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HomeEntertainmentThe 5 Worst Netflix Original Movies Of 2018 So Far
The 5 Worst Netflix Original Movies Of 2018 So Far
August 16, 2018 Paul Entertainment Comments Off on The 5 Worst Netflix Original Movies Of 2018 So Far
Much of my job working on HuffPost's Streamline focuses on recommending how you should spend your precious time streaming on Netflix. It's become increasingly hard to keep up with the best the service has to offer, as they add so many Originals each week. I certainly have had no time for what seemed to be Netflix's worst.
For your amusement, I decided to go on a journey to break my brain and watch the five worst-reviewed Netflix Original movies of 2018. I did this by watching them all in a row over the course of half a day. At numerous points, I wanted to give up on this trek into Netflix's darkest core, but I persevered and lived to tell this tale. And it is a tale.
First, a note on my methodology: I determined which movies earned the worst reviews by comparing Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores along with reviews from critics I especially trust. I settled on five movies to retain my sanity, but easily could have expanded this list to include more, such as "Mute," "The Outsider," "Tao," "The Week Of," "Extinction," "The Titan," and "When We First Met." Maybe I'll watch them for the end-of-year version of this list, but for now, I just focused on the spectacularly bad. The worst of the worst.
To determine this, I focused on movies that had inexplicably terrible elements. Arguably, the truly "worst" movies out there are just incredibly boring, have terrible actors, and only secured low budgets. That's not this list.
All the movies below are actually competent in many ways. Some even have truly great moments or elements, but this juxtaposition makes the terrible parts all the more fun and cringe-worthy. All these movies have incredibly rotten components that ruin all the good parts, and that makes them the absolute worst.
There are extensive spoilers here. I don't want you to waste your time with these movies and, in many cases, the ending is the worst part. So read the list below instead of actually spending any time with these lowlights of 2018. And wish me luck on my recovery.
And if you want to stay informed about what's joining Netflix on a weekly basis, be sure to subscribe to the Streamline newsletter.
Scott Garfield/Netflix
"The Cloverfield Paradox" on Netflix.
Ji Sub Jeong/HP
Streamline makes recommendations for streaming shows and movies. Every Saturday, Streamline highlights the best shows to watch online, with a focus on Netflix.
"How It Ends"
"How It Ends" on Netflix.
Premise: Something cataclysmic happens to the West Coast of the United States. A man (Theo James) joins his potential father-in-law (Forest Whitaker) to try and save his fiancée. The two must travel from Chicago to Seattle by car and foot.
After the attack, power and cell reception goes out across the United States, reaching from the West to at least the Midwest. In less than 24 hours, America devolves into violent chaos.
The opening scene: The first shot focuses on an ultrasound. A woman learns she will have a boy, while her fiancé sits next to her.
The movie claims to be set in Seattle, but never shows establishing shots of the city, despite having a ridiculous amount of establishing shots for Chicago in the scene right after this.
As the couple steps outside after the ultrasound, the woman tells the man he should be brave when talking to her father (in Chicago) about wanting to marry her. She asks, "Is everything going to be OK?" referring to talking to her dad, but also ― foreshadowing.
Top three reasons it's bad:
1. Almost every single scene involves preposterous conflict. While the two protagonists ― the fiancé and the father― travel on the road, trekking across America, this kind of makes sense. Beautiful cinematography and colorization allow the long drive to take on a poetic quality that helps the suspension of belief. But after every single person they encounter wants to kill them ― just hours into this mysterious attack ― that suspension of belief has to do too much work.
The first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes of this movie have that same ridiculous conflict, but with no redeeming qualities. When the fiancé meets with the parents, he starts swearing and yelling at them during dinner for almost no reason.
The movie ends with the fiancé finding that his future wife shacked up with a neighbor in a remote forest for safety. Then this neighbor randomly becomes evil and tries to kill the fiancé, leading to the fiancé shooting him. A storm descends on the area seconds later. The fiancé rushes back to his partner and tells her to get in a car so they can outrun this new storm. He basically mutters that he killed the other person under his breath and she just rolls with it without asking questions.
2. This might be the worst ending I have ever seen. This makes the movie title hilarious in retrospect, because "how it ends" is the most notable thing about this movie. Almost every review I have seen ― including casual comments on the trailer ― point out that the ending is unbelievably bad.
The movie starts coming to a close with the fiancé making it to Seattle. He finds the city completely decimated and abandoned. Toxic ash floats in the air and covers everything. He finds a face mask in a firetruck and walks through the rubble until he finds his old apartment. The walls are missing and everything is destroyed, but somehow a door survived that has a message from his partner about her whereabouts. She wrote it in marker. He then heads back to his car and simply drives to this address outside the city.
He finds her there with a neighbor who acts creepy despite just being a random neighbor. They explain they had only minutes to escape the city after the initial warning. Somehow they both got to a car and escaped from the middle of the city through congested roads in those few minutes. At the safehouse, the fiancé doesn't immediately shower to clean the toxic ash off his body. In fact, he climbs in bed with his partner and they snuggle. You can still see the dirt and ash all over his body.
Then after telling his partner he'll never leave her again, he gets up from bed. Apparently a time jump has happened and it's now the middle of the night. He finds his partner at a fire with the neighbor. The neighbor says that he thinks the U.S. government might be behind the destruction, and our protagonist gets irrationally angry about this. After a weirdly tense moment that lasts about a minute, they all go to bed. The next morning, the aforementioned random confrontation and killing happens. Immediately after this, the two original partners drive into the distance, escaping another toxic cloud with just seconds to spare. Then this thing ends with no explanation for anything.
3. The fiancé becomes a master driver and gunslinger by the end of his journey, despite not knowing how to even load a gun at the start of this. He can also miraculously drive like a professional stuntman.
If you somehow ignore all realism, stretches of this movie actually do succeed in being entertaining. It's kind of fun to just watch a movie that only knows how to portray forward movement (with the speeding car) or violent action. But you'll reach your limit at some point.
Memorable unintentional comedy: When the father and fiancé leave for their journey, they must say goodbye to the father's wife. Because this movie refuses to linger in any moment, the characters basically rush their goodbyes despite possibly never seeing this person again. The father gives a quick hug to his wife and then immediately turns around to head into the car. He almost never mentions her again.
Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes.
"Father of the Year"
"Father of the Year" on Netflix.
Premise: Two recent college graduates return home. At a bar, they wonder which of their fathers would win in a fight. Then this argument serves as the basis for the entire movie, despite neither character seeming to actually care about the answer. The fathers, who don't normally get in fights, take this argument extremely seriously for some reason.
One father (David Spade) seems incredibly dumb and always gets into trouble. The other father (Nat Faxon) seems incredibly wimpish and always gets run over by others. This doesn't change by the end of the movie.
The opening scene: The two graduates sit in their car, discussing how they should have just went straight to New York City instead of returning home. The son of David Spade's character watches as his father climbs from underneath his small house to drag a disgusting mattress out, presumably for his son to sleep on. The duo exits the car to greet him. Then the father goes on a tangent about how he really needs a Q-tip and doesn't have one. He shows the kids his "pool" ― a back of his neighbor's pickup truck that he's filled with water. Spade's character takes a skinny dip. Then the owner of the vehicle starts the car and drives away, causing Spade's naked character to fall into the road.
1. The plot makes no sense. This hypothetical fight between two fathers does not become interesting at any point in the movie and yet has to propel this whole thing.
The few side narratives also make no sense. One of the graduates, a valedictorian from a supposed Ivy League college, establishes that he worked his whole life to escape his hometown.
By the end of the movie, he decides to throw that all away to stay in this town after hanging around for just a couple months. He gives up his job because the head of the company lightly insults his dad. He decides a girl he dates for, like, a month is the love of his life.
2. David Spade's character has a recurring joke about how he can't help telling racist jokes to people of the race he's making fun of because he's colorblind — get it? Part of the joke is that it'd be all right if he was telling the jokes to white people, but what makes him an idiot is accidentally telling them to people of color. Not much to say about this except how is this a thing in 2018?
3. Like "How It Ends," the title contributes to the nonsense. Netflix originally called this movie "Graduates," and the marketing images for the movie still use the word "graduates" in the file names. "Father of the Year" clearly got tacked on at the last minute. At no point in this movie does either father get referenced as the father of the year, nor do they succeed enough to warrant such a distinction. Neither father pulls through and helps their child in any meaningful way. Both fathers start and end as buffoons. The nonsensical nature of this title may always haunt me.
Memorable unintentional comedy: Throughout the movie, older women keep getting turned on by one of the recent college grads because he is apparently so muscular that the women can't help themselves. The actor barely looks any more buff than most Hollywood actors, though. He's nowhere near the supersized physiques of actors like Dwayne Johnson or Taylor Lautner, an actor roughly the character's age. So much of this movie focuses on how strong this character has become since childhood, so it's weird they didn't find a truly jacked actor.
Premise: The Earth has run out of power. In a last-ditch effort, astronauts from different countries go to space to try and harvest energy. The way they do this fails, but ultimately disrupts the universe and sends the crew to an alternate reality.
The crew must try to return home, despite freaky things happening to their ship. In this alternate reality, their crew crashed back into Earth and World War III began. The crew realizes they don't have to just go home — they also must find a way to actually harvest energy or else their world will kill itself.
The opening scene: Radio announcements set the scene of a world hurdling toward dystopia. Then the camera focuses on two lovers sitting in a car. They're waiting in a long line to get gas. A blackout occurs. The two discuss their love and the sacrifices they'd make for each other. One lover will accept a mission to travel to space and try to harvest energy. Compared to these other "worst Netflix movies," this opening stood out as the best. Nothing too awful here.
1. Like "How It Ends," the awfulness of the ending overshadows the whole film, which forces a twist that's laugh-out-loud horrible into its final dozen seconds.
The movie ends with two survivors in the astronaut crew successfully returning to their reality/universe and finally harvesting the energy they need correctly. A crew on Earth cheers and the duo immediately boards a pod to return home. Then the aforementioned lover who's still on earth gets a call from someone informing him that his partner returned safely and figured out the energy problem. The informant casually mentions that she'll return within hours.
Then the lover starts screaming into the phone, asking why his partner wasn't told about the situation on Earth. The dialogue here is careful not to betray anything about this new situation. The informant retains his casual tone and says it's fine, there just wasn't enough time and they'll sort it out when she lands. The informant says the lover should go and meet his partner at the landing zone. At this, the lover starts screaming that the astronauts should be told to go back.
The movie then cuts to the astronauts re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. They reach some clouds, which a poorly CGI'ed monster jumps through, roaring for seemingly no reason. At first, I thought the monster swallowed the pod, but upon rewatching, I realized the pod disappears into the clouds just a bit behind the monster.
Before this point, the movie never establishes that monsters have invaded Earth, except for a small hint which I'll get into in the section below. The fact that the informant retains such a casual tone as an incredibly huge monster (so big that it can hover over the clouds) terrorizes the landing route seems insane. And that the astronauts don't spend the five more minutes needed to learn about this fact before departing to Earth simply makes no sense.
2. The "science" of the world keeps getting more preposterous.
Monsters enter the universe, but only in some places. Worms overtake a person's body and take over his mind ― then the worms burst out of that body and die immediately for no reason. The wall of the ship occasionally morphs and seems to become sentient, but the floors and other objects don't do this. A woman from the crew of the alternate reality randomly appears in the ship, but the other crew members don't. Too many holes.
3. The self-own/unforced error of the Super Bowl commercial. Netflix surprise-acquired this project and announced this with a Super Bowl ad. The ad garnered a ton of attention and made this movie one of the most notable releases of 2018.
But then this move became a gigantic self-own as the predominant conversation about this movie shifted to focusing on how bad it was. The ad basically informed everyone that Netflix movies are often terrible and that the company will market terrible movies to try and trick you into watching them. Through 2017, the company had earned comparisons to HBO; the Netflix lineup had become synonymous with quality. This release threw some of that goodwill away real quick.
That said, the critical response had been so bad that I expected this movie to be way worse. But besides the ending, "The Cloverfield Paradox" actually doesn't rise to hilariously bad levels most of the time.
I'd even venture to say that most of "The Cloverfield Paradox" is actually a good movie. At the very least, it's a fun movie. But the Super Bowl commercial self-own made everyone take this movie incredibly seriously. What could have just been a schlocky, mostly competent sci-fi movie became one of the worst movies of the year.
Memorable unintentional comedy: A man (the aforementioned lover) still on Earth heads to a hospital shortly after the attack. He stops in front of the decimated hospital. A shadow of a monster flies above him. He doesn't react to this at all. Then he hears a child screaming in the middle of the burning, decimated hospital. Literally nobody else is around. The kid decided to just keep standing in the middle of this burning area alone and somehow didn't get destroyed or ushered away like everybody else. Then the man takes the kid back to his car without any problem from the monster directly above them.
"Game Over, Man!" on Netflix.
Premise: The bratty son of a billionaire loves to party and hosts a huge event atop a hotel. Villainous types decide to rob the billionaire by holding the entire party hostage. To get the kid to give up his money, the villains start killing off victims.
Three housekeepers escape the hostage situation and decide to try and save the day. Through incredible luck, they slowly foil the bad guys' plans amid much gore and dick jokes.
The opening scene: The three housekeepers (Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Blake Anderson) roll a service cart down a hotel hallway. Their faces clearly show how much they don't want to be doing this. Holm's character knocks on a door and yells "Housekeeping!" They enter the room and find used condoms lying around everywhere. Then Holm's character does some salvia and the other two hover a used condom over his face while he can't move.
