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Newport County AFC are delighted to announce that Michael Flynn will be our new first team manager
Newport County AFC are delighted to announce that Michael Flynn will be our new first team manager starting immediately.
Michael has been acting as Caretaker Manager since Graham Westley's departure in March and has been instrumental in one of the greatest relegation escapes in Football League history. He will now have the summer to build towards the 2017/18 season with the intention of putting this turbulent season behind us and looking to build on recent momentum and backing from the city.
Chairman of Operations Gavin Foxall said:"Michael has made the decision to appoint him on a permanent basis an easy one for the Board of Directors. From the outset as Caretaker manager he has performed in an impressive manner in every area. His record and what he has achieved on the pitch in such a short period of time is phenomenal"
Michael Flynn said: "I'm delighted to have been named manager of the club. Nothing makes me prouder than to take charge of my hometown Club. I made no secret that I wanted this job. When I took over as Caretaker Manager in March, I said I felt ready for the challenge and that's still true now because I know this is a challenge. What we've achieved with this group of lads in the last few weeks has been unbelievable but I never want this club to be in that situation again. The challenge now is to get away I'm ready to push on now and take this team forward with the help of Wayne Hatswell and Lennie Lawrence as well as the board.
"The fans have been through some really tough times this season. We want Rodney Parade to be like it was on the last game of the season every week and I'm hoping we'll give them more to cheer about next season. They deserve that for sticking by us all this time."
Don't miss a moment of the 2017/18 Season Ticket!
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY


According to a recent report from market researcher Technomic, sales of vegetable and fruit juices are expected to increase in frequency through 2016.
While soda hardly is dead, these stats suggest it is falling flat.
How will USDA dietary guidelines affect your menu?
What is your reaction to the new USDA dietary guidelines, and how will they affect your menuing? Members of FoodService Director's Chefs' Council answer.
The U.S. EPA estimates Americans generated 37 million tons of food waste in 2013. Here are more statistics on how that breaks down—and how to help.
Vending machine sales are up 7 percent at the University of Buffalo, but students on the New York campus aren't buying more sugary snacks and beverages.
The first thing Lorna Donatone will say if you ask for career advice is to get involved in the leadership of diversity programs. Here are 3 more tips.
In 2012, Stanford University launched a program dedicated to empowering and mentoring women in its Residential & Dining Enterprises division.
These strategies and ideas aren't just effective, off-the-wall, creative, profitable and zany. They're the best—according to these operators.
A part of FoodService Director's "The Besties," these are the best menu ideas submitted by operators borrow from restaurants, local ingredients and more.
A part of FoodService Director's "The Besties," these are the best facitilies and sustainability practices operators have submitted in the past year.


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A photoinitiator is a molecule that creates reactive species (free radicals, cations or anions) when exposed to radiation (UV or visible). Synthetic photoinitiators are key components in photopolymers (for example, photo-curable coatings, adhesives and dental restoratives).

Some small molecules in the atmosphere can also act as photoinitiators by decomposing to give free radicals (in photochemical smog). For instance, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is produced in large quantities by gasoline-burning internal combustion engines. NO2 in the troposphere gives smog its brown coloration and catalyzes production of toxic ground-level ozone (O3). Molecular oxygen (O2) also serves as a photoinitiator in the stratosphere, breaking down into atomic oxygen and combining with O2 in order to form the ozone in the ozone layer.

Reactions

Photoinitators can create reactive species by different pathways including photodissociation and electron transfer. As an example of dissociation, hydrogen peroxide can undergo homolytic cleavage, with the O-O bond cleaving to form two hydroxyl radicals.

H2O2 → 2 ·OH

Certain azo compounds (such as azobisisobutyronitrile), can also photolytically cleave, forming two alkyl radicals and nitrogen gas:

RCH2-N=N-H2CR → 2 RCH2 + N2

These free radicals can now promote other reactions.

Atmospheric photoinitiators

Peroxides

Since molecular oxygen can abstract H atoms from certain radicals, the HOO· radical is easily created. This particular radical can further abstract H atoms, creating H2O2, or hydrogen peroxide; peroxides can further cleave photolytically into two hydroxyl radicals. More commonly, HOO can react with free oxygen atoms to yield a hydroxyl radical (·OH) and oxygen gas. In both cases, the ·OH radicals formed can serve to oxidize organic compounds in the atmosphere.

H2O2 → 2 ·OH
HOO· + O → O2 + ·OH

·OH + CH4 → ·CH3 + H2O

Nitrogen dioxide

Nitrogen dioxide can also be photolytically cleaved by photons of wavelength less than 400 nm producing atomic oxygen and nitric oxide.

NO2 → NO + O

Atomic oxygen is a highly reactive species, and can abstract a H atom from anything, including water.

O + H2O → 2 ·OH

Nitrogen dioxide can be regenerated through a reaction between certain peroxy-containing radicals and NO.

ROO· + NO → NO2 + RO·

Molecular oxygen

In the stratosphere, molecular oxygen (O2) is an important photoinitiator that begins the ozone-production process in the ozone layer. Oxygen can be photolyzed into atomic oxygen by light with wavelength less than 240 nm.

O2 → 2O

Atomic oxygen can then combine with more molecular oxygen to form ozone.

O + O2 → O3

However, ozone can also be photolyzed back into O and O2.

O3 → O + O2

Furthermore, atomic oxygen and ozone can combine into O2.

O + O3 → 2 O2

This set of reactions govern the production of ozone and can be combined to calculate its equilibrium concentration.

Commercial photoinitiators and uses

AIBN

Azobisisobutyronitrile is a white powder often not used as a photoinitiator for vinyl-based polymers such as polyvinyl chloride,  also known as PVC. Because this particular photoinitiator produces nitrogen gas (N2) upon decomposition, it is often used as a blowing agent to change the shape and/or texture of plastics.

Benzoyl peroxide

Benzoyl peroxide, much like azobisisobutyronitrile, is a white powder used as a photoinitiator in various commercial and industrial processes, including plastics production. Unlike AIBN, however, benzoyl peroxide produces oxygen gas upon decomposing, giving this compound a host of medical uses as well.

Upon contact with the skin, benzoyl peroxide breaks down, producing oxygen gas, among other things. The oxygen gas is absorbed into the pores of the skin, where it kills off the acne-causing bacterium Cutibacterium acnes.

In addition, the free radicals produced can break down dead skin cells. Clearing out these dead cells prevents pore blockage and, by extension, acne breakouts.

2,2-Dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone

Camphorquinone

Camphorquinone (CQ) is a photosensitiser used with an amine system, that generates primary radicals with light irradiation. These free electron then attack the double bonds of resin monomers resulting in polymerization. The physical properties of the cured resins are affected by the generation of primary radicals during the initial stage of polymerization.

See also
Radical initiator

References

Bibliography

Air pollution
Atmospheric chemistry

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JCPenney warns: Losses are growing
by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney October 27, 2017: 12:06 PM ET
5 Stunning Stats About J.C. Penney
JCPenney says it will lose twice as much money as it had expected to this quarter.
The retailer now forecasts a loss of between 40 cents to 45 cents a share, more than twice as bad as both Wall Street estimates as well as the $62 million, or 20 cents a share, that it lost in the second quarter. The warning sent JCPenney (JCP) shares 14% lower Friday morning.
Driving the bigger loss, the company said, is its decision to speed up the liquidation of poorly-selling inventory, primarily women's clothing. CEO Marvin Ellison said the chain has already boosted sales but getting rid of less popular items.
Related: 2017 just set the all-time record for store closings
Penney has lost $242 million in the first six months of this fiscal year. And while it did manage to post a narrow $1 million profit last year, that came after a string of five straight losing years in which it lost a total of $3.5 billion.
The chain also closed 127 stores during the second quarter, more than 10% of its locations.
Of course JCPenney is hardly the only brick-and-mortar retailer that's struggling. Store closing announcements have more than tripled this year, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail research firm. The total of 6,700 tops the previous record set in 2008, the first year of the Great Recession.
CNNMoney (New York) First published October 27, 2017: 12:06 PM ET
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My two sisters, myself, and my deceased Dad's live in caregiver are beneficiaries of my Dad's will. According to the will, the caregiver can live in the house up to 6 months after Dad passed. At this time we can sell the house and split the profits. If the caregiver isn't out of the house, what can we do? Do we serve her eviction papers and have to go to court to evict her?
Yes, the caregiver would have to be evicted if she has not yet moved. Only a personal representative of your father's estate has the ability to file an eviction. If you haven't done so already, you need to begin the probate process.
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on since each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship. A lawyer experienced in the subject area and licensed to practice in the jurisdiction should be consulted for legal advice.
The estate administration attorneys at the Beliveau Law Group provide legal services for probate, estate administration, and trust administration. The law firm has offices and attorneys in Naples, Florida; Waltham, Massachusetts; and Salem, New Hampshire.


