text:
Anthony DiMaria's Impact Statement at Leslie Van Houten's Parole Hearing on 9/6/17
Venus sent me Anthony DiMaria's statement at Leslie Van Houten's parole hearing on Wednesday.
As usual, it's very powerful, and full of emotion about these horrific murders!
Thanks Venus!!
My name is Anthony DiMaria- nephew of Jay Sebring, who was killed in the Manson murders on August 8, 1969.
I have been asked by Lou Smaldino, nephew of Leno LaBianca, to speak as a LaBianca family representative.
To be clear, our families involvement in these hearings has nothing to do with feelings of anger, revenge or hatred towards Leslie Van Houten. Rather, we come out of love to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
The victim's families present today have attended dozens of parole hearings regarding Leslie Van Houten's crimes and crimes of the Manson family. For nearly half a century- death sentences, legislation, defense attorneys and commissioners- have come and gone.
Yet what remains, is- Leslie Van Houten, her victims, our families.
On July 27, 2017 the Los Angeles Times reported a shift in THE NEW ERA FOR CALIFORNIA'S PAROLE BOARD stating that Parole Board Executive Officer Jennifer Shaffer "has been at the helm of major initiatives…spurred by court cases and state laws, that have developed new processes to speed up and increase parole hearings, as well as release young and elderly offenders…that approach is part of a pendulum swing in California, coming after decades of tough sentencing policies that lead to overflowing prisons and a court ordered cap on the state inmate population."
-But today, we are not here to enforce prison population caps or balance California state budget. We are here because Leslie Van Houten killed people.
Part of what continues to disrupt and impact our families are these endless parole hearings and what occurs in them.
In today's, and previous parole hearings – there has been much discussion of drug influence, mind control, threat to society, rehabilitation and suitability of parole.
We appreciate the opportunity to address these issues.
Just as the Manson clan collectively conspired, targeted, subdued, held hostage, butchered, mutilated and taunted society as a crime conglomerate- so too our families are bound by collective loss and suffering.
We stand for justice together, just as the Manson clan killed together.
We must acknowledge Steven Parent, Abigail Folger, Woytech
Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Sharon Tate, her unborn child, and Donald Shea in these proceedings today, because had Ms. Van Houten contacted authorities after Leslie's boyfriend/husband, Robert Beausiliel, murdered Gary Hinman on July 27, 1969- we wouldn't be in this room today…and ten people would have lived their lives fully.
Ms. Van Houten and her attorneys would have you believe the inmate's crimes occurred exclusively in a vacuum at the LaBianca residence. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Ms. Van Houten shared the intentions and full knowledge of Manson "family" criminal activity for months leading up to the killings. At a recent parole hearing, Ms. Van Houten's attorney states, "We are talking about one night of horrible violence in her life when she was clearly not in her right mind." This is a misstatement of gargantuan disconnect and minimization.
Last year, Ms. Van Houten's present attorney Richard Pfeiffer states "There's no doubt that if the word 'Manson' was not involved in her crimes, she would have been paroled 20 years ago."
I wonder, does it occur to anyone who shares this sentiment, that the word "Manson" has become synonymous with evil worldwide because of Leslie Van Houten's actions?… and her perverted behavior during the trial?
Leslie Van Houten is a prime and prominent butcher in one of the most notorious killing organizations in United States history. This is not by association, this is directly due to the inmate's inhumane actions and behavior.
REGARDING DRUG AND MANSON INFLUENCE-
At hearings in 2006 and 2007, Ms. Van Houten's attorney
Christie Webb asserted her client was rendered mentally incapacitated from chronic LSD abuse and Manson control. Ms. Webb states, "Leslie was vulnerable and she was controlled by drugs and Manson's brainwashing…All that LSD changed the chemistry of her brain." At the petitioner's 2010 parole hearing, her then attorney, Brandie Devall states, "It is abundantly clear that Ms. Van Houten has never used drugs as a crutch or a reason to justify this life crime." Then, the flip flop at last year's hearing:
PRESIDING COMMISSIONER ZARRINNAM: You said drugs played a role. You wouldn't have committed these crimes but for the drugs?
INMATE VAN HOUTEN: No. No. I wouldn't have committed them.[pp.119 LL 19-23]
Today, she says Manson used LSD to "indoctrinate" her.
These contradictions made in distant, and close, proximity of each other, gives one pause to realize genuine accountability gives way to tactical strategy.
Regardless, consider Dr. Barbara Fries MD, Senior Examiner for the Board of Neurology and Psychiatry- "It is not defensible to say Leslie Van Houten was influenced immediately, or chronically changed, by LSD. No drug has ever produced a sustained psychotic state that cause a person to carry out organized activity – as in these murders – with regard to the planning, the targeting, murdering, painting messages in blood- not to mention escaping capture and hiding from authorities. Psychedelic drugs and speed do not make people do psychotic deeds."
"Psychedelic drugs and speed do not make people do psychotic deeds."
ON MANSON-
Attorney Devall referred to Manson as a "master manipulator" who [QUOTE] "...had a knack for finding lost, young people and manipulating them." [END QUOTE] For decades our families are impacted as certain facets of media have fashioned a narrative on Manson and the so called "Family". But in light of the historical destruction of these crimes, it is imperative that we see things for what they are-
The so called "family" was not a cult. It was a group of people who chose to avoid work, have indiscriminate sex and get high. But in the months leading to Ms. Van Houten's murders August 10, 1969, they committed extensive crimes involving:
grand auto theft
pimping
and child molestation at Spawn Ranch (revealed at inmate Krenwinkel's last hearing p.208, LL 18-20)
Then, the torture murder of Gary Hinman.
Then, the drug deal burn of Bernard Crowe.
Days later, the attempted murder of Mr. Crowe after he was shot in the chest.
August 8- the murders of six people on Cielo Drive.
August 10- the murders of two people on Waverly Drive.
August 28- the murder Donald Shea.
Numerous attempts to frame African Americans for murder
September 9, 1970 the attempted murder of Barbara Hoyt.
August 21, 1971 the robbery of firearms from a supply store and subsequent shootout with 30 police officers in Hawthorne.
September 5, 1975 the attempted assassination of United States President Gerald Ford.
There is no hippie cult. These are not exploited, brainwashed teens. This is an extremely sophisticated, deadly crime organization.
Charles Manson is not a mastermind, or a counter culture demigod with mystical powers to control. He is an angry, frustrated man who lashed out at a society in which he was a complete failure.
Leslie Van Houten is not a Charles Manson "follower". Nor is she a victim. She, too, was an angry individual who identified with an organization bent on mayhem, rebellion and destruction. Her zealous loyalty, choices and actions for nearly two years clearly define her as as a cruel hearted sociopath. A killer.
Even Manson family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme states, "To blame it on Manson is just silly... These women could come and go as they wished. This was a voluntary unity."
IS LESLIE VAN HOUTEN A THREAT TO SOCIETY?
I sadly call to your attention the murder of 16-year-old Jason Sweeny. The Pennsylvania teenager was killed by four teenagers, ages 15-17. The weapons used to massacre the young man were a hammer, a hatchet and several large rocks. At one point during the attack the hammer was struck so severely it remained stuck in the victim's scull while he continued to struggle for life.
During the trial, the teenaged killers testified listening to "Helter Skelter" over and over for several hours before committing the
murder. "Helter Skelter". The same words written in blood on a wall at Leslie Van Houten's crime scene. Judge Seamus McCaffrey, after viewing Jason Sweeney's crime scene photos said, "This is something out of the Dark Ages. I'm not sure we can call ourselves a civilized society when this happens."
I bring to your attention that 3 of the 4 teenagers were sentenced to life without possibility of parole.
Is there anyone in this room that would suggest that these convicted teenagers will be paroled after 20 years?… even though the word Manson was NOT involved in their crimes?
Prosecuting District Attorney, Jude Conroy, states, "It is really amazing that teenagers in Philadelphia, Memorial Day weekend, is attuned to the whole HelterSkelter and Manson mythology. It's a sad testament to the twisted, brutal legacy the Manson murders have left behind such that attracts 15, 16, 17 year olds. Forty years later. 3,000 miles across the country. It is a powerful legacy."
The threat of Leslie Van Houten and her crimes to society- direct, symbolic and repercussive- is current and deadly.
LESLIE VAN HOUTEN IN THE MEDIA
It's no coincidence the teenaged murderers of Jason Sweeny were excited and inspired by HELTER SKELTER lore. Ms. Van Houten's crimes have left a historical wound on American culture.
Her decisions and behavior have profound consequences- and are the reason the murderer today- is perceived by many, as a rock star killer.
If there is any question of this reality, I submit the following:
These films produced in recent years- LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL (2009), BLEEDING HEARTS (2015), MANSON'S LOST GIRLS (2016), PRETTY FACE (2016), BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES (2017) - all depictions in which Ms. Van Houten is portrayed as a lead ingenue character.
There also is a Facebook page titled "FREE LESLIE VAN HOUTEN 2017" with 1,150 followers worldwide and the website leslievanhouten.com where a line of LESLIE VAN HOUTEN T-shirts are sold on the internet. I submit these, and other, samples from the internet for your reference.
This is not random. The inmate has been active in a wide variety of media formats throughout her incarceration.
There are book interviews with Michael Farquhar, Nicky Meredith, Carlene Faith and Jeff Guinn.
An internet search reveals Leslie's television interviews with:
Barbara Walters (1977)
Diane Sawyer ABC (1993)
Larry King CNN (1994)
film director John Waters (2009)
At a recent hearing, Commissioner Jeffrey Ferguson asked Ms. Van Houten "What do you think your obstacles are going to be once you're released?"
Her answer: "Maintaining anonymity."
I can certainly understand why.
ON THE NATURE AND GRAVITY OF MS. VAN HOUTEN'S CRIMES-
At a recent hearing, Leslie Van Houten stated that she accepts responsibility for what she termed [QUOTE] "superficial, post mortem wounds" {END QUOTE] to Rosemary LaBianca. This statement is shocking and alarming, especially when we consider it was made after years of reflection and rehabilitation. It is deplorable to candy coat this in any way whatsoever…yesterday. Today. Ever.