1. The jokes. Almost every single line of dialogue is a joke or serves some punchline. Over the course of almost two hours, this becomes incredibly tiresome. On top of this, most of these jokes are bad. The cadence goes: bad joke, bad joke, bad joke, brief funny moment, bad joke, bad joke, etc.
By saying "bad" here, I mean highly derivative. Run-of-the-mill dick and drug jokes. Cheap pratfalls abound. Characters act vaguely creepy just for the sake of it. Almost nothing about this movie has an ounce of creativity or nuance.
2. The offensive nature of the plotline. These housekeepers want to get rich through a video game they created. The narrative of the video game is a blaxploitation storyline. The movie doesn't play this as a commentary on the characters. This just kind of exists as an edgelord-type joke.
The movie also seems to have a streak of homophobia through the guise of embracing gay characters. Two of the antagonists are a gay couple — something that's mostly played for laughs. Like, can you imagine two super strong bad guys also being gay and having sex with each other? Then, one of the protagonists comes out as gay and his character shifts into being a stereotype — again, all for laughs. His friends embrace this news and say they don't have a problem with it, but the movie clearly thinks there's humor in gay behavior.
3. The weak attempt at economic commentary. The movie kind of, sort of tries to make the point that even not-rich people can do great things. It also occasionally satirizes the billionaire's son as a useless scourge on society. But it mostly does the opposite of that, with jokes making fun of housekeepers and presenting the billionaire's son as a cool dude. It seems like they threw a couple lines of commentary dialogue in at the last minute to make sure the movie didn't get attacked for being politically incorrect.
Memorable unintentional comedy: The movie got a few cameos including Joel McHale, Shaggy and Donald Faison, who all play themselves at the party. Fred Armisen shows up twice for only half a second at a time. Maybe the extremely limited and subtle use of Armisen was intentional, but on-screen it doesn't look intentional. It seems like they cut out his role, but didn't want to lose his cameo entirely.
"Brain on Fire" on Netflix.
Premise: A New York Post reporter (Chloë Grace Moretz) starts behaving erratically. Then she becomes comatose. Doctors can't figure out the problem and keep misdiagnosing her.
The reporter almost loses her job because of the inexplicable behavior, but her family and boyfriend sticks with her. Eventually a doctor figures out what's wrong and she returns to normal.
The opening scene: The movie starts with the protagonist screaming while tied to a hospital bed. Then it flashes back to her in an office with narration from Moretz about the character's life. She says her lifelong dream had been to become a New York Post reporter, which she accomplished. In her first scene of actual dialogue, she talks about a headline she wrote that had a butt pun.
1. The incredible incompetence of the storytelling. This movie unfolds like an episode of "House," if that show just focused on the patient's symptoms for an hour until a magical doctor character solves the case in just a few minutes. On top of this, after the magical doctor finally figures out what's wrong, the movie just ends with things returning to normal.
I've heard that the book version of this movie is actually quite good. This was a true story and the person its center this had a harrowing few months. But this movie ultimately feels like a PSA to show you the symptoms of the rare brain problem Moretz's character is found to have.
Once the premise is established, no other narrative complications happen. You just watch Moretz's character exhibit more symptoms, while people around her sigh and shake their heads.
After you're forced to watch this same scene play out over and over and over, the movie resolves the only tension ― what's wrong with her? ― in a matter of minutes with characters that appear out of nowhere.
2. It looks like you can tell the actors fully gave up on this by the end of the movie.
In the last few minutes of the movie, it doesn't look like a single actor cares at all anymore. They basically just say their lines verbatim. It looks like all the actors knew this turned into a mess and just gave up.
3. The length of this movie. "Brain on Fire" was the least enjoyable movie on this list. I barely got through this. As mentioned before, the same scene just happens repeatedly, making this incredibly boring. Occasionally, Moretz's character will react in a way that's so bizarre you can't help but laugh. But that just makes you feel worse since this is based on a real story.
But it's the movie's fault. At one point, to establish the extent of the character's detachment from reality, she has a conversation with her boyfriend while sitting under her desk at work, which is in the middle of the Post newsroom. She then gets up after the call, which her co-worker only thinks is sort of strange. At another point, the character zones out for many seconds before blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. None of her family members even bats an eye at this. Don't subject yourself to an hour and a half of this.
Memorable unintentional comedy: The boyfriend character is a "musician," which the movie does not let you forget. This character holds a guitar in almost every single scene. Even when he's at the hospital, he lugs a guitar case around.
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WHAT WE'RE CALLING FOR
Abolish Frontex
Regularise migrants
Stop all deportations
End detention
Stop the surveillance of people on the move
Stop the militarisation of borders
Empower solidarity
End EU's role in forcing people to move
Freedom of movement for all
A Fig Leaf: the Frontex accountability regime
Posted bymark	 December 13, 2021
[by Lena Karamanidou, researcher] 13 December 2021 – Since 2011, Frontex has established several accountability mechanisms to address the widespread concerns about the Agency's human rights record. The collective function of the six accountability mechanisms – the Serious Incident Reporting system, Forced Return Monitors, the Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO) and the Consultative Forum, all established in 2011, the Individual Complaints mechanism introduced in 2016, and Fundamental Rights Monitors (FRMs) in 2019 – is to monitor and report fundamental rights violations in the context of Frontex's operations and strengthen compliance with fundamental rights obligations. In addition to these internal administrative mechanisms Frontex is accountable to other institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Council and courts.
The effectiveness of the Frontex human rights record and accountability regime has always been questioned, but in the course of the investigations into Frontex that have taken place in the last year, it has become clearer than ever that the accountability regime acts as a fig leaf. Rather than documenting violations and violence at the borders of the European Union, it conceals them. Rather than preventing violence – assuming this is possible since the institution of the border is inherently violent and racist – they have been used to exonerate Frontex from any wrongdoing and to legitimatize the violence and violations perpetrated by the EU and its member states.
A first example of how this happens is that the information produced by mechanisms such as the Serious Incident Reporting system has been used to underplay violence and violations of human rights. In 2017, Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri rejected the recommendations of the Consultative Forum and the Fundamental Rights Officer, citing that there were only three serious incident reports concerning human right violations. National governments have cited the absence of reported violations by Frontex to deny illegal practices at their borders. In 2020, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to a letter by MEPs raising concerns about shootings and deaths at the Greek- Turkish borders by citing the absence of any Serious Incident Reports. Yet, within Frontex, it was known for years that very few Incident Reports [SIRs) on human rights violations were submitted by Frontex officers. When submitted they were sometimes misclassified in categories other than human rights violations. The FRO was not always informed. We know now there was a culture of discouraging the submission of SIRs. Yet, this flawed system was used as evidence to claims by Frontex and EU actors to dismiss or deny concerns of violations and violence at European borders.
Conversely, the input of mechanisms such as the Consultative Forum and the Fundamental Rights Office has been ignored when inconvenient for the preferred course of action by Frontex. This is enabled by the very design of these mechanisms: the Consultative Forum is an advisory body, while the FRO, although independent in the performance of their tasks, has no decision-making powers. It is the Executive Director who decides, and to an extend the Management Board, comprised of representatives of interior ministries and border guards of member states and representatives of the European Commission. When the Consultative Forum recommended that Frontex withdrew from operations in Hungary because of serious and widespread human rights violations, including of access to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, he did not – it was only after a decision by the Court of Justice that Frontex decided to withdraw from operations at Hungarian borders, even though it continued to participate in return operations. FRO recommendations on the 2020 Rapid Border Interventions in Evros and the Aegean, expressing concerns for compliance with human rights, were not adopted. The new appointed FRO, Jonas Grimheden, recently suggested that his recommendations are taken into account.
There have been many more indications that human rights accountability has never been high in the Agency's priorities. Both mechanisms faced issues of under-resourcing, in particular the FRO. In January 2021, PICUM, one of the members of the Consultative Forum, withdrew its membership citing concerns both on the Frontex's human rights record and on the cooperation between the Forum and the Agency. It's now apparent that there have been many tensions between the Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri and the Fundamental Rights Office, resistance to the independence and growing of the FRO accorded by Frontex regulation and mishandling and delays of the recruitment of FRMs and a new FRO. Thus, the existence of monitoring and accountability mechanisms is invoked when Frontex faces human rights criticisms, but in practice the information they produced is used instrumentally or ignored because the imbalance of powers in the legal framework of Frontex makes it possible to do so.
Further, Frontex evades accountability by directing responsibility for human rights violations towards the border guards of member states. As has been frequently argued, it is extremely difficult to hold Frontex responsible for the commission of or complicity to human rights violations . From a legal perspective, one key issue is that many actors – Frontex deployed officers, national officers, national commands – are involved in operations during which a human rights violation takes place. The responsibility of each of them is difficult to establish because it often depends on operational arrangements and decisions surrounded by a lack of transparency. Frontex have always argued that it is national forces that have primary responsibility for fundamental rights violations since they have operational command and that it has few powers over national authorities. This argument was made, for example, in relation to pushbacks in the Aegean when Frontex assets were involved. While it can be argued that Frontex has a degree of responsibility over violations that happen in its operational areas, it relies on national governments to investigate their own wrongdoings further adding to the absence of accountability. Unsurprisingly, national authorities tend to exonerate themselves, as the trail of communications feeding into the Management Board inquiry shows.
The Management Board inquiry, in response to a major media investigation, illustrated yet again the reliance on internal accountability arrangements and national authorities. Like the monitoring and accountability mechanisms mentioned above, the Management Board is an internal governance body. The inquiry was conducted by representatives – bar one from the Commission – of the national structures which guard the external borders alongside Frontex. The information it considered originated from Frontex and the national authorities themselves, without external verification. Based on such information, it exonerated Frontex and while it suggested some of the Aegean pushbacks incidents involved human rights violations by the Hellenic Coast Guard, near all incidents were closed. The second major inquiry into Frontex, conducted by a scrutiny working group (FSWG) of the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament was a far more rigorous, public process which invited a range of external actors to the hearings – journalists, human rights organisations, academic experts. Yet, both inquiries exonerated Frontex from 'direct involvement' in human rights violations, although the FSWG inquiry found that Frontex knew and failed to act about incidents of violations of human rights.
The effect of these inquiries, similarly to the existing mechanisms, was to create an illusion of accountability. A lot of attention and blame was directed at one person, Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri, rather than the legal frameworks, policies and practices that produce violations and failed accountability regimes – that, for example, have given so much power to the executive director. Both inquiries suggested minor reforms to mechanisms and practices in order to enhance accountability, but no structural changes which would need reforms of the legal framework. Yet, one of the biggest weaknesses of the accountability regime is that it relies on mechanisms that are internal to Frontex and not independent by legal design. In essence, Frontex is tasked with participating in the activities that produce human rights violations AND with monitoring, reporting and preventing them. We have seen that the second aim has been, for Frontex but also the EU and member states, far less important than the first.
This was evident in the inquiries, which showed that in the current political environment there is little appetite for the radical reform of Frontex – even less for defunding or abolition! – in EU and state policy making circles. The parliamentary investigation was set up as a Scrutiny Working Group instead of a full parliamentary inquiry because of objections by some political groups. In one of the sessions, Commissioner Ylva Johansson, commenting on the findings of the Management Board inquiry that there was no evidence to implicate Frontex in pushbacks went as far as saying that it was 'the outcome we expected' because 'an EU agency should not infringe fundamental rights'.
This is no surprise: Frontex is a flagship institution for the project of EUropeanising the management of borders in Europe. The idea that the presence of Frontex is necessary for ensuring that human rights are respected at external borders and violations monitored and reported is a deeply entrenched one, despite all evidence to the contrary. Thus the inquiries and broader accountability arrangements do not challenge the raison d'être of Frontex but act as fig leaves, creating an impression that the Agency's shortcomings have been addressed through the minor reforms suggested, restoring the myth of Frontex's as a force for good at EU borders rather than as an active component of the inevitable violence of the border.
Posted bymark December 13, 2021 Posted inUncategorized
Frontex builds its own armed border police force
Join the Abolish Frontex actions on 18 December – International Migrants Day
Support people on the move at the border between Poland and Belarus
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Nick Clegg succeeded Sir Menzies Campbell as leader of the Liberal Democrats in Dec. 2007. Clegg had served as an MEP for 5 years and as an MP for two, and was widely seen as representing a new generation. He identified his priorities as defending civil liberties, democratizing public services and safeguarding the environment. In the 2010 general election Clegg's public profile was raised in a series of televised leader debates in which he was credited with outperforming his rival candidates at times but this success failed to translate into increased parliamentary representation. With the absence of a majority for any of the parties, Clegg entered coalition negotiations with the Conservatives and on 11 May a joint government was announced with David Cameron as prime minister and Clegg as deputy prime minister.


