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Home » Authors » Rudyard Kipling » "Captains Courageous": A Story of the Grand Banks » Chapter 1
"Captains Courageous": A Story of the Grand Banks
The weather door of the smoking-room had been left open to the North Atlantic fog, as the big liner rolled and lifted, whistling to warn the fishing-fleet.
"That Cheyne boy's the biggest nuisance aboard," said a man in a frieze overcoat, shutting the door with a bang. "He isn't wanted here. He's too fresh."
A white-haired German reached for a sandwich, and grunted between bites: "I know der breed. Ameriga is full of dot kind. I dell you you should imbort ropes' ends free under your dariff."
"Pshaw! There isn't any real harm to him. He's more to be pitied than anything," a man from New York drawled, as he lay at full length along the cushions under the wet skylight. "They've dragged him around from hotel to hotel ever since he was a kid. I was talking to his mother this morning. She's a lovely lady, but she don't pretend to manage him. He's going to Europe to finish his education."
"Education isn't begun yet." This was a Philadelphian, curled up in a corner. "That boy gets two hundred a month pocket-money, he told me. He isn't sixteen either."
"Railroads, his father, aind't it?" said the German.
"Yep. That and mines and lumber and shipping. Built one place at San Diego, the old man has; another at Los Angeles; owns half a dozen railroads, half the lumber on the Pacific slope, and lets his wife spend the money," the Philadelphian went on lazily. "The West don't suit her, she says. She just tracks around with the boy and her nerves, trying to find out what'll amuse him, I guess. Florida, Adirondacks, Lakewood, Hot Springs, New York, and round again. He isn't much more than a second-hand hotel clerk now. When he's finished in Europe he'll be a holy terror."
"What's the matter with the old man attending to him personally?" said a voice from the frieze ulster.
"Old man's piling up the rocks. 'Don't want to be disturbed, I guess. He'll find out his error a few years from now. 'Pity, because there's a heap of good in the boy if you could get at it."
"Mit a rope's end; mit a rope's end!" growled the German.
Once more the door banged, and a slight, slim-built boy perhaps fifteen years old, a half-smoked cigarette hanging from one corner of his mouth, leaned in over the high footway. His pasty yellow complexion did not show well on a person of his years, and his look was a mixture of irresolution, bravado, and very cheap smartness. He was dressed in a cherry-coloured blazer, knickerbockers, red stockings, and bicycle shoes, with a red flannel cap at the back of the head. After whistling between his teeth, as he eyed the company, he said in a loud, high voice: "Say, it's thick outside. You can hear the fish-boats squawking all around us. Say, wouldn't it be great if we ran down one?"
"Shut the door, Harvey," said the New Yorker. "Shut the door and stay outside. You're not wanted here."
"Who'll stop me?" he answered deliberately. "Did you pay for my passage, Mister Martin? 'Guess I've as good right here as the next man."
He picked up some dice from a checker-board and began throwing, right hand against left.
"Say, gen'elmen, this is deader'n mud. Can't we make a game of poker between us?"
There was no answer, and he puffed his cigarette, swung his legs, and drummed on the table with rather dirty fingers. Then he pulled out a roll of bills as if to count them.
"How's your mamma this afternoon?" a man said. "I didn't see her at lunch."
"In her state-room, I guess. She's 'most always sick on the ocean. I'm going to give the stewardess fifteen dollars for looking after her. I don't go down more 'n I can avoid. It makes me feel mysterious to pass that butler's-pantry place. Say, this is the first time I've been on the ocean."
"Oh, don't apologise, Harvey."
"Who's apologising? This is the first time I've crossed the ocean, gen'elmen, and, except the first day, I haven't been sick one little bit. No, sir!" He brought down his fist with a triumphant bang, wetted his finger, and went on counting the bills.
"Oh, you're a high-grade machine, with the writing in plain sight," the Philadelphian yawned. "You'll blossom into a credit to your country if you don't take care."
"I know it. I'm an American--first, last, and all the time. I'll show 'em that when I strike Europe. Pif! My cig's out. I can't smoke the truck the steward sells. Any gen'elman got a real Turkish cig on him?"
The chief engineer entered for a moment, red, smiling, and wet. "Say, Mac," cried Harvey, cheerfully, "how are we hitting it?"
"Vara much in the ordinary way," was the grave reply. "The young are as polite as ever to their elders, an' their elders are e'en tryin' to appreciate it."
A low chuckle came from a corner. The German opened his cigar-case and handed a skinny black cigar to Harvey.
"Dot is der broper apparatus to smoke, my young friendt," he said. "You vill dry it? Yes? Den you vill be efer so happy."
Harvey lit the unlovely thing with a flourish: he felt that he was getting on in grown-up society.
"It would take more 'n this to keel me over," he said, ignorant that he was lighting that terrible article, a Wheeling 'stogie'.
"Dot we shall bresently see," said the German. "Where are we now, Mr. Mactonal'?"
"Just there or thereabouts, Mr. Schaefer," said the engineer. "We'll be on the Grand Bank to-night; but in a general way o' speakin', we're all among the fishing-fleet now. We've shaved three dories an' near skelped the boom off a Frenchman since noon, an' that's close sailin', ye may say."
"You like my cigar, eh?" the German asked, for Harvey's eyes were full of tears.
"Fine, full flavour," he answered through shut teeth. "Guess we've slowed down a little, haven't we? I'll skip out and see what the log says."
"I might if I vhas you," said the German.
Harvey staggered over the wet decks to the nearest rail. He was very unhappy; but he saw the deck-steward lashing chairs together, and, since he had boasted before the man that he was never seasick, his pride made him go aft to the second-saloon deck at the stern, which was finished in a turtle-back. The deck was deserted, and he crawled to the extreme end of it, near the flagpole. There he doubled up in limp agony, for the Wheeling "stogie" joined with the surge and jar of the screw to sieve out his soul. His head swelled; sparks of fire danced before his eyes; his body seemed to lose weight, while his heels wavered in the breeze. He was fainting from seasickness, and a roll of the ship tilted him over the rail on to the smooth lip of the turtle-back. Then a low, grey mother-wave swung out of the fog, tucked Harvey under one arm, so to speak, and pulled him off and away to leeward; the great green closed over him, and he went quietly to sleep.
He was roused by the sound of a dinner-horn such as they used to blow at a summer-school he had once attended in the Adirondacks. Slowly he remembered that he was Harvey Cheyne, drowned and dead in mid-ocean, but was too weak to fit things together. A new smell filled his nostrils; wet and clammy chills ran down his back, and he was helplessly full of salt water. When he opened his eyes, he perceived that he was still on the top of the sea, for it was running round him in silver-coloured hills, and he was lying on a pile of half-dead fish, looking at a broad human back clothed in a blue jersey.
"It's no good," thought the boy. "I'm dead, sure enough, and this thing is in charge."
He groaned, and the figure turned its head, showing a pair of little gold rings half hidden in curly black hair.
"Aha! You feel some pretty well now'?" it said. "Lie still so: we trim better."
With a swift jerk he sculled the flickering boat-head on to a foamless sea that lifted her twenty full feet, only to slide her into a glassy pit beyond. But this mountain-climbing did not interrupt blue-jersey's talk. "Fine good job, I say, that I catch you. Eh, wha-at? Better good job, I say, your boat not catch me. How you come to fall out?"
"I was sick," said Harvey; "sick, and couldn't help it."
"Just in time I blow my horn, and your boat she yaw a little. Then I see you come all down. Eh, wha-at? I think you are cut into baits by the screw, but you dreeft--dreeft to me, and I make a big fish of you. So you shall not die this time."
"Where am I?" said Harvey, who could not see that life was particularly safe where he lay.
"You are with me in the dory--Manuel my name, and I come from schooner 'We're Here' of Gloucester. I live to Gloucester. By-and-by we get supper. Eh, wha-at?"
He seemed to have two pairs of hands and a head of cast-iron, for, not content with blowing through a big conch-shell, he must needs stand up to it, swaying with the sway of the flat-bottomed dory, and send a grinding, thuttering shriek through the fog. How long this entertainment lasted, Harvey could not remember, for he lay back terrified at the sight of the smoking swells. He fancied he heard a gun and a horn and shouting. Something bigger than the dory, but quite as lively, loomed alongside. Several voices talked at once; he was dropped into a dark, heaving hole, where men in oilskins gave him a hot drink and took off his clothes, and he fell asleep.
When he waked he listened for the first breakfast-bell on the steamer, wondering why his stateroom had grown so small. Turning, he looked into a narrow, triangular cave, lit by a lamp hung against a huge square beam. A three-cornered table within arm's reach ran from the angle of the bows to the foremast. At the after end, behind a well-used Plymouth stove, sat a boy about his own age, with a flat red face and a pair of twinkling grey eyes. He was dressed in a blue jersey and high rubber boots. Several pairs of the same sort of foot-wear, an old cap, and some worn-out woolen socks lay on the floor, and black and yellow oilskins swayed to and fro beside the bunks. The place was packed as full of smells as a bale is of cotton. The oilskins had a peculiarly thick flavour of their own which made a sort of background to the smells of fried fish, burnt grease, paint, pepper, and stale tobacco; but these, again, were all hooped together by one encircling smell of ship and salt water. Harvey saw with disgust that there were no sheets on his bed-place. He was lying on a piece of dingy ticking full of lumps and nubbles. Then, too, the boat's motion was not that of a steamer. She was neither sliding nor rolling, but rather wriggling herself about in a silly, aimless way, like a colt at the end of a halter. Water-noises ran by close to his ear, and beams creaked and whined about him. All these things made him grunt despairingly and think of his mother.
"Feelin' better?" said the boy, with a grin. "Hev some coffee?" He brought a tin cup full, and sweetened it with molasses.
"Is n't there milk?" said Harvey, looking round the dark double tier of bunks as if he expected to find a cow there.
"Well, no," said the boy. "Ner there ain't likely to be till 'baout mid-September. 'Tain't bad coffee. I made it."
Harvey drank in silence, and the boy handed him a plate full of pieces of crisp fried pork, which he ate ravenously.
"I've dried your clothes. Guess they've shrunk some," said the boy. "They ain't our style much--none of 'em. Twist round an' see ef you're hurt any."
Harvey stretched himself in every direction, but could not report any injuries.
"That's good," the boy said heartily. "Fix yerself an' go on deck. Dad wants to see you. I'm his son, --Dan, they call me, --an' I'm cook's helper an' everything else aboard that's too dirty for the men. There ain't no boy here 'cep' me sence Otto went overboard--an' he was only a Dutchy, an' twenty year old at that. How'd you come to fall off in a dead flat ca'am?"
"'Twasn't a calm," said Harvey, sulkily. "It was a gale, and I was seasick. Guess I must have rolled over the rail."
"There was a little common swell yes'day an' last night," said the boy. "But ef thet's your notion of a gale----" He whistled. "You'll know more 'fore you're through. Hurry! Dad's waitin'."
Like many other unfortunate young people, Harvey had never in all his life received a direct order--never, at least, without long, and sometimes tearful, explanations of the advantages of obedience and the reasons for the request. Mrs. Cheyne lived in fear of breaking his spirit, which, perhaps, was the reason that she herself walked on the edge of nervous prostration. He could not see why he should be expected to hurry for any man's pleasure, and said so. "Your dad can come down here if he's so anxious to talk to me. I want him to take me to New York right away. It'll pay him."
Dan opened his eyes, as the size and beauty of this joke dawned on him. "Say, dad!" he shouted up the fo'c'sle hatch, "he says you kin slip down an' see him ef you're anxious that way. 'Hear, dad?"
The answer came back in the deepest voice Harvey had ever heard from a human chest: "Quit foolin', Dan, and send him to me."
Dan sniggered, and threw Harvey his warped bicycle shoes. There was something in the tones on the deck that made the boy dissemble his extreme rage and console himself with the thought of gradually unfolding the tale of his own and his father's wealth on the voyage home. This rescue would certainly make him a hero among his friends for life. He hoisted himself on deck up a perpendicular ladder, and stumbled aft, over a score of obstructions, to where a small, thick-set, clean-shaven man with grey eyebrows sat on a step that led up to the quarter-deck. The swell had passed in the night, leaving a long, oily sea, dotted round the horizon with the sails of a dozen fishing-boats. Between them lay little black specks, showing where the dories were out fishing. The schooner, with a triangular riding-sail on the mainmast, played easily at anchor, and except for the man by the cabin-roof--"house" they call it--she was deserted.
"Mornin'--good afternoon, I should say. You've nigh slep' the clock around, young feller," was the greeting.
"Mornin'," said Harvey. He did not like being called "young feller"; and, as one rescued from drowning, expected sympathy. His mother suffered agonies whenever he got his feet wet; but this mariner did not seem excited.
"Naow let's hear all abaout it. It's quite providential, first an' last, fer all concerned. What might be your name? Where from (we mistrust it's Noo York), an' where baound (we mistrust it's Europe)?"
