Anyone who has got kids, whether toddlers or teenagers, will be familiar with just how often they lose things. I have one friend whose son loses things so often that she refuses to buy him new school uniform or sports kit and she gets it all from the school second hand shop. Thankfully, my kids aren't QUITE that bad, but my younger son does have a habit of losing things.
Luckily, he's at a school where lost things tend to get returned. People don't nick stuff. He's also at a school which has a culture of kids just dumping their PE bags when they go to lessons, rather than use their lockers. Under a notice reading something like 'Please do not leave your bags here', there is a huge pile of PE bags at all times. Including evenings and weekends. Inevitably, this leads to mix-ups from time to time.
My son lost his PE bag, containing trainers, shorts a PE top and TWO (I have no idea why) rugby scrum hats just before October half-term. He didn't even realise he'd lost it until the next day. He'd dumped it in the 'please do not leave your bags here' area and just come home without it. It would still be there when he got to school.
It wasn't there the next day either. It wasn't in lost property.
If items are named, they always get handed back. I ALWAYS name items.
I could understand a kid mistakenly picking up his PE bag. I could even understand them not instantly realising that the shorts and the PE top weren't theirs. But maybe they might have realised the trainers weren't theirs?
Just a few days later, he lost a school hoodie at an away rugby game. His best friend had a nasty injury, so his hoodie wasn't at the top of his list of priorities. I rang the other school, but the hoodie was never seen again. He got his replacement as a Christmas present.
A few days later, he took his nice new bag, full of rugby kit this time, to school. When I opened it at the end of the day, it was full of unfamiliar stuff. It wasn't his bag. The stuff wasn't school kit, so it was clearly a 6th former's bag. And actually it wasn't entirely his fault this time. Yes, he'd left his bag outside as usual, but someone else had clearly picked his up first.
He had a rugby match the next day. Luckily he has spare kit, he was able to borrow his dad's boots and one of his friends had an unused gumshield he could borrow. He took the wrong bag to school with a Post-it on it explaining what had happened, left it outside and went off to his away game. By the time he got back, the rugby fairies had returned his bag.
Although he is the king of losing things, he's not the only one. My husband got me some expensive wireless headphones for Christmas. They're the sort of thing you don't realise you need until you have them. They've revolutionised my life. But they vanished a few days after Christmas.
I remember plugging them in to charge and seeing them sat charging, but I didn't remember anything after that. I looked everywhere for those headphones. I even offered the kids a reward to help me find them. I didn't know what I would do if I didn't find them. I COULD afford to replace them, but what message does that send to the kids? If they lose stuff, I give them a hard time about it and they have to have replacements for Christmas, but if I lose stuff, it's fine, I just buy new ones. It mystified us for three days. Then my husband noticed the missing Christmas lights. They'd stopped working and I'd taken them down. He worked out that I'd taken them down exactly when I unplugged my headphones. They were tangled in the broken Christmas lights in the garage.
And the day after she went back to school after Christmas, my daughter lost the brand new fitness watch she'd had for Christmas. Like my headphones, it was something that she had come to love very quickly. We'd bought it in a flash sale and to replace it would be expensive. There were tears over the watch. Luckily, her school is another school where things don't get nicked and her watch turned up in the school office the following day.
So the only thing still missing was the PE bag that had disappeared in October.
Just before February half-term I got an email from school, informing me that my son's PE bag had been handed in. And there it was, in all its glory. All of its contents still there, including a gum shield case, a pair of dirty school socks and a carrier bag full of mud. Where had it been for four months? The bag was clean and dry, so it clearly hadn't been outside. How had someone had it for four months without realising their mistake and handing it in?
I will never know. But my son now has spare trainers, spare PE shorts and a spare PE top. Plus two rugby scrum hats he won't wear.
My youngest is terrible for losing school things. They are not allowed to wear coats in school so is always forgetting to pick it up. So far she's always managed to find it eventually.
Thanks very much, it is a nightmare, isn't it? It's always the boys here too – specifically one boy! The other boy is careless at home, but never actually seems to lose stuff when he's outside the house.
Oh dear, it's such a problem isn't it? My children are always losing things and I have also lost my favourite headphones and I refuse to replace them, they must be around somewhere!
This story sounded very familiar and I am EXACTLY the same! We have a few items that have never turned up but generally they have a tendency to boomerang back to us eventually! So frustrating though.


text:
Koenigsegg Agera – hipersamochód zaprojektowany przez szwedzką firmę Koenigsegg.

Jego 4,7-litrowy motor V8 potrafi osiągnąć 910 KM mocy (przy 6850 obr./min) i 1100 Nm momentu obrotowego (przy 5100 obr./min). Agera przyspiesza do 100 km/h w 3,1 s, natomiast do 200 km/h – w 8,9 s. Prędkość maksymalna to ponad 390 km/h. Istnieje również wersja zmodyfikowana, Agera R, przedstawiona w 2011 r, osiągająca 1115 KM. Samochód dostępny był w kilku edycjach limitowanych takich jak: Agera S, Agera S Hundra, Agera X, Agera R BLT Chinese Edition, Agera Zijin, Agera R '13 Matte Blue .

Dane techniczne (Agera)

Silnik
 V8 4,7 l (~4700 cm³), 4 zawory na cylinder, DOHC, 2 x turbo
 Układ zasilania: wtrysk
 Średnica cylindra × skok tłoka: b/d
 Stopień sprężania: 8,9:1
 Moc maksymalna: 910 KM (670 kW) przy 6850 obr/min
 Maksymalny moment obrotowy: 1100 N•m przy 5100 obr/min
 Pe 25,5 atm

Osiągi
 Przyspieszenie 0-100 km/h: 3,1 s
 Prędkość maksymalna: 390 km/h
 Hamowanie od prędkości 300 km/h : 7s.

Dane techniczne (Agera R)

Silnik
 V8 5,0 l (5032 cm³), 4 zawory na cylinder, DOHC, 2 x turbo
 Układ zasilania: wtrysk
 Średnica cylindra × skok tłoka: 91,70 mm × 95,25 mm
 Stopień sprężania: 9,0:1
 Moc maksymalna: 1115 KM (820 kW) przy 2700-6170 obr/min
 Maksymalny moment obrotowy: 1200 N•m przy 4100 obr/min
 Pe 32,2 atm
 Średnia prędkość tłoka 19,6 m/sek.

Osiągi
 Przyspieszenie 0-100 km/h: 2,9 s
 Prędkość maksymalna: 410 km/h

Przypisy

Bibliografia

Agera
Samochody z silnikiem V8
Hipersamochody
Targa

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Description: The Bloemhof EXPRESS 600 Advanced French Bread Moulder has been developed to gently process a wide variety of dough types including long fermentation doughs with an integral resting conveyor. Unlike overhead proofer systems, the EXPRESS 600 can receive directly from a low stress divider, gently degas the dough and create a cylindrical preform instead of a rounded preform. The cylindrical perform is rested automatically up to 10 minutes and then finished to length on the finishing moulder for a consistent high quality seamless finish. The EXPRESS 600 is really three machines in one package!


June 22nd Waltham, MA, 2018; GPS Adult teams are enjoying another successful spring as they compete in a number of leagues across the state.
Leading the way are the GPS Massachusetts Over 30s team who clinched the Division 1 South title by compiling a 6-2-2 record on their way to the North Regional championship. The O-30s will face FC Hudson in the semi-finals this Sunday at Forekicks (8.30am kick off).
Also in the playoffs are the O-56s, known as GPS Gold FC who came in second in Division 1 South despite only dropping one game in a 7-1-2 season. They will face Juventus Everett FC in their semi, again this Sunday at Madeline English School in Everett.
Falling short of the playoffs narrowly were the O-40s who came in third in Division 1 South. After a strong season, a final day defeat to league winners Shake Shake FC, ended the Newton based side's season. The '40s' finished the season 5-3-2.
The 0-50s team had a mixed season in which they finished mid-table in Division 1 South. It was a case of what might have been for the 'Rhinos' as despite only suffering two losses, their 6 ties cost them the chance to compete in this weekend's playoffs.
Meanwhile in the BSSL league, which runs on a April to November schedule, the GPS Omens have enjoyed a strong start and sit one point behind the leaders as the league prepares to enter their summer break. The Omens are the reigning BSSL League and Cup Champions and also have participated in the US Open Cup in '13, '14, '15 and '17.


In the past the largest tankers, now crude and product tankers with a deadweight between 45,000/70,000 and 80,000/100,000 tons.
Small tank situated at the extreme after end of a ship.
A mooring line fixed to the bow of the boat and leading aft where it is attached to the dock. This prevents the boat from moving forward in its berth. Its opposite, the forward quarter spring line, is used to keep the boat from moving aft in its berth.
The rear of a ship.
The hatchway nearest the stern.
Said of a line that leads from its point of attachment towards the stern of the ship.
In a ship with multiple cabins, the cabin closest to the stern.
Heat exchangers for cooling air or gas discharge from compressors. Designed to reduce the temperature and liquefy condensate vapors. Both air cooled and water cooled units are available.
The removal of heat from a gas after compression is completed.
In a sailing ship carrying multiple masts, the mast set closest to the stern.
The part of the boat behind the beam.
Anti-clockwise circular motion. Left-handed ropes are coiled down in this way.
The interval between full moon and change of moon and the highest high tide.
A person authorized to transact business for and in the name of another person or company. Types of agent are:(1) brokers,(2) commission merchants,(3) resident buyers,(4) sales agents,5) manufacturer's representatives.
Lines on the Earths surface joining point where there is no magnetic variation.