We are New Mexico's pro soccer team, and we are determined to take soccer, the state and every single fan to the next level. We are something new, we are something unique, and we are something every New Mexican can be proud of.
Inaugural Season Opening is March 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm.
Please check the website for a full schedule of matches.


You are here: Home / Featured / CHILD-CARE VOUCHER!
We are ofstead registered so this enables us to accept child-care vouchers.
These can be used for the after school classes as well as for the Saturday academy.  We offer children from the of five to sixteen years the chance to come along and have lots fun whist building confidence and making lots of new friends.
Please see menu (after school classes) for more information or call on 0782499261. Here isa litle bit of information about what the children will be upto within the classes as wellas in the saturday academy.
Inspired by the film crew that came in last term to film the children, we decided to do things a little differently this term.  The students have worked very hard and created their own piece of work, a very imaginative story line and script, which will have parents biting at the bit, they have learned a lot from this experience and allowing they imagination to flow has proved to be a huge confidence boost for them,  as they are very proud of this piece of work, it's also something they can show to friend and teacher at school.
I'd like to thank their wonderful teacher Sophia for all her support with this project.
We have been working  alongside dance this term to create some amazing pieces from Matilda, Katie has worked on technique, stage presence, emotions and lots more. The children are really excited to show their work to parents at the end of term.
We have touch on many different styles of dance this term it can get quite boring for the students if doing the same thing every term, so we try to mix it up a little with the pieces, as we have been working on some theatrical pieces the children have worked on the emotion within their dancing, and how to portray that to an audience, so again understand what the song is about and projecting that through the movement, some of the piece this term are extremely emotional as the children have out done themselves.
In and amongst all this we have been working with students going for their gradings.  We follow our syllabus all year round so it makes it a little easier and as daunting, it's also a great way of showing them just how much they have learn whilst being at the academy.  The higher grades and models are equivalent to GCSE and can help with UCAS points.
We have organise a specialist to come into the academy for the full day to train the students in stage combat.
What is stage combat? Stage combat is a specialised technique in theatre design to create the illusion of physical combat without causing any harm to the performer, it is used for live stage plays as well as operatic, ballet and contemporary dance performances to enhance the performers piece, no extra cost.
Please don't hesitate to call on: 07824 992613.