Harvey gave his name, the name of the steamer, and a short history of the accident, winding up with a demand to be taken back immediately to New York, where his father would pay anything any one chose to name.
"H'm," said the shaven man, quite unmoved by the end of Harvey's speech. "I can't say we think special of any man, or boy even, that falls overboard from that kind o' packet in a flat ca'am. Least of all when his excuse is thet he's seasick."
"Excuse!" cried Harvey. "D'you suppose I'd fall overboard into your dirty little boat for fun?"
"Not knowin' what your notions o' fun may be, I can't rightly say, young feller. But if I was you, I wouldn't call the boat which, under Providence, was the means o' savin' ye, names. In the first place, it's blame irreligious. In the second, it's annoyin' to my feelin's--an' I'm Disko Troop o' the "We're Here" o' Gloucester, which you don't seem rightly to know."
"I don't know and I don't care," said Harvey. "I'm grateful enough for being saved and all that, of course; but I want you to understand that the sooner you take me back to New York the better it'll pay you."
"Meanin'--haow?" Troop raised one shaggy eyebrow over a suspiciously mild blue eye.
"Dollars and cents," said Harvey, delighted to think that he was making an impression. "Cold dollars and cents." He thrust a hand into a pocket, and threw out his stomach a little, which was his way of being grand. "You've done the best day's work you ever did in your life when you pulled me in. I'm all the son Harvey Cheyne has."
"He's bin favoured," said Disko, drily.
"And if you don't know who Harvey Cheyne is, you don't know much--that's all. Now turn her around and let's hurry."
Harvey had a notion that the greater part of America was filled with people discussing and envying his father's dollars.
"Mebbe I do, an' mebbe I don't. Take a reef in your stummick, young feller. It's full o' my vittles."
Harvey heard a chuckle from Dan, who was pretending to be busy by the stump-foremast, and the blood rushed to his face. "We'll pay for that too," he said. "When do you suppose we shall get to New York?"
"I don't use Noo York any. Ner Boston. We may see Eastern Point about September; an' your pa--I'm real sorry I hain't heerd tell of him--may give me ten dollars efter all your talk. Then o' course he mayn't."
"Ten dollars! Why, see here, I--" Harvey dived into his pocket for the wad of bills. All he brought up was a soggy packet of cigarettes.
"Not lawful currency, an' bad for the lungs. Heave 'em overboard, young feller, and try ag'in."
"It's been stolen!" cried Harvey, hotly.
"You'll hev to wait till you see your pa to reward me, then?"
"A hundred and thirty-four dollars--all stolen," said Harvey, hunting wildly through his pockets. "Give them back."
A curious change flitted across old Troop's hard face. "What might you have been doin' at your time o' life with one hundred an' thirty-four dollars, young feller?"
"It was part of my pocket-money--for a month." This Harvey thought would be a knockdown blow, and it was--indirectly.
Oh! One hundred and thirty-four dollars is only part of his pocket-money--for one month only! You don't remember hittin' anything when you fell over, do you? Crack ag'in' a stanchion, le's say. Old man Hasken o' the "East Wind"--Troop seemed to be talking to himself--"he tripped on a hatch an' butted the mainmast with his head--hardish. 'Baout three weeks afterwards, old man Hasken he would hev it that the "East Wind" was a commerce-destroyin' man-o'-war, an' so he declared war on Sable Island because it was Bridish, an' the shoals run aout too far. They sewed him up in a bed-bag, his head an' feet appearin', fer the rest o' the trip, an' now he's to home in Essex playin' with little rag dolls."
Harvey choked with rage, but Troop went on consolingly: "We're sorry fer you. We're very sorry fer you--an' so young. We won't say no more abaout the money, I guess."
"'Course you won't. You stole it."
"Suit yourself. We stole it ef it's any comfort to you. Naow, abaout goin' back. Allowin' we could do it, which we can't, you ain't in no fit state to go back to your home, an' we've jest come on to the Banks, workin' fer our bread. We don't see the ha'af of a hundred dollars a month, let alone pocket-money; an' with good luck we'll be ashore again somewheres abaout the first weeks o' September."
"But--but it's May now, and I can't stay here doin' nothing just because you want to fish. I can't, I tell you!"
"Right an' jest; jest an' right. No one asks you to do nothin'. There's a heap as you can do, for Otto he went overboard on Le Have. I mistrust he lost his grip in a gale we f'und there. Anyways, he never come back to deny it. You've turned up, plain, plumb providential for all concerned. I mistrust, though, there's ruther few things you kin do. Ain't thet so?"
"I can make it lively for you and your crowd when we get ashore," said Harvey, with a vicious nod, murmuring vague threats about "piracy," at which Troop almost--not quite--smiled.
"Excep' talk. I'd forgot that. You ain't asked to talk more'n you've a mind to aboard the "We're Here". Keep your eyes open, an' help Dan to do ez he's bid, an' sechlike, an' I'll give you--you ain't wuth it, but I'll give--ten an' a ha'af a month; say thirty-five at the end o' the trip. A little work will ease up your head, an' you kin tell us all abaout your dad an' your ma n' your money efterwards."
"She's on the steamer," said Harvey, his eyes fill-with tears. "Take me to New York at once."
"Poor woman--poor woman! When she has you back she'll forgit it all, though. There's eight of us on the "We're Here", an' ef we went back naow--it's more'n a thousand mile--we'd lose the season. The men they wouldn't hev it, allowin' I was agreeable."
"But my father would make it all right."
"He'd try. I don't doubt he'd try," said Troop; "but a whole season's catch is eight men's bread; an' you'll be better in your health when you see him in the fall. Go forward an' help Dan. It's ten an' a ha'af a month, ez I said, an', o' course, all f'und, same ez the rest o' us."
"Do you mean I'm to clean pots and pans and things?" said Harvey.
"An' other things. You've no call to shout, young feller."
"I won't! My father will give you enough to buy this dirty little fish-kettle"--Harvey stamped on the deck--"ten times over, if you take me to New York safe; and--and--you're in a hundred and thirty by me, anyway."
"Ha-ow?" said Troop, the iron face darkening.
"How? You know how, well enough. On top of all that, you want me to do menial work"--Harvey was very proud of that adjective--"till the Fall. I tell you I will not. You hear?"
Troop regarded the top of the mainmast with deep interest for a while, as Harvey harangued fiercely all around him.
"Hsh!" he said at last. "I'm figurin' out my responsibilities in my own mind. It's a matter o' jedgment."
Dan Stole up and plucked Harvey by the elbow. "Don't go to tamperin' with dad any more," he pleaded. "You've called him a thief two or three times over, an' he don't take that from any livin' bein'."
"I won't!" Harvey almost shrieked, disregarding the advice; and still Troop meditated.
"Seems kinder unneighbourly," he said at last, his eye travelling down to Harvey. "I don't blame you, not a mite, young feller, nor you won't blame me when the bile's out o' your systim. 'Be sure you sense what I say? Ten an' a ha'af fer second boy on the schooner--an' all f'und--fer to teach you an' fer the sake o' your health. Yes or no?"
"No!" said Harvey. "Take me back to New York or I'll see you--"
He did not exactly remember what followed. He was lying in the scuppers, holding on to a nose that bled, while Troop looked down on him serenely.
"Dan," he said to his son, "I was sot ag'in' this young feller when I first saw him, on account o' hasty jedgments. Never you be led astray by hasty jedgments, Dan. Naow I'm sorry for him, because he's clear distracted in his upper works. He ain't responsible fer the names he's give me, nor fer his other statements nor fer jumpin' overboard, which I'm abaout ha'af convinced he did. You be gentle with him, Dan, 'r I'll give you twice what I've give him. Them hemmeridges clears the head. Let him sluice it off!"
Troop went down solemnly into the cabin, where he and the older men bunked, leaving Dan to comfort the luckless heir to thirty millions.
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And heading home from beautiful Arizona. As most of you know, my desktop died a couple of weeks ago, and a few days later my laptop was stolen, and then I came out West for a week.
Between all of that, I have lost a ton of pre-prepared postings and I am at least 500 emails behind, and I'm still struggling a little with the cool, new tiny laptop.
Jerome Art Galleries
Jerome, Arizona sits straddling the side of a mountain about a mile high from sea level and less than 30 miles from its more famous cousin Sedona.
"America's most vertical city" -- I am told -- is home to about 400 people, but once boasted 16,000 inhabitants and a brothel madam who was Arizona's richest woman.
Although the whores are long gone, today the town still manages to attract a few million tourists a year, not only for the spectacular views that it affords from nearly every vantage point in this tiny and beautiful town, but also because of a budding gallery scene that although seemimgly having fairly established roots, it only seems to be blossoming out recently with a significant number of art galleries and venues and a rather successful monthly art walk on the first Saturday of the month. With 30 galleries and artists' studios participating in the art walk, it reflects the huge impact of the fine arts in a town of 400.
Most of Jerome's art galleries seem to fit the Southwest style of galleries that I discussed earlier in reference to Sedona. However, and very surprising to me, Jerome's art spaces seem more individual and original -- in most cases -- than Sedona's cookie cutter model of galleries.
There are several cooperatives that I observed, most noticeably the Jerome Artists Cooperative, where the hilarious (and smart) watercolors of Dave Wilder were on exhibit on that day that I visited. Full of irony and delivered with superb technical expertise, Wilder flexes well-developed observational skills that challenge the genre of "cowboy art" in a new refreshing manner.
The Spirit Art Gallery, although an independent commercial art gallery, seems to be run like a coop as well, with work by 30 artists on display at once, with some very good talent among them. I liked the feisty owner, who really believes in her artists and is a breath of fresh air for gallery owners.
My Mind's Art Gallery, which features the work of its owner, Ukrainian painter Joanna Bregon, a surrealist artist who has found a home in this unusual little town, also stands out from the cookie cutter cluttered gallery model.
It was refreshing to see diversity in art and rugged individuality in each art space, regardless of how one feels about the quality of the art itself, in some cases.
And then, while walking through the various galleries and talking to some of the owners and artists, it dawned on me that the Jerome galleries and shops is what I had expected to see in Sedona: unique, one-of-a-kind shops, art venues and art galleries.
I also discovered that nearly everyone that I talked to in this tiny town where everyone seems to know everyone else, seems to have a grudge against either the land developers and the expansion of homes in nearby areas (and competition for water) and/or against the Jerome city fathers for a variety of reasons, most dealing with construction issues.
Finally I trekked down to the town's former High School, an ancient multi-story set of buildings that has been converted into artists' studios and workshops - 20 of them.
There the work of Michael MacDonald and Derryl Day really stood out, especially some of Day's older portraiture works, which were exquisite color pencil pieces full of personality and grace, as well as tremendous technical skill. But the key here, with an exception here and there, is that these were all artists in the overall, rounded, sense of the adjective -- not just "Southwest art" artists; it was refreshing and interesting.
As small as Jerome is, it's clear that the town's colorful past, coupled with its amazing location and vistas, and more recently married to a creative artistic community and over-protective city fathers, all act as an irresistible magnet to the hordes of tourists that visit it every year.
It's also clear that there's something special about this place; it can be felt in the air, in its people and in its streets, and the dealer in me wonders if this special spot would not be an ideal place for some sort of very specific and focused art fair - a mini model of my "new art fair model."
Sedona and Jerome are like kissing cousins of the Arizona tourist draw. I think that together, they can also become complimentary partners for an art draw of its own.
DCist Exposed
Even from far away Arizona I just wanted make sure that you all know that the DCist Exposed Photography Show opens tonight in DC!
The show is at Civilian Art Projects at 406 7th Street NW in Penn Quarter in DC -- a few blocks from the Chinatown metro, and the reception is from 7 to 9 p.m. and free. DCist Exposed received picks in all three Washington Post event guides, as well as the Washingtonian and other publications, and I bet that this year's show will be even better than last year's terrific exhibition.
Do not miss this opening and someone please email me some images of the opening crowds.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Nepean River railway bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge that carries the Main Southern railway line across Menangle Road and the Nepean River located at the outer south-western Sydney settlement of Menangle in the Wollondilly Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Whitton as the Engineer-in-Chief, of the New South Wales Government Railways and NSW Department of Public Works. The railway bridge was built in 1863 by Messers Peto, Brassey and Betts. It is also known as Menangle rail bridge over Nepean River and Menangle Railway Bridge. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