The first fatal blow occurred at the hands of Leslie Van Houten when she held Rosemary LaBianca hostage and prepared her for slaughter.
The next fatal blow was dealt at the hands of Leslie Van Houten when she wrestled her victim to the ground as she attempted to escape. The next fatal blow, when she called out for Watson and Krenwinkel to slaughter her victim. The next fatal blow when she restrained Rosemary's arms as she was stabbed dozens of times. Then, stab 1. Stab 2. Stab 3. Stab 4... Stab 18.
There is not one thing about this inmate's crimes that are "superficial" or "post mortem".
ON REHABILITATION-
To be clear, we certainly do not discount Ms. Van Houten's accomplishments behind bars. They are commendable.
But in comparison to the severe, grave dimensions of her crimes- the diplomas, letters and certificates become paper…
…and yet, after nearly 50 years of rehabilitation Leslie made a revealing, disturbing statement just last year at her hearing. It involves the word "allowed". She said, "I hope you're not understanding that I know it's my responsibility that I allowed this to happen to me." [p.65 LL23-24]
"… that it's my responsibility that I ALLOWED this to HAPPEN to ME." That's a helluva way to characterize these crimes. Today she says, "I take responsibility for what I ALLOWED Manson to do to us."
But it reveals who the individual is and how she minimizes her crimes. So what is it? Minimization or sociopathic revisionism? Or both. That statement is the cunning manipulation of a sociopath.
I'm struck that Ms. Van Houten becomes emotional in this hearing reminiscing on when she quoted Revelation passages to Charles Manson… and yet not one tear as she discusses her victims, her crimes and how her victims suffered.
Leslie Van Houten and her attorneys assert that Ms. Van Houten is a changed, rehabilitated individual. One attorney states, "Ms. Van Houten is the most modeled prisoner in the system and has been for a long, long time... She cannot change her offenses, but she has changed herself."
While the petitioner and her attorneys maintain Leslie Van Houten has changed, Leno and Rosemary La Bianca remain unchanged.
Unrehabilitated. Unparolled. And they will remain so for eternity.
They are just as dead today as the night Leslie Van Houten sent them to their graves.
From the LA Times article referenced at the beginning of this statement, "Parole Executive Officer Jennifer Shaffer describes the changing philosophies in recent California hearings as a shift from "You did what? Tell me about the crime" to "Who were you then?
Who are you today and what's the difference?"
-These are relevant questions. So I ask the same…. to those most impacted by Leslie Van Houten-
"Rosemary LaBianca, who were you before August 10,1969? Who
are you today? And what's the difference…What's the difference of spending a peaceful Sunday evening with your husband and being held against your will with a cord thrown around your neck, hood over your head, hearing your husband slaughtered in the next room…with a butcher knife? How does it feel to know you too, will be restrained, and stabbed 41 times?"
"Leno, where were you on August 10, 1969? Where are you now? What's the difference?…Tell us, how does it feel to have carving instruments shoved into your abdomen and throat over two dozen times? What's the difference living fifty
years with your children- playing with your grandson Tony, your grandchildren, your nephew Lou, great grandchildren… or lying mutilated and dead eighteen thousand, two hundred fifty days in a cold, black coffin? Who were you then? Who are you today? What's the difference?"
Tell us Leno. Tell us Rosemary.
How can we make amends for Leslie Van Houten, when none of us can make amends for her dead?
After her conviction in 1971, petitioner Van Houten defiantly said, "Your whole system is a game. You blind, stupid people."
Commissioner Brian Roberts, Commissioner Pomerantz-
Today you will determine how prophetic this statement is.
Considering the profound gravity of her crimes, the cruel and sadistic nature, the unspeakable suffering of her victims, the permanent loss to our families, the poisonous repercussions of her crimes to society even today, the inexplicable disconnected minimization exhibited in her statements and the behavioral evidence defining an entrenched sociopath despite decades of rehabilitation – it is only just to deny parole to Leslie Van Houten for the longest period of time permitted by law…the longest period of time permitted by law.
Posted by katie8753 at 11:40 PM
Labels: Anthony DiMaria's Impact Statement at Leslie Van Houten's Parole Hearing 2017
Thanks Venus and thanks Anthony!!
I've gotta work early in the morning so I'm heading out. I'll be back tomorrow to talk about all this.
Great stuff!!
CarolMR said...
Thanks for this, Venus.
Susanatkinsgonorhhea said...
Great stuff, Anthony sure has a way with words, im sure his uncle would be proud
Anthony makes a lot of great points in this statement that show that Leslie is NOT fit for release on society.
Anthony mentions the fact that California is letting a lot of these inmates out because of prison overcrowding.
Susan mentioned the same thing on the last thread, including the fact that a prisoner who was released committed another murder.
Overcrowding can't be a criteria for releasing dangerous criminals. If there aren't enough places to "bed down", then make them all bunk together!
Theres always room for especially brutal cases, Ramirez, Kraft, Kemper, Tex, etc
Susan, too bad Ramirez is dead. I'd like to see him and Tex bunk together! They had a lot in common.
Maybe Tex can bunk down with the Mendendez brothers. They might give Tex new info that he missed the first time!
Or maybe Tex can bunk down with Scott Peterson. He might give Tex some new pointers.
Can you imagine Tex, Bruce & Bobby sharing a cell? I'd love to hear the fighting going on there! HA HA HA.
Hahaha a "man of God" and an avowed devil worshipper together
Tex: (To Bobby) Would you stop playing that horrible guitar, you're the one who got us into this!
Bobby: Shut the fuck up.
Bruce: I hate both y'all. If it wasn't for y'all I'd still be in that Scientology place learnin' stuff about how to control folks.
Tex: Oh yeah, you're so righteous. Didn't you kill Joel Pugh?
Bruce: Not unless I can disappear like "Clear Clem".
Tex: I know your game, you act all righteous until you think someone will believe your ass. Good luck!
Bobby: I told you to shut the fuck up! I'm trying to do a "G" chord here.
Tex: You think you're tough, but you're just a pussy.
Bobby: Oh yeah, come at me!
Tex: You couldn't bust up a paper bag you bitch.
Bruce: Charlie liked me best! That's why I came back.
Tex: Charlie hated you and Bobby. He said you were babies.
Bobby: Charlie loved me best. We played together.
Bruce: Charlie loved me best, I drove him around to kill folks.
Tex: Charlie loved me best because he picked me for Helter Skelter.
All: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Charlie loved me best!!!! I'll kill you. Try it. Okay. You missed.
HA HA.
Katie have you ever seen that clip of Bobbys Simple Man performance? The guitar was decent but whoever told him he had a good voice was tone deaf lol, it sounded worse than fingernails on a chalkboard
I wonder if Scotty boy has found a new girlfriend online, i remember seeing something on that show Lockup i think and they were ar San Quentin and they were talking to a few inmates in general population and they were talking about how bad they wanted to get a shot at Scott, seems as if he was a real marked man in there
Susan, everything I've heard Bobby play was like a "fingernail on a blackboard"!
I'm sure Skippy has found lots of girlfriends. Why is he not DEAD YET?
I would post one of Bobby's songs, but I don't want to dis Anthony. I'll do that next thread.
Note to myself: Put up Bobby's music and make everyone sick.
Lol he took an all time classic tune and absolutely butchered it and to think he had the audacity to criticize Charlies music in that Truman Capote interview, Charlie blows the doors off Bobby and that aint saying much
Yeah that ain't saying much. I think the only people who like Charlie's music are people that just like him period.
He wasn't a musician. Neither is Bobby. They're both bogus anti-musicians.
They should both be sound backups for some lame band in the 60's. You know, the guys in the back with a backup flute, a snare drum or some spoons.
Neither Charlie nor Bobby has any musical talent. They both SUCK!
The proof is in the pudding. Neither of them was "discovered" and made it big! Because they both SUCKED!
The next thread I do is gonna be about this "music". LOL.
Like Melcher and Dennis Wilson and even Greg Jakobsen said, Charlie just wasnt that talented, he was an ok guitar player but that was it
If you you listen to his "music" it's like listening to a tone deaf guy wailing around and strumming a guitar without knowing anything about melody or harmony or how to read music.
Reminds me of some others. It's PUTRID!
I like 2 songs off Charlie's "LIE" album:
"Look at Your Game Girl" and "Sick City".
"Watch TV and drink your beer..."
Classic lyrics.
I also like 4 songs off the "Family Jams" album.
I listen to it, occasionally.
These 4 songs are actually very good:
"Ra-Hide Away!"
"Get on Home"
"I'll Never Say Never to Always"
"Look at Your Love"
These other 2 songs aren't too bad (i.e., Honorable Mention):
"No Wrong-Come Along"
(This song is alright, if you can get past the borderline satanic lyrics)
"First They Made Me Sleep in the Closet"
(This song is pretty cool, until it morphs into a weird story about scratching peace signs into someone's tombstone. LOL)
I'm not sure how much credit to give Manson for the "Family Jams" album though, because he's not even on it.
Grogan plays the guitar, and sings-along with the girls.
Grogan's guitar skills (at that point in his development) are nothing special (he just kinda hacks-away at chords), and I don't really care for his voice at all... but truth be told, the songs listed above are very nicely arranged, and the girls voices sound great.
Four good songs, and two mediocre songs (on one album) may not sound like much... but really, how many well-regarded albums have more than 4 good songs on them?
Personally, I think the "Family Jams" album is pretty decent.
Just for shits and giggles:
If you could drop Grogan and replace him with a professional male guitarist/singer... (say Lindsay Buckingham or Eric Clapton?)... and have a professional "Producer/Arranger" work with the girls... the album could have been fucking phenomenal!
In my opinion, Grogan was the weak link on that album.
4-5 of the songs are great, and the girls sounded "pissa".
I find Manson and his minions just as distasteful as the next blogger, but if you're gonna do a review on their music, you gotta be honest about it.