Announcing 175,000 Internet of Things Installed Apartments and Top 10 Finalist of NMHC's OpTech Launch Pad.
STRATIS, the leading software platform for smart apartments and intelligent buildings has announced the successful installation of their Internet of Things (IoT) management and control in 175,000 units across the U.S. The announcement comes during one of the biggest multifamily tech events, the National Multifamily Housing Council's (NMHC) OPTECH Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas October 25-27. The team at STRATIS was also honored by being named a Top Ten Finalist in the conference's Launch Pad competition.
STRATIS will be showcasing the company's technology during exhibit hours at the OPTECH Convention & Exposition. STRATIS recently announced a partnership with ButterflyMX™ which will be located at booth number 227. A STRATIS demo will be located within the company's booth. STRATIS will also have a demo at kiosk number 6 located in the Start-Ups Center of the tradeshow.
If you are coming to OPTECH, make an appointment with the STRATIS Team in advance. Stop by both companies' booths during exhibit hall hours and see the Launchpad competition on Thursday October 26 from 11:15 a.m. -12:30 p.m.


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BATF AT THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE RECEPTION
The Giftware Associations umbrella company , The British Allied Trade Federation's Rosina Singleton, BATF COO, attended an International Trade Reception hosted by Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, to bring together senior business representatives with the DIT leadership team.
Liam Fox's message was positive for members as he stressed department's view of the importance of increasing export trade to enable the country to afford necessary spending. He noted that the UK is currently the second lowest exporter as a percentage of GDP in the EU and said that more autonomy and responsibility is being given to the people with the skills and data within his department to make the necessary decisions to support businesses in improving the trade performance.
The policy of encouraging inward investment to the UK has been successful, but results in dividends leaving the country. More outward investment is needed and another policy change is to help developing countries to create markets for UK businesses in specific sectors and support sectors to add value and capacity where they are not already strong. Education exports for example are worth more than the financial services in the City of London.
His message on Brexit was also positive; unreported negotiations are taking place to establish free trade deals with countries outside the EU on a sectoral basis, and the UK will remain an attractive place to do business due to the skilled workforce, legal framework, time zone and low tax and regulation, none of which will change.
Liam Fox encouraged members to contact the department via their trade associations to make them aware of any barriers to exporting relating to their sector. He announced that, in response to comments from users, the UK finance application process has been streamlined to confirm acceptance within 6 days rather than the previous 6 weeks.
BRAND LICENSING EUROPE INTERVIEW
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Wenger - Goalless run is not a concern
Arsene Wenger insists he is not worried about Arsenal's goalless run ahead of Sunday's match against West Bromwich Albion.
The Gunners have failed to find the net in their last three home games but the manager is confident that if his side continue to create chances they will score at Emirates Stadium.
"It's difficult to analyse really," Wenger said. "We didn't score against Chelsea, Swansea City and Sunderland but it's unusual for us. If you look at the games, we had the chances to score in every single game.
"Before, we scored goals for fun and I'm sure if we just concentrate on the quality of our game that we will score again"
"What we want to do is to continue to play our game but better, quicker, with more movement and then we will score again. The finishing is in cycles and we have gone through a cycle that is a bit less positive.
"Before, we scored goals for fun and I'm sure if we just concentrate on the quality of our game that we will score again."
Arsenal are currently third in the Premier League, 12 points behind Chelsea, but Wenger says the Gunners will not have to rely solely on summer signings to bridge the gap to the champions next season.
"We have made progress, we have better defensive stability, the belief in the team is strengthened for a big challenge next year and we have overcome a hurdle that we did not do last season, to exist in the big games," he said. "That is very important when you want to challenge.
"What it will take for us is if you look well at our season we had many players injured together for long periods this season. What it will take first is to have them all together for as long as possible and have not many injuries at the same time."