History
The Menangle Bridge is the first large iron railway bridge erected in New South Wales, whereas the first large railway bridge, an eight-span stone arch viaduct, was opened at Lewisham in 1855. The bridge opened in 1863. It was the first large iron railway bridge on the New South Wales Government Railways network. The bridge was manufactured in England by The Canada Works in Birkenhead. The bridge opened on 1 July 1863 with the line from Campbelltown station to Picton station. In 1907, the bridge was strengthened with intermediate piers and extra girders added.

When John Whitton planned the railway extension from Campbelltown to Picton, he was under pressure from the Government to keep costs low by using as much local material as possible. A metal girder design had been proposed by contractors Peto, Brassey and Betts but Whitton substituted a timber bridge made from ironbark and other strong hardwoods, a relatively short , low level crossing.

However the flood of 1860, some  above the proposed rail level, caused him to design a high level, large span bridge to maximise the waterway, flanked by long timber approach viaducts, a total of . It was a massive structure for its time, comprising  of masonry,  of brickwork and  tons of wrought iron for a total cost of A£94,562.

The iron superstructure was manufactured in England at the Canada Works, Birkenhead (opposite Liverpool) and shipped out in December 1861. One ship arrived in Sydney in April 1862 but the other was wrecked at the entrance to the Mersey River. However, the replacement ironwork was delivered to Sydney in December 1862.

Construction of the locally quarried sandstone abutments and piers were completed in October 1862 and the iron bridge was assembled ready for service by June 1863. Load testing, by three locomotives in full steam, followed and the line to Picton was opened on 1 July 1863.

The use of a continuous superstructure was technically significant because the analysis of such structures was a relatively new, sophisticated procedure. Also, it showed that Whitton and Fowler (London) appreciated the structural benefits that a continuous girder over three spans offered compared to three simply-supported spans.

The sister bridge to the Menangle Bridge was the Victoria Bridge over the Nepean River at Penrith. Their sizes and design were such that they were featured in an international text book Modern Examples of Road and Railway Bridges by William H. Maw and James Dredge, London, 1872.

Description
Since 1907, when intermediate piers were built in the middle of the three original  spans, the bridge has six  spans. Between the original stone abutments, these additional brick piers alternate with the original stone piers.

The superstructure consists of two massive, wrought iron, cellular (box) girders, continuous from abutment to abutment, no breaks at the piers. These  deep girders are at  centres which allows for a double track between them, supported on a series of closely spaced cross girders.

On the outer surfaces of the girders there are pairs of curved angle iron suggesting the inclusion of an arch. These are purely decorative, there is no arch action, the superstructure
is a girder.

At the Sydney end, one of the ornamental tops to a pier was demolished by a derailment in 1976. The iron bridge received only localised superficial damage but the stonework was not replaced, thereby leaving the cellular cross section of the girder exposed.

Condition

As at 26 April 2006, the physcial condition is good.

Apart from the inclusion of the intermediate piers in 1907, the 1863 Menangle Bridge retains most of its original fabric.

Modifications and dates
The principal modification was the building of the intermediate piers in 1907 which, by halving the original spans, greatly increased the load capacity of the bridge such that it is still in service carrying modern heavy, fast rail traffic. The original iron bridge was flanked by timber viaducts which were replaced by steel girders in 1923.

In 1993 Consulting Engineers, Dames & Moore of North Sydney, recommended a number of actions for a general refurbishment of the main bridge, some minor repairs, cleaning up and painting, maintenance to the bearings and the like, but no major changes.

In March 2003, the bridge was closed for one month while repairs were carried out. When it reopened it had a  speed limit, later increased to . It was announced in April 2003, the bridge would be replaced but to date this has not happened.

In October 2005, the speed limit was increased to . In 2013 it was increased to the maximum line speed.