Some of their music, is really not THAT bad...
Lol compared to what? Maybe compared to the complete shit thats out today ok but compared to their contemporaries they sound like monkeys at the zoo banging on bongos lol
I agree on Look at your game girl, that one wasnt bad
"They sound like monkeys at the zoo banging on bongos lol"
Manson's "Lie" album had 14 tracks on it.
Your assessment is accurate for 11-12 of those tracks.
The vast majority of the songs (on that album) are absolutely brutal.
And yes... the percussion is horrible... even laughable.
But notwithstanding, "Look at Your Game Girl" and "Sick City" actually have some merit.
"Big Iron Door" is the only other track that is marginal.
So yeah... I agree with you, for the most part.
Most of the tracks blow, and I was pretty disappointed with my purchase (from that standpoint).
As for the "Family Jams" album, I have to respectfully disagree with you.
I've listened to my "FJ" album many times, and I've enjoyed it.
I consider it a legitimate part of my music collection, and I've never regretted the purchase price.
Minute for minute, I've actually spent more time listening to my "FJ" album, than my Joan Baez double Album.
You have to assess the "FJ" album, for what it is.
It's a very stripped-down situation.
Barring 1 track (where Gypsy plays some violin), and another track which includes some very brief rudimentary bass guitar, it's just Clem playing rhythm on an acoustic guitar and lots of vocals.
It's basically a camp fire sing-along... nothing more, nothing less.
And for a camp fire sing-a-long, it's the best I've heard.
You can't compare the "FJ" album to Lynyrd Skynyd playing multiple blazing guitars, a keyboard, bass, full drum kit, and Marshall amps stacked to the moon.
If you do, you'll obviously be disappointed.
That's just my two cents.
Of course, music appreciation is very subjective, and you're under no obligation to agree with me.
If you've ever tried to write your own original song, it's a very humbling experience, and that's why, I give the "FJ" album (and 2 songs off the "Lie" album) some props.
Truth be told Susan, my commentary was actually directed at Katie.
I know she's never even listened to the entire "FJ" album... she doesn't even own a copy.
Yet, she has no problem bashing it, just because she hates the Manson Family.
I just don't subscribe to that mindset.
If you're going to critique an album, you have to at least listen to it (in it's entirety).
If you're going to critique a book, you have to at least read it (in it's entirety).
And if you're going to critique anything at all, you have to separate your personal feelings for the performer/author, and make an objective assessment, or why bother?
For what it's worth, I've played some Charles Manson and "Manson Family Jams" music for knowledgable musicians in the past without telling them who the artist(s) were, and believe it or not, I got some positive feedback.
It was my version of the "blind taste test".
Of course, after I told them who it was, they were shocked.
As for Bobby's music, I've only listened to about 120 seconds of it (total).
I "dropped the needle" on probably 4-5 songs, for a half a minute each.
Let's just say, what I did hear was terrible, and I had no interest in hearing any more.
I can't comment beyond that.
Okay... end of diatribe.
Feel free to agree or disagree.
That's just my personal opinion.
Actually the entire FJ collection is on youtube so ill have to give it a closer listen, given that youre an obvious Lynyrd Skynard fan what is your opinion of Bobbys rendition of Simple Man?
Marliese said...
Susan, zoo monkeys banging on bongos...that's the funniest thing you've said yet! LOL. Maybe the truest, too. Haha
At your request, I listened to the following song:
https://youtu.be/jIaPUThTA2c
Let me start by saying, you owe me 8 minutes and 44 seconds of my life back.
Bobby's vocals were simply horrible.
I mean, they were embarrassingly bad.
On a scale of 1-10... it would be hard to justify giving him a one.
His guitar playing was very mediocre.
He obviously memorized the main riff. (It's a necessity).
Beyond that, his solo was a simple pentatonic scale.
And even as "pent solos" go, it was executed with average skill.
I'd give his guitar playing a 4 (out of 10).
The overall performance sucked monkey balls, compared to the real Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I need to hear the real Lynyrd Skynyrd now, to get those fucking vocals out of my head.
If I can't get Bobby's vocals out of my head, and "Simple Man" is forever ruined for me, you're fucking banned, LOL
Just bustin' ya Bro, but that was fucking brutal.
THIS is how you perform LIVE for 9 minutes!
https://youtu.be/SY63KTMrkTM
Hell yeah...
I don't have to hear every song that Charlie or Bobby ever sang to know how much they SUCK! Bobby can't carry a tune in a bucket and Charlie's lyrics don't make any sense, just like the way he talks.
And how is Bobby on stage playing guitar? What is that, a prison or a dance hall?
Hahaha like a bunch of cats in an alley
Lol i told you it was bad...worse than bad
The more you listen the more you realize Melcher, Wilson and Jakobsen had to be in it for the girls, a 7 year old could tell you none of them had any musical talent, theyre just plain bad
Its a prison show
Like Harold True said about Charlie "and Terry Melcher told him he couldnt make shit with a voice for record albums" lol
That Harold True interview is a scream!
It's freakin' hilarious!
It's on the blog here:
http://www.lsb3.com/2011/08/seriously-friends.html
"Them fucking fruitcakes couldn't pour piss out of a boot, with the bottom written on it". LMAO!!!
"Look... I'm no idiot... I got a college degree... and I know a few little fucking things about life, and law, and myself... and I know people when they're nuts". Ahahahaha!
"You can't ascribe reason to crazy people". LOL
If you read the comments section on that thread, you'll see that we had a ton of fun with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykH_ZQhYeMs&index=5&list=PL794CAF086D1165A4
Here's a song from Family Jams. If you can even understand the lyrics they're scary and disturbing. The sound is awful. The singing is more like talking. They can't seem to sing or carry a tune at all.
They even get little girls to talk, which is even scarier, knowing that they were molested.
The voices are monophonic and the chords seem to be repetitive. How is this good stuff?
Clem probably had a gun to those little girls' heads to make them magpie. Or something more disgusting but a lot smaller and more revolting. LOL.
Clem & Roman have a lot in common. They've both been to the same places....
Lol how about "oh Krenwinkel man...she carries her brains in a lunch box" or when he starts talking to her "is there any money in it for me? Well then forget it" or "If she knew the guy shed have been on that big black bus wit da rest a dem yahoos"
Two more i like are "and im goin to school tellin psychiatrists about this guy and theyre tellin me im full of shit because no one like Charlie Manson exists and im tellin them youre fucked up and youre lucky hes not selling Fords" and about Linda "and she no more knows the Labiancas then fuckin Adolf Hitler and uh Shameer (i think he means Shimon) Peres are brothers" lol
Lol the child molester section of Vacaville?
You can go down to that Indian Reservation and start blowing smoke signals, cuz that's where you'll find'em"
"We've got some things that don't fly".
Harold:
"That one don't. It's a lead fucking balloon".
Lol i love right after he says that she goes "ok", also love the way he sounds like hes hiding some secret "Joe Krieger?........yeah......"
"Especially that scum of the earth Boogaloosee man......he booked me and threw my ass in jail for murder man....how did you get out? I got a good fuckin lawyer thats how i got out, told em to shove it up their ass" lol
The "Boo-ga-loosi" thing is classic. LOL
"That, scum of the earth, Boogalooosi..."
Lol "If i produced a picture of Suzan would you be willing to take a look at it? No.
"Look lady, this was twenty years ago".
"You ever throw a party with 300 people, and remember EVERYONE that was there??"
"Hows it going?"
"Why ask?"
"Because you sound tired and if you didnt want to talk i can certainly understand that"
"What do you want?"
Harold True was/is a real character in a story full of characters, is he still alive? I think he was sick when Nelson made the recording. Too much partying in the 60's according to Bill.
Pretty sure he died in 2013, i think that recording was around 89-90, i think it was around Texs 1990 parole hearing when Suzan popped up wasnt it?
Hey Marliese (or anyone else interested), off subject for a sec.
Do you think Betty Broderick was a victim of her husband's abuse, or is she just a bitch that was mad because she didn't get her way and committed the ultimate revenge against him?
Dilligaf said...
I think it was a little of both. I believe that Dan Broderick's strong ego clashed with Betty's fragile self-image, as well as her mental illness. She is a classic woman scorned, but in no way was she a victim, she is a murderer, nothing more.
Dill I agree. I think Dan used his legal skills against her in some instances, but I definitely think she was mentally ill. Dan & Linda should have known that when she drove her car into their house. The fact that they didn't have an alarm set on their front door is amazing to me, given that she'd been harassing them for months.


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Roxgold
https://www.roxgold.com/home/default.aspx
Mr. John Dorward has over 20 years of experience in the mining and finance industries and most recently served as Vice-President, Business Development at Fronteer Gold Inc. Mr. John Dorward was an integral part of the team that sold the large Michelin uranium deposit, acquired AuEX Ventures Inc., and successfully advanced Fronteer Gold's properties prior to the Company's sale to Newmont Mining Corp. for $2.3 billion in 2011. Mr. John Dorward is currently the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Roxgold (TSX: ROXG).
Prior to his role at Fronteer Gold, Mr. John Dorward was the Chief Financial Officer of Mineral Deposits Ltd. from 2006 to 2009, where he was responsible for financing the construction of the Sabodala Gold Project in Senegal, West Africa. Prior to that, Mr. John Dorward was the Chief Financial Officer at Leviathan Resources Ltd., an ASX-listed gold producer, before its acquisition in 2006. He was a non-executive director of Pilot Gold Inc. from 2011 to 2015 and is currently a non-executive director of Navarre Minerals Ltd., an ASX-listed explorer, and Contact Gold.