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Kent County Road Commission FAQ
Traffic & Safety
How Can I Find Out What Agency Has Jurisdiction over My Road?
Construction Engineering Routine Maintenance Traffic & Safety Winter Maintenance
Use KCRC's Find My Jurisdiction tool to help confirm and contact the appropriate agency.
Why Are You Clearing Brush and Trees from the Roadside?
The work completed is part of KCRC's routine maintenance efforts to manage vegetation within the right-of way. Beginning in late summer, KCRC deploys mechanical brush cutters to help manage vegetation. The clearing process helps trim and remove wild brush to reduce the potential hazard of overgrown vegetation. The operation can compromise the aesthetic of the site for a brief period; however, a couple months of regrowth helps to restore the naturally pleasing roadside.
Vegetation maintenance within the right-of-way:
Increase traffic sign visibility
Improve motorist visibility of deer and other livestock and wildlife near the road
Keep road users (vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians) visible to drivers
Help pedestrians and bicyclists see motor vehicles
Improve winter road maintenance in snow and ice areas
Help drainage systems function as designed
Preserve road surfaces through daylighting and root system control
Control noxious weeds in accordance with local laws and ordinances
Vegetation control typically causes minimal impact to traffic flow. Because of this, advance notice of this work is generally not provided to property owners. Our crews handle miles of routine maintenance efforts per day, and it would greater impact our efficiency, and the work completed, if prior notice was required before these activities could begin.
I have an emergency; how do I get my road cleared immediately?
Routine Maintenance Winter Maintenance
KCRC does not respond to special requests except through law enforcement and fire services. Residents experiencing an emergency situation should call 911. KCRC will respond as directed by law enforcement.
What is KCRC's policy for mailbox damage?
KCRC investigates each complaint regarding a mailbox damaged during snow removal. If an inspection shows that the mailbox was hit by a plow or other KCRC equipment, KCRC will replace the mailbox. However, if damage was caused by thrown ice or snow coming off of the plow, mailbox repair is the responsibility of the property owner. Click the following for KCRC Mailbox Policy or to Report Mailbox Damage.
Why hasn't the intersection by my house been mowed? How can I request mowing in that area?
In order to achieve the highest efficiency and address the most amount of miles, mowing of county right of way is typically conducted in a systematic, rather than issue-by-issue, basis. However, we do appreciate knowing specific locations that residents identify as areas of concern.
* Property owners are encouraged to mow along their property to enhance safety of themselves and other motorists
* The system targets two passes along all of KCRC's right of way and includes both county and state roads
* A fleet of mowers is deployed May - August, subject to the weather and emergency response efforts
* Mowing equipment travels at less than 5 miles per hour, covering right of way along 5,000 miles of road
The Kent County Sheriff's Department advises that in normal daylight conditions, if you don't have a clear line of sight to an opposing driver's eyes, they may not know you're there. Just as importantly, if a person doesn't feel they can pass through an intersection safely, an alternate route can be considered.
Does KCRC remove dead animals from the road or side of the road?
Crews will remove large dead animals, like deer, from KCRC's right-of-way. We will also remove smaller animals, like raccoons, from the drivable portion of the roadway. Our crews will make an effort to contact the owner of a domestic dead animal if identification can be determined. Please note that KCRC does NOT remove dead animals from yards/areas outside the right-of-way. To report a dead animal, contact KCRC via Report an Issue or call KCRC at 616-242-6950.
You're paving in our neighborhood; will access to my driveway be restricted?
Construction Engineering Routine Maintenance
There will be "open access" to driveways at most times during paving. The exception is during placement of the top course of pavement in front of a driveway. To minimize wheel tracks or damage to the surface, traffic must be restricted during this process, which takes approximately 30-60 minutes.
Because paving is a moving operation, an exact schedule cannot be provided regarding when the crew will be working in front of a specific driveway. However, KCRC and its contractors will work with residents who need access to and from their driveways within the 30-60 minute period of top course paving. When you see the crew nearing your residence, providing them with a "head's up" of your needs will assist them in helping you exit safely.
Will we be able to get in and out of the neighborhood during the road project?
Yes, residents will have access to the neighborhood.
Why are pavement and ground temperatures important? Why not rely on air temperature?
The ability of salt or other deicing agents to melt snow and ice depends on the temperature of the road - not the air, and the two temperatures can differ by as much as 20°F.
My car hit a pothole and incurred damage. How do I get reimbursed?
Routine Maintenance Traffic & Safety Winter Maintenance
Potholes are an unfortunate consequence of Michigan weather, and KCRC seeks to fix potholes as soon as possible after we are notified.
Under Michigan law, the Kent County Road Commission (KCRC) is not liable for any damages caused by a roadway defect unless: (1) the defect constituted an imperfection that made the roadway not reasonably safe and convenient for public travel; (2) the Road Commission had notice of the defect; and (3) the Road Commission failed to take corrective measures relating to the defect within a reasonable amount of time. This is a three-part requirement. That is to say, each one of these factors must be established for liability to exist on the part of the Road Commission. Therefore, KCRC typically does not reimburse for damage due to a pothole.
If you believe that all three conditions have been met, and the pothole was on a road under Kent County Road Commission jurisdiction, please contact KCRC's Traffic and Safety Division at 616-242-6936.
How can I get KCRC to fix a pothole on my street?
Complete the online "Report an Issue" form or call KCRC at 616-242-6950.
What are "All Season" roads?
Construction Engineering Routine Maintenance Winter Maintenance
"All Season" roads are not subject to weight restrictions, which means that heavy-load trucks may drive on them all year. Non-all-season roads are subject to weight restrictions during the annual thaw period (late winter-early spring) to prevent damage to these roads. (When thawing occurs, ground beneath the roadbed can soften and make the surface susceptible to damage from heavy loads.)
What happens to trees that may impact a project improvement?
KCRC takes a proactive approach to save or remove trees that are impacted by a road improvement project. Informational meetings are held for major improvement projects during which property owners can meet with KCRC representatives to discuss the upcoming project and the potential tree impact.
If a tree falls in the traveled portion of the roadway, what do I do?
If a tree falls in the traveled portion of the roadway designed for public travel; what do I do?
So that it may be addressed as quickly as possible:
Call the KCRC office at 616-242-6950 during normal business hours
(Mon - Fri, 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM) OR call 911
Afterhours and over the weekend, call 911
If there is a downed wire, call 911 before contacting Consumers Energy (800-477-5050) and remain at least 25 feet away from the downed wire
When in doubt, call 911
If the fallen tree is outside the traveled portion of the road and is not causing an emergency issue to the traveling public, you may report it via the Report an Issue online form or call KCRC at 616-242-6950.
Why Are Crew Members just "standing around" the work site?
There are a number of reasons why crews may have to break for a period of time while working on a road project. A vital piece of equipment may have broken down and a replacement or repair is being addressed; work may be occurring in intervals, and the employees you see may have just completed their task and are waiting for the next step of the process to be completed; another crew member may be replenishing the necessary material or aggregate; or weather conditions may have changed causing a potential schedule change.
What does "Weather Dependent" mean?
Cold temperatures and wet/rainy weather affects the schedule of road work, not just day-to-day, but at times, hour to hour.
Much of the material used for pavement preservation treatments and resurfacing is weather and temperature dependent and therefore cannot be applied until conditions are warm and dry. When one job gets postponed, it impacts both KCRC and its contractors' schedules. Working together, KCRC and its contractors make adjustments to the original scheduling with the goal of meeting projects' targeted completion dates.
During rainy conditions, KCRC crews will shift focus to address jobs that are not weather-sensitive, including construction preparation like milling, and maintenance activities like ditching, drainage and brush work, and guardrail repair.
Why are you putting "tar and gravel" on our paved road?
The chip seal treatment is a cost efficient method of pavement preservation that helps prevent water from seeping into and softening the base of the road. This restricts compromising elements like cracks and potholes from forming.
The tar-like substance is actually an emulsion of water and liquid asphalt which penetrates and seals small cracks in the existing pavement. The "gravel" is actually aggregate that sticks to the emulsion and, after rolling and sweeping, provides a skid-resistant surface to improve safety.
As vehicles travel over the newly applied surface, some of the aggregate may come loose under the tires. When a motorist encounters a newly chip sealed road, which will be marked with "Loose Gravel" signs, the best practice is to reduce one's speed and keep plenty of distance from the vehicle in front of you. Click here for more information about how KCRC uses chip seal to extend the lfe of the road.
Why is this road being treated when our road looks much worse?
It can be frustrating to see crews working on a road in better condition than nearby deteriorated stretches. There is, however, a reason for this – and it includes saving money over the long-term and extending the service life of our roads. Think of your car. You can wait until the engine fails before taking the car to be fixed, or you can take it in for routine oil changes. With the routine oil changes, your car will not only run smoother, it will likely run longer with less costly repairs. Treatments on roads in good or fair condition work similarly. Rather than waiting several years until the road deteriorates to poor condition, when expensive reconstruction may be necessary, a lower-cost surface treatment can be applied, which will extend the life of the road at a fraction of the cost for structural resurfacing or reconstruction. This practice is call "pavement preservation". Therefore, KCRC employs a "mix of fixes" philosophy in maintaining the country's roadway network that combines pavement preservation treatments, resurfacing and reconstruction. In doing so, KCRC can maximize miles in good or fair condition within the constraints of available revenue from the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF).
What roads and bridges are part of Kent County Road Commission's network?
KCRC maintains 1957 miles of roads and 172 bridges within the County of Kent, exclusive of those that fall under the jurisdiction of the State, cities and villages. KCRC also provides routine and winter maintenance for 436 miles of state trunklines under a multi-year contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).


