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Radiation Dosimetry
External Dosimetry
Radiation Frisker
Hand & Shoe Monitor
Full-Body Monitor
Portal Monitor
Portable Survey Meter
Internal Dosimetry
Internal Exposure
Whole-Body Counter
Medical Dosimetry
Environmental Dosimetry
Radiation Monitoring System
Alpha Dosimetry
Beta Dosimetry
Gamma Dosimetry
X-Ray Dosimetry
Neutron Dosimetry
Alpha Radiation
Bragg Curve
Beta Radiation
Beta Particle
Cherenkov Radiation
Gamma Radiation
Compton Scattering
Pair Production
Linear Attenuation Coefficient
Half Value Layer
Roentgen Radiation
Antineutrinos
Interaction of Radiation
Units of Radioactivity
Becquerel – Unit
Curie – Unit
Rutherford – Unit
Nuclear Stability
Stable – Unstable Nuclei
Decay Modes
Alpha Decay
Beta Decay
Gamma Decay
Isomeric Transition
Internal Conversion
Electron Capture
Proton Decay
Neutron Decay
Spontaneous Fission
Decay Law
Radioactive Half-Life
Decay Constant
Biological Half-Life
Effective Half-Life
Radioactive Equilibrium
Radioactive Series
Uranium Series
Thorium Series
Actinium Series
Neptunium Series
Carbon-14 Dating
Personal Dosimeter
Electronic Personal Dosimeter
Thermoluminescent Dosimeter
LiF TLD
Neutron TLD
Albedo Neutron Dosimeter
Film Badge Dosimeter
PIN Dosimeter
DIS Dosimeter
MOSFET Dosimeter
OSL Dosimetry
Self-Reading Dosimeter
Quantities and Units
Radiation Weighting Factor
Quality Factor
Roentgen Equivalent Man
Committed Equivalent Dose
Effective Dose
Tissue Weighting Factor
Committed Effective Dose
Collective Effective Dose
Time – Distance – Shielding
Dose Measuring
Individual Monitoring
Personal Dose Equivalent
Directional Dose Equivalent
Ambient Dose Equivalent
Dose Limitation
Internal Dose
Shielding of Radiation
Shielding of Alpha Radiation
Shielding of Beta Radiation
Shielding of Gamma Radiation
Shielding of X-rays
Shielding of Neutron Radiation
Shielding of Positrons
Radiation versus Contamination
Surface Contamination
Airborne Contamination
Derived Air Concentration
Deterministic Effect
Lethal Dose
Stochastic Effect
Linear no-threshold model
Radiation Hormesis
Source of Radiation
Background Radiation
Natural Background Radiation
Galactic Cosmic Radiation
Van Allen belts
Solar Cosmic Radiation
Terrestrial Radiation
Internal Source
Cosmogenic Radionuclides
Potassium-40
Man-made Sources
Medical Exposures
Smoking Cigarettes
Nuclear Fallout
Fear of Radiation – Is it rational?
Detection of Alpha Radiation
Detection of Beta Radiation
Detection of Gamma Radiation
Detection of Neutrons
Fast Neutron Detection
Dead Time of Detectors
Paralyzable and Non-paralyzable
Time of Flight
Gamma Spectroscopy
X-Ray Spectroscopy
Gas-Filled Detectors
Detector Voltage
Ionization Chamber
Proportional Counter
Multi-wire Proportional Chamber
Geiger-Müller tube
Scintillation Counter
What is Scintillation
Photomultiplier Tube
NaI(Tl) Scintillation Counter
NaI(Tl) scintillator
CsI(Tl) scintillator
Semiconductivity
Silicon-based Detectors
Silicon Detector
Silicon Strip Detector
Delta E – E Detector
Germanium-based Detectors
HPGe Detector
Bubble Chamber
Cherenkov Detector
Bonner Spheres
Activation Foil
Self-Powered Neutron Detector
What is X-Ray – Roentgen Radiation – Definition
December 14, 2019 by Nick Connor
X-rays, also known as X-radiation, refers to electromagnetic radiation (no rest mass, no charge) of high energies. X-rays are high-energy photons with short wavelengths and thus very high frequency. The radiation frequency is key parameter of all photons, because it determines the energy of a photon. Photons are categorized according to the energies from low-energy radio waves and infrared radiation, through visible light, to high-energy X-rays and gamma rays.
Source: Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum www.nasa.gov
Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz), corresponding to energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays. The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is not so simple and has changed in recent decades. According to the currently valid definition, X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus.
Since the X-rays (especially hard X-rays) are in substance high-energy photons, they are very penetrating matter and are thus biologically hazardous. X-rays can travel thousands of feet in air and can easily pass through the human body.
Discovery of X-Rays – Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Hand mit Ringen (Hand with Rings): print of Wilhelm Röntgen's first "medical" X-ray, of his wife's hand, taken on 22 December 1895 and presented to Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institut, University of Freiburg, on 1 January 1896
Source: wikipedia.org License: Public Domain
X-rays were discovered on November 8, 1895 by German physics professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen at the University of Würtzburg in Germany. He was studying electric discharges in glass tubes filled with various gases at very low pressures. In these experiments, Röntgen had covered the tube with some black paper and had darkened the room. He then discovered that a piece of paper painted with a fluorescent dye, at some distance from the tube, would glow when he turned on the high voltage between the electrodes in the tube. He realized that he had produced a previously unknown "invisible light," or ray, that was being emitted from the tube and a ray that was capable of passing through the heavy paper covering the tube. Röntgen referred to the radiation as "X", to indicate that it was an unknown type of radiation.
Realizing the importance of his discovery, Röntgen focused all his attention on the study of this new radiation that had the unusual property of passing through black paper. Through additional experiments, he also found that the new ray would pass through most substances casting shadows of solid objects such as blocks of wood, books and even his hand. He found that X-rays propagate in straight lines from which they are deflected neither by electric nor magnetic fields. The first x-ray image was a picture of his wife's hand on a photographic plate formed due to X-rays. His discovery spread quickly throughout the world and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.
Characteristics of X-rays
Key features of X-rays are summarized in following few points:
X-rays are high-energy photons (about 100 – 1 000 times as much energy as the visible photons), the same photons as the photons forming the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum – light.
X-rays are usually described by their maximum energy, which is determined by the voltage between the electrodes. It may range from about 20 kV up to 300 kV. Radiation with low voltage is called "soft" – and radiation with high voltage is called "hard".
Photons (gamma rays and X-rays) can ionize atoms directly (despite they are electrically neutral) through the Photoelectric effect and the Compton effect, but secondary (indirect) ionization is much more significant.
X-rays ionize matter via indirect ionization.
Although a large number of possible interactions are known, there are three key interaction mechanisms with matter.
Rayleigh scattering
X-rays travel at the speed of light and they can travel hundreds of meters in air before spending their energy.
Since the hard X-rays are very penetrating matter, it must be shielded by very dense materials, such as lead or uranium.
The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is not so simple and has changed in recent decades. According to the currently valid definition, X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus.
For X-rays generated by X-ray tube, there are two different types of X-rays spectra:
Characteristic X-rays
Characteristic X-rays frequently accompany some types of nuclear decays, such as internal conversion and electron capture.
X-ray – Production
Since X-rays are high-energy photons, which have electromagnetic nature, they can be produced whenever charged particles (electrons or ions) of sufficient energy hit a material. It is similar to the photoelectric effect, where photons can be annihilated when they strike the metal plate, each one surrendering its kinetic energy to an electron.
X-rays can be generated by an X-ray tube, a vacuum tube that uses a high voltage to accelerate the electrons released by a hot cathode to a high velocity. The cathode must be heated in order to emit electrons. Electrons, accelerated by potential differences of tens of thousands of volts, are aimed at a metal target (usually made of tungsten or another heavy metal) in a vacuum tube. The larger the voltage between the electrodes the higher energy will the electrons attain. Upon striking the target, the accelerated electrons are abruptly stopped and X-rays and heat are generated. Most of the energy is transformed into heat in the anode (which must be cooled). Just 1% of the kinetic energy of the electrons is converted into X-rays. X-rays are usually generated perpendicular to the path of the electron beam.