We sell windows for new construction and replacement windows for your current home.
We sell premium quality steel and fiberglass doors as well as storm doors. We sell both interior and exterior doors.
We sell kitchen cabinets. We feature premium products from the most trusted manufacturers in the building industry.
Northwest Building Resources is an independent, family owned wholesale only building materials distributor specializing in new construction & replacement windows, vinyl siding & accessories, steel & fiberglass doors, storm doors & windows, interior doors & moldings, kitchen cabinets, and specialty building products. We feature premium products from the most trusted manufacturers in the building industry, but we feel our ability to service building & remodeling contractors is our greatest asset.
N.B.R. has been in business for over 41 years. Since 1973, N.B.R. has been serving Northwest Ohio & Central Ohio. We've earned a reputation as a service oriented distributor that delivers affordable, dependable, innovative vinyl products for just about every application – from windows, to siding, to shutters, to doors and accessories.


text:
Caribbean South (w/ Puerto Viejo)
Cahuita Nat Park
Cahuita
Refugio Gandoca - Manzanillo
Hitoy-Cerere Reserve
Playa Chiquita
Cahuita National Park
Cahuita National Park, Limón
Costa Rica is known for its bio-diversity, ecotourism and national parks.
Cahuita National Park in the Limón Province has to be one of the most amazing parks in the country. It was created in 1970 as a National Monument to preserve the coral reefs off the Caribbean coast. Later, the area was reformed as a national park.
Currently, it relies on donations and does not charge an admission fee.
From San José, take the Guapiles Highway to Limón then go south to the village of Cahuita. The main entrance of the park is located in the town of Puerto Vargas, but the area is well-developed because of its proximity to Cahuita.
The name of the national park comes from "Kawe" which means Sangrillo, and "Ta" which means punta, or point. The Sangrillo tree is considered to be endangered, and there is a beautiful stand of trees along the last part of the trail from Punta Cahuita to Puerto Vargas.
The Coral Reef
The beach is one of the least undeveloped ones in the country, but there's plenty of things to see. The marine area that is protected is 22,300 ha.
It's a nesting ground for sea turtles, but that's not all you'll see if you go scuba-diving or snorkeling. Eels, sea cucumbers, manta rays, 3 species of sharks and sea urchins call the coralline reef home. There are at least 35 species of coral, 123 species of fish and many molluscs and crustaceans.
Although the best months to be out in the water are from February to April, Costa Rica is always a nice place to visit due to its temperate climate. The waters are crystal blue.
The white sandy beaches lined with palm trees are pristine for every activity.
The land area of the park covers about 1,100 ha, and it's just as stunning as the marine section.
Some of the mammals which can be spotted are pacas, northern tamanduas, sloths and mantled howlers. Some of the brightest and most colorful birds in the world can be seen in the national park, for example, green ibises, keel-billed toucans and herons.
And the flora of Costa Rica is unsurpassed. From orchids to mushrooms, there are thousands of species of plants.
There is only one beach suitable for swimming.
The southern beach is a protected nesting ground for sea turtles.
Other beaches have strong currents, which make swimming unsafe. Visitors can enter the beach at Sendero Punta Cahuita.
Sunbathing is also a popular activity. There aren't many places in the world where you can bask in the sun near the almond trees on the beach.
At the mouth of the River Perezoso, you'll find an 18th century shipwreck, another popular attraction. Hike to the shipwreck and enjoy the landscape, because you won't be able to swim on the beaches.
Remember to only walk on designated trails and follow the park directions to minimize your impact on the ecosystem.
Take a walking tour of the area to get to know the local life. You'll taste local foods and enjoy the traditions and heritage of the Ticos.
The people are generally friendly, relaxed and have a great history. You can also rent a mountain bike, kayak or surfboard for another adventure. Take a cultural visit to the indigenous communities.
The Cahuita reef was badly damaged in a 1991 earthquake, so it does not have the same bio-diversity as it once did.
The Costa Rica National Parks system is doing everything it can to preserve the reef. There are plenty of camping opportunities in the area, but you'll also find some beautiful, luxurious resorts and hotel accommodations that are eco-friendly.
Around Beautiful Costa Rica Tour
10 Days / 9 Nights
Starting at $960 per person
Cariblue Beach & Jungle Resort
Villas del Caribe
Selva Bananito Lodge
La Costa de Papito
Le Caméléon Hotel
Selina Puerto Viejo
Caribe Fun Tours
Starting at $49 / tour
Hotel Banana Azul
Show me What to Do

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Features & Analysis /
CorpComms Awards /
Best in-house team - internal communications/media relations
by Helen Dunne on 24/11/2017
NO LONGER A POSTBOX FOR THE INTRANET
BDO LLP
The election of Paul Eagland to the position of managing partner at accountancy and business advisory firm BDO in October 2016, posed a new challenge for its in-house communications team. With a new leader at the helm for the next four years, it needed to be able to outline his strategy to the firm's 3,500 employees across the UK so that not they understood not only where the business was heading, but also the role they would perform to help Eagland achieve such goals. How did they do it? The short answer, according to the team, was sheer hard work, dedication and passion.
The long answer, however, was by professionalising the firm's internal communications approach so that the team's modus operandi was clear: Connections, Content, Campaigns and Consultancy. This allowed them to establish and build key relationships across the firm while creating and delivering an integrated communications plan, defined by audiences, delivered via a range of channels, which evolves according to insights and feedback. One of the cultural nuances within a partnership is the communications needs to support the firm at a central level while giving leaders the flexibility to tailor the approach for their local needs.
This led to a new communications strategy: centrally-coordinated, locally-led and centrally-celebrated. Within hours of Eagland's appointment, the team provided a 'comms thesis' on how to create a strategic programme, which led to a 'bunker' planning day. Communications was to be at the heart of every strategic model, and the way to achieve this was through storytelling. Visual branding was created to support (and explain) the strategic framework for both central and local use. Every employee received a BUILD cube block and a booklet on storytelling.
The new strategy was launched at the partners' and directors' conference. Since then there have been regular monthly calls while every quarter, they receive engagement packs, which can be tailored for local use. There have also been two central campaigns, timed to align with local engagement sessions. For example, a campaign in May had the strapline At BDO, May is never good enough. Welcome to the month of 'Will'. It was launched with a film-style trailer, a break from tradition in the firm which previously would have sent a letter from the leadership explaining the initiative. Each letter of BUILD was brought to life, linking each one to an existing priority campaign or client work. U signified the launch of U Tube, a new internal video channel.
The team also introduced Yammer for internal communications, and to date more than 93 per cent of the workforce has signed up, which is vital for collaboration and storytelling. To encourage participation in May, a Yammer treasure hunt was launched. There are already signs that the strategy is succeeding. Eagland's end of year message was viewed more than 2,500 times; the average time spent on the page was six minutes. Storytelling is now one of the leadership team's key performance indicators.
Such has been the success that Eagland invited the director of communications to sit on every strategic board, and the business case for doubling the size of the team was immediately approved. 'This was an ambitious and creative strategy,' said the judges. 'They seized the moment of change to demonstrate value and push the comms capability.
Best corporate publication - private sector 2014
CorpComms Awards
Best live event - internal - 2014
Best employee engagement programme
Best public affairs campaign 2015
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The team behind this event is Dziobak Larp Studios. We're 45 people in seven countries, and have been in business since 2006.
When not hosting this EU IV LAN party, Moszna Castle serves as a hotel. There are various rooms but most likely you are going to share your room with other participants. It will be possible to send us your accommodation preferences so you can be together with your friends. And don't worry – the castle may be old, but it comes with modern showers and toilets.
The event will be catered by the hotel's professional staff, with food provided for a variety of diets and tastes, with options for both omnivores and vegetarians at every meal. If you're vegan, just let us know! We'll make sure the kitchen prepares something special just for you.
Similarly, if you have any food allergies or other dietary restrictions, or specific questions about the food, please just let us know! We will make sure that no one has to conquer the world on an empty stomach.
Our chartered Berlin Bus will pick participants up from Berlin's center on Wednesday, and take them across the border into Poland and directly to Castle Moszna. On Sunday, the Bus will also return participants to Berlin.
Whether you're coming to Berlin by air, train or car, you'll find the city extremely traveler friendly. If you've arrived in Berlin early to catch the Bus to Moszna you can stay either in one of the numerous hotels and motels near the airport, or try out one of Berlin's eclectic hostels.
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All the hideous details you've never wanted about my print setup.
Here printing slavikk's Low Poly Skull.
My current printer is the Monoprice Select Mini. I bought the Mini as a second printer when my Prusa i3 started acting up. I wanted something that required little out of the box adjustment, and to be a workhorse for detailed or high tolerance parts, and the Mini absolutely delivers. It came almost perfectly aligned, with only a fine bed leveling needed. I've been printing virtually 24/7 since I bought the printer and I've yet to have a failed print for any (mechanical) reason. I replaced the original bed tape with blue painters tape, acetone washed and buffed it with a kitchen scrubber (my normal procedure across printers), and everything has stuck perfectly.
I've heard from other owners of the Mini that sometimes frame alignments are a bit off, or parts are missing. Maybe I was lucky, but my printer seemed to come with none of the commonly reported issues: My bed came level, no body adjustment for machine level had to be done, the hotend extruded well, my machine included the PTFE insert between the push fitting and the heatbreak (apparently a common omission), and the PID settings that seem to cause issues with poor temperature adjustment were already set correctly. It's possibly MP have been taking feedback from customers and shipping their current units with updates.
There's a pretty extensive community at the MP Select Mini Owners Facebook Group, including a complete Google docs resource with firmware, settings, and troubleshooting guides.
I'd recommend this printer to beginners and experienced hobbyists alike. If you can handle the smaller printable area (only 120x120mm), the out of the box quality and consistency far exceed what you'd find in other printers in the $200 (or even $500) range.
My oldest printer is a Prusa i3 Rework, from Replikeo. I bought this model beacause at the time (Late 2014) it was extremely cheap, and the i3 Rework addressed some of the issues with the original Prusa i3. If I had to buy this style printer today I'd buy an Original Prusa i3 MK2. I bought the kit to save a few dollars on assembly, and because I'm technical-minded. With a combination of the included instructions, the liked YouTube video instructions, and the RepRapWiki Prusa i3 instructions I was able get the machine assembled and tuned in about 6 hours. It's not the most wonderful printer, and it has some issues, but it's good enough for rapid prototyping and the occasional finished part.
Because my MP Select Mini has a hotend temperature limit of 250C (the Prusa has a limit of 240C), and my print area is not enclosed, I'm limited to the selection of "low-tech" plastics. Specifically, I can print most ABS, PLA, and PETG as well as some of the specialty plastics such as TPE/TPU, or embedded-material PLA or ABS.
For just about everything I print my plastic of choice is PETG. Its semi-flexible composition, high strength, low shrinkage (so it doesn't warp), and excellent surface finish all make it a pleasure to print with. I did have to spend a few prints dialing in the correct temperature, speed, and retraction settings, but this is true when switching to any new filament. After figuring out my printer's PETG sweet spot I've not had any issues with the material.
For prints that really need to hold up I'll break out some ABS. The bed on the Prusa is exposed and moving, so to get decent prints without layer separation or warping I need to coat the printbed with liquid ABS to get any sort of platform adhesion. Then, to reduce the temperature differential between the ABS at glass temperature and the print body I lower my extruder temperature and raise the bed temperature a few degrees from recommended settings. I'll also place MDF walls and a roof around the printer to keep the ambient temperature up, and reduce stress on the cooling print. Because it's a pain I reserve this process to parts that are going to be subjected to high mechanical stress, high heat, and need to be more rigid than PETG can provide - for example, 3d printer components or quadcopter parts.
For prints that need extremely fine detail I'll use PLA. PLA has a lower glass transition temperature than either PETG or ABS, and a lower melting point. This makes it easier to cool for overhangs, and the low shrinkage means parts are much less likely to warp than ABS. I don't often print decorative pieces, but if I do they're PLA.
I haven't had much experience with "high-tech" filaments like Nylon or Polycarbonate. I hear there's wonders to behold and I'd be a fool not to try them out, but I'm too cheap to build a machine for them... For now at least.
Autodesk - Fusion 360 I've been using Autodesk products of one flavour or another since 2008, so Fusion 360 is a natural choice for me. I do most of my prototyping on paper and when I'm ready to model Fusion is quick and powerful.
OpenSCAD For parametric parts it's hard to beat OpenSCAD. Modelling is done in a language that's syntactically similar to C, so it was easy for me to pick up. The beauty of OpenSCAD is that models can be composed of reusable functional components, and parameters can be adjusted on the fly. This makes distributing parametric parts (users can readjust your models to suit their purposes) elegantly simple. As such, .scad is the default format for parametric models on Thingiverse.
Ultimaker - Cura To make 3D modeled part ready to print, it first must be "sliced" into G-Code, so that the printer can be fed instructions to build the part layer by layer. Ultimaker's Cura has been the most reliably slicing software I've found for my purposes. There are more advanced free and paid software options than Cura, but because it's easy to use, easy to customize your machine and print settings, and has an intuitive graphical interface I tend to use it for most of my prints.
Printrun Once the model has been sliced into G-Code it needs to be fed to the printer over a serial connection. This can be done over an SD card with standard printer modules, but my printer did not ship with a display and I've been too lazy to install one. Therefore I required a dedicated print computer. If I'm rapidly prototyping parts I prefer to connect the printer to my computer, so I can monitor the print while I tweak the design. To do this I use Printrun, for no other reason than it was recommended by Replikeo's instructions and I've been happy so far. Printrun has some nice features, like live printhead preview and a G-Code terminal.
OctoPrint If I'm running a long print or want to turn off my computer, then I'll hook my printer up to my OctoPi. OctoPrint is a Raspberry Pi image that provides a web interface for a 3D printer. This allows me to upload .gcode files and run prints while I'm out of the house, while monitoring the print over a webcam or creating time lapse videos of the print, both features that are built into OctoPrint.
Thingiverse has one of the most diverse and involved collection of 3D Printing enthusiasts I've found. It's a hub for sharing 3D models (mostly .stl and .scad files). The website features the Customizer tool, which allows online customization of parametric .scad files, and online creation of sliceable .stl models. This is where I get the prints I haven't designed, and where I upload my designs.
Github is a version control system, and a hub for software creators and makers. Among millions of other software creators, many makers of CNC firmware, 3D printer, 3D printing software host their code on Github. It helps facilitate collaboration on open source projects, and it's where I upload much of my project code.


