on their belt?
Monday, December 13, 2010
When will it dawn on our politicians that we have had enough?
Where is the leadership and the savings? Because this looks like business as usual to me. Tax, borrow and spend.
All I see is Brown lining up his mates for cushy jobs, raising money for pet projects and trying to push the blame on past decisions - of which he was also a major player.
I will be very interested in hearing Rodney Hide's take on this. But I guess we will have to wait until after the summer holidays.
You are sub human with no redeeming features whatsoever. Clearly society would be a much better place if you had been strangled at birth.
And now we, the long suffering taxpayer, are going to have to fund the cost of your incarceration for what I hope is a very long time.
But you have it in your own hands to partially redeem yourselves in my eyes at least. So how about 'topping'? I know it takes guts but it can be quick and relatively painless if you get it right. I might even shed a tear over your departure (but not many) and you will have done the right thing for the first time in your miserable lives.
Gueez Wayne ... I feel a whole lot better for getting that off my chest.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A man who arrived on the scene before the police arrived told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper that the dead man had a large wound in his abdomen.
“It looked like the man was carrying something that exploded on his stomach. He didn’t have any injuries to his face or his body and the stores nearby weren’t damaged. All the windows were whole,” the witness told DN.
It appears that much of the small blast was absorbed by an intact bag of nails found at the scene.
A devout Jew was preparing himself for daily prayers, the way devout Jews do.
Some dumbarse Kiwi reported to the ship's skipper that the Jew was about to detonate a bomb.
TV3 embellished the story:-
An Israeli man was being spoken to police at Picton police station this afternoon after the incident, which was being played down by police.
TV3 earlier reported that the Kaitaki Interislander ferry's captain had been taken hostage by a man in possession of explosives and possibly a gun.
What else needs to be said?
Fuckwits making up news for fuckwits.
Nominations for the seat open on 11 March and close on 1 April. On 9/10 April the Preselection Committee will determine a short list of up to five candidates to go forward to selection scheduled for Saturday 30 April at Kaikohe. It is anticipated that upwards of 250 delegates representing the 4,000 Party members in Northland will make the final selection.
The meeting also passed the following resolution which is the main point of this post. It relates to illegal land occupations. The resolution reads "Resolved that Government cease negotiations with any iwi, hapu or whanau in respect of their Treaty claim(s) if that iwi, hapu or whanau, either overtly or covertly, encourages and/or endorses the illegal occupation of privately owned land in support of real or imagined grievances".
We would expect that Government takes note of this resolution and acts accordingly. It disregards this resolution at its electoral peril.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Instead I am now battling shit – literally- by milking cows. I have been a dairy farmer since July, which has been a huge learning curve and a lot of fun. Simply put, a heck of a lot of grass goes in one end, a surprising amount of shit comes out the other and hopefully some milk arrives from parts between.
Actually a huge effort goes into producing milk solids and my belt has certainly gone in a couple of notches. The daily routine of milking, cleaning, feeding and calf rearing is relentless plus the added work in between of upgrading the water and effluent systems, making silage, drilling summer crops and maize planting. All under the umbrella of a looming drought. We have actually been pretty lucky and got in over 100ha of excellent silage which will hopefully serve the cows well over summer.
When I was a retailer I was a miserable bastard who hoped for rain in the weekends. Now I’m not so fussy and any day will do.
So I watch the clouds. Sometimes from the sea, sometimes from the land. I call them Clarkulonimbus.They roll in on the wind, butt laden, promising to deliver rain you can trust, rain that cares, sustainable rain, clean technology rain, green rain, hopeful rain, rain you can believe in, rain that just can. But even before you can wipe the dust off your gumboots, they've g'offed (like moved on but faster). If you are lucky you get blessed with a few spits. Then they're off to dump on some other more "deserving" part of the world.
Some things never change.
Update On cue Ele at Homepaddock has found a real word to hopefully describe my new state
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
If ever there was a strategic asset, it is the dairy industry and no matter what, no Chinese rat fuckers should ever be allowed within a hundred miles of it.
Not ever, no matter what.
A 65-country study, comparing 475,000 15-year-olds on reading, mathematical and scientific literacy, places New Zealand fifth, fifth and 10th.
But the study, the third in an OECD triennial programme, also shows New Zealand has one of the widest gaps between the top and bottom 5 per cent of pupils – with Maori and Pasifika pupils languishing near the bottom.
Well, duh. Any measure of NZ educational achievement has its overall score lowered by Polynesians. And the education professionals' response:
"The majority of our young people are really well-served by the system ... but we have these groups of kids and the pattern's remained the same since 2000, that we are not doing well for."
Wrong. All of our kids are extremely well served by the system. It's doing a good job for all of them. There isn't some evil voodoo that makes our system an excellent one for every kid on the planet except the ones from Polynesian cultures. Don't look at the system, look at the fucking culture.
I know sod-all about Pasifika cultures, but the Maori one values words only as oratory and genealogy. For anything beyond that, actions speak louder than words (which is not a value judgement - people for whom actions speak louder than words are in a lot of cases way more useful to have around than people like me). However, it does mean Polynesians are going to be pretty well represented in the sports and arts (music, dance, acting etc) but not well represented among the intelligentsia. If people really want to change that, they're going to have to change the culture. Expecting the education system to do something about it is pointless.
And so it is that I disagree strongly with the decision of my Party (supported by Labour) not to move on raising the qualifying age for NZ Superannuation to age 67 as recommended by the Retirement Commissioner. Her suggestion that it be implemented over 12 years starting in 2020 in two monthly tranches each year seems eminently sensible.
The 2020 start point is generous in its lead time, allowing those effected the opportunity to plan ahead. The phase in is more user friendly than the formula used last time when the qualifying age was raised from 60 to 65.