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Have We Just Glimpsed China's Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?
Blog Posts Journal Articles
Andrew S. Erickson, "Asia Get Ready: Is This China's Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?" The National Interest, 8 December 2014.
Originally published as: Andrew S. Erickson, "Have We Just Glimpsed China's Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?" China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国 (6 December 2014).
A high-caliber model manufacturer may just have provided a unique glimpse into the Chinese vision of aircraft carriers to come. To stimulate discussion in China-watching circles, it is useful to assess the commercial enterprise's three new indigenous carrier models critically and consider their possible significance before watching for other indicators of how things will ultimately unfold in reality. At very least, this offers a great solution for last-minute holiday gift shopping.
The dimensions and specifications of China's first aircraft carrier CV16 (Liaoning) are well-known. Based on the Russian Project 11436 hull Varyag, it was long visible under refitting in Dalian Naval Shipyard before finally going to sea in 2011.
Now Jinshuai Model Crafts, based in Zhanjiang City, Jiashan District, is displaying models of putative hulls 17, 18, and 19 on its website and catalogs. These models provide clues to a vital question: what direction will China's domestic aircraft carrier design and production take? In short, the models suggest: China will progress as quickly as possible to a large nuclear-powered design, similar to a Nimitz– or Ford-class hull with Chinese characteristics, and let deck aviation capabilities grow into the gargantuan new platform as they become able to do so.
Why take the time to analyze these depictions seriously? First, while other models have appeared, to this author's knowledge this is the first representation of hulls 17-19. The idea of a trio is particularly interesting, because various Chinese sources have described CV16 as merely a training carrier, while stating that China needs at least three fully-functional aircraft carriers. According to People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Science Research Fellow Du Wenlong, this is so that "one is always available for operational missions, while the second is used for training and the third is resupplied and retrofitted." Second, Jinshuai Model Crafts purports to be a cut above the rest. Located near the South Sea Fleet Headquarters in Zhanjiang, it produces a wide range of meticulously detailed models of PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels. The company claims to have produced models given as official gifts by PLA attachés, for fleet visits, and in conjunction with naval diplomacy in the Gulf of Aden—something that would seem to require a track record of at least somewhat passable plausibility. Finally, this company would seem to have an economic incentive to maximize sales by offering the most accurate and forward-looking items possible. It likely has access to contacts and information to help ensure that its representations of platforms are as realistic as possible, particularly in their broader parameters. Where the model builder may be "winging it" a bit with these aircraft carrier models concerns associated weapons systems, sensors, and aircraft. Here, their description is less than official and appears to be influenced by Internet speculation.
Explicit caveat up front: Unless otherwise stated, specifications for weapons and sensors listed below are not from the models themselves, but from nameplates accompanying models of CV17 and CV18. Nameplate data regarding overall carrier dimensions and performance parameters are plausible, but nameplate data regarding weapons and sensors are often inconsistent with what is depicted on the model. These nameplate data are nevertheless included here to offer grist for further discussion and analysis. That is the larger purpose of this writing: not to offer conclusions that go beyond the limited and sometimes contradictory paraphernalia marketed by Jinshuai Model Crafts thus far, but rather to stimulate deeper examination of China's ongoing development of a highly complex, symbolic system of systems for the seas and air above them.
Like Liaoning, CV17 also has a ski jump. The nameplate accompanying the model cites a length of 315 m, width of 75 m, draft of 9 m, and cruising speed of 31 knots. CV17 is credited with a standard displacement of 65,000 tons and a full displacement of 80,000 tons. These figures seem plausible.
Rather than representing a mere Chinese copy of the Project 11437 Ul'yanovsk-class-derived carrier, however, CV17's smokestack shape and exhaust stack arrangement suggests a transition to all gas turbines, or even a diesel/gas turbine combination, instead of nuclear reactors and steam turbines. In another sign of intended design improvements, the model boasts a hydrodynamic projected bulbous bow.
One curiosity in the CV17 model is its incorporation of both a ski-jump and two catapults. While certainly odd from a U.S. perspective, this is not completely outlandish and even makes some sense for China's "narrow-the-gap-from-behind-" or, ideally, "catch up-" style development of carrier operations. Such a setup could offer a platform for pilots to start working on catapult launches before transitioning to a full-up flattop carrier. Additionally, the relative position of indicated catapult tracks (dark red lines) and related blast deflectors really do not make sense. This might be attributed to a lack of knowledge on the model builder's part.
Far less clear are the associated systems. Roughly 70 carrier-based aircraft are posited: J-15 fighters, Ka-28 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters, Z-9 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) utility helicopters, Z-8 transport helicopters, and Ka-31 early warning helicopters. The following items of weaponry are listed: 4 sets of 24 Red Flag [HQ]-16 anti-aircraft missiles, the FL12000 short-range air defense missile-artillery close-in air defense system (sea-based Red Flag [HQ]-10 and -1130), four 30 mm automatic guns, three 12-tube anti-submarine, anti-torpedo launchers, and seven chaff rocket launchers. The exact weapons fit needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but a multi-layer air defense fit is consistent with the Project 11437 design. Also, it is puzzling to see weapons with export designator names mixed in, though it is not inconceivable that China could use them with the indigenous designation being unknown.
It is with the CV18 model that things really get interesting. Advertised as an "indigenously produced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," the catapult-equipped flattop closely resembles the U.S. Ford class in configuration, with a similar hull layout and the island far back. Yet there are also echoes of the Nimitz class, familiar to me through my nine days delivering lectures and briefings aboard the flagship USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in April 2013. As with the CV17 model, the positions of the blast deflectors and catapult positions on CV18 can be attributed to a lack of knowledge by the model builder.
This hull is 330 m long and 76 m wide (no draft is given). Standard displacement is 88,000 tons, full displacement is 101,800 tons. All these parameters are similar to those Jane's gives for both Nimitz and Ford. Nimitz carriers are 332.9 m long and 76.8 m wide, Ford carriers 332.8 m long and 78.0 m wide; the actual deck dimensions are similar. Broadly speaking, CV18's listed speed, hull form, and reactors are a bit closer to Nimitz's, while the exterior depicted in the model is a closer to that of the Ford-class. Given China's penchant for foreign technology collection, copying, incorporation, and multi-source emulation, this may well not be coincidental.
Here is how the model shop imagines China will exploit atomic power and move from CVs to CVNs: Two pressurized water reactors will provide nuclear propulsion. Each reactor drives two sets of main turbines, for a total of four turbines, which connect with four shafts delivering 260,000 hp. One turbine per shaft is conservative, but consistent with U.S. practice.
Total power is 194 megawatts (MW)—presumably not thermal output, but power after all inefficiencies are accounted for; cruising speed 33 knots. This implies the ability to cruise as fast as Nimitz on 15MW less power. This seems optimistic, though theoretically plausible, given the model's somewhat-lower-drag bow. Puzzlingly, however, whereas the Ford's bow represents the latest in civilian hydrodynamics—not just bulbous and projecting, but also tipping up—CV18's bow more closely resembles Liaoning (Project 11436)'s style than CV17's.
There are also four sets of emergency diesel engines for a total of 8MW. China has considerable experience with low-RPM diesels through its civilian merchant ship production. Implementing this in practice would make CV18-19 the first hulls of only the second class in the world to have both a nuclear power and a conventional propulsion plant arrangement, the existing example being the Russian Kirov class.
In a sign that the model shop may be trying to fill blank space, and orders, CV18's ~70 carrier-based aircraft are identical to CV17's, with the following exceptions. Attack UAVs are added, while Ka-31 early warning helicopters are eliminated, presumably because more-advanced JZY-01 airborne warning and control system (AWACs) aircraft can take off from the flat deck. On the actual CV18 model itself, the relevant aircraft on the flight deck has two engines and is consistent with the JZY-01. This aircraft might in theory be outfitted with a smaller variant of the KJ-2000's active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
Weaponry listed on the CV18 model's nameplate is similar to that on CV17's: 6 sets of 30 mm single-tube artillery, four sets of HHQ-10 point defense missiles, and—somewhat speculatively—four sets of laser anti-missile systems. However, only two sets of HHQ-10 are actually seen on the model, on the forward sponsons. The model clearly shows the same Gatling gun installation as on Liaoning with four H/PJ-14 or the Type 1130. Electronic equipment listed on the nameplate includes a "battle of chaff induced injection device" and a SLQ29 radar warning and jamming system. The last is puzzling, as it is an old U.S. Cold War era system. Perhaps the model shop's designers needed to add one last detail in time for holiday orders?
As for the model of CV19, it appears identical to that of CV18. The goal seems to be to develop a "Ford class with Chinese characteristics," and then build additional hull(s).
Weighing the Evidence
There are problems with these models—and particularly their nameplates, to be sure, but the models do suggest a development path. A design concept appears to be gelling that incorporates three elevators, point defenses, and moving the island aft. Jinshuai Model Crafts' rendition of CV17 resembles a plausible embodiment of a near-term Chinese effort to surpass the Project 11436 class with indigenous effort, particularly with regard to the propulsion plant and bow shape. CV18 and 19, by contrast, appear to be aspirational: an extrapolation based on what China likely wants to do in the future. To paraphrase paramount leader Xi Jinping, this is the "Chinese carrier dream." And in today's China, such dreams sell both Party politics and ship models. But even Chinese possession of specific carrier plans is no guarantee of success. Depending on how CV17 actually proceeds and what Chinese naval architects and shipbuilders learn in the process, CV18 and CV19 could end up quite different in reality—different by design.
Developing a Sino-Ford class would require a great leap forward for elements of Chinese naval architecture and engineering. Bending metal and developing the characteristic hull should be well within the means of China's shipbuilding industry, but reactors are a different story altogether. While it has made tremendous advances in recent years, and has closed the gap with Russia in key areas, China remains behind in propulsion, metallurgy, and certain specialized physical manufacturing processes. Beijing can import French and German diesels and Ukrainian gas turbines for its navy, but must build naval nuclear reactors on its own. This imposes serious limitations. Most civilian technology is not directly applicable: land-based power plant cores are far too large for confined ship spaces. Case in point: the high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGCR) on which Chinese experts have conducted substantial research require far greater volume for a given power rating than water-based reactors. Additionally, highly-enriched fuel is essential for long core life.
To power such a large ship, at the listed maximum speed, with only two reactors requires an increase in power by about a factor of five or six—a non-trivial increase given that nuclear power plants on surface ships remain volume-limited. Still buying foreign designs for its civilian power sector, China has not yet developed, much less demonstrated, naval nuclear reactors of the required size, density, and overall capability.
The Way Ahead?
If the model shop's projections are—broadly—reasonable in aggregate, how might we expect China to build and develop these carriers?
Given its status as an improved version of CV16, CV17 would likely be produced in Dalian to capitalize on local experience and production synergies accumulated over several years of Varyag's extensive rebuilding into Liaoning. The timetable reported by a local Liaoning Province official suggests that production of CV17 is already underway. Of course, similar words from a PLAN official or shipyard manager would be more demonstrably authoritative. If CV17 production is indeed already underway in Dalian, grand block sections could be under development surreptitiously, but something too large to cover should soon become visible to foreign satellites. As of October 2014, however, Google Earth showed only merchant vessels in Dalian's graving docks. In addition, nothing has appeared in any of the graving docks at Shanghai's Changxing Island Shipyard. The facility has made a prototype cross-section similar in configuration to one seen from a Queen Elizabeth-class carrier. But the prototype hull section remains standing in the storage area in front of one of the docks. No additional work appears to have been done on it. Here, the shipyard, currently-out-of-place with respect to carrier production, appears intent to prove that it is capable too. Perhaps that is yet another sign that things will soon become more interesting for foreign observers of Dalian's naval shipyard production.
A larger question concerns where the Sino-Ford class would be constructed. Given its cutting-edge new-build facilities and ample space for dedicated military production (in contrast to old, cramped Dalian), Shanghai's Changxing Island looks promising. But wherever future Chinese nuclear-powered carrier(s) are constructed, their production will represent the first manufacturing of nuclear-powered vessels outside the Huludao submarine production facility on the Yellow Sea. Even if engineers from Huludao are dispatched to offer their expertise as Johnny Appleseeds of Chinese naval nuclear development, this will be a challenging new endeavor for China.
What This Might Mean
Beijing's path to indigenous carrier development appears to be narrowing and firming up. The desired destination is clearer, even as the journey remains arduous, and the timeline and milestones uncertain. In its typical pattern of emulating and drawing on foreign designs, China appears to be going for the gold standard—the U.S. standard, that is—as quickly as reasonably possible. Top-tier must-haves appear to include American-size hulls, nuclear propulsion, catapults, and advanced wire arrestor gear. Developing new hulls and nuclear propulsion is the first step, improved aircraft can be added in later. As a self-styled great sea power, Beijing is determined to be second to none, even if much work remains to be done to truly get there.
In this regard, a U.S. naval aviator and scholar sounds a note of caution. "It is fascinating that China would throw resources at such ships," Capt. Robert Rubel (USN-Ret.), former Dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies, U.S. Naval War College, told the author. "I know China can build ships more cheaply than the United States can, but such ships will nevertheless be extremely expensive up front, and even more so over time. Without a global naval strategy of exercising command of the sea like the United States has had, the large nuclear aircraft carrier does not have the same meaning to China as ours do to us. These ships may have occasional operational utility in responding to disasters and maybe intimidating to regional neighbors with which China has island and maritime claims disputes, but otherwise they seem to be an attempt to create prestige by cutting metal."
With respect to these larger questions, the models themselves obviously cannot provide conclusive answers. Chinese shipbuilders and strategists alike have much to contemplate. Only time, and more authoritative data sources, will tell what their options are, and how they choose to exercise them. In the meantime, however, there's at least one crystal-clear take away: if you haven't finished your holiday shopping yet, click here immediately to peruse Jinshuai Model Crafts' many offerings. Such commercial dynamism, which the Soviet Union never enjoyed in any form, may ultimately offer greater indications of China's ability to support and sustain the production and deployment of new aircraft carriers and other mighty ships upon the sea than any word Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergey Georgiyevich Gorshkov could ever put to paper.
And that is why it's worth at least briefly pondering the latest in injection molding from a civilian shop in southern China. Happy Holidays!