John Dorward will be presenting a Mining Spotlight of Roxgold with the Exploration, Investment & Finance conference at IMARC. Download the programme.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Report (x) ›
photo (x) ›
Smith, G. Jason (x) ›
Diet composition of Bathyraja interrupta (Gill and Townsend, 1897) and Bathyraja aleutica (Gilbert, 1896) ≈
by Simon Charles Brown., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- California State University, Monterey Bay, 2010.,
Distribution and sedimentology of periplatform sediment on a model open-ocean carbonate slope: Northern Little Bahama Bank
by Kathryn Carol Heath., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1987.,
Reproductive periodicity and its relationship to recruitment and persistence of Endocladia muricata and Mastocarpus papillatus
by Eric Walter Nigg., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1988.,
An assessment of genetic variation within and between sea otter(Enhydra lutris) populations off Alaska and California
by Lisa Christine Cheney., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1995., ,
Gulf of California pleistocene and modern molluscan comparison as a test for global change
by Carlos E. Cintra Buenrostro., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories." Thesis (M.S.)--San Jose State University, 2000.
Ecological studies of Geniculate coralline algae in Stillwater Cove, Carmel Bay, CA
by Brenda Konar., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1991., ,
Life history of the Pacific Electric Ray, Torpedo californica (Ayres), in Central and Southern California
by Julie Ann Neer., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1998.
Evaluating methods to anesthetize Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus) for immediate release in the field: Induction, recovery, and cortisol stress response to surgical anesthesia
by Jahnava K. Duryea, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 2014.
Pupping phenology, distribution, movements, and dive patterns of the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi): off the northern San Juan Islands of Washington
by Robert M. Suryan., "Thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1995. Harbor Seals
Effects of depth, site, and season on phenotypic variation of the geniculate coralline, Calliarthron tuberculosum: around the Monterey Peninsula, California
by Jasmine E. Ruvalcaba, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 2014.
Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) response to wind variability in the California current
by Melinda S. Nakagawa, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 2014.
Origin and paleoceanographic significance of laminations in hemipelagic biosiliceous sediments: Examples from the Peru margin and the Monterey Formation, California
by Jennifer Desiree Dreyer, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- California State University, Monterey Bay, 2011.
Deposition, peristence, and utilization of kelp wrack along the central California coast
by Jarred A.Klosinski., "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) - California State University, Monterey Bay, 2015.
Using new tag attachments to study humpback whale fine-scale spatiotemporal dive behavior, habitat use, and reaction to ships off northern California
by Angela Renee Szesciorka, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 2015.
Deep-sea sedimentary processes in the Argentine Basin revealed by 3.5 kHz echograms
by Adam Klaus, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 1986., The regional distribution of eleven 3.5 kHz seismic echo types reveals the areal extent of deep-sea sedimentary processes in the Argentine Basin. A correlation between echo character and the relative abundance of sand and silt layers in piston cores allows the pattern of coarse terrigenous sediment dispersal to be identified. This relationship indicates that the majority of coarse sediment bypasses the continental slope and rise. This coarse sediment is deposited on the proximal abyssal plain with progressively lower amounts basinward, and lower abundances on the shallow margin. Scarps, irregular and blocky hyperbolic zones, and transparent layers along the Argentine continental margin have echo characteristics similar to those of documented gravity-controlled mass flow deposits. A large area of mass flow deposits, covering at least 5x10^4 km^2, is located on the continental rise and adjacent abyssal plain east of the Rio de la Plata. A field of migrating mud waves, approximately 1.0x10^6 km^2 in extent, occurs on the sediment drifts of the central basin. Mud waves range in amplitude up to 137m and average 26m, and have wavelengths of about 3 to 7 km. The presence of migrating mud waves suggests widespread current-controlled sedimentation. It is inferred, however, that these mud waves form in areas of relatively weak flow in the interior basin because the benthic circulation is characterized by strong Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow along the western and southern margins and by weak flow in the central basin. A variety of hyperbolic echoes on the abyssal plain adjacent to the Argentine continental margin, south of the Rio Grande Rise, and in the Georgia Basin, are interpreted as current-produced erosional / depositional bedforms, although downslope sedimentary processes may also produce similar hyperbolic echoes. The distribution of bedforms inferred from seismic echo character suggests that sediment is supplied to the basin principally by gravity-controlled mass flows. Sediment entrained in AABW is a secondary source. Gravity-controlled mass flows are predominantly limited to the Argentine continental margin. Sediment from both sources is winnowed by strong AABW flow along the Argentine continental rise. The fine-grained chaff is transported to the central basin where it is deposited as migrating mud waves in regions of relatively weaker bottom current.
Motile crypotfaunal invertebrate assemblages in Catalina Island's rhodolith beds in relation to physical structure and live rhodoliths
by Kristin Meagher Robinson, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- California State University, Monterey Bay, 2015.
Effects of small-scale substrate complexity and heterogeneity on rocky intertidal species interactions
by Sara E. Worden, "A thesis presented to the faculty of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.", Thesis (M.S.) -- San Jose State University, 2015.
Cailliet, Gregor M. (127) + -
Harvey, James T. (100) + -
Foster, Michael S. (70) + -
Graham, Michael H. (60) + -
Broenkow, William W. (59) + -
Coale, Kenneth H. (54) + -
Welschmeyer, Nicholas A. (34) + -
Hamilton, Scott L. (31) + -
Ebert, David A. (25) + -
Geller, Jonathan (25) + -
Roe, Pamela (25) + -
Aiello, Ivano W. (24) + -
Wursig, Bernd G. (23) + -
Greene, H. Gary (21) + -
Johnson, Kenneth S. (18) + -
McPhee-Shaw, Erika (17) + -
Oliver, John S. (16) + -
Martin, John H. (15) + -
Larson, Ralph J. (13) + -
Ledbetter, Michael T. (12) + -
San Jose State University (261) + -
California State University, Monterey Bay (104) + -
Fresno State University (27) + -
California State University, Stanislaus (26) + -
California State University, Hayward (16) + -
California State University, Sacramento (6) + -
California State University, East Bay (1) + -


text:
Introduction to the Tools
Model Government Use Licences
Model Uses of Paragraph 7 or "LDC Waiver"
Special Compulsory Licences for Export of Medicines
Options for Regional Economic Communities
Voluntary Licences
TRIPS Flexibilities Database
Briefs & Briefing Documents
Medicines Law & Policy Research and resources on intellectual property and health
Time to put a stop to the abuse of orphan drug regulation- the latest scandal
Ellen 't Hoen
Today, the Dutch Medical Journal (Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde) reported on the case of lutetium-octreotaat, a cancer drug developed by researchers in the Dutch Erasmus medical centre in Rotterdam. For the last 18 years, the hospital pharmacy made the medicine to treat their patients, keeping prices relatively low. But now the drug is being marketed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, and its price has skyrocketed to Euro 23,000 an infusion from an original price of Euro 4,000 an infusion. This takes the price of a complete treatment of 4 infusions to nearly Euro 100,000, a price point at which health insurers no longer wish to reimburse its use. How was is possible that a medicine developed by Dutch physicians in an academic setting got in the hands of a Swiss pharmaceutical company that is now using its market exclusivity in the EU to defend its monopoly price?
Research journalist Lucien Hordijk looked into these questions for the Dutch Medical Journal. This blog is based on his article [in Dutch]. The answer revolves around the EU regulation on "orphan drugs" – originally designed to encourage the development of treatments for rare diseases – that is being abused to drive up prices. And the privatisation of publicly funded research without sufficient safeguards for affordability.
Lutetium-octreotaat was developed to treat patients with neuroendocrine tumours. These tumours can appear in different parts of the body such as the pancreas, stomach and liver. The treatment was developed by doctors in the Erasmus medical centre, a Dutch academic hospital. The doctors involved formed their own startup, Biosynthema, in 2001. The hospital became known internationally for the treatment and attracted patients from all over the world. Patients included Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who travelled to Rotterdam for treatment with lutetium-octreotaat. Of 2014 patients with neuroendocrine tumours who were treated, half showed tumour size reduction and most patients reached the 5-year post-treatment survival milestone.
In 2010, Biosynthema was sold to a French company, Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) for Euro 10.7 million. AAA obtained marketing authorisation with a study of 229 patients and spent Euro 40 million on research and development cost. Part of this was paid with French R&D subsidies. In 2017, the European Medicines Agency approved the product for the European market. Early 2018, Novartis bought AAA's shares for Euro 3.3 billion. And now wants to have Euro 100,000 per patient per treatment. Obviously a huge money maker for the hospital physicians that held shares in the company. The Erasmus hospital is entitled to the lowest price available in Europe from Novartis. But that is now many-fold the cost of their own hospital pharmacy preparation. So why not continue the practice of hospital pharmacy preparation that has helped many patients to date? One complication is that AAA (now owned by Novartis) has bought up the sole producer of the active ingredient that hospital pharmacists relied on for good quality supply.
This case raises a number of issues: How is it possible that a company obtains market exclusivity for a product they did not really develop themselves and for which the R&D expenditure was modest? How could the doctors who developed the treatment while on staff at the hospital privatise this knowledge with the result that a formerly affordable product today has become out of reach of patients?
Clearly, Novartis price setting has all the characteristics of abuse of their position in the market. An issue that made headlines last year in the Netherlands when the Foundation for Pharmaceutical Accountability submitted an enforcement request at the Dutch competition authority to take action against the company Leadiant. Leadiant had increased the price of CDCA, a drug to treat a rare metabolic diseases, 500-fold after obtaining orphan drug status and clamping down on cheaper pharmacy preparation of the drug.
The key question is when governments in the EU will take action to amend the orphan drug regulation to prevent these monopolistic practices and demand reasonable medicines pricing. And when will research hospitals implement policies to ensure that their endeavours serve the public interest and not the pockets of their doctors?
market exclusivity
Wrapping up 2019 – Noteworthy Medicines Law and Policy Events
Socially Responsible Licensing of Medical Technologies
Uganda tells ARIPO: No more patents for pharmaceuticals
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Medicines Law & Policy releases analysis, policy recommendations and tools to aid practitioners working on universal access to medicines. We strive to provide information that is as accurate as possible, and we welcome and encourage feedback. For comments or questions contact us at: info@medicineslawandpolicy.net.
