World War II caused a single purpose dedication in the American citizen's spirit that probably represents a zenith in American history for directed endeavors. No other time period since the conquering of the west witnessed the almost unanimous allegiance to one effort, in this case the winning of the war, in a way that pervaded nearly every facet of American civilian life in 1942-1945.
The "homefront" found virtually everyone, from school children to retired adults, involved in some sort of activity related to the war effort. From full-time defense plant workers to preteens gathering aluminum foil and pots and pans while saving their pennies to buy twenty-five cent War Bond Stamps, citizens mobilized and volunteered to perform acts, however important or however insignificant, which in one way or another contributed to a perceived common cause. The effect of World War II on the social fabric of America should not be underestimated. Today, anyone classified as "senior citizen" probably has an indelible recollection of 1942-1945 which is difficult to relate to conditions existing now within our country. Sadly, the war effort "spirit" is nowhere to be found nor is likely to ever exist again; the horrors of a world at war engendered dedication at an expense which none of us ever want to see duplicated. If only we could distill the "spirit" from that period and instill it in today's society! Societal ills were not avoided completely, however, and the impression should not be given that all was well on the "homefront"; there were "slackers", war profiteers, labor troubles, political shenanigans, cheaters on rationing, black marketeers, and the usual dark side of society, but on balance, people did work together for the war effort in a mostly cohesive manner.
The huge W.W.II war industry, the Arsenal of Democracy, which manufactured and developed an incredible array of products from socks to atom bombs, employed millions. While the majority of civilians not so employed in defense plants went about their business in a relatively normal manner, experiencing some shared minor discomforts due to gas and food rationing, blackouts and civil defense drills, the opportunities for volunteerism were abundant and people did respond with vigor.
Aviation attracted the public's attention as exploits of aerial warfare filled pages of periodicals and listeners of the living room Philco heard news of far off air battles. Two aviation related civil defense programs enlisted the help of hundreds of thousands of "homefront" volunteers almost immediately after the Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor. Each of these programs, the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics National Model Building Program and the A.A.F.'s Aircraft Warning Service Ground Observer Corps are examples of wartime civilian endeavors aimed at promoting the "spirit" of contribution to the war effort through activities which gave people a sense of participation and which embraced the popular subject of aviation.
BUILDING MODELS FOR DEFENSE. The military needed training aids for teaching aircraft recognition to aircrews and gunners; the British had already experienced tragic situations of friendly aircraft being fired upon by over zealous fighter pilots and anti-aircraft gun crews and had begun extensive recognition training using manuals and cards featuring 3-view silhouettes along with models which gave the much needed 3-dimensional perspective view. Navy Commander Louis DeFlorez of the U.S. Navy Special Devices Division had seen the British models, made in 1:72 scale (a scale popularized by British "Sky Birds" and "Frog Penquin" models), on a visit to England just prior to Pearl Harbor. Rear Admiral John H. Towers decided that models were needed for the Navy's training and that the quickest source would be hand carved wood models (later to be replaced by contracted plastic models) made "..by the youth who will some day be our pilots."
Recognition models built by a St. Paul, Minnesota model club. Note the Boeing 314s.
With the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics as sponsor, the U.S. Office of Education issued a memorandum (Misc. 2941) on January 30, 1942 to all State Department of Education offices asking for cooperation in the model program. Plans were drawn and distributed throughout the country and quotas were established to obtain 500,000 models. Incredibly, the program was in-place with scale-model planes rolling off the school "assembly lines" in less than 90 days; the March 23, 1942 Life magazine featured a cover photo of a schoolboy carving a P-39 model and a 4-page article which accurately observed that the Army and Navy hoped "..that boys who have worked long hours in class rooms, lovingly finishing miniature P-40's and PBY's, may someday join the services to fly the real thing.." The pattern drawings, sets A through G, for the U.S. Navy aircraft recognition model program for high schools are available from the Smithsonian by clicking Here.
Pearl Harbor students circa 1943. Photo submitted by Georges Grod.
The magazine of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Friends Journal, has an interesting identification model story entitled "Building Spotter Models for the War" in the Winter 2012-2013 issue. You can view this article by clicking here. Use the back arrow to return.
GROUND OBSERVERS AND THE AIRCRAFT WARNING SERVICE.
Over a half-million volunteer "spotters" manned observation posts and filter centers for the Aircraft Warning Service; these "Ground Observers" stood watch on both coasts to protect against air attacks on seaport cities. Makeshift towers and building top structures housed posts which were staffed by observers ranging in age from Boy Scouts to the elderly. As the war progressed and the danger (unlikely at best) of enemy air attack dwindled, the posts were placed on a standby status in November 1943. The AWS would continue to operate through May 1944.
The AWS was part of the Fighter Commands, I and IV, which protected the coasts. The Ground Observers were a link in the chain of the air defense structure; the reports from spotters of air activity to the Information Centers and Filter Centers were plotted on large boards and the results reported to the appropriate fighter control commands. The organization of the AWS was huge with swarms of volunteers scanning the skies. The actual benefits from the AWS activities were two-fold. Pilot training was enhanced by simulated interception missions and of most benefit, civilian morale was maintained by the psychological effect of having "protection" against coastal air raids. The large numbers of AWS volunteers spread the word throughout coastal communities that something was being done about sneak attacks.
To intercept the aircraft's winged flight.
Of secrets courses that are being flown.
The depthless heavens always are his view.
To herald devastation from the skies.
Robert C. Wigand, Post D, Staten Island, N.Y.
Artifacts from the wartime AWS and the model building program are on exhibit at the Friend or Foe? Museum of Aircraft Recognition in Santa Barbara, California. A WWII "training room " adds to the museum experience as the visitor is immersed in a typical aviation cadet training setting Call (408) 828-2810 for information (As of 2014,the museum collection has been donated to the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington). For a cyber-tour, go to the Friend or Foe? museum link at left.
I published a version of this short article quite a few years ago and got a terrific response; I guess a lot of people recognize themselves and their response to our overloaded and hectic world that we live in.
Are you a "scanner?" Commercial society is slowly turning into one huge shopping mall, the Wal-Martization of the country. Acres and acres are roofed over and materialize as a combination "discount center", amusement park, child care facility, and a collection of franchise shops that appear the same world-wide. Think about it: If you plunk yourself down in the middle of a "shopping center" anywhere in the U.S., you'll have a hard time figuring out where you are. We are so used to seeing the same stuff everywhere, we've lost the capability to discover the unique and regional. As you enter one of these behemoths, you are faced with tens of thousands of products - how can you look at all of them? Ah, but you've discovered the modern technique of "scanning." Right out of a science fiction novel, you turn on your "scanner" and presto, your eye never rests on any given object for more than a few microseconds, or maybe less if you're an advanced scanner. Trained to home in on that one object of your desire, you ferret out the single mauve T-shirt, size M, 50-50, brand X, from the trillions of data inputs picked up by your photo receptors and transmitted to your visual cortex. Now, how do you turn that damned scanner off?
You next visit your favorite museum, or maybe CollectAir, to enjoy something different, even unique. Can you slow down that impulse to look at everything, and NOTHING? I've observed people going through magnificent museums, such as the Air and Space or Air Force Museum, and doing it at a trot, scanner turned on high. What on earth have they SEEN? We're getting accustomed and conditioned to view everything in life in short bursts, without reflection and contemplation, and digesting data in quantities that quickly overfill our tanks. Willard Spiegelman, in his 2009 book, Seven Pleasures, invites readers to become more immersed in the viewing of art; he states that most museum-goers spend less than ten seconds in front of any given painting. The artist may have spent weeks or months creating a scene filled with nuances and the viewer is going to distill all that in ten seconds?
When you visit CollectAir, leave your scanner at home. Enjoy the art. LOOK at it.
There's no rush and no prize for speed. As a little example of how people scan, check out the picture below. This is part of an exhibit of WWII youth related aviation items that is part of our Friend or Foe? Museum. Typical of exhibits found in museums everywhere. The average visitor to this museum will spend less than four seconds viewing this display. Now for your test: Spend no more than four seconds looking at this picture and try to recall any details.
Photos at end of this article. Professional model builder and fine wood artist Doug Emmons constructed an unusual, solid display model of the Hawker (Gloster) Typhoon which he crafted in the manner of a 1944 "bread and butter" lamination kit. Doug has written an article about the project for Fine Scale Modeler which will appear in the magazine in the future; for this website edition, I'll run an edited version along with some photos that I've taken of the Typhoon. This superb example of artistry in wood may be purchased from CollectAir; please contact CollectAir if you wish to discuss owning this outstanding wood sculpture.
But first, let's take a look at a brief history of solid kits. Scale, solid display models have been around for a long time but kits for solid models didn't appear in any number until around 1930. If you look in an early 30s Model Airplane News, most of the advertising is for scale, stick and tissue flying models with very few ads, if any, promoting solid scale. The Selley Mfg. Co. ad, for example, states, "Solid Wood, 12" wingspan, Introducing - a New Vogue in Fine Model Building," a very telling ad line. Fred Megow advertised two solid models for a mail order price of twenty-five cents in a 1930 Open Road for Boys and got a great mail order response. Ideal Aeroplane advertised a line of twelve "Miniature Replica Models" in 1932. Three-views were commonly printed in the magazines along with instructions for constructing a display model. For example, the May 1932 issue of Model Airplane News has a detailed plan for a solid model of the Supermarine S.6.B. with a 11 11/16" wingspan, at that time the world's fastest airplane at 408.8 mph. The S.6.B. is also featured on the cover painting.
One of my favorite kits in my collection was made by Golden Aircraft, with their "Ski-Ryder Planes", a 1934 solid kit of the Curtiss Swift - when have you ever seen a solid kit for the Swift? - several flying model kits were produced, such as one by Comet for this slick looking fighter. The Curtiss XP-31 was the first monoplane pursuit by Curtiss; this overweight, one-off airplane was to be competition for the P-26A. Powered by a Conqueror G1V 1570F engine, the lone ZXP-31 soldiered on with the Army until it was surveyed in late 1936. An unusual subject for a solid kit.
Most solid kits of the 30s were simple balsa block and template style until StromBecKer came along in 1936 with their precarved pine model line starting with the China Clipper (about eleven aircraft kits prior to our entry into WWII) which is fondly remembered by many a youngster of that era, including me. A history of the Strombeck-Becker Manufacturing Co. and their line of great pre-carved wood kits can be accessed by clicking the StromBecKer page here. A browse through the Model Aircraft Engineer of 1934 shows "solid replica kits" being offered by Heathe, Pittsburgh Scale Model Airplane (PGH.), Lennon Model Aero Club (5 cent solids with 4 1/2 to 5 in. wingspans), and Comet with "Comet's New 8" Replicas" at 15 cents.
Solid kits began to incorporate more sophisticated manufacturing techniques, such as StromBecKer's, as World War II approached with many kits being "pre-carved" (some quite elegantly such as the Deluxe Consolidated-Burkards) or cut to an outline profile shape with balsa being the most commonly used material. Hawk advertised their 1/4" scale solid models in 1934, but you can look through 1937 issues of Model Airplane News without seeing a single ad for a solid model even though many kits were on the market. M&L Sky Devil offered some simple solid kits in the early 30s. Comet solids came out in the early 1930s. By 1939, companies such as Megow's had large selections of solid scale models in their catalogs. In England, the 1:72 scale solid SkyBirds and Skyleada models were popular, beginning in the early 30s. The very first plastic scale models were introduced by the FROG PENGUIN line in 1936, predating American plastic kits by a good ten years. Duncan's Gold Seal (YoYo) had 6" balsa solid models in 1935 (originally associated with Joe Ott). National Model Aircraft had 1/4" scale solids in 1936 which included the pontoon equipped "Eaglet" of Bill Barnes' character, Sandy (would love to find that kit, or the plan). Polk's Hobbies had a whole catalog of nothing but solid models in the 1940s.
Solid models were most popular during World War II. The schoolboy 1:72 scale model building program, initiated by the Bureau of Aeronautics, introduced many a youth to scale model building as they were constructed ostensibly for recognition training purposes. Gas engines, balsa wood and rubber for flying models were limited during the war so there was an emphasis on solid scale as a diversion, many of which were made from pine or very low grade balsa as non-strategic materials.
Bill Barnes Air Trails from June 1938 - neat scene. Note the Boeing P-26 - a modern solid model of the "Peashooter" is shown below.
Solid models eventually gave way to the plastic kits by the mid-1950s, but not before the solids matured into quite sophisticated kits which could rival the early plastics in quality but not in building time. Plastic or metal details, along with some carved parts, became part of kits manufactured by stalwarts such as Monogram (Super Kits), Testors, StromBecKer (XFV-1 VTOL, B-17), and Dyna-Models DMP line, plus others who hung on until all-plastic did them in. Every now and then, a brave manufacturer will put out a solid kit or two; the last ones that I ran across were some elegant wood and metal 1:32 kits by Air Corps Ace Model (1994) and some Megow reproductions by Scale Flight Model Co. at Penn Valley Hobby Center still being offered. The DMP P-47 Thunderbolt in 1/4" scale came out in 1947; these kits featured pre-carved fuselage and numerous metal detail parts such as cowling, landing gear, prop, cockpit etc. The DMP model pictured below was constructed over 50 years ago.
This P-26A (20th Pursuit Group, Barksdale, Louisiana) model in 1:32 scale was made from the Air Corps Ace kit; I finished this in 2004. Kit is very similar to the old DMP kits.
Boeing P-26 pictured in a Boeing Airplane Company ad in the October 1932 issue of "Aviation". The top of the advertisement reads, "Faster Wings for Uncle Sam!", then "...a radical departure both in pursuit-ship speed and in design..." At this time Boeing was a subsidiary of United Aircraft & Transport Corporation. This is the Army P-26 prototype (one of three), formerly the XP-936.
20th Pursuit Group at Mitchel Field for maneuvers.
P-26A drawing by the late Walter M. Jefferies, Jr.
A beautiful 4-view drawing of a 20th Pursuit Group P-26A, rendered by the late Walt Jefferies, can be viewed by clicking here. This drawing is from the March 1954 issue of Air Trails. Use the back arrow to return to this page.
Information on the P-26, along with paper models, can be viewed by clicking here. Use the back arrow to return.
Doug Emmons ran across a squashed, wartime kit of the True-Build (by Joe Ott) Typhoon, Kit No. 606, 1:48 scale, with all kit parts in good shape. The True-Build line used a laminated build-up construction technique using thin sheets of poor quality wood (not plywood) to glue together to form a rough three-dimensional fuselage and wing. Doug points out that this technique has been used in ship model building as an accepted way of making hulls; it is described as a "bread and butter" construction.
Other manufacturers also used the laminated method during the World War II period. Ply-Wright models by the Wright-Dayton Co. and Plycraft Solid Aeroplane Models by Laminated Art Products are two examples. The Plycraft models were constructed from die-cut pulpboard and provided a "filler" to smooth out the laminations; it took thirteen layers to construct a P-40E fuselage in 1:72 scale. The models were promoted as being recognition models meeting Bureau of Aeronautics requirements. Dowels were used as an alignment tool and the sheets of wood or pulpboard were glued together to form a three-dimensional shape with little additional carving or sanding necessary.
Doug elected to not use the Typhoon kit parts because of the poor quality of the wood. Instead, he decided to use basswood and mahogany in contrasting layers and finish the model in natural varnish to be able to showcase the construction technique as used in these WWII solid models. He used the original wood for patterns and Elmers to glue the pieces together. Before completing the sanding to the corner of each lamination, he consulted other model plans for the Typhoon such as the 1943 Modern Hobbycraft and found the kits to be lacking in scale outlines. He relied on Arthur Bentley's superb plans and found the kit to have an over scale fuselage and under scale wings. Doug adjusted the laminated shapes to the correct scale.
There is no paint on the model; cockpit frames are paper backed 1/56" mahogany veneer, sanded. The chin radiator scoop is hollowed out and two circular intakes fashioned from brass tubing glued onto a fine brass mesh. Gear covers are sheet brass. Exhaust stacks are carved ebony and the wing cannon are sanded down birch dowels. The spinner is laminated just as the kit shows and the props are mahogany; the assembly rotates on a brass tube and brass rod shaft.
The model was first finished with six coats of Deft, a clear semi-gloss lacquer, sanded between every other coat. Doug placed only a minimal amount of insignia in order to place the emphasis of the construction technique. He wanted to preserve the original kit intent to use glue-on paper markings so he used a "retro" move by finding a modern decal sheet, photocopying it in color, cut to the edges and glued on the model. Two final spray coats of Deft were applied and lightly rubbed down with very fine steel wool to remove the gloss.
Doug writes, "The finished model is a nice representation of the way modeling was done more than half a century ago during the heyday of the Hawker Typhoon." Doug has an outstanding website which is devoted to his incredible wood model "sculptures", history of some master modelers, and Doug's philosophy concerning "scale" models. Go to DOXAERIE for a treat.
I would like to add the sad note that the most famous Typhoon pilot, Roland Beamont, died on November 19, 2001 at the age of 81. Wing Commander Roland Beamont flew fighters in the Battle of Britain and later developed Typhoon tactics for ground attack while assigned to Hawker as a test pilot before becoming operational again. Beamont later flew Tempests in 1944 against V1 "buzz bombs" and was very successful (accounting for 30 V-1 kills) until being shot down and crash landing in Holland where he was a prisoner until the end of the war. Beamont became Chief Test Pilot for English Electric and flew the Canberra, P1, Lightning (see recognition model for sale in display model page), and the TSR2. He was the first British pilot to exceed Mach 1 in level flight in the P1 and, in 1958, the first British pilot to exceed Mach 2. From 1965-78, he was the Director of Flight Operations for B.A.C. Preston and played a major role in the development of the Panavia Tornado. He was the author of a number of interesting books. A Robert Taylor limited edition print, "Canberras Over Cambridgeshire", signed by Beamont, is available at a special price of $195.00; depicts Canberras of 231 OCU over fenlands of Cambridgeshire. Also, another famous Typhoon pilot, Group Captain Charles Green DFC DSO, recently died at the age of 88. Captain Green pioneered low flying techniques in the Hawker Typhoon; he joined the RAF in 1938 and was posted to 500 Squadron (County of Kent) then 235 Sqdn. He commanded the 121 Wing and saw extensive action during the Allied advance. He was shot down in December 1944 and taken prisoner.
See excellent 1:72 painted pewter examples of the Typhoon and Tempest on the Diverse Images Page. Photos of Doug Emmons' wonderful "bread and butter" Typhoon are presented below. This model is on exhibit at the CollectAir gallery.
If you are interested in the origins and a complete exposition of all the variations of the British RAF roundels, click on the Type A-1 roundel below to get an excellent article from the Canadian Vintage Wings website entitled "Roundel Roundup." Use the back arrow to return.
A True-Build Joe Ott kit number 605, the Curtiss Seagull SO3C-1, is shown below. The plan is continued on the back with a front view and detailed instructions. Note the terrible quality of the wood - no respectable tree would claim that mess.
To round out this article on solid models, I'd like to show a wonderful picture that came from a January 1943 publication, "Army Life in Hawaii," a "Life" magazine size that is "...a pictorial record of America's fighting forces on guard at this Pacific outpost." Shown seated at his desk is the late Major General Clarence Tinker, former Commanding General of the Seventh Air Force, who was lost in action during the Midway battle. The photo is a Seventh Air Force photo. Directly in front of the General is a StromBecKer model of the early B-17 which I would like to think that the General built himself. This is the same B-17 model that introduced me to model aviation. What wonderful memories a single model airplane can evoke.
General Tinker and the StromBecKer B-17.
This "built" P-47 came in a box of old kits from the late 1930s and WWII. Somewhat crude in configuration but carefully crafted by someone who cared. The landing gear and prop have been broken off but the tail wheel and retractable doors are intact. The wingspan is around 9" which works out to 1:54 scale but maybe this was intended to be 1:48 scale, or what was popularly known as ¼" scale. Possibly from a kit but more likely to have been scratch built from a magazine plan. Too bad more of these gems from the past haven't survived. I'll wager that the builder of this model felt much more satisfaction at its completion than the "assembler" of a plastic kit.
The Flying Fortress model pictured below was built by professional model designer John Bell; this is an excellent example of how a solid wood model, built to standards long established, can create a visual impact which is every bit as effective as a modern plastic kit, perhaps more so. Photo by John Bell.
The Comet Air-o-Trainer model was widely advertised in model airplane magazines during WWII. The kit was copyrighted in 1942. The Air-o-Trainer was a pre-cut profile model with all parts finished, ready to assemble, designed to teach or instruct how control surfaces moved in response to cockpit control inputs. This is a large model, with a fuselage overall length of 21 1/5" including the movable rudder. The fuselage was cut from 5/16" clear pine. All flying surfaces are made from 1/8" sandwich material which consist of a wood core paper covered both sides, with an appearance and texture similar to masonite board. The stick and control horns are contained in a paper bag. Paper insignia was provided. A detailed plan and a "Basic Principles of Airplane Control" instruction booklet were included in the kit.
The booklet describes the Air-o-Trainer: "The Air-o-Trainer was designed to demonstrate the action of controls and how they should be used in various flying maneuvers. Its controls are operated in the same manner as in full scale aircraft. The only way to learn flying is to actually fly a plane under the guidance of an instructor. By working the controls of the Air-o-Trainer, however, you have a graphic demonstration of what happens when the controls are moved."
The instructions suggest that the model be painted dark olive drab with all movable surfaces painted orange. This model is both simple and sophisticated. Realistic looking (Bell P-39) with correct control movement, the simple construction and heavy duty parts assure long life. The kit pictured here is complete with contents in "as new" condition. Although made in large numbers, this kit is a rarity and very collectible today, undoubtedly because its simple construction begged building by even the very young. You can just imagine the kids of 1942 "flying" this airplane while waiting to get old enough to join the Army Air Corps. Some magazines of the era published plans for a similar trainer. Comet had a patent on this kit.
A kit in this condition is worth quite a bit to a collector today - I suppose $400 or $500 might buy this one. If you really want to cry, look at the following ad from a 1947 Polk's Model Craft Hobbies wholesale dealer's flyer which was offering "Never-before-equalled Bargains." Besides these super deals, the same page had Rogers 40mm Bofors Gun and a M-29C Weasel for 75 cents each (marvelous kits in pine) and an Ace M-4 Sherman Tank 1/2 inch scale for 50 cents!
Built Air-o-Trainer on display in the old Treasure Island Museum.
The Berry Bros. "Berryloid" paint was used extensively on airplanes of the Golden Age. Colorful Berryloid ads began in March 1929 in Aero Digest magazine; these ads (twelve in all) featured a magnificent painting by Heaslip which depicted a current airplane model painted in the scheme of a particular bird. The first ad was inspired by the Redstart using International Orange, Moleskin Deep and Diana Cream paint colors on a Stinson. Oddly, this issue did not carry any advertising by Stinson! Named "The Berryloid Fleet," these ads were the premier use of full-color advertising (to any extent) in the aviation field. You can click on the small image below to get a high resolution file of this first ad which you are free to download - use it for your computer screen. Click on the image when it comes up and it will enlarge to full size.
I thought that this beautiful photo of one of the last "Connies" would not only commemorate this great airplane but also would be a reminder of the passing of Hangar 309. Hangar 309 was built for construction of the huge Constitution and later was used for commercial airplane manufacturing. Following this scene, the signs came down and Hangar 309 became the secrecy shrouded Skunk Works. The last 1649A was delivered in February, 1958; 44 Starliners were built. Check out the 1:72nd scale, L-749A Connie by Verkuyl on the Display Model Annex 4 link page. A Lockheed 1649A Starliner, N974R, was flown on October 25, 2001 from Sanford, Florida to Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight Museum for display, probably never flying again.
The accompanying picture of fighter pilots is from The Luftwaffe Yearbook Number 5, 1967-1968, a German text, hardbound book containing current and historical Luftwaffe information. This gathering of fighter pilots was quite an assembly of international talent from WWII. The German caption which lists the pilots in the picture is reprinted here. I'll make a weak attempt to translate the general idea of the meeting: Famous Fighter Pilots Meet in Fürstenfeldbruck. On October 7 and 8, 1967, a group of around four hundred fighter pilots of the Second World War from Germany, America, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, and South Africa met with New German Air Force leaders and honored or remembered fallen comrades from the Second World War at the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base. I have not seen this picture printed elsewhere.
Caption: Großes Jagdfliegertreffen in Fürstenfeldbruck. Am 7. und 8. Oktober 1967 trafen sich rund vierhundert Jagdflieger des Zweiten Weltkrieges aus Deutschland, Amerika, Spanien, Italien, Frankreich, Belgien and Südafrika mit der Führungsspitze der Bundesluftwaffe adn Angehörigen gefallener Jagdflieger im Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck zu kameradschaftlicher Begegnung und einem Gedenken an die toten Kameraden des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Alte erinnerungen wurden ausgetauscht, neue menschliche Beziehungen geknüpft. An dem Treffen nahm auch die Mutter des bekannten, in Afrika gefallenen deutschen Jagdfliegers Hans-Joachim Marseille teil. Die einzigartige Versammlung der "Asse" vereinte viele bekannte Namen von belden Seiten der Front. Auf unserem Foto ist eine Gruppe der namhaftesten von ihnen kameradschaftlich vereint. Von links: Generalleutnant Johannes Steinhoff, Inspekteur der Luftwaffe; Oberst Hartmann, erfolgreichster Jagdflieger des Zweiten Weltkrieges mit 352 Abschüssen; Oberst Barkhorn, auch wieder aktiv bei der 2. Alli-ierten-Taktischen Luftflotte in Mönchengladbach, im letzten Krieg mit 301 Luftsiegen der zweiterfolgreichste deutsche Jagdflieger; Oberst a.D. Falck, Zerstörer- und später Nachtjagd-Kommodore; Wing-Commander Oberst Robert R. Stanford-Tuck; Generalmajor Hrabak, der Starfighter-System-Beauftragte der Luftwaffe, 125 Luftsiege; der ehemalige Wing-Commandeyr der Royalk Air Force, Oberst Powell; Major a.D. Lindemann; Generalleutnant a.D. Galland; Oberstleutnant a.D. Andres, Kommodore der jagdergänzungsgeschwader der Luftwaffe und langjähriger Vorsitzender der Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger; Oberstleutnant a.D. Schöpfel, der Nachfolger von Galland als Kommodore des ehemaligen Düsseldorfer Jagdgeschwaders 26 "Schlageter."
This is just a neat picture of a Republic SeaBee that I took in Minneapolis in 1947; it was a brand new airplane then. In around 1951, the Aeronautics Department (Institute of Technology) at the University of Minnesota bought a new (out of production for several years but this might have been a new unsold) SeaBee, ostensibly for training, but I think it was used mostly for UofM brass to go fishing. It was seldom used for us lowly aero students. The 1945 Republic prototype, NX41816, was originally named the "Thunderbolt".
One of America's greatest pilots, Tex Rankin, died in the crash of a Republic Seabee in Klamath Falls, Oregon on a routine business flight in 1947.
Frank Wootton has been an inspiration to generations of artists, collectors and enthusiasts and was a treasured asset to the commercial users of his outpourings of magnificent artwork, whether simple advertisements or magnificent illustrations. A legion of artists associated with the British Guild of Aviation Artists, founded in 1971 with Wootton as President, will attest to Frank Wootton's dedicated efforts to encourage and individually help anyone who asked for his assistance. His works have been exhibited at the National Air & Space Museum (1983) and at exhibits and museums all over England and Canada. He is reknown for his masterful technique, beauty of line and composition, and powerful use of color, whether painting aircraft or landscape or an equestrian scene. Anyone interested in aviation art, worldwide, is acquainted with Mr. Wootton's outstanding work and several books have been published featuring his paintings. Many limited edition prints of his scenes have been published with the Greenwich Workshop handling the U.S. editions.
A Sussex man, Mr. Wootton attended the Eastbourne College of Art, following which he was active in the 1930s doing commissioned art and book illustrations along with learning to fly. In 1939, Wootton volunteered for the RAF but instead was asked to become an official war artist. He painted RAF subjects from England to France and Belgium before travelling to South East Asia at the end of WWII. His famous little book, How to Draw 'Planes, was first published in 1941 (he was 27) and the dust jacket states that, "Frank Wootton is quite a young man, but he knows a lot about 'planes, and nobody questions his ability to draw them." Amen.
Wootton worked for de Havilland's advertising agency during the peak years for advertising art following WWII and up to about the time of the Comet's demise. Greats of the aviation art field were cohorts of Wootton at the agency; artists Terence Cuneo, Chris Wren and John Young. Browse the covers and D.H. ads of Flight and Aeroplane in the fifties and you'll discover treasures of artwork. Sadly, the photograph replaced the satisfying color artwork which regularly appeared in the aviation publications of the 30s, 40s and 50s.
What wonderful action in this scene of a de Havilland Vampire - not a detail in sight but you sure feel the roar of that take-off. This is aviation art.
The purpose of this article is to bring attention to some work of Mr. Wootton's that usually doesn't get into the art books and magazine articles. His light and shadow technique is outstanding and was evident in his How to Draw 'Planes book which is in black and white. His "Anson" rescuing shipwrecked seamen scene (page 61) is just plain awesome. That technique was effectively used by him during the 1950s as he was commissioned to paint ship portraits for the British Joint Services Recognition Journal published by the Air Ministry.
Wootton was a dedicated foe of imperfection in painting - a warrior against the Modern School of aesthetic nonconformity. He wrote in 1989, "Through the centuries Art has reflected wide variations of taste and style, but hitherto however disparate these extremes of taste may have been, the expression of them has presumed a perfection of execution within the limits of contemporary competence." In How to Draw 'Planes Wootton wrote, "Try to get variety into your drawings by making the most of lighting and its effects."
The following scenes are presented for your pleasure. Perhaps someone can let me know what medium was used for these black and white paintings; were they done in color or monochromatic wash? My guess is that since he knew they were commissioned for publication in B&W, that they weren't painted in color. Does anyone have information to offer on this subject?
These impressions by Wootton of a speeding MiG-15 were illustrations for the July 1952 issue article, "Eyes, Speed and Altitude", written by USAF pilots experienced in Korea and familiar with the difficulties of spotting high speed aircraft in an enlarged combat sky because of speed. These impressionistic views still retain the technical competence expressed above by Mr. Wootton. Perhaps current artists could make use of this technique to provide some "belief" to their paintings or is it commercially necessary to freeze objects at a distance so that every rivet may be counted before they are allowed to continue on their way?
The Soviet Navy's Gordy Class Destroyer; the Gordy II with two stacks. From the June 1953 issue, "...Mr. Wootton's excellent portrayal of this destroyer on the centerspread in this issue will give you many good clues."
The Soviet Navy's Kirov I and II Class Cruisers from the January/February 1952 issue. Of interest is the lower left painting which is signed "Frank Wootton" contrary to his usual "Wootton" signature.
And as the final scene presented here from the journals, the tribute scene is shown from December 1954 entitled, "Operation Loyalty." The caption reads, "'Loyalty' was the Royal Navy's code name given to the operation of escorting Her Majesty The Queen in H.M.Y. Britannia from Gilbratar to the Nore. On Friday, 14th May, 1954 the Royal Yacht was escorted up Channel from near the Eddystone to the Needles Channel by ships of the Home Fleet. On parting company off the Needles the escorting warships converged upon and steamed past the Britannia at speed 'cheering ship' as they did so. To this exciting spectacle H.M.S. Vanguard provided a thrilling climax as she steamed past at 21 knots. We asked Mr. Frank A.A. Wootton if he could capture something of the thrill of that moment. This is his picture: we think he succeeds admirably."
Three more early examples of Wootton's work are shown below. The first is a 1941 or 1942 painting done for the A.V. Roe & Co., Ltd. of an Avro Anson of the Coastal Command downing a Dornier. The painting was published in The Wonder Book of the R.A.F. The second scene is a Alvis Limited advertisement for the Alvis Leonides radial engine used here in the Westland Dragonfly and the Percival Sea Prince. This ad is from around 1950.
Vickers-Armstrong ad from "The Aeroplane" March 1, 1940.
Wartime painting, "Defiants en Route to Dunkirk, May 1940," courtesy of the de Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd.
Frank Wootton painting from de Havilland ad for the Dove, "Aeroplane," September 14, 1945.
A magnificant action scene by Wootton in the same issue of "Aeroplane."
Centerfold of the May 3, 1940 issue of "The Aeroplane" magazine. Of note is the fact that the signature in the lower lefthand corner only states, "FRANK" - unmistakenly a Frank Wootton piece done very early in WW2.
"Aeroplane," July 1958, with Wootton cover image.
The cockpit section shown below is from a Bristol Beaufighter 21, a former RAAF Mk 1c, A19-43, located at the Air Force Museum, a CollectAir photograph (no longer a mystery cockpit). The museum had an unused fuselage section in a crate which was the nucleus for this restoration effort. The fighter is now together (Spring 2003) on it's gear and will eventually be painted in the USAAF night fighter scheme of the 12th AF which operated these in the Mediteranean and Middle East theaters until the P-61 went into service. Notice the expansive cockpit, certainly one of the larger fighter offices. I believe that this is the only example of a Beaufighter in the U.S. This particular serial number was built by Fairey at Heaton Chapel, near Manchester, for the RAF as T5049, but was delivered in March 1942 to Australia. This information is from the May 2003 FlyPast magazine which has an excellent fold-out section on the Beaufighter. Update The Beaufighter was nearing completion in the photo below taken at the Air Force Museum's restoration facility in June, 2004. The completed Bristol Beaufighter (British s/n T-5049 and Australian s/n A19-43) was put on display at the museum in October 2006. A handsome airplane.
The current 2009 display of the Beaufighter 21 in the Air Force Museum is shown below.
Two more mystery cockpits - from the rudimentary simple to state-of-the-art. What aircraft? Let me know if you have the answer.
What airplanes do these cockpits below belong to?
Here's a cockpit that I'll wager that you'll never figure out.
These production airplanes made history.
You'll get your sealegs in this one.
A Mystery Airplane is pictured below. This is from an aerial photo of the San Francisco Airport around 1936 (? maybe later) - the closest airplanes parked around this mystery ship are a Staggerwing Beech and a Lockheed 10. What is this airplane? At first it looks as if it would be easy to identify, but it remains a mystery to me. Note that the shape of the wingtips and horizontal tail can be discerned from the shadow. Also note that it only has a two-bladed prop. The cockpit glazing is hard to figure out. Appears to have retractable gear but maybe not. A Curtiss model? Possibly the one-off prototype CW-23? Help!
Photo from March 1940 "Air Trails."
Here's another cockpit beauty - can't you just hear the sound of those four engines!
For one of the largest cockpits around and one of the newest, click here to see a 360-degree view of the A-380 front office.
Who painted the scene below? Clue: this artist wrote, "Painting is a companion with whom one may hope to walk a great part of life's journey." Also, the artist is a well known personality who painted this scene many years ago.
The photo below of the beautiful F4U-5 Corsair, "WR", was taken at the 2002 "Gathering of Corsairs and Legends" at Mount Comfort, Indiana by Michael O'Leary, Associate Publisher and Editor of Air Classics magazine. Michael has kindly permitted CollectAir to display this photo. The warbird was owned by Jim Read in 2002 but has been reported to have been sold in 2009. Corsair #5 of the "Checkerboarders" is the subject of our "Gate Guard" at the gallery (As of 2014, the Corsair was donated to the Estrella Museum in Paso Robles, CA). This Corsair, (N179PT), flew in the UK with the Warbirds of Great Britain from 1992-1998. It was a former Honduras Air Force airplane. Corsair N179PT was based at the Porter County Airport in Valparasio, Indiana at the time of this photo.
This wonderful pencil sketch of a Checkerboard Corsair was done by the late R.G. Smith, one of the all-time great aviation artists. Entitled "Old Number 9 - Korea 1950-53".
F4U-5 Corsair, "WR," at Oshkosh 2008.
F4U-5 Corsair, "WR", at Oshkosh 2010. This airplane is reported to be owned by Fighters and Legends. Photo by Garrett Van Wyk.
From time to time I'll post some pictures here that I find interesting. If you have a picture that would be appropriate here, send it along.
This has got to be the dream-scene for any aviation buff. While on a 2011 trip to Alaska, this idyllic flight operation was discovered along the cutoff highway to the town of Talkeetna. The operation is the Alaska Bush Floatplane Service at Fish Lake. Real nice folks.
Blue Angels' practice at Pensacola. There are four jets in this photo! CollectAir photo 2011.
Air Force One, tail number 27000, at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library in Simi Valley, CA. This airplane served seven presidents from 1973 to 2001. CollectAir photos 2/2013.
C-47 on fly-by tribute on Veterans Day, 11/11/11, over CollectAir.
Fly-by tribute on Veterans day 2013, over Collectair - above and below.
Aren't those sweet Ryans? Taken at the Santa Paula Airport on August 7, 2005.
Lefty Gardner's P-38L, N25Y, at Reno in 1986 (CollectAir photos). A recent restoration to an immaculate bare aluminum finish, N25Y has become part of the Red Bull collection and has been shipped to Salzburg, Austria, so forget about seeing it in the U.S. again. If you want to "see" N25Y, you'll have to go to www.flyingbulls.at; this is a terrific website with lots of superb photos and videos. Lefty never disappointed race fans with his P-38.
The USS Bairoko, CVE 115, of the Commencement Bay Class, with many Grumman Panthers on deck. Can you spot what is not-so-usual in this picture?
Lockheed TV-2 at unknown Navy base. Barely distinguishable, the aircraft carries both U.S. Navy and U.S.A.F. designations below the canopy. The TV-2 was a Navy version of the T-33A; about 700 were delivered during the very early 1950s and were used as advanced and instrument trainers primarily. This airplane pictured could be a prototype inasmuch as gun ports are still evident as used on the P-80/F-80 (were these on all T-33s?). The Navy initially used single-seat F-80Cs as jet advanced trainers. An F-80 (fuzzy) is parked in the background. Can you add information about this U.S. Navy photo?
An unusual trio of ground-breaking airplanes; picture taken at the Air Force Museum Research & Development Gallery in June 2004. The Republic XF-84H (51-17059) with supersonic propeller is in the foreground; an interesting failure that I heard run at Edwards in 1955 - the fastest single-engine propeller driven aircraft ever built.
XF-84H in flight. Videos of the XF-84H flying can be viewed by clicking here. Use the back arrow to return.
The amazing Chance-Vought LTV XC-142A tilt wing transport (Hiller Aircraft should also be mentioned) is the only four-engine transport to ever land multiple times on a carrier - a successful project; the only remaining example. And backed by what I believe to be the world's all-time greatest airplane, the Mach 3, North American XB-70 Valkyrie No. 1 (62-001). I find it sad that the museum moved this aviation giant out of their museum proper and relegated it to the handful of viewers that bus over to the R&D hangar. At least there is adequate natural light for pictures.
A nice unpublished photo of a training TA-4F of VT-7 flying off the USS Lexington, CTK-1.
Northrop photo 3767, "DC-4 Flight 6-7-38". Some now call this the DC-4E.
The two surviving Martin Mars flying boats (as fire bombers) are captured at Sproat Lake, just outside Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Picture was taken by Steve Anderson of Qualicum Beach, located near the Mars base. Steve writes that. "This has been their home since 1959; we lost the other two in 1962 - one to a crash in Northwest Bay and the other to Hurricane Freda while down at Victoria Airport for work. You don't hear four Wright 3350 engines very often but during the summer fire season on Vancouver Island you do - quite the sight to see these pieces of history in action." Thanks to Wendy for correcting the spelling of place names. As of 2007, these airplanes are for sale. Note: The Mars have been sold to Coulson Aircrane and will continue to be operated. Update 2014: The Coulson Group has been returning JRM-1 Mars "Philippine Mars" to flying condition for a ferry flight to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola. Coulson has traded the Mars for several C-130s and some WW2 aircraft. The addition of the Mars to the Naval Museum collection is exciting news.
Mars landing at Lake Elsinore. Cal-FIRE contracted - 10/07.
An interesting video featuring the Mars can be viewed by clicking here. Use the back arrow to return.
A nice pen and ink drawing by Jack Frost of a Northeast Airlines Convair can be viewed by clicking here. This drawing is from a 1955 book of sketches around Boston.
HELLCAT IN ACTION! A full-color pin-up by Jo Kotula published in the March 1944 issue of "Popular Science".
Replica DH 88 Comet "Grosvenor House" built by Bill Turner's Repeat Aircraft. Bill Turner died in September 2003. CollectAir photo taken on the ramp at my old FBO in San Jose, CA.
Photo of a Curtiss SB2C flying on patrol over the Marshall Islands. This photo was taken by Robert Garvey of Baytown, Texas with a box camera that he bought for one dollar. This version of the Helldiver is the -4 with a four-blade prop, Wright R-2600-20 engine and wing fittings for the 5-inch rocket. The small antenna is probably a radar - the -4E version was equipped with radar in a pod. Mr. Garvey says that the SB2C had "a terrible tail wobble." The Helldiver had a bad reputation for wallowing in turbulence and bad control harmony - amongst many other deficiencies!
Nifty 1965 cover painting of a Fairchild PT-19 by Cal Smith. I logged time in the 50's in N53065 and N46876 - wonder where they are now?
A beautiful Canadian Cornell (PT-26) built by Fleet of Canada and currently flown by Vintage Wings of Canada. These trainers were used by the BCATP until 1947. A Vintage Wings photo.
If these TWA (remember TWA?) Connie stewardesses seem familiar, then you are definitely a very senior citizen. The first commercial airplane flight that I made was on a Connie with hostesses like these. And can you imagine a meal like that on an airline today in cattle class? Note that there are no seat belts shown.
That would be my expression if I got a meal like that on any airline!
The late Jim Wright's Hughes H-1 Racer reproduction was an exciting project - it permitted the modern enthusiast to view 1937 aviation history in action - and presented the aviation world with a close-up association with a flying machine that most of us would say is the most beautiful airplane design to ever come off an engineering drafting board and turn into aerial metal. For all his achievements and foibles, Howard Hughes should go down in aviation history for his magnificent H-1. Gene Hand of Oregon was asociated with Jim's H-1 project and has kindly permitted CollectAir to display some exciting H-1 photos in tribute to the ill-fated project. It is fortunate that the original H-1 is on static display at NASM, but a flying exhibition put the Racer in it's proper venue.
Hughes H-1 R258Y at NASM's Garber Facility in 1990. CollectAir photo.
Hughes H-1 R258Y with long wing on NASM display in 1991, CollectAir photo.
This drawing is probably the origin of the XF-11 (original Hughes D-2) experimental photo-recon airplane. I have not been able to identify the other parties to the patent.
Howard Hughes made the first flight on the XF-11 on July 7, 1946. An oil leak forced one of the counter-rotating propellers to reverse direction. Hughes tried to save the plane by landing it on the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but after clipping three houses in Beverly Hills, it crashes into a fourth. The fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to the house and surrounding area. Hughes, lying beside his burning airplane, was rescued by a Marine master sergeant who was visiting friends next door.
The injuries that Hughes sustained in the crash, which include a crushed collar bone, six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a fractured skull and third-degree burns, affected him until his death. Many attribute his long addiction to opiates to the large amounts of morphine that was prescribed. The trademark moustache he wore in later life was an attempt to cover a minor facial scar from the crash.
A second prototype, XR-11A, had standard four-blade props and flew in 1947.
These scenes of a North American Aviation wind tunnel model of the B-25 were taken in October 1942. The color transparencies are part of the "American Memory" series ( WW2 section) at the Library of Congress. The entire series may be viewed at the LOC website.
The new NASM Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport is chock full of airplanes, helicopters and missiles and is certainly worth a day-long visit for the aviation buff. A large collection of CollectAir photos taken at the Hazy Center is available at Shutterfly - click here to view. Use the slide show option for the most entertaining viewing.
Germany's Three-Deck , Dornier D.X. flying boat has recently been launched at Lake Constance and will soon be establishing speedy mail and passenger service between Hamburg and the United Sates. This behemoth is featured on this month's cover of Popular Mechanics. What fun for passengers as the luxury plane merrily skips along the waves!
Gracing the rear cover of the magazine is this "tasteful" ad for Camels which proves that smoking is certainly an upper class endeavor.
However, be advised, according to this short notice in the magazine, that you shouldn't throw your butts out of an airliner - maybe it would be ok for the passengers of the D.X.
The Freedom of Information Act has permitted the following information, heretofore classified as super duper secret, to be revealed to readers of this webpage. The U.S. Navy, in the 1970s, made a study to evaluate the vulnerability of super carriers of the Nimitz Class. After a controversial in-house computer simulation using banks of TI-99 home computers, nesting in groups of 100, and networking with dedicated rotary telephones linked to nuclear submarines via trained dolphins, the navy scientists concluded that if each carrier could be broken into about one-hundred parts and distributed over several thousand square miles then enemy missile effectiveness would be thwarted. Work began on January 22, 1978 in a prestigious Berkeley, California think tank, headed by Dr. I.B. Liberal PhD, to develop a radically new carrier force which would fit into the strategic thinking of the combined city councils of Santa Monica, Santa Cruz and Berkeley (soon after joined by Santa Barbara), acknowledged by many to be major players in U.S. foreign policy and defense planning.
The keel for the new "Rad Carrier", the first of the classified CVDUD Class, was laid, in fact laid several times, in a Berkeley boathouse. Simultaneously, a new carrier tactical attack airplane, the T/A-54 was coming together as a joint effort by a consortium of Hungarian aerospace companies, the low bidder. This superb aeronautical achievement featured a clipped wing with four jet engines in through-the-wing pods. A large fuselage, reminiscent of a C-54, was compartmented to allow weapon storage, cockpit management, and a commodious cabin with many windows to allow media persons to ride along and view the action first hand. A special Dan Rather chair was established in a prominent and elevated location.
On budget and on time, the CVDUD was launched and combat ready with a full complement of one T/A-54 and a deck truck loaded with missiles. The carrier carefully negotiated the slippery waterways in the San Francisco Bay Area with the assistance of a tug boat before going to sea. Having no engines, the CVDUD was designed to drift; the idea was that with hundreds of thousands of these carriers, the U.S. would be able to project power worldwide with CVDUDs, virtually littering the oceans. In addition, if each T/A-54 filled its seats with news people, just think how few media folk would be left on the mainland. Cleverly using a camouflage scheme which suggests a barge-like vessel, the CVDUD with T/A-54 on the flight deck, was captured on its maiden voyage in the rare 1980 photo shown below. Program funding for production wasn't released by the city councils and the prototype CVDUD remains adrift, whereabouts unknown.
FLASH! A recent satellite photo has disclosed the existence of a new version of the CVDUD weapons system - some sort of a sweptwing variant of the T/A-54, still with four jet engines. The "carrier" appears to be unchanged from the 1980 configuration but it has the look of a NASA vessel. Markings on this carrier borne fighter-bomber are G-BOAD. At the same time, another photo came in from London showing a similar airplane, but without wings. Marked G-BOAA, on a "carrier" plying the Thames. It is reported that the carrier has problems getting through the half-tide locks with wings so they are unbolted and stowed below decks.
The project was further advanced with an interceptor design offering CAP protection to the bombers. A photo of the secret project was recently discovered, as shown below. Please destroy after viewing.
The Swiss got into the act with their own fighter-jet carrier.
Another test version of the CVDUD appeared in WW2. In this case it was a high speed carrier with a low speed fighter - it was a tossup whether the airplane could catch up with the carrier for landing and whether takeoff didn't violate the "never-exceed-speed". See below for a secret illustration of this version, just recently released.
Visit again soon. We welcome comments, suggestions and corrections. Use the FEEDBACK link or give me a call on my cell 408 828-2810.


text:
Gordon L. Blair
Alabama Workers to Receive Unemployment Benefits Due to COVID-19
The Alabama Department of Labor announced this week that workers who are not able to work due to COVID-19 will be eligible to file for unemployment benefits starting on March 23, 2020.
"We understand that we are entering a difficult time for workers and employers," said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington in the March 16, 2020, press release. "We want to help those who may be temporarily financially impacted by helping them to replace some of their lost income while being unable to work. We are working with both federal and state government to ensure that we are doing all that we can to help ease the burden during a potentially trying time."
Eligible Workers
In its press release, the Alabama Department of Labor stated it will change existing unemployment rules to allow workers to file a claim for unemployment compensation benefits if they are:
"quarantined by a medical professional or a government agency";
"laid off or sent home without pay for an extended period by their employer due to COVID-19 concerns";
"diagnosed with COVID-19"; or
"caring for an immediate family member who is diagnosed with COVID-19."
Modification of Other Unemployment Benefits Requirements
The press release also states, "the requirement that a laid-off worker be 'able and available' to work while receiving unemployment compensation benefits will be modified for claimants who are affected by COVID-19 as described above. Additionally, claimants will not have to search for other work provided they take reasonable steps to preserve their ability to return to work when a quarantine is lifted or illness subsides. The waiting week, which is typically the first week of compensable benefits, will also be waived."
Non-Eligible Workers
Alabama workers not eligible for unemployment compensation benefits include employees working from home and those receiving paid sick or vacation leave. These workers are not eligible whether they experience any or all of the situations listed above.
Affected individuals can file for benefits online on the Alabama Department of Labor website. Employers that provide this information to their employees may want to refrain from making assurances as to benefits eligibility.
© 2020, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., All Rights Reserved.National Law Review, Volume X, Number 78
Gordon L. Blair began his professional career practicing general civil litigation, with a focus on commercial and employment litigation. He also served as the associate general counsel of a publicly traded manufacturing company. Gordon joined Ogletree Deakins in 2002.
At Ogletree Deakins, Gordon continues to devote a substantial portion of his practice to general litigation, regularly representing colleges and universities, contractors, healthcare providers, manufacturers and retailers in personal injury, construction, tort, and contract...
gordon.blair@ogletree.com
ogletree.com/people/gordon-l-blair/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A minimal masterpiece, the Jordan 1 Mid Triple White is crafted from a premium combination of materials. Doused in an all white hue, the shoe comes with minimalist branding, a large Swoosh on the lateral and medial sides for that unmistakably Nike aesthetic. Down below, a rubber outsole is present for added durability, making these perfect for the windy and frozen months ahead.
Men's 417212-601 Air Jordan 13 Retro Premio Sales Sample Team Red/Desert Clay-White "Aka: Bin 23"


I've gotten into designing websites with user experience testing as my focus initially and evolved my process into making design decisions based on analytics as well. Both are rich with insights that can't be overlooked, but A/B testing is a third pillar of actionable insights that I've grown to love.
I have recently been able to implement A/B tests and see these insights come in, which have helped me have more evidence for my design decisions and, in some cases, see my hypotheses get shot down by cold hard fact.
Here are 5 tests that changed the way I design websites.
1. Replacing a slider with a static image promo of the highest selling product and buttons with hover states improved conversions by 30% (with statistical significance of 98%).
Rotating banners are absolutely evil and should be removed immediately. -Tim Ash, Site Tuners.
This test did what I thought it would do, but the key here is having more direct evidence to help steer this client and others away from sliders on their home page. I'm not the only one who's had this experience, and I've read plenty of case studies with similar results.
The issue is that people perceive sliders as if they are ads, thus they don't interact with them, especially if there aren't ways to easily navigate on the slider or if the navigation is tucked away.
Takeaway: Remove sliders in the key home page promotion area, and encourage clients to use this to tell their story or promote high-selling products or key services instead. Another big takeaway from this experience is that A/B testing something is a lot more compelling to clients than talking about "best practice" or encouraging ideas based on other things I've read.
This will likely factor into the way I design websites from here on out: If there's a point of contention, just having A/B testing in my arsenal of ways to test hypotheses and is huge to help the project get to the strongest solution.
2. Making the "Add to Cart" button bigger and more in-your-face decreased conversions.
(What?!) It just wasn't where people expected it: They expected this button lower on the page after some information about the product and not right underneath the title.
I was happy to realize that there are other people who have experienced this. Yes, even after all those years of the conversion rate optimization experts saying, "Let's make that CTA bigger," it turns out that making the call-to-action bigger and more prominent seems to have an opposite effect in some situations.
In my case conversions dropped by 13% when I included the "Add to Cart" button right below the title of the product and above the description. I also see this as another indication that "above the fold" is not as important when it comes to web design.
Michael Aagaard on Content Verve experienced similar results when making his button bigger unnecessarily.
He talks a bit about other ways he increased conversions or tested things that didn't work. Using "Create My Account" did 30% better than "Create Your Account," and I take this to definitely mean that I should use first-person perspective for these calls to action as much as I can. It makes for much higher converting CTAs.
Takeaway: These test results are somewhat counterintuitive, and the key is that if you tend to have small call-to-action buttons, you may need to enlarge them but not without limits. Also, they need to show up in the place people expect them.
When you have more copy to accommodate (Michael tested a larger button with "Create My Account" and "Get Started" and that one did very well), then a larger button does indeed make more sense. Just don't make it look spammy.
3. Making a button color contrast directly with the rest of the elements increased conversions by 31%.
Performable increased conversions by 31% when it tested a call to action that was red when the rest of the site was green. The keys here are that if you choose the right red, people don't necessarily perceive it as "stop," and that you should always choose buttons that contrast with the rest of the elements on the page.
Complementary colors work, too, when you plan them into the color scheme only to be used as attention grabbers.
When we design at my agency, we start with what these attention-grabbing colors will be only for the most important next steps on the page. Not a bad idea to work into your workflow when you're creating new websites, but also develop this idea even further with A/B testing as great design doesn't always mean that it converts!
Takeaway: Make sure your call-to-action button contrasts with the rest of the site in some way—even if that means it's red.
4. Removing in-depth categories on the home page increased conversions by 7% (statistical significance over 99%).
Takeaway: I believe that the truth in the results of this A/B test go beyond what the test is originally about. If you're designing or working on a site that has too many options everywhere the eye can look, you might need to simplify as much as you can to get people more likely to make a choice. I think this is the principle at work in the common pattern of having three main choices underneath the hero image or promotion.
These can be three obvious next steps the visitor to the site might want to take, rather than 10 that they "could possibly" want to take. Having 10 emphasized next steps is lazy information architecture; take some time to clarify the most important options and do that work for the user, then give them the other less important options in a de-emphasized way.
5. Including the word "Menu" in the menu button vs. the ubiquitous "hamburger" or three-line icon increased conversions by 12.9%.
This is potentially contentious amongst designers, but the test in question was conducted on Caffeine Informer and was run in 2014. For all intents and purposes, the word "menu" with an outline and the three-line icon with the word menu and an outline performed significantly better than just the three-line icon.
Takeaway: For the time being, I'm including the word menu in all the websites I work on unless I test an alternative on that specific website. Likely for newer technologies, or products or services where the bulk of the demographic are on the web a lot, you'd think the three-line/hamburger icon by itself would be fine, but A/B testing can make it clear that our hunches don't always translate into reality.
So where are we with the mobile menu in 2015: Are we going to just use the three-icon "hamburger" icon yet? Or do we still have to supplement it with a word menu? Tests are highly varied; ConversionXL says that the icon plus the word menu is the highest converting variant.
James at Exis Web's Test in 2015 states replacing the button with the word "Menu" doesn't seem to be increasing interaction. And one test for Booking.com users found the hamburger icon performs just as well as the more descriptive version.
What are your thoughts? Feel free to share your experience in the comments section below.
If you are ready to experience Convert Experiments, we invite you to start your 15-day free trial.
Tim Brown is a web designer and developer out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of the online resource "How to be a Conversion Optimization Genius" for Snap Agency, and you can tweet him at @timbdesignmpls.
I think the menu and icon topic is depending of the segment of prospects. Especially how deeply they are into the digital world. I assume that my dad would appreciate the word menu next to the hamburger icon but in my generation it's a pretty obvious thing regarding how much apps we use.


For conferences or corporate events, for meetings or product presentations, or simply for private meetings, Hotel Cavalieri has different types of meeting rooms.
All of these are equipped with flipchart, amplification, beamer and screen, fax and photocopy service, Wi-Fi connection, registration desk, wardrobe, air conditioning.
Restaurant Il Principe, in occasion of your meetings and conferences, can arrange welcome-coffees and coffee breaks, working lunches or light lunch buffets, welcome cocktails or happy hours, business dinners or gala dinners. Our Maitre and our Chef are at your disposal to find the best solution for your needs.
Sala Montà of Hotel Cavalieri can host up to 170 people, it is ideal for conferences, meetings and corporate conferences, showrooms.
These two meeting rooms at Hotel Cavalieri are with natural light, particularly suitable for meetings, workshops or small events.


text:
Q: Fill EditText in new Dialog with values from ListView Hey i am trying to fill an EditText in a new Dialog with values from a ListView. The problem is that i get
java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'void android.widget.EditText.setText(java.lang.CharSequence)' on a null object

I put a Toast on the values obtained from the ListView and it works, it returns the specific value.
When i try to call .setText(ValueFromListView) it gives the error and i don't understand why. Can anyone help me with this?
Here is the code:
@Override
public boolean onItemLongClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, final int position, final long id) {
    final Dialog dialog = new Dialog(MainActivity.this);
    dialog.setTitle("Edit item...");
    dialog.setContentView(R.layout.custom_dialog_edit_delete);
    dialog.show();

    Button button_UPDATE = (Button) dialog.findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete_button_UPDATE);
    Button button_CANCEL = (Button) dialog.findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete_button_CANCEL);
    Button button_DELETE = (Button) dialog.findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete_button_DELETE);

    // GET PRODUCT REFERENCES
    Cursor cursor = (Cursor) parent.getItemAtPosition(position);
    String productName = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(DBAdapter.KEY_PRODUCT));
    String productPrice = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(DBAdapter.KEY_PRICE));
    String productType = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(DBAdapter.KEY_TYPE));
    Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, productName + " " + productPrice + " " + productType, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

    EditText prodField = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete__productName);
    prodField.setText(productName); // This is the line that i get the null pointer exception
}

A: EditText is available inside your dialog so you must give reference of yout dialog when creating object of EditText.
EditText prodField = (EditText) dialog.findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete__productName);

A: Try this
EditText prodField = (EditText)dialog.findViewById(R.id.custom_dialog_edit_delete__productName);
prodField.setText(productName);

//

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Q: How to draw line on a webpage using html, css and javascript I am currently working on a "tic tac toe like" game.
This is the link. I started upgrading some of its functionalities and I have a problem.
I used the image included below as the background image of the game and I positioned nine input fields, one on each edge/side of the image with css.
I no longer want to use a background image. Is there any way I can draw those lines with css, javascript and/or html?
Please I will be very happy if it can be done with pure html, css and javascript or with jquery

A: You can use 2 elements and their pseudo elements to draw the lines with absolute positioning in and transform: rotate()

div {
  width: 25%;
  border: 1px solid black;
  margin: auto;
  overflow: hidden;
}
span {
  display: block;
  padding-bottom: 100%;
}
div,span {
  position: relative;
}
div::after,div::before,span::after,span::before {
  content: '';
  position: absolute;
  background: black;
}
div::after {
  top: 50%;
  left: 0; right: 0;
  height: 1px;
}
div::before {
  width: 1px;
  left: 50%;
  top: 0; bottom: 0;
}
span::before,span::after {
  height: 1px;
  top: 50%;
  left: -25%;
  right: -25%;
  background: red;
}
span::before {
  transform: rotate(45deg);
}
span::after {
  transform: rotate(-45deg);
}

A: you can also use gradients :
the idea
background:
      linear-gradient(0deg,black,black) repeat-y center,
      linear-gradient(0deg,black,black) repeat-x center,
      linear-gradient(26deg, transparent calc(50% - 2px), black calc(50% - 1px) , black calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 2px)),
      linear-gradient(-26deg, transparent calc(50% - 2px), black calc(50% - 1px) , black calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 2px)) yellow;
  background-size: 3px 100%, 100% 3px, auto,auto;

here is a snippet with margin and size of inputs updated too, the snippet uses also a background-color and a shadow.

body {
    color: black;
    width: 26.8cm;
    overflow: scroll;
    background-color: white;
}

.welcome{
  padding:20px;
  text-align: center;
  background: #ccc;
}
.transit{
  transition: 5s;
}
#player{
  color: green;
}
.gamelet { /*This style is for the boxes containing the hexadecimal color codes*/
    width: 5.6cm;
    display: inline-block;
    vertical-align: top;
}

.gamelet2 {
    margin-top: 4.3cm;
}

.fr { /*This style is for the red box only*/
    margin-left: -0.3cm;
  width:0.6cm;
}

.sr { /*This style is for the green box only*/
    margin:0 9.6cm;
  width:0.6cm;
}

.tr { /*This style is for the blue box only*/
   margin-right:-0.3cm;
  width:0.6cm;
}
div:nth-child(1),
div:nth-child(2),
div:nth-child(3){margin-top:-0.3cm;}
div:nth-child(7),
div:nth-child(8),
div:nth-child(9){margin-bottom:-0.3cm;}
.gamelet1 {
    border-radius: 90px;
    width: 0.6cm;
    cursor: pointer;
}

.board {
    background:
      linear-gradient(0deg,black,black) repeat-y center,
      linear-gradient(0deg,black,black) repeat-x center,
      linear-gradient(26deg, transparent calc(50% - 2px), black calc(50% - 1px) , black calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 2px)),
      linear-gradient(-26deg, transparent calc(50% - 2px), black calc(50% - 1px) , black calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 2px)) yellow;
  background-size: 3px 100%, 100% 3px, auto,auto;
   box-shadow: 0 0 0 0.6cm yellow;
  border:solid;
  margin: 2cm 3cm;
}

/*//styles from bootstrap*/
.alert-danger {
  color: #a94442;
  background-color: #f2dede;
  border-color: #ebccd1;
  text-align: center;
  padding:20px;
  display: none;
}

.alert-success {
  color: #3c763d;
  background-color: #dff0d8;
  border-color: #d6e9c6;
  text-align: center;
  padding:20px;
  display: none;
}

.alert-info {
  color: #31708f;
  background-color: #d9edf7;
  border-color: #bce8f1;
  text-align: center;
  padding:20px;
}

<form name="game" class="board">

<input onclick="C_11(cplayer); autoname(0);" name="C11" type="text" class="gamelet1" />

<input onclick="C_12(cplayer); autoname(1);" name="C12" type="text" class="gamelet1" />

<input onclick="C_13(cplayer); autoname(2);" name="C13" type="text" class="gamelet1" />

<input onclick="C_21(cplayer); autoname(3);" name="C21" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

<input onclick="C_22(cplayer); autoname(4);" name="C22" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

<input onclick="C_23(cplayer); autoname(5);" name="C23" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

<input onclick="C_31(cplayer); autoname(6);" name="C31" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

<input onclick="C_32(cplayer); autoname(7);" name="C32" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

<input onclick="C_33(cplayer); autoname(8);" name="C33" type="text" class="gamelet1 gamelet2" />

</form>

a codepen to fork & play with
NOTE:
IDs can only be used once per document, use class instead if multiple use (code snippet for #gamelet turned into .gamelet )


text:
import setpath
import functions
import os

def var(*args):

    """
    .. function:: var(varname[, value]) -> value

    Sets (if both varname and value are given) or returns (if only varname is given) the contents of a variable.

    Examples:

    >>> sql("var 'v'")  # doctest: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
    Traceback (most recent call last):
        ...
    OperatorError: Madis SQLError:
    Operator VAR: Variable 'v' does not exist
    >>> sql("var 'v' 5")
    var('v','5')
    ------------
    5
    >>> sql("var 'v'")
    var('v')
    --------
    5
    >>> sql("select var('v')")
    var('v')
    --------
    5
    """

    if len(args)==0:
        return str(functions.variables.__dict__)

    var=args[0]

    if len(args)==1:
        if hasattr(functions.variables,var):
            return functions.variables.__dict__[var]
        else:
            raise functions.OperatorError('var', "Variable '" +var+"' does not exist")
    elif len(args)==2:
        functions.variables.__dict__[var]=args[1]
        return functions.variables.__dict__[var]
    else:
        return None

var.registered=True

def getvar(*args):

    """
    .. function:: getvar(varname) -> value

    Returns the value of varname. This function exists so as to be able to force
    SQLite's engine to always evaluate the *getvar* function. This can be achieved
    by givine to the function an always changing second parameter.

    Examples:

    >>> sql("var 't' 5")
    var('t','5')
    ------------
    5
    >>> sql("getvar 't'")
    getvar('t')
    -----------
    5
    >>> sql("select getvar('t', random())")
    getvar('t', random())
    ---------------------
    5
    """

    try:
        return functions.variables.__dict__[args[0]]
    except KeyError:
        raise functions.OperatorError('var', "Variable '" +var+"' does not exist")

getvar.registered=True

def requirevars(*args):
    """
    .. function:: requirevars(varname1, [varname2,...])

    Checks if all variables (varname1,...) exist. If not it throws an exception.

    Examples:

    >>> sql("var 'cv1' 5")
    var('cv1','5')
    --------------
    5
    >>> sql("var 'cv2' 10")
    var('cv2','10')
    ---------------
    10
    >>> sql("requirevars 'cv1' 'cv2'")
    requirevars('cv1','cv2')
    ------------------------
    1
    >>> sql("requirevars cv1 cv2")
    requirevars('cv1 cv2')
    ----------------------
    1
    >>> sql("requirevars 'cv1' 'testvar'") # doctest: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
    Traceback (most recent call last):
    ...
    OperatorError: Madis SQLError:
    Operator REQUIREVARS: Variable testvar isn't initialized
    """

    for v in (' '.join(args).strip()).split():
        if not hasattr(functions.variables, v):
            raise functions.OperatorError("requirevars","Variable %s isn't initialized"%v)
    return 1

requirevars.registered=True

def flowname(*args):
    """
    .. function:: flowname([str])

    Sets and retrieves, 'flowname' variable

    Examples:

    >>> sql("flowname test flow ")
    flowname('test flow')
    ---------------------
    test flow
    >>> sql("flowname")
    flowname()
    ----------
    test flow
    >>> sql("flowname 'arg1' arg2") # doctest: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
    Traceback (most recent call last):
        ...
    OperatorError: Madis SQLError:
    Operator FLOWNAME: Flowname accepts only 1 argument
    """

    var='flowname'
    if len(args)>1:
        raise functions.OperatorError('flowname','Flowname accepts only 1 argument')

    if len(args)==0 and hasattr(functions.variables,var):
        return str(functions.variables.__dict__[var])
    elif len(args)==1:
        functions.variables.__dict__[var]=' '.join( [str(x) for x in args[0:] ] )
        return str(functions.variables.__dict__[var])
    else:
        return None
flowname.registered=True

def setexecdb(*args):

    """
    .. function:: setexecdb(str)

    Sets the database path/filename for exec operator.

    """

    var='execdb'
    if len(args)==0 and hasattr(functions.variables,var):
        return str(functions.variables.__dict__[var])
    else:
        functions.variables.__dict__[var]=str(os.path.abspath(os.path.expandvars(os.path.expanduser(os.path.normcase(args[0])))))
        return str(functions.variables.__dict__[var])

setexecdb.registered=True

if not ('.' in __name__):
    """
    This is needed to be able to test the function, put it at the end of every
    new function you create
    """
    import sys
    import setpath
    from functions import *
    testfunction()
    if __name__ == "__main__":
        reload(sys)
        sys.setdefaultencoding('utf-8')
        import doctest
        doctest.testmod()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Color me Jello. I want to see Dolly and go to the Gulf and eat crab cakes! Awesome!
Glad to hear Dolly was a great concert - how weird about that mom, though, Sheesh! And, the vacay to the Gulf looks great - that porch is very inviting!


text:
En matemáticas, en la teoría de grupos y álgebras de Lie, el grupo de Weyl de un sistema de raíces es un subgrupo del grupo de isometrías del sistema de raíces. Concretamente, consiste en el grupo finito de reflexiones generado por las reflexiones con respecto a los hiperplanos ortogonales a las raíces. Reciben este nombre en honor a Hermann Weyl.

Definición
Sea G un grupo de Lie conexo y compacto y T un toro de G. El grupo de Weyl W de G es el grupo de automorfismos de T que son restricciones de automorfismos internos de G. Nótese que esto es independiente de la elección de T si el toro es maximal dado que éstos son todos conjugados. Los automorfismos internos vienen dados por conjugación, así que W es isomorfo a N(T), el normalizador de T en G, cociente los automorfismos triviales, es decir, el centralizador C(T). Luego, W(G)=N(T)/C(T). Si G es conexo y T es un toro maximal, y por lo tanto autocentralizado, se tiene W(G)=N(T)/T.

El grupo de Weyl W permuta las raíces de G. La definición se puede dar también en términos de las álgebras de Lie de los toros maximales, las subálgebras de Cartan.

Ejemplos

Para el grupo general lineal G=Gl(n), un toro maximal T es el subgrupo de matrices diagonales invertibles cuyo normalizador son las matrices de permutación generalizadas. En particular el grupo de Weyl de Gl(n) es isomorfo al grupo simétrico Sn.

Sea G=U(n) el grupo unitario, el grupo especial lineal Sl(n) o bien SU(n), el grupo de Weyl también es isomorfo al grupo simétrico de n elementos. Para el grupo simpléctico Sp(n) y el grupo especial ortogonal impar SO(2n+1) se tiene |W|=n!2n, mientras que |W(SO(2n))|=n!2n-1.

En términos de los diagramas de Dynkin el grupo de Weyl asociado al sistema de raíces A2 es el grupo de simetrías del triángulo equilátero, el grupo diédrico D3=S3.

G=SU(2)

Desarrollamos aquí el ejemplo del grupo unitario especial SU(2). Nótese que topológicamente es la 3-esfera, SU(2)=S3 y como grupo es isomorfo a los cuaterniones unitarios Sp(1). Un toro maximal T es el subgrupo U(1) de matrices de la forma
En particular G/T es la fibración de Hopf de S3 proyectando sobre CP1=S2. El normalizador N(T) consiste en dos clases de matrices:

Así pues, W(SU(2)) tiene dos elementos. Son clases representadas por las matrices identidad y J, con J enviando eis a e-is. Este ejemplo generaliza a U(n) dando lugar al grupo simétrico Sn.

Referencias

.

Weyl

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
A Tale of Two Police Officers
On April 14, 2021 By rushbabe49In Authoritarianism, Culture, government, Law and Justice, Media bias, Politics in the Age of Trump, Progressive "Thought"
The first Police Officer is a 26-year veteran of the department, with an excellent record. This Police Officer made a traffic stop, of a vehicle with expired license tabs. When the Officer ran the plates through the criminal justice database, the Officer discovered that the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding arrest warrant for assault, and carrying a firearm. The Officer then got out of the squad car to speak with the driver. A few minutes later, after the driver had worked himself loose from the handcuffs being applied, and gotten back into the vehicle to flee, the Police Officer shot him with her gun, while shouting "I'll tase you, I'll tase you!" This Officer will be charged with Second-degree Manslaughter. This Officer's name and photo is all over the news, everywhere, and riots, burning, and looting are occurring all over the country, in support of the criminal victim.
The second Police Officer was present at a "riot" (also described in all of the Press as an "armed insurrection"). The Officer, in the middle of a crowd of trespassers, shot and killed a "rioter", while said rioter was standing near a window. The person who was killed was a Veteran, with no criminal record of any kind, and was not engaging in any kind of destruction, nor was the person armed with any kind of weapon. Due to "lack of sufficient evidence", this Police Officer will not be charged with any crime. This Officer has not been identified in the press, and no riots, looting, or burning are taking place in support of the innocent victim.
Do you need much more evidence that there are two classes of Police Officers in America these days? The 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Police Department resigned, along with the chief of police; her picture is all over the press, the criminal victim is being idolized by the Black Lives Matter Marxist supporters, and cities are being burned and looted in support of the criminal, Daunte Wright.
The Capital Police Officer who shot the innocent demonstrator in Washington, DC on January 6 has not in any way been identified in the media, and will not be charged with any crime for shooting to death the innocent Veteran, Ashli Babbitt. The Officer obviously has the full support of the DemocRats who now run the "Justice" Department, or he would have been identified before this. The Officer must be kept from the opprobrium from conservatives, that would come forth if he were identified.
More of this kind of thing is coming, as the BLM thugs ruin cities all over America the minute a police officer shoots any black criminal for any reason. Most of these kinds of shootings are also taking place in large cities run by…you guessed it…DemocRats. With no consequences, no pushback by the poor black citizens who are mostly the ones victimized by the welfare state. Those people keep electing the governments who have kept them in poverty for decades. With the mostly-white City Councils calling for "defunding the police", those poor blacks are calling for more police presence in their neighborhoods, not less. This situation cannot end well.
Ashli Babbittblack criminalBlack Lives Matter MarxistsDaunte Wrightinnocent demonstratorlooting and burning citiespolice officersrioters
I have a formidable Dental Team
Hey, YouTube! Don't Be Evil. STOP the censorship!
3 thoughts on "A Tale of Two Police Officers"
What is particularly upsetting is the lynch mob mentality on display when a policeman is involved. A concerted effort to teach their kids not to resist arrest would do wonders.
I wonder if she was newly reassigned to the field after years behind a desk. It is a matter of great speculation how she could mistake a loaded pistol for a lighter yellow plastic gun, unless (1) she was inexperienced about using the two, and differentiating them, or (2) unless she wasn't used to the stress and focusing with adrenaline pumping. She clearly KNEW what to do from a classroom point of view, and yelled Taser! Taser! Taser!, but she didn't know how to make sure she grabbed the taser.
Either way, I really feel for this officer (and some say she should be prosecuted) but other officers have shot people carrying coke bottles or cell phones or some such, which appeared to be guns and shot and killed them and got off. This was the equivalent of turning right in traffic when you meant to be turning left, or hitting the accelerator when you meant to be hitting the brake.
I wasn't premeditated like the officer who waited for the right moment and then shot Ashli Babbit. And I think 10 years is an awfully long time in jail for a mistake.
I totally agree. The mob now controls law enforcement, burning and looting if it is not satisfied, regardless of the facts on the ground.


text:
EXCLUSIVE: Arkansas located on a major, and active seismic zone
Photo Courtesy: United States Geological Survey
ARKANSAS (KFTA) — As earthquakes rumble parts of California and are shown on media outlets across the nation, Arkansans must not forget that the most active seismic zone east of the Rockies runs through part of the state.
This seismic zone zigzags through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
"Geographically, it is approximately 185 miles long and, 43 miles wide, and runs to the northeast-southwest," said Geohazards Supervisor Martha Kopper with Arkansas Geological Survey.
Earthquakes, which are caused by the release of strain along a fault plane, can't be predicted.
"There are no warning signs … however smaller earthquakes precede large earthquakes…," Kopper said.
Small and moderate earthquakes continue along the New Madrid Seismic Zone. About 200 earthquakes happen annually along this seismic zone, however, most are too small to be felt, according to the USGS.
In Arkansas, at least 15 earthquakes have been reported within the past six months, and one within the past week, according to the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Resarch and Information.
All Arkansans would be impacted in some way if a high-magnitude earthquake happened like in California.
"Everyone will be impacted in one way or another, whether they need to visit an uncle who lives in West Memphis, have business packages going to Atlanta – shipped via FedEx out of Memphis, play in softball tournaments in Jonesboro or live in Forrest City, Ark.," Kopper explained. "Those injured, or living or working will be moved out of the impact damaged area and will be relocated to other areas of the state not impacted."
The impact of the quakes in California won't disrupt Arkansas because of distance and because the geology is different.
"The July 4th event (California) was preceded by a short series of small fore-shocks including a magnitude 4.0 earthquake 30 minutes prior," Kopper explained. "… It was followed by a robust sequence of aftershocks including almost 250 magnitude 2.5 and higher earthquakes up until the magnitude 7.1 event."
However, lessons and practices can be learned from the disasters in California, as many in that state weren't prepared for earthquakes of such high magnitudes.
"That is what our agency (Arkansas Geological Survey) does along with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management," Kopper said.
These agencies are established to educate Arkansans, promote safety and address concerns.
Continuing Concerns
Scientists agree that there is a continuing concern for a major earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Many structures would be damaged. Decades of research conducted by federal, state, university and scientists back this claim, according to USGS.
The USGS predicts there is a chance of having an earthquake similar to the one of the 1811 and 1812 sequence within the next 50 years. If so, Arkansans should know what to expect.
Earthquakes that have magnitudes of 6.0 to about 7.7 have energy equivalents of the Hiroshima Atomic Bombing. Earthquakes that have magnitudes of 7.8 to about 8.0 have energy equivalents of the Mount St. Helens eruption.
Energy equivalents of magnitude 8.1 to about 8.5 are the world's largest nuclear test, which was the USSR. Magnitude 8.5 and higher quakes have energy equivalents of the Krakatoa volcanic eruption.
Ground failures including landslides, soil liquefaction, lateral spreading, demolished infrastructures, disrupted agriculture and farmland, impacts to river navigation would occur, Kopper explained. Fires and flooding would also be expected.
Koppper added there would be a significant social impact.
More than 1 million residents in Memphis, Tenn. and surrounding metropolitan areas would be severely impacted, the USGS states.
In that city, the old infrastructures, schools and offices and other structures built without proper building codes are issues. The city is the focus of major damage in the region, but those in Little Rock will also sustain damage.
From the recent events in California, lessons can be learned for when a large magnitude earthquake strikes again in the Natural State. Many California residents weren't properly prepared.
Many are displaced. There are many ways to prepare.
If an earthquake is felt, remember to drop, cover and hold, according to the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information.
The Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) suggests having an earthquake survival kit handy. Those kits include items typically found in a first-aid kit, water, canned foods or ready-to-eat meals, a can opener, medication, batteries, and portable radios, a fire extinguisher, flashlight, and clock or watch, according to the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information.
Those with pets should also consider their needs.
Safe shoes, gloves, candles, matches, knives, garden hoses, and tools are also encouraged.
CERI also suggests knowing how to turn off gas, water, and electricity. Anchoring heavy objects to walls and doing away with heavy objects over beds are necessary precautions.
Lastly, cities must enforce proper building codes, according to USGS.
Find more information, here.
Historical Accounts
During spring of 1976, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake happened in Poinsett County, Ark. People within 174,000 square-miles felt the quake and substantial damage occurred.
An earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 6.0 happened near Marked Tree, Ark. during 1843.
Three major earthquakes rocked the New Madrid region during 1811 and 1812. The first happened Dec. 16, near present-day Blytheville, Ark. It's estimated to be a magnitude of 7.7 and was so large, it woke people 900 miles away. The damage was reported 300 miles away, according to USGS.
The second major quake happened Jan. 23, and damaged an area of more than 232,000 square-miles.
The third happened Feb. 7 and was estimated to be a magnitude of 7.7.
Reports state the Mississippi River flowed backward.
In 1814, the first Disaster Relief Act was passed in the U.S. Congress and allocated $50,000 for recovery during 1815, according to USGS.
Geologic records before 1811 describe repeated, major earthquakes along the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Several earthquakes of magnitude 7 and 8 happened, and completely changed the earth's surface.
Some think that due to the lack of strain at the seismic zone, there is no buildup of stress within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and that there is no longer a significant threat of this zone, the USGS states. However, experts with USGS evaluated debunked this misconception.
Martha Kopper, geohazards supervisor with Arkansas Geological Survey


text:
The People of Catalonia Demand Their Right to Vote
Barcelona, 2014 © Iakov Filimonov
Silvia Alvarez
September 28, 2017 00:30 EDT
Catalonia's right to an independence referendum has been denied for years.
These are historical times for Catalonia and we, the people, feel the ownership of it all as we feel the support of our government. It has all been worth the time and the effort of so many, for so long.
Make no mistake. Independence from the Spanish kingdom was never thought to be easy or immediate. We knew it well, and we understand it even better now, with the Spanish government's attacks on our elected executive and institutions. The former president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has been barred from office for two years for having organized a non-binding consultation on independence in November 2014; Carme Forcadell, the Catalan Parliament speaker, is on trial for a criminal offense of having allowed a parliamentary debate on independence. We had long been partners with a Spanish state that has increasingly revealed itself as a powerful unfeeling overlord.
Spain has long been exhibiting a worrying lack of separation of powers and democratic values. The Spanish government, via the Constitutional Court, has fined the organizers of popular mobilization groups and other Catalan officials and ordered the closure of websites related to the referendum. The court has also censored any reference to the referendum — scheduled for October 1 — in Catalan press and media and intercepted private postal correspondence with references to the vote. This is something difficult to imagine at the heart of the quietly-condoning European Union — which seems to be yet again obviating its own foundational principles. And yet, even as part of this "union" that we timidly rely on, we are more than ever in need of international support that condemns the repression and the lack of respect to the fundamental rights of the Catalan people and government.
We also expect the international community to legitimize Catalonia's right to an independence referendum that has been denied for years on end. Catalans are very much aware of their influent adversary. Considered another long-established monarchy and young successful "democracy," Spain has a place in international mainstream politics and treaties, which was never going to mean a smooth path for Catalan aspirations.
Despite it all, we must be serene and never forget how it all began. The unprecedented, and now well-known, Catalan grassroots movement began seven years ago, when the Spanish Constitutional Court disposed of key articles of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. Because the reformed statute was not only passed by both the Spanish and Catalan chambers, but also ratified by Catalans in a referendum in 2006, its 2010 replacement has always been perceived with an understandable lack of respect in Catalonia. From this stems the mistrust toward the legitimacy of both the Constitutional Court and its altered statute, which is at the core of secession aspirations of many and represents a genuine legal grievance that must not be underestimated.
Seen from inside, and even more in view of the recent assaults on freedom, there is no way back. Key to this organized civil society movement is that it has had the backing of the Catalan government, with the pro-independence parliamentary majority won in 2015 elections. From 2010, a large proportion of the Catalan people, together with their elected leaders, have been preparing for this institutional challenge and building awareness of it through peaceful demonstrations. These have been years of patient but active waiting that have resulted in detailed analysis of a sound strategy for secession and in people united as actors of change — a majority acting with studied synchronicity and undeterred will against a powerful, demophobic and, therefore, undignified Spanish state.
A popular majority united against the totalitarian regime that is incredibly exhibiting its force as we speak. Let us remain alert. These next days will be decisive.
*[Note: This article has been updated on September 28, 2017.]
Photo Credit: Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com
Artur Mas and Catalonia's Quest for Independence
Silvia Alvarez & Artur Mas, January 30, 2018
Bringing Justice to Catalonia
Alfons Lopez Tena, February 3, 2017


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