A specialized source of X-rays which is becoming widely used in research is particle accelerator, which generates radiation known as synchrotron radiation. When ultra-relativistic charged particles move through magnetic fields they are forced to move along a curved path. Since their direction of motion is continually changing, they are also accelerating and so emit bremsstrahlung, in this case it is referred to as synchrotron radiation.
X-rays can also be produced by fast protons or other positive ions. The proton-induced X-ray emission or particle-induced X-ray emission is widely used as an analytical procedure.
Soft and Hard X-rays
X-rays are usually described by their maximum energy, which is determined by the voltage between the electrodes. X-rays with high photon energies (above 5–10 keV) are called hard X-rays, while those with lower energy (and longer wavelength) are called soft X-rays. Due to their penetrating ability, hard X-rays are widely used to image the inside of visually opaque objects. The most often seen applications are in medical radiography. Since the wavelengths of hard X-rays are similar to the size of atoms, they are also useful for determining crystal structures by X-ray crystallography. By contrast, soft X-rays are easily absorbed in air. The attenuation length of 600 eV X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer.
X-Ray Spectrum – Characteristic and Continuous
For X-rays generated by X-ray tube, the part of energy that is transformed into radiation varies from zero up to the maximum energy of the electron when it hits the anode. The maximum energy of the produced X-ray photon is limited by the energy of the incident electron, which is equal to the voltage on the tube times the electron charge, so an 100 kV tube cannot create X-rays with an energy greater than 100 keV. When the electrons hit the target, X-rays are created by two different atomic processes:
Bremsstrahlung. The bremsstrahlung is electromagnetic radiation produced by the acceleration or deceleration of an electron when deflected by strong electromagnetic fields of target high-Z (proton number) nuclei. The name bremsstrahlung comes from the German. The literal translation is 'braking radiation'. From classical theory, when a charged particle is accelerated or decelerated, it must radiate energy. The bremsstrahlung is one of possible interactions of light charged particles with matter (especially with high atomic numbers). These X-rays have a continuous spectrum. The intensity of the X-rays increases linearly with decreasing frequency, from zero at the energy of the incident electrons, the voltage on the X-ray tube. Changing the material from which the target in the tube is made has no effect on the spectrum of this continuous radiation. If we were to switch from a molybdenum target to a copper target, for example, all features of the x-ray spectrum would change except the cutoff wavelength.
Characteristic X-ray emission. If the electron has enough energy it can knock an orbital electron out of the inner electron shell of a metal atom. Since the process leaves a vacancy in the electron energy level from which the electron came, the outer electrons of the atom cascade down to fill the lower atomic levels, and one or more characteristic X-rays are usually emitted. As a result, sharp intensity peaks appear in the spectrum at wavelengths that are a characteristic of the material from which the anode target is made. The frequencies of the characteristic X-rays can be predicted from the Bohr model.
Characteristic X-rays and Internal Conversion
Internal conversion followed by Auger electron emission.
Internal conversion is an electromagnetic process, by which a nuclear excited state decays by the direct emission of one of its atomic electrons.
Since the process leaves a vacancy in the electron energy level from which the electron came, the outer electrons of the atom cascade down to fill the lower atomic levels, and one or more characteristic X-rays are usually emitted. Sometimes X-ray may interact with another orbital electron, which may be ejected from the atom. This second ejected electron is called an Auger electron. This is very similar to electron capture, but in case of electron capture, a nucleus changes its atomic number. As a result, the atom thus emits primary high energy electron, characteristic X-rays or secondary Auger electron, none of which originate in that nucleus.
Interaction of X-rays with Matter
Although a large number of possible interactions are known, there are three key interaction mechanisms with matter. The strength of these interactions depends on the energy of the X-rays and the elemental composition of the material, but not much on chemical properties, since the X-ray photon energy is much higher than chemical binding energies. The photoelectric absorbtion dominates at low-energies of X-rays, while Compton scattering dominates at higher energies.
Photoelectric absorption
Photoelectric Absorption of X-rays
Gamma absorption by an atom.
Source: laradioactivite.com/
In the photoelectric effect, a photon undergoes an interaction with an electron which is bound in an atom. In this interaction the incident photon completely disappears and an energetic photoelectron is ejected by the atom from one of its bound shells. The kinetic energy of the ejected photoelectron (Ee) is equal to the incident photon energy (hν) minus the binding energy of the photoelectron in its original shell (Eb).
Ee=hν-Eb
Therefore photoelectrons are only emitted by the photoelectric effect if photon reaches or exceeds a threshold energy – the binding energy of the electron – the work function of the material. For very high X-rays with energies of more than hundreds keV, the photoelectron carries off the majority of the incident photon energy – hν.
At small values of gamma ray energy the photoelectric effect dominates. The mechanism is also enhaced for materials of high atomic number Z. It is not simple to derive analytic expression for the probability of photoelectric absorption of gamma ray per atom over all ranges of gamma ray energies. The probability of photoelectric absorption per unit mass is approximately proportional to:
τ(photoelectric) = constant x ZN/E3.5
where Z is the atomic number, the exponent n varies between 4 and 5. E is the energy of the incident photon. The proportionality to higher powers of the atomic number Z is the main reason for using of high Z materials, such as lead or depleted uranium in gamma ray shields.
Although the probability of the photoelectric absorption of photon decreases, in general, with increasing photon energy, there are sharp discontinuities in the cross-section curve. These are called "absoption edges" and they correspond to the binding energies of electrons from atom's bound shells. For photons with the energy just above the edge, the photon energy is just sufficient to undergo the photoelectric interaction with electron from bound shell, let say K-shell. The probability of such interaction is just above this edge much greater than that of photons of energy slightly below this edge. For photons below this edge the interaction with electron from K-shell in energetically impossible and therefore the probability drops abruptly. These edges occur also at binding energies of electrons from other shells (L, M, N …..).
Compton Scattering of X-rays
The Compton formula was published in 1923 in the Physical Review. Compton explained that the X-ray shift is caused by particle-like momentum of photons. Compton scattering formula is the mathematical relationship between the shift in wavelength and the scattering angle of the X-rays. In the case of Compton scattering the photon of frequency f collides with an electron at rest. Upon collision, the photon bounces off electron, giving up some of its initial energy (given by Planck's formula E=hf), While the electron gains momentum (mass x velocity), the photon cannot lower its velocity. As a result of momentum conservation law, the photon must lower its momentum given by:
In Compton scattering, the incident gamma-ray photon is deflected through an angle Θ with respect to its original direction. This deflection results in a decrease in energy (decrease in photon's frequency) of the photon and is called the Compton effect.
Source: hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu
So the decrease in photon's momentum must be translated into decrease in frequency (increase in wavelength Δλ = λ' – λ). The shift of the wavelength increased with scattering angle according to the Compton formula:
where λ is the initial wavelength of photon λ' is the wavelength after scattering, h is the Planck constant = 6.626 x 10-34 J.s, me is the electron rest mass (0.511 MeV)c is the speed of light Θ is the scattering angle. The minimum change in wavelength (λ′ − λ) for the photon occurs when Θ = 0° (cos(Θ)=1) and is at least zero. The maximum change in wavelength (λ′ − λ) for the photon occurs when Θ = 180° (cos(Θ)=-1). In this case the photon transfers to the electron as much momentum as possible. The maximum change in wavelength can be derived from Compton formula:
The quantity h/mec is known as the Compton wavelength of the electron and is equal to 2.43×10−12 m.
Rayleigh Scattering – Thomson Scattering
Rayleigh scattering, also known as Thomson scattering is the low-energy limit of Compton scattering. The particle kinetic energy and photon frequency do not change as a result of the scattering. Rayleigh scattering occurs as a result of an interaction between an incoming photon and an electron, the binding energy of which is significantly greater than that of the incoming photon. The incident radiation is assumed to set the electron into forced resonant oscillation such that the electron re-emits radiation of the same frequency but in all directions. In this case, the electric field of the incident wave (photon) accelerates the charged particle, causing it, in turn, to emit radiation at the same frequency as the incident wave, and thus the wave is scattered. Rayleigh scattering is significant up to ≈ 20keV and like Thomson scattering, is elastic. The total scattering cross section becomes a combination of the Rayleigh and Compton bound scattering cross sections. Thomson scattering is an important phenomenon in plasma physics and was first explained by the physicist J. J. Thomson. This interaction has great significance in the area of X-ray crystallography.