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text:
Q: std::complex initilalisation issue Consider the following code
#include <complex>
#include <iostream>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    std::complex<double> a = 1+1i;
    std::cout<<"a ="<<a<<"\n";
    return 0;
}

When I compile using Apple LLVM version 8.0.0 (clang-800.0.42.1) and the output that I get is
a =(1,0)

Can someone explain why the imaginary part is getting initialised with zero?

A: The 1 + 1i is using a (GCC) extension which creates types similar/equivalent to C99's _Complex int type. That type is convertible to a real type like int or double. std::complex is not compatible to _Complex, it does not have any constructors to create a std::complex from a _Complex (*). But std::complex<T> does have a constructor that takes a T. This triggers the aforementioned conversion _Complex -> T -> std::complex<T>.
So the code in the OP is equivalent to:
#include <complex>
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    double d = 1+1i;
    std::complex<double> a = d;
    std::cout<<"a ="<<a<<"\n";
    return 0;
}

The imaginary part of 1 + 1i is dropped in the conversion to double.

To prevent such surprises, try to compile with warnings and -pedantic. This example seems to be one of the few places where clang actually adds an additional warning with the -pedantic flag (for gcc, -pedantic changes the warning output in many contexts):
prog.cc:6:19: warning: imaginary constants are a GNU extension [-Wgnu-imaginary-constant]
    double d = 1+1i;

(*) IIRC, std::complex was introduced in C++98, while _Complex was introduced in C99.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
I've traveled to parallel universes. The worlds I've seen are terrifying – Part 3
April 13, 2022 April 17, 2022 / Apocalyptic and Dystopian, Conspiracies and Government, Deaths, Murders, and Disappearances, Jobs and Occupations, Journals and Diaries, Locations and Sites, Military and Warfare, Science and Experimentation, Science Fiction and Aliens, Technology, the Internet, and the Deep Web / Alien Invasion, Alternate History, dystopia, Killer Robots, Parallel Universes, science fiction, Secret Experiments, Traveller / 28 minutes of reading
Greetings friends and truth seekers. I am writing this with a heavy heart, and I believe this will be my last account before the government catches up with me. I've had too many close calls already and I know my luck will run out. And to be honest, I'm tired of running. This is no way to live.
To recap, I am a whistle-blower and former participant in a top-secret, government-run experiment. Its objective? To open portals to alternate universes, deploy survey teams, and seek out a world fit for a seed colony. If you haven't read my previous accounts, I suggest you do so now.
Once you've learnt the true extent of the horrors on Earths 217 and 312, I hope you'll understand why I've done this…why I've effectively sacrificed my own life to tell the world the truth.
The bloodbath on Earth 312 really fucked me up. I don't think there's any way to describe what it's like to see the woman you love brutally murdered in front of your eyes, all while being powerless to prevent it. That horrifying memory will haunt me to my dying day.
The Earth 312 mission was a disaster, and once again our bosses; government officials, senior military officers and tech billionaires…they all wanted answers. Weeks of investigations and recriminations inevitably followed. We never discovered the history of Earth 312 or the truth behind the brutal society which inhabits it. Our anthropology team has various theories based upon our findings. Perhaps a civilisation where Satanism became the dominant world religion, or a death cult who'd somehow formed a functioning global government? Naturally, nobody's in a rush to go back there and start asking those psychopaths questions.
Unfortunately, they know all about us thanks to the traitor on our team. The Doc, our medical attendant on the 312 mission, defected and joined the enemy, jumping at the opportunity to perform his twisted experiments on live human subjects. In exchange, he will tell his sadistic new masters everything he knows about trans-dimensional portal travel, no doubt helping them to develop their own technology.
The heavy losses on 312 didn't deter the powers-that-be, however. Once again, they made a few cosmetic changes to our personnel and operating procedures before giving the go ahead for new missions. By this point I'd barely survived two disastrous operations upon hellish alternate worlds. I'd been bitten, beaten, tortured and shot, and had seen friends and colleagues slaughtered in horrific circumstances. I was betrayed by a once trusted team member and worse yet, I watched the woman I loved get brutally murdered, and in an instant my entire future was wiped out.
I should've left the project of course. Why didn't I? That's a question for my psychiatrist I suppose. Call it a death wish or an unhealthy desire for revenge. Either way, I was operating like a zombie, going from mission to mission whilst taking reckless risks.
It seems unbelievable, but the bosses actually promoted me to team leader around this time. I don't know why they did something so stupid, but if I had to guess I'd say it was for two reasons. Firstly, I was one of the few team members to have survived from the early days of the project. Most of my contemporaries were either dead or had quit. The other reason was their decision to transfer the leadership of the project from the military to civilian personnel.
The 217 and 312 missions were both under military command, and both had ended in bloody disaster. Kaz had taken the blame for the deaths on 312, even though it wasn't really her fault. Still, our bosses needed a scapegoat and Kaz was the team leader. They would have canned Kaz if I hadn't interceded on her behalf. It was the least I could do. After all, she'd come back to rescue me from that damn torture chamber on 312. I just wish she'd arrived in time to save Helen.
The next few missions were largely uneventful. We had a few cakewalks and a couple of close shaves. Nevertheless, we didn't encounter anything on the scale of 217 or 312 – no Aryan super soldiers, genetically-modified werewolves, or Satanic death cults. Even so, I always sensed that it was only a matter of time before we ran into another disaster.
The multiverse is populated by monsters. I don't think the bosses ever realised the full extent of the threats we face from the evil regimes on the other side of these portals. That was until we crossed over to Earth 537. After that cluster fuck of a mission, all bets were off.
The atmosphere on the morning of our crossing was undeniably tense, although this had in fact become the norm. Gone were the days of idealistic scientists and researchers eager to explore and discover the secrets of these new worlds. Those naïve types were long gone – either dead, retired, or turned into world-weary cynics like me.
Other than Kaz and myself, the rest of my team were a combination of trigger-happy mercenaries and washed-up academics, lacking the proper training and field experience. The quality of our recruits had gone down hill since the early days of the project. I was the leader of this rag-tag band of misfits and renegades, on paper at least. Yes, they followed my orders on base, but if the shit hit the fan on the other side, I didn't know what would happen.
In the moments before the crossover, I stood at the front of the line in the bunker, a crate full of equipment at my feet, ready to push down the rail once the portal opened. I watched on as the machinery was activated and power surged. The initialisation process had begun. This part used to scare the shit out of me, as I imagined all the horrific things which could go wrong, but now I hardly cared.
I glanced across to my long-suffering companion Kaz, who stood beside me in her body armor and with a M-4 carbine slung over her shoulder. She met my gaze briefly, showing just the slightest glint of vulnerability in her eyes, a chink in her armor which only lasted for a moment. I thought she might say something, but instead she regained her rock-hard composure, nodding curtly before turning her attentions back to the operation.
Kaz was the toughest person I'd ever met, and she'd saved my ass more times than I could remember, but all this horror had taken a toll on her too. Suddenly, the room filled with light and a wave of heat hit us. The portal opened as it had done a hundred times before, creating an impossible passageway to another world.
I looked with despair at the fluid membrane before me, not wanting to step through but knowing I ultimately would do. Kaz's shout brought me back to reality, as she screamed instructions to the team, ordering them forwards and making sure they got all our equipment through before the portal closed. The deployment wasn't the best, not nearly as smooth as back in the day, but we just about made it.
I remember little about my crossing on that occasion. It used to be the most terrifying experience imaginable for me – to cross over into the abyss and face the emptiness between the two universes. The darkness used to frighten me, but no more. An eternity trapped in limbo seemed preferable to the living hell my existence had become.
Now, the crossings were easy compared to what they had been. I walked out on the other side of the portal and managed to keep the contents of my stomach. But, as soon as I took my first breath of air, I knew something was wrong.
"Respirators on now!" came the cry, "This is not a drill!"
My brain was racing and lungs burning as I almost succumbed to panic. Thankfully, I remembered my training, dropping my backpack and reaching inside with shaking hands. I quickly withdrew my respirator mask, clumsily placing it over my eyes, face and mouth before securing the strap and breathing purified air, struggling to adjust to a situation that had deteriorated so quickly.
I looked around for the first time and was relieved to see all of my team members had applied their masks and appeared to be uninjured. This was something at least. However, as I surveyed the scene around me, I soon realised we were in trouble. The sky above us was an unnatural shade of red, and the soil below our feet was dead. In fact, the whole landscape was barren, without a living creature or plant to be seen. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought we'd been transported to the surface of Mars.
But this was Earth, or rather a hellish version of it. My team members were still hanging around the insertion point, all appearing confused and frightened. Kaz was shouting out orders through her mask's communicator. She commanded the security team to establish a defensive perimeter and for the technicians to set up their equipment and begin their analysis. My team members reluctantly complied, knowing they had no real choice but to follow protocol.
I switched on my communicator and approached my lead technician – a young man named Tyler who was in fairness one of the more competent members of my ragtag team.
"What the hell happened?" I demanded.
I could see the look of shock and surprise through the visor on his mask.
"I don't know boss. It's not my fault! The initial readings detected toxins in the air. It might be safe to breathe, but I'm just following protocol!"
"Okay." I said, backing down somewhat.
To be fair, Tyler was just doing his job. But obviously someone had fucked up. Situations like this weren't meant to happen, and we all knew it.
"Looks like the probe malfunctioned." Kaz suggested, as she joined our conversation.
"I guess." I replied with some cynicism.
It was standard procedure to send in a robot to check out the atmosphere and conditions before a team was sent in to explore a new world. If the probe detected dangerous toxins in the air or soil, or significant levels of background radiation, the manned mission was supposed to be aborted. Clearly, this hadn't happened on this occasion. In my mind, there were two possible reasons why.
The first was that the probe had indeed malfunctioned, or the data it sent back to Earth 1 had been corrupted or misinterpreted. The alternative was a more cynical explanation – that our bosses had known Earth 537 wasn't safe but decided to send us in anyway. The project leadership had already shown a total disregard for human life, and no doubt they considered us all expendable.