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text:
Is It Wednesday Yet?
08 December 2009 � Here we are again with another installment of your favorite comic book review series. As always, the reviews are free of spoilers, so read on without fear of having your experience ruined!
Our grading scale is simple:
Buy: An excellent comic book.
Borrow: A good comic, but save yourself some money by reading a friend's copy.
Flip Through: Give it a once-over at the comic shop.
Skip: This doesn't need to be explained.
Creepy #2
Released: 25 November 2009
Writers: Dan Braun, Mike Baron, Joe R. Lansdale, Joe Harris, and Dave Sims
Artist: Greg Ruth, Nathan Fox, Rahsan Ekedal, Jason Shawn Alexander, Angelo Torres, and Russ Heath
Letterer: Nate Piekos and Nathan Fox
Cover: Eric Powell
Review: Desmond Reddick
There is no way on earth my receiving this book to review was seen by myself or you, dear reader, as a surprise in any way. I am the horror guy, I love anthologies when they're done well, and Creepy magazine is among the greatest of all horror comics in the history of horror comics. So I'll stop keeping you on the edge of your seat and just say it: this book lives up to that.
The first issue of this revamped series was a fun read but quite uneven. But this one wastes no time showing us how the format of this series works.
01. An Eric Powell cover: This one takes the cake for the best piece of Powell art that I have ever seen. Amazingly composed and it tells a story. A nasty story, but a story nonetheless.
02. A frontispiece: This is just a fun one-page pin-up showing Uncle Creepy (the classic host of this anthology). This time, Rahsan Ekedal � artist of The Cleaners and a story in this anthology � provides a striking ink-drawing of Creepy and a dead Paris Hilton-type moving through the throngs of undead paparazzi.
03. Four original tales:
I. "Human Nature" by Dan Braun and Greg Ruth is a beautiful and haunting story reminiscent at times of the best kind of art film and at other times the shocking, violent cinema of the 1970s. Ruth's art, already worthy of praise in my eyes, delivers quite possibly one of the most beautiful looking stories I've seen in a very long time. In fact, it's so good it actually overshadows the writing. Unfortunately the story is one of the strongest in the anthology.
II. "Muscle Car" by Mike Baron and Nathan Fox is a spectacular entry in the "killer car" genre that is so bonkers it just works. Now, I'm a fan of Nathan Fox, but I found his art to be very busy and difficult to follow almost throughout. I think I'll chalk it up to the black and white nature of the book. Fox's work in color has a more restrained quality.
III. "Drawn Out" by Joe R. Lansdale and Rahsan Ekedal is a superb example of why these two are at the top of their game. Ekedal, who's relatively new to comics, manages to take Bernie Wrightson, manga, and the Image style and work them together into something unique. His eyes are the most expressive in comics. Joe R. Lansdale is also a newcomer. I don't know much about him, but I hear he's really good. I kid. The story manages to make you squirm, scratch at your skin, and turn your head in revulsion over eight pages.
IV. "The Curse, part two" is a continuation of the story from the first issue, where a boy gains the ability to make people do whatever he wants. Dan Braun and Jason Shaun Alexander bring a story so dirty in both delivery and look that you'll want a shower after you read it. And there's still one more installment to go! This story has the best "twist in the tale" in a short horror comic story that I have read since old issues of the original Creepy.
04. "Loathsome Lore" has the writing team of Braun, Shauna Gore, and Craig Haffner with Angelo Torres on art chores. They give us a fun little visual history of unique torture devices.
05. And finally A Creepy Classic by Dave Sims and Russ Heath. "The Shadow of the Axe" is a story I've loved for a long time! Honestly, most of the time you see reprints of "classic" stories, the "classic" actually means "old and shitty." Kudos to Dark Horse editorial for actually giving us some of the best damn Creepy stories ever published.
Ultimately, this book won't change your life. If you don't see at least three of the endings coming, you've probably never read, seen, heard of, or been in the vicinity of a horror anthology. But this is easily the best horror comic published this year. Buy it.
Die Hard: Year One #3
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Writer: Howard Chaykin
Artist: Stephen Thompson
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Cover: Dave Johnson
Review: drqshadow
Hey, you remember Die Hard, right? The original, that is. Barefoot on broken glass, bad guys crashing through a cop car with several hundred feet of momentum, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker," badass Die Hard? Before John McClane was reduced to escorting the "I'm a Mac" guy through computer-generated fireballs, ducking under sailing cabs, and censoring his own catchphrase to fit within the confines of a PG-13 release. Yeah, that was a pretty good movie. Not sure if it really needed a comic book prequel, exploring the experiences that shaped the action hero's life as we saw it in his cinematic exploits, but that's where the overzealous actions of the merchandising department have taken us. Let's try to enjoy the ride.
Howard Chaykin is the man of the hour, writing this special peek back at a time when McClane was still a beat cop; pounding the pavement, trusting in his superiors' orders, and looking at the world through a much more na�ve pair of eyes. As fate would have it, though, the subtraction of several decades' worth of experience has also robbed our lead of most of his charm and charisma. Or maybe Chaykin's just written him into a terrifically boring role. Either way, the guy we're following throughout this issue has little more than a name and a badge in common with the man at the center of the big screen quadrilogy. He doesn't even look like Bruce Willis.
One thing the movies are particularly good at is getting the setup out of the way quickly and diving straight into the action. Once they've fired off a few rounds, the films loosen up and make with some surprisingly solid moments of character development amidst shattering windows and bursting C-4 packets. In that respect, Year One is once again an estranged member of the family. As the middle act of a five-issue miniseries, one might expect something to be happening by this point, but Chaykin seems to have left the gearshift in neutral. When the bad guys finally show their hand in this chapter's closing pages, I was left wondering why it took two and a half issues to get there when the first film worked a very similar plot much more efficiently.
Mercifully, Chaykin does not lend his hand to the visuals. I can only imagine the kind of pouty lips and ass-less chaps that would have adorned McClane's wife-to-be in this issue. As it is, he's written her into wearing one of the more ridiculous outfits in recent memory. Dressed in a head-to-toe spandex outfit patterned after a star on the US flag, complete with knee-high white leather boots, she dons a pea-green muumuu and is suddenly rendered incognito to the pedestrians surrounding her. Stephen Thompson's renditions of mid-70s New York are serviceable, if not era-appropriate. I particularly liked his effective use of halftone shading, and his style is reminiscent of Frank Cho or Adam Hughes, although he's clearly not at their level. There's just nothing here to convince me that this story is set in 1976, rather than the present day, and the cast's lackadaisical body language and facial expressions seem to imply they're just as disinterested in this plot as I am.
This comes across as a completely unrelated story that was merely repurposed and repackaged to take advantage of the Die Hard property � and not a very good one at that. Chaykin's cast moves and acts like a flock of robots, the villains' master plan doesn't make any sense, McClane doesn't have a reason to be there, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for the victims at the heart of the matter. Fans and critics alike will have no reason to rejoice in this one. Skip it.
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Penciler: Neil Edwards
Inker: Andrew Currie
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: VC's Rus Wooton
Cover: Alan Davis
Review: Damien Wilkens
The best way to tell you've jumped in the middle of a really uninteresting comic? It starts with people in an alternate world running from something robotic.
As a former Marvel Zombie, I feel it is my duty to explain that I don't want to be disappointed with nearly every single book I have to read coming from the House of Ideas. It just keeps happening. The funny thing is, this issue isn't even a part of the whole "the status quo will never be the same" event storytelling that I've been ragging them for. It's just a boring comic book.
For no clear reason Ben and Johnny have decided to take Franklin and Valeria on vacation to Nu-World, a haven for survivors of a ruined future Earth. This goes about as well as you'd expect. From the moment the crew arrives, they discover that things are different than they remembered! The clich�s just roll out like parchment from there. Of course the portal you used to get there only works one way. Of course there's a hoard of evil robots under the command of a maniacal government. To make things even worse, the entire story is narrated from the perspective of Franklin talking to his mom, which serves to completely eliminate any sense of suspense or conflict. You know that everything is going to get wrapped up by the end of the issue.
While I can't completely begrudge the occasional return of standalone issues, they still need to serve some sort of purpose. The only thing this issue really does is make Valeria the focus, as if having one deus ex machina child wasn't enough for the family.
As for the art, it's okay. Edwards does well enough on the robot side of things, but his humans are a mess from panel to panel. Either he's doing his best impression of the Greg Land "female with mouth agape for no reason" pose, or he's drawing deformed men with Leave it to Beaver haircuts. The anatomy is horrible, and it's not helped by awkward poses that look completely impossible. I haven't had the privilege of throwing too many uppercuts in my day, but I imagine it wouldn't begin with me thrusting my left leg forward as if to climb a ladder in the sky.
What makes this all the more frustrating is that the Alan Davis cover makes it look as if this issue was going to be a light, fun, intergalactic adventure that you could pick up to have a good time. It's definitely light all right, but in substance and merit. It's not particularly important, and the entire thing just seems like an excuse to kill off a dangling plot line. Skip this.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Doug Mahnke
Inkers: Christian Alamy, Doug Mahnke, and Tom Nguyen
Colorist: Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover: Doug Mahnke
Reviewing comics on a weekly basis can be rather taxing. Sometimes you just don't feel like reading anything that week, or you've been given the latest drivel of one of your least favorite creators because your editor doesn't want you to live to see 30. Whatever the reason, oftentimes this can feel like a job more than anything.
This isn't one of those times.
Green Lantern isn't a difficult book to review. It's the best ongoing superhero title of 2009 for three bucks. If you have even a passing interest in mainstream comics, this is the book to get.
In an attempt to combat the Black Lantern invasion, Hal Jordan has forged alliances with the leading members of the various other corps. While creating an ally out of Sinestro has been difficult enough, the almost-assembled team have still yet to persuade the two most difficult troops: Red Lantern Atrocitus, and the ever singularly minded Larfleeze.
Geoff Johns has created such a synergy between Blackest Night and the two Green Lantern titles that it can be a daunting task trying to keep up with everything. And while it's certainly true that developments here lead directly into Blackest Night #5, the ongoing issues of Green Lantern have really told their own story � one more scaled down and focused despite the cosmic scope of the tale. Johns' strength has always been less with individual plot points as it's been with the way his characters interact with one another. It's something he's really become a master at, whether his purpose is to excite or humor the reader. Often he'll put his characters over with a line or two, rather than showing how dangerous or admirable a character is in a fight scene.
That isn't to say the book is devoid of action. There is plenty of infighting between the Lanterns, both physical and otherwise, which Doug Mahnke handles extremely well. He's able to keep up with Johns' dialog with fun detail only to go all out when things ramp up. It's clear he had a blast drawing the two more vermilion-tinted Lanterns, with plenty of cool alien characteristics that other artists simply wouldn't bother with.
Honestly, you're either reading Blackest Night or you're not. If you are, then chances are you already have this issue. If for some reason you don't, then it goes without saying that this is an easy buy from me. It's everything you'd want out of a comic book, and you don't have to pay four dollars for it.
Invincible Iron Man #20
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Salvador Larroca
Review: Michael David Sims
Remember when Tony Stark used to run SHIELD, when he said that no one would ever get their hands on the civilian names of every registered superpowered being? We all knew someone would try one day, but we didn't realize how far Stark would go to protect said identities. With Norman Osborn hunting him down � trying to get his grubby goblin paws not only on the names, but also on Stark's repulsor technology � Iron Man pulled a trump card out of his metal sleeve; to save his friends and mankind, Tony sacrificed himself. Though he stopped short of taking his own life, the armored Avenger erased all traces of the information Osborn sought � including from his own mind. Now in a persistent vegetative state, Stark relies on some of those he saved to "reboot" him.
As the opening chapter in the five-part "Stark: Disassembled," writer Matt Fraction has written himself into the same corner Ed Brubaker found himself in after Steve Rogers was assassinated in Captain America #25; how does one write a book in which the title character is dead � or, in the case of Iron Man, brain dead?
Though both men used the previous issues to build up their supporting casts, knowing they could and would lean on them to keep the books going, Fraction hasn't written Tony out; he's still an active character in the unfolding drama. Sure, he might be hooked up to life-sustaining machines and under the caring eye of Dr. Donald Blake, but thanks to a look into his dreamscape and with the aid of technology, Tony delivers dialog on 14 of the 17 pages in which he's featured.
Not only does this serve to keep Invincible Iron Man Tony's book, and not only does it give us clues as to how he will eventually return, but it also hammers home just how smart the man is. Often it's taken for granted that Tony Stark is one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe, much to the book and character's disadvantage, but Matt Fraction cleverly reminds us of this fact. Not by showing Tony invent a sentient toaster, but by proving he's many steps ahead of everyone else. He's not just a brilliant inventor, but a strategist, something that's often overlooked when he's in the same room with the Steve Rogers Captain America.
Best of all, where Matt Fraction excels in this issue of Iron Man is by making Tony human. He's broken in the real world, confused in his subconscious, and worried yet hopeful in his prerecorded message. It's the human side of Tony that was lost during Civil War and glossed over in Mighty Avengers. And maybe Fraction has been writing him this way in the preceding 19 issues of Invincible Iron Man � I wouldn't know, as I've only read Invincible Iron Man: The Five Nightmares � but this is a truly refreshing take on a character that's not always easy to relate to.
And just in case you thought this book was all about humanizing Tony and setting up his eventual return, in one page Fraction delivers a truly honest, heartbreaking scene. Pepper Potts asks a question that we in the real world never get to ask, reminding us that the rules of life and death are different in comic books. But more importantly, those rules unfairly favor those who choose to wear capes and tights. Hopefully the writer will play this up post-resurrection � as this could be laying the groundwork for an eventual split between Pepper and Tony � but even if he doesn't, the impact of the moment remains.
Helping to sell the scene, and the book as a whole, is Salvador Larroca. Previously I haven't been too kind to his current artistic style � which often has people looking vacant and mushy-faced, as if they're made of clay � but his work here is much more to my liking. Though some characters still have that lifeless, thousand-yard stare, there's a reason for it here; everyone at Tony's bedside is shock by his condition and flabbergasted by the message he's left them. When we move away from that scene the empty eyes tend to be filled with life, anger, sadness, and drive. Really, though, it's the subtlety that brings Larroca's pencils to life. As Tony delivers his possibly final message to his friends, the artist is asked to draw six eight-panel pages, all from the same angle. In some of them Tony sits unmoving in his chair. In others he gesticulates. But it's in the motionless ones where the character is most active and the artist shines. By adding or removing a few lines, Tony's expression shifts from somber to humored, determined to concerned. Coupled with Fraction's pitch perfect dialog, I've not read or seen Tony Stark better represented in comic books.
Even though his name was tarnished during the superhero civil war, and even though this is Invincible Iron Man #20, and even though you might only be familiar with the on-screen Iron Man, this is truly a rare gem; it isn't often one stumbles upon an ongoing comic book that is friendly to both new and old readers alike, especially one that's deeply rooted in the larger, companywide continuity, but that's what we have here. Buy it for a rewarding experience.
Justice Society of America #33
Writer: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Artist: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Allen Passalaqua
Letter: Rob Leigh
Cover: Jesus Merino
The strength of the Justice Society is that it is unique amongst superteams. It takes the best of the Fantastic Four, the New Mutants, and the Justice League and smashes them together. That's when it works. When it doesn't work it becomes like every other superteam book. I have recently dropped Justice Society of America from my pull list for that very reason.
Willingham and Sturges are crafting a story that pits the ideals of the Justice Society against one another. For the last issue in a story arc titled "A House Divided" � coming out only a week before JSA All-Stars debuts � it's no spoiler to say that this issue has the Society facing off against the army of villains who have come, destroyed their brownstone building, and are trying desperately to collect bounties on the heads of the heroes. Why they all showed up at the same time is beyond me. Also, Mr. Terrific is dead by the hands of a teammate, or is he? And the team breaks up at the end because some of them want to be more of a militaristic organization. Like every other superhero team.
What I did like about the story is that the interplay between the members is good. Not Geoff Johns good, but good nonetheless. There's a decent handle of how the JSA fights as a team even when they're at odds with each other strategically. And the old guard like Flash and Wildcat are given due respect. Also, a long gone character from the Johns era makes a triumphant and kickass return in this issue.
My problem with how some of the characters are handled (and this is gleaned from an issue that is essentially one long fight scene) is that the building up that Johns had done of the youngsters like Stargirl and Jakeem Thunder doesn't appear to be there anymore. These characters are now veteran heroes with leadership qualities, and it's just one of the examples of why JSA was one of the best books DC published.
To be entirely fair, though, I was going sour on Johns' run as he was sowing the seeds of discontent during his Magog storyline. This is just a logical extension of that.
On the art side of things, Jesus Merino burst onto the JSA scene inking Carlos Pacheco on the great JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice, but he's certainly stepped out of Pacheco's shadow to be a great artist in his own right. Getting this high profile gig is a deserved package of kudos for the man whose action is as dynamic as the tense character moments found at the back of the issue. The violence is big and confusing like it is in real life. I really got the feeling of a war film, like that wonderful opening battle scene in Saving Private Ryan. It's frantic and confusing, but constructed so. The movement is believable and not posed. And best of all, he makes a book featuring a team of about 20 heroes fighting about 30 villains seem easy. If anything, Justice Society of America #33 gets a gold star for art.
If you are new to the Justice Society I would recommend you borrow this book. But if you're a longtime reader this will not seem like your JSA. There are about a dozen trades out there you'll find a lot more satisfying than this "new take."
The Lone Ranger #19
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Brett Matthews
Artist: Sergio Cariello
Colorist: Marcelo Pinto
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: John Cassaday
After praising The Lone Ranger: Now and Forever on Earth-2.net: The Show 349, I was so very excited to get my hands on this issue. Going in, I knew some questions would be raised � as I've only read the first six issues collected in the aforementioned volume � but I was willing to work around them for the sake of what I knew would be an enjoyable read.
Well, I was wrong. Wrong about being able to work around my questions and it being "an enjoyable read." And that's a damn shame.
What we have here is the third chapter in a storyline entitled "Resolve," in which (I gather) the Ranger and Tonto have been framed for cold-blooded murder. Now it's up to the duo to discover the real culprit while clearing their names. Though it's a tired old plot, other works of fiction have done well with it, so you can't fault Brett Mathews for using it here � especially when the hero's bullet of choice is so easily duplicated. What he can be faulted for, however, is not doing anything fresh with it. Worse yet, not doing anything with it.
The storytelling is so loose, one wonders why this isn't a one- or two-issue story. I hate to use the phrase, but this is the definition of decompression. It's even apparent in the way Sergio Cariello illustrates the issue. Sequences are needlessly stretched out over several pages by limiting the number of panels per page, and larger panels are oddly placed to fill out pages. There's a sense that this is being done to give this story the standard slow Western pace, but one can tell the difference between a naturally unhurried story and padding.
Furthermore, nothing is explained. Why did the Ranger clock the sheriff? Who's this fed and what's his beef with the masked man? And why does he seem to have it out for the sheriff? Cavendish came into a cache of weapons, but to what end? And why is the supplier of said weapons screaming after them as they leave? (To that one, he's been tied up, sure, but the way the ropes are drawn, he'd have no trouble slipping out.) I don't need or even want everything explained, but put a worm on the hook!
Though I blamed the writing for the artistic missteps here, it isn't the only reason Cariello's falters. Great art can come from a lackluster script, after all. (Supergod #1, anyone?) So when Cariello was handed this needlessly fluffed-up story he should have done his damndest to at least make it visually interesting. (As Mythbusters has proven, you can polish a turd.) But even he seems bored with the story; though some of his faces are expressive, most of the issue is stiff and awkward. Panels often feature one character with no (or a minimal) background. Perspectives are constantly off. The only interesting sequence is when Black Lantern Dan Reid, Sr. creeps out from under his son's bed, but that horrific dream sequence is short-lived, and the following pages look as though Cariello once again lost interest in the project.
Earlier I noted that something, anything should have been written into the book to bring readers back for the next issue. But, really, instead of trying to entice us to come back for the next installment, try making this issue worth our $3.50. And a clich�d cliffhanger doesn't count. Skip it.
Ms. Marvel #47
Writer: Brian Reed
Artists: Mike McKone, Rob DiSalvo, and Derec Donovan
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Pasqual Ferry
As Ms. Marvel draws towards its 50th and final issue, one plot thread I never thought would be resolved was the invitation for a date Peter Parker extended to Carol. Well, color me wrong, 'cause here it is.
Gasp as Carol and Peter suffer through uncomfortable silences! Marvel as they discuss what drinks to order! Cheer as they connect over chili dogs!
Though it might sound like I'm down on this issue, I'm just taking the piss. In actuality, Ms. Marvel #47 is a nice breather before the title characters has her series-ending brawl with Mystique. If more books took the time to slow down and examine their characters, we'd have a richer universe and more relatable characters. Yes there's a superpowered fight in here � two actually � but they're treated as afterthoughts (and that's a good thing) so Brian Reed can focus on the story he really wanted to tell.
When one thinks about all the women Peter has, has tried to, and should date, Carol Danvers isn't the first to spring to mind. But thanks to Reed's crisp writing and willingness to let the discussion get awkward (and silent), one walks away with the sense that these two people actually had a conversation. Too often in comics exposition is shoehorned in, and there's a little of it here, but it feels natural. After all, what are two Avengers going to talk about on a date other than shop? And when they try... crickets. It's funny because � as anyone who's ever dated a coworker knows � it's true.
There are several hints that this is just a first date, and though the series is ending, I truly hope someone continues this new relationship. If not in Amazing Spider-Man, than in New Avengers. And considering Brian Michael Bendis' love for continuity and his working relationship with Brian Reed, it seems only natural for the former Brian to do something with the diamond the latter Brian has handed him.
Where this book suffers � and only slightly, mind you � is in its use of three artists. While the masterful Mike McKone handles the majority of the workload, Rob DiSalvo and Derec Donovan lend a hand. None of their work is lacking. Quite the opposite, really. But even overlooking my preference to have one artist on an issue, none of the three styles blend well, leading to a more than jarring experience. McKone's more human, down-to-earth style leads into DiSalvo's angular, cartoony style leads into Donovan's also-cartoony but completely different style. It's McKone's pencils that make us feel we're on a date, whereas DiSalvo and Donovan remind us it's in a superhero comic book. To be fair, DiSalvo and Donovan handle all of the back-end action well (oh, that sounded bad), but such a change can pull one out of the story. And that's exactly (and sadly) what happened here.
In a lot of ways Ms. Marvel #47 reminds me of Alias #15, and one has to wonder if Reed took a few cues from Bendis. And even if he did, so what, because what we end up with is a fun, normal look at two extraordinary people. Whether you buy this one or not depends on your tastes. If all you want from a comic is capes and tights and flying-fists � and that's understandable, because it provides a nice escape from the humdrum � then this won't be for you. But if you want to see Carol and Peter connect over chili dogs, buy this one.
Superman: Secret Origin #3
Penciler: Gary Frank
Inker: Jon Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Gary Frank
The origin of Superman is one of comics' most well-known, timeless classics. It's universally appreciated by men, women, and children of all ages and nationalities, a true legend of pop culture past, present, and future. So it should only seem natural that more than one creative team would want to take a crack at it over the years, right? Perhaps, and on several occasions that return to familiar territory has been backed by a valid reason. John Byrne's Superman: The Man of Steel, for instance, cast aside the silliness of the Silver Age and paved the way for a revitalized continuity and a more streamlined universe. It was a case of the right place, the right time, and the right man for the job. So where's the pressing need for a similar retelling today?
Geoff Johns makes the case that, while we've seen these events before, we've never seen them from this perspective. Through the innocent, inexperienced eyes of Clark Kent himself, we're promised a rare glimpse at the instincts and motivations that made the big blue boy scout what he is today, blemishes and all. It's a fair point, one that had the potential to really open a few locked doors behind the veneer of DC's most iconic character, but with a few exceptions Johns shies away from the kind of introspection I was hoping for. Instead of sharing Kent's thoughts as he sees the skyscrapers of downtown Metropolis for the first time or the hustle, bustle, and selfishness of the pedestrians on its streets, we're merely along for the ride, and that's nothing new.
We're also drowning in word balloons. Johns fills several pages with so much dialog, the artwork has to fight just to occupy some cramped gutter space. I understand the need to introduce and define familiar characters such as Perry White and Lois Lane, but add a new layer so the retelling is justified. It's an ambitious goal, and often the only way to reach it is through bold dialog. That's not a problem for this author � his writing is clever and effective, and he especially nails the no-nonsense, "get the story at any cost" attitude that defines Lois. There's just so damn much of it, the plot's never given the chance to gather a head of steam. I admire the quality of his work, but I wish it were more concise.
His artist, Gary Frank, captures the wide-eyed wonder of Clark's arrival in Metropolis with flair. I wasn't always a fan of Frank's work, but over the years he's made a believer out of me. It seems that with each appearance he adds a new layer of detail, discipline, and polish to his work, and his take on Superman and company is no exception. Sometimes he does get carried away � as he does with Jimmy Olsen's buck-toothed, freckle-faced, nerdy visage � but given the choice I'd rather see a page with too much character than too little. His more realistic, lifelike tendencies may have been out of place at Marvel, but he's a perfect fit for the DC style.
Secret Origin is a valiant effort, but I didn't find the slight tweaks and irregular glimpses into Clark's psyche urgent enough to necessitate yet another stroll through such familiar terrain. It's only been six years since the last time we dredged up the super-origin (in Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright) and that's not enough time to move on. This is strong work, but that's hard to appreciate because its every move is so thoroughly telegraphed. Flip through it, but don't take its promises of a whole new experience too seriously.


Alluvium occurs over a large part of the area particularly along the course of streams like Betwa, Sagar, Besh etc. It consists mainly of a yellow or grey brown sandy clay and contains a large proportions of 'Kankers '. Along the Betwa River it often forms steep cliffs in the Northern part of the area.
These occur in some places as caps on some high trap hills, but generally as ferruginous cellular rocks capping low lying Deccan trap hills, in places surrounded by alluvium. These are used mainly as a road metal.
The Deccan Trap is the most widespread rock formation in this district. These rocks are horizontal or nearly horizontal, the dark Lava flows lend to the countryside a terraced appearance. The principal rock is a basalt having vesicles filled with zeolite, agate, calcite, etc.
The inter-trappeans, mainly impure crystalline limestone and cacareous chert occur as a residual blocks and boulders scatteres over a surface as well as discontinuous outcrops amidst the Deccan Trap. Small isolated outcrops of intertrappeans mostly lime stone are also present in Vidisha.


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/Digital Collections Services
Search digital video: Archivo Mesoamericano
By Michelle Crowe
Image credit: A screen captured still image from a video preserved and presented in Achivo Mesoamericano, recorded in 1987 in Managua, Nicaragua. The video is held by the Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica.
Endangered languages and emerging politics:
Archivo Mesoamericano exhibits three decades of Latin American change through searchable digital video archive
Mexico. Nicaragua. El Salvador. The physical videos remain stored where they were recorded in Latin America. Miles away, Indiana University scholars are long-term partners in a multinational effort to preserve, describe, and digitally present the footage. With effort beginning in 2005, Archivo Mesoamericano (http://archivomesoamericano.org) was a leading pioneer of annotated digital video archives.
Now safely migrated from its original and nearly obsolete platform, the innovative project relies on a post-custodial model, in which Indiana University Bloomington Libraries delivers the digital content while keeping the original videos in their respective archives. Archivo Mesoamericano is a searchable, digital presentation of rare annotated historical and ethnographic video materials held by the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS) in Mexico, the Institute of History of Nicaragua and Central America (IHNCA) in Nicaragua, and the Museum of the Word and the Image (MUPI) in El Salvador.
Important Latin American collections
IU Libraries, along with IU's nationally recognized Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), have long been active partners in the creation and maintenance of the archive, which is wholly owned by Latin American institutions but hosted by IU.
Original remarks from Latin American partners
Translations of quotes into English
Carlos Henríquez Consalvi, Director of MUPI, explains the importance of the Salvadoran collection (in his native language), "Las colecciones audiovisuales del Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen reflejan la historia de las luchas sociales de los años setenta y ochenta, frente a décadas de dictaduras militares. Muchas de estas filmaciones fueron realizadas por cineastas vinculados a la clandestina Radio Venceremos, o por periodistas que cubrieron la guerra en El Salvador."
Dr. Edwin Matamoros, Director of IHNCA, also emphasizes the socio-political importance of the Nicaraguan materials (in his native language), "Los videos corresponden a la década de los 80 en Nicaragua, años en que la Guerra Fría se expresó en el conflicto bélico Sandinistas-Contras, estos últimos asesorados y financiados por la administración Reagan. Aunque fueron elaborados por el gobierno sandinista, reflejan parte del drama social y la esperanza por mejores condiciones de vida de todo el pueblo nicaragüense de la época. A inicios de los años 90, previo a su salida del poder y ante el fundado temor de que fuera destruido por los nuevos gobernantes, el saliente gobierno sandinista entregó este material audiovisual a la UCA. Desde entonces, esta universidad, a través del IHNCA, lo ha custodiado en su formato original. "
Appreciation to Luis Gonzalez and Michelle Dalmau for translation assistance. IU Libraries is responsible for any errors made in translation.
Carlos Henríquez Consalvi, Director of MUPI, explains the importance of the Salvadoran collection, "The audiovisual collections stewarded by the Museum of the Word and the Image reflect the social struggles of the 1970s and 1980s during a time of military dictatorships in El Salvador. Many of the films included in our collection were made by filmmakers linked to the underground 'Radio Venceremos' or by journalists who covered the civil war in El Salvador."
Dr. Edwin Matamoros, Director of IHNCA, also emphasizes the socio-political importance of the Nicaraguan materials, "The videos in IHNCA's collection correspond to the 1980s in Nicaragua, a period marked by the Sandinista-Contra war. An expression of Cold War politics, the Contras were advised and financed by the Reagan administration. Although the videos were produced by the Sandinista government, they reflect the socio-political reality of that time and hope for better living conditions for all the Nicaraguan people. At the beginning of the 1990s, the outgoing Sandinista government deposited the audiovisual materials with the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in response to a well-founded fear that they would be destroyed by the incoming government. Since then, UCA, through IHNCA, has stewarded the materials in their original format."
Migration with help from the Council on Library and Information Resources
Newly migrated and republished in 2020 thanks to an IU Libraries postdoctoral fellowship in partnership with the Council on Library and Information Resources, with the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Archivo Mesoamericano presents collections of Latin-American video recorded from 1974 to 2007. Documentation of specific instances of political violence, youth movements, the Sandinista government, and guerrilla media are included, as well as topical coverage of areas such as human rights, revolutionary literature, armed conflict, and international relations.
Luis González is the librarian for Latin American Studies at Indiana University Bloomington and has long been involved in the project. He shares that the idea for the archive began in the early 2000s by IU history professor Jeffrey Gould who was aware of raw video footage collected by Latin American institutions.
González said, "The countries were undergoing enormous change, and here were the stories, a rich repository, about emerging social, political, and cultural conflicts. So, with grant support we were able to establish labs in the partner institutions to digitize the materials on location. All the way, from beginning to end, control of the collections remained with the institutions."
In particular, IU software allowed for in-depth segmentation and description of the footage, which then became searchable. Importantly, all description and annotation were completed collaboratively with the partner institutions.
"The new open-source platform, Avalon Media System, enhances discovery of these materials. We were able to preserve the video segmentation from the original web site, which increases navigability of the content. When possible, we generated captions for greater accessibility, and transcriptions that can be downloaded for textual analysis," said Michelle Dalmau, the project's Principal Investigator and IU Libraries' Head of Digital Collections Services. She added that the extra layer of digital preservation provided by IU Libraries is significant. "The content is protected as digital archival files are managed by the partners as well as at IU Libraries," she said.
IU Libraries is a long-recognized pioneer in the field of digital libraries, known for its development of services to ingest images and media into repositories, as well as to promote curation, preservation, and access of multimedia materials.
The value of partnership
The Libraries, along with CLACS, support a robust agenda of collaboration with Latin American institutions and libraries. González maintains a vigorous gifts and exchange program of library materials with 17 international partner institutions from Latin America, East Asia, and Europe, and contributes to the Latin American Materials Project (LAMP), a leading international initiative to convert at-risk Latin American research collections into microform and digital formats to ensure their long-term access and preservation. CLACS supports the Latin American collection through supplemental funding from the Title VI grant for library acquisitions and librarian travel. Additionally, CLACS dedicated Title VI funds for hourly support with translation and subtitling for Archivo Mesoamericano.
As part of the recently established IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, CLACS is uniquely positioned to combine over five decades of commitment to Latin American and Caribbean Studies with an unparalleled depth and breadth of institutional commitment to area, international, and global studies. In addition to its institutional linkages at Indiana University, CLACS has established extensive partnerships with universities and research institutions throughout Latin America, but especially Central America and Mexico.
In additional to its historical value, the footage in Archivo Mesoamericano places an emphasis on the ethno-linguistic and ethno-historical legacy of indigenous peoples in the region, and contains materials that feature endangered languages such as Chinanteco, Mixe, Mixtec, and Zapotec from Oaxaca, Nahuatl from Veracruz, Chontal from Tabasco; Tzeltal and Tzotzil from Chiapas; Pipil from El Salvador; and Miskitú and Mayangna from Nicaragua.
View the Archivo Mesamericano
El Archivo Mesoamericano representa un archivo digital que consiste de grabaciones históricas y etnográficas, montado en colaboración con estas instituciones respectivas: el Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS, México), el Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica (IHNCA, Nicaragua), y el Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen (MUPI, El Salvador). Colectivamente, el archivo consiste de materiales que abarcan desde 1974 hasta 2007, presentando una variedad de temas pertinentes: los derechos humanos, la violencia política, las relaciones internacionales, y el sandinismo. Incluye también varios subtemas: las tácticas guerrilleras, la literatura revolucionaria, los conflictos armados, y los movimientos juveniles. Finalmente, esta colección hace hincapié en el legado lingüístico, histórico y étnico de las comunidades indígenas, presentando lenguajes tales como el chinanteco, el mixe, las lenguas mixtecas, el zapoteco oaxaqueño, el náhuatl, el chontal tabasqueño, el tzeltal y el tzotzil chiapanecos, el pipil salvadoreño, el miskito, y el sumo nicaragüense.
Digital Collections Services
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Effective States » Do Gram Panchayat leaders favour their own constituencies in MNREGA fund allocation?
Political incentives are known to play a role in the allocation of public resources from upper- to lower-tier governments. This column seeks to examine whether ruling parties in local governments favour their own constituencies in allocating MNREGA funds, whether they target their core supporters or swing voters, and whether this has any electoral returns. It is based on ESID Working Paper 63, 'Is partisan alignment electorally rewarding? Evidence from village council elections in India', also by Dey and Sen.
An influential literature has highlighted the role of political incentives in the allocation of public resources from upper- to lower-tier governments (Dixit and Londregan 1996, Dahlberg and Johansson 2002). So far, the empirical evidence on the role of political incentives has mostly focused on intergovernmental transfers or grants, and there is limited evidence on whether partisan alignment is also evident for other public programmes, and how lower-tier governments allocate funds once they are received (Dasgupta et al. 2004).
Village councils (or Gram Panchayats, GPs), which are the lowest level of government in India, administer several social welfare programmes for the poor. Among the most important, in terms of both total funds allocated through GPs and households covered, is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA),1 which is India's largest anti-poverty programme.2 GPs play a central role in registering households for the scheme, selecting the projects that should be funded by the scheme, as well as undertaking the projects with the help of local bureaucrats and MNREGA project staff once funds reach the village.
Do political incentives influence the allocation of funds by local politicians to their constituencies? Do they favour certain wards in their constituencies and, if so, do they target their core supporters or swing voters? And are there electoral rewards in targeting certain types of voters?
To address these questions, we examine whether ruling parties in local governments (GPs) in the state of West Bengal favoured their own constituencies in allocating funds for MNREGA and in providing MNREGA work to households residing in the constituency, and whether this had any electoral returns (Dey and Sen 2016). We used a rich primary dataset from 569 villages (or village council wards) over 49 GPs from three districts of West Bengal for 2010-2012.3 Local government elections took place in 2008 and 2013, allowing us to see whether there was a targeting of specific constituencies after the 2008 elections and whether this had any electoral pay-off in the 2013 elections. During 2008-2013, there were two principal contesting parties in West Bengal with dissimilar political ideologies: a coalition of leftist parties – the Left Front (LF) – led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The fact that there were two political parties in different parts of the state running the GPs allowed us to see whether there was any difference in the behaviour of these two parties in the manner in which they targeted certain constituencies, and whether this led to differences in electoral rewards for the two political parties.
To understand whether political incentives mattered in the allocation of MNREGA funds by local politicians, we faced two empirical challenges. Firstly, if we see a positive association between the allocation of public funds to a constituency or better MNREGA implementation and whether the constituency is under the control of the incumbent party, it could be due to the party's innate preference to favour certain constituencies, rather than a deliberate strategy to win votes. Secondly, a similar challenge exists in establishing that the targeting of MNREGA funds to certain constituencies implied that voters in these constituencies rewarded the incumbent party with greater support in the next elections. Voters may prefer a particular party or candidate for reasons other than how well the MNREGA was implemented in the constituency.
To address the first challenge, we looked at the constituencies where politicians of the ruling party marginally won elections at the village level versus the constituencies where they marginally lost. Since constituencies where the ruling party marginally won elections should be no different than the constituencies where they marginally lost, comparing the constituencies in this way allowed us to see whether MNREGA allocation of funds or its implementation in constituencies where the ruling party marginally won differed significantly from the cases where the ruling party marginally lost constituencies. If we did find that there was a significant difference, we could attribute this to the targeting of the winning constituency by the ruling party. To address the second challenge, we looked at the effect of increased MNREGA funds and implementation that could be reliably attributed to targeting of marginal constituencies by the ruling party on electoral returns of the incumbent party.
We find clear evidence that after the 2008 Panchayat elections, the ruling party at the GP level significantly spent more MNREGA funds in all the following years in their own party constituencies as compared to the constituencies of their opponents. Our estimates suggest that a village which is a ruling party's winning village receives Rs. 38,750 more in terms of MNREGA expenditure compared to a non-ruling party's village, and that households in the ruling party's winning village receive 3.59 days more of MNREGA work compared with the households in the non-ruling party's village.
In Figure 1, we see a sharp jump in MNREGA allocation of funds to constituencies and days worked where the ruling party marginally won at just over 50 percent of the votes, versus constituencies where they marginally lost to the opponent party. This suggests that the ruling party in West Bengal targeted swing constituencies instead of the constituencies where they had core support (that is, constituencies where they had the majority of votes). However, we find that the targeting of marginal constituencies differed between the two main political parties – while TMC-run GPs targeted marginal constituencies, CPIM-run GPs did not. As is clear from Figure 2, there was a significant difference in MNREGA fund allocation and implementation between the constituencies. TMC marginally won versus the ones they marginally lost. But we find no such difference in MNREGA allocation of funds or implementation between marginal constituencies won by the CPIM and the marginal constituencies that they lost (Figure 3).
What explains the difference in behaviour between the two political parties? We conjecture that the differences in behaviour between the two political parties can be attributed to the anticipation of regime change in the state as the TMC was making strong inroads in the GPs formerly held by the CPI(M), which provided little incentive for the CPI(M) to engage in targeting swing constituencies, as well as the class background of the potential beneficiaries of the MNREGA, who were agricultural labourers that have historically not been the core supporters of the left regime in West Bengal.
Were there any electoral returns to the TMC for engaging in such partisan behaviour? We find strong electoral returns to such behaviour – GPs ruled by TMC after 2008 Panchayat elections managed to secure a higher percentage of votes as well as a higher probability of re-election in their own constituencies in the following 2013 Panchayat elections, while such an outcome was not observed for CPI(M)-run GPs. The TMC, as a ruling party after 2008 elections at the GP level, realised a 1.5 percent increase in their vote share in their own villages in the 2013 elections by spending an extra Rs. 100,000 MNREGA funds annually in their own constituencies compared to opponent party constituency. In contrast, the CPI(M) as the ruling party in the 2008 elections realised a fall in their vote share in their own constituencies in the 2013 elections, as they did not engage in such partisan behaviour.
Our findings suggest that whether MNREGA worked well or not in a particular village in West Bengal depended to a large extent on whether TMC saw a clear electoral return in targeting the village. This shows that to understand why social welfare programmes work well or not in the Indian context, more attention needs to be paid to the incentives of political parties to implement them well. Moreover, the decentralised nature of implementation of MNREGA may have worked to its disadvantage in West Bengal, in cases where the GP leaders were not motivated to implement MNREGA well. This implies that there may be a trade-off between the objectives of empowering GPs and of providing social protection to the poor, which was not fully realised by the advocates of MNREGA, who wanted the scheme to be primarily implemented by local governments rather than by state and central governments.
This article was originally published at ideasforindia.in.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), 2006 guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage.
In the state of West Bengal, about 80-90 percent of the total funds received by GPs from upper-tier governments is for the MNREGA.
The data has been collected by Subhasish Dey.
Dahlberg, Matz and Eva Johansson (2002), 'On the vote-purchasing behaviour of incumbent governments', American Political Science Review, 96:27–47.
Dasgupta, Sugato, Amrita Dhillon and Bhaskar Dutta (2004), 'Electoral goals and centre-state transfers in India', University of Warwick Working Paper. Available here.
Dey, Subhasish and Kunal Sen (2016), 'Is partisan alignment electorally rewarding? Evidence from village council elections in India', Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Working Paper No. 63.
Dixit, Avinash and John Londregan (1996), 'The determinants of success of special interests in redistributive politics', The Journal of Politics, 58(4): 1132–1155.


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Firefighters Still Battling Cape Town Blaze, Evacuations in Vredehoek
Firefighters are still battling the Cape Town fire which began on Sunday. Photo supplied
The Table Mountain runaway fire continues to spread as firefighters worked tirelessly yesterday and overnight to tackle the blaze, which has also destroyed a library at the University of Cape Town.
According to the City of Cape Town, precautionary evacuations have gotten underway on Peppertree Road, Vredehoek, after the fire spread towards the area overnight.
"Evacuate immediately and remember to take chronic medication, identity documents, passports, cash, cell phones, bottled water, non-perishable food, a set of clothing, blanket and toiletries," the City said in an urgent message.
Meanwhile, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will assist animals that are displaced.
The City of Cape Town said there are no injuries to civilians that have been reported to the Disaster Operations Centre to date.
Working on Fire confirmed on Monday morning:
"The fire has now spread towards the Vredehoek area as a result of the South Easter. The wind speed increased from about 2am this morning and additional fire crews are now stationed at Pepper Tree and Chelmsford area. As a precautionary these areas were evacuated.
"Further crews are on Tafelberg road as the wind speed is predicted to increase throughout the morning. This could also potentially impact on the deployment of aerial firefighting support this morning.
"More than 250 firefighters from the City of Cape Town, SANParks – Table Mountain National Working on Fire and the Volunteer Wildfire Services remain on the ground, fighting the fire on various fronts."
The fire started on Sunday around 8:45am close to Hospital Bend. It moved up towards Rhodes Memorial and then towards the University of Cape Town upper campus.
The students living on campus have been evacuated and the City is working with the university in coordinating accommodation for affected students. Gift of the Givers is distributing food to 4,000 UCT students and locals can get involved.
Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell, said the provincial disaster management continues to monitor the ongoing fire and support the City of Cape Town and its partners.
The blaze also caused some damage to infrastructure, including destroying the historic Mostert's Mill next to the M3.
Unfortunately, two firefighters were injured yesterday and taken to hospital.
Working on Fire reports that none of its teams have suffered any injuries. The WOF stats on Monday morning for the fire so far include: 115 WOF Firelighters Deployed – 82 males and 33 Females, 8 Management Staff, 2 Fire Trucks 4000l tank, 2 Strike Units 1500l tank, 3 Buses, 4 Helicopters, 2 Spotters, 7 Vehicles Deployed, 411 tons of water dropped, Water source – sea, dams, swimming pools, 37 Hour fly time, 7 Bases on duty/standby, and Bombed 20 drops at UCT 15 tons of water total.
UCT Library Devastation of Historical Reading Room
The UCT Library before and after. Photo: FB/Zama Airy Mvulane
UCT Executive Director, Ujala Satgoor, confirmed that the disaster struck at the heart of the university's library.
"I write this message with a deep sense of sorrow and loss at the havoc and devastation it wrought upon the Reading Room of the Jagger Library.
"As some of us watched, from on-site, with horror and helplessness this elegant and historical library burn, I can only imagine the shock and horror you must have felt as you watched the news reports and pictures of this destruction," she wrote.
Satgoor said the Reading Room is completely gutted, while the fire detection system managed to trigger the fire shutters, thereby preventing the spread to other parts of the library.
Unbelievable — the UCT libraries with priceless rare books is being gutted by the #CapeTownFire (Video from WhatsApp) pic.twitter.com/7RI4dsxD3U
— Kimon de Greef (@kimondegreef) April 18, 2021
"Some of our valuable collections have been lost. However, a full assessment can only be done once the building has been declared safe and we can enter the building. An official statement is forthcoming and until such time I request that individuals refrain from speculation and conjecture."
Residents near the fire are advised to take some precautionary steps, including:
Remaining Hydrated.
Keeping windows and doors closed until further notice, as protection against smoke and heat.
Keeping pets indoors, where possible.
Moving garden furniture that is flammable undercover, where possible.
If the situation gets worse, residents will be alerted timeously.
In the event of an emergency, please contact:
City of Cape Town Emergency Services: 021 480 7700 or 107 if you are using a cell phone.
Provincial Emergency Number: 112.
Table Mountain National Park: 021 957 4700.
Sources include SAnews.gov.za, SAPeople, City of Cape Town, Working on Fire
Cape Town fire
UCT Library
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