X-ray Attenuation
Total photon cross sections.
As the high-energy photons pass through material, their energy is decreasing. This is known as attenuation. The attenuation theory is valid for X-rays and gamma rays as well. It turns out that higher energy photons (hard X-rays) travel through tissue more easily than low-energy photons (i.e. the higher energy photons are less likely to interact with matter). Much of this effect is related to the photoelectric effect. The probability of photoelectric absorption is approximately proportional to (Z/E)3, where Z is the atomic number of the tissue atom and E is the photon energy. As E gets larger, the likelihood of interaction drops rapidly. For higher energies, Compton scattering becomes dominant. Compton scattering is about constant for different energies although it slowly decreases at higher energies.
See also: X-ray Attenuation
In short, effective shielding of X-rays is in most cases based on use of materials with two following material properties:
high-density of material.
high atomic number of material (high Z materials)
However, low-density materials and low Z materials can be compensated with increased thickness, which is as significant as density and atomic number in shielding applications.
A lead is widely used as a X-rays shield. Major advantage of lead shield is in its compactness due to its higher density. A lead is widely used as a gamma shield. On the other hand depleted uranium is much more effective due to its higher Z. Depleted uranium is used for shielding in portable gamma ray sources.
In nuclear power plants shielding of a reactor core can be provided by materials of reactor pressure vessel, reactor internals (neutron reflector). Also heavy concrete is usually used to shield both neutrons and gamma radiation.
In general, the X-rays shielding is more complex and difficult than the alpha or beta radiation shielding. In order to understand comprehensively the way how a X-ray loses its initial energy, how can be attenuated and how can be shielded we must have detailed knowledge of the its interaction mechanisms.
See also more theory: Interaction of X-rays with Matter
See also calculator: Gamma activity to dose rate (with/without shield)
See also XCOM – photon cross-section DB: XCOM: Photon Cross Sections Database
Radiation Protection:
Knoll, Glenn F., Radiation Detection and Measurement 4th Edition, Wiley, 8/2010. ISBN-13: 978-0470131480.
Stabin, Michael G., Radiation Protection and Dosimetry: An Introduction to Health Physics, Springer, 10/2010. ISBN-13: 978-1441923912.
Martin, James E., Physics for Radiation Protection 3rd Edition, Wiley-VCH, 4/2013. ISBN-13: 978-3527411764.
U.S.NRC, NUCLEAR REACTOR CONCEPTS
U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
Nuclear and Reactor Physics:
J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
W.S.C. Williams. Nuclear and Particle Physics. Clarendon Press; 1 edition, 1991, ISBN: 978-0198520467
G.R.Keepin. Physics of Nuclear Kinetics. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co; 1st edition, 1965
Robert Reed Burn, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Operation, 1988.
Paul Reuss, Neutron Physics. EDP Sciences, 2008. ISBN: 978-2759800414.
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After a day spent exploring the Yorkshire Dales or the Moors, relax with a drink on the patio or by the cosy woodburner.
This detached, delightful barn conversion sits in the grounds of the owner's beautiful Tudor house which dates back to 1450. The property has been skillfully converted into a characterful holiday cottage, with exposed roof timbers and slate tiled floors with underfloor heating. The property boasts a patio which overlooks a field with grazing sheep, perfect for relaxing with a glass of wine on summer days, whilst cosy winter evenings can be spent around the woodburner. Set at the foot of Sutton Bank, on the edge of the North York Moors, this is an excellent area for walking and cycling, and the adventurous might like to visit the Gliding Club at the top of the bank or the Yorkshire Outdoors in Felixkirk for clay shooting and off road driving. Close by is the market town of Thirsk, renowned for connections with the famous vet James Herriot, and there are numerous village inns serving local produce and traditional ales. Visit stately homes at Castle Howard and Nunnington Hall, abbey ruins at Rievaulx and Byland, and the World Heritage Site at Fountains Abbey. Explore the Yorkshire Dales and the Moors, take a trip on the steam train from Pickering to the fishing port of Whitby, or spend a day in the ancient walled city of York, 24 miles. Shop 4 miles, pub and restaurant 400 yards.
Oil underfloor central heating, electricity, bed linen, towels and Wi-Fi included. Initial fuel for wood burner included. Welcome pack. Enclosed patio with garden furniture. Bike store. Private parking for 2 cars. No smoking. Please note: Holidaymakers only. No children under 18 years.
No guests under 18 years old. There are two internal steps at this property. Initial fuel for the woodburner included, thereafter available locally at cost. Enclosed patio. Holidaymakers, Couples and family bookings only.


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12 April 2013 / China
Steel import trends show rise in southeast, nationwide drop
Steel is one of the most searched products on ImportGenius.com among U.S. importers and freight forwarders. Recently we've also seen that steel imports have had a significant rise in one region of the country. The spike in steel imports at Port of New Orleans is evident when looking at shipments received throughout 2012 compared to the previous year.
Shipments received in 2011 breached 96 million pounds, whereas 2012 saw total shipments weighing 131.2 billion pounds. This difference accounts for a 35.8% increase in weight last year. The majority of shipments received in New Orleans containing steel came from Japan. "2012 proved to be a marquee year overall for the Port of New Orleans... we are working diligently to grow new markets and build upon successful ones to deliver benefits to all of our customers and tenants," says Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. Looking at the Import Genius pulse tool, shipments of steel imported nationwide dropped off after November 2012. We see shipments sharply decrease by over 11,500 shipments comparing numbers in November to December. This same trend was also seen at the Port of New Orleans as 2012 neared to a close, with 124 shipments received in December being less than half the 267 shipments in November. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce collected by StreetInsider.com, "...Steel imports fell 17.1 percent year-over-year in March and declined 11.7 percent year-to-date". Street Insider also reports that the rise in the price of steel has caused many U.S. imports to slow their orders. Steel imports into New Orleans have fluctuated in the first three months of the new year. Looking at numbers for national imports, after a rather sharp drop from December to January, both January and February remained steady while there was a 13 percent drop from February to March. If foreign steel prices continue to be unreasonable throughout the remainder of the year, we expect to see a decrease in imports and may even anticipate a significant low compared to previous year-to-year changes. Sources:
March Steel Imports Decline but Sector Remains in Shambles
Strong Steel Imports, Chemical Exports Produce Year-End Cargo Gains
Steel imports boost New Orleans port in 2012
PBS Frontline Investigates Blackout in Puerto Rico
Trump Properties Have Imported 1,034,492 Kilograms of Goods From Overseas in the Last Ten Years
2 Major West Coast Ports Report Large Drop in March Imports
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been long established as two of the top ports in the United States for imports annual cargo volume. In 2012, the Port of Los

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The true story of how a renowned writer's struggle with mood storms led her to try a remedy as drastic as it is forbidden: microdoses of LSD. Her fascinating journey provides a window into one family and the complex world of a once-infamous drug seen through new eyes.
When a small vial arrives in her mailbox from 'Lewis Carroll,' Ayelet Waldman is ready to try anything. Her depression has become intolerable, severe and unmanageable; medication has failed to make a difference. Married with four children and a robust career, she 'should' be happy, but instead her family and her work are suffering at the mercy of her mood disorder. So she opens the vial, places two drops on her tongue, and becomes part of a burgeoning underground group of scientists and civilians successfully using therapeutic microdoses of LSD. As Waldman charts her experience over the course of a month, during which she achieved a newfound feeling of serenity, she also explores the history and mythology of LSD, the cutting-edge research into the drug, and the byzantine policies that control it. Drawing on her experience as a federal public defender, and as the mother of teenagers, and her research into the therapeutic value of psychedelics, Waldman has produced a book that is candid, revealing and completely enthralling.


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Home Analysis & Opinions Commentary: Rising tensions between the United States and North Korea
Commentary: Rising tensions between the United States and North Korea
By Linda Shiundu
Tensions surrounding North Korea, have risen sharply since Trump took office. Pyongyang has continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons even as the new president has declared the status quo is "unacceptable."
President Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy – based on tactics and transactions, rather than strategic vision –Trump has confounded America's allies and strategic partners, particularly in Asia – jeopardizing regional security in the process.
With all of this, it's hard to know if war is actually imminent or if these are the growing pains of US President Donald Trump's new administration figuring out how to deal with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.
In Asia – which faces serious security, political, and economic challenges – Trump's reversals have only exacerbated regional volatility. With so many political flashpoints threatening to trigger violent conflict, the last thing Asia's leader's need is another strategic wild card.
Yet, in Trump, that is precisely what they have. The US president has shown himself to be more flicker.
CHINA INVOLVEMENT IN NORTH KOREA AND THE US FUED
January, Trump – who is perpetually learning things that most other people know -announced that China had total control over North Korea.
This month, after meeting China's leader, he announced that "it's not so easy" for Beijing to force Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program but he still went ahead and tweeted that "I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea."
So far, the Trump administration's North Korea policy consists of declaring that America's patience has run out, refusing to negotiate, hinting at preventive war, and hoping that China bails it out.
The United States has a tendency of attacking dictatorship governments, but when those dictatorships turn into failed states, it's their neighbors that suffer the consequences. China wants stability on its border to prevent experiences like what Jordan endured after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
China is less afraid of a North Korean nuclear explosion than a North Korean political implosion, which would send refugees cascading across its border. But China also fears that North Korea's collapse will lead to a reunification of the Korean Peninsula on South Korean and American terms. That could leave U.S. troops on China's border for the first time since 1950.
Ending its nuclear program and freeing its 25 million people would be the greatest advance of human freedom since the end of the Cold War. But if the Trump administration is to have any chance of moving in that direction, it must begin thinking not only about what China can do for America but what America can do for China.
The Chinese won't strangle an ally just because Trump promises not to start a trade war that would hurt America as much as them. But the Trump administration could at least begin a conversation about how to alleviate Chinese fears of reunification. It could support warmer relations between Seoul and Beijing.
SHOULD TRUMP ADMNISTRATION REVISIT HISTORY?
The problem is that this type of thinking runs directly contrary to the mentality Republicans inherited from the Cold War. As Trump's foreign policy has become more conventionally conservative, he seems to have embraced the conventional conservative myth about Ronald Reagan: that Reagan brought down the Soviet empire through ideological pressure and unyielding hostility.
Like the George W. Bush administration, which thought it could curb Iran's nuclear program by branding Tehran a member of the "axis of evil" threatening "preemptive" war, and refusing to negotiate until Tehran stopped enriching uranium, the Trump administration is now ruling out direct negotiations with Pyongyang and openly threatening a military strike.
This is terrible policymaking based on historical ignorance. Yes, Reagan built up America's military, aided anti-communist regimes and rebels, and morally condemned the U.S.S.R. But by 1984, Reagan's genuine terror of nuclear war and his concern that his warmonger reputation might imperil his reelection, had led him to shift his rhetoric.
Reagan didn't force Gorbachev to release Eastern Europe from Moscow's grip by refusing to negotiate and threatening war. Quite the contrary. By making America appear less threatening, he helped convince Gorbachev that the U.S.S.R. could safely relinquish its Eastern European buffer.
Even if China wanted Korea's reunification, Xi Jinping has less influence over Kim Jong Un than Gorbachev had over Erich Honecker. And given its booming economy, Beijing can afford to subsidize its North Korean ally far more easily than Moscow could afford to prop up its clients in Eastern Europe.
If the Trump administration wants to have any chance, it needs to allay Beijing's fears about a future without Kim Jong Un. That means making the United States appear less threatening, not more so.
It would help if Donald Trump discovered the real history of the end of the Cold War. But that might require him to read.
Linda Shiundu is a political expert for Khuluma Afrika, specializing in matters affecting Syria, United States, The Korean Peninsula and Arab States
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HomeEgypt
The Ramesside period of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt
Horemheb was the first post-Amarna king to be considered legitimate in the 19th dynasty, which looked to him as the founder of an epoch.
The reigns of the Amarna pharaohs were eventually to be subsumed into his own, leaving no official record of what posterity deemed to be an unorthodox and distasteful interlude. Having no son, he selected his general and vizier, Ramses, to succeed him.
Ramses I and Seti I
Ramses I (ruled 1292–90 BCE) hailed from the eastern Nile River delta, and with the 19th dynasty, there was a political shift into the delta.
Ramses I was succeeded by his son and coregent, Seti I, who buried his father and provided him with mortuary buildings at Thebes and Abydos.
Seti I (ruled 1290–79 BCE) was a successful military leader who reasserted authority over Egypt's weakened empire in the Middle East.
The Mitanni state had been dismembered, and the Hittites had become the dominant Asian power. Before tackling them, Seti laid the groundwork for military operations in Syria by fighting farther south against nomads and Palestinian city-states; then, following the strategy of Thutmose III, he secured the coastal cities and gained Kadesh. Although his engagement with the Hittites was successful, Egypt acquired only temporary control of part of the north Syrian plain.
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A treaty was concluded with the Hittites, who, however, subsequently pushed farther southward and regained Kadesh by the time of Ramses II.
Seti I ended a new threat to Egyptian security when he defeated Libyans attempting to enter the delta. He also mounted a southern campaign, probably to the Fifth Cataract region.
Seti I's reign looked its model to the mid-18th dynasty and was a time of considerable prosperity.
Seti I restored countless monuments that had been defaced in the Amarna period, and the refined decoration of his monuments, particularly his temple at Abydos, shows a classicizing tendency.
He also commissioned striking and novel reliefs showing stages of his campaigns, which are preserved notably on the north wall of the great hypostyle hall at Karnak.
This diversity of artistic approach is characteristic of the Ramesside period, which was culturally and ethnically pluralistic.
Well before his death, Seti I appointed his son Ramses II, sometimes called Ramses the Great, as crown prince.
During the long reign of Ramses II (1279–13 BCE), there was a prodigious amount of building, ranging from religious edifices throughout Egypt and Nubia to a new cosmopolitan capital, Pi Ramesses, in the eastern delta; his cartouches were carved ubiquitously, often on earlier monuments.
Ramses II's penchant for decorating vast temple walls with battle scenes gives the impression of a mighty warrior king.
His campaigns were, however, relatively few, and after the first decade, his reign was peaceful. The most famous scenes record the battle of Kadesh, fought in his fifth regnal year.
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These and extensive accompanying texts present the battle as an Egyptian victory, but in fact, the opposing Hittite coalition fared at least as well as the Egyptians.
After this inconclusive struggle, his officers advised him to make peace, saying, "There is no reproach in reconciliation when you make it." In succeeding years Ramses II campaigned in Syria; after a decade of stalemate, a treaty in his 21st year was concluded with Hattusilis III, the Hittite king.
The rise of Assyria and unrest in western Anatolia encouraged the Hittites to accept this treaty, while Ramses II may have feared a new Libyan threat to the western delta.
Egyptian and Hittite versions of the treaty survive. It contained a renunciation of further hostilities, a mutual alliance against outside attack and internal rebellion, and the extradition of fugitives.
The gods of both lands were invoked as witnesses. The treaty was further cemented 13 years later by Ramses II's marriage to a Hittite princess.
The king had an immense family by his numerous wives, among whom he especially honored Nefertari. He dedicated a temple to her at Abū Simbel, in Nubia, and built a magnificent tomb for her in the Valley of the Queens.
For the first time in more than a millennium, princes were prominently represented on the monuments. Ramses II's fourth surviving son, Khaemwese, was famous as the high priest of Ptah at Memphis.
He restored many monuments in the Memphite area, including pyramids and pyramid temples of the Old Kingdom, and had buildings constructed near the Sarapeum at Ṣaqqārah.
He was celebrated in Roman times as a sage and magician and became the hero of a cycle of stories.
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Merneptah
Ramses II's 13th son, Merneptah (ruled 1213–04 BCE), was his successor.
Several of Merneptah's inscriptions, of unusual literary style, treat an invasion of the western delta in his fifth year by Libyans, supported by groups of Sea Peoples who had traveled from Anatolia to Libya in search of new homes. The Egyptians defeated this confederation and settled captives in military camps to serve as Egyptian mercenaries.