I experienced a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach – one of utter despair. But I decided not to communicate my fears to my team members. Morale was low enough already, and frankly I feared a mutiny. I tried to compose myself and remain calm as I continued to press Tyler for information.
"Are we in immediate danger?" I asked sternly.
"I don't know yet." he replied sheepishly, "I'll need to run more tests to find out what we're dealing with."
"Well, get to it please." I ordered, watching as Tyler reached for his equipment and laptop.
I'd give him space to complete his analysis, but we all knew it wouldn't make much difference either way. The portal was closed and our colleagues on the other side wouldn't reopen the passageway for another 24 hours. If our respirators failed or provided inadequate protection against the hostile atmosphere…well, frankly we were fucked.
All we could do was sit here in this lifeless wasteland, waiting to see whether we'd die from exposure to this unfriendly environment whilst simultaneously praying that some other disaster didn't befall us within the next 24 hours. Words can't describe how much I hated our bosses in that moment.
Time passed as we waited for the results of Tyler's analysis. We sat cross legged, looking across the dead landscape, staring in dread-filled awe at the blood red sky, as a cold wind blew over our exposed hillside. Our respirators didn't give out, so the chances of us all suffocating to death were getting slimer. However, this didn't mean we hadn't been exposed to a lethal dose of radiation which would result in a slow and painful death, even if we did make it back to our Earth.
To say the situation was tense would be an immense understatement. It took the combined efforts of Kaz and me to keep the team calm. After some time, I approached Tyler's makeshift workstation, looking over his shoulder as he frowned at the data appearing on his laptop screen.
"The atmosphere is unlike anything we've seen before on any world we've visited. It's like someone is deliberately trying to modify the atmosphere and ecology…" Tyler muttered.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
This conversation certainly wasn't filling me with confidence. Tyler looked up from his laptop to meet my gaze, his wide eyes visible through his visor.
"You ever heard of terraforming, boss?"
Terraforming. This term conjured images of science fiction in my mind, of missions to Mars and plans to make alien planets habitable for human colonists. But why the hell would anyone do that here on Earth? I was about to ask Tyler that very question before I got interrupted.
"What the fuck is that?" screamed Martinez, one of our security personnel.
He pointed to the far horizon. I looked to the sky and was horrified to see three small dots appearing, some type of aircraft, quickly approaching our position.
"We've got incoming!" screamed Kaz, "Take up defensive positions people!"
Our security personnel reacted slowly, prompting Kaz to shout a fresh set of orders, while she simultaneously ran to one of the steel containers to withdraw a weapon.
I watched on in awe and horror as the trio of aircraft descended from the crimson skies. As they sped ever closer, I was able to identify their features, but this only added to my terror. The three aircraft appeared similar to unmanned drones, but their design was ugly and alien to my eyes – saucer shaped, jet black robots adorned with an array of unfamiliar but deadly-looking weapons.
The three aerial drones were headed straight for our location, and we had nowhere to run or hide. Suddenly, there was an almighty blast, followed by a streak of white as a missile tore through the air. A second later, the projectile hit the lead drone, causing a huge explosion and turning the aircraft into a ball of flames. I watched the wrecked drone fall to earth and then turned in astonishment to see Kaz holding a Stinger missile launcher. She'd acted fast, taking out the lead drone, but the other two kept on coming.
The second drone opened fire with some sort of projectile. Luckily, Kaz saw the attack coming, dropping the launcher and jumping out of the way just in time. The rocket hit a second later, causing a mighty blast and leaving a small crater in the ground. And, in that moment, all hell broke loose.
Both surviving drones opened up indiscriminately with rockets and explosive rounds, causing utter carnage. I heard shouts and screams, saw men and women running in a blind panic, but there was nowhere for them to go. I watched in shocked awe as my team members were cut down one-by-one.
In an instant, Tyler's head was blown clean off by a high-velocity round, his limp body collapsing into the dirt like a lifeless ragdoll. Some of the security men tried to fight back, dropping down to one knee and opening fire with their M-4s, but they didn't last long. Martinez was hit square in the chest by a rocket, his body literally exploding, covering everything in blood, flesh and bone fragments.
It was horrific, but there was nothing I could do. With nowhere to run and no way to defend myself, I simply stood there and waited for death. But it didn't come. A moment later, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, pulling me back from the brink. It was Kaz – my savior once again.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" she screamed.
We jumped on one of the quad bikes that had survived the onslaught, Kaz driving and me riding pillion. She put her foot on the accelerator and we sped off, leaving the carnage behind us. One of the drones continued the slaughter of our team members and destruction of our equipment. The second broke off to pursue us.
Kaz zig-zagged through the dirt as high velocity rounds exploded all around us. Our bike wasn't fast enough and there was no cover. It seemed like we'd only delayed the inevitable and we'd be blown to smithereens within seconds. But then, a powerful shot rang out above our heads.
I looked back over my shoulder and saw the killer drone had taken a hit; its navigation system apparently damaged as it swayed over to one side. BANG. A second shot rang out, and the drone fell from the sky, crashing down heavily into the dirt.
I hadn't seen where the shots came from, but a moment later there was a gruff cry from our left-hand side.
"Over here! Quickly! They'll send more."
I saw a figure emerge from behind a rock – a man dressed in combat fatigues and a gas mask, carrying what looked like a Barrett sniper rifle. He motioned us towards his position, and we abandoned our quad bike to follow him. Initially I couldn't see where he was leading us, but then he opened a hidden trapdoor concealed within the ground. We followed him down the ladder into an underground bunker, slamming the door shut behind us. We were safe, for the time being at least, although our troubles were far from over.
The bunker looked like it had been recently installed but was also oddly familiar. Our saviour turned on the lights to reveal a seemingly comfortable living space, although I noted the bunker was filled to the brim with weaponry. He laid down his sniper rifle and began to remove his mask.
"You don't need those in here. The air is clean." he said.
Kaz and I were relieved to be able to remove our respirators and breathe normally. I'd hoped for some respite after the shock of the massacre we'd just escaped from, but instead I was in for the biggest shock of my life. Because, when I looked up at our savior, I saw my own face staring back at me.
True, the man was battle-scarred, worn-out and looked like he'd been to hell and back, but it was definitely me. My exact double. To be fair, my doppelganger was also in a state of shock, as he stared back at me with his jaw ajar. Neither of us were able to speak in that bizarre moment, so it was left to Kaz to bring some levity to the tense situation.
"Well, this is a first!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
She was right of course. We'd never seen anything like this before. This scenario had been discussed by our planners back on Earth 1 but was written off as highly unlikely. It was of course possible that another version of you would exist on an alternate version of Earth, but the chances of running into your double during a 24-hour mission were extremely remote. And yet it had happened here, on Earth 537.
"I know who you are, and why you're here." said the other me, after he'd recovered from his initial shock. "The project, right? They got it up and running on your world?"
Kaz frowned before replying. "How do you know about the project?" she asked.
"Because I was recruited for it." my double replied, before nodding towards me. "The same as you were, I'm guessing. I moved out here a couple of years ago, back when the project was starting up. This bunker was part of the complex they built to accommodate us. But we didn't have enough time to construct a functioning TDP…And now, I'm all that's left…"
There was a sorrow in his eyes as he looked down at the concrete floor. I couldn't begin to imagine what he'd been through. My mind was racing at this point. It seems crazy, but we hadn't anticipated the scenario where the project would also exist on an alternate Earth, but of course this had always been a possibility. But as my double said, the project on Earth 537 had never gotten off the ground. Clearly, something horrific had occurred on this world.
"What the hell happened here?" I asked, part of me not wishing to know the answer.
My double seemed angered by the very question.
"We got fucking invaded, that's what!" he screamed, before composing himself. "The squids are what we call them. An aquatic, highly evolved and technologically advanced species, originating from a water world on the far side of the galaxy. They showed up in our solar system two years ago and unleashed hell – attacking every nation on the planet simultaneously, wiping out cities and crushing armies. We fought back fiercely but didn't stand a chance. It was a fucking genocide!"
He paused briefly, wiping sweat from his brow before continuing. "I'm sorry, I haven't spoken to another human being in months. There's very few of us left now. Those drones that attacked you, they're the lower end of the squid's technology, but very effective at tracking down and killing survivors…But of course, it won't matter in another year or two. You've seen what they're doing on the surface?"
I nodded my head grimly.
"Terraforming." he confirmed, "We assume they're preparing the earth for colonisation. Plants and animal life are virtually extinct. The atmosphere is quickly turning toxic. In time the hunter drones will find our remaining bunkers and holdouts, and the human race will cease to exist. On this world at least…"
I shook my head, now unable to meet my double's gaze. I thought my own life had been hell, but what I'd been through was nothing compared to the suffering this alternate version of me had endured. It was strange feeling, to feel pity for a man who is you, but also not you. It was a hell of a lot to process, and frankly beyond what my brain could comprehend in that moment.
Kaz seemed unfazed however, taking this bizarre new development in her stride.
"We appreciate your help." she said, speaking to the other me. "But we're still in the shit. Our team has been wiped out, and our equipment destroyed." She glanced at her watch before continuing. "In 20 hours, our people on the other side will reopen the portal for our extraction. If we're not there, we'll be stuck here for the rest of our lives, which I'm guessing won't be very long…"
My double nodded in acknowledgement, frowning in the same way I'd do when I was trying to think.
"It's possible, but it won't be easy." he eventually replied, "I can draw the drones away from your extraction point. Buy you some time. It will be tight and very dangerous, but if we time it well, you might just make it."
I shook my head in disbelief. "You would risk your life for us?" I asked incredulously.
The question prompted my doppelganger to smile for the first time in our conversation.
"Technically speaking, I'm risking my life to save me, or at least a version of me who has a chance for survival…Besides, what the hell else am I going to do? I won't survive for much longer down here. If I'm going to die, I might as well die for something meaningful."
My heart sunk at his poignant words.
"Come with us." I muttered tearfully, knowing deep down that this wasn't possible.