The first clinical isolate of Legionella parisiensis, from a liver transplant patient with pneumonia.
A bluish white autofluorescent strain of Legionella was isolated from the tracheal aspirate of a female liver transplant patient who developed hospital-acquired pneumonia. This strain had biochemical characteristics compatible with those of L. cherrii, L. anisa, and L. parisiensis and could not be differentiated from L. bozemanii and L. parisiensis by the direct fluorescent-antibody assay. Phylogenetic analysis of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of this strain (ATCC 700174) revealed the closest homology to the species L. parisiensis (99.5%). An L. parisiensis species-specific profile was also identified by a random amplified polymorphic DNA technique. This is the first report of L. parisiensis isolation from humans.
You are going to email the following The first clinical isolate of Legionella parisiensis, from a liver transplant patient with pneumonia.


Fall is here which means we're all in the midst of wardrobe switches. To ease the pain of transitioning your closet from warm weather minis to chilly weather classics, it always helps to indulge in a little fall sale action. As it happens, dresses are 50% off at Nasty Gal on October 6, which we at Stylish see as an excuse to buy more than a few. We've pulled together our favorite versatile and gorgeous frocks that will work no matter the occasion, whether you are headed to work or happy hour with your best girlfriends. See our faves and shop them for yourself!


text:
North Idaho College Molstead Library
Human Rights Collection
Coeur d'Alene Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart is a political scientist, lecturer, author, and community activist. Mr. Stewart was a political scientist and pre-law adviser at North Idaho College from 1970 to 2008.
Tony Stewart Biography
Brian Plonka/The Spokesman-Review
The Human Rights Collection at the North Idaho College Molstead Library consists of (1) the personal papers of human rights activist Tony Stewart; and (2) the chronicling of the founding of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations (KCTFHR) in 1981 and includes all the documents, papers, materials and videos of the KCTFHR from 1981 to the present as well as other local/Pacific Northwest human rights groups that have been affiliated with the KCTFHR. Tony Stewart donated the collections to the library in 2008 and updates are added each year.
In 1970 the North Idaho College Popcorn Forum lecture series was established under the supervision and coordination of newly hired NIC political science instructor Tony Stewart. The series ran from 1970 until 2008 featuring local, state, national and international speakers on a wide range of topics including human and civil rights issues.
In 1972 Tony Stewart was chosen as producer and moderator of the newly formed North Idaho College TV Public Forum, a weekly broadcast program on regional PBS stations with viewers in the Northwest and western Canada. The program covered numerous topics that aired over 1800 weekly episodes from 1972 through 2008.
Next: Human Rights Collection >>
Last Updated: Apr 30, 2019 3:57 PM
URL: https://nic.libguides.com/HumanRights
Subjects: History & Anthropology


Question: How do the spray paints you carry do on plastic that will be outdoors? I'm painting on a plastic rain barrel, but I need a bigger palette then Krylon Fusion offers. Thanks!!!
AP Reply: Hey there. I think we talked on the phone. We were talking about Montana cans but you decided to go with Molotow because of the color palette and marker selection right?


Former ALP president Warren Mundine has been picked as Liberal candidate for the NSW's Gilmore seat.
Who is Warren Mundine, the Liberal candidate for the NSW seat of Gilmore?
Mr Mundine is an indigenous community leader whose career has spanned across the public, private and charity sectors. He has been the deputy mayor of Dubbo, commissioner of the NSW Local Government Grants Commission and was chairman of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council from 2013 to 2017. He's also the second cousin of boxer Anthony Mundine.
He is a conservative political commentator, regularly speaking about indigenous issues in the media. Mr Mundine also hosts Mundine Means Business on Sky, which looks at entrepreneurship in indigenous communities and considers where improvements can be made.
What was his role with the Labor Party?
He was the national president from 2006 to 2007, before quitting the party in 2012 after almost 20 years of membership.
Mr Mundine left the party saying it no longer held the same values as when he joined, and he was disappointed Labor hadn't put forward any indigenous candidates for winnable seats.
Has he ever had a tilt at federal parliament?
He sought Senate pre-selection in both 2001 and 2012. In the latter year he put his name in the ring to fill a seat vacated by Mark Arbib, but he lost out to Bob Carr.
What is he passionate about?
The plight and progress of indigenous Australians. Mr Mundine has called for an indigenous voice in parliament but says most communities are more worried about jobs, education and healthcare over the date of Australia Day.