One of the inscriptions concludes with a poem of victory (written about another battle), famous for its words "Israel is desolated and has no seed." This is the earliest documented mention of Israel; it is generally assumed that the exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place under Ramses II.
Merneptah was able to hold most of Egypt's possessions, although early in his reign he had to reassert Egyptian suzerainty in Palestine, destroying Gezer in the process.
Peaceful relations with the Hittites and respect for the treaty of Ramses II are indicated by Merneptah's dispatch of grain to them during a famine and by Egyptian military aid in the protection of Hittite possessions in Syria.
Last years of the 19th dynasty
Upon the death of Merneptah, competing factions within the royal family contended for the succession.
Merneptah's son Seti II (ruled 1204–1198 BCE) had to face a usurper, Amenmeses, who rebelled in Nubia and was accepted in Upper Egypt. His successor, Siptah, was installed on the throne by a Syrian royal butler, Bay, who had become chancellor of Egypt.
Siptah was succeeded by Seti II's widow Tausert, who ruled as king from 1193 to 1190 BCE, counting her regnal years from the death of Seti II, whose name she restored over that of Siptah.
A description in a later papyrus of the end of the dynasty alludes to a Syrian usurper, probably Bay, who subjected the land to harsh taxation and treated the gods as mortals with no offerings in their temples.
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The early 20th dynasty " Setnakht and Ramses III "
Order was restored by a man of obscure origin, Setnakht (ruled 1190–87 BCE), the founder of the 20th dynasty, who appropriated Tausert's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. An inscription of Setnakht recounts his struggle to pacify the land, which ended in the second of his three regnal years.
Setnakht's son Ramses III (ruled 1187–56 BCE) was the last great king of the New Kingdom.
There are problems in evaluating his achievements because he emulated Ramses II and copied numerous scenes and texts of Ramses II in his mortuary temple at Madīnat Habu, one of the best-preserved temples of the empire period.
Thus, the historicity of certain Nubian and Syrian wars depicted as his accomplishments is subject to doubt.
He did, however, fight battles that were more decisive than any fought by Ramses II. In his fifth year, Ramses III defeated a large-scale Libyan invasion of the delta in a battle in which thousands of the enemy perished.
A greater menace lay to the north, where a confederation of Sea Peoples was progressing by land and sea toward Egypt.
This alliance of obscure tribes traveled south in the aftermath of the destruction of the Hittite empire.
In his eighth regnal year, Ramses III engaged them successfully on two frontiers—a land battle in Palestine and a naval engagement in one of the mouths of the delta.
Because of these two victories, Egypt did not undergo political turmoil or experience the rapid technological advance of the early Iron Age in the Near East. Forced away from the borders of Egypt, the Sea Peoples sailed farther westward, and some of their groups may have given their names to the Sicilians, Sardinians, and Etruscans.
The Philistine and Tjekker peoples, who had come by land, were established in the southern Palestinian coastal district in an area where the overland trade route to Syria was threatened by attacks by nomads.
Initially settled to protect Egyptian interests, these groups later became independent of Egypt. Ramses III used some of these peoples as mercenaries, even in the battle against their own kinfolk.
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In his 11th year, he successfully repulsed another great Libyan invasion by the Meshwesh tribes.
Meshwesh prisoners of war, branded with the king's name, were settled in military camps in Egypt, and in later centuries their descendants became politically important because of their ethnic cohesiveness and their military role.
The economic resources of Egypt were in decline at that time. Under Ramses III the estate of Amon received only one-fifth as much gold as in Thutmose III's time.
Even at the great temple of Madīnat Habu, the quality of the masonry betrays a decline. Toward the end of his reign, administrative inefficiency and the deteriorating economic situation resulted in the government's failure to deliver grain rations on time to necropolis workers, whose dissatisfaction was expressed in demonstrations and in the first recorded strikes in history.
Such demonstrations continued sporadically throughout the dynasty. A different sort of internal trouble originated in the royal harem, where a minor queen plotted unsuccessfully to murder Ramses III so that her son might become king.
Involved in the plot were the palace and harem personnel, government officials, and army officers.
A special court of 12 judges was formed to try the accused, who received the death sentence.
Many literary works date to the Ramesside period. Earlier works in Middle Egyptian were copied in schools and in good papyrus copies, and new texts were composed in Late Egyptian.
Notable among the latter are stories, several with mythological or allegorical content, that look to folk models rather than to the elaborate written literary types of the Middle Kingdom.
Ramses IV
Ramses III was succeeded by his son Ramses IV (ruled 1156–50 BCE). In an act of piety that also reinforced his legitimacy, Ramses IV saw to the compilation of a long papyrus in which the deceased Ramses III confirmed the temple holdings throughout Egypt; Ramses III had provided the largest benefactions to the Theban temples, in terms of donations of both land and personnel.
Most of these probably endorsed earlier donations, to which each king added his own gifts. Of the annual income to temples, 86 percent of the silver and 62 percent of the grain was awarded to Amon.
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The document demonstrates the economic power of the Theban temples, for the tremendous landholdings of Amon's estate throughout Egypt involved the labor of a considerable portion of the population; but the ratio of a temple to state income is not known, and the two were not administratively separate.
In addition, the temple of Amon, which figures prominently in the papyrus included within its estates the king's own mortuary temple, for Ramses III, was himself deified as a form of Amon-Re, known as Imbued with Eternity.
The later Ramesside kings
The Ramesside period saw a tendency toward the formation of high-priestly families, which kings sometimes tried to counter by appointing outside men to the high priesthood.
One such family had developed at Thebes in the second half of the 19th dynasty and Ramses IV tried to control it by installing Ramessesnakht, the son of a royal steward, as Theban high priest. Ramessesnakht participated in administrative as well as priestly affairs; he personally led an expedition to the Wadi Ḥammāmāt (present-day Wādī Rawḍ ʿĀʾid) quarries in the Eastern Desert, and at Thebes, he supervised the distribution of rations to the workmen decorating the royal tomb.
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Under Ramses V (ruled 1150–45 BCE), Ramessesnakht's son not only served as steward of Amon but also held the post of administrator of royal lands and chief taxing master.
Thus, this family acquired extensive authority over the wealth of Amon and over state finances, but to what extent this threatened royal authority is uncertain.
Part of the problem in evaluating the evidence is that Ramesside history is viewed from a Theban bias because Thebes is the major source of information.
Evidence from Lower Egypt, where the king normally resided, is meager because conditions there were unfavorable for preserving monuments or papyri.
A long papyrus from the reign of Ramses V contains valuable information on the ownership of land and taxation.
In Ramesside Egypt most of the land belonged to the state and the temples, while most peasants served as tenant farmers.
Some scholars interpret this document as indicating that the state retained its right to tax temple property, at an estimated one-tenth of the crop.
Ramses VI (ruled 1145–37 BCE), probably a son of Ramses III usurped much of his two predecessors' work, including the tomb of Ramses V; a papyrus refers to a possible civil war at Thebes. Following the death of Ramses III and the disrupted migrations of the Late Bronze Age, the Asian empire had rapidly withered away, and Ramses VI is the last king whose name appears in the Sinai turquoise mines.
The next two Ramses (ruled 1137–26 BCE) were obscure rulers, whose sequence has been questioned. During the reigns of Ramses IX (ruled 1126–08 BCE) and Ramses X (1108–04 BCE), there are frequent references in the papyri to the disruptions of marauding Libyans near the Theban necropolis.
By the time of Ramses IX the Theban high the priest had attained great local influence, though he was still outranked by the king.
Grasped By A Spirit Hand
By Ramses XI's 19th regnal year the new high priest of Amon, Herihor—who seems to have had a military background and also claimed the vizierate and the office of the viceroy of Cush—controlled the Theban area. In reliefs at the temple of Khons at Karnak, Herihor was represented as the high priest of Amon in scenes adjoining those of Ramses XI. This in itself was unusual, but subsequently, he took an even bolder step in having himself depicted as king to the exclusion of the still-reigning Ramses XI. Herihor's limited kingship was restricted only to Thebes, where those years were referred to as a "repeating of [royal] manifestations," which lasted a decade.