He shook his head in the negative. "I can't do that buddy. This is my world and it's where I belong. I was born here, and I'll die here. That's all there is to say…Now, let's get our plan straight and make our preparations."
I was still in a state of shock, but Kaz spoke with my double, formulating the plan for our escape. For better or worse, we'd make our break for it at dawn.
I was tempted to engage my double in conversation during that long interlude down in the bunker, to learn about his life and confirm whether it corresponded with my own. But he wasn't interested in talking with me. Instead, he fed us with canned food and suggested we get some rest. I don't know how he was able to sleep when we could all die the next morning, but I guess this had been my double's reality for some time.
I did talk with Kaz throughout the long night. Oddly, in spite of everything we'd been through together, we'd never actually had a real conversation. Kaz was a good soldier, and she maintained a tough exterior, but there was a vulnerability underneath all that. We spoke about Helen and how much I missed her. As it turned out, Kaz had suffered a similar tragedy, having lost a lover during a combat mission back on Earth 1. We bonded over our mutual grief. I'm glad we had that time to talk – it meant a lot to me.
When morning came, the tension inside the bunker was palpable. My double retained a hard demeanor as he explained his plan without emotion.
"I'll take the service tunnel and exit through the trapdoor a mile to the north. Once I'm in position, I'll cause a ruckus and draw the hunter drones out to my location. Once the diversion is in place, I'll radio through to you guys. After that, you're on your own."
"Promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks." I pleaded. "Once you make the call, you need to get back to safety."
"Sure." he replied, without much conviction. "Don't worry about me. I know how to look after myself."
I didn't doubt it. It surprised me that this version of me was so much braver than I was.
My double wasn't one for long goodbyes. After his briefing, he put on his respirator mask, grabbed his rifle and set off down the subterranean tunnel.
"Keep your radio on." were his parting words.
I looked to Kaz in disbelief before we masked up.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked.
"What's the matter, don't you trust yourself?" she said with a smile.
Understandably, I didn't see the funny side.
We waited for what seemed like an eternity for the call, with Kaz calmly speaking into the radio when it finally came through.
"We read you. Over." she said.
"I'm out of the tunnel. The plan is working. I've got a half dozen drones converging on my location. I can hold them off, but not for long. You need to move quickly. Over."
I angrily grabbed hold of the radio and shouted at my double. "Don't be a hero! Get the hell out of there!"
"Move it, damn you!" came the furious reply.
After that, all I heard was gunfire, explosions and screaming. My blood froze as history repeated itself.
"The fuckers killed him!" I cried.
"Fucking move!" Kaz roared, as she physically forced me up the ladder.
With no other choice, I opened the hatch and emerged in the wasteland. We had to move quickly, not only because the drones would be hunting us, but also because the portal would be opening in a matter of minutes, and the Earth 1 team wouldn't wait for us.
We ran for our lives across the barren landscape, struggling to breath through our respirators. The land was cloaked in darkness, but the sun was slowly rising on the far horizon. Our extraction was at dawn, and we were fast running out of time.
We got about halfway to the hillside when I heard the ominous buzzing sound. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see a single hunter killer drone approaching. The deadly UAV was still a distance off but moving rapidly in our direction.
"Shit!" I swore.
"Keep moving!" Kaz ordered, as she cast aside her rifle and backpack. I ran as quickly as I could, suddenly realising that I didn't wish to die in this hellish place.
Somehow, we reached the hillside intact, but now the drone was in range, and explosive rounds struck all around us. I saw a burst of light, indicating that the portal was being opened from the other side. For the first time I believed we would actually make it, but the drone was right on top of us now, tearing the ground up around our feet.
The portal opened – a fluid membrane leading back to our home dimension. That passageway had never looked so welcoming. I noticed the drone had stopped shooting at us but didn't have time to consider why, not before Kaz pushed me forwards, literally shoving me through the portal.
I fell into the dark abyss, temporarily existing only in limbo, before spilling out onto the metal gangway. For a second, I dared to think I was safe, but then I heard an almighty crashing sound, the awful din of metal striking metal. Instinctively, I rolled off the gangway just in time to save my life.
When I turned my head, I was sickened by what I witnessed. Kaz, my long-term comrade-in-arms, had been crushed, with virtually every bone in her body broken. She stared at me with fading eyes, blood pouring from her mouth as she took her last breath. I realised later that she'd sacrificed her life to save me, pushing me through the portal just seconds before impact.
And on top of her broken body was the heavy frame of the killer drone. It had crossed over, following us back to Earth 1 and breaking into our underground fortress. This was a living nightmare, but it got worse. To my horror, I realised the drone was still active, as the saucer hovered over Kaz's body, its weapon's systems coming to life as it scanned its new environment.
The technicians and staff inside the bunker had never seen anything like this before, and they reacted with blind panic.
"Holy shit!" somebody cried. "What the hell is that?"
"Security, get the fuck in here!" shouted another.
They hardly had time to react before the drone opened fire, filling the room with deadly rounds and rockets. In a matter of seconds, the once pristine and hi-tech control room was transformed into a slaughterhouse, with computer terminals, equipment and human bodies all torn to pieces.
I heard screams and explosions and witnessed the bloody carnage, but I didn't want to join the victims, instead ripping off my mask and darting for the exit at the far end of the bunker, pushing my way past a couple of burly security men armed with MP-5s. They bravely but foolishly opened fire on the killer drone, but predictably didn't last two seconds before being cut down.
But at least they bought me some time, allowing me to reach the bunker exit which led to the service tunnels beyond. I slammed my fist on the emergency button in a desperate attempt to close the shutter door, but it did nothing, as the mechanism had apparently been damaged by gunfire.
"Shit!" I swore, as I fled down the corridor in a desperate attempt to escape.
By now the whole base was on full alert, with sirens blaring and red lights flashing.
Technicians and scientists ran for cover, while security troops tried in vain to stop the robot's murderous rampage. I glanced over my shoulder as I ran, horrified to see the saucer-shaped drone squeezing down the tight corridor, chasing after me whilst slaughtering everyone in its path. It seemed like the AI was homing in on me, fulfilling its deadly mission by hunting me down in a parallel universe.
I kept running, turning a sharp corner at breakneck speed and crashing into a heavy figure running in the opposite direction. I fell, hitting the hard concrete floor and looking up to see a large soldier armed with a M-4 and wearing full body armour. He screamed at me, shouting – "Get the fuck out…"
But he never got the chance to finish his sentence, as a second later his head was blown clean off. I winced at the carnage, hearing the ominous din of the murderous drone scrapping its way down the corridor, it weapons recalibrating as it closed in for the kill.
I looked to the body of the decapitated soldier, seeing what was surely my last chance attached to his belt…a hand grenade. I reached for the explosive device with my shaking hand, grabbing it firmly and pulling the pin. In an instant I tossed the grenade in the direction of my attacker before tearing down the corridor and diving into cover.
A couple of seconds passed before I heard the explosion, followed by the terrible whining sound of a machine slowly dying. When I eventually emerged from my hiding place, I saw the wreckage of the drone, its life force finally extinguished. I'd managed to stop the murderous machine and save my own skin, but the cost had been horrific.
The Earth 537 massacre proved a watershed moment for the TDP project. The casualties on the 217 and 312 worlds had been written off as acceptable losses, but we'd lost all but one of our team members on 537, and an entity had followed us back to our world, breaking into our previously secure base and slaughtering a dozen of our Earth-based staff.
The powers-that-be weren't able to cover up this disaster, and before long the base was on lockdown, not to mention crawling with government inspectors and corporate lawyers. They placed an indefinite ban on new missions.
As for me, my medical examination established I wasn't dying from radiation sickness, but they did diagnose me with PTSD, and I got placed on furlough pending a full psychological evaluation.
And that pretty much brings me up to date. Earth 537 was my final mission and I have no intention of ever stepping through a TDP again. For a while I considered trying to live a normal life, but how could I, after all the horrors I'd witnessed? My hopes for the future had died with Helen, and the guilt I carried was too much to bear.
Earth 537 had broken me, but the massacre I'd lived through had also given me a new purpose. Both my 537 double and my friend Kaz had died to save my life, so it wasn't an option to simply give up. I realised I needed to do something to atone for my part in all this, and so I decided to tell my story to the world.
Before I went on the run, I made discrete enquiries with a few of my former colleagues who still work on the project. They've informed me that the ban on visiting new worlds has been made permanent, but the portal technology and infrastructure is still very much intact and operational.
My former employers have identified several viable worlds, all deemed fit for colonisation. They'll go ahead with their insane escape plan and think nothing of those who died to make it happen.
But I remember everything. I'll never forget Helen, Kaz and all the others, and I believe their stories need to be told. And we cannot ignore the threats posed by the monsters of Earths 217, 312 and 537, and God knows how many other parallel dimensions – those evil and ruthless regimes who would think nothing of conquering our world and wiping us out.
The people in charge – the government and super wealthy – they don't give a shit. If you want to survive what's coming, you need to prepare. But for me, it's already too late. This will be my last entry. I know they'll get me, and I'm okay with that. I need to face the consequences of my choices.
So, what are my parting words? Stand and fight, because the monsters are coming, and they'll show you no mercy. Godspeed my friends.
Credit: Traveller
The Last Pine Barrener


text:
Q: What decides the color of a flame? Flame color can in part be decided by metal emission spectrums, that I know. But supposedly, the color could also be affected by the heat of the combustion, black body radiation. I'm wondering how these two come in to play and which ones matter. When burning normal candles the flame is usually yellow; when burning denatured alcohol the flame is blue (just had a fondue, that's how I came up with the question); normal fires are usually a little orange. My question is: is this purely down to black body radiation, metals or a mix of both?

A: It depends upon many conditions like amount of oxygen available in atmosphere. In practical colour is also determined by black body effect for example when a perfectly black body is heated up at high temperature it turns blue in colour and at low temperature it shows shades of red. For bodies that are not black body like various metals it is associated with excitation of electrons,  on being heated up the electrons in metals attain an excited state and while coming to ground state the release energy in form of light of various wavelengths like in chemistry  we study flame color imparted by various metals so it different depending upon the object


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Home page - Clear Carbon and Components, Inc.