text:
USMC CAC Oscar
Combined Action Program History
Before the Siege
Terrain, Climate & Wildlife
CAC Oscar History
A Note About Weapons and Equipment
Two Early Tragedies
A Lighter Moment at O-3
O-3 Loses a Patrol - Ambush on Hill 689, 27 June, 1967
A Firefight Near O-2
A Big Sweep
"Big Tet" - The Assault on the Khe Sanh village CAPs and District HQ
The Siege and Oscar Co. Patrols with the Special Forces
CAP Articles
There are now many books and articles, as well as many excellent sites with more detailed information on the events leading up to Khe Sanh. These include the Third Marines site, which hosts an article originally from the Khe Sanh Veterans Newsletter Special Issue on the 30th Anniversary of the Hill Battles at Khe Sanh. Ray Stubbe compiled the text from official records and personal narratives of those involved, as well as Bruce M. Geiger's excellent account on PBS and others (See Links). However, there are relatively few which even mention Oscar Company, and then only in passing. These few include Ray Stubbe's books - see Bibliography ). I believe that this is a shame, since the CAP program was one of the few bright stars in that war, and Oscar Company's part in the story of Khe Sanh was much larger than one would think for such a small unit. I hope to rectify these omissions to some degree.
This history is only an outline. It is told mainly from my own memories, and those of other Oscar company men, as well as official records. Unfortunately, my memory is not what it used to be, and I was not present for all the events recounted here, and the official records are sparse and sometimes incorrect or incomplete. Therefore, there is much that still needs to be written that I cannot write alone. I hope that all of you who were there will help fill in the details.
I also am still trying to get all the names of the men who were in Oscar in its various phases, but this has been difficult, as we are not in touch with all of them, and many were known at the time mainly by their nick-names rather than their given names. In addition, record-keeping (where I have been able to find records) was often haphazard.
I will be adding the personal recollections section (which was removed due to some issues) again later. You may E-mail yours to me, and I will edit them for you if needed.
I have recently started adding in more details and photos of the three Oscar Company platoons from both extant and recently acquired material. Therefore, this site will be undergoing a number of additions and changes in the coming months. Unfortunately, some of the men who supplied the earlier material are no longer with us, so any of you who has relevant information or corrections are urged to get in touch if you spot any errata or deficiencies.
(Most ranks, where given, are taken from MPRs and other official sources, or as given by the individuals concerned, and reflect either their highest-held rank in Oscar Co., or when they left the Marines.)
Foundation of Oscar Co.
During early 1967, there was heavy enemy activity in the Khe Sanh area, and the USMC infantry companies stationed at the nearby Khe Sanh Combat Base (which included elements of first the 9th Marines, and later the 26th Marines) were getting most of the action. However, despite this activity, the Marine CO at the combat base remained unconvinced that there was a large and growing enemy presence which would eventually lead to the "Hill Fights" of April, 1967 around the Khe Sanh area. ( See: Before the Siege )
It was determined that a Combined Action company would be established and headquartered near Khe Sanh Combat Base and airstrip and plans were completed with the Huong Hoa Sub-Sector Chief for the establishment of three Combined Action Platoons (CAPs). (SOP 031530 / Feb 67, SITREP #3)
In February 1967, the Narrative Summary of the HQ 3rd MarDiv (Rein) notes the establishment of Sub Unit # 5 at Khe Sanh. This corresponds to the establishment of Oscar Company, and the arrival of three platoons on the morning of 5 February at 0945. (SOP 051315Z / Feb 67) The company was officially established, with the HQ and 1st platoon in the Huong Hoa Sub-Sector Headquarters (XD 846380) in the ville outside of Khe Sanh Combat Base. (SOP 061414Z / Feb 67, SITREP #6)
These official accounts coincide fairly well with oral accounts given by the late SGT Ray Gray and the late CPL Steve Green (see In Memoriam ), and other "plank-crew" members of O-2 (who gave a date of about 2 Feb 1967), and that of Larry Larsen of Sub Unit #5 (the original reporting command), who stated that CAC Oscar was part of Sub Unit #5 from 1 February until 15 July 1967. At that time they were reassigned to Sub Unit #4 which was headquartered in Phu Bai, but this was just a "paper change" which had no effect on the men in the field - other than having to change their mailing address again.
The company consisted of the HQ and 3 CAPs. HQ / Oscar 1 was in the "downtown" section of the village near Khe Sanh Combat Base, and was located in the Huong Hoa District Sub-Sector Headquarters compound, which was garrisoned by 2 platoons of the 915th Regional Force Co. (ARVN) under LT (later MAJ) Nhi Tinh (who was also the sub-sector chief). There was also a small team of US Army advisors under MAJ James Whitenack (later replaced by CPT Bruce B. G. Clarke) for a total of approx. 178 men in the HQ compound.
Outlying units were Oscar 2 (XO 843380), on the north side of Hwy. 9 at the western end of the village, about 200 meters west of O-1, and responsible for Vil Con (aka Lang Con 1 & 2), and Vil Bu (Lang Bu); and Oscar 3 (XD 841408) assigned to Vil Ta Cong (aka Ta Cong) and several other villes in Khe Sanh Valley, originally located on the South side of QL-9 approximately 800 meters south of the west end of the main Khe Sahn Airfield.
Below is a period tactical topographic map (provided by PFC Charles D. Stanker, an Oscar radioman) and a hand drawing of the TAOR (Tactical Area of Responsibility) provided by LCDR Ray Stubbe.
TAORs for CAC Oscar, 1967
(Courtesy of LCDR Ray Stubbe, USN Ret.)
Oscar Co. Commanding Officers and Staff NCOs
Originally, the company was established and commanded by SGT Roy Williams. SGT Williams established the initial Oscar units in their respective areas, and began fortifying them and conducting local operations while awaiting an officer and SNCO to be assigned. He was later replaced by 1st LT (later CPT) William T. Sermeus (see In Memoriam), who arrived sometime during the latter part of February 1967, and SSGT Gene Scroggy (no photo available) acting as company GYSGT.
1st LT William T. Sermeus, early 1967
(Picture from the late SGT Raymond Gray. Verified by CPT Sermeus' brother)
1st LT Sermeus was in turn replaced by 1st LT (later CPT) Peter D. Haines with SSGT Robert L. O'Dell as his company GYSGT. CPT Haines wrote that he had been a 1st Lieutenant when he came, then made Captain, and was a CAC commander from May 1967 - May 1968, first at Phu Bai (one or two months), then Oscar (until November) then Papa. CPT Haines later left the Marines, and became a sculptor.
1st LT Peter D. Haines with Bru counterpart following a water buffalo feast, 1967
(Courtesy CPT Peter D. Haines)
O Co. GYSGT Robert O'Dell, Oct. 1967
(Picture courtesy of CPT Peter D. Haines)
CPT Haines' replacement was 1st LT Ernest Elmore (no photo available). His Co. GYSGT was SSGT Gene Scroggey (no photo available)..
According to Ray Stubbe (in his superlative book with historian John Prados, "Valley of Decision"), 1st LT Elmore had been sent to Khe Sanh as a sort of R&R as he had been wounded twice already. Unfortunately, he was wounded again while at Oscar Co. PFC Charles Stanker related his wounding in a document attached to an E-mail dated 24 Aug. 2013.
"One night we took some incoming rounds, and I was with Mr. Elmore as he was checking on everyone, when a round hit close by. When I got my senses back, Mr. Elmore had taken some fragments in the face and couldn't see, he had me guide him around the compound so he could check on everyone and only after he was sure everyone was okay did he have me guide him to the command bunker for medical assistance. The next morning he was taken out and replaced by LT. Stamper. I never knew if Mr. Elmore had lost his sight or how bad he was injured."
(I was in touch with LT Elmore briefly by phone some years ago, but he fell out of touch and I could not re-locate him afterwards. I am unsure if he had ever regained his vision, as I had not then known of his injury and thus did not ask him, nor did he volunteer any information about it.)
LT Elmore was replaced (on Dec. 27th 1967) by 1st LT Thomas B. Stamper, a "mustanger" (a Marine term for an officer who rose from the enlisted ranks), with SSGT Robert J. Boyda as his company GYSGT. 1st LT Stamper had also been in some heavy combat earlier in the year when he was with 3/3 at Alpha-3. Though relatively quiet when he arrived, CPT Stamper would shortly find himself back in the line of fire. (See below.)
CPT Thomas B. Stamper
(Photo courtesy of Shirley Stamper)
LT Stamper's company gunny, SSGT Boyda, had been in the Hotel CAP system prior to joining Oscar. He put in H-6, and Double-CAP H-7 & H-8. He arrived at Oscar in December 1967 before the assault, and was at the Oscar HQ when the Tet assaults began in January 1968. (See below for details.) He remained with Oscar after Tet & the Siege, in April 1968 , when he and the few remaining men in Oscar Co. were sent to Phu Bai, where they then operated from the Phu Vang District HQ. SSGT Boyda was accidentally burned in August 1968, shortly after a gun-fight at Phu Vang. He remained in the Corps, serving in a number of of units, including Reconnaissance, and retiring as a SGTMAJ.
As you can see by the relatively brief tenures of the COs (and to a lesser extent, of the SNCOs acting as Co. Gunnery Sergeant, the program (or at least Oscar Co.) was merely a short stop-over for most of them. I am not sure whether this was a factor of the pervasive lack of support of or interest in the program by some conventional warfare advocates, or another factor.
However, each of them contributed in their own way to improving the fortifications at the Oscar Co. platoon sites. Charles Stanker (a radio operator for O-1) has stated that in his opinion, the work of Captain Stamper and Gunny Boyda and their predecessors in constructing and reinforcing the trench and bunker systems (along with the air and artillery support) was largely responsible for the defenders to be able to hold out and repel the enemy.
Building ammo bunker, O-1, Oct. 1967
An example of the Combined Action Program's emphasis on team-building.(Courtesy of CPT Peter D. Haines)
SGT Roy Williams' Recollection of the Establishment of Oscar Co.
I was in Vietnam on my 2nd tour as a SGT assigned to 1/26. I was with them for about three months when I was med-evaced for immersion foot.
While in the rear, a bulletin was sent to units asking for volunteers for combined action units. I heard that it was a very dangerous mission and I didn't know where I would be stationed. I didn't know how dangerous or what it was about until I started asking around.
After finding out that I would be working within a village consisting of just a squad of Marines, I thought to myself about how it might be and where I would be going. I knew it would be very dangerous especially with just a squad of Marines and supported by Popular Forces (PFs) or Regional Forces (RFs). Also It would be in a village away from a base or bigger unit.
However, I really thought working with the Vietnamese or Montagnards would be something I would like to do, so I put in my request for transfer and got accepted, and was sent to a two week school teaching us what our duties would be.
When we graduated, I was assigned to the town of Khe Sanh and since there were originally no officers or SNCOs, and I was the senior NCO, I was put in charge of CAC Oscar. Most of the Marines were from infantry units, so we all knew what to expect when we got there.
I was assigned to the 1st squad, which was in the Houng Hoa District Sub-Sector HQ with a detachment of US Army advisers and a medic. The camp commander was an officer from the Vietnamese overseeing the detachment of Regional Forces in the compound and United States forces' Montagnards, etc., called LT Nhi.
I positioned 2nd squad at the north-west end of town about a half mile away. The third squad I put by the base camp of the Khe Sanh airbase about quarter of a mile away.
Immediately, we started improving our positions, coordinating with the base camp Khe Sanh. I had to find out where our sectors of patrolling would cover, along with the villages we were to hold Med Caps in, and try to get information of North Vietnamese soldiers in the area.
All three squads had to patrol out 1500 to 2000 meters to see if there were any sign of troop movement in the area, with 360 degrees of patrolling. These patrols were done by each squad with usually six Marines and 7 PFs, while the rest of the squad were in the rear holding down the security and building our defensive positions.
I would take patrols out myself, and tried to go on most. Sometimes CPL Hegmann would take a patrol out. We patrolled about every other day. You're talking about patrolling, getting enough sleep, standing guard at night and building defensive positions in the day-time, and security with 12 Marines and PFs, not much time for anything else. We were lucky because we never made any kind of contact, probably because the North Vietnamese were getting ready for the Siege of the Khe Sahn air strip.
We saw signs of when they were there, trails and booby traps, but not much else until the squad near the base camp ran into a ambush. That kind of kicked off everything. We knew they were close to the base camp. That first contact came after we were there for about 6 months.
All of our patrols handed in overlays of the areas we were patrolling each day along with check points, but I don't think we would have survived in that environment even with artillery and air support available it was a really vegetated area, with elephant grass 11 feet high and no place for evacuation. We did hold "county fairs" on the villages to catch North Vietnamese coming and going.
After I was there for about 5 months, LT Sermeus was assigned as the OIC of CAC Oscar, with SSGT Scoggey as Co. Gunnery Sergeant.
LT Sermeus wanted us to do close order drill in the compound, but I told him we didn't have enough people to stand watch, rest, clean weapons, work on positions and patrol and still do drill. He was unhappy with my response, and sent for a relief, but he didn't tell me until he arrived. (Sgt. Gray I believe.) I was transferred to the HQ section at the airfield.
LT Sermeus, I take it, was a fine infantry officer but we just couldn't do our job in a CAC unit as we were sent to do to the best of our ability. I think the LT found out afterwards. There were some very bad mistakes that cost some Marines there lives. The month I was with LT Sermeus he didn't go on any patrols with us while I was there, but SSGT Scroggey did. He couldn't believe what a large area we patrolled without anyone getting hurt. We were lucky the siege didn't start until later, though some contact was made later and we did lose some of our Marines.
That's about all I can remember. The Marines that I worked with were all "Semper Fi." It's been awhile and I hope I got things right. I don't know what happened to SSGT Scroggey. I heard he was killed after being transferred. I know that the squad near the air base lost some people taking up mines, also I know that squad had reversed their grid coordinates by mistake and their village was hit. While I was there Lang Vei was hit by the enemy, burning their village.
Oscar was a great platoon of Marines and Corpsmen and I feel compassion for those who lost loved ones. In my eyes, they are all heroes.
Oscar Co. Platoons
Oscar-1
In addition to SGT Roy Williams, "Plank Crew" and early members included (in rank & alpha order): SGT Robert Funk; CPL Howard Hegmann, LCPLs Fred Harkrider, Charles Aaron Lynch (KIA on Hill 689 - see below and In Memoriam ), Johnny L. Payne, Daniel L. Sanford, Michael L. Sexson, Jim Silver (0331 and radio), and Larry Woolverton (radio operator), PFCs Victor Garfield and Donald Powell.
(Larry Woolverton was perhaps the longest-serving member of Oscar Company, being there from almost the beginning to the Siege. Larry has written a memoir of his service, "Memories of a Khe Sanh Marine: 1965-1970" available from Amazon.)
PFC Carroll E. "Chip" Daly (2531, radio operator) also served in O-1, as well as in O-2 and O-3, making him one of a handful who had service with all three platoons.
1st LT Sermeus was already in command when the late SGT Raymond M. Gray (see In Memoriam) arrived in February 1967. LT Sermeus picked Gray up, along with two men whom Ray described as "CIA" at KSCB. They rode in a "Mighty Mite." (The M422 / A1 - a field utility vehicle somewhat like a jeep), and visited CAP O-3, en route to CAP O-1.
(Ed. Note: Perhaps some of the "plank crew" can help fill in the names, ranks, and MOSs on this list, and ID photos. )
Over the course of the next 15 months or so, they were to be joined or replaced by the following men (in order of rank / alphabetically) : SGT John Balanco (who would receive the Silver Star for his gallantry in action in the defense of O-1); CPLs John F. Groman, Gary Keegan, John ("Lou") Loschelder, Verner Ray Russell (see In Memoriam ), and James Zipler; LCPLs Franklin R. ("Lurch") Batchman (see In Memoriam), William A. Breedlove (see In Memoriam), James Carpenter (see In Memoriam), Richard E. Dahler, Stanley J. Dilley (see In Memoriam), Douglas Eldridge, Billy Dale Livingston (see In Memoriam), Charles Aaron Lynch (see In Memoriam), Howard C. McKinnis, Jose Ramos, Ulysses Reyes, Clarence E. ("Butch") Still, George A. Vachlin (see In Memoriam), Antonio Vera, and Louis C. Whiting; PFCs Donald Powell (Motor T), and Larry Woolverton (2511, radioman); and Charles David Stanker (2531, radioman).
A number of these men would participate in the ferocious fighting that accompanied the 1968 assaults on Khe Sanh village and the ensuing Siege.
L-R: Donald Sanford, Johnny L. Payne, ARVN soldier - CAP O-1, Khe Sanh, RVN, early 1967
Bunkers O-1, early 1967
Jim Silver (?) rigs PRC-25 radio in Bru ville, 1967
(Photos above courtesy of the late SGT Ray Gray)
Fire Registration, O-1, Oct. 1967
(Courtesy of CPT Peter D. Haines)
As noted, Oscar 2 (XO 843 380),was on the north side of Hwy. 9 at the west end of the village, about 200 meters west of O-1. Their TAOR included Vil Con (aka Lang Con 1 & 2); and Vil Bu (Lang Bu).
O-2 Compound looking East from Hwy 9, 1967
O-2 Compound (seen from NW corner), 1967
I am not certain of all those who were in the original complement, but early "plank crew" members included: SGT Charles Spell (0331) then NCOIC of O-2, CPL Steve A. Green (see In Memoriam), assigned to SU #5 in February 1967, left in August 1967, and PFC Carroll "Chip" Daly (see above and below), another "plank crew" member, who also served in O-1 and O-3.
Men who were in O-2 before and during my time there (Oct. - Dec. 1967) included: SGT Roy R. Harper; CPLs: Lawrence P. ("Jinx") Harding (who had been sent to B 1/9 as a replacement for those Marines KIA in the ambush of that unit at Con Thien in June 1967), Ronald L. Harper (formerly a combat engineer with 3rd Engineers from Jan.- Jun. 67 ), Frank Iodice (later promoted to SGT and transferred to O-3); Daniel R. Kelley, who had joined the Marines in May 1965, serving 2 years at MCB Camp Lejeune, NC, followed by 6 months at Guantanamo Bay. He then spent 6 mos. in a grunt unit, where he said he had "lost a lot of buddies" and recalls going days w/o supplies, food, water, as well as what he calls the "insane" Rules of Engagement that hampered their fighting. Like the others, he saw a lot of action before volunteering for CAP. Dan also had a gift for languages, and had studied with the Millers and others, learning to speak the Bru language fairly fluently and act as translator. He later transferred to O-3), Daniel E. ("Moose") Mobley, Albert Joseph Potter (an engineer, who, like Kelley, had volunteered for several extensions, thus having several years in Vietnam when I arrived), Al Terry Sullivan, Richard L. Tullis; LCPLs Jerry L. ("Frenchy") French (previously in C 1/26 on Hill 861), Donald ("Gully") Gullickson (0311), Barry G. Hardin (0311, also previously in 2/26), Dana Matonis (originally in Motor Transport, he served as an 0311 with CAP); Jesse J. Ray (1833 - Amtracs), George B. ("Doc") Sargent, Jimmie J. Tyson, Enrique L. ("Rick") Valdes, Joseph Zudor (see In Memoriam), and Larry J. Yates; PFC Steven K. Biddle (0311, see In Memoriam), and F. J. Taylor. HN John R. Roberts was our Hospital Corpsman.
Gullickson, Hardin, and Biddle had all previously been in 2/26. Gullickson recalls being over the DMZ and being cut off from his unit by a deadly ambush, which left him and one other man dodging and hiding from NVA soldiers. Hardin recalls this period as being dangerous and daunting, being "behind the tanks eating exhaust" and "pinned down in paddies." According to Gullickson and Hardin, they had lost most of their original comrades either KIA or WIA in the operations along the DMZ (Macon, Hickory etc.), and that this was the reason they decided to try for Combined Action. Gully recalls the last four of their original group meeting after a particularly deadly fight, and saying, "If we stay here, we're all going to die." Fortunately, they were all accepted to CAP and all ended up in Oscar 2.
O-2 personnel unit photo around July-August 1967
L-R (front rank kneeling): LCPL Jesse Ray; CPL Lawrence ("Jinx") Harding; CPL Joe Potter; SGT Roy R. Harper(Rear rank standing): HN John Roberts; LCPL George ("Doc") Sargent; LCPL Donald ("Gully") Gullickson
(All O-2 photos above courtesy of John Roberts)
As noted, Oscar 3 (XD 841408) was assigned to Vil Ta Cong and several other villes, originally located on the South side of QL-9 approximately 800 meters south of the west end of the main Khe Sahn Airfield. Among their "Plank Crew" and early members were (in rank & alpha order): SGT Eraldo Iocono; later replaced by SGT Larry Bosworth (see In Memoriam), CPLs Craig William ("Slats") Albers (see In Memoriam), Kenneth L. Burk, David L. Fleming, John F. Groman, Talis Kaminskis, Dennis Alfred O'Connor (see In Memoriam), Carl F. Pepple (see In Memoriam), James Merrill Shepard, Jr. (see In Memoriam), LCPLs Bruce E. Abraham (see In Memoriam), Earl Grissom, G. (?) ("Sloopy") Leasure, Francisco Alberto Mazariegos (see In Memoriam), Richard Moison, William Pennock, John Charles Poole, David E. Roberts; and Raymond E. Strehlow, PFCs Donald Libansky, Brian "Olds" Oldervik (see In Memoriam), Donald Stewart, and a man named Andrews (first name or rank not known). They would later be replaced or joined by SGT Armand Maranda, LCPL Lacey Lahren, and PFC James White, and later, at Phu Vang, by LCPL Don Robbins. HN John Fisher was their first Corpsman, being later replaced by HM3 R. A. Bell, who was replaced in turn by HM3 Dale W. Faidley (see In Memoriam).
Raymond "Red" Strehlow, Jim "Shep" Shepard, Craig "Slats" Albers, Bruce Abraham, house-girl, Jack Provo, "Olds" Oldvik, O-3
(Prior to June, 1967)
Dick ("Frenchy") Moison; John Charles Poole; Larry Brooks; Bru PF & Bru PF SGT Dong
Front Row (L-R): LCPL Dave Roberts, HN Dale Faidley, PFC Huey Guillory, CPL Larry Brooks w/ Damnit Dog, PFC John Sumlin Second Row (L-R): PVT Sanchez, CPL Frank Iodice, CPL Bruce Brown; SGT Armand Maranda, LCPL Jim White, CPL John Groman
The late SGT Bosworth, like most of the CAP Marines at Khe Sanh, had a great liking for our native Bru counterparts and the other local people so a sad memory for him was of "Tim" the unit's houseboy, whom he had hired.
In an E to me dtd. August 1, 2006 thanking me for a book on Khe Sanh ("Valley of Decision" by Ray Stubbe and John Prados - see Bibliography ) Larry wrote;
"It was uncanny that I opened up the book and I was starring at a picture of Tim. I hired Tim for a dollar a day. He did all of our laundry (mine had priority, there is a story here) and washing of pots and pans. We were trying to teach him to cook without a lot of success. We did make him the richest person in the entire district. On pay day, we paid him ($30 based on a 30 day average month) and gave him the day off. He and I because very close and it was hard for me to leave. I wrote my Father for him to explore how I could bring him and his Family to the States but that never worked out. Tim followed the jeep carrying me to Khe Sanh my last day and it was very emotional for Tim. He did not want me leaving. He ran after the jeep yelling"don't go, honcho!". He was crying and the dust was choking him to death and he continued until he just fell in the roadway from sheer exhaustion. That was my last memory of Tim. I often wondered what happened to him and his family and I did not see how they could have survived the siege. I am overwhelmed with emotion and happiness to see he survived. Jim, I cannot thank you enough for this great gift."
Tim and Boz, jamming - 1967(Photo courtesy of Lacey Lahren)
Ennrique "Rick" Valdes, w/ shotgun, O-2, November 1967
Shotguns were popular, especially for night patrols and ambushes.
"Gungy" picture of Doc Roberts with a .45 M-3 "grease-gun"
(Both photos used courtesy of HN "Doc" John Roberts, O-2)
Except for the weekly inspection, when we would turn out in field "uniform of the day" CAP units could be pretty casual.
Inspection, Sub-Unit 4, 1967(Note original CAP patches, embroidered cloth on leather, later replacedby enameled pins as seen at the top of this page. See CAP History for details.)
(Note: This site represents the result of many years of investigative work and research. I have tried to be as accurate throughout as possible, but there is no such thing as 100% perfect. In cases where I was not present, I have relied on the accounts of those who were present and / or official records, correspondence, statements from comrades, their friends and family, and other sources. Statements, quotes, poems, or any material other than my own reflect the views of those who made them. Neither this author nor this site assumes any responsibility for any errata made in good faith, nor for any of the views expressed other than my own. All the photos, documents, text, and other materials are copyright, and they belong solely to the authors, photographers, etc., who retain all rights to the materials. All material is copyright, and may not be used without express written permission of the owners or their heirs and assigns. All material used with the express permission of the owners, who are named where known. Unattributed material will be attributed when the owner contacts me. I receive no financial or material reward or incentives of any kind for any reviews or links on this site. They are posted because I have personal experience of them and / or their products, and think they are good quality and might be of interest to our readers. Your contact information will NEVER be used for solicitation by us, nor will it be traded, hired, lent, sold or otherwise distributed. You will only be contacted if you request us to do so.)


text:
Click on the film icon for videos of Salt Production
View Salt Production Around the World in a larger map
Salt Production
There are some 14,000 commercial applications for salt ranging from use in pulp-and-paper production to explosives. Ands then of course there is road salt, which makes Canada the world's highest salt consumers with 360kg.
The world's largest salt mine is in Goderich, Ontario extending several kilometers under Lake Huron., In Canada, salt was at one time sold in blocks, then ground at home, much like roasted coffee beans that are roasted just before grinding for brewing. This way the aromatics of coffee can be appreciated much better.
On an industrial scale salt is produced in one of two principal ways: the evaporation of salt water (brine) or by mining. Evaporation can either be solar evaloration or using some heating device.
Solar evaporation of seawater
In the correct climate (one for which the ratio of evaporation to rainfall is suitably high) it is possible to use solar evaporation of sea water to produce salt. Brine is evaporated in a linked set of ponds until the solution is sufficiently concentrated by the final pond that the salt crystalises on the pond's floor.
Open pan production from brine
One of the traditional methods of salt production in more temperate climates is using open pans. In an open pan salt works brine is heated in large, shallow open pans. Earliest examples date back to prehistoric times and the pans were made of ceramics known as briquetage, or lead. Later examples were made from iron. This change coincided with a change from wood to coal for the purpose of heating the brine. Brine would be pumped into the pans, and concentrated by the heat of the fire burning underneath. As crystals of salt formed these would be raked out and more brine added.
Closed pan production under vacuum
The open pan salt works has effectively been replaced with a closed pan system where the brine solution is evaporated under a partial vacuum.
Salt mines
In the second half of the 19th century industrial mining and drilling techniques originally from China made the discovery of more and deeper deposits possible, mine salt. Although more expensive than solar evaporation of seawater and extracting solar salt from brine, the result of this was that the price of salt became more reasonable due to less monopolisation. Extraction of salt from brine is still heavily used: for example vacuum salt produced by British Salt in Middlewich has 57% of the UK market for salt used in cooking.
The above facts came from the following websites:
and http://www.foodreference.com/html/artsalt.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_shaker
http://ask.yahoo.com/20030310.html
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fsalt.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Fun-Facts-About-Salt&id=100637
http://www.saltsense.co.uk/aboutsalt-facts01.htm
http://www.saline.ch/allerlei/fragen_antworten/
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/pepper.html
http://www.bulkpeppercorns.com/history
http://www.mcclancy.com/spice_facts_pepper.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppercorn_%28legal%29
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artsalt.html


text:
Prospectus Feature: Christian Bethancourt and Fun
Patrick Dubuque and Meg Rowley
In one of the more pressing baseball debates of today, Meg Rowley and Patrick Dubuque present a point-counterpoint on Christian Bethancourt and fun.
Meg:
I hold what I imagine to be a minority opinion: I suspect that Christian Bethancourt being a so-so two-way player will be less fun than him being a mediocre position player who occasionally pitches. Not that it won't be cool that he's trying; just less fun.
Position players pitching is perfect. It's the rare baseball moment when every possible outcome is good. We've removed stakes, and absent the potential to alter how the game ends, it can only change how the game feels. It's like staring at one of those Magic Eye 3D posters: amid what was chaos, an image of healing comes into focus, sketched out in pitcher form.
Imagine our guy fails; that's easy, we assumed he would. We're granted permission to enjoy his failure, to find notes of humor and self-awareness because what he's really doing is performing a service. This is an act of care disguised as embarrassment. There is no winning in these moments, which also means there is no losing. The losing has already been done. Position players pitched 22.1 innings in 2016; they allowed 14 earned runs. Some of those were probably the result of indifferent defense, but I couldn't be bothered to investigate which ones. Who cares?
Two different teams threw Erik Kratz out there. We're working with different standards of success. We look on these performances and revel in the fact that they contain all the components of throwing a baseball. Our guy got the ball to the catcher's mitt (when he doesn't it's funnier), and got his outs (exect when they don't and smile knowingly), and if he gave up a few runs along the way (he often will), well, that's part of pitching, too. Only his job isn't to pitch, so we don't have to be mad about it.
He was never going to salvage the game, but he allowed you to accelerate through the stages of grief. This pitch helped you arrive at acceptance before you even got out of your seat to go home. You can laugh again. Aw shucks. The silliness of it is understood from the outset, allowing us to unclench. And just imagine if it works!
Here is Christian Bethancourt pitching the ninth inning against the Marlins on June 13:
It was his second pitching performance of 2016. The Padres lost badly. It doesn't matter. His fastball topped out at 94 miles per hour; he threw a 49 mph eephus. He recorded a strikeout looking. Here's a guy who has tried all his life to be a catcher or an outfielder or any something that wasn't a pitcher, managing to run into a random inning of good relief. Think how many professional pitchers want to stack up innings of good relief. Him failing comically lets us push through our grief; him succeeding lets us marvel. Look at him go! Who knew he could do that? It's almost enough to justify you staying to until the end.
It's all different now. Bethancourt is changing categories and assuming a new set of stakes. What he does matters because it will happen in moments that do. The range of acceptable outcomes has been hemmed in; he has chosen to be limited where before he was limitless. This is no longer funny. Of course, there have been two-way players who have excelled at pitching and hitting, and more may follow them. But they were fun, if we can use such a small word to describe the likes of Ruth, because they were exceptional. Their promise was limitless in another direction; doubly marked by the rarity of what they were doing, they offered the chance to see something transcendent rather than comforting.
We like guys who are game to pitch in; we're naturally drawn to those who aren't self-serious. It's good to be willing to engage in acts of care. We have less patience for people who are only OK at their jobs, and less still for those who are actively bad at them. Christian Bethancourt wasn't especially good before, but he also wasn't expected to be. Before, we delighted in a catcher throwing 96. Now we'll expect something. That something might prove to be cool. But it'll be less fun.
Patrick:
There's an old platitude regarding American culture, noted ironically by Twain and unironically by Ayn Rand, that there's nothing democracy hates more than someone who rises above their station. Christian Bethancourt, by straddling the thin white line between position player and pitcher, threatens to do just this, to be more than his peers. It's a dangerous act, as Meg notes above: things will never be the same for him. There will be fame, but along with it, there will be expectations.
And make no mistake, Bethancourt will almost certainly disappoint. Most interesting ballplayers do, as Pat Venditte, Billy Hamilton, and Deion Sanders before him, as Shohei Otani will someday soon. And Christian Bethancourt is assuredly no Shohei Otani.
And yet I don't care. I want Bethancourt to be a two-way player, even if it renders him a two-way mediocrity. Perhaps especially if it happens.
Baseball is hardly life, but there is one element of culture that you and your favorite athlete both share: we live in an era of specialization. Baseball players are the embodiment of singular purpose, driving themselves to their utmost limits in one very specific aspect of their abilities, while fans berate them for wasting time doing things like, say, healing, or being there for the birth of their own children. And to a lesser extent, this is where we are all headed. The days of well-rounded humanities education is fading; as corporations grow and organize work takes on more specific, specialized demands. We are all doomed to making Adam Smith's pins, of one type of pin or another. The big picture, the understanding and synthesis of the moving parts, the artistry, is left to the realm of the executive. So, too, is it with ballplayers.
Meanwhile, a different and unpopular force in baseball has had the opposite effect. As teams creep toward the logical conclusion of rostering 16 pitchers on their 25-man rosters, fans bemoan the lack of flexibility left to the manager in making in-game decisions. But at the same time, it's opened the door for the utility players, the generalists. Christian Bethancourt may not come close to being the best two-way player the game has ever seen, but at no point has the game needed him more.
There's a price to be paid in spreading one's self thin, rather than focusing on one's most marketable single aspect. Once the season has begun and the novelty of his duty has worn off, fans will compare his statistics to his peers and find them wanting. But the truth is that, in terms of expectations, it was always going to be this way; regardless of the letter next to his name on the roster, people knew what he was capable of, and they would want more and more until he could no longer supply it. This is the way of things.
Bethancourt can't control what people expect of him, or even to the limit of his training, what he can supply. But at least in this form, he (and we, through him) are relieved of the crushing burden of constant maximization. He won't be able to be everything for everyone, and he may even become a curse, a joke, for failing us. Instead, all he can do is play baseball the way he wants to play it, and I'm happy he gets the chance.
Christian Bethancourt
Pirates Not Stallings in This Market; Alfaro All Around B
by Patrick Dubuque and Mark Barry	12/01
A Toast to the Fallen: The Eliminated, Part One $
by Steven Goldman	10/05
What Fried the Friars? $
by Ben Carsley	9/23
Blake Snell Is Simplifying His Approach $
by Brian Menéndez	8/30
The Padres Are Trading a Risk for a Risk with Fernando Tatis Jr. B
by Michael Ajeto	8/12
Patrick Dubuque
LynchMob
Hear! Hear! Thank-you ...
Reply to LynchMob


It's time to break the myth that SATs are somehow important or beneficial! If your child is at primary school then you may have already witnessed the stress and anxiety that accompanies the end of key stage tests. The statutory testing of primary school children is an incredibly controversial area of our country's education system. Every year there is a great amount of debate in the media, House of Commons and education sector about whether these exams are damaging for our children.
The VAKS team are passionate about providing inspiring education above all else, which is why we stand with the national campaigns to scrap SATs tests. Our tuition programmes help to support children through the pressure of SATs exams and enable them to reach their full potential, however we would ultimately like to see SATs disappear into the educational rubbish bin! SATs tests embody the failings of a system that prioritises measurement over stimulating education. The obsession with league tables is denying children a rich, varied education, and forcing them through months of gruelling exam preparation when they should be developing a love of learning.
Worryingly, research by YouGov has shown 23% of children believe that their results in SATs assessments will help them to get a job when they grow up. That means that almost 1 in 4 children, aged just 11 years old, are carrying an enormous amount of pressure taking tests that they mistakenly think will effect their life as an adult. Is it really necessary to place that burden on kids as young as 7? Read on to find out the truth about SATs and why they need to be dumped.
SATs are also known as Standard Assessment Test, or End of Key Stage Tests. They are compulsory, national tests that children take twice during their time at primary school. Pupils are tested in maths, reading, SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and writing. The stated aim of the SATs exams is to indicate progress made by the child and the level they are currently working to. The results are used to compare children's attainment to others in their school and to their age range across the country.
In reality, the SATs results are used by Local Authorities to monitor the performance of schools. School are deemed as below the 'floor standard' if less than 65% of students reach the expected levels of attainment and fail to make enough progress between the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 tests. The results are used to rank schools in the primary school league tables, which is why teaching staff are under so much pressure to coach pupils through the exams, at the expense of the curriculum.
The first set of SATs exams are taken at the end of Year 2. The test papers are marked internally, with exception of moderation, and the format is kept more informal. Children are assessed in arithmetic, spelling, punctuation, grammar and reading. The government has announced that from 2023 these tests will no longer be compulsory, although a baseline assessment will be introduced in children's reception year, along with times table tests for Year 4 pupils.
At the end of Year 6 students sit SATs exams covering mathematical reasoning, arithmetic, punctuation, grammar, reading comprehension, and spelling. These exams are more formal than at Key Stage 1. The assessments take place on set dates and are externally marked.
SATs main purpose is to judge schools. Results are reported to Local Authorities as a key performance indicator of schools. The results are also used as marker in the national school league tables. There is no educational value for children. This sentiment was echoed by 88% of primary school teachers surveyed by National Education Union (NEU) in 2018. James Bowden from the National Association of Head Teachers explains: "Schools are judged, compared and ranked on these results".
SATs overshadow the curriculum. Children are unable to access a broad, balanced curriculum of subjects as so much time and focus is placed upon the narrow scope of the exams. This is an opinion shared by 96% of National Union of Teachers (NUT) members. Many schools spend the whole of year 6 preparing and practicing for SATs test that have no educational value. Creative subjects such as music and art are sidelined, as teachers feel pushed to 'teach the test'.
Parents do not support SATs. In 2009 a NAHT survey of 10,000 parents showed that 85% did not agree that Key Stage 2 SATs should continue. The media is filled with horrified parents sharing stories of children crying, having panic attacks and refusing to go to school due to the stress caused by the regimented preparation of SATs exams.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not use SATs. The other UK companies have recognised that there is no benefit to the standardised assessment method, and that young children are better off without the pressure of high-stake testing.
SATs have a negative impact on children's learning. Research by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information Centre has shown that repeated testing and exam preparation causes children to become de-motivated. It reduces their learning potential as they are taught strategies to pass tests rather than increasing their knowledge and understanding.
SATs are detrimental to the wellbeing of children. An NEU survey reported that 9 out of 10 primary school teachers agreed that the SATs based primary school assessment system has a negative impact on children's wellbeing. Children develop pessimistic attitudes to school and their own abilities due to the pressure of exams.
Exams cause mental health problems. A survey cited in The Guardian reported that 8 out of 10 primary school leaders saw an increase in mental health issues in their pupils around SATs exam time. School leaders gave examples during assessment periods of children sobbing, experiencing sleeplessness, suffering panic attacks and even a case of a child losing their eyelashes through stress. Alison Roy, of the Association of Child Psychotherapists and More than a score Campaign group, warned that "We're seeing higher levels of physical responses, like headaches, tummy aches and feeling sick, not wanting to go to school".
Stress effects the development of young brains. Researchers have found that children who are exposed to intense and prolonged levels of stress have smaller areas of prefrontal cortex, which is the part that deals with memory and information processing. Chronic stress changes neural pathways and can cause a whole host of negative neurological consequences, particularly when the brain is still developing.
SATs severely affect SEND and EAL children. Children from vulnerable groups such those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and English as an additional language (EAL) particularly disadvantaged by the tests. Teachers have reported that children with a low chance of passing the assessments are often 'written off', with focus placed upon children with a higher chance of meeting the national standard. Often SEND children are left out of the final results data as the school tries to avoid lower scores bringing down the pass rate of the year group. This is due to the immense pressure placed upon senior managers to achieve the highest percentage of pass rates possible.
There are alternative options available for monitoring schools. Using SATs results as a way of judging a school's performance is very inaccurate and misleading; it says more about the intake of the school than the level of teaching. Externally monitored teacher assessment or national sampling test systems would be an effective way to provide information about children's learning and national primary school standards, without adversely affecting students.
Would you like to take action to help ditch rigorous, high stake testing for primary school children, or perhaps learn more about the implications of SATs exams for our kids? If so, there are a number of fantastic campaign groups who are calling for an independent review of the current testing system. More Than A Score is a campaign group, comprised of teachers, heads, education experts and parents, who are seeking to replace SATs. There is also parent-led movement called Let Kids Be Kids who use protests, petitions and boycotting to put pressure on the Department of Education to get rid of SATs.
At VAKS tuition we offer support to children throughout their SATs experiences, using a positive approach to help them grow in confidence and self-esteem. No child should feel stressed or worried about exams, especially not at primary school. We provide personalised study programmes, which empower children to apply their knowledge with understanding and self-belief. If you would like to know more about our tutoring services, or have concerns about SATs that you would like discuss with education specialists, then please get in touch with VAKS today.


Ibrahim Miranda (1969, Pinar del Rio/Cuba) is internationally known as one of Cuba's most innovative artists. He started off as an artist with a defined poetry, expressed into two fundamental ways: xylography and the use of maps, with which he created countless transfigurations of the island of Cuba, generally with a dark, dismal aspect as well as great lyricism. His prints display imaginative and mythical imagery with oneiric touches reminiscent of heritages as diverse as the European Medieval period and the Renaissance (Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Dürer), Russian Lubok[i], popular Mexican stamps (José Guadalupe Posada) and the literatura de cordel (string literature) of the Brazilian Northeast. His work with maps, on the contrary, stems directly from poetry, and had its origin in Cuban José Lezama Lima's poem titled Noche Insular, Jardínes Invisibles (Insular Nights, Invisible Gardens).
This work with maps is a long series, many versions of which have continued to the present. The changing maps of our island, in constant metamorphosis, were a refined but provocative metaphor for our incompleteness, the indefinite and imperfect character of our society, our nation, and the need for change. The xylographic creation of that imaginary cartography of Cuba, made of watercolour and inks on real maps extracted from the National Atlas of Cuba, was for many years the main creative nucleus around which the work of Ibrahim Miranda revolved.


If you are looking for something classic, look no further than our Worsted Light Gray Wool Suit. Crafted from 60% wool and 40% polyester, the suit with sumptuous finish will elevate your formal demeanour making it an ideal choice for the office and post-work engagements. Team it up with a matching waistcoat, white shirt, a brown tie and black brogue shoes to make a polished impression.


Transport Manager, Rob Malone, explains how using Loadmac helps Barrus deliver a first-class service to their customers.
Scott Wilmott, MD of Willmott's Plastic Building Products, explains why he chooses Loadmac; including how the Loadmac's 4-way multi-directional steering helps them manoeuvre long stillages with ease.
HGV Driver for Miniclipper Logistics – explains why Loadmac outperforms any other truck mounted forklift he has operated in the last twenty years.
In this video, Quicklawn owner, Graham Stothard and Transport Manager, Barry Appleby explain why they have decided to take delivery of another Loadmac truck mounted forklift.
Turf grower and supplier Quicklawn has purchased a brand new Loadmac 825iSR, becoming the second Loadmac to join their fleet following their first purchase in 2015.
The farmer owned agricultural and rural retailing business Mole Valley Farmers has added two more Loadmac 825iSR truck mounted forklifts on contract hire to their fleet, in order to meet increased client demand.


This morning I have a modest agenda. I seek to weave no web of either metaphysics or of rhetoric. I seek only to share a few thoughts, a few notes, which occurred to me as I considered a text from the Gospel of Thomas, the simple imperative "Do not do what you hate." It has many possible meanings, ramifications. Let's consider a few of them.
First, what does the saying mean? The answer is, of course, anything you want it to. Or to be a bit more sober, at least it means anything you think it does. We might ask after the original intent of the evangelist, or of Jesus, but that is also going to amount to your guess.
Many commentators think that what we have here is an abbreviated version of the Golden Rule familiar from Confucianism, from the sayings of Rabbi Hillel, and from the New Testament, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." A form of it that sounds a good bit like Thomas' occurs, as you have just heard, in the Old Testament book of Tobit. Let's suppose for the moment that this is indeed the meaning of the saying.
That means the saying is subject to the same objections that Walter Kaufman and others have aimed at the Golden Rule, namely that it breaks down at the point when others do not want to be treated the way we wish people would treat us. Then for you to treat them the way you want to be treated becomes patronizing, imperialistic.
"All right," you say, "I'll treat them the way they ought to want to be treated, the way I myself want to be treated." How arrogant! Are you the model for all humanity?
But let's lay that headache aside for some other Sunday. Let's restrict ourselves to the bare idea that the Golden Rule at least implies we ought to treat people with respect and not do them violence. That we should give them a break and believe the best of them until we hear proof to the contrary. That if we can do some favor to the other, we will do it. I doubt that by following such a policy you would go far wrong or get anybody very mad at you.
If the Thomas saying forms a parallel with the Golden Rule it is an antithetical parallel: it does not say to do what you want done to you, but rather to avoid doing to others what you hope they can omit doing to you. But the point is the same. If you hate it when people are inconsiderate or obnoxious, when they are oblivious to your interests, then make it a point not to be the same kind of person.
Now why would you take pains, as Jesus asks you to do, to make somebody's world better for them? Is it because you hope they will return the favor? Is your motive that you can perhaps increase the reciprocity of such behaviour and thus make the world the kind of place you'd prefer to live in? If so, I don't criticize you. I don't condemn enlightened self-interest. One certainly finds it often enough in the sayings attributed to Jesus.
But I suspect you're being a bit over-optimistic. I think you're still going to find that you live in a world which few people are interested in making better for you. You may never see any return on your efforts to bring a little sunshine to the lives others. The New Testament warns you that the more righteous you seek to be, the more flack you may get!
So if you want to live the Golden Rule, it had better be for the sake of the other, not for yourself. And this is truly a neglected marvel. The command of the Golden Rule presupposes a powerful thing about you. It says that you are a creator, a co-creator of the world of another. You are something of a god to the other, and the other, insofar he determines your world, some thing of a god to you!
Will you be a good and benign creator? You see the terrors as well as the wonders of the larger world God created. Some of its pains and plagues are so terrible that you wonder if the Creator is perhaps the very Devil. Well, here is your chance to do better, if you think you know so well how to run the universe.
Whatever threatens to turn your life into a living Hell, don't do it to others! Do not do what you hate! Your creatures, those whose lives you share in shaping, will be grateful, or at least they should. They may be as ungrateful, though, as you may be to God.
So the Thomas text may be a parallel to the Golden Rule; it may be the Golden Rule in different dress. But, as some interpreters point out, there is not actually anything in the saying about "others." Maybe it means something else.
I think it does. I see in it, for one thing, an intriguing link between avoiding certain behavior and hating it. You naturally shun what you hate. You don't seek out food to eat that is distasteful to you. You try to spend time with those you love, and you steer clear of those you hate. And so you will only turn away from sin, from ill-advised behavior, once you come to hate it.
Have you ever been so disgusted with another person's actions or so shocked by the extremity of their behaviors, even of their quirks, that you vowed silently, "I'll never do that, God help me."
Unless you had seen the sad spectacle you saw you might never have come to the point of resolution. You would not have made yourself a determined enemy, an implacable foe, of whatever behavior it was. The behavior must come to the point of being hateful to you before you can oppose yourself to it.
It is a powerful experience to see in someone else a more exaggerated version of yourself. You see some trait, some behavior that repels you, but you cannot help but recognize there your own tendencies writ large. You suddenly realize that you are being given the chance to see yourself as others see you--or as they may eventually see you if you don't change. This is the gift Marley gave to Scrooge, to see what would become of him on his present trajectory.
You see such a person and say, "There but for the grace of God go I!" And then the uneasy feeling begins to dawn, and you say, "There go I!" And you feel ashamed of your milder but similar behavior, embarrassed as if you had been caught red-handed at it. Your behavior has become hateful to you and you begin to think of abandoning it.
This is what happens when sometimes a person sees a life ruined by alcohol and vows, "I'll never take a drop!" That may be an extreme reaction if you yourself are in no danger of alcoholism. But if you are, take a lesson. And chances are, if you are in danger of becoming an alcoholic, it may be the disgusting spectacle of your own loathsome, hateful behavior that does the trick. You may have to reach the point of despising yourself, your actions, before you can be sufficiently motivated to change.
But I can think of another way to apply the saying. Do you ever feel that your faith requires of you some sacrifice, and that you are unwilling to make it? Traditionally we have been told that the very reluctance, the very repugnance we feel at such moments, is a golden opportunity for sacrifice, sanctification. If the hand offends your conscience, cut it off, cast it forth. If you love your Isaac too much take him to the altar on Moriah. The greater the unwillingness you must overcome to make the sacrifice, the greater the merit in making it. So we are told.
But I think it is different. I think that such a sacrifice of what you love can only make you sooner or later hate the God, the faith, that called for the sacrifice. Such a sacrifice is a service under duress, and the obedience shown in the act is an out ward conformity such as one might render to a tyrant one could not afford to affront.
The heart is no closer, but is in fact driven farther, from the god that demands such sacrifices of love. Make them and you will sooner or later discover that you hate him. So I am advising you, do not make such a sacrifice. Do not do what you hate.
Ask yourself whether to follow the path of sanctification someone has marked out you must suppress and deny your authentic self. If you must, then stay your foot from the path! Do not do what you hate! Do not become a self-betraying Judas in your attempt to follow Jesus!
Your sacrifices will mean nothing until you can see why you should make them, till you can come to the point of wishing and willing to jettison what at length appears to you yourself, not just to another, to be a besetting sin.
Whatever you do against your conscience, against your judgment, against your secret heart, cannot be a centered act, and that is the only service God will accept. He it is who must be served with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you are not doing some supposed religious duty with a whole heart, you are not serving God at all. It must be a centered act of the whole person, as Tillich said.
Must you turn the other cheek? Not as long as doing so seems to you a betrayal of honor and self-respect. Should you divest yourself of your possessions? Not as long as you still treasure them. Should you undertake to believe the items in the Nicene Creed? Not as long as they seem to you a fantasy, their acceptance a sacrifice of your intellect. Do not do what you hate!
Don't misunderstand me: the day may come when you will not hate the prospect of any of these things. When you feel you have matured and gladly slough off childish things. You may arrive at the point where all that you once gloried in you count as dung for the sake of the impassible riches of knowing your Lord. In that day you will gladly make what no longer seems remotely like a sacrifice. You will rejoice to make it. Make it then. But for now, do not do what you hate.
Is not our saying still something of a paradox? Isn't it peculiar that one should have occasion to frame such an imperative at all?
After all, who would do what he or she hated? I have just noted the commonplace that we quite naturally avoid doing what we hate. This saying almost sounds like it assumes that we are to be found compulsively driven to do what we would rather not do. Absurd, isn't it? Absurd, and yet all too common. Who ever said human behavior made any sense? Not me.
Of course, this is just the situation described so poignantly in the soliloquy of Romans chapter 7: "I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate" (Romans 7:14b-15). Does that sound familiar? Is that not in fact a verbatim transcript of your own thoughts on many occasions? Sorry, I don't mean to get nosey.
Not to do what one hates--perhaps much easier said than done, eh? I have had precious little success in these matters, but I will share an idea or two as to how one might break the chains--or at least start filing away at them.
I think of Socrates here. He thought that even the most self-destructive behavior is what we think is good for us. We just don't realize, not deep down anyway, that it is not good for us.
But even if we know it, we still do it, because as Gurdjieff knew, we are all like Legion, the manifold demoniac. We have many splinter-selves in a constant state of civil war. We will never get anywhere until we can persuade the factions to form a united front as the Communists and the Kuomintang made against the Japanese.
We love our vices even as another "we" hates them. Is there any way to rally the forces? Here are a couple of ideas. First, you might try to learn to think of your actions not as isolated moments (this drink, this slice, this bet, this what ever), but rather as a link in the whole chain, culminating in the result that you hate. Come to see every excess as a step toward the dissipation you hate, the danger you fear. That is what you are doing in the moment you yield to temptation. You are drinking a glassful of lost job, of disappointed spouse. Christ, throw the poison glass away! Keep the end in view and you will come to hate the individual steps to that end. And you will not do what you hate.
Second, you might try to place yourself within a support group, a therapy group, a peer-pressure group. Alcoholics Anonymous or Rational Recovery, whatever it takes. Other faces and voices that will remind you of how hateful what you are doing really is. Who will not let you forget, who will not be so readily fooled as you are by your pathetic rationalizations. A part of you, as Socrates said, believes that this hateful thing is good. You need to make it hard for yourself to take that voice, that part of yourself and its belief, seriously.
I speak occasionally of the discipline called the Sociology of Knowledge. It has some very revealing things to say. And one of them is that it is easier to believe something when you are in a crowd of believers. It is harder to maintain a belief if you are surrounded by people who don't believe it. It becomes implausible by majority vote. That is exactly why you need to get in a group that believes that your self-destructive behavior is bad. You need to breathe in an atmosphere that makes your hateful desires appear in their true, hateful colors. That's why it's easier not to sin if you go to church. It's easier to maintain your integrity. It's easier not to do what you hate.


Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA) supports implementation of efficient energy methods and practices in the Tartu region and Southern Estonia providing an independent energy advocacy for regional and local stakeholders and playing a strategic role for developing the regional energy agenda. TREA has focused on advancing renewable energy technologies, especially biomass-based, energy efficiency in buildings, drafting sustainable energy action plans (SEAP) and CO2 inventories for local authorities and elaborating feasibility studies on innovative energy solutions.
RES mix in peripheral Southern Estonia, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (DE) and West Pomerania (PL).
TREA implements work-packages of optimising spatial planning instruments and stakeholder approach.