With the shrinkage of the empire, the supply of silver and copper was cut off, and the amount of gold entering the economy was reduced considerably.
During the reign of Ramses IX, the inhabitants of western Thebes were found to have pillaged the tombs of kings and nobles (already a common practice in the latter case); the despoiling continued into the reign of Ramses XI, and even the royal mortuary temples were stripped of their valuable furnishings. Nubian troops, called in to restore order at Thebes, themselves contributed to the depredation of monuments. This pillaging brought fresh gold and silver into the economy, and the price of copper rose. The price of grain, which had become inflated, dropped.
The Ramesside growth of priestly power was matched by increasingly overt religiosity.
Private tombs, the decoration of which had been mostly secular until then, came to include only religious scenes; oracles were invoked in many kinds of decisions, and private letters contain frequent references to prayer and to regular visits to small temples to perform rituals or consult oracles.
The common expression used in letters, "I am all right today; tomorrow is in the hands of god," reflects the ethos of the age.
This fatalism, which emphasizes that God may be capricious and that his wishes cannot be known, is also typical of late New Kingdom Instruction Texts, which show a marked change from their Middle Kingdom forerunners by moving toward passivity and quietism that suits a less expensive age.
Some of the religious material of the Ramesside period exhibits changes in conventions of display, and some categories have no parallel in the less abundant earlier record, but the shift is real as well as apparent.
In its later periods, Egyptian society, the values of which had previously tended to be centralized, secular, and politics became more locally based and more thoroughly pervaded by religion, looking to the temple as the chief institution.
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While Ramses XI was still king, Herihor died and was succeeded as a high priest by Piankh, a man of similar military background.
A series of letters from Thebes tell of Piankh's military venture in Nubia against the former viceroy of Cush while Egypt was on the verge of losing control of the south.
With the death of Ramses XI, the governor of Tanis, Smendes, became king, founding the 21st dynasty (known as the Tanite).
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New independent assessments of the potential impact of Brexit have revealed the extent of the possible economic risks – and human cost – at stake in the EU withdrawal negotiations.
According to expert independent economic analysis commissioned by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, a no deal hard Brexit could lead to a lost decade – or even longer - of significantly lower growth, with the country potentially having 500,000 fewer jobs in the worst-case scenario and nearly £50bn less investment by 2030 than would otherwise have been the case.
The independent research shows that every Brexit outcome analysed would be bad for the British economy, but that the harder the Brexit, the more severe the economic damage could be.
The analysis also shows that London's economy would suffer significantly less from Brexit than the rest of the UK. For example, economic output across the rest of the UK could be on average between 3 per cent and 3.3 per cent lower by 2030 than it would if Britain were to remain within the Single Market and Customs Union compared with between 1.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent down in London. This would widen geographic inequalities across the UK.
Sadiq announced last month that that he had commissioned the independent analysis from Cambridge Econometrics, just days after Brexit secretary David Davis admitted that the Government had not produced detailed economic impact assessments as previously claimed.
If the UK leaves the European Union in March 2019 with no deal on the single market, customs union or transition arrangements – which remains a real possibility given the short amount of time left to secure a deal and the Government's mishandling of the negotiations to date – there could be 482,000 fewer jobs across the entire UK, together with 15 per cent – or £46.8bn - less investment than with a continuation of the status quo. The UK's economic output (measured by Gross Value Added) could fall by 3 per cent by 2030 – the equivalent of £54.5bn.
The worst affected key sector in a no-deal hard Brexit scenario would be financial and professional services, which could have up to 119,000 fewer jobs nationally than would otherwise be the case. There could be 92,000 fewer jobs in science and technology, 43,000 fewer jobs in construction and 27,000 fewer jobs across the UK's creative sector.
Even much softer Brexit scenarios, such as the UK remaining in the Single Market, but leaving the Customs Union after a transition period – the so-called 'Norway' option - could result in 176,000 fewer jobs than there otherwise would have been UK-wide.
In this scenario, there could also be a loss of £18.6bn of economic output and £20bn in investment. There would be 40,000 fewer jobs nationally in financial and professional services, 36,000 in science and technology, 18,000 fewer jobs in construction and 14,000 fewer jobs across the UK's creative and cultural sectors, than there otherwise could have been. In total, there would be 31,000 fewer jobs in London, compared to the 87,000 jobs under threat by a no-deal hard Brexit scenario.
London's professional and financial services would be the worst hit by a no-deal hard Brexit, with 29,000 fewer jobs by 2030 than if we remained in the Single Market and Customs Union. There would be 11,000 fewer jobs in science and technology, 5,000 fewer jobs in construction and 6,000 fewer jobs across London's creative sector.
The Mayor warned that time is fast running out on the negotiations, as a final deal including the full details of a transitional deal and detailed agreement on the outline of a future trade relationship must be agreed between the UK Government and the EU 27 by October this year- just 10 months from now - in order to receive ratification from all EU members.
Sadiq reiterated his call for the Government to change course in the negotiations. He wants Ministers to abandon their hard Brexit approach and instead to push for continued British membership of the single market and customs union.
"This independent analysis reveals the potential economic risks – and human costs – at stake in the negotiations. It should help guide the government to the best outcome for London and the UK.
"If the Government continue to mishandle the negotiations we could be heading for a lost decade of lower growth and lower employment.
"Ministers are fast running out of time to turn the negotiations around. A "no deal" hard Brexit is still a very real risk – the worst possible scenario.
"I've released these impact assessments because the British people and our businesses have a right to know the likely impact of the various options the government are considering on their lives and personal finances. This new analysis shows why the Government should now change its approach and negotiate a deal that enables us to remain in both the single market and the customs union.
Both the Mayor and Cambridge Econometrics are clear that this analysis is not a precise forecast of what will happen. There are a large number of factors that could impact on these scenarios, not least the details of any final deal with the EU or trade deals struck with any countries. The analysis does however highlight the scale of the comparative risks associated with each scenario and potential outcome from the negotiations.
Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: "If these figures prove to be correct then this paints a worrying picture for the capital.
"It underlines the importance of getting a good deal in the Brexit negotiations. One that allows London's financial and professional services the maximum two-way market access with the EU Member States that they need to grow and create jobs.
Cambridge Econometrics were appointed following a competitive tender exercise, which helped to secure value for money for the type of specialist skills and work this project required.
Scenario 2 - A scenario where the UK remains part of the single market, but not the customs union.
Scenario 3 - A scenario where the UK remains part of the customs union, but not the single market.
Scenario 5 - The same hard Brexit scenario but without a two-year transition period.
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Arthroleptis xenodactyloides är en groddjursart som beskrevs av Hewitt 1933. Arthroleptis xenodactyloides ingår i släktet Arthroleptis och familjen Arthroleptidae. IUCN kategoriserar arten globalt som livskraftig. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Recommended by Ricochet Members Created with Sketch. The Talk
Jack Mantle
Many television shows have recently portrayed versions of "The Talk," This Is Us being the most recent of which I am aware. I gather The Talk is a coming of age moment in the life of every Black child where there is communicated the manner in which one is to acquit oneself when pulled over by a police officer. I have some sincere questions about this practice.
Portrayals on TV are always presented in the context of Ferguson, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, etc. Just off the top of my head: Ferguson (amped up criminal thug fresh from committing assault, battery and robbery attacked a police officer and endeavored to take the officer's gun and use it to murder the officer), Rayshard Brooks (approached for operating a vehicle under the influence, attacked two police officers while resisting arrest, stole a Taser from one of the officers and fired it as the officer while fleeing), and Mr. Floyd (approached by officers after "balling" – injecting a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl anally – and passing counterfeit bills, resisting arrest and dying from the effects of the fentanyl as his lungs were filled with liquid. It must be noted that the officers twice requested an ambulance to tend to Mr. Floyd's condition).
So how does The Talk approach this? Maybe an admonition to not disarm police officers or attempt to take their weapons from them? Followed by the common-sense observation that, if you should ever successfully acquire an officer's weapon, don't attempt to murder the officer? Concluding with, and don't inject cocaine and fentanyl up your derriere – or anywhere else for that matter? Seriously? There is a need for such a talk?