When the yogi thus controls his mind by intensely concentrated meditation, his illusory identification with material objects, knowledge and activities is very quickly extinguished.
Because of false material identification, we accept our own body and mind, the bodies and minds of others, and supernatural material control to be ultimate realities. Supernatural control refers to the bodies and minds of the demigods, who ultimately are humble servitors of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even the mighty sun, which displays immense potencies, obediently treads its universal path by the order of Lord Krsna.
It is clearly seen in this chapter that hatha-yoga, karma-yoga, raja-yoga, etc., are part and parcel of bhakti-yoga and do not actually exist separately. The goal of life is Lord Krsna, and one must eventually come to the stage of pure devotion if one desires to perfect one's meditation or yoga practice. In the mature stage of devotion, as described in this chapter, one becomes free from the artificial duality of meditator and object of meditation, and one spontaneously engages in hearing about and glorifying the Supreme Absolute Truth. Such activities of bhakti-yoga are natural because they spring from spontaneous love. When one revives one's original nature as the loving servitor of Lord Krsna, other yoga processes cease to be interesting. Uddhava was a pure devotee even before the Lord began His instruction; therefore it was not expected that Uddhava would give up the supreme platform of being a personal associate of the Lord to take up the mechanical exercises of the yoga system. Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is so elevated that even in the beginning stages of practice one is considered liberated, because all of one's activities are executed under proper guidance for the pleasure of the Lord. In the hatha-yoga system one is concerned with bodily control, and in jñana-yoga one is concerned with speculative knowledge. In both systems one endeavors selfishly, desiring to become a great yogi or a philosopher. Such egoistic activity is described in this verse as kriya. One must give up the illusory designations of dravya, jñana and kriya and come to the prideless stage of loving service to the Lord.


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Tillis Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Legislation To Defend U.S. Citizens And Diplomatic Staff From Political Prosecution In Turkey
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) co-sponsored the bipartisan Defending United States Citizens and Diplomatic Staff from Political Prosecutions Act of 2019 (S. 1075) to address the ongoing wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens and diplomatic staff by the Government of Turkey. Throughout 2018, Senator Tillis worked to help secure the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native, who was facing an effective life sentence in Turkey, accused of crimes he did not commit. The Turkish Government finally released Pastor Brunson in October 2018.
"While the Turkish government took a step in the right direction with the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson last October, more needs to be done for Turkey to show good faith and act like a NATO ally," said Sen. Tillis, co-chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus. "This bipartisan legislation will impose sanctions on those responsible for the wrongful imprisonments of American citizens and diplomatic staff, and I hope progress will be ultimately made through the release of Serkan Gölge and other U.S. citizens currently imprisoned in Turkey."
The bill would require the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on all senior Turkish officials responsible for the wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens and staff, including barring the officials from travel to the United States and freezing any U.S. assets. It further calls on President Trump to urge Turkey to restore due process guarantees and respect for the fundamental freedoms of all its people, thousands of whom are victims of the same politically-motivated prosecution and indefinite detention.
U.S. citizen and NASA scientist Serkan Gölge is one of several American citizens, including Pastor Andrew Brunson, who were caught up in the sweeping government-led purge that followed the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Brunson was convicted on fabricated terrorism charges and released in October 2018 but Gölge remains in jail serving a five-year sentence because of a similar conviction. He has been in jail since July 2016.
Since early 2017, Turkish authorities have targeted three veteran Turkish employees of U.S. consulates in Turkey on trumped-up national security charges that appear to stem in part from routine contacts they maintained as part of their professional responsibilities. All three men have worked as locally employed staff of the United States Government in Turkey for more than three decades. A Turkish court in January 2019 convicted Hamza Ulucay, who was imprisoned since February 2017, on terrorism charges without any credible evidence of wrongdoing. He was sentenced to four and a half years in jail, but released on time served. Two other local staff from the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, Metin Topuz and Mete Canturk, remain in custody or under house arrest on similar trumped-up charges. After 18 months in jail, Metin had his first court hearing last month. The court adjourned his trial until May 15.
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) and also co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Male Chorus 48th Musical Anniversary Celebration
USDA Announces February Income over Feed Cost Margin Triggers Second 2019 Dairy Safety Net Payment
Thoughts While Shaving for September 6
Thoughts While Shaving for July 25


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PNG Hunters coach expecting big improvement
BY: Quintina Naime
11:35, April 30, 2016
The Papua New Guinea Hunters coach Michael Marum is expecting a much improved performance from his players in tomorrow's home clash against Redcliffe.
The Hunters suffered just their second defeat of the season last weekend away to the Burleigh Bears to slip to third in the overall standings.
Michael Marum said the team just didn't turn up and have worked hard on addressing their errors at training.
He's asking for one more big performance at home against the second-placed Dolphins before the team gets a week off.
"We try to get everyone to just focus on each game at a time. We really have just a short-week turnaround: there's more focus this week on recovery - we should have all our injuries (sorted) before we take the field on Sunday."
"There's a few boys that probably didn't play last weekend that are free to come back in so that's going to be good for the side."
"The players that are playing the test match (next weekend against Fiji) have also been told not to think about the test match too much - they need to be really focused on Dolphins here," he said.
Michael Marum is also coaching the PNG Kumuls team in next week's Pacific Test and said he would finalise his squad after the weekend.
Radio New Zealand International
coach Michael Marum
PNG Kumuls


Google Analytics – the what, the why and the how?
Having a website to advertise your businesses' services and products is essential to helping your business get noticed and grow. It's also fundamental to monitor that website. Websites are a form of advertising, even though it is not always the original motive for having a website. Advertising is about results and numbers, and that's why you need the statistics from your website.
And guess what? Google Analytics is probably the easiest and low cost way to get these statistics.
If you have a website and you're not using Google Analytics (GA) or any analytic programme, then after reading this, you will want it ASAP.
So, here is a brief run-down of what GA is all about.
Google Analytics is a free product offered by Google which monitors your website. Google brought an analytical programme called Urchin and turned it into GA, which has made a lot of website owners very happy. As soon as Google launched this analytic programme, thousands upon thousands, started using the programme.
It basically generates statistics about a website. So if you have a website and you want to know how many visitors you get per day, week or month, then Google Analytics is for you. It can tell you more in depth metrics such as Unique Visitors, Average Visit Duration, Bounce Rates and many more.
Every website should use an analytic programme. GA is free and that's the main reason why you should use Google's analytic programme rather than any other.
Google Analytics makes it easier for website owners to monitor the behaviour of visitors on their website.
How much is Google Analytics?
As I've said before, Google Analytics is completely free. However, if you're lucky to have a site that has more than 10 million visitors a month, then you will have to pay for Google Analytics Premium (now part of Google's 360 suite).


Family arguments happen; but when mom and dad spend a lot of time arguing, then the situation should not be considered normal and acceptable.
If parents can no longer live together, and their days are dominated by continuous confrontations, consisting of insults, aggressive attitudes or even mutual indifference, they should have the courage to separate to put an end to all of this.
It should be done above all because those who suffer the most negative effects of this animosity between mom and dad are always their children.
In fact, children do not need to live together with both parents to feel loved; more important, in these cases, is to live in an environment that is not dominated by rancor and aggression.
In fact, children who helplessly watch the constant fighting between their parents, start to react with their own angry outbursts or with showing a stronger attachment - now to the mother and then to the father, and adopt in turn violent behaviors, alternating with moments of alienation and depression. And above all, as adults, they will not be able to handle stressful situations or solve problems in a peaceful way.
It is better, then, for the children themselves that their parents separate, and it is essential to communicate this separation to children in a clear but loving manner so that they do not experience the situation in a frightening or distressing way.
Certainly, every child would always like to be able to enjoy the presence of both of their parents together, under the same roof; therefore their separation cannot be entirely painless. But if parents provide the child with the tools to understand it, over time the child will accept the new situation - remembering the furious quarrels and incompatibility of their parents - and the child's wounds will heal, especially if there is the same constant love and care that both mom and dad know how to continue to give their child.