Heritage listing
As at 16 April 2003, the Menangle Railway Bridge, constructed in 1863 over the Nepean River, is one of the most historic bridges in Australia because:

(a) it was the first large iron bridge in New South Wales and the largest bridge until the 1889 Hawkesbury River railway bridge;
(b) it has a dominant appearance in a rural landscape;
(c) it shares in the enormous benefits, social and commercial, that the Main South Railway has made to New South Wales in 140 years; and
(d) it was a technically advanced design for its time and received international recognition in 1872.

The Menangle and Victoria Bridges are the only bridges of their type in New South Wales. They are excellent examples of heavy duty, wrought iron girder bridges continuous over three spans. Apart from the inclusion of the intermediate piers in 1907, the 1863 Menangle Bridge Retains most of its original fabric.

The Menangle rail bridge constructed in 1863 is the oldest surviving bridge on the State rail system and is of highest significance in the development of railway technology in the State. It is an excellent example of early bridge construction. The bridge is one of two identical bridges constructed for the NSW Railways, the other being over the Nepean River at Penrith. The Penrith Bridge was opened in 1867 but has been used for road traffic since 1907. The Menangle rail bridge is typical of British bridge engineering of the 1860s, the iron spans having been fully imported. Additional supporting piers were later erected under the spans so that heavier engines could be used on the main south line. The bridge is of national, if not international, significance as there are few such bridges still in use in the United Kingdom.

Menangle Railway Bridge was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

The 1863 Menangle Railway Bridge over the Nepean River is one of the most historic bridges in Australia. It was the first large iron bridge in New South Wales and the largest bridge until the 1889 Hawkesbury River Bridge.

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The bridge has a dominant appearance in a rural landscape, partly obscured by excessive growth of adjacent trees.

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The Main South Railway has been an enormous benefit to the social and commercial development of the southern quarter of New South Wales for 140 years, and this bridge,
part of the original railway construction, has shared in the significance of that contribution.

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The 3-span continuous girder design was, for the 1860s, a technically sophisticated design that was noted in an international 1872 text book. The cellular construction, whereby the top and bottom parts of the girders are made in the form of two boxes or cells, was a recent development for resisting lateral buckling arising from the famous experiments by Fairfairn and Hodgkinson for the 1849 Britannia Bridge in Wales.

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Menangle and Victoria Bridges are the only bridges of their type in New South Wales.

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The Menangle and Victoria Bridges are excellent examples of heavy duty, wrought iron girder bridges continuous over three spans.

Engineering heritage award
The bridge received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

See also

List of railway bridges in New South Wales
Victoria Bridge (Penrith)

References

Attribution

External links

Bridges completed in 1863
1863 establishments in Australia
Railway bridges in New South Wales
Menangle
New South Wales State Heritage Register
Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register
Main Southern railway line, New South Wales
Girder bridges
Wrought iron bridges
Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Brockey, Liam Matthew (2008). Portuguese Colonial Cities in the Early Modern World. ISBN: 978-0-7546-6313-3.
Juang, Noelle Anne (2008). Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: A Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. 2. ISBN: 978-1-85109-441-7.


Tour to Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond & the Highlands in Miniature.
Our one day shore excursion departing from Greenock, Glasgow, takes you sightseeing to Loch Lomond, through the Trossachs National Park and Stirling Castle. Experience the history behind Scottish heroes such as Robert the Bruce and Rob Roy. Have a memorable visit to Stirling Castle, discover the pretty village of Aberfoyle, see some highland cattle at Kilmahog and end the day with views of Loch Lomond.
We depart from Greenock port, beginning our shore excursion travelling North-East into the beautiful Trossachs, well known as 'Scotland in Miniature' for its craggy hills and sparkling lochs, and is the meeting place of the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland. Writers such as Sir Walter Scott have been inspired by the beauty of the area, and the Trossachs was home to folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor and his 'Children of the Mist'.
We continue through 'Braveheart' country, into Stirlingshire and to Stirling Castle, arguably one of Scotland's most important fortresses. Below the Castle, the Old Town of Stirling is still protected by its original walls, built in the 16th Century to protect Mary, Queen of Scots from Henry VIII. Here we will stop to enjoy time to tour the castle, learn all about the exploits of Robert the Bruce and the infamous Scottish Queen, and enjoy refreshments at the castle's charming café.
From Stirling, we travel into the heart of the Trossachs to Kilmahog to see some highland cattle up close. We then journey to the village of Aberfoyle, located just below the Highland faultline, to enjoy a bite to eat and time to explore.
From Aberfoyle, we travel through the Trossachs National Park and make our final stop on the 'bonnie bonnie banks' of Loch Lomond, one of the most breathtaking and largest lochs in Scotland. Here we pause for views of the lochs many islands, and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. We then begin our return journey through the Campsie Fells to Greenock, where your shore excursion from Glasgow ends.


Cassie's bedroom has always been a work in progress for me. It started as soon as I found out I was having a little girl. The options for girly décor are just endless and I had no idea where to start, so I just had a little fun. We have ice-cream decals on one wall, fairies on her wardrobe, pinks, greens and whites, and gorgeous 'Guess How Much I Love You' bunting over her bed. Recently I have realised it's time for a change. My big toddler is no longer a baby and her room is no longer a nursery for me now that the cot is gone. The first thing to go was the bunting – and it went straight into Vivi's room – but it meant I now had a whole wall to do something with. That's when I came across Blissful Paper Flowers.
Their creations and just gorgeous and I knew straightaway they would perfectly fill that gap and tie into the rest of the bedroom. My aim was to replace things bit by bit, rather than do a full bedroom makeover. The lovely ladies worked with me from start to finish to personalise the design to my tastes and style. I sent through photos of my room and was given a choice of paper colours to use to match. They kept me in the loop each step of the way showing me the progress, and allowing me at any stage to offer my opinion and have colours/flowers changed to my liking. I was placed entirely in control. The gorgeous flowers were couriered over to me, and they are honestly much, much more stunning in person.
I got to work that afternoon (with Cassie's help), hanging them on her wall. Each one has its own separated hook, so I could hang them up on the 3m removable hooks – perfect for a rented place. They make such a statement in Cassie's room and the choice of colours really does pull everything together. Cassie is over the moon too. Every time we have a new visitor to the house, she has to pull them into her bedroom to show off the flowers.
If you're looking for something personal and designed exactly for you, then Blissful Paper Flowers is the perfect option.


So I just need to make sure; 5cm deep, 20cm apart, and leave it unpeeled. Am I missing something? By the way, is it the right time to plant it now? It's really warm where I live.
What you are missing is that garlic is a cool weather crop. It should have been planted in the fall. Planted now, the plant will mature too rapidly once the soil warms up, and you will end up with very small garlic cloves or none, just a small bulb, something like a garlic flavored green onion.
Yep, plant it about 1-2 months before the first frost! Harvest when the tops start to die back, about 1/3, the following spring or summer.


Hi! My name is Harriet and I'm a senior.
This is my second and last year on the team, but I'm excited to be coordinating the student blog posts this year. It took me a while (basically all of the last three years) to figure it out, but I'm studying philosophy and medieval studies with interests in Italian and Art History. I'm originally from Washington D.C., but over the last two years, I have spent most of my time, when not at Notre Dame, in Italy, whether it was interning in Rome during the past two summers or studying abroad in Bologna last spring. I currently live off campus, but I used to live in Lyons Hall.
On campus, I have been heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity and the Sailing Team.