What is it about Black culture that we are to believe necessitates such warnings? I admittedly come from a predominantly White background. No member of my family ever felt the need to explain the advantages, indeed the necessity, of not attempting to disarm and murder police officers. For that matter, I was never specifically told to avoid robbing stores and driving drunk. I feel that was rather understood. As for the anal injection of fentanyl, again, never really came up.
What am I to make of these more in sorrow than in anger – though there are copious amounts of anger – depictions of this ritual? They seem to say very little about law enforcement and quite a bit about Black culture — none of it good. In what universe are we to believe that an entire race of children needs to be made specifically aware of the seemingly immutable law of the jungle out there that precludes attacking police officers who are simply doing their jobs – to say nothing of balling?
In all seriousness, how is it allowable to portray Black children as lacking in remedial common sense?
I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who identifies as Black if "The Talk" is a real thing or a media invention. And if it is real, is it the case that Black children really are uniquely unaware of the necessity to not attempt to kill police officers? Or to not engage in the predicate criminality that puts one in contact with police officers?
Do such talks ever point out the consistently professional and compassionate actions of all officers involved in all of these instances? It might be nice to leave our children with a healthy appreciation of law enforcement.
Lastly, I have noted that reference to The Talk is almost always in the context of an understanding that White Americans should feel guilty that such a talk is necessary. If I ever actually felt the need to have such a talk with either of my boys, both of whom I have raised, I would expect no one to feel guilty. But someone would feel greatly embarrassed: me.
That reminds me of this article by John Derbyshire, which may have had something to do with his previous career difficulties:
Racial Politics
by John Derbyshire
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There is much talk about "the talk."
"Sean O'Reilly was 16 when his mother gave him the talk that most black parents give their teenage sons," Denisa R. Superville of the Hackensack (NJ) Record tells us. Meanwhile, down in Atlanta: "Her sons were 12 and 8 when Marlyn Tillman realized it was time for her to have the talk," Gracie Bonds Staples writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Leonard Greene talks about the talk in the New York Post. Someone bylined as KJ Dell'Antonia talks about the talk in The New York Times. Darryl Owens talks about the talk in the Orlando Sentinel.
Yes, talk about the talk is all over.
There is a talk that nonblack Americans have with their kids, too. My own kids, now 19 and 16, have had it in bits and pieces as subtopics have arisen. If I were to assemble it into a single talk, it would look something like the following.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
(1) Among your fellow citizens are forty million who identify as black, and whom I shall refer to as black. The cumbersome (and MLK-noncompliant) term "African-American" seems to be in decline, thank goodness. "Colored" and "Negro" are archaisms. What you must call "the 'N' word" is used freely among blacks but is taboo to nonblacks.
"There is a talk that nonblack Americans have with their kids, too."
(2) American blacks are descended from West African populations, with some white and aboriginal-American admixture. The overall average of non-African admixture is 20-25 percent. The admixture distribution is nonlinear, though: "It seems that around 10 percent of the African American population is more than half European in ancestry." (Same link.)
(3) Your own ancestry is mixed north-European and northeast-Asian, but blacks will take you to be white.
(4) The default principle in everyday personal encounters is, that as a fellow citizen, with the same rights and obligations as yourself, any individual black is entitled to the same courtesies you would extend to a nonblack citizen. That is basic good manners and good citizenship. In some unusual circumstances, however—e.g., paragraph (10h) below—this default principle should be overridden by considerations of personal safety.
https://ricochet.com/835923/the-talk/#comment-5025135
November 30, 2020, at 11:14 AM PST
DrewInEastHillQuarantineZone
Jack Mantle: What is it about Black culture that we are to believe necessitates such warnings? I admittedly come from a predominantly White background. No member of my family ever felt the need to explain the advantages, indeed the necessity, of not attempting to disarm and murder police officers. For that matter, I was never specifically told to avoid robbing stores and driving drunk. I feel that was rather understood. As for the anal injection of fentanyl, again, never really came up.
I wonder the same thing. I was certainly taught to that if you're pulled over, you keep your hands where the officer can see them and you don't do any weird or sudden movements. I guess I thought that was a universal thing.
(5) As with any population of such a size, there is great variation among blacks in every human trait (except, obviously, the trait of identifying oneself as black). They come fat, thin, tall, short, dumb, smart, introverted, extroverted, honest, crooked, athletic, sedentary, fastidious, sloppy, amiable, and obnoxious. There are black geniuses and black morons. There are black saints and black psychopaths. In a population of forty million, you will find almost any human type. Only at the far, far extremes of certain traits are there absences. There are, for example, no black Fields Medal winners. While this is civilizationally consequential, it will not likely ever be important to you personally. Most people live and die without ever meeting (or wishing to meet) a Fields Medal winner.
(6) As you go through life, however, you will experience an ever larger number of encounters with black Americans. Assuming your encounters are random—for example, not restricted only to black convicted murderers or to black investment bankers—the Law of Large Numbers will inevitably kick in. You will observe that the means—the averages—of many traits are very different for black and white Americans, as has been confirmed by methodical inquiries in the human sciences.
(7) Of most importance to your personal safety are the very different means for antisocial behavior, which you will see reflected in, for instance, school disciplinary measures, political corruption, and criminal convictions.
(8) These differences are magnified by the hostility many blacks feel toward whites. Thus, while black-on-black behavior is more antisocial in the average than is white-on-white behavior, average black-on-white behavior is a degree more antisocial yet.
(9) A small cohort of blacks—in my experience, around five percent—is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us. A much larger cohort of blacks—around half—will go along passively if the five percent take leadership in some event. They will do this out of racial solidarity, the natural willingness of most human beings to be led, and a vague feeling that whites have it coming.
(10) Thus, while always attentive to the particular qualities of individuals, on the many occasions where you have nothing to guide you but knowledge of those mean differences, use statistical common sense:
(10a) Avoid concentrations of blacks not all known to you personally.
(10b) Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods.
(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date (neglect of that one got me the closest I have ever gotten to death by gunshot).
(10d) Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
(10e) If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.
(10f) Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.
(10g) Before voting for a black politician, scrutinize his/her character much more carefully than you would a white.
(10h) Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway.
(10i) If accosted by a strange black in the street, smile and say something polite but keep moving.
(11) The mean intelligence of blacks is much lower than for whites. The least intelligent ten percent of whites have IQs below 81; forty percent of blacks have IQs that low. Only one black in six is more intelligent than the average white; five whites out of six are more intelligent than the average black. These differences show in every test of general cognitive ability that anyone, of any race or nationality, has yet been able to devise. They are reflected in countless everyday situations. "Life is an IQ test."
(12) There is a magnifying effect here, too, caused by affirmative action. In a pure meritocracy there would be very low proportions of blacks in cognitively demanding jobs. Because of affirmative action, the proportions are higher. In government work, they are very high. Thus, in those encounters with strangers that involve cognitive engagement, ceteris paribus the black stranger will be less intelligent than the white. In such encounters, therefore—for example, at a government office—you will, on average, be dealt with more competently by a white than by a black. If that hostility-based magnifying effect (paragraph 8) is also in play, you will be dealt with more politely, too. "The DMV lady" is a statistical truth, not a myth.
(13) In that pool of forty million, there are nonetheless many intelligent and well-socialized blacks. (I'll use IWSB as an ad hoc abbreviation.) You should consciously seek opportunities to make friends with IWSBs. In addition to the ordinary pleasures of friendship, you will gain an amulet against potentially career-destroying accusations of prejudice.
(14) Be aware, however, that there is an issue of supply and demand here. Demand comes from organizations and businesses keen to display racial propriety by employing IWSBs, especially in positions at the interface with the general public—corporate sales reps, TV news presenters, press officers for government agencies, etc.—with corresponding depletion in less visible positions. There is also strong private demand from middle- and upper-class whites for personal bonds with IWSBs, for reasons given in the previous paragraph and also (next paragraph) as status markers.
(15) Unfortunately the demand is greater than the supply, so IWSBs are something of a luxury good, like antique furniture or corporate jets: boasted of by upper-class whites and wealthy organizations, coveted by the less prosperous. To be an IWSB in present-day US society is a height of felicity rarely before attained by any group of human beings in history. Try to curb your envy: it will be taken as prejudice (see paragraph 13).