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Sudan election is 'propaganda', says rebel leader
Violence in Darfur is escalating again. In a rare interview ahead of the country's election in April, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Army warns that the vote will be meaningless
@smithinamerica
Wed 25 Feb 2015 00.00 EST Last modified on Thu 28 Jul 2016 08.25 EDT
Rebels loyal to leader Minni Minnawi ride into El-Fasher, the administrative capital of north Darfur. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images
Sudan's upcoming election is mere "propaganda" and Omar al-Bashir should not be recognised as the legitimate head of state by the international community, a rebel leader in Darfur has urged.
Minni Minnawi spoke out after the US announced it was easing some sanctions on Khartoum despite reports that renewed violence in Darfur has forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes since the start of the year.
Bashir has to face justice. He is killing people on a daily basis
Minni Minnawi
Minnawi, chairperson of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, which has long been fighting government forces in Darfur, believes that elections set for April will be meaningless. "Bashir has won already," he said in a rare interview, via satellite phone from an undisclosed location. "This is not an election. I personally, and our movement, shall not recognise this election."
Opposition parties have threatened to boycott the polls which they say are loaded in Bashir's favour. Sudan would not be the first country in Africa where, critics say, regular elections are held to maintain an illusion of democracy.
Minnawi, 46, added: "The election is a form of propaganda. We are calling on the international community not to recognise the National Congress Party (NCP) government. Bashir has to face justice. He is killing people on a daily basis."
Bashir, who came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, is enjoying a run of good fortune. Last December the International Criminal Court (ICC) shelved its investigation in Darfur, citing lack of support from the UN security council, although the president still faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and three counts of genocide.
Last week Washington said it would relax some long-standing sanctions, allowing communications equipment including smartphones and laptops into the country.
After a recent meeting in Khartoum, Jacob Zuma, president of the continent's major power, South Africa, spoke warmly of Bashir as a "dear brother" and emphasised "the growing cooperation between our two countries". Minnawi criticised Zuma for the remark: "It is shameful that he would say something like that. President Zuma struggled against segregation in South Africa. There is segregation in Sudan. Bashir may be a 'brother' in Africa but he is not 'dear'."
Darfur, a region in western Sudan, has been devastated by fighting since marginalised mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms in 2003 against the Arab-led government in Khartoum. The main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army, splintered into factions including the SLA-MM led by Minnawi, and the SLA-AW under Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur.
Minni Minnawi during an interview with the Associated Press in the Darfur town of El Fasher, 2006. Photograph: Nasser Nasse/AP
The SLA-MM was the only rebel group to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, giving Minnawi a position as a presidential adviser and turning the rebels against each other. But he was later sidelined, and has returned to the fight against Bashir, though some commentators believe he has never regained political credibility.
Minnawi, who is from the minority Zaghawa tribe, said: "I never regret what I did. I did it for the sake of my people and the peace and stability of my country. But I got no more than before. Bashir never listens to anybody.
"Really he is a disaster for Sudan and Africa as well. He is the criminal who committed war crimes and genocide. He is an addicted liar. He is a typical person whom you can never trust him and a racist full of hatred. The separation of Sudan [creating South Sudan] proved that Bashir is racist."
The Sudanese army and its allied militia, the Janjaweed, have been accused of a long list of atrocities in Darfur during a conflict the UN says has killed at least 300,000 people and displaced two million.
Minnawi said he has personally witnessed war crimes over the years: "I saw all atrocities: brutal killing, burning of villages, displacement committed by the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed, including poisoning water, devastating all human properties and enslaving the people. I have never been injured, although many of my friends died or were injured in front of me."
Although the crisis seems to have dropped off the world's radar, activists say there has been a rise in attacks on civilians over the past year, spearheaded by the government's new Rapid Support Forces, consisting largely of former militias. The UN panel of experts on Sudan reported that more 3,000 villages were burned in Darfur in 2014. In one incident, according to Human Rights Watch, 221 women and girls in Tabit in northern Darfur were raped by Sudanese army forces in their homes, in the streets and in front of their families.
I think strong pressure on the regime is needed for humanitarian issues and a political solution
Last week the charity Oxfam said a new wave of violence had forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes so far in 2015. Thousands of families are facing limited access to food, adequate water supply and shelter, it added.
Minnawi called on the international community to step in before another catastrophe unfolds. "I think strong pressure on the NCP regime is needed for humanitarian issues and a political solution. The UN security council must adopt a no-fly zone in all the conflict areas in Sudan. The security council should assist the ICC to arrest Bashir and should not assist the genocidal government.
"All countries, especially the UK, must play a positive role in helping the people of Sudan, not standing at the side of the genocidal government."
Minnawi praised the efforts of Hollywood actor George Clooney to keep the plight of Darfur in the spotlight despite dwindling media interest. "I appreciate that personally, and all people of marginalised areas appreciate it. I really salute him and call other good people to join his campaign."
Minnawi himself is understood to be facing prosecution after signing a declaration uniting the country's political and armed opposition and "calling for peace and popular democratic transformation". The joint agreement in December was branded "treason" by Khartoum which quickly arrested some signatories and, according to the Sudan Tribune, is requesting that Interpol issue red notices for Minnawi and Sadiq al-Mahdi, leader of the opposition Umma party.
"Bashir is very desperate," Minnawi said. "He wants to distract and divert public attention from the crimes he is perpetrating. Everybody, including children, knows that Bashir is a fugitive running from the ICC.
"But I do not fear justice in any situation because I'm fighting for justice. Let the ICC accuse me. I will never run away from justice, but any warrant is just for propaganda. Why now? It is part of their hot summer that they declared for genocide, to draw attention publicly that they are doing something."
Omar al-Bashir


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An Indies Introduce Q&A With Curtis Dawkins
Indies Introduce Interview
By Jessica Stauffer
Curtis Dawkins is the author of The Graybar Hotel (Scribner), a Summer/Fall 2017 Indies Introduce adult debut and a July Indie Next List pick.
"These stories are raw, eloquent, and captivating," said Courtney Flynn of Trident Booksellers & Café in Boston, Massachusetts. "The writing is sharp and clear, and dives directly into the complicated and human realm of prison life."
Dawkins has a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing from Western Michigan University, and his writing has appeared in VICE and The Big Smoke. Dawkins, who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and writes from prison, is currently serving a life sentence after killing a man during a botched robbery in 2004. This collection of stories centers on the lives of inmates and how they cope with their incarceration.
Communicating through e-mail via Dawkins' publisher, Flynn talked with Dawkins about his book and the impact prison life has had on his writing.
Courtney Flynn: Prison life has found its way into the subject of your stories, but has being in prison affected your writing style as well?
Curtis Dawkins: That is a great question, one I had never considered. If anything, I think there is always a sense of claustrophobia that I try to impart, one highlighted by its opposite when the characters go outside, or home in their mind.
I don't know if I ever pull it off. That probably goes without saying for every writer. There is a constant "heaviness" in incarceration, and I know that feeling affects how I feel while writing. As far as literal sentence structure is concerned, I would be willing to bet the writing is sparser than, say, 20 years ago. At least it feels like it SHOULD be!
CF: We've seen prison portrayed in movies and TV shows, but your book actually breathes life into the everyday experience of long-term imprisonment. Are these stories an attempt to raise awareness of the realities and injustices that prisoners face?
CD: Yes, absolutely!
But my number one focus was, first, the stories. A person cannot write, or make art, with an agenda. But I do want to give a voice to the poorest and most uneducated among us. And that is 90–95 percent of everyone who is locked up. Which sounds like an agenda, but not if it's phrased this way: I wanted to tell these guys' stories. Now, it is impossible to tell these fictional adventures without running smack dab into the realities of all sorts of other things: poverty, addiction, abuse, violence, injustice, a lack of focus on the importance of education — the entire gamut of societal ills and successes from the beginning of time, super-concentrated right here where I live.
CF: How and when do you find time to write?
CD: Prisoners are not allowed PCs of any sort that can print documents because a few years back a guy forged a court document granting his immediate release. He almost pulled it off. Consequently, we cannot even buy typewriters with memory. However, when I got to prison in late 2005, we could, and I did, buy a Swintec with a memory of 128,000 characters, which equals about 68 double-spaced pages. Prisons cannot enact a policy directive then ex post facto take away your legally purchased property. I do not know what I would do without my Swintec 2416DM CC (clear cabinet)! A typewriter without memory is basically worthless. Imagine doing legal work without memory. It would be an almost insurmountable impediment.
After I'm good and awake and caffeinated (about 11:00), I get on the Swintec and enter the revisions from the day before, then continue with new content until lunch — around 12:00 or 12:30. I continue sporadically throughout the afternoon.
This schedule is not set in stone, of course. It's important to be flexible and lighthearted about the whole thing. It's only writing, and as Jim Leyland, the old manager of the Detroit Tigers, was fond of saying about baseball, "The lives of small children are not at stake." It only feels that way sometimes. I do some variation of the above every day except Sunday, even if the "writing" only turns out to consist of staring at various things. There is a lot of staring involved in my writing. It would, in fact, be more accurate to call it "staring vacantly at the wall and occasionally typing something."
CF: What is your reading life like in prison? What writers have influenced you, and are you able to access everything you want to read?
CD: My favorite subject — reading!
As long as the right process is followed by friends and loved ones who send me books, I don't have any problem getting them in about a week. The only exception is when I was sent used books in lieu of new, which is a no-no because of smuggling possibilities. And once, years ago, I did not get a book I had someone order because of the subject matter. I believe it was Stewart O'Nan's Speed Queen. This censorship always seems absurd to me: most of the people I live with, and myself, have done things above and beyond anything fictionalized.
I am influenced by so many writers it wouldn't be possible to list them all, but here's a list anyway: Ellison's Invisible Man. Salinger. Lydia Davis. Renata Adler. Billy Collins. T.S. Eliot. Sylvia Plath. Faulkner and Hemingway. Proust. A lot of playwrights: Tennessee Williams, Pinter, Miller, Edward Albee, especially Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf. A Clockwork Orange — Anthony Burgess. Thomas Pynchon. Don DeLillo. I loved those linked short stories by Elizabeth Strout that won the Pulitzer. David Sedaris, who kindly responded to a fan letter I wrote him a few years back. The late Denis Johnson — Jesus' Son is one of my all-time favorites! I am a huge fan of Bret Easton Ellis. I love(d) the nonfiction of David Foster Wallace. I love the reissues of New York Review Books; I can read men and women I have never heard of! Stephen Wright. My partner, Kimberly Knutsen, an incredible novelist who will have a massive following someday very soon.
Currently, I am reading Pynchon's Inherent Vice. George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo is on deck.
Reading has always been a huge part of my life, never more so than in the past 12 years of incarceration.
CF: How would you like booksellers to describe your book to customers?
CD: A collection of stories set in, but not about, jail to prison to parole. Most portrayals of incarceration are off base and exploitative of prisoners. They are people who may be guilty of crimes but have been exploited their entire lives. It is time you knew the frightening truth: prisoners are people just like you and your loved ones, no matter the size of your house and the impenetrability of your gates.
Or, it's an existential metaphor for life, because we are all doing time in one way or another.
The Graybar Hotel by Curtis Dawkins (Scribner, Hardcover, $26, 9781501162299) On Sale Date: July 4, 2017.
ABA member stores are invited to use this interview or any others in our series of Q&As with Indies Introduce debut authors in newsletters and social media and in online and in-store promotions. Please let us know if you do.