Yes, such a move could give Winston First a boost and might see him him over the 5%. That is an issue but I for one would be prepared to take the short term risk for the long term gain.
And yes, I am well aware of the Maori and Pacific Island mortality statistics. Pakeha too die before age 65. Every Vietnam veteran is well aware of that. That's life (or death).
New Zealand Superannuation at age 65 is an unnecessary luxury the country can't afford.
The current season started on October 13th at four kilometres and there have been five 'days off' since then. So far six kilos of adipose tissue have been shed and all medical markers are heading in a healthy south easterly direction.
But now to the headline.
I get going just before sunrise, any time between 0515 and 0545 when street lights are still on and there is a quiet twilight with sometimes wonderful sunrises. Tui and doves are starting their early morning chortling and gurgling.
In these dubious visual conditions it seems common sense to wear a white shirt so as to be readily visible when crossing the road or walking on the bitumen to avoid adverse foothpasths - usually cross sloping and hell on ankles and calves. It is amazing to note the following:-
- The number of walkers and joggers dressed in BLACK from head to toe, some occupying the road way on the left hand side instead of the safer right hand side.
- The number of dark coloured cars driving with no lights on. The drivers of these cars too usually are dark coloured- coconuts, pakis, cane cutters but few Maoris. The Bros are still asleep at that time of day.
- The absence of cyclists on the magnificent and expensive new cycleway on East Coast Rd. They are all still using the road and hoping to get killed.
Driving their bloody cars, of course.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Poms are not happy and rightfully so. They could have bowled one or two more overs before the rain came.
What a bunch of girls.
As a matter of interest, I reckon I saw Australia lose the ashes about an hour ago when Ponting and Watson were sent packing in quick succession.
This is good.
His only apparent problem to this is that there is 'no money to back it up"
Why he thinks that a government throwing even more money at a problem is a solution to anything is beyond me.
Get the government out of the way and let the real visions of of the people flourish, without being sucked dry by out of control state taxing, borrowing and spending.
Maybe a "clean technology" would be one that sucked the fat out of his aspirations.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
I personally believe there most certainly is, but the quote below from one of the left's sages has made me realise that there are some in this country who have already had access to all the facts, who have heard all the evidence from all the partys involved, who must have snuck into the mine and examined its contents, and who have then analysed everything and come up with the end result:
"That’s not ironic – that was most definitely purposeful so that companies can cut costs even more and, yes, the deaths at Pike River are most definitely the result of inadequate procedures used in the mine for which the company is responsible."
There you have it folks, courtesy of Draco T Bastard.
Now while there is a strong possibility that Mr. Bastard's statement could be nothing more than the petulant mewling of a precocious twelve year old with an over developed sense of so called social justice, the left blogs are spinning towards culpability resting with Pike River management. Ceck'em out for yourselves if you have the stomach for it.
Another example of this are the posts on KB from Mao's man in NZ, one Zhumao. This guy must also be party to Mr. Bastard' findings as he has no problems pointing the bone of responsibility at Peter Whittal the CEO:
"Whittall is a consumate actor ala ‘I’m gonna get my boys out of that mine’ , in Hollywoodspeak. He is the villain of the piece, and should tender his resignation soon. "
"Superintendent Knowles yes. Whitall absolutely fucking now. Whittall should most likely be awarded a set of prison overalls."
Tried and sentenced. Just like that. Remembering, of course that the Chicoms were never big on people being innocent until proven guilty.
Anyone else think that Justice Panckhurst and co surely have New Zealands most difficult job on their hands?
National will win the election with an increased number of seats sufficient to govern in its own right but will decide against going alone. There will be some surprises in the National Party List. John Key will assume the mantle of 'King Dick Seddon'. National will win BECAUSE of him.
Labour will loose seats and Phil Goff will do a Helen Clark on election night and step down.
The Greens will gain seats at the expense of Labour.
All bets are off in Epsom. The continuing feud in ACT between their Pragmatist Wing (Hide) and their Ideologue Wing (Douglas) coupled with increasing attacks on National will turn off many voters. National may decide they are not worth the effort and go all out for Epsom. Redbaiter will continue to drive people away from voting ACT in droves.
Ohariru voters will continue to demonstrate they have no political sense while the electorate remains bereft of a decent men's hairdresser.
The Maori Party may well pick up an additional seat but if they are offered and accept a role within government John Harawira will quit and sit as an Independent.
Winston First will get 4.9998% of the Party Vote thereby proving to his supporters that the 'great conspiracy' does exist directed by the Jews or Chinese or .... (you insert).
In the referendum the electorate will demonstrate its lack of political maturity and vote to retain MMP.
Richie McCaw will get a Knighthood.
You heard it first.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
I thought it was done with dignity and style. A uniquely 'Kiwi' occasion. While I am not overly religious I thought having the Rev Tim Mora as the 'MC' was an inspired choice. He captured the mood of the occasion.
And it was the West Coast at its best. New Zealand but different and all the better for that.
Today we remember the 29; we especially remember the families. But the Coasters are one big family and our thoughts are with each and every one of them.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Whaleoil is tackling one of the former who appears to think 'duplicity' is a mutually uplifting emotion enjoyed by men and women immediately after copulation.
If, like David Farrar and Cactus Kate, you have received correspondence from Rich or Mitch or Frank or Henry or Buggerlugs, promising 50% of advertising revenue generated by your copy then you'd better get in touch with Whaleoil, pronto. | <urn:uuid:96aa5b23-666b-4d15-8647-dbb3374b364c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nominister.blogspot.jp/2010_12_01_archive.html | 2013-06-20T01:53:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968874 | 10,120 |
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