Clear Carbon and Components launches a new venture in luxury carbon fiber furnishings, Clear Carbon Interiors. After decades of experience working with designers and architects, Clear Carbon is bringing premium transitional furniture to market. The new line of furniture includes an elegant folding chair, an eight seat table, and an interchangeable bench/coffee table. This furniture has caught the eye of designers and architects worldwide for its sophisticated style and minimalist design.


There are only a few scents that give me a feeling of nostalgia. One of those smells is chicken pot pie. I remember watching my mother cook this meal in the kitchen with admiration, especially because it often required a lot of work! From cooking the fillings on the stove top to rolling out the pie dough to baking the whole dish in the oven – just thinking about it is exhausting!
While it was one of my favorite meals as a child, now as an adult my busy lifestyle doesn't accommodate labor-intensive recipes! With that said we've set out to find a way to make this family-favorite meal incredibly easy, without sacrificing flavor. Thanks to the Instant Pot, we have found the perfect solution.
New kitchen gadgets can be both exciting and daunting. The thrill of getting to play with a new toy is fun, but not knowing how to use it is intimidating. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned Instant Pot user, you too will quickly discover how it can effortlessly transform family favorites into quick and easy meals. The Instant Pot has lived up to its name and is well worth the sacred space it will take up in your kitchen. So long are the days that you need to babysit your stove and stick around the kitchen for hours.
Our Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie is savory and delicious! It has so many exciting textures from the shredded chicken to tender potatoes and mixed veggies. We graciously shared this meal with our coworkers and the feedback was amazing! As in, lick your bowl clean kind of amazing! We chose to cook our chicken from fresh which resulted in a very quick cooking time (only 3 minutes)! However, if you forget to thaw your chicken don't fret! You can simply add in frozen chicken and increase the cook time to 15 minutes. Check out this awesome step-by-step hack on how to cook chicken from frozen HERE.
While the actual cooking time is very quick, it's important to remember that the pot takes time to come up to pressure. We found our 6 Quart Instant Pot Duo took about 14 minutes. You'll also need to account for a few extra minutes to add the frozen vegetables and milk, and then saute the mixture with the butter and flour paste to thicken it to a gravy-like consistency. All in all, it still required a lot less time than a traditional recipe and most of it was hands off!
You might be asking yourself, where does the pie come into play here? Since you can't exactly bake a pie in the Instant Pot we came up with the perfect solution! Once the chicken pot pie filling is complete, serve it in a bowl with a freshly baked golden biscuit! We opted for the store-bought biscuits because we need that kind of easy in our life, but if you're feeling adventurous a homemade biscuit would pair wonderfully too! If you're really in a pinch for time, you can skip the biscuits all-together and serve it as a Chicken Pot Pie Stew.
Our chicken pot pie recipe comes together so quickly that you could serve it for any occasion! It'll quickly become a new favorite in your household and a charming recipe you can pass down onto your children for generations to come.
Add broth, potatoes, onion, and chicken breasts to the Instant Pot.
Lock the lid and close the pressure valve.
Cook on manual HIGH for 3 minutes.
Create a butter and flour paste by combining the butter and flour, and set aside.
Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then quick release any remaining pressure by opening the valve.
Remove chicken, shred, and set aside.
Add frozen veggies and stir, then add milk. The veggies must be added first to cool the mixture so the milk doesn't curdle.
Add spices, salt and pepper, and shredded chicken. Stir to combine.
Turn saute function on and bring liquid to a slight boil.
Add in butter paste and stir until melted and the sauce has thickened .
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If you'd rather use fresh chopped carrots instead of the frozen vegetable blend, add them in at the beginning along with chicken, onion, potatoes, and broth. However, ensure you still add the frozen peas according to the recipe above.


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Photo by Shems Hamilton/Red Hills.
The 20th anniversary edition of Red Hills International kicks off later this week, March 8-11, at Elinor Klapp Phipps Park in Tallahassee. The cross country track is always a sight to see, a mossy-green scenic tour through open spaces and woods of live oak and pine — riders have been known to pick up billowing bridal veils of Spanish moss along the way.
The 2018 edition marks Mike Etherington-Smith's fourth year as designer of the CIC3* and Advanced courses; the CIC2*, Intermediate, CIC1* and Prelim courses are designed by David O'Conor. Shout-out to builders Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert for their work in creating a course that melds seamlessly with the landscape.
"Over the last few years I've been working with the team here at Red Hills to create as much versatility within the venue as possible, to give the opportunity to turn the course around, do some changes of direction and give a slightly different feel to the course from year to year," Mike explains.
EN outlined a few of the changes last week, the biggest being that the courses are turned around for all levels. Competitors have other improvements to look forward to as well. "Massive amounts of work have been done by the team here in improving the footing and opening up the rides … it looks so different now to when I first came here," Mike says.
Let's have a first look, courtesy of the good folks at CrossCountry App. There is audio from Mike on the CIC3* — thank you for the recordings, Jane Barron! We'll be along later this week with an updated gallery of the fences, dolled up, flagged and ready for action — Red Hills has already posted a few photos on its Facebook page here.
Elsewhere on the grounds, preparations are well underway! Hosting an event takes a village, and we salute everyone who is hard at work behind-the-scenes this week at Red Hills.
A total of 39 combinations are entered to contest the CIC3*, which will serve as the first major competition on the 2018 calendar for U.S. and Canadian combinations as we look ahead to the World Equestrian Games at Tryon. Click here to view the entry list.
The action starts Friday, March 9 with dressage for all divisions. Both show jumping and cross country will take place for the CIC3* on Saturday, March 10, along with cross country for all other divisions. Sunday, March 11 will feature show jumping for all remaining divisions. Click here for the full schedule.
Tickets for spectators can be purchased on the Red Hills website.


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Groups seek probe of whale deaths amid wind power prep
by The Associated Press January 9, 2023 Updated January 10, 2023
Cindy Zipf, executive director of the Clean Ocean Action environmental group, speaks at a press conference on the beach in Atlantic City, N.J., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Credit: Wayne Parry / AP
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey— As the stench of a dead whale hung in the air, environmentalists and opponents of offshore wind stood on a beach where the marine mammal lay buried Monday and called for a federal probe into a spate of whale deaths in New Jersey and New York.
Groups from the two states wrote to President Joe Biden requesting a probe of the deaths of six whales that washed ashore over the last 33 days in areas being prepared for large-scale offshore wind farms. They also are asking for a halt to site work until the causes are determined.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of New Jersey-based Clean Ocean Action, called the rate of whale deaths in the two states unprecedented.
"Is it an omen?" she asked. "Is it an alarm? Never before have we had six whales wash up in 33 days."
She said survey boats explore the ocean floor using focused pulses of low-frequency sound in the same frequency that whales hear and communicate, which could potentially harm or disorient the animals.
The news conference was held on the beach in Atlantic City atop the buried carcass of a whale that washed ashore over the weekend in front of the Boardwalk arena that used to house the Miss America competition. The stench from the decaying animal remained powerful, even through a heavy layer of sand.
A prominent marine mammal stranding expert said that while the cause of the deaths is unknown, it could be a simple function of a larger-than-normal number of whales in the area this winter, with the number of deaths rising proportionately.
And a federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that to date, no humpback whale — the species accounting for most of the recent whale deaths in New Jersey and New York — has been found to have been killed due to offshore wind activities.
New Jersey is striving to be the East Coast leader in the burgeoning offshore wind energy. The state has approved three offshore wind farms and is soliciting more during the first quarter of this year. Additional projects are planned off the New York coast.
Orsted, the Danish wind power developer that will build two of those three approved projects, said its current work off the New Jersey coast does not involve using sounds or other actions that could disturb whales.
"As the world's most sustainable energy company, we prioritize coexistence with our communities and marine wildlife," said Maddy Urbish, the company's head of government affairs for New Jersey. "When offshore, we combine human surveillance and state-of-the-art technical equipment to avoid any impact on marine wildlife as we build projects to advance New Jersey's clean energy ambitions.
The groups' demands came after a 30-foot humpback whale washed ashore Saturday in Atlantic City. Another young humpback whale washed up a few blocks away on Dec. 23, and a third 30-foot-long humpback was found on a beach in Strathmere, New Jersey on Dec. 10.
An infant sperm whale, 12 feet long, was found dead on the beach in Keansburg, New Jersey on Dec. 5; a 31-foot-long humpback was found dead on Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett, New York on Dec. 6; and a 30-foot long sperm whale was found on New York's Rockaway Beach on Dec. 12.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, located just north of Atlantic City in Brigantine, responded to the city's two recent whale deaths. Sheila Dean, the center's director, said it is not yet known what caused the deaths, pending post-mortem tests. But she noted that many variables could be in play, including underwater sonar use by the military, the prevalence of plastic pollution in the ocean, and the ever-present danger of collisions with ships.
She also said there is a larger-than-normal number of whales in the region right now because their food sources are still in the area. That could simply mean that with a larger total population, a corresponding number of deaths could be taking place, she hypothesized.
NOAA said it has been studying what it calls "unusual mortality events" involving 174 humpback whales along the entire U.S. East Coast since Jan. 2016. Agency spokesperson Lauren Gaches said that period pre-dates offshore wind preparation activities in the region.
About 40 percent showed evidence of having been struck by a ship or having become entangled in ropes, lines or fishing gear, she added.
Gaches said the agency has not authorized any "incidental" harm to marine mammals due to offshore wind activities that includes injuring or killing the animals, adding "to date, no humpback whale mortality has been attributed to offshore wind activities."
At Monday's news conference, the groups said offshore wind developers have applied for authorization to harass, harm or even kill as many as 157,000 marine mammals off the two states.
Story by Wayne Parry.
Tagged: humpback whales, whales
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