With a product range that covers fashion, electronics, home appliances, auto parts, software and more, Cairo-based Edfa3ly is an online shopping service that allows consumers to shop from any online store in the US, UK and UAE. The platform manages everything from purchase to shipping to delivery to the customer's doorstep.
Edfa3ly wanted to build awareness, increase leads and drive Black Friday sales. The team's first step in achieving these goals was to launch campaigns on the Google Display Network in September to start building remarketing lists. Edfa3ly then initiated remarketing campaigns across both search and display.
To coincide with Black Friday, the team created a one-day campaign on the Google Display Network to achieve massive reach and drive cost-efficient brand awareness. "This solution enabled us to gain great exposure across the Google Display Network for 24 hours, and therefore build a large audience," explains Mohamed Tantawy, Edfa3ly's Chief Marketing Officer.
Thanks to these measures, the brand's website traffic increased by 60% month over month and leads grew by more than threefold against the average. As a result of the one-day Black Friday campaign, transactions increased by more than 50% month over month, while revenue jumped by over 85% month over month.
As for the future, Edfa3ly plans to continue to run campaigns on the Google Display Network, to focus on sophisticated remarketing strategies and to build brand campaigns using TrueView on YouTube.


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JOHNNY BOBBIN Ladies, gents, kids - summer & winter clothing - broad colour range of everything.
STENCIL Cool Dry polo & business shirts, jackets & vests.
WINNING SPIRIT Polo & Tshirts, Safety & Workwear, Caps & Hats.


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Why Are Sulfates in Hair Products Bad?
Does Sodium Laureth Sulfate Cause Cancer?
What Are the Dangers of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate?
The Effects of Breathing Antifreeze Fumes
What Is Olefin Sulfonate?
Propylene Glycol & Skin Care
About Propylene Glycol
Propylene Glycol Allergy
Avoiding Propylene Glycol
Written by Kellie R. Stone
Propylene glycol has hundreds of uses in the manufacturing of modern products 1. Though there are more toxic forms of the chemical used in antifreeze and degreasing agents, that which is found in skin-care products such as moisturizers and serums is considered safe, according to Dow, a major manufacturer of propylene glycol, or PG 1. The formula acts as a "humectant, preservative or stabilizer," and is an ingredient contained in over 4,000 different types of cosmetic products.
PG is an organic alcohol made from the fermentation of yeast and carbohydrates. It was first introduced to the market over 50 years ago and has since been used consistently in "health-sensitive applications" like food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Government agencies such as the FDA and the Personal Care Products Council have classified PG in its pharmaceutical grade form and in small amounts to be harmless to humans.
The top 28 companies in the personal care industry alone represent revenue that exceeds over $135 billion annually. These businesses depend not only on how efficiently products are produced and preserved, but on how well consumers receive them. Skin-care products are stored and shipped, and need to last, long after purchase; PG helps them to remain appealing and fresh throughout this process. For example, it preserves the homogeneous constituency of lotions that contain both oil and water that would not otherwise stay mixed properly for any length of time. PG also acts as a skin-conditioning agent when used in a cosmetic or skin-care product.
The Environmental Working Group, a health and safety agency, reports that PG has been associated with cases of skin irritation, contact dermatitis and even urticaria, which is the presence of too many mast cells in the skin. Though the EWG rates PG a fairly low 4 on a hazard scale that ranges from 0 to 10, 10 being the most hazardous, it cautions consumers with claims that it has been linked to cancer, developmental toxicity and allergies.
Though it is not completely known why some people develop a sensitivity to PG, some researchers suggest that it could happen after repeated exposure to products that contain it. John L. Meisenheimer, M.D., board certified dermatologist and skin-care expert, says that once a patient becomes allergic, the immune system always remembers the sensitivity. He recommends only using products approved by your dermatologist or allergist, and to be careful about physical contact with others who might use products containing PG.
Though the FDA and other government agencies have approved PG, you may not support their optimistic views and wish to avoid it altogether. There are reputable companies that specifically produce skin-care lines that don't contain PG and other "controversial" ingredients. If you do decide to axe PG from your personal care, you may, however, sacrifice some mainstream product features, including a long shelf life, fragrance, fluid consistency and product appearance.
Though there are more toxic forms of the chemical used in antifreeze and degreasing agents, that which is found in skin-care products such as moisturizers and serums is considered safe, according to Dow, a major manufacturer of propylene glycol, or PG 1. There are reputable companies that specifically produce skin-care lines that don't contain PG and other "controversial" ingredients. Government agencies such as the FDA and the Personal Care Products Council have classified PG in its pharmaceutical grade form and in small amounts to be harmless to humans.
Cosmetics Database: Propylene Glycol
A business writer/editor since 1994, Kellie R. Stone writes for websites including Time Finders Magazine, Spiritual Life and Living and Chic Critique. She is certified in decorating for wellness through the International School of Interior Design and in spiritual life coaching from the Hope of Humanity Foundation.
BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images


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Author: Club Sports
The women's club ice hockey team hosted the Kalamazoo Wicked on Sunday, Dec. 08. Lauren Garatoni opened the scoring for the Irish, receiving a pass from Alex Stern behind the net and firing the puck over the Wicked goalie's left pad. The Wicked retaliated with a goal of their own 42 seconds later. For the rest of the period, the teams spent much of the time in the neutral zone, but with only 56.8 seconds remaining in the period and 54.8 seconds left on the power play, Meaghan "Chex" Ayers put the Irish back on top. With a little give-and-go from Madison Ratycz, Ayers wristed the puck top-shelf over the goalie's glove. Halfway through the second period, Stern found herself in the slot after receiving a tape-to-tape pass from Suzanne Fitzpatrick and fired the puck over the goalie's glove. With 8:51 left in the game, the Garatoni-Stern-Fitzpatrick line combined again for a beautiful passing play that ended in a goal from Stern. This was the first career start and the first career win for St. Mary's student and Irish freshman goalie, Madeline Kramer. The Irish will conclude for the semester but is looking forward to their next home weekend, Febr. 07 - 09 with Michigan State and UW-Madison traveling to Compton for the weekend. The final score was 4 -1 Irish.


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Search Plough
Editors' Picks: "Klara and the Sun"
Writing in the Sand
City of Bees
Sister Dorothy Stang
Midwestern Logistical Small Talk
Covering the Cover: Creatures
Love in the Marketplace
The Elemental Strangeness of Foxes
Saints and Beasts
Astronomy According to Dante
The Book of the Creatures
Forum: Letters from Readers
Vulnerable Mission in Action
Community-Supported Agriculture in Austria's Weinland
My Forest Education
Into the Sussex Weald
The Abyss of Beauty
Let the Body Testify
Ernest Becker and Our Fear of Death
Singing God's Glory with Keith Green
More Fish Than Sauce
Return to Idaho
The Glory of the Creatures
Poem: "The Path"
Poem: "The Berkshires"
The Secret Life of Birds
Why Children Need Nature
Made in the Image of God
The Lords of Nature
Plough Quarterly magazine 28: Creatures Reviews
Editors' Picks: "The Opening of the American Mind"
A Review of The Opening of the American Mind: Ten Years of The Point
By Brandon McGinley
In This Article Article In This Issue Issue
Next Article: Editors' Picks: "Klara and the Sun" Read
A Review of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun
Joy Clarkson reviews Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.
Explore Other Articles:
There's very little surprise in writing today. From the first sentences of most articles, you can tell which of a rather limited collection of categories the piece will fall into: wokeism or anti-wokeism, Trumpism or Resistance, generic secularism or uncritical progressivism or defensive traditionalism.
The Opening of the American Mind, a collection of essays from the first decade of The Point magazine, is a welcome exception. In these explorations of contemporary politics and society, one has the rare and thrilling experience of being led word by word on a journey through ideas – a journey where the destination doesn't matter as much as the accompaniment, the participation in a process of understanding that is part of what it means to be human.
Some of the anthology's strongest entries come in the first section, on "the end of the end of history" in the wake of the Great Recession. Etay Zwick's portrait of Wall Street culture and its downstream effects manages to describe high finance evocatively as the realm of "barbarians" without lapsing into clichéd contempt. (Yes, there is room for compassion even here.) Ben Jeffrey's review of Houellebecq's oeuvre recognizes and doesn't look away from the void of meaning in our secular-materialist culture. Later, Jon Baskin casts a critical eye at the idea-industrial complex on the left (and, implicitly, the right) and finds a culture of the instrumentalization of ideas – and thus of our very nature as thinking beings.
And so, as important as the journey is, the destination is not irrelevant. In their introduction, editors Jon Baskin and Anastasia Berg insist that their project is not relativistic, but rather an attempt to recognize and to nurture the kind of humane and fertile pluralism from which a truth-loving people emerges:
Pluralism does not release the individual from the responsibility to choose or to judge, because it does not assert that all choices are equal, or that judgments of good and bad are futile. It does demand that we make our choices and judgments with humility, in recognition of the fact that other choices and judgments are both possible and defensible.
In this, the editors articulate a traditional liberalism that evokes the teaching of Pope Francis in his recent encyclical letter Fratelli tutti, on the universal brotherhood of man. The editors write that one of The Point's deepest intentions is "that our social and political commitments are strengthened, rather than compromised, by genuine dialogue." Francis writes:
Authentic social dialogue involves the ability to respect the other's point of view and to admit that it may include legitimate convictions and concerns. … When individuals or groups are consistent in their thinking, defend their values and convictions, and develop their arguments, this surely benefits society.
I have been, and remain, skeptical that secular liberalism provides a suitable substrate for the kind of dialogue that forms and sustains communities. But The Opening of the American Mind, along with the continued thriving of The Point magazine, provides a hopeful hint of the possibility for renewal – a renewal based on each of us recognizing in others a potential brother or sister in truth.
Contributed By Brandon McGinley
Brandon McGinley is a writer, editor, and speaker whose work has appeared in publications such as First Things and the Catholic Herald. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and five children.
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Joy Clarkson
Christian Wiman
You can become complacent in faith – and also in doubt. But God is in the world, just as poetry is in a poem.
Tim Maendel
For an urban beekeeper in Manhattan, the hive is a city within a city.
Susannah Black and Jason Landsel
A nun arrives in the Brazilian rainforest around the same time as the agribusiness tycoons.
Plough Quarterly No. 28: Creatures
When we read the book of nature, what do we read there?