You don't have to follow my version of the talk point for point; but if you are white or Asian and have kids, you owe it to them to give them some version of the talk. It will save them a lot of time and trouble spent figuring things out for themselves. It may save their lives.
Misthiocracy got drunk and Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
My only issue with "the talk" is the implied presumption that white parents don't teach their kids how to behave when interacting with police.
It seems to me that "how to behave when pulled over and/or questioned by police" is something everybody needs to be taught, since it seems like so very many people keep screwing it up.
Kozak Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
Addiction Is A Choice
Misthiocracy got drunk and (View Comment):
Yes, this is what I meant above. Doesn't everyone sort of get this "talk"? Not necessarily in a formalized way, but . . . isn't this just something you teach kids when you're teaching them to drive?
DrewInWisconsin, Man of Consta… (View Comment):
Many black parents don't seem to care much about what their kids do in regular school, so maybe it's not surprising that the kids don't learn much about driving either.
Yes, this is what I meant above.
You say that as if you think I read through the comments before posting, and that's just silly.
The_Admin()
I have to admit my parents never told me not to try to murder a police officer if I got pulled over. However, I'm fairly confident that they told me to be polite.
Max Ledoux (View Comment):
Refraining from attempting murder is the epitome of proper etiquette.
Of course, there are two major versions of the talk. The one you are referencing about specifics in interaction with the police is a specific component of the generic teaching by most families black or white on how to behave in interactions with those in authority. This subject version of the talk is taught specifically to black children as a result of two unrelated elements that cause a greater percentage of potentially troublesome interactions between police and black youth than with others. Those two things are: the crime rate among blacks and remnants of racial discrimination experienced in society by today's blacks. One other contributing factor with specifically police authority would be an over-exuberant use of authority by some police officers. All of these area are in need of attention and reform and success with those might leave us needing only the teaching of respect for those in authority, not to be overdone, of course.
I appreciate your thoughts. I can't speak to actual remnants of racial discrimination. I suspect if such remnants were real, the media wouldn't need to highlight manufactured Smollett-like stories. A favorite instance of mine is described here: https://patriotpost.us/opinion/71674-great-moments-in-racism-the-dashcam-tapes-2020-06-25
As always, the president of my dear alma mater, Mr. Eisgruber, chimed in to proclaim this unfortunate incident to be all too common. In fact, what was all too common was the gullibility of people to believe that there are such remnants of racial discrimination.
As for over-exuberance amongst police officers, I suspect this applies to small town White suspects as much as it applies to big city Black suspects. I have no reason to believe there is a racial component.
I have no empirical evidence on which to base an opinion on the specific issue of "the talk."
I have little personal interaction with black people. I live in Pima County, Arizona, where the black population is around 3-4%. I tend to live and work in the better areas, so the black proportion is even smaller. I know 3 black guys at my church. They are all great guys, and are all married to white women.
I have the impression that there is a shockingly dysfunctional inner-city black culture in some places, with which I have essentially no experience. My impression is that large number of people in such areas behave like pagan savages. I do not know the proportion of the total American black population that lives in such areas.
There are empirical facts suggesting that the behavior of many black people is horrid. An estimated 33% of adult black men have a felony conviction. About 75% of black children are illegitimate. The black homicide rate is around 6-8 times the white rate, I think (though I haven't looked into this precise figure lately). Black test performance and academic performance is quite poor overall.
Obviously, not all black Americans engage in such behaviors. The 3 guys that I know at church — and yes, I know them by name — do not behave in such ways.
There are plenty of pagan savages among the white population, too, though the percentage appears to be quite a bit lower. There's something else different, though — we generally don't have a problem criticizing such people as "white trash." It is tragic, but that is the way that they seem to act.
November 30, 2020, at 12:00 PM PST
EJHill Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
The problem in America is not that black fathers have to have "the talk" with their children. The problem in America is that there are not enough black fathers around to have any kind of talk with their children. (And that is an increasing problem in the white communities as well.)
I suspect that many if not most Black parents care desperately that their children are safe and desire to impart knowledge that will serve them well. Same as White parents. I just can't get my head around the suggestion that Black children are so uniquely lacking in such knowledge. More to the point, I find it troubling that the media is presenting this deficiency as a fact to be unquestioningly accepted. I would love someone to tell me that the Talk is a PR canard of the left and not a reflection of reality.
EJHill (View Comment):
I suspect that the Talk in an invention to serve other purposes. If it were real – or at least actually put forward for the reasons stated – I would expect to see public service announcements where well known and respected figures urge kids (all kids) to refrain when pulled over from attempting to kill the police officers. Simple as that.
Jack Mantle (View Comment):
I would love someone to tell me that the Talk is a PR canard of the left and not a reflection of reality.
Even if it is just a canard of the left, it's filtered down to the point where if parents haven't had the talk with their children, they believe they need to.
I see this in my white friends who have adopted black children. They also have variations on "the talk" with them. And this bothers me, because it seems to send the message that there's a problem with their kids' skin color. But then I don't know what it is to be a parent of black children and/or worry about their safety, so I really should just withhold comment.
I appreciate your thoughts. I can't speak to actual remnants of racial discrimination. I suspect if such remnants were real, the media wouldn't need to highlight manufactured Smollett-like stories. A favorite instance of mine is described here:
I don't think there is an abundance of Smollett-like violent remnants of discrimination out there. I think when the racial discrimination does occur, it is subtle and maybe even not committed consciously but those on the receiving end are sensitive to it.
In the case of the over-exuberant police officers, they are who are most aware of the criminal statistics so they are quicker to respond to any aggressive acts by blacks.
Ekosj
I was certainly taught to that if you're pulled over, you keep your hands where the officer can see them and you don't do any weird or sudden movements. I guess I thought that was a universal thing.
Same here. I got it again when I was in college with the admonition that "We know you think you know everything and since you took that class in Constitutional Law feel particularly knowledgeable about your rights. If you get pulled over my the police DO NOT get snarky about probable cause and whatnot. It's still Yes Sir and No Sir and hands in plain sight. If you really think your rights were violated, you can call an attorney after you get home."
EHerring
If " the talk" is such a thing, why are so many resisting arrest, rude to cops, running from cops, and shooting cops?
It wasn't when I was a kid or when my own kids were learning to drive, but I think part of driver's education should be a thorough discussion of what to do when stopped by the police, even for pedestrians. It should also be part of the students' health classes.
Over the last few years, I've read a lot of articles about police-citizen encounters that have ended badly, and I've been surprised at the police officers' expectations for those encounters. I grew up in a very small town, and the police officers were friendly and not at all intimidating in any way.
I think the expectations of the police officers should be part of a teenager's education. I think it needs to be handled at school because a lot of parents haven't kept up with the rules and expectations.
MarciN (View Comment):
I don't disagree. Though, again, I wonder from whence comes the belief that Black children if confronted with a multiple choice question –
When pulled over by a police officer, one should:
a. Attempt to disarm the officer and kill him.
b. Resist arrest and fire a Taser at the officer.
c. All of the above.
d. None of the above.
– would not see "d" as the best option. I simply don't feel that my "Whiteness" imparts any special insight here. It just seems rather obvious.
November 30, 2020, at 1:03 PM PST
Susan Quinn
Funny thing. I don't remember my folks ever telling me how to act if I got pulled over by the police. I'm not sure if that's because they couldn't imagine their angel of a daughter ever being pulled over (wrong) or because I was a little blond woman. H.m.m.m…
My father taught me to be deferential to police.
White.
Full Size Tabby
From 2000 until 2018 I worked in a northern U.S. city with a large poor black population. I was appalled to hear from people who worked with kids in the city how little knowledge was passed from parents (or other family members) to the kids. A disturbingly large portion of parents were either absent or completely disengaged from what their kids were doing. An example is that many teachers reported that not a single parent from any of their classes would attend school parent events. A work skills program had to teach teens how (And why) to use an alarm clock because getting anywhere on time was an unknown concept in their families.
Sounds to me like Patriot Post is a site worth supporting by Ricochet members.
There is no lack of fathers making babies, but they aren't around much after that.


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