text:
Pulling Weeds
The Environment in the Trump-era
Citizens Are Still Left Divided Over Citizens United: Journalism 319 Curation Project
Posted on May 15, 2019 by Marshall Kesterson
By: Marshall Kesterson
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was a 2010 Supreme Court Case in which Citizens United sought an injunction against the FEC in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) from applying to its film titled Hillary: The Movie.
The movie served as an attack on Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the Presidency. The BCRA puts restrictions on "electioneering communications". More specifically, section 203 of the BCRA prevents corporations of labor unions from funding election communications using their general treasuries, and sections 201 and 311 require disclosure of donors and a disclaimer when the communication hasn't been authorized by the candidate it supports.
These sections were challenged by Citizens United, and they argued that section 203 violates the First Amendment when applied to their movie and that sections 201 and 203 were unconstitutional when applied to the circumstances.
The United States District Court denied the injunction, citing Supreme Court decision McConnell v. FEC which had already reached a determination. They said that Citizen United's movie was the functional equivalent of expressing advocacy for a political campaign and was therefore subject to the BCRA. The decision was appealed and sent to SCOTUS.
SCOTUS' final ruling reversed the United States District Court's decision in a 5-4 vote on January 21, 2010. The opinion was written by Justice Kennedy with Justice Stevens dissenting along with Justices Ginsberg, Breyer, and Sotomayor.
The decision was widely protested:
Then-President Barack Obama quickly criticized the decision during his 2010 State of the Union address.
"Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said. He continued with his address and urged Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass a bill that would correct the law.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito shook his head and mouthed "not true" after President Obama's remarks; the action was unprecedented from a Supreme Court justice, who are supposed to remain impartial during the State of the Union.
This incident recently came back into the spotlight following Supreme Court Justice John Roberts criticizing President Donald Trump over Trump's description of a judge who ruled against his migrant asylum policy as an "Obama judge".
President Trump took to Twitter to fire back at Justice Robert's comments:
Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have "Obama judges," and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an "independent judiciary," but if it is why……
…..are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security – these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!
Some protests over the decision have happened as recently as 2015 when activists arrived at the Supreme Court on the anniversary of the landmark decision.
A demonstrator outside of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Credit: NPR
99Rise, a group founded in 2012 that focuses on removing money from politics, took credit for the 2015 protest in which eight protestors were arrested and charged.
The EPA Resides In An Orwellian Limbo
Posted on November 29, 2018 by Marshall Kesterson
The Trump Administration released a climate report last Friday, November 23, that warned against the damage being done across the country as a result of increasing temperatures.
The authors of the report said they are confident that climate change poses a severe threat to American's health, economy, infrastructure and natural resources. The report sounded alarms about the future of the United States, but it was quickly downplayed by the lack of policy changes being made by President Trump and his administration.
Environmental Protection Agency HQ Credit: Washington Business Journal
When asked outside the White House about the climate report's findings, President Trump responded: "I don't believe it."
However, the world's leading scientists all agree that climate change is human-induced and is becoming worse with human activity, casting a shadow over the Trump administration's dismissal of the report.
Following the release of the report, CNN had prominent climate denier Rick Santorum on their AC360 show. He proceeded to suggest, with no evidence, that the scientists behind the report were driven by money.
CNN's Rick Santorum praises Trump administration trying to bury report on climate change: "A lot of these scientists are driven by the money" pic.twitter.com/ndwpkQHUxH
— Media Matters (@mmfa) November 25, 2018
This comment was quickly and widely criticized on social media, and people were outraged at CNN.
Sometimes CNN just outright abdicates its journalistic responsibility!
On Sunday, Rick Santorum (on CNN's air) claimed climate scientists skewed their results to make money!
..All while failing to acknowledge that Rick is a paid biofuel lobbyist…
Why is he on the panel? WTF pic.twitter.com/hCBrJH0aDz
— Ryan Hill (@RyanHillMI) November 28, 2018
Rick Santorum is not qualified to talk about climate change.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) November 28, 2018
It was recently reported by The Daily Beast that a co-author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment was supposed to have a pre-taped appearance be released on AC360, but it was replaced by Santorum after the show went live.
On November 28 it was reported that Trump's EPA head, Andrew Wheeler, wanted to distance himself from the National Climate Assessment that involved 13 federal agencies and hundreds of scientists.
The EPA released a "fact-check" that cited the conservative American news and opinion website The Daily Caller.
Now the EPA is blasting out "fact checks" on the National Climate Assessment, not by citing peer review science, but the Daily Caller pic.twitter.com/DGL54dyZ1z
— Rebecca Leber (@rebleber) November 28, 2018
In an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday, Andrew Wheeler should be more involved in preparing the next version of the National Climate Assessment.
Wheeler stated that there was "no political review" by the Trump administration done for this report.
On November 27, The Daily Beast reported that the morning show Fox & Friends fed interview scripts to former EPA Chief Scott Pruitt. This led Fox News to discipline the staffers involved in feeding the scripts.
Scott Pruitt was allowed to approve show scripts and dictate interview questions, an action reminiscent of state-owned media.
Natural Climate Solutions Are Great, But Some Could Pose Unforeseen Consequences
A recent study published in the Journal of Science Advances identified a number of promising natural strategies to mitigate human influences on climate change. These strategies included things such as replanting trees on degraded lands and sequestering more carbon in farmland soils through agricultural techniques.
Trees lining a city road provide shade. Credit: mentatdgt via Pexels
Joseph E. Fargione, a scientist at the Nature Conservancy and lead author of the study, told the New York Times, "We're not saying these strategies are a substitute for getting to zero-carbon energy; we still need to do that too."
Fargione also alluded to how forest thinning practices could have lead to an increased risk to the wildfires that are currently raging in California. The risk could be decreased with restoration projects that bring back vegetation to the forests.
It has also been proposed that city centers reintroduce vegetation throughout their city. Some cities, like Louisville, Kentucky, have already started programs to plant trees throughout their city.
Not only does this process reduce carbon emissions, but it has also reduced heat within the city by providing shade throughout the city. Louisville has successfully planted nearly 100 thousand saplings since 2011.
However, the introduction of trees into Louisville hasn't been as successful as once thought. William Fountain, a University of Kentucky professor of arboriculture, observed a number of empty tree wells throughout the city.
"Empty trees wells are the mark of a failed arboriculture program. We don't know what was once planted here," Fountain said about one of them, "but the weeds are doing fairly well."
Introducing vegetation into cities that haven't been designed to nurture them causes a substantial amount of issues when trying to grow and develop trees.
One other means of curbing climate change has been to trap carbon dioxide in the soil. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted an assessment that found 36 regions across the country to have the proper conditions for storing between 2,400 to 3,700 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide underground.
Shovel stuck in the dirt. Credit: Lukas via Pexels
This process, known as geologic carbon sequestration, could successfully reduce the carbon air pollution that is one of the driving factors of climate change. The idea also provides a very effective untapped resource for reducing human-lead climate change. The Obama administration even included it in their climate change plan.
Geologic carbon sequestration has come back into the public eye with the introduction of a new study published in Nature that observed bacteria and fungi n the soil has become more active with increasing global temperatures. These microbes feeding on dead plants and leaves are releasing carbon dioxide that has been trapped in the soil.
Jerry Melillo of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts said that the uncontrolled microbes are speeding up climate change.
Carbon derived from microbes has been found by researchers to have significantly increased since the 1990s. This puts the long-term effectiveness of geologic carbon sequestration in doubt.
Posted in Uncategorized1 Comment
Simplistic Visual Media Is The Best Way To Show Climate Change Data (To Non-scientists)
Posted on November 8, 2018 November 8, 2018 by Marshall Kesterson
For the average citizen, understanding the intricacies climate change can be difficult. Especially when media outlets fail to construct articles with them in mind.
For example, the Washington Post released an article in April in which they did very little to simplify the science behind climate change. The article, titled "Global temperatures have dropped since 2016. Here's why that's normal.", is very well constructed, and as accurate as it can be, but uses visuals right out of scientific articles to draw its points across.
This plot of high and low-pressure systems using data from the NOAA is one of many used in the Washinton Post's article, and people unfamiliar with science, or even those not well versed in graphic representation might be confused by what this represents. Credit: NOAA
This isn't to say that the Washington Post is "bad" at creating articles with simple graphics, they have plenty of articles that prove otherwise, as shown specifically by this one. However, it does point out an inconsistency in the way journalists report climate change, presumably because they're trying to reach different audiences. This inconsistency can cause confusion among a large group of readers.
In contrast, the New York Times released a tool that allows readers to see how much hotter their hometown has gotten since they were born because of climate change. The tool is very effective at showing individuals the change in the climate they are most familiar with.
This use of media is effective at showing an audience the way in which climate change has affected them directly, even if they hadn't noticed it. It also uses a scientific model to show how much the climate will have changed by the time the user is 80 years old, which can be terrifying to some people.
A representation of Parkersburg, WV climate since 1997. The database includes data from a wide variety of United States towns with birth years as far back as 1920. Credit: New York Times
These personalized tools are simple to use and effective at representing scientific data. Linear graphs are also a great way to show the rate at which temperatures are rising.
Other examples of effective graphics include heat maps and statistical maps. The New York Times has used both of these in the past to convey messages.
An effective heat map can be seen in this article by Kendra Pierre-Louis of the NYT:
The graphic used in Pierre-Louis' article is in the form of a gif image in which ocean temperature can be seen getting hotter over time. Videos and gifs like this are fantastic for representing time-lapses.
An effective statistical map can be seen in this article by Nadja Popovich of the NYT:
Statistical maps provide a quick glimpse into the data being represented. It is most effective when discussing social differences or surveyable data, and the colors used make for a quick understanding of the data.
Although journalism that represents the raw scientific data is necessary, especially for the scientific community, it might be beneficial to label the articles with the audience they are supposed to resonate with. This would reduce confusion among average citizens and help scientists select the data they want to be shown.
Washington Could Be The First State To Implement A State Tax On Carbon Pollution… If The Oil Industry Allows It
Posted on November 1, 2018 by Marshall Kesterson
The state of Washington is introducing a ballot measure to be the first state to impose a state tax on carbon pollution.
Initiative 1631 has attracted a lot of attention from big corporations and donors, as the fight for, or against, the implementation of the bill carries on. This has garnered a nationwide conversation about the need for carbon taxes in each state.
Factory against a blue sky. Credit: Pixabay
The anti-initiative campaign hit a spending record of $25.87 million, with many of the donors being major oil companies. Supporters of the initiative raised nearly $12 million, with some of the biggest donors being Microsoft and the American Lung Association.
What does the Carbon Lobby look like when it's scared?
Washingtonians are voting on a breakthrough carbon tax initiative.
Oil company donations to the opposition war chest just hit a state record—$25.87 million. That's a lot of fear.#YesOn1631https://t.co/kY8uDdUb2Z
— Alex Steffen (@AlexSteffen) October 22, 2018
BP owns some of the major oil refineries in the state and has spent a whopping $12 million in an attempt to stop the initiative. However, this move goes directly against a move made by BP in which they supported a carbon tax.
Wow. Opponents of Washington's carbon fee initiative have put almost $30 MILLION in their push against it.
Top donor? BP America with $11.6 million.
https://t.co/LG6Cpu1K5y pic.twitter.com/MJYv45NDlR
— Anthony Adragna (@AnthonyAdragna) October 29, 2018
Although we can see that the oil industry is investing massive amounts of money into the fight against Initiative 1631, there are also small groups in Washington that oppose it. Local ironworkers at the Local 86 office in Tukwila, Wa. are worried about the slow industrial investment that the carbon tax might create.
"We're concerned that less developers will move into the area, and that means less future jobs will be available for our members," said Chris McClain, the Local 86 union's business manager.
However, supporters of the initiative disagree with this analysis citing that 70 percent of the revenue raised in the first five fiscal years would be spent invested in clean energy infrastructure. This has been estimated to be nearly $2.3 billion.
It's unclear how the citizens of Washington will vote on Initiative 1631, but a lot of groups are banking on the vote going their way.
The Turning Tide Against Climate Change Denial Is Getting Larger
Posted on October 25, 2018 October 25, 2018 by Marshall Kesterson
New York has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, claiming that they purposefully downplayed the risks climate regulations would have on its business. The company deceived its investors, and the general public, on the matter by concealing the financial risk that the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions presented. This lawsuit has brought fossil fuel companies' role in climate denial to the forefront of the news, again.
An offshore oil platform Credit: Zukiman Mohamad
Investigative reporting done by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times showed that Exxon knew the science of global warming and spent millions to promote misinformation. The evidence prompted the attorney generals in New York and Massachusetts to subpoena the oil giant.
It's no secret that fossil fuel corporations, and big donors like the Koch Brothers, have used their money to promote organizations like The Heartland Institute, CFACT, and Americans for Prosperity, in order to block government policies aimed at curbing climate change. Legislators, such as James Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, have received millions of dollars from the fossil fuel industry in political contributions.
However, recent strides have been made to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in denying climate change. 2017 and 2018 have been big years for climate change accountability.
Oil filling station Credit: Markus Spiske
On 17 July 2017, San Mateo County, Marin County, and the City of Imperial Beach in California all filed a lawsuit against 37 fossil fuel companies. This move stoked many other waterfront cities and states to contemplate going to court with the fossil fuel industry.
In 2018, Rhode Island became the first state to sue oil companies over the effects of climate change, and the city of Baltimore sued 26 fossil fuel companies to hold them to account for rising tides. Baltimore invested billions of dollars into its waterfront over the past half-century and is preparing for the worst.
These companies being sued, which includes BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Peabody Energy, Shell and Statoil, have made many moves in an attempt to dodge, or slow, potential legal troubles. They have even asked that the matters be transferred to federal courts, but a US District Court denied this request, a big win for state governments.
These lawsuits will continue to progress as more fossil fuel corporations are put under the spotlight. The developments discovered in the courts will likely lead to even more cities and states suing the companies for damages.
People Care More About Beer Than Climate Change, And Scientists Are Using It To Their Advantage
Many media outlets seized on an opportunity to persuade people into caring about climate change… by relating it to beer.
News dropped that a study by researchers from UC Irvine and other institutions claimed that beer prices could double because of the price of a malted barley. The study, published on Monday in the journal Nature Plants, showed that barley yields would decrease by an average of 17 percent due to climate change. One of the scientists even posted the results to Twitter:
Under higher-warming climate scenarios, we find 100-year drought and heat events occur every 3 years, decreasing barley yields by an average 17% in those years, and increasing the price of a 6-pack in the U.S. by $1-8. Another way climate change will suck. https://t.co/ZK5GhR0gwT pic.twitter.com/hPjL7LgzMV
— Steven J. Davis (@SteveDavisUCI) October 15, 2018
Of course, caring more about beer than the impact of climate change is a bad thing, but it is plainly obvious that people love beer so much that they're worried about a price increase.
There was a wide variety of support for beer, paired with rage against climate change, ranging from political talking points to joking calls to ban all fossil fuels:
If the IPCC report won't wake up @fordnation to act on #climate, maybe this will: Beer shortage is why you should care about climate change – CNN #onpoli https://t.co/oEoHTV2Nvl
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) October 17, 2018
If this doesn't persuade you, nothing will. #ClimateBreakdown https://t.co/x6710pGKHS
— GeorgeMonbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) October 15, 2018
I LOVE good beer, but you charge $30 for a 6 pack, and I'm making sober October a 12 month commitment.
— Jeremy (@jeremymartin43) October 18, 2018
That's it. Ban all fossil fuels. Now.
— David Chalmers (@DavidChalmers7) October 15, 2018
The subject was even covered by The Daily Show, in which Trevor Noah said, "If you tell American's in 10 years the Marshall Islands will be underwater, no one cares, but tell them Corona will cost more? Now they're marching in the streets."
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/pmvksp/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-climate-change-s-effect-on-beer-production-worldwide—america-s-projected–1-trillion-deficit
The use of beer as a talking point on climate change has given the research more attention than it normally would have gotten. Steven J. Davis noted this fact:
Not sure what to make of the fact that in one day our paper on climate and beer has garnered considerably more attention than any of my previous work on energy transitions or even air pollution deaths. https://t.co/BktnKLEFWx https://t.co/ZK5GhR0gwT
Google analytics show that "beer" is a more common search term used in Google's search engine than "climate change". This could be a potential reason for the increased viewership.
Search term interest over time comparison between 'beer' (in blue) and 'climate change' (in red). Credit: Google Trends
This opens up an abundance of new positions of attack scientists can use to get the general public to care about climate change, but there will always be skeptics:
Another BS "it's about to happen" climate change article. Haven't we seen enough of these prove out to be completely false? You can't even classify the type of change correctly. Cooling, warming, changing? Yeah, it's changing, it's weather!
— NPC_0012315455-2.21 (@knuckles_TX) October 18, 2018
Climate NASA
Mother Jones Environment
NYT Climate and Environment
NYT Green
Seeker Earth
The Environmental Blog
The EPA Blog
The Guardian Environment Blog
Yale Environment 360


The little tour between Dominion and the G1 Climax never offers a match of the year contender but it does its job in heating up some people and setting up matches for future shows.
No announcements tonight and no title matches. The aim was allowing Desperado and Eglin get wins over their opponents for night 3 and 2 respectively and also heat some midcard guys up ahead of G1.
Post Match: The Participants for the G1 Climax were announced, we will cover this deeper but initially this has me excited save for Hashi and Tonga it's a pretty sweet lineup full of potentially awesome matches.
The G1 announcement was the main draw but the NEVER title match is one must see match. The only other highlights were the repetitive ten man tags which are always great.
No new challenges and a good main event. This wasn't a newsworthy show outside the Block announcements which brought a lot of excitement. Par for the course for this tour nothing to absolutely make time for but some good stuff if you have free time.


The second hard rocking release that explores a new level of sounds featuring heavy guitars, resounding drums, and intriguing strong vocals which paints musical canvass for a message of hope.
Awakening is the sophomore release from Pennsylvania based rock band Xd Out. In both songwriting, and recording, Awakening represents a leap forward with sonically addicting songs with the title track (Awakening), For You, and Salvation. Hard driving rhythms are not all that lies within however. Worship inspired songs such as Hallelujah, and Make Us Whole speak to the heart of a band who wishes to be closer with their creator.


Bay windows come in various angles, sizes and home trends. No matter what your bay window looks like, there's normally one common theme: it is the ideal window style for a DIY project. For the homeowners who want to begin creative projects, there are virtually endless possibilities to transform your window with a lot of creativity and a little bit of work.
Simple Storage: A bay window is a perfect place to stock belongings that need to be hidden, yet in a handy spot. Instead of sending your winter clothes all the way down to the basement, simply store them in a bay window storage unit a few strides from your closet in summer months. Storage units are also ideal for holding kitchen supplies for special get-togethers. Tuck your table cloths and fancy silverware in a safe space where they cannot fall or be touched. Add a flower pot or pillows on top to coordinate the bench into your space.
Space Saving Seat: To highlight and add even more benefit to your storage place, add a seat cushion. For windows in your kitchen, think about sliding your kitchen table close to the bay window. This will not only free up your kitchen space, but will also be a comfortable and naturally lit place to appreciate family meals or chat with friends. Transforming your bay window nook into a seat is a DIY project that you can purpose every day, which makes the tedious work so much more worth it!
DIY Desk: Whether you want to make your own or you'd rather just buy a desk, a good location to place it is by your bay window. You'll have the perfect view to escape and enjoy beautiful days while still being productive. Design your desk with some flowers to take place where a lamp would usually sit. Plus, they will the right amount of sun and smell good too.
Reading Nook: Escape in comfort and quiet with this simple spot. For the quiet rooms in your home, your bay window is longing to become a reading nook. This project is made just like the seat acknowledged above, but booklovers can put in a twist. Instead of closing off the front of your bench, construct dividers to make a mini, horizontal bookcase underneath your nook. This allows you to be hooked on your nook without the requirement to move once you finish a book - you simply dive into your next novel an arms-length under you.
If you have a bay window, but aren't into DIY projects, it is a quick fix to set a couch or table with flowers in your bay window area. You can make your home look chic and utilize the space without any extreme effort. To install or learn more about bay windows, visit our showroom in Minneapolis, or call our professionals at 612-249-7371.


All leaders follow the training methods of the SDL (Scouts du Liban) and GDL (Guides du Liban) associations. Well trained, they voluntarily choose to serve the members of their group.
The Scouts Du Liban (Boy scouts) have their quarters located at the ground floor and Mezzanine of the St. Charbel building.
The "Guides Du Liban" (Girl scouts) have their quarters located at the ground floor of St. Rafqa building.
Recruitments to the group are made once a year in October. Normally only students of Grade 3 are admitted.


The senior population in Canada is rapidly increasing, and as this demographic grows the demand for certain healthcare services expands as well. Many of these individuals will eventually need attention for medical issues, but there has been a decline in these offerings that could soon affect how provinces deal with healthcare situations, The Vancouver Sun reports.
According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), there has been a large decline in home and community care services and facilities in the past decade, with these features decreasing by 14 per cent even as the senior population continued to grow.
"A decade of underfunding and restructuring has led to a home and community care system that is fragmented, confusing to navigate and unable to meet seniors' needs," the CCPA reported, as quoted by The Vancouver Observer.
Whereas the current most popular method of care is restricted to organisations like hospitals or nursing homes, the future could see more community facilities and home care options. Home care has decreased recently due to a high demand for resources such as nurses, but that may be changing as more Canadians turn to nursing as their profession of choice.


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Impressions Of
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Reasons to attend and to not attend Brown University
"The open curriculum and lack of requirements you have to take. I think that really means that people who are in a class want to be there because there are no base requirements. It also lets you explore different course options. If you're not sure what you want to do, you can take whatever classes you want."
"There are Engaged Scholars courses here where you have to do a community service component where you have to do some of the stuff you are studying and I think that's really unique and great."
"The collaborative energy. The student body is so friendly and collaborative, it changes the college experience."
"I think people are very talented and intelligent and you can really find all sorts of students here. Everyone has something to say which is really nice."
To Not Attend
"I think that the open curriculum is great, but it can overwhelming if you don't know what you want to study or don't know what you want to do. Having a lack of direction can be tough."
"The political correctness culture."
"Absolute lack of school spirit in athletics. If you're into sports, it's going to be disappointing."
"If you're looking for a school that's extremely pre-professional, Brown is not that type of place. People come to Brown because they want to experience college and learn for the sake of learning."
Notice: Brown University is a trademark. Induck uses it for descriptive purposes, not to imply affiliation with, endorsement from, or sponsorship by Brown University.
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Indiana University – Bloomington


· Celebration Party Rentals was established in 2011 by the Owner Gabriel Egri. After a long carrier as an electrician, he decided to move on and open his own business. His exceptional organizing skills, hard work and his family behind him, helped to create one of Metro Vancouver's successful Event rental businesses.
· Only in 7 years the company served over 7000 customers. The inventory increased to a level, where it can serve over 500 guests at a time. Inventory includes: chairs, tables, china, glassware linens, pop-up tents, draping, event lighting, etc. The company can also supply items and services to big corporate events, weddings, family events.


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» Rolling Stones David Frost Show '69
» Rolling Stones play STICKY FINGERS show in Los Angeles
LOS ROLLING STONES ANUNCIAN SU NUEVO SHOW
CUBA Y LA MASONERÍA :: MÚSICA :: THE ROLLING STONES
por Admin Lun Oct 15, 2012 8:59 am
Ladies and Gentlemen they are back! The most eagerly anticipated concerts of 2012 are announced today as the greatest rock 'n' roll band, The Rolling Stones, confirm their long awaited return to the stage with four spectacular arena shows in London and New York. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood at last revealed their return to live work exclusively via this video.
As the crowning glory of their on-going 50th anniversary celebrations, the rock icons will play to thousands of fans at London's O2 Arena on November 25 and 29, and then across the pond to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, near New York, on December 13 and 15.
See www.RollingStones.com for full ticketing information.
» The Rolling Stones on The Ed Sullivan Show - DVD Sets
» Rolling Stones Mike Dougles Show 1964
» The Rolling Stones announce USA & Canada tour and Hyde Park show


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[Junesploitation '21] Mini Reviews: Martial Law (1990) and Sister Street Fighter (1974)
This entry was posted on June 27, 2021 by supermarcey, in Junesploitation, Movie Reviews, Rewind and tagged 2021, 90s Action, Cynthia Rathrock, exploitation, F This Movie, Junesploitation, Martial Law, review, Sister Street Fighter. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment
Day 23: 90s Action!
Martial Law (1990)
Junesploitation continues with Day 23 and the prompt '90s Action' and the perfect type of film to add into the viewing list is one starring Cynthia Rathrock, and the film chosen for the prompt is Martial Law (1990). This is a fun action/martial arts/crime film, with Chad McQueen as Sean Thompson the lead along with Rathrock as Billie Blake, who play cops that also are accomplished martial artists. The plot is very silly, the pair aim to take down a criminal boss Dalton Rhodes (David Carradine), who is also a master of martial arts with a deadly technique called 'dim-mak' and he uses dojo's to recruit muscle for jobs, and Sean's younger brother also happens to work for the crime boss.
The film itself may not be technically sound, the acting may be a little off in parts and the pacing suffers through the middle, but it absolutely makes up for its short comings with how enjoyable and engaging it all is. Having Carradine as the lead villain was a smart move, he chews the scenery at every chance and oozes that smooth charisma, in short he's great. Philip Tan as his right hand man Wu Han is the MVP of the film, he lights up the screen whenever he's on screen and he played the character in such a way that he ends up being one of best aspects. McQueen and Rathrock are both fairly solid, the pair share strong chemistry on screen and are able to not only handle the action but the more emotional side of things.
Martial Law is a very solid early 90s lower budget actioner, the fight scenes are great (look out for Rathrock versus Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez) and the drama side works just enough. This is definitely a film for those who enjoy their 80's and 90's action/martial arts films, plus fans of Rathrock should check this out if they haven't, it's an easy watch and a memorable watch for Junesploitation.
Day 24: Free Space!
Sister Street Fighter (1974)
As with the other days with 'Free Space' for Junesploitation, a female led film has been chosen to watch and this time we go back to the 70's with the Japanese martial arts film Sister Street Fighter (1974) starring Etsuko Shihomi as Koryu. The film is sort of a spin off to The Street Fighter (1974), which starred Sonny Chiba (who also has a small role here), with inspiration and elements of Enter The Dragon (1973). The film is some what goofy, however this just adds to the charm, Sister Street Fighter is a rather entertaining film.
Koryu is a martial arts champion, her skills come into use when her brother Gyokudo (Hiroshi Kondô) goes missing and he sets out to find him. It turns out her brother was an under cover agent trying to infiltrate a drug lord's heroin operation, Koryu will stop at nothing to find her brother and put a stop to the drug operation. Etsuko Shihomi is the star of the film in more ways than one, she absolutely carries this film from beginning to end and tops it off with some excellent and crazy fight scenes.
It is refreshing to get a female lead in a martial arts film, but also one who is never at all sexualised and is shown as strong and resilient. The villains are incredibly over the top, hard to take seriously, especially when they have death scenes, the facial expressions alone will get a lot of laughs. However this all some how works in the films favour, it doesn't take itself too serious despite the violence and drug themes, it's almost self aware about how goofy it is. As mentioned Sister Street Fighter is an entertaining film with fun fight scenes and worth watching for fans of the genre or those who want to see a strong female lead kick all the ass.
Please check out FThisMovie.net, with many thanks to the crew for the concept of Junesploitation and some excellent prompts for 2021!
« The King Zone Podcast Episode 16 – "Don't You Just Love Happy Endings?" Looking At Silver Bullet, The Running Man and Tales From The Dark Side: The Movie
[Review] Boss Level (2021) by Marcus Wilturner »


Talk about Indian food with a foreigner and guess what he would talk about? Yes, tandoori chicken! Tandoori chicken is bonded with Indian food and no one can deny that. As most of us are familiar with the word bhatti for the tandoor it would interest you to know that tandoor got its name from the the Bhatti tribe of the Thar Desert. This tribe developed the bhatti in their desert abode as a convenient form of heat for cooking and with time the bhatti travelled to Central Asia and the Middle East.
Tandoori food is considered very healthy as it is easy to cook with llimited use of fat as a medium of cooking. A tandoor can cook not only meats, fish and poultry but also breads such as rotis and naans. The lavash of the Middle East is also cooked in the tandoor. In India, the use of a tandoor is the most important in traditional North Indian cooking, and many breads and dishes were designed especially for these clay ovens. This includes parantha, naan, kulcha, roti, tandoori lamb chops, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, seekh kabab, tandoori prawns, reshmi kabab, and a variety of other dishes.
In fact, it is important to know here that even Irani and Pakistani food is cooked in the tandoor but the way we make the tandoori chicken is world famous. Tandoors are also popular in the Middle East and Bangladesh. Tandoori food has a distinctive smoky flavour that is produced because of the clay oven's design. Heat in a tandoor is generated from lit coals at the base of the oven (which has a similar shape to a pot-bellied stove). As the food inside it cooks, its juices drop down onto these hot coals, producing deliciously flavoured smoke that is the signature of tandoori food. Tandoor is the hottest form of cooking one can imagine. An electric oven can go to maximum 250? C but a tandoor, powered by hot charcoal fire, can cook food with finesse at temperatures as high as 480? C. Tandoori cooking at such high temperatures first sears the outer most covering of the food sealing in the natural juices. Food that has to go into the tandoor is always pretreated with a marinade. The marinade allows the inner cooking of the morsel as the heat transforms all the flavours.
A tandoor can cook a lot. Like: Gosht Pudina Kabab, Khasta Roti, Boti Kabab, Taftan etc… the recipes given here will give you the perfect taste of tandoor cooking!
Modern day tandoors for home use or restaurant use are operated on electricity or gas. Only a few of us these days, however, are lucky enough to have our own charcoal tandoor. Barbecues can be pretty good, especially where cooking can be done over a grill that lets food juices run onto the burners or coals. The effect is not quite that of the tandoor, but the resulting flavour is acceptable.
You could choose a conventional oven to cook tandoori dishes. The similarity here is that both the oven and the tandoor have an enclosed space where heat is trapped, but the former does not produce the trademark smoky flavouring of real tandoori food. This method is the best alternative for cooking tandoori breads (naan, roti, kulcha etc), when a tandoor is not available because the bread is surrounded by heat.
A grill can be used when cooking food like lamb chops or chicken tikka even though the concept of grill cooking is really the reverse of tandoori cooking. A grill does not have an enclosed space and food is heated by elements from above. Nevertheless, we can cook some tasty food on the grill. The grill is good for quick cooking especially when the barbecue is not an option.
Spicy lamb chops grilled till tender.
Chicken seekhs with paneer and cheese.
Fried potato cases stuffed with paneer, marinated in spicy yogurt and baked .
Delicious and tasty Paneer Tikka grilled on stone.
Tangdi kabab made shahi with almond paste.
This recipe is from the book Tandoori Cooking @ Home.
The traditional mutton starter, in easy-to-do steps.
Cottage cheese cubes marinated and cooked in tandoor or preheated oven.
Tandoori Chicken - How to make Tandoori Chicken.


If you are shopping for unique Australian made souvenirs, arts, crafts and more, drop by Broadbeach Art and Craft Markets located at Kurrawa Park Broadbeach.
Browse through over 150 stalls that feature handmade fashion, jewellery, skincare, arts, crafts, fres produce and more. Hunt for bargains and find one-off items that you won't find anywhere else.
Broadbeach Art and Craft Markets are held every first and third Sunday of the month from 8am to 2pm. The Markets are held in Kurrawa Park opposite the Oasis Shopping Centre within minutes from our Gold Coast Accommodation Deals. Stroll down Kurrawa Park on a Sunday morning and enjoy a fun shopping experience.


Some forms of hard drugs are often indistinguishable from inert face powder. But once they are fed into the bloodstream, they supplant the mind. They alter people's perception of their place in the world. They make the butterfly a bird in its own eyes. So, it's understandable that one of the aliases the wanted drug baron, '' Senator-elect'' Buruji Kashamu, self-identified in the heroine underworld was…God.
The nick instantly rings blasphemous. But it starts to make sense when you pity the self-deifier as a victim of delusion. The use of the substance gives one a rapture lift . It provides pleasure by removing you lightyears from yourself and making you estranged to your senses.
Kashamu happened to be more than an ordinary sniffer. He was into dealership. He was some kind of sovereign: other crack addicts depended on him to maintain their high climbing habit. This meant he was ''the Most High''.
Now God is faced with a real prospect of a drug trial. The US wants God extradited. And that's profanity because the character of God is incompatible with handcuff and prosecution. God cannot be trivialized with the threat of an arrest. God is invisible. God is not accountable to only Himself. God cannot be queried by man. Man is the one who has date with God on Judgment Day.
Obviously, the United States of America does not have the Fear of God. The Americans are desperate to put God on trial. And they don't want to prosecute God because they need to add the feat to their list of exploits. They want to try God for an unforgivably flimsy reason. God had used a substance derived from His creation and being magnanimous in essence, blessed his seekers with a generous supply of the goods.
God had looked upon the US with favor, of all the places in the universe. America was God's own country. And God's business was flourishing until America found out – or until the folks went secular. God preempted their justice-based hostility and emigrated.
God chose the most religious country on earth. God came to a nation that would not reject him. God came to Nigeria. And we hosted God well. God lived in peace. We disregarded the many pleas of the United States to help her demystify God. We declined her imperialist dictation. God had peace of mind; so much so he joined Naija politics. God ran for Senate.
And we were thankful that God was on the ballot. We didn't rehearse the blunder of the Jews: we didn't vote for Barabbas when God was an option. We elected God. We wanted God to sit in the Senate.
And God was poised to take his rightful place in the Red Chambers, few days to His swearing-in, when the US made Nigeria backslide.
Today, God is being subjected to indignity in the country He had counted safe for a refuge. The US got Nigeria to accept that it was okay to make God answer to some manmade law. And so we see Nigeria actively working to process God for shipment to the States for potential imprisonment.
The joke is on God! And God isn't laughing. God is angry. God is even threatening to self-destruct, to save Himself from ridicule. We didn't know that God could consider committing suicide. Or that God could use His ability to rid us of Himself to blackmail us. Suicide must be God's trump card. God knew we would be shell shocked to see Him obliterate himself. We would have no Being to pray to. And the whole world would be out of course.
The big surprise, though, is that this God wasn't omniscient. God was taken by surprise. God didn't see this coming. God didn't figure that a day would come when He would be compelled to hibernate in His Lekki mansion, afraid for the siege of NDLEA earthlings. It's an irony that the God we had thought knew the future of everybody didn't have a clue about His own fate.
Perhaps God foresaw this. That's why God resourced the PDP and invested heavily in the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. It was strategically important to God that PDP retained power and that Jonathan won a second term. A PDP victory in the general elections would have guaranteed God immunity. A Jonathan Presidency would never have been disposed to acquiescing to the extradition of God. Jonathan was indebted to God. God imported thousands of branded bags of rice and distributed them on Jonathan's behalf. God was the biggest financier of South West PDP. God was the Chairman of Mobilization and Contact Committee of South West PDP. God was indispensable.
But the pendulum didn't swing God's way. God's party was defeated. And the bad news was that God's party was trumped by the party of God's enemies. APC was Obasanjo's party, Tinubu's party, Buhari's party. So God had a problem: His haters were the new principalities of the clime. His foes could order that he be packaged and forwarded to the States.
God began to panic. So He tried to befriend the new powerbrokers. God dipped his pen in honey and wrote a gushing tribute to Tinubu. God praised Tinubu for his crucial role in building a ragtag opposition into a formidable coalition. God praised Tinubu for helping dislodge the largest party in Africa from power. God turned doxology upside down and lavished it on a human.
Well, Tinubu saw through God's gimmick. Tinubu spurned God's flattery. And he advised God to quit seeking escape in forced sycophancy. Tinubu counseled God to prepare for His inevitable trial.
The problem is the trial came sooner than even Tinubu would have placed a bet on. It arrived earlier than Buhari's resumption as President of the Nigeria. NDLEA unexplainably became in a hurry to dispatch God to America. They couldn't wait till May 29.
And so God began doing something ungodly. God started to blame his trouble on His party rival, Bode George. Bode Gorge's wife, Roli, is head of NDLEA. God made a linear link between his frosty relationship with Boy George and His travails. The NDLEA that had repeatedly rejected America's request to have Him extradited could not changed its stance for nothing. George's bedtime chat with his wife must be the cause of his present distress.
Talking seriously, we have always had a ruling class infested with rogues. In April 2005, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police and Chairman Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, raised the alarm that he found himself in the awkward position of having to share conviviality with the vicious murderers, crooks and fraudsters he had dealt with during his police career. Those criminals had managed to extricate themselves from justice. They used their filthy acquisition to buy shares into politics. They ran for Senate to overwrite their detestable record; to become ''Distinguished'' Senators.
Kashamu sought the same cover in the Senate. He had the baseless confidence that membership of the Senate would keep his extradition case in abeyance, as long as his tenure lasts. He was convinced that if he could smuggle himself into the Senate chambers, his trouble would automatically become a shared concern among his colleagues. They would shield him, if only to avert the bad optics of having one of their own standing in a witness box in a fiercely irreverent justice system, far away from their magical influence.
The man had dumped as much cash as was necessary to buy the votes. The message he peddled during the campaign was that he was a fulfilled man who has undertaken to sacrifice his comfort to help the commoners in his constituency notch a better life. That was a lie. Kashamu was not a senatorial material, by any stretch of the imagination. His Senate quest was not for public good. It was for his private respite. His campaign was an investment in his own immunity.
Kashamu has all but achieved his desire. He won the Senate seat. He is due to be sworn in few days time. He will be one of the ''Distinguished'' Senators voting on our bills and calibrating the bars of our collective decency. How far he has come is a sign that our politics is an asylum in need of purging.
Kashamu bought his way into power because the configuration of Nigerian politics makes money the joker. He didn't need to do more than produce enough money to buy the expression of interest/ nomination forms, bribe the party screening committee and the party delegates, and distribute food baits to the voters. His prodigal expenditure and cynical philanthropy knocked off his competition. Money TRANSFORMED a fugitive drug pusher into a ''Senator-elect!
Kashamu serves as a metaphor. If we conducted a sweeping background check in the polity, we would harvest individuals with comparably appalling albatross waiting to assume sensitive political positions across Nigeria. They often write the larger part of the Nigerian story. And that is why our nation is a beautiful tragedy.
I was devastated reiadng this news. How can a person like Edwin Clark who could not make a difference when Niger Delta Militants were troubling the Nations is now becoming a mouthpiece in our national issues? Who are the problems we face in this country? Can Edwin Clark remove himself from the blame of our deteriorating nation? can he? Sometimes i like people coming out bold to tell people they are wrong, but he who want to come to equity and justice must come with clean hands. Edwin Clark, i respect you for who you are, but i think you blow this one and i know people will attack your statement from all corners of the world. Well you have air your opinion and that is democracy for you in Africa, everybody is crazy.


All work done professionally for various companies. All images property of their respective copyright holders.
Sol Contingency (Descent themed) game.
Commercial is property of Nickelodeon and may not be used in any form without written permission from them. Copyright 2013 by Insert Media and Joep Peters.
Commercial is property of Nickelodeon and may not be used in any form without written permission from them. Copyright 2011 by Insert Media and Joep Peters.


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Home › News › Jan 2021
EnviroVac Partners with the Y for Annual Giving Tree
While 2020 was a year like no other, the Habersham YMCA was determined to meet the needs of the community especially during Christmas and COVID. In celebration of the Y's 24th Annual Giving Tree, the Y partnered with EnviorVac to serve those in need during the holiday. The employees of EnviroVac launched a fundraiser which raised thousands of dollars to support the children and seniors in our community. EnviroVac CEO, Kevin Jackson, gave praises to his employees for their efforts. "I am so proud of our EnviroVac employees for demonstrating the true meaning of Christmas! As a company, we came together and raised $6,000 for this year's Giving Tree. We are grateful for all that the Habersham Y does for our community throughout...the year, and especially during the Holiday Season. We are happy to support such a worthy cause and make this Christmas a little brighter for local children in need."
This event is equally important to the staff and members of the YMCA. According to Shannon Horst, YMCA Senior Membership and Program Director, this is one of the initiatives that the staff look forward to each year. "I can't imagine what it would feel like as a parent to not be able to provide a gift for my child at Christmas. This is an opportunity for us to make a big difference in a child's life and make things easier for struggling families during the holidays."