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Ashwini Vaishnav said - Indian Railways is planning to start 'Jagannath Express' next year
Riddhi Singh "Journalist"
Indian Railways is planning to start 'Jagannath Express'. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Saturday said that Indian Railways is planning to start 'Jagannath Express' on the lines of 'Ramayana Express' during the Rath Yatra festival in Puri next year. He said on the sidelines of a program that soon semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains would also be started in Odisha.
He said that to showcase the rich culture, art, tradition, and brotherhood of Odisha, the proposed 'Jagannath Express' would be launched during the Rath Yatra festival at Puri. This will be the second theme-based tourist circuit Bharat Gaurav train after Ramayana Express. Significantly, the beach town of Puri is famous for the 12th-century temple of Lord Jagannath.
The Union Minister said that the Vande Bharat Express train will soon be seen in Odisha. He said that by the month of January or February next year, about four trains will be manufactured in the country in a month. He further said that we are checking electrification and other necessary qualifications to run the Vande Bharat train in the state. He claimed that railway infrastructure is being developed on a large scale in Odisha.
Vaishnav said that while around 20 to 25 km of the rail line was being built during the UPA regime, 180 km of the rail line was built in 2021 and this year it will be 550 km. He said that work is being done to convert 32 railway stations in the state into world-class standards. Responding to a question, Vaishnav said that Odisha is entitled to Metro trains, but the Railways has not received any proposal from the state government in this regard.
Ashwini Vaishnav is also the Minister of Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology. He said that in the first phase, 5G network services would be launched in Odisha in the next three months. He said that the necessary equipment for the 5G network is already present in Odisha. Earlier during his visit to Odisha on October 16, the minister had said that by March 2023, 5G network services would be available in four cities of Odisha. 5G service will allow consumers to get 10 times faster speed than 4G.


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Die Fontaine de Fontestorbes, auch Source de Fontestorbes oder Fontaine intermittente de Fontestorbes genannt, ist eine intermittierende Karstquelle bei Bélesta in den Pyrenäen in der Region Okzitanien im Département Ariège in Frankreich.

Beschreibung
Die Fontaine de Fontestorbes befindet sich neben der Straße, etwa einen Kilometer südwestlich des Ortes Belesta, auf der rechten Hangseite im bewaldeten Tal des Hers-Vif. Die Karstquelle schüttet durchschnittlich 2090 Liter pro Sekunde. Das Quellwasser entspringt einer Höhlenöffnung in einem Felsen. Es stammt aus einem ungefähr 85 km² großen unterirdischen See, der großteils von Wasser gespeist wird, das im Kalkstein des Plateau de Sault versickert. Der dort entspringende Fluss kann eine Breite von bis zu fünf Metern haben. Er mündet nach etwa 50 m von rechts in den Hers-Vif.

Aktuell sind in Frankreich fünf weitere Quellen dieser Art bekannt, darunter die Source intermittente de Fontaine-Ronde.

Das Aussetzen der Schüttung
Der Abfluss der Karstquelle ist zumeist gleichmäßig. Von Juli bis Oktober können jedoch starke Schüttungsschwankungen beobachtet werden, denen die Quelle ihre weitgehende Berühmtheit als Touristenattraktion verdankt. Setzt die Schüttung aus, so ist der Abfluss der Quelle zuvor ungefähr 20 Minuten lang enorm stark und ist dann schlagartig für annähernd 40 Minuten unterbrochen. Dieser Zyklus wiederholt sich fortlaufend.

Naturwissenschaftlicher Hintergrund
Die Mechanismen, die zum Intermittieren der Fontaine de Fontestorbes führen, sind noch nicht restlos erforscht. Die folgende Darstellung beruht auf Studien aus den späten 1970er-Jahren vom CNRS vorwiegend durch Alain Mangin.

Nur in Zeiten niedrigen Wasserstandes, das heißt bei einem momentanen Abflusswert unter 1040 Liter pro Sekunde, kommt es zu den Schüttungsunterbrechungen. Das Intermittieren beruht gemäß der gängigen Theorie auf dem Zusammenspiel von drei Komponenten:

 Ein natürliches, unterirdisches Wasserreservoir, das sich flussaufwärts in einem Hohlraum des Kalksteinmassivs befindet, wo sich das Wasser aus dem Einzugsgebiet sammelt.
 Ein Stollen, der am unteren Ende dieses unterirdischen Sees beginnt und das dort abfließende Wasser zur Austrittsstelle der Quelle leitet.
 Ein zweiter, höher gelegener Stollen zum unterirdischen See, der mit Luft gefüllt ist.

Für das Funktionieren der intermittierenden Quelle ist es von Bedeutung, dass die Endpunkte beider Stollen nebeneinander und auf etwa gleichem Niveau liegen. Somit bleibt bei ausreichendem Wasserstand der Luftschacht verschlossen, so als wäre er gar nicht vorhanden. Daher tritt die Strömung normalerweise in der gleichen Menge aus, wie der Zufluss erfolgt. Die Quelle fließt kontinuierlich. Wenn der Zufluss in den See nachlässt, unterschreitet er schließlich den Wert von 1040 l/s und der Wasserstand im See sinkt ab.

Dadurch befindet sich das bisher unter Wasser stehende und daher verschlossene Ende des Luftstollens nun teilweise oberhalb des Wasserspiegels. Dadurch kann über diesen Stollen Luft in den Hohlraum angesaugt werden, was zu einem abrupten und starken Druckabfall im Abflussstollen führt. Der Abfluss kommt dadurch fast völlig zum Erliegen und der Quellaustritt versiegt. Da nunmehr der Abfluss nahezu komplett blockiert und deutlich unter der Zuflussrate liegt, wird der Wasserstand des Sees wieder aufgefüllt.

Um aber die Strömung im Ablaufstollen wieder zu starten, muss der Wasserspiegel über das Niveau steigen, das zur Unterbrechung geführt hatte. Wenn dies geschehen ist, beträgt die Strömung am Auslass der Quelle bis zu 1800 l/s. Somit wiederholt sich der Zyklus solange, wie der Zufluss aus dem Einzugsgebiet nicht ausreicht, einen dauerhaften Durchfluss zu gewährleisten. Das ist in der Regel den ganzen Sommer über der Fall, unterbrochen lediglich für einige Tage nach heftigen Gewittern. Die Zyklusdauer verlängert sich zum Ende der Saison, wenn der sehr geringe Zufluss länger braucht, um den See wieder auf den erforderlichen Wasserstand zu füllen.

Während diese vereinfachte Darstellung eine theoretisch perfekte Regelmäßigkeit des Mechanismus erwarten lässt, sind die tatsächlichen Verhältnisse etwas differenzierter. So wurden während der Saison minimale Durchflussraten zwischen 200 l/s am Anfang und 20 l/s im Spätsommer gemessen. Ebenso variiert der maximale Abfluss zwischen 1800 und 1680 l/s.

In einigen seltenen Fällen kann es dazu kommen, dass sich durch extreme Trockenheit das Reservoir nicht mehr füllen kann und Wasser und Luft konstant über die Abflussleitung nach außen fließen. Dies geschieht, wenn der Zulauf 600 l/s unterschreitet. Das war in einigen längeren Niedrigwasserperioden der Fall, so im November 1973, Oktober 2001 und Januar 2007. Dieser beobachtete Wert entspricht fast genau den Berechnungen von A. Mangin, der 680 l/s angegeben hatte.

Siehe auch
 Liste von Karstquellen in Frankreich

Weblinks

 Video einer Schüttungsperiode auf YouTube (im Zeitraffer)
 Beschreibung franz. Schema und Bilder

Anmerkungen

Fontestorbes
QFontestorbes
Fontestorbes
Geographie (Okzitanien)
Bélesta (